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

salmocab · 28-03-2019 03:14PM

odyssey06 wrote: »

If it was being played there on a competitive organised basis then I'd think some sort of governing body would be needed. Especially if the organisation governing sport in the country as a whole had publicly expressed concerns about the safety of participants and actively did not recognise it as a sport.

So if hurling was set up in France but their government didn’t recognize it as a sport then hurling is no longer a sport.

xckjoo · 28-03-2019 03:14PM

Ush1 wrote: »

Exactly, so it backs up the point that people who do pro wrestling are more than capable of competing in other sports.

I'd argue that they are athletes rather than sports stars. To me a sport would need the competitive aspect. The predetermined aspect of Pro wrestling pushes it into the "entertainment" side of things.

xckjoo · 28-03-2019 03:20PM

Knex. wrote: »

And GAA is not a sport, its an association. But we all know saying that is pedantic nonsense.

You'd get some quare looks if you said you were going playing GAA though

odyssey06 wrote: »

No. Under that definition bare knuckle boxing is a sport.

You disagree with the how the Oxford dictionary defines things? You're not lacking in self belief anyway. I'll give you that much.

LollipopJimmy · 28-03-2019 03:21PM

odyssey06 wrote: »

Boxing is recognised by sport Ireland and the Olympics because it's competitive but also meets certain standards in terms of the welfare of participants.
My understanding is that MMA at present doesn't meet those standards and so isn't recognised.

What criteria do you use for something to be deemed a sport?

Just on the Sport Ireland thing, SafeMMA needed to have three years worth of financials to get recognition, that three years is almost up since SafeMMA's inception

eagle eye · 28-03-2019 03:21PM

xckjoo wrote:

I'd argue that they are athletes rather than sports stars. To me a sport would need the competitive aspect. The predetermined aspect of Pro wrestling pushes it into the "entertainment" side of things.

Yes it's just like a circus, you have high flying acrobats and clown acts.

Ush1 · 28-03-2019 03:23PM

xckjoo wrote: »

I'd argue that they are athletes rather than sports stars. To me a sport would need the competitive aspect. The predetermined aspect of Pro wrestling pushes it into the "entertainment" side of things.

Agree, I wouldn't call them sports stars either. Sure look at CM Punk when he tried a real competitive sport!

Naos · 28-03-2019 03:23PM

odyssey06 wrote: »

No. Under that definition bare knuckle boxing is a sport. Actually so is Irish dancing.

Okay, so for the 4th time - what criteria would you use?

odyssey06 · 28-03-2019 03:23PM

salmocab wrote: »

So if hurling was set up in France but their government didn’t recognize it as a sport then hurling is no longer a sport.

It's certainly open to debate as to whether it's considered a sport if Sport France or whatever look at it and decide we're not recognising it as a sport due to concerns about player welfare - and the sport even after several years cannot address those concerns.

super_furry · 28-03-2019 03:23PM

If we're talking worldwide internationally famous, it's Conor McGregor. Rory McIlroy is probably second.

odyssey06 · 28-03-2019 03:23PM

Naos wrote: »

Okay, so for the 4th time - what criteria would you use?

I'll go with whatever criteria Sport Ireland are using. Or the Olympics.

partyguinness · 28-03-2019 03:24PM

Is darts a sport?

odyssey06 · 28-03-2019 03:26PM

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Just on the Sport Ireland thing, SafeMMA needed to have three years worth of financials to get recognition, that three years is almost up since SafeMMA's inception

Thanks - as I have said in the thread, I'm not saying MMA will never be recognised as a sport or criticised any of its fans or participants. In a few years time if you asked me this question again, my answer could be different. I'm just being very specific about its current state of play.

partyguinness · 28-03-2019 03:29PM

Jaysus.

I have to laugh sometimes (not in a bad way)- a fairly harmless thread about famous Irish sports persons has fallen down due to a disagreement over the definition of 'sport'.

salmocab · 28-03-2019 03:30PM

odyssey06 wrote: »

It's certainly open to debate as to whether it's considered a sport if Sport France or whatever look at it and decide we're not recognising it as a sport due to concerns about player welfare - and the sport even after several years cannot address those concerns.

No something doesn’t cease to be a sport because the French government say so, it’s a definition not something that has to be recognized by every government on the planet.

RollieFingers · 28-03-2019 03:32PM

partyguinness wrote: »

Is darts a sport?

I'd say it's a game rather than a sport, which isn't knocking it, love the darts. But wouldn't consider it a sport.

Cienciano · 28-03-2019 03:35PM

RollieFingers wrote: »

I'd say it's a game rather than a sport, which isn't knocking it, love the darts. But wouldn't consider it a sport.

If you can play it with a pint in your hand while smoking a cigarette, it's not a sport. That's the official sports council of Irelands definition.

xckjoo · 28-03-2019 03:36PM

odyssey06 wrote: »

It's certainly open to debate as to whether it's considered a sport if Sport France or whatever look at it and decide we're not recognising it as a sport due to concerns about player welfare - and the sport even after several years cannot address those concerns.

