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Who is/was Ireland's most famous sports star?

pleas advice

Inspired by another thread here, who do you think would make the list?

I'd have Roy Keane at the top, followed by Rory McIlroy and Brian O'Driscoll, who else would make the top 5?

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is_that_so

fatknacker wrote: »

It should be Katie Taylor

Yep or Sonia O'Sullivan

RocketRaccoon

Just recently McGregor has:

Lead the Chicago paddys day parade
Appeared on Jimmy Fallon
Gave pre game speech in the locker room of the Boston bruins
Did similar with the dallas cowboys
Was a guest of Putin at the World Cup in Russia
Been parodied on SNL

When another Irish sports person gets that kind of attention then they can claim to be as famous as him.

begbysback

beertons wrote: »

Who's he?

The late Dermot’s brother

brevity

It’s MacGregor.

People might not like it and that’s fine but MacGregor is absolutely huge.

Rows Grower

R.F. wrote: »

Hands up who had to google Eoin Morgan

I didn't bother me arse but I'd say Roy Keane's dog was more famous.

RocketRaccoon

is_that_so wrote: »

Yep or Sonia O'Sullivan

Sonia O'Sullivan would barely be known in Ireland anymore, let alone worldwide.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

Just recently McGregor has:

Lead the Chicago paddys day parade
Appeared on Jimmy Fallon
Gave pre game speech in the locker room of the Boston bruins
Did similar with the dallas cowboys
Was a guest of Putin at the World Cup in Russia
Been parodied on SNL

When another Irish sports person gets that kind of attention then they can claim to be as famous as him.

He's also been on Conan a number of times. That shows the level of fame he is at. The only other Irish people ever on those shows would be the handful of super famous Irish actors or Bono.

padd b1975

beertons wrote: »

Who's he?

Cricket's version of Declan Rice.

Rows Grower

is_that_so wrote: »

Yep or Sonia O'Sullivan

Jack Doyle was from Cobh too and known all over the world back in the day.

RocketRaccoon

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

He's also been on Conan a number of times. That shows the level of fame he is at. The only other Irish people ever on those shows would be the handful of super famous Irish actors or Bono.

But people say he's not famous, just imagine Roy Keane being asked to be on Conan and Fallon.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

begbysback wrote: »

The late Dermot’s brother

Maybe it's his son? Heard he's really good at Texas Holdem.

R.F.

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

I think on an online forum like this someone like McGregor would always top the poll but I don’t believe the result would be the same if you took the poll offline.

McGregor’s fanbase would be more likely to be online all day. The type who play computer games, when not watching xxx-rated material, in dark rooms all day and of questionable hygiene standards.

I’m sure this opinion will lead to an angry response from the cage fighter’s fanatics but what else would you expect?

I think this gentleman is looking for a reaction

Mantis Toboggan

Yeah I'd say it's definitely McIlroy and probably McGregor because of all the controversies. Followed by Roy/Robbie Keane, Padraig Harrington.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

But people say he's not famous, just imagine Roy Keane being asked to be on Conan and Fallon.

Or Katie Taylor.

Many people just don't want to accept that he's by far Ireland's biggest superstar alive right now. His Tweet yesterday got over 300k likes, nobody even comes close to that.

is_that_so

Rows Grower wrote: »

Jack Doyle was from Cobh too and known all over the world back in the day.

Yep, as were Delaney, Roche, Kelly and Jonah Barrington.

xckjoo

Rows Grower wrote: »

Sorry Tom, I've never asked a Brazilian if they knew George Best.

I have and they haven't. We figured it was because he played for Northern Ireland internationally and I don't think they made any World Cups when he was playing.

EmmetSpiceland

R.F. wrote: »

I think this gentleman is looking for a reaction

Not at all, although having a different view of this character does seem unacceptable to lads on here.

I just don’t think the opinions expressed in here would accurately represent society at large.

is_that_so

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

He's also been on Conan a number of times. That shows the level of fame he is at. The only other Irish people ever on those shows would be the handful of super famous Irish actors or Bono.

