McIlroy to represent GB in the Olympics.

Lord Trollington

http://www.rte.ie/sport/golf/2009/0929/mcilroyr.html

Whats the story with this?

PhilipMarlowe

He holds a British passport. End of.

PhilipMarlowe

Ok, I'll open this for intelligent discussion...

Euro_Kraut

Its a shame he has chosen to represent GB. But if that is where his heart lies than I guess he has to.

It will be interesting to see if some Rugby players from the North also take this line.

Miley Byrne

Euro_Kraut wrote: »

Its a shame he has chosen to represent GB. But if that is where his heart lies than I guess he has to.

It will be interesting to see if some Rugby players from the North also take this line.

But there is no Rugby Union team called Great Britain. Not the same thing at all in my opinion.

jj72

denisoc16 wrote: »

But there is no Rugby Union team called Great Britain. Not the same thing at all in my opinion.

But if Rugby was in the olympics then there would be a GB team. Wonder what would happen then?

Then again its not for another 7 years. Lets not get too excited by it all yet.

stockdam

There's nothing to debate here.

Rory was born in Northern Ireland and as such he can decide what he wants to do. It doesn't mean that he won't represent Ireland in other events.

NaiveMelodies

Ehh, He's from Great Britain..

2+2=4 and all that.

Trampas

It is his decision so end of.

He might not even qualify. Long way to go

L.O.F.T

Euro_Kraut wrote: »

Its a shame he has chosen to represent GB. But if that is where his heart lies than I guess he has to.

When it comes to the Games there is a long-standing agreement between the British Olympic Association and the Olympic Council of Ireland that Northern Ireland athletes can elect to represent Ireland because they are legally entitled to dual citizenship.

But McIlroy said: "It's a bit of an awkward question still, but I have a British passport and it would be Great Britain for me."

As Rory said its an awkard situation and one I dont think any golfer / sportsman would like on their plate. I dont think this story will stop at just his statement, I think it might rumble on and on.

soundsham

personally I'd rather have ph there for Ireland if it came to a toss up betwwen the 2 anyway

General Zod

only1stevo wrote: »

Ehh, He's from Great Britain..

2+2=4 and all that.

He's from Northern Ireland. He's a UK citizen. he's not from Great Britain.

He'd represent Ireland in other competitions, as the association responsible for Ireland is 32 county wide, just like rugby and boxing (and almost all other sports, football being the exception).

L.O.F.T

soundsham wrote: »

personally I'd rather have ph there for Ireland if it came to a toss up betwwen the 2 anyway

Id like the choice, Rorys going to be awfull good in the coming years

fullstop

only1stevo wrote: »

Ehh, He's from Great Britain..

2+2=4 and all that.

He's from the UNITED KINGDOM of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Very, very disappointing decision, he played for Ireland his whole amateur career, so why not now? Ireland was good enough for him when the GUI were paying for all his trips away to play in tournaments abroad as well as coaching etc.

ClutchIt

jj72 wrote: »

But if Rugby was in the olympics then there would be a GB team. Wonder what would happen then?

Then again its not for another 7 years. Lets not get too excited by it all yet.

2012 - 2009 = 3

3 years sir.

McIlroy is the ponciest little snot nose I've seen play golf in a while and thats saying something. Not at all suprised by this, I don't know wether he's more English than Irish but I don't really care because I never really liked him and I'm always a huge fan of Irish sports people. I still used to root for him but now I can happily let the sweet sweet hate wash over me again. Ahhhhh.

There's prob more money in it for him or maybe he wants all the exposure of playing with GB in London. I'm pretty sure there's more NI people representing Ireland than GB.

Blunder

ClutchIt wrote: »

2012 - 2009 = 3

3 years sir.

McIlroy is the ponciest little snot nose I've seen play golf in a while and thats saying something. Not at all suprised by this, I don't know wether he's more English than Irish but I don't really care because I never really liked him and I'm always a huge fan of Irish sports people. I still used to root for him but now I can happily let the sweet sweet hate wash over me again. Ahhhhh.

There's prob more money in it for him or maybe he wants all the exposure of playing with GB in London. I'm pretty sure there's more NI people representing Ireland than GB.

Golf isnt in the Olympics til 2016 so its 7 years sir.

His choice. Doesnt bother me what he does. Has to be a good reason for him thinking that way so I'd say we'll just have to respect his decision.

