no roche or deignan on RTE sports person of the year

ednwireland

no roche or deignan on RTE sports person of the year

The RTÉ Sports Person of the Year shortlist:
Rory McIlroy (Golf)
John Oxx (Horse racing)
Katie Taylor (Boxing)
Brian Cody (Hurling)
Olive Loughnane (Athletics)
Brian O'Driscoll (Rugby)
Shane Lowry (Golf)
Bernard Dunne (Boxing)
Paul Galvin (Gaelic Football)

travesty ?

emtroche

Cant really understand how an overweight golf player can be considered one of the top 10 sports people in the country.

Beasty

ednwireland wrote: »

travesty ?

Absolutely - where's Giggsy? (I am sure he must have some Irish blood in him - certainly more than Tony Cascarino anyway)

niceonetom

ednwireland wrote: »

travesty ?

Certainly is.

And there isn't even the old cycling-is-a-fringe-sport thing to fall back on: Lady's boxing?

Brian O'Driscoll has to win it though (if he didn't last year). A grand slam and and undefeated national squad for the whole season is an achievement that probably won't ever be repeated.

petethedrummer

emtroche wrote: »

Cant really understand how an overweight golf player can be considered one of the top 10 sports people in the country.

It requires an extremely high skill level to get to the top of golf. [Controversy]Cycling is a low skill sport[/Controversy]

Katie Taylor FTW.

brianthebard

niceonetom wrote: »

Certainly is.

And there isn't even the old cycling-is-a-fringe-sport thing to fall back on: Lady's boxing?

In fairness Katie Taylor is probably the best Irish boxer out there right now and is winning enough European and World titles to be a deserved threat to O'Driscoll's chances.

Besides cyclists are people!

petethedrummer

brianthebard wrote: »

In fairness Katie Taylor is probably the best Irish boxer out there right now

....and one of the best female footballers.

alfalad

To be fair to Katie, some of her achievements are incredible and were she to win it would be deservedly so!

Rory has had a great year, second in the race to Dubai etc, amazing stuff for a guy so young.

But Brian will win i think and rightly so.

As for the others they have had some great achievements, but maybe Deigan should be there instead of Shane but most of the other will be also rans anyway so it matters little.

Chips Lovell

It's disappointing, but I wouldn't exactly call it a travesty. Cycling still isn't that popular a sport in this country. Certainly Roche and Deignan made big strides this year to bring it back on the public's radar, but we're not there yet.

One measure of popularity would be column inches people generate. I just fired up LexisNexis there and here's how many articles there were in the past 12 months in the Irish media mentioning the shortlisted candidates:

Brian O'Driscoll (Rugby) - 2794
Rory McIlroy (Golf) - 2566
Paul Galvin (Gaelic Football) - 1296
John Oxx (Horse racing) - 1023
Brian Cody (Hurling) - 974
Shane Lowry (Golf) - 775
Bernard Dunne (Boxing) - 718
Katie Taylor (Boxing) - 588
Olive Loughnane (Athletics) - 166

Now here's Roche and Deignan:

Philip Deignan - 155
Nicolas Roche - 111

IM0

petethedrummer wrote: »

[Controversy]Cycling is a low skill sport[/Controversy]

petethedrummer

You'd better get scribbling next year Mr tonto.


EDIT: Re:My earlier skill comment. Ok you have to be differently abled to succeed at different sports.

niceonetom

el tonto wrote: »

Brian O'Driscoll (Rugby) - 2794
Rory McIlroy (Golf) - 2566
Paul Galvin (Gaelic Football) - 1296
John Oxx (Horse racing) - 1023
Brian Cody (Hurling) - 974
Shane Lowry (Golf) - 775
Bernard Dunne (Boxing) - 718
Katie Taylor (Boxing) - 588
Olive Loughnane (Athletics) - 166

Now here's Roche and Deignan:

Philip Deignan - 155
Nicolas Roche - 111

That is bloody depressing and a damning indictment of both our press and its readers. Sort it out!

Chips Lovell

niceonetom wrote: »

That is bloody depressing and a damning indictment of both our press and its readers. Sort it out!

I'm the wrong man to be asking. My paper doesn't have a sports section.

Beasty

el tonto wrote: »

It's disappointing, but I wouldn't exactly call it a travesty. Cycling still isn't that popular a sport in this country. Certainly Roche and Deignan made big strides this year to bring it back on the public's radar, but we're not there yet.

One measure of popularity would be column inches people generate. I just fired up LexisNexis there and here's how many articles there were in the past 12 months in the Irish media mentioning the shortlisted candidates:

Brian O'Driscoll (Rugby) - 2794
Rory McIlroy (Golf) - 2566
Paul Galvin (Gaelic Football) - 1296
John Oxx (Horse racing) - 1023
Brian Cody (Hurling) - 974
Shane Lowry (Golf) - 775
Bernard Dunne (Boxing) - 718
Katie Taylor (Boxing) - 588
Olive Loughnane (Athletics) - 166

Now here's Roche and Deignan:

Philip Deignan - 155
Nicolas Roche - 111

el tonto, I think you may have stumbled across the selection process here. Let's head down to the bookies and put our houses on BOD to win:)

niceonetom

el tonto wrote: »

I'm the wrong man to be asking. My paper doesn't have a sports section.

