The Sporting Success of Northern Ireland

DEFTLEFTHAND

Think about it, a tiny country, 6 counties. 1 million people.

But yet they have produced great sporting heros for their size. George Best, a great in his time, unfortunately of course his bad habits caught up with him and his career petered out far too early. He was only 27 when things went wrong. When he should have been in his prime.

They also were the smallest nation ever to reach a World Cup quarter final in 1958, long before the Republic ever qualified for anything. Trinadad and Toboga took their smallest country ever to qualify in 2006.

They've also produced 3 Major Winners in golf, McIlroy, McDowell and Clarke. Michael Hoey is also a 5 time winner on the European tour

Boxing champs like Frampton.

Snooker world champs like Alex Higgins and Denis Taylor

Then think of motorsport, Eddie Irvine, Joey Dunlop.

Nordies really do punch above their weight in the global sporting world. On a per captia basis they're streets ahead of us southerners.

Lucy8080

Look, most of those sports (football aside) were highly motivated. They kept
you off the (dangerous) streets.

The measure of the north's sporting prowess should be their lack of olympic shooting medals. Not even a bronze!

Absolutely nothing to show for their most funded/practiced pass-time!

By that measure we can see that they got a bit flukey, at times, with other sports.

flas

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Think about it, a tiny country, 6 counties. 1 million people.

But yet they have produced great sporting heros for their size. George Best, a great in his time, unfortunately of course his bad habits caught up with him and his career petered out far too early. He was only 27 when things went wrong. When he should have been in his prime.

They also were the smallest nation ever to reach a World Cup quarter final in 1958, long before the Republic ever qualified for anything. Trinadad and Toboga took their smallest country ever to qualify in 2006.

They've also produced 3 Major Winners in golf, McIlroy, McDowell and Clarke. Michael Hoey is also a 5 time winner on the European tour

Boxing champs like Frampton.

Snooker world champs like Alex Higgins and Denis Taylor

Then think of motorsport, Eddie Irvine, Joey Dunlop.

Nordies really do punch above their weight in the global sporting world. On a per captia basis they're streets ahead of us southerners.

You can't really include sports that are run on an all island basis like golf or rugby or motorsport or boxing,these sports and the stars they have produced have benefited massively from all island participation and funding.

Brendan Dolan, the History Maker...

mfceiling

Lucy8080 wrote: »

The measure of the north's sporting prowess should be their lack of olympic shooting medals. Not even a bronze!



By that measure we can see that they got a bit flukey, at times, with other sports.

The lack of shooting medals was simple...they weren't allowed to wear their balaclavas.

How were they "flukey" with other sports? McIlroy flukey? Frampton flukey?

Lucy8080

o.k. I'll admit the flukey bit is a bit toungue in cheek, but let's keep it between ourselves...it is A.H. after all...standards kid,standards.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Deleted User wrote: »

Brendan Dolan, the History Maker...

Yes great guy.

You who is better again is Daryl Gurney another Norn. I know darts, I play in a local league and follow the high level whether it be watching BDO streams or the PDC events that Sky cover.

Gurney is the greatest scorer I've ever seen. If he gets his finishing down to a fine art and his head in the right place I think he could be a future PDC World Champion.

Without a doubt. If anybody wants to learn how to play darts, mimic how Gurney throws a dart at a board.

Gurney more talented...but he'll find it hard to blow the roof off a venue like this...

http://youtu.be/QxB3t3oNc-E

beertons

Thought they'd have a few shooting medals. They were mad at it in the eighties.

munster87

AP McCoy

DEFTLEFTHAND

munster87 wrote: »

AP McCoy

Good call, never thought about the jockeys.

The_Kew_Tour

Peter Canavan. Mickey Linden, Anthony Tohill.

DEFTLEFTHAND

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Peter Canavan. Mickey Linden, Anthony Tohill.

Mickey Linden the greatest wing forward of the 90s.

My earliest memories of the Championship is watching Down in 94.

