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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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callaway92

Haha ah Jesus - getting some laugh off this thread with people trying to not agree that the obvious (and its genuinely obvious) answer here is Conor McGregor.

The denying that MMA is a sport thing is beyond embarrassing. Step away from your computer/phone for God’s sake and have a look at what you’re writing.

Rows Grower

feargale wrote: »

the patriot of Saipan? No thanks. Mick McCarthy deserves better, and although born in England has a better claim to be called Irish.

Yanks don't qualify.

I'll take that. He never spurned a green jersey.

Also Delaney (Ronnie, not John), Katie Taylor, George Best, not forgetting one who deserves to be but ain't, Henry Shefflin.[/QUOTE]

LOL.

Jimbob1977

Ireland

World Champions in 1994

Quidditch

Gonad

McGregor by a distance .

Don’t think Eamon Coughlan ever had bus loads of Asians pulling up with cameras outside his gym.

shamrock55

Let's just be honest and admit we don't have any globally known sports people

feargale

pleas advice wrote: »

I'd have Roy Keane at the top,

the patriot of Saipan? No thanks. Mick McCarthy deserves better, and although born in England has a better claim to be called Irish.

pleas advice wrote: »

followed by Rory McIlroy

Yanks don't qualify.

pleas advice wrote: »

and Brian O'Driscoll,

I'll take that. He never spurned a green jersey.

Also Delaney (Ronnie, not John), Katie Taylor, George Best, not forgetting one who deserves to be but ain't, Henry Shefflin.

Church on Tuesday

I don't know about famous but for me, in men's sports, it is the great Paul McGrath.

Aston Villa fans refer to this man simply as 'God'.

A hugely likable individual who has battled his demons down through the years which only makes him more relatable and a humble man too.

To perform at the highest level whilst battling alcoholism is nothing short of remarkable.

In women's sports it is Katie Taylor. A great role model for young girls the world over and another unassuming credible ambassador for Ireland.

Beechwoodspark

BENDYBINN wrote: »

Eamon Coughlan.
He was a superstar in America in the 80s
King of the boards they called him!

Yep. Coughlan at his peak was something similar to McG now for his time in America at least

BENDYBINN

Eamon Coughlan.
He was a superstar in America in the 80s
King of the boards they called him!

feargale

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Three most famous by a long distance are
(ii) McIlroy

- not an Irish sportsperson as he has made abundantly clear. I couldn't give a f--k if he landed every shot in a dungheap

Tombo2001 wrote: »

(iii) Eoin Morgan.

Most famous English sportsperson, maybe. I wouldn't know.

Tombo2001 wrote: »

(i) McGregor.

- God help us.

Richard Hillman

The Cricket Forum may be getting a lot of traffic after so many people googled Eoin Morgan :pac:

You'll be hearing a lot about him this summer where he leads his England side to a potential world Cup win.

feargale

padd b1975 wrote: »

Cricket's version of Declan Rice.

At least, unlike Eoin Morgan, Declan Rice was born in England.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

salmocab wrote: »

Think your the only one that’s bringing America into it really. The likes of MC Gregor and McIroy are famous all over Mc Gregor in particular but as people pointed out earlier Eoin Morgan would be very well known in some very big countries with colossal populations and relatively unknown here.

People keep using American parades and tv shows as references for McGregor's fame. I'm not the one who brought that up.

I actually agree that it is McGregor today, but some people are underestimating the fame of the two Keanes in my opinion.

Also, every Indian I have met knows Irish cricket players like Morgan and Murtagh.

Annd9

How is this even a discussion , unfortunately MCGregor is by far the most famous Irish sports star , probably of all time actually .

I was trekking along the Amazon for 3 weeks and most locals that found out I was Irish (translation by my guide ) mentioned him , U2 or Guinness . Although a few didn't even know what Ireland was in fairness.
Brazil is probably a bad example as they are so big into MMA but tribes in the middle of the Jungle knew him .
People are obviously forgetting about the Mayweather fight ,that put him on a different level of fame and worse still, he got even more annoying .

Beechwoodspark

Just on jockeys Ruby Walsh is very famous in this country also.

[Deleted User]

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Conor McGregor without a doubt - he's our only ever real global sport superstar.

You may not like it or swear blind it should be Eamon Coughlan or Johnny Giles, but you're wrong - it's Conor, prick and all that he is!