That makes you exactly the right man to be asking. I expect your publication to have a weekly 16 page pull-out dedicated to cycling by the time the spring classics come around. Make it happen.

Chips Lovell

niceonetom wrote: »

That makes you exactly the right man to be asking. I expect your publication to have a weekly 16 page pull-out dedicated to cycling by the time the spring classics come around. Make it happen.

Yes boss!

Slideshowbob

Reckon Roche Deignan or Martin will get a mention?

Captain Havoc

Slideshowbob wrote: »

Reckon Roche Deignan or Martin will get a mention?

No but I'm sure a few heroic losers and moral victors will.

TimAllen

Captain Havoc wrote: »

No but I'm sure a few heroic losers and moral victors will.

not many on the list. In fact most of those short listed have won titles in their respective sports this year. Have Roche and Deignan? (I am asking because I genuinely dont know)

Captain Havoc

TimAllen wrote: »

not many on the list. In fact most of those short listed have won titles in their respective sports this year. Have Roche and Deignan? (I am asking because I genuinely dont know)

Roche was 23rd (or so) in the Tour de France with 5th in the young rider cat. and Phillip Deignan was the first Irish person to since Stephen Roche in 1992 to win a stage of a Grand Tour (Vuelta a España).

copacetic

Can't see how this is a 'travesty'. Pretty hard to see how either cyclist would stand out against anyone on the list. Everyone there has actually won something pretty major.

TimAllen

Captain Havoc wrote: »

Roche was 23rd (or so) in the Tour de France with 5th in the young rider cat. and Phillip Deignan was the first Irish person to since Stephen Roche in 1992 to win a stage of a Grand Tour (Vuelta a España).

ok but roche wont really deserve mention this year - presumably improvement next year might warrant short listing.
Deignan's achievement seems worthy of mention. I (and probably a lot of the Irish population) have never heard of him - thats mad seeing as he actually won something ( a stage as opposed to a title but I'm sure, comparatively to other sports, this is an achievement). Does this indicate cycling is now outside of the mainstream?

Raam

TimAllen wrote: »

ok but roche wont really deserve mention this year - presumably improvement next year might warrant short listing.
Deignan's achievement seems worthy of mention. I (and probably a lot of the Irish population) have never heard of him - thats mad seeing as he actually won something ( a stage as opposed to a title but I'm sure, comparatively to other sports, this is an achievement). Does this indicate cycling is now outside of the mainstream?

A stage win came make some riders career. In fact coming last in the Tour de France can also do that!

Slideshowbob

copacetic wrote: »

Can't see how this is a 'travesty'. Pretty hard to see how either cyclist would stand out against anyone on the list. Everyone there has actually won something pretty major.

With all due respect to Gaelic Games - Roche and Deignan have excelled on the international stage this year - something no-one involved in GAA will ever do

Captain Havoc

Slideshowbob wrote: »

With all due respect to Gaelic Games - Roche and Deignan have excelled on the international stage this year - something no-one involved in GAA will ever do

ahem

copacetic

Slideshowbob wrote: »

With all due respect to Gaelic Games - Roche and Deignan have excelled on the international stage this year - something no-one involved in GAA will ever do

Well you could use that viewpoint and rule out any game that isn't worldwide I guess. Wouldn't make much sense though, since GAA is easily the biggest sport in Ireland ruling any players out as sportpeople wouldn't appear to be reasonable. Then again we have plenty of other Irish sportspeople who excel in soccer etc for their teams who weren't picked either.

Captain Havoc

Deignan on RTE 1 now

Slideshowbob

cycling got a decent mention - Deignan was interviewed - good to see his and Roche's achievements being acknowledged

Captain Havoc

Slideshowbob wrote: »

cycling got a decent mention - Deignan was interviewed - good to see his and Roche's achievements being acknowledged

Yeah, I feel bad now for being so pesimistic earlier, it's a very good show and it was an exceptional year in Irish sport. Sports person is a bit open but I'd like Shane Lowry to get it or maybe Rory McIlroy, can't see anyone but the Irish rugby team getting team of the year.

Beasty

Beasty wrote: »

el tonto, I think you may have stumbled across the selection process here. Let's head down to the bookies and put our houses on BOD to win:)

Hope you all followed my advice:D

griffin100

Whatever about the merits of Roche or Deignan winning the overall award I thought the failure to include Paul Healion in the list of sports persons who have passed away in 2009 was a bit insensitive. Just my opinion.

gimps

i completely agree healion should have been on the list

Dura Ace

The Irish Independent are looking to find the Irish Sports Star of the Year at the moment, and they have a list of the weekly winners from the year. Obviously, a cyclist never won a weekly award. I don't have the full list, but I think about 23 GAA players won awards, and 10-15 rugby players and a few less soccer players.
I feel the Independent is really poor for reporting of minority sports, compared to the Times. I'm sure Roche or Deignan would both have won a weekly award for their efforts if the Times were dishing out awards.
And I really don't think a trainer of a horse should be considered a sports star.....

Junior

What's even more sad is Sam Bennett doesn't even get a mention for Young Sports star..

coggs

I had the pleasure of been at the awards , and unless your where a GAA or Rugby player you didn't get a look in . I thought the interview with Deigan was poor ,RTE still stuck in the Kelly & Roche days !!! and it was a disgrace that the late Paul Healion was not included in looking back at irish sports people lost during the year.