The combined sales of all broadsheet and tabloid newspapers in Ireland continued to fall sharply during the first half of the year, according to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).

Sales of daily print titles were 5.7% lower during the period while Sunday paper sales fell by 6.3%. 

Print circulation has now been declining since way back in 2007.

The Irish Independent remains the country's most widely-read daily, though circulation fell 6.4% to 102,537 copies.

The circulation of the Irish Times now stands at 72,001 copies, down 5.5% year-on-year.

The publication will be heartened by the daily sales of its digital edition, however, which at 9,875 are more than double the figure for the same period in 2015.

When both editions are combined, it actually represents growth of 1% year-on-year.

The Irish Sun bucked the daily print trend for declines, enjoying an increase of 4.6% as circulation hit 60,371. The Sun on Sunday also added 9%, up to 57,820.

A promotional offer in June helped both of those.

The Irish Daily Star fell 7.6% to 48,363. Sales of the Irish Daily Mirror are down 11.3% to 38,355. The Irish Daily Mail's circulation is 45,552, down 61.%.

The Herald declined 8.4% to 44,085.

The Irish Examiner is down 6.7%, to an average of 30,964 copies. The other title owned by Landmark Media Investments, Cork's Evening Echo, took a 10.6% hit to 10,976.

When it comes to the Sunday sellers, the Irish Independent held on to the top spot but declined 6.7%, with sales dipping below to 199,210.

The ABC figures show 465,566 papers were sold each day for the period, with Sunday circulation at 669,557.