I think he’s more infamous than famous. Most people would know him for his brushes with the law, his tattoos and his OTT dress sense. https://www.google.com/search?q=conor+mcgregor+at+the+races&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiDrIjV5KLhAhWoVhUIHYNCDsIQ2-cCegQIABAC&oq=conor+mcgregor+at+the+races&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-img.3..0.65854.69725..70800...0.0..0.62.631.13......0....1.........0i67j0i30j0i24.ap73wHfklHA&ei=x6qbXMOsHKit1fAPg4W5kAw&bih=651&biw=1024&prmd=niv&rlz=1C9BKJA_enIE744IE744&hl=en-GB#imgrc=XMaFmOy8I0sXqM

Stephen Roche, AP McCoy or Roy Keene would be my top 3.

BIGT4464

Sean Kelly

xckjoo

salmocab wrote: »

Well my personal opinion of him is pretty low, I don’t like the fella and could do without hearing about him in the news and everywhere on social media so if that was translate into reality nobody would know him. The fact remains he is extremely well known and I don’t see how people think he’s not as famous as Roy Keane and Sean Kelly. I wish it were different but sadly it’s not.

I was agreeing with you in the last post if that wasn't obvious

Agree with you here too. Have no gra for the guy but he's undoubtedly extremely famous.

The Tetrarch

Two of the most famous Irish sports people mentioned several times are famous for their bad behaviour.

salmocab

xckjoo wrote: »

The amount of people that think their personal opinion on someone/something should translate to how the world sees it is astounding.

Well my personal opinion of him is pretty low, I don’t like the fella and could do without hearing about him in the news and everywhere on social media so if that was translate into reality nobody would know him. The fact remains he is extremely well known and I don’t see how people think he’s not as famous as Roy Keane and Sean Kelly. I wish it were different but sadly it’s not.

Cienciano

Stephen Roche was as famous or even more so than Sean Kelly back in the day.

But McGregor is more famous now imho. Same with McIlroy. All knobends except for Sean Kelly too.

xckjoo

salmocab wrote: »

He is that famous, all over places like Russia and Brazil. We may not like him but that doesn’t diminish his fame.

The amount of people that think their personal opinion on someone/something should translate to how the world sees it is astounding.

salmocab

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Well, if McG is as famous as our tracksuited friends are letting on things are worse than I had imagined, and something must be done immediately..
This dude is what people think of when they think of Ireland?
That is appalling..

He is that famous, all over places like Russia and Brazil. We may not like him but that doesn’t diminish his fame.

[Deleted User]

Well, if McG is as famous as our tracksuited friends are letting on things are worse than I had imagined, and something must be done immediately..
This dude is what people think of when they think of Ireland?
That is appalling..

Woke Hogan

McGregor is very famous here and in the States but the US is less than 5% of the world population. Roy Keane would have been world famous, bar the US, during his pomp and opted not to sustain his fame by never getting accused of raping anyone. My vote is for Keane.

[Deleted User]

begbysback wrote: »

Your 8 yr old, mother and nan all know you, this then means your are more famous than Tyson, Neymar and Mcgregor.

Legend

Yep, and I know your mother too and she certainly is a legend.

salmocab

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

In relation to Robbie Keane, back in 2013 and 2014, he was the only Irish sportsperson people in Asia and South America wanted to talk about. Again, we can't judge global fame by what Americans think.

Think your the only one that’s bringing America into it really. The likes of MC Gregor and McIroy are famous all over Mc Gregor in particular but as people pointed out earlier Eoin Morgan would be very well known in some very big countries with colossal populations and relatively unknown here.

The_Kew_Tour

If your going by fame then Sean Kelly has be up there.

Was not a Sports person in Europe who did not know who he was in 80s and early 90s

Rubberchikken

christy ring.

begbysback

Omackeral wrote: »

I think potentially another way to gauge someone's fame is asking different generations. Would your parents know who someone is, that you know? Would your grandparents? Would a 10 year old?

If it goes across generations, it's a good clue. My 8 year old nephew would know who Conor McGregor is. So would my mother. I think my grandmother probably would too. Not many other sports stars would tick all those boxes.

My nan and mother would know Mike Tyson but the child wouldn't. The child and myself would know Neymar but my grandmother wouldn't.

Your 8 yr old, mother and nan all know you, this then means your are more famous than Tyson, Neymar and Mcgregor.

Legend