There is a fair bit of bitterness in that post. I've found Rory to be OK for the most part. He does seem a bit cocky/arrogent at times but I think you need a bit of that sometimes in sport. At least he can back up the Arrogance with his talent.

PhilipMarlowe

ClutchIt infracted for abuse and banned from here for 1 month.
Debate or discuss the topic but have some cop on about it please.

stockdam

ClutchIt wrote: »

I don't know wether he's more English than Irish

Where did England slip into this debate???

horsebox1977

Wayne McCullough and James McIllroy (Athletics) both held British passports and both represent Ireland -
The reality is he has chosen UK because he probably feels more British than Irish -
Is he protestant does anyone know?

L.O.F.T

Good article here,

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/6239835/Rory-McIlroy-would-face-difficult-choice-at-the-2016-Olympic-Games.html

Blunder

horsebox1977 wrote: »

Is he protestant does anyone know?

Does it matter? Are we back in the 70's?

ridonkulous

Look the guy is 19 or whatever. He has made foolish comments in the past ala Ryder cup being an exhibition and has apparently after the Vivendi trophy had a change of heart about professional team golf. Chances are in 7 years he will have a completely different stance about whether he should play for team GB or team Ireland in the 2016 olympics. Either way I will be cheering him on. Im just surprised he answered the question that was directed at him. I mean look at Darren Clarke who has been a mentor to McIlroy. He didn't even have an anthem played for him during his ryder cup days because he didn't want to start a whole media circus about it.

SWAR

L.O.F.T wrote: »

Good article here,

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/6239835/Rory-McIlroy-would-face-difficult-choice-at-the-2016-Olympic-Games.html

McDowell said after the International Olympic Commitee's executive board proposed golf and rugby should be included in 2016 at a meeting last month: "It's a strange one. Golf's an all-Ireland sport. I'd play for anyone. I've never been able to explain why golf's an all-Ireland sport and rugby's an all-Ireland sport but soccer is two different teams. It'd be an honour to represent your country and I don't mind which one I play for.

McDowell keeping his options open also.

horsebox1977

Blunder wrote: »

Does it matter? Are we back in the 70's?

No - just might be clearer as to why he has chosed GB over Irl.

charlieIRL

it may not be his choice who he represents.

I know of 2 brothers from NI who are doing very well in motorsport, when the results are published one is UK & one is IRL. UK sponsors prefed UK riders so decision was made for him.

fullstop

horsebox1977 wrote: »

Wayne McCullough and James McIllroy (Athletics) both held British passports and both represent Ireland -
The reality is he has chosen UK because he probably feels more British than Irish -
Is he protestant does anyone know?

Catholic, I think.

mag

be a strange one to be representing ireland in the world cup & gb in the olympics. rorys going to have to learn to be a bit more diplomatic i think though, it might be that therell be two gb players above him in the world rankings come 2016 and he'll be happy to play for ireland...

horsebox1977

http://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/how-the-boy-who-learned-golf-by-chipping-into-his-mums-washing-machine-is-set-to-really-clean-up-1631738.html

There is little doubt, though, that McIlroy will transcend his sport in this country at least. A Catholic, Rory McIlroy is clearly proud of his Irishness. This week, when talking about his aspirations for the year, he mentioned winning the Open. "It would be nice to keep that run going: Harrington, Harrington . . . keep the claret jug in the country for another while."

SWAR

fullstop wrote: »

He's from the UNITED KINGDOM of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Very, very disappointing decision, he played for Ireland his whole amateur career, so why not now? Ireland was good enough for him when the GUI were paying for all his trips away to play in tournaments abroad as well as coaching etc.

While you do make a valid point regarding the support he has received from the GUI over the years, you have to remember if he did not play for Ireland as an amatuer, who would he of played for? There is no GB team...merely Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales to my knowledge, as with the World Cup of Golf, where he and McDowell will be representing Ireland.

I'd like to think if it was me, I would feel obliged to represent Ireland; however I'm not from Norther Ireland and to be fair to him, I'm probably not best placed to comment and won't admit to fully understanding the situation he finds himself in.

Hopefully he makes a U-turn and represents Ireland; however if he doesn't I will still be rooting for him...unless he is tied with Harrington coming down the last

Mister Sifter

fullstop wrote: »

Catholic, I think.

Yes, he's definitely a Catholic.

NaiveMelodies

General Zod wrote: »

He's from Northern Ireland. He's a UK citizen. he's not from Great Britain.

He'd represent Ireland in other competitions, as the association responsible for Ireland is 32 county wide, just like rugby and boxing (and almost all other sports, football being the exception).

