IT WASN’T SO long ago that social media began and ended with Facebook (and Bebo and MySpace…)

Now, Twitter is one of the major drivers of traffic to sites like TheJournal.ie and can hugely affect whether a story does well or not.

The articles which were tweeted the most this year were a disparate bunch. Many of the stories were breaking news stories – such as the death of Maeve Binchy and the controversial Swedish House Mafia concert in the Phoenix Park – while others were stories about missing people as people shared the articles in a bid to help find them. The same story that was our most tweeted article was also the story that was the most read this year, indicating just how powerful social media is when it comes to page views.

Here’s the list in full:

Here are our top 10 most tweeted articles in 2012

Previous 1 / 10Next

10. Gardaí appeal for information about missing Oranmore man Joe Stephens
9. Three men die from overdoses after attending the Swedish House Mafia concert in the Phoenix Park
8. Polish ambassador to Ireland responds to a newspaper article about Donegal dole recipient 'Magda'
7. Facebook celebrates its 8th birthday - and here's how it looked in 2004
6. Maeve Binchy dies after a short illness
5. Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard scores a goal from a kick in his own half
4. How each TD voted on Clare Daly's bill to legislate for the X Case
3. The Irish fan who lost his ticket for Euro 2012 in Dublin Airport - but managed to get it back
2. Four Olympic athletes competed under the IOC flag rather than represent a country
1. Ireland and the EU to sign controversial ACTA treaty on copyright

And here’s links to the stories:

10. Gardaí appeal for information about missing Galway man Joe Stephens. Tweets: 337

9. Three men die from overdoses after attending the Swedish House Mafia concert in the Phoenix Park. Tweets: 339

8. Polish ambassador to Ireland responds to the Irish Independent article about dole recipient ‘Magda’. Tweets: 348

7. Happy 8th birthday Facebook – and here’s how Facebook looked in 2004. Tweets: 352

6. Maeve Binchy dies at the age of 72 following a short illness. Tweets: 366

5. Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard scores a goal from deep in his own half. Tweets: 425

4. How each TD voted on Clare Daly’s bill to legislate for the X Case. Tweets: 433

3. The Irish fan who lost his ticket for the European Championships at Dublin Airport managed to get his precious tickets back. Tweets: 455

2. Why did four Olympic athletes compete with no country? Tweets: 623

1. Ireland and the EU to sign controversial ACTA copyright treaty. Tweets: 843

Read: Here’s our top 10 most shared articles on Facebook in 2012 >

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10. Gardaí appeal for information about missing Oranmore man Joe Stephens

9. Three men die from overdoses after attending the Swedish House Mafia concert in the Phoenix Park

8. Polish ambassador to Ireland responds to a newspaper article about Donegal dole recipient 'Magda'

7. Facebook celebrates its 8th birthday - and here's how it looked in 2004

6. Maeve Binchy dies after a short illness

5. Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard scores a goal from a kick in his own half

4. How each TD voted on Clare Daly's bill to legislate for the X Case

3. The Irish fan who lost his ticket for Euro 2012 in Dublin Airport - but managed to get it back

2. Four Olympic athletes competed under the IOC flag rather than represent a country

1. Ireland and the EU to sign controversial ACTA treaty on copyright

Read: Here’s our top 10 most shared articles on Facebook in 2012 >

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.