Talk shows have a merry go round of guests. Let's see how many will be looking for him in say, two years. Bono, whether you like it or not will get on till he meets his maker.

citytillidie

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

No way a cricket player is the third most known Irish celebrity, especially one that doesn't play for Ireland. Zimbabwe are in the top 10 of cricket, that's worse than rugby for global audience! Think it's only popular in pockets of England and its former colonies really (bar India where it is legitimately big).

Sheamus in the WWE would be more well known.

Becky Lynch at the moment

You have to factor in Cricket is the most popular sport in India and the Asia sub continent, so a lot more people will know Eoin Morgan since he has played in the Indian Cricket Super League

Amirani

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

No way a cricket player is the third most known Irish celebrity, especially one that doesn't play for Ireland. Zimbabwe are in the top 10 of cricket, that's worse than rugby for global audience! Think it's only popular in pockets of England and its former colonies really (bar India where it is legitimately big).

Your knowledge of demography seems a bit lacking here.

You know England and those "former colonies" make up about a third of the World population? Cricket is the biggest sport in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, with are about 1.8 billion people. That's before you even start looking at South Africa, Australia and England itself.

That's a far bigger support base than rugby for global audience...

ctrl-alt-delete

Just in relation to World coverage for Mcgregor, he recently paraded around Chicago and Boston for St. Patrick's day.

As a result he was on the local Boston TV station I was watching over there, the day before due to his Boston Bruins appearance, and coverage of him at the parade - mentioning that he could not finish the route for security reasons (fans spilling into the street).

I live in the UK, they broke the story of his retirement on BBC breakfast - not really a show aimed at his perceived fan base. Maybe they were breaking it for those who don't like him :pac:

Whether you like it or not he has global coverage and appeal.

MarkY91

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Three most famous by a long distance are
(i) McGregor
(ii) McIlroy
(iii) Eoin Morgan.

No-one else comes close to these.

Yes. No-one else comes close to a cricket player that most people here(including myself) had to Google.

Far more famous than Seamus, both Keane's, Katie Taylor and padraig Harrington lol

Harry Palmr

Eoin Morgan is an interesting shout given the size of India's population - the one day game is massive over there

RocketRaccoon

MarkY91 wrote: »

Yes. No-one else comes close to a cricket player that most people here(including myself) had to Google.

Far more famous than Seamus, both Keane's, Katie Taylor and padraig Harrington lol

WORLDWIDE, not this tiny little island.

begbysback

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

Or Katie Taylor.

Many people just don't want to accept that he's by far Ireland's biggest superstar alive right now. His Tweet yesterday got over 300k likes, nobody even comes close to that.

Just goes to show what fame actually means, 300k likes, I actually think Conor is pretty shrewd, he has made millions using his mouth - but all he has to talk about on Twitter is whiskey, retiring and thin veiled excuses & apologies.

neris

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Eoin Morgan is an interesting shout given the size of India's population - the one day game is massive over there

but the average Apu on the streets on Mumbai would probably think hes British/English as thats who hes played most high profile for

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

is_that_so wrote: »

Talk shows have a merry go round of guests. Let's see how many will be looking for him in say, two years. Bono, whether you like it or not will get on till he meets his maker.

Sure, but in the context of this thread that doesn't really matter. The simple fact is no other Irish sportsperson would even be considered for those shows.

Most sports stars have a shelf life, so many can become irrelevant within two years. But he's positioned himself to be around long into the future. 7.5 million followers and your own Whiskey brand goes far beyond that of a regular sports star.

Ri_Nollaig

Its Conor Mcgregor, so far ahead of any of the rest its not even funny.

Love or hate him its true ...unfortunately.

Amirani

neris wrote: »

but the average Apu on the streets on Mumbai would probably think hes British/English as thats who hes played most high profile for

Correct. But he's still up there in terms of most famous Irish sportspeople.

If you're going to use that argument then you surely can't really be included McIlroy either. Sure tonnes of people in the US (and elsewhere) think that Ireland is part of the UK anyway.

Rows Grower

xckjoo wrote: »

I have and they haven't. We figured it was because he played for Northern Ireland internationally and I don't think they made any World Cups when he was playing.

There is one Brazilian at least who heard of him, a chap named Pele considered George Best to be the greatest football player in the world.