Apologies, bit of knee jerk reaction post...
Also didnt realise he was in the Irish world cup team.. Odd decision alright.

Riskymove

only1stevo wrote: »

Apologies, bit of knee jerk reaction post...
Also didnt realise he was in the Irish world cup team.. Odd decision alright.

yes but a different situation, both IRL and NI are covered by the Ireland team in the world cup; england, scotland etc all seperate teams, no British team

tbh I think Rory will end up with Ireland over Britain simply due to numbers; I am not sure how many places are available for each country but there'll be a lot more competition for a Great Britain team

stockdam

It may seem odd to people in the ROI but for people in N.I. it's different as we live within a Irish/British region. Some of us don't have a problem being Irish and British; any other notion generally ends in a polarised stance that quickly breeds conflict. As for one who lived through the terrorism and violence then I at times do not wish to be either Irish or British......I felt shame and anger at seeing people being shovelled into bin-bags. However that is a negative point of view and I'd rather be proud to be both British and Irish and bury the past.

So for me I have no problem with Rory playing for Ireland and for GB.

For those who haven't lived their life in N.I. then I can understand how this may seem strange but for us we have to move on and integrate both Britishness and Irishness into our lives and build bridges not barriers.

I'm sorry if anything I've said annoys anyone but it may also help to show that things are not black and white.

Blunder

Riskymove wrote: »

yes but a different situation, both IRL and NI are covered by the Ireland team in the world cup; england, scotland etc all seperate teams, no British team

tbh I think Rory will end up with Ireland over Britain simply due to numbers; I am not sure how many places are available for each country but there'll be a lot more competition for a Great Britain team

I dont think there will be too many British or Irish players ranked above Rory in 7 years time. In fact I would be surprised if there were many for the rest of the world ahead of Rory in the World rankings.

Alzar

stockdam wrote: »

It may seem odd...........anyone but it may also help to show that things are not black and white.

I honestly think thats a great post, Stockdam.

Al.

stockdam

Alzar wrote: »

I honestly think thats a great post, Stockdam.

Al.

Thanks Alzar. It's a very tricky thing to debate without getting a strong reaction.

So Rory has a British passport (I believe) and so it's great to see him playing for Ireland even though he's British. And it's great to see him playing for GB even though he's Irish. That to me sums up the modern Northern Ireland. The flexibility to be British and/or Irish and support the person for being both or either and for bridging divides; and also not to criticise anyone who wants to be Irish or British or both.

I can support PH and at the same time support Paul Casey........both are superb golfers. But when push comes to shove, I'll support Rory, Darren Clarke, Graeme McD, Gareth Maybin, Michael Hoey, Johnny Caldwell as I did for David Feherty and for Ronan Rafferty.

fullstop

The Telegraph article raised an interesting point about raising the tricolour at the Walker Cup in 2001, which reminded me that I had come across this photo before....http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/76572291/Getty-Images-Sport

Mister Sifter

Stockdam, your posts make for very interesting reading. It's pretty disappointing to see what the reaction of some would be if McIlroy did opt for Great Britain. Just wondering would there be any resentment / reaction inthe North if he was to opt ot play for Ireland?

Burgerman55

stockdam wrote: »

Rory was born in Northern Ireland and as such he can decide what he wants to do. It doesn't mean that he won't represent Ireland in other events.

Thats ridiculous mate - so play for ireland today, team GB tomorrow..

Nonsense

TigerPhil

Licksy wrote: »

He holds a British passport. End of.

He does but wouldn't he be joining a weaker team?

TigerPhil

stockdam wrote: »

There's nothing to debate here.

Rory was born in Northern Ireland and as such he can decide what he wants to do. It doesn't mean that he won't represent Ireland in other events.

He can play for both, that's true.

TigerPhil

L.O.F.T wrote: »

Id like the choice, Rorys going to be awfull good in the coming years

The way the GUI is flying these days, there's no guarantee he'll even be the no. 1 Irishy in 2016. See how quick the rankings changed even for him.

stockdam

Burgerman55 wrote: »

Thats ridiculous mate - so play for ireland today, team GB tomorrow..

Nonsense

I didn't mean in the same competition........I was talking generally.

TigerPhil

only1stevo wrote: »

Apologies, bit of knee jerk reaction post...
Also didnt realise he was in the Irish world cup team.. Odd decision alright.

He doesn't have a choice in the World Cup as there's no GB team so he's stuck with us. He can't play for England, Wales or Scotland.