I remember loving that jersey. Outside of Carlow there is no other better shirt than the red and black of Down.

Avatar MIA

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Peter Canavan. Mickey Linden, Anthony Tohill.

We're talking real sports here.

DEFTLEFTHAND

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Mickey Linden the greatest wing forward of the 90s...

Was...he not...right corner forward?

DrumSteve

Avatar MIA wrote: »

We're talking real sports here.

*gets popcorn*

DEFTLEFTHAND

Deleted User wrote: »

Was...he not...right corner forward?

In Tipp we call that wing.

Omackeral

Lucy8080 wrote: »

The measure of the north's sporting prowess should be their lack of olympic shooting medals. Not even a bronze!

Absolutely nothing to show for their most funded/practiced pass-time!

By that measure we can see that they got a bit flukey, at times, with other sports.

NI don't have an Olympic team, so there's that.

The_Kew_Tour

Avatar MIA wrote: »

We're talking real sports here.

You're right.

Billy Wright or Michael Stone?

DEFTLEFTHAND

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

You're right.

Billy Wright or Michael Stone?

Wrights an interesting character. Raised in South Armagh and played football up to a minor level.

His sister Angela married a Catholic man from Tipperary who Billy became great friends with.

She stated after his death that his war was to have Ulster remain in the Union, it wasn't about a hatred of Catholics.


Just like the people who killed him in the INLA. They weren't anti prod by any means. A bunch of batsh1t socialists.

buried

Y'all ain't smoking on my level
Y'all ain't f**king on my level
Y'all ain't dranking on my level
Y'all ain't nothing on my level

riffmongous

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Wrights an interesting character. Raised in South Armagh and played football up to a minor level.

His sister Angela married a Catholic man from Tipperary who Billy became great friends with.

She stated after his death that his war was to have Ulster remain in the Union, it wasn't about a hatred of Catholics.


Just like the people who killed him in the INLA. They weren't anti prod by any means. A bunch of batsh1t socialists.

INLA even had a protestant leader.

Crossmaglen are another great sports club

Ultimate Seduction

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote:

Gurney is the greatest scorer I've ever seen. If he gets his finishing down to a fine art and his head in the right place I think he could be a future PDC World Champion.

Greatest scorer you've ever seen? Have you ever heard of Garry Anderson.

mackeire

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Yes great guy.

You who is better again is Daryl Gurney another Norn. I know darts, I play in a local league and follow the high level whether it be watching BDO streams or the PDC events that Sky cover.

Gurney is the greatest scorer I've ever seen. If he gets his finishing down to a fine art and his head in the right place I think he could be a future PDC World Champion.

Without a doubt. If anybody wants to learn how to play darts, mimic how Gurney throws a dart at a board.

Serious attitude problems!
And I don't just mean on the TV!

Ultimate Seduction

Paddy Barnes, Mick Conlon and Barry McGugian 3 of the best 5 boxers this island ever had

Ultimate Seduction

Omackeral wrote:

NI don't have an Olympic team, so there's that.

I think that was the joke..

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

mackeire

Patww79 wrote: »

Barry McGuigan is Irish is he not?

Not, he Northern.

statesaver

McGuigan was born in Monaghan

Avatar MIA

statesaver wrote: »

McGuigan was born in Monaghan

The Clones Cyclone being the clue

armaghlad

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Wrights an interesting character. Raised in South Armagh and played football up to a minor level.

His sister Angela married a Catholic man from Tipperary who Billy became great friends with.

She stated after his death that his war was to have Ulster remain in the Union, it wasn't about a hatred of Catholics.


Just like the people who killed him in the INLA. They weren't anti prod by any means. A bunch of batsh1t socialists.

Completely off topic but Wright was arguably the most anti-catholic sectarian monster ever born

armaghlad

riffmongous wrote: »

INLA even had a protestant leader.

Crossmaglen are another great sports club

Good luck telling the feens they're a northern Ireland club

DEFTLEFTHAND

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

Greatest scorer you've ever seen? Have you ever heard of Garry Anderson.

