There was a 9% increase in the number of start-ups in the first half of the year, according to data from CRIFVision-Net.
The six month period saw 12,745 new companies registered, despite growing economic headwinds and concerns around trade.
The growth also builds on a strong performance last year - when a record 23,384 start-ups were created.
"It is a bit of a surprise and encouraging considering we've got inflationary pressures and financial uncertainty - and considering also the geopolitical climate we're living in," said Christine Cullen, managing director of CRIFVision-Net. "That's building on a very strong year last year."
The data shows a broad spread of start-up activity across the country, with 22 counties seeing an uptick in numbers.
Major urban centres like Dublin and Cork were included in that - but some of the biggest year-on-year growth was recorded in places like Roscommon, Laois and Clare.
"It's not just concentrated in urban hubs like Dublin and Cork," Ms Cullen said. "It really shows that new business creation in the first half of the year is quite strong."
The increase was also spread across a wide variety of sectors, with the motor trade seeing the biggest up-tick in start-ups year on year, followed by IT, agriculture and manufacturing.
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Ms Cullen said that the rise in the number of start-ups was in part due to a shift in the way people were going into business, with many now opting to set up limited companies instead of operating as sole traders.
"What we're seeing in recent years is a shift away from sole traders... in terms of start-up entities into the more formal structure of a limited company," she said. "Five years ago, for every company that was formed, there were two business name sole trader entities, now we're seeing a shift."
The data also shows that there has been an increase in the number of insolvencies, which Ms Cullen said was to be expected.
However there was also an increase in the number of commercial judgements against firsm - with 30% more judgements in the first half of the year, the value of which increased by 152%.
Consumer judgements also rose - pointing to the strain that some firms are feeling due to inflation, cost-of-living pressures and economic uncertainty.
"There is a bit of a tale of two economies," she said. "One is reflecting the Irish start-up ecosystem, which is very, very strong - but there is an underlying fragility there and anything that helps ease pressure for businesses would be very important."
