All-Ireland disappointment reflected in Cork fans’ spending patterns

AIB’s Cork customers spent €920,000 in Dublin on July 5, the day of their county team’s All-Ireland SHC semi-final victory over Dublin, the latest AIB Spend Trend for July reveals.

However, on July 20, the day Cork lost to Tipperary in the final, disappointed Cork fans spent 13% less in the capital than they had on the day of their team’s semi-final win.

In contrast, Tipp fans spent 27% more on the day their team won the final than they had on the day of their semi-final win over Kilkenny.

Overall, the AIB Spend Trend data shows that spend in July 2025 was up 9% on the same month in 2024. 

Online spend has been growing more strongly than instore spend over the 12 months, with the average in store transaction being €28.80 compared to €96.90 online.

Card transactions 

The data was compiled from 78 million card transactions carried out by AIB customers in store and online during July.

Groceries was one of few sectors where in-store spend held up strongly, with spending 6% higher overall and 93% of those purchases made in stores rather than online. 

In contrast, the spend on clothing rose 1% in July compared to the same month a year ago, below the rate of inflation. Department stores saw expenditure fall by 1% in the 12 months to the end of July.

Nationally, spend in pubs in Ireland was down 9% compared to July 2024, restaurant spend was up 10% and the amount of money spent in Irish hotels was up 3%.

Speaking about the data, Adrian Moynihan, head of consumer at AIB said: “July’s AIB Spend Trend report reflects the busy month that July was, with many people out and about enjoying the fine weather, the peak tourist season kicking off and a range of high-profile sporting and cultural events taking place.

“It lso highlights consumer confidence, with overall spending up 9% year-on-year. While the hospitality sector experienced mixed results, with pub spending down but restaurant and hotel spending up, the data underscores the dynamic nature of consumer behaviour.”