He can finish, he gets down to a number and then he takes it out.

Daryl is a sublime scorer, he rattles off ton pluses every throw, his one big issue is that he doesn't finish well.

If he can sort that, I truly believe that he could be a World Champ.

Avatar MIA

armaghlad wrote: »

Completely off topic but Wright was arguably the most anti-catholic sectarian monster ever born

Understandable, happens a lot of lads who show promise at Minor level, but don't make the grade for the Senior team. Many's the bitter buachaill. :pac:

Richard Hillman

They have a slightly larger population than Dublin.

Robbie Keane
Liam Brady
Conor McGregor
Padraig Harrington
Etc etc

armaghlad

Avatar MIA wrote: »

Understandable, happens a lot of lads who show promise at Minor level, but don't make the grade for the Senior team. Many's the bitter buachaill. :pac:

Willie Frazier played for the same club iirc

fullstop

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

They've also produced 3 Major Winners in golf, McIlroy, McDowell and Clarke. Michael Hoey is also a 5 time winner on the European tour

4 actually, Fred Daly as well.

Ultimate Seduction

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote:

He can finish, he gets down to a number and then he takes it out.

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote:

Daryl is a sublime scorer, he rattles off ton pluses every throw, his one big issue is that he doesn't finish well.

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote:

If he can sort that, I truly believe that he could be a World Champ.

You are obviously from the six counties yourself so I understand a bit of bias, but Gurney is no where near as good as you seem to believe. His scoring is strong but not near elite yet. He may win a world title in the future but he seems to be fairly weak minded too, head either drops or he gets visibly angry when the going gets tough, so I doubt it.

SEPT 23 1989

Pat Jennings

Dirty Dingus McGee

mackeire wrote: »

Not, he Northern.

He's from Clones which is in Monaghan which is in Ireland (26 counties)

fullstop

Richard Hillman wrote: »

They have a slightly larger population than Dublin.

Robbie Keane
Liam Brady
Conor McGregor
Padraig Harrington
Etc etc

Who's the etc etc? McIlroy streets ahead of any level Harrington was ever at, Best was better than Keane or Brady. McGregor fair enough, but fact is NI do unbelievable at sports for their population and size.

Brad Bobley

Dolan and Gurney? LOL

World Cup of Darts last night anyone?

Dirty Dingus McGee

fullstop wrote: »

Who's the etc etc? McIlroy streets ahead of any level Harrington was ever at, Best was better than Keane or Brady. McGregor fair enough, but fact is NI do unbelievable at sports for their population and size.

Paul McGrath
John Giles
Frank Stapleton
Ronnie Whelan
Damien Duff
Niall Quinn
Jim Stynes
Eoin Morgan
Brian O'Driscoll
Michael Carruth (one of the very few irish boxers to win a gold medal at the Olympics despite our supposed brilliance at amateur boxing)
Steve Collins
Eamonn Coghlan
Annalise Murphy
Bernard Dunne
Stephen Roche

BTW I'm not from Dublin.I just hate these "aren't people from such a place great" type of threads which appear every now and then and often Cork is the subject of these threads.

awec

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

Paul McGrath
John Giles
Frank Stapleton
Ronnie Whelan
Damien Duff
Niall Quinn
Jim Stynes
Eoin Morgan
Brian O'Driscoll
Michael Carruth (one of the very few irish boxers to win a gold medal at the Olympics despite our supposed brilliance at amateur boxing)
Steve Collins
Eamonn Coghlan
Annalise Murphy
Bernard Dunne

BTW I'm not from Dublin.I just hate these "aren't people from such a place great" type of threads which appear every now and then and often Cork is the subject of these threads.

I think the point is that Best, McIlroy, Frampton, McCoy etc are or were among the very best of their sports, if not the best.

Not really the case for Harrington, Duff, Wheelan, Giles and the likes.

Dirty Dingus McGee

awec wrote: »

I think the point is that Best, McIlroy, Frampton, McCoy etc are or were among the very best of their sports, if not the best.

