Why is there ever a debate about who was the best Irish Sports person ever? *READ OP*

Feisar

Oranage2 wrote: »

It's definitely McGregor, he's taken over Keane and Harrington as our most famous sport star, he's also our richest sportsman. Northern Irish people who identify as British aren't Irish to me.

In 10 years his Twitter crap and thuggery will be forgotten and he'll be recognized as our greatest Worldwide without a doubt.

He's 10 and 2 in the UFC, most famous/richest is not necessarily congruent with best. In terms of being a prize fighter he's obviously a massive success. However when we get all misty eyed and talk about people in the running for GOAT he's a flash in the pan.

partyguinness

Oranage2 wrote: »

It's definitely McGregor, he's taken over Keane and Harrington as our most famous sport star, he's also our richest sportsman. Northern Irish people who identify as British aren't Irish to me.

In 10 years his Twitter crap and thuggery will be forgotten and he'll be recognized as our greatest Worldwide without a doubt.

This is not a debate about who is the most famous.

partyguinness

Okay so let's look a NON-EXHAUSTIVE list of candidates:

Football
Giles
Brady
McGrath
Keane (why not both Robbie and Roy)
Best

Athletics
Sonia O'Sullivan
Ronnie Delaney
Pat O'Callaghan
Eamonn Coughlan
John Tracey
Olive Loughnane
Derval O'Rourke
Bob Tisdall

Boxing
Katie Taylor
Wayne McCullogh
Steve Collins
McGuigan
Sam Storey

Cycling
Sean Kelly
Stephen Roche

Swimming
Michelle Smith

Snooker
Ken Doherty
Taylor
Higgins

Golf
Harrington
McIllroy
McDowell

The Tetrarch

My choices
Football: Liam Brady
Athletics: Ray Flynn
Boxing: no opinion
Cycling: Sean Kelly
Swimming: no opinion
Snooker: Ken Doherty
Golf: Padraig Harrington

My overall choice is Sean Kelly.

Feisar

partyguinness wrote: »

Okay so let's look a NON-EXHAUSTIVE list of candidates:

Football
Giles
Brady
McGrath
Keane (why not both Robbie and Roy)
Best

Athletics
Sonia O'Sullivan
Ronnie Delaney
Pat O'Callaghan
Eamonn Coughlan
John Tracey
Olive Loughnane
Derval O'Rourke
Bob Tisdall

Boxing
Katie Taylor
Wayne McCullogh
Steve Collins
McGuigan
Sam Storey

Cycling
Sean Kelly
Stephen Roche

Swimming
Michelle Smith

Snooker
Ken Doherty
Taylor
Higgins

Golf
Harrington
McIllroy
McDowell

We now need a weighting system that balances:

team/individual sport
elite level participation numbers
achievements

Kilboor

partyguinness wrote: »

Okay so let's look a NON-EXHAUSTIVE list of candidates:

Football
Giles
Brady
McGrath
Keane (why not both Robbie and Roy)
Best

Athletics
Sonia O'Sullivan
Ronnie Delaney
Pat O'Callaghan
Eamonn Coughlan
John Tracey
Olive Loughnane
Derval O'Rourke
Bob Tisdall

Boxing
Katie Taylor
Wayne McCullogh
Steve Collins
McGuigan
Sam Storey

Cycling
Sean Kelly
Stephen Roche

Swimming
Michelle Smith

Snooker
Ken Doherty
Taylor
Higgins

Golf
Harrington
McIllroy
McDowell

I'd include Andy Lee in the Boxing too

Water John

Plasandrunt wrote: »

Sorry

It's Sir Anthony McCoy

The Champ.

The sport will never see his likes again.

If you're Irish you do not use the title 'Sir'

Randy Archer

Fr D Maugire wrote: »

I think if you narrow it to one day races, then Kelly would be Top 5 ever, Merckx, Van Looy and then a toss up between De Vlaeminck, Gilbert and Kelly.

Would Sonia be top 5 female distance runner ever?, Diababa, Defar, Cheruyiot, Tulu, Szabo have more medals at Olympic/World level, then do you include champions at 800/1500m? How would you define distance running? 800m up to Marathon or only distances Sonia competed at?

One thing I didnt realise was how late female distance running was added to the olympics, was only in the 80s that the 3k, 10k and Marathon were added. First Worlds were only in 1983 and ever 4 years for the first 3 editions. Hard to define top female distance runners before then when there was so few opportunities for them. Gives an advantage to Sonia in being ranked high as there was so little history before her era.

