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

sxt wrote: »

Roy Keane

There is no other Irish person close. Who ever is second, is a distant second

He is the most influential sports person in Irish sporting History, and in British football history

Any objections?

Agree, nobody close imo for what he achieved. People who disagree just dislike him personally, simple as that

Rory McIlroy.

4 Majors and constantly bothering the number one in the world spot.

jimboblep wrote: »

Brian O'Driscoll, recognised as one, of, if not the best centres to have ever played.
Maintained high standards throughout for club and country, and held in extremely high regard internationally.
And I know the usual "rugby is only played by a few posh lads" will be incoming but the question asked was greatest sportsperson not most popular sport.

Rugby is only played by a few posh lads.

valoren wrote: »

Rory McIlroy.

4 Majors and constantly bothering the number one in the world spot.

But he's a nordie so it doesn't count.

The problem with the nordies is there is always this are they Irish,care they British ambiguity.

And McElroy is guilty of causing that confusion more than many others.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Harrington without a doubt.

First Irish (as in non nordie) to win a major.
First European to win a major in 27 attempts.
Then he goes and defends the Open championship the next year.
The first European to do that in 102 years

Then he just goes and does what no European had done in 78 years and win the PGA.

The above coupled with his numerous other tour wins makes him hands down the best.

If ROI only then yes, its Harrington. Roy Keane running box to box, winning the ball back and then passing to a creative player was, by his own admission, his game. He was great at that but Harrington possessed the same desire minus the thuggery of Keane.

Even though he peaked at the end of the 00's the idea that he'd just won three majors and looked to get even better is testament to his winning attitude. Others might have sought to maintain their swing after such success but he always strove to improve in spite of that. The crazy game drove him a bit crazy and his subsequent form suffered but if you could only bottle the guys desire and dedication to the game. That he's a genuinely nice man coupled with his achievements then hes the greatest Irish sportsman for me.

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Op is talking about sports, not games. Golf is no more a sport than Connect-4, which isn't even intended as an insult by the way. Both are very enjoyable games.

..yet theres always this comment whenever theres a sport thread in AH and golf gets mentioned. Of course it's a sport.

Sport - an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

You have to get a ball around a course which can be upwards of 7,500 yards long in as few shots as possible. That's the competition. The raw physical exertion bit is trying to accomplish this by hitting the ball a very long way. The full golf swing is a resonant athletic movement. To be remotely competitive at an elite level requires a swing speed of over 110 mph for the driver. The skill aspect is doing that movement very accurately while then having to employ finesse and deft touch when the ball is much closer to the hole. Raw power and controlled finesse in the same sport. It can be played individually or within a team per the very definition of Sport. The Ryder Cup for example is one of sports great exhibitions.

Eamon Coughlan

Mad_maxx wrote: »

George Best was as british as finchely


paul mc grath was a better player , at least for ireland

never saw him play but anyone ive spoken to , claims john giles was better than keane

Paul mc grath born in the UK.. So is he now excluded for being British

Another nordie.. Joey Dunlop

italodisco wrote: »

I hate to say it, as I can't stand him, but conor mcgregor would certainly be up there on the list

Agreed.
I am not the biggest fan of his attitude but you could go to the arse end of Mongolia and someone would have heard of the MMA fighter Conor McGregor.

AdrianBalboa wrote: »

Katie Taylor has totally dominated her sport for almost twenty years but the patriarchal mainstream media and social media sites like this one will have you believe that she isn’t as important as Roy Keane or Brian O Driscoll because she has “less competition.”

Its easy dominate your sport for 20 years when there is no competition

Has to be Anna Geary.

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

McGregor would be the most famous but saying he is the greatest is where there would be room for debate.

That’s the thing though, despite the OPs opinion it’s very much up for debate, anyone discounting someone based on the numbers involved in the sport is really saying it has to be a soccer player. Medal hauls are a decent metric but someone like Keane made a good decision to go to Man Utd over Blackburn, if he’d made a different decision his haul might have been much less but he may have been just as good a player.

I think Michelle Smith got a bit of a raw deal, she did win the medals but the controversy after overshadowed her achievement.