I'm starting to think you're not serious when you say things like this. Have you not heard of all the controversy about CTE/head injuries in American Football and even soccer? How does that factor into your personal views on what's classified as a sport? Is it literally just if there's an official body it's a sport?

partyguinness · 28-03-2019 03:36PM

Cienciano wrote: »

If you can play it with a pint in your hand while smoking a cigarette, it's not a sport. That's the official sports council of Irelands definition.

What about a cigarette in the mouth..a la Alex Higgins circa 1980. Is snooker a sport?

Naos · 28-03-2019 03:37PM

odyssey06 wrote: »

I'll go with whatever criteria Sport Ireland are using. Or the Olympics.

Fair enough.

From Sport Irelands 'Criteria for Recognition':

The sport meets the criteria for sport as outlined in the Sport Ireland Act 2015, which is adopted from the Council of Europe "Definition of Sport".

PT.1 S.2 [No. 15.] Sport Ireland Act 2015

“Competitive sport” means all forms of physical activity which, through organised participation, aim at—
(a) expressing or improving physical fitness, and
(b) obtaining improved results in competition at all levels

and

Council of Europe (2001). The Europmean sports charter(revised). Brussels: Council of Europe

Sport" means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels.

Jerichoholic · 28-03-2019 03:37PM

xckjoo wrote: »

I'm starting to think you're not serious when you say things like this. Have you not heard of all the controversy about CTE/head injuries in American Football and even soccer? How does that factor into your personal views on what's classified as a sport? Is it literally just if there's an official body it's a sport?

Boxing is infinitely more dangerous.

Cienciano · 28-03-2019 03:39PM

partyguinness wrote: »

What about a cigarette in the mouth..a la Alex Higgins circa 1980. Is snooker a sport?

While I like snooker and darts, they're as much as a sport as Jenga is.

RollieFingers · 28-03-2019 03:40PM

Cienciano wrote: »

If you can play it with a pint in your hand while smoking a cigarette, it's not a sport. That's the official sports council of Irelands definition.

Darts is a pub sport

Mrsmum · 28-03-2019 03:40PM

Would everyone who has heard of Rory McIlroy connect him to Ireland though or would a lot of people from the group that know him consider him British ??

Whereas everyone that knows of Conor McGregor knows he's Irish.

tritriagain · 28-03-2019 03:43PM

partyguinness wrote: »

Jaysus.

I have to laugh sometimes (not in a bad way)- a fairly harmless thread about famous Irish sports persons has fallen down due to a disagreement over the definition of 'sport'.

Gone to the stage now where boards is becoming a joke. Thread starts. Smart ass first to arrive, then the experts and then the ones who want to keep going around in circles. There was a time when threads were civil and only people genuinely interested would get involved.

flos1964 · 28-03-2019 03:55PM

NOT sure about most famous but certainly the greatest...Arkle ...they had to rewrite the rule book to keep up with him.

partyguinness · 28-03-2019 04:00PM

I suppose taking all things into consideration such as popularity of the sport (worldwide appeal) and different generations I tend to lean toward Roy Keane.

For example kids in Africa or South America are football mad and following the EPL. I can't say the same for golf or MME.

Marengo · 28-03-2019 04:05PM

tritriagain wrote: »

Gone to the stage now where boards is becoming a joke. Thread starts. Smart ass first to arrive, then the experts and then the ones who want to keep going around in circles. There was a time when threads were civil and only people genuinely interested would get involved.

Exactly. Threads like this are a complete bore. Those who keep going around in circles amaze me. Surely there's something more productive you can do with your time than spend hours on an argument you can't win with some unknown person as stubborn as you.

Brexit threads etc are really interesting I find.

friendlyfun · 28-03-2019 04:10PM

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

UFC is popular amongst two main elements - criminals, and relatively young men with anger issues. There’s billions of people on this planet who have never heard of it, never watched one of those boring cage fights, or ever had the displeasure of seeing that gurning moron, McGregor.

What a load of awful bollocks. I did martial arts for years, all of my friends watched UFC not a single one had "anger issues" in fact they were the opposite.

I really hate these broad,inane comments, but then I realise this is boards.ie and most opinions here are bat**** stupid.

evil_seed · 28-03-2019 04:13PM

The question is too broad to give a valid opinion. You have to account for nationally vs internationally also, not just past vs present.

odyssey06 · 28-03-2019 04:15PM

xckjoo wrote: »

I'm starting to think you're not serious when you say things like this. Have you not heard of all the controversy about CTE/head injuries in American Football and even soccer? How does that factor into your personal views on what's classified as a sport? Is it literally just if there's an official body it's a sport?

There's no official body recognition *because* of the dangers to participants - of an order that is far beyond anything in american football or soccer currently. To meet the criteria of safety any governing body would have to modify it. So currently it is not a sport.
It's more like what American Football went through 100 years ago when the US government intervened in because of the number of injuries and deaths and the game itself seemed incapable of making it safer for participants.

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

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