Sonia competed at 1,500 ,3000, 5000 to 10,000 m

Here era started around 1991

Szabo , the Romanian .lol. Wasn’t she caught with drugs ?

Bobblehats

That’s a long list of remarkably irish names in the main.

For now...

Dr Bob

jaykay74 wrote: »

George Best

Well he was a superstar , but apparently he 'looks like a woman and he wears a bra.'
I am basing this off something I heard in the schoolyard 30 odd years ago , so it may be incorrect.

Tell me how

partyguinness wrote: »

Okay so let's look a NON-EXHAUSTIVE list of candidates:

Football
Giles
Brady
McGrath
Keane (why not both Robbie and Roy)
Best

Athletics
Sonia O'Sullivan
Ronnie Delaney
Pat O'Callaghan
Eamonn Coughlan
John Tracey
Olive Loughnane
Derval O'Rourke
Bob Tisdall

Boxing
Katie Taylor
Wayne McCullogh
Steve Collins
McGuigan
Sam Storey

Cycling
Sean Kelly
Stephen Roche

Swimming
Michelle Smith

Snooker
Ken Doherty
Taylor
Higgins

Golf
Harrington
McIllroy
McDowell

Rugby and GAA fans are somewhat bemused.

partyguinness

Tell me how wrote: »

Rugby and GAA fans are somewhat bemused.

Perhaps that is because they do not understand the meaning of NON-EXHAUSTIVE.

Morrison J

Kilboor wrote: »

I'd include Andy Lee in the Boxing too

And Jimmy McLarnin. Quite comfortably the greatest Irish boxer of all time.

Carl Frampton will have the chance to become our first three weight world champion this year too. Should definitely make any shortlist. Easily the best of of this era.

Randy Archer

afro man wrote: »

Belfast is on the island of ireland.. Under British control but for me anybody born in six counties is irish whether they like it it not..

No one cares what you think. Objectively and in the eyes of the rest of the world, Belfast is British, baby

Randy Archer

castletownman wrote: »

I would discredit O'Driscoll and O'Connell entirely because as captains, and the apparent reverance that holds in rugby, they have a black mark over them for Ireland's constant under-performance at the World Cup.

If they were as great leaders as they are claimed to be, they would have summoned a big knock-out win out of somewhere. In fact, Roy Keane's performances in the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup trumps anything BOD and POC did for Ireland in terms of performing on the grand stage.

Greats in their sport, but not among Ireland's best ever. In my opinion, of course.

Keane allowing his mental health and booze problems get the better of him in Saipan completely destroys all his efforts in those Wc qualifiers

While I do loath the media love in on rugby , the last World Cup that “Pauli” (sigh) played in, the Irish team was ravished with injuries by the QF , him included

Randy Archer

partyguinness wrote: »

Because it is McCarthy's job to manage. Look up the definition.

Let's pretend you are in the workplace and your boss has a problem with you. Does your boss:-

a. Call you into your office and have speak to you in private, or
b. Call a meeting of the entire workforce and berate you in front of your colleagues?

I am not saying Keane was right re the interview but McCarthy had a choice to make and he made a bad choice.

He called that meeting because:

a. He didnt have the balls to do it in private.

Oh and remember Keane actually offered to go to McCarthy's room and bury the hachet in private (verified by others) and McCarthy wouldnt have it. His mind was made up Keane was out and Keane went fine "Fcuk you too". Mccarthy didnt have the balls to look Keane in the eye.

b. He wanted to make an example of Keane in front of everyone

McCarthy wanted to provoke a reaction or was incredibly stupid if he didnt see it coming. I mean really, when McCarthy called that meeting in froint of the entire squad and staff what did he expect?

Keane behaved in the exact same manner in 2004 in Portugal whole United were on pre season. So Fergie was too scared to call him out in private ?

Randy Archer

Water John wrote: »

NI and its citizens are in reality both Irish and GB. Some sports are All Ireland also. Recognise the reality.

Irish citizenship is only optional . Unionist don’t consider themselves Irish . Why should they be imposed with Irish citizenship ? You seriously misunderstand GFA

afro man

Randy Archer wrote: »

No one cares what you think. Objectively and in the eyes of the rest of the world, Belfast is British, baby

Randy

you must care with that reply check your world map / Atlas Belfast located in the little Island called Ireland

Water John

Some very staunch unionists had no problem wearing the green Ireland rugby jersey. It's a bit more nuanced than you're making it out to be.

