Paul Mescal, Leo Varadkar and Simon Harris had some of the top growing Instagram accounts this year.
Other well-known Irish accounts seeing an increase in popularity in 2020 were those run by Dermot Kennedy and Roz Purcell.
The photo-sharing app is owned by Facebook which today revealed its annual ‘Year in Review’ which reflects on the biggest moments across its platforms.
It follows data released by Google yesterday about its most searched for questions in 2020.
The most talked-about moments on Facebook in Ireland over the last 12 months included the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Northern Ireland and Hozier’s performance of Parting Glass remembering COVID-19 victims.
Other notable events were Leo Varadkar addressing the nation about the first lockdown measures, the launch of the HSE contact tracing app, the suspension of GAA games and the rise of staycations.
People in Ireland joined online communities - under extraordinary circumstances, communities found ways to connect, learn and grow;
More than 250,000 people joined hobby groups on Facebook since the first lockdown in March, while over 120,000 people joined fitness and wellbeing groups.
Around 60,000 parents visited the social network during the lockdown for tips about online art classes for kids and advice on parenting allowances.
With the national effort to shop local this year, more than a quarter of a million people joined groups backing small Irish businesses this Christmas.
There were more than 325,000 posts and comments about supporting businesses in Ireland.
This was reflected on Instagram too, with #MadeLocal, #BuyIrish and #ShopLocal are among the biggest growing hashtags on Instagram.
Commenting today, Gareth Lambe, Head of Facebook Ireland said: “People have always come to Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to build community and connect with friends and family. This year, people have shown remarkable community spirit, support for each other and local businesses and incredible ingenuity on our platforms.
"This year’s reflection of big moments shows first-hand that when people are connected they can achieve extraordinary things.”