Not really the case for Harrington, Duff, Wheelan, Giles and the likes.

Harrington won 3 majors in 15 months.He was the best player in golf for around 2 years he won PGA player of the year in 2008 and European Tour Player of the year in 2007 and 2008.


Giles is considered one the great midfielders of his era.Duff was one of the best wingers in Europe for 2 or 3 years.Ronnie Whelan won a European cup and was on one of Europe's best teams for years.

Although Best and McIlroy are all time greats in their sport I doubt Frampton will end up in that company.

radharc

awec wrote: »

I think the point is that Best, McIlroy, Frampton, McCoy etc are or were among the very best of their sports, if not the best.

Not really the case for Harrington, Duff, Wheelan, Giles and the likes.

Eh fair enough about Duff and Whelan, but Giles and Harrington certainly qualify as all time greats.

fullstop

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

Harrington won 3 majors in 15 months.He was the best player in golf for around 2 years he won PGA player of the year in 2008 and European Tour Player of the year in 2007 and 2008.


Giles is considered one the great midfielders of his era.Duff was one of the best wingers in Europe for 2 or 3 years.Ronnie Whelan won a European cup and was on one of Europe's best teams for years.

Although Best and McIlroy are all time greats in their sport I doubt Frampton will end up in that company.

Harrington was never the best in the world, and he's my favourite player so I'm not just saying that. He never got above world number 3, even in that great run. McIlroy is a phenomenon and when he's on nobody will beat him, he has also been world number 1 for a decent period of time.

Others on your list, such as Bernard Dunne have no place there. 'World champion' he may have been but he was never near the best in the world.

Dirty Dingus McGee

fullstop wrote: »

Harrington was never the best in the world, and he's my favourite player so I'm not just saying that. He never got above world number 3, even in that great run. McIlroy is a phenomenon and when he's on nobody will beat him, he has also been world number 1 for a decent period of time.

Others on your list, such as Bernard Dunne have no place there. 'World champion' he may have been but he was never near the best in the world.

Major wins in golf are much more important than the world rankings.Phil Mickelson has never been world number and he's an all time great.Harrington was the best golfer in the world for about 18 months the rankings in golf are largely unimportant.

fullstop

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

Major wins in golf are much more important than the world rankings.Phil Mickelson has never been world number and he's an all time great.Harrington was the best golfer in the world for about 18 months the rankings in golf are largely unimportant.

He was the best in the majors over that period, no doubt about that, but he didn't win outside of that and after the collapse in the 09 Bridgestone against Tiger he was never the same player again. Tiger was also out injured for the 2 victories in 2008 after going 1, 2, 1 in his previous 3 majors. This doesn't take away from PHs achievement but worth bearing in mind when saying he was the best in the world.

Edit; majors are also loaded with regards world ranking points, which is what got PH to number 3 briefly, behind Tiger and Mickelson.

Avatar MIA

fullstop wrote: »

Tiger was also out injured for the 2 victories in 2008 after going 1, 2, 1 in his previous 3 majors.

Similarly lucky for McIlroy Tiger imploded when he did.

Dirty Dingus McGee

fullstop wrote: »

He was the best in the majors over that period, no doubt about that, but he didn't win outside of that and after the collapse in the 09 Bridgestone against Tiger he was never the same player again. Tiger was also out injured for the 2 victories in 2008 after going 1, 2, 1 in his previous 3 majors. This doesn't take away from PHs achievement but worth bearing in mind when saying he was the best in the world.

Edit; majors are also loaded with regards world ranking points, which is what got PH to number 3 briefly, behind Tiger and Mickelson.

Lucky for everyone Jack Nicklaus got old.

For 18 months he was the best in the world.He won the most majors of anyone between 2007 and 2008.

Lee Westwood and Luke Donald both got to world number 1 yet they can never rightfully claim to be the best at any time during their career because they never won a major.

Ask any golfer which they would prefer world number 1 or a major.Harrington won more majors than anyone else across those 2 years.