Randy Archer

Edgware wrote: »

Christy Ring, Jimmy Doyle, Eddie Keher would wipe the eye of any of the robots of the present time. Whingers that cant do anything without getting the services of their psychologist, dietician or motivator.

That’s why I always loved John Mullane . He might come across as bit of a headbanger but he was always up for it . ‘‘Tis the Passion , Michael , the love of the game”

Randy Archer

Water John wrote: »

Some very staunch unionists had no problem wearing the green Ireland rugby jersey. It's a bit more nuanced than you're making it out to be.

IRFU were always a bit pro Unionist even if they were always Dublin based (soccer, it was originally Belfast based ). Sure they won’t Allow our anthem be sung when “away from home” nor our fleg

It’s not really the same . Sure lucozade still think that we are part of the “home nations”

There’s one brilliant game Ireland played , against Engerland in Croker . Flannery and Hayes crying rocks Amhrann an bhfiann , but when Ireland’s call came on they along with O’Gara, pure stone faced , credit to Best , sometimes you could see him hmm the real anthem

salmocab

Water John wrote: »

Some very staunch unionists had no problem wearing the green Ireland rugby jersey. It's a bit more nuanced than you're making it out to be.

I think most sports are played on an all island basis, soccer is a bit of an outlier.

EmmetSpiceland

Randy Archer wrote: »

IRFU were always a bit pro Unionist even if they were always Dublin based (soccer, it was originally Belfast based ). Sure they won’t Allow our anthem be sung when “away from home” nor our fleg

It’s not really the same . Sure lucozade still think that we are part of the “home nations”

There’s one brilliant game Ireland played , against Engerland in Croker . Flannery and Hayes crying rocks Amhrann an bhfiann , but when Ireland’s call came on they along with O’Gara, pure stone faced , credit to Best , sometimes you could see him hmm the real anthem

It’s long past the time the IRFU stop flying the tricolour and ditch the soccer anthem for “home” rugby fixtures.

Seeing the tricolour and an Ulster flag flying a little lower is a beyond a joke, at this “stage”. Just fly the flag of the IRFU as it includes the flags of every province.

Singing two “anthems” is just wasting time. Sing the one that represents the “whole island”, as that is who the team are representing.

JohnnyFlash

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

It’s long past the time the IRFU stop flying the tricolour and ditch the soccer anthem for “home” rugby fixtures.

Seeing the tricolour and an Ulster flag flying a little lower is a beyond a joke, at this “stage”. Just fly the flag of the IRFU as it includes the flags of every province.

Singing two “anthems” is just wasting time. Sing the one that represents the “whole island”, as that is who the team are representing.

It’s a terrible anthem though. Sounds like something that was written by committee.

EmmetSpiceland

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

It’s a terrible anthem though. Sounds like something that was written by committee.

No arguments here, J, but it’s not for people of your generation, or mine. I’d only sing it at “away” games, to be honest.

Tell me how

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

It’s a terrible anthem though. Sounds like something that was written by committee.

What would you rather have in its place though*

I actually quite like Ireland's Call as it ticks a few boxes.

• Short verses,
• Upbeat Tempo
• References all areas of country
• Conveys a patriotic sense and one of togetherness
• Chorus is suitable for being sung by a crowd at a sporting event.

*(An interesting but off topic conversation as if ever a UI comes about, the anthem will be changed)

Bellbottoms

It's easily Eoin Morgan. Football might be watched by millions. But cricket fans are in the billions. You might not like it. But it's true.

Tell me how

Bellbottoms wrote: »

It's easily Eoin Morgan. Football might be watched by millions. But cricket fans are in the billions. You might not like it. But it's true.

Just because something is widely play/watched, does not mean that it is either the best sport, or, that any one individual is necessarily the best sports person because they play it.

How would you compare the skill of a cricketer compared to that of a hurler on a purely basic level for example?

Feisar

Tell me how wrote: »

What would you rather have in its place though*

I actually quite like Ireland's Call as it ticks a few boxes.

• Short verses,
• Upbeat Tempo
• References all areas of country
• Conveys a patriotic sense and one of togetherness
• Chorus is suitable for being sung by a crowd at a sporting event.

*(An interesting but off topic conversation as if ever a UI comes about, the anthem will be changed)

It's as generic as could be though. Swap out Ireland for China, four provinces with 26 provinces and tall for small.

Bogwoppit

Dan Donnelly, one of the greatest boxers ever to have lived.

Check out his story and tell me how you could possibly disagree.