But for the Olympics he has a choice.

TigerPhil

horsebox1977 wrote: »

Wayne McCullough and James McIllroy (Athletics) both held British passports and both represent Ireland -
The reality is he has chosen UK because he probably feels more British than Irish -
Is he protestant does anyone know?

Religion has nothing to do with it (he's Catholic, btw).

BombSquad

stockdam wrote: »

It may seem odd to people in the ROI but for people in N.I. it's different as we live within a Irish/British region. Some of us don't have a problem being Irish and British; any other notion generally ends in a polarised stance that quickly breeds conflict. As for one who lived through the terrorism and violence then I at times do not wish to be either Irish or British......I felt shame and anger at seeing people being shovelled into bin-bags. However that is a negative point of view and I'd rather be proud to be both British and Irish and bury the past.

So for me I have no problem with Rory playing for Ireland and for GB.

For those who haven't lived their life in N.I. then I can understand how this may seem strange but for us we have to move on and integrate both Britishness and Irishness into our lives and build bridges not barriers.

I'm sorry if anything I've said annoys anyone but it may also help to show that things are not black and white.

Excellent post.

Burgerman55 wrote: »

Thats ridiculous mate - so play for ireland today, team GB tomorrow..

Nonsense

He's not eligible to play for England, Scotland, or Wales. He is eligible for GB&NI and has chosen to play for them. He's playing for the area that he's from and he's fully entitled to. He has always played for his home team on all occasions be that Ireland in the World Cup, GB&I in the Walker cup or GB&NI in the Olympics. He hasn't changed team.

BombSquad

horsebox1977 wrote: »

Wayne McCullough and James McIllroy (Athletics) both held British passports and both represent Ireland -
The reality is he has chosen UK because he probably feels more British than Irish -
Is he protestant does anyone know?

I'm not 100% sure but I think James Mcilroy was initially funded by the Irish government before switching to the British team mid way through a season. LOL. Suppose he was doing what he had to do to make a go of it. Don't think the athletics folks are treated half as well as the GUI treats the golfers here.

I'm pretty sure he was also a scratch golfer back then...

enda1

He plays for Ireland (the Island) in other competitions.
The team GB is short for GB&NI in the Olympics, GB sounding less like a shipping company than its verbose father.

So why would he represent team Ireland (the country)?
Would people have expected their Granddad born in 1915 in Dublin to represent team GB (in Olympics in the 60's or something) just because he was entitled to?

http://www.olympics.org.uk/contentpage.aspx?page=127

stockdam

Mister Sifter wrote: »

Just wondering would there be any resentment / reaction inthe North if he was to opt ot play for Ireland?

Maybe there would be a small minority who would be disappointed but I'd guess that it would be very, very small. I can't talk for everyone but I think Rory's following here would not waver if he played for Ireland or for GB.

We've supported all the Irish players in the old Dunhill Cup etc. It's not an issue who they play for. There is a strong support for local players so we'd tend to favour Rory over Padraig but as I said before we would back all the Irish players.

Golf tends to be a sport played without bigotry and I hope it remains that way. I applauded the American team when they won the Walker Cup here in Newcastle and we applauded Welsh, English, Scottish and of course the two local guys.

If there was a major championship up here in say Newcastle or Portrush then we would welcome everyone. If Padraig was tying with Tiger then Padraig would get our support. If Poulter was in a similar position (yes even poor old Ian) then we would like to see him winning over Tiger.

If Rory plays for Ireland then we'll still back him 100%. If he plays for GB then that makes no difference.........he's still "one of ours". I'd hope that if he plays for GB then nobody in the ROI changes their support for him.........life's too short to worry about things that don't matter.

FlutterinBantam

Well said.

stockdam

BombSquad wrote: »

He's not eligible to play for England, Scotland, or Wales. He is eligible for GB&NI and has chosen to play for them. He's playing for the area that he's from and he's fully entitled to. He has always played for his home team on all occasions be that Ireland in the World Cup, GB&I in the Walker cup or GB&NI in the Olympics. He hasn't changed team.

I think you make an excellent point. He's played for the team he is eligible for. Yes there are two teams that he can play for in the Olympics but Northern Ireland is linked with GB in the Olympics (there's no ROI and NI team). However nobody here that has any sense would stand in the way of anyone playing for whatever team they choose. Traditionally boxers from N.I. will represent Ireland in the Olympics and I'll cheer them on over a GB boxer.