Someone you really admire.

Mister Vain · 08-01-2021 7:22pm

Jacinda Ardern. A terrific woman and leader.

Duke of Url · 08-01-2021 7:24pm

Elon Musk

Hyperbollix · 08-01-2021 7:25pm

Deleted User wrote: »

You make it sound like he had a learning disability.......

More a personality disorder

PARlance · 08-01-2021 7:32pm

Mary Robinson, a lot of people talk about Italia 90 as giving the nation a feel good factor. I think Mary played a huge role in the transformation of Ireland in the early 90's.

Hamachi · 08-01-2021 7:36pm

Sonia O'Sullivan.

Immensely gifted athlete from a very young age.
Moved to the US alone at 17 to take up an athletics scholarship in Villanova.
Won European, World, and Olympic medals on the track.
Recovered from the devastating psychological blow of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics to secure silver in the 5,000 meters at Sydney 2000.
Denied her rightful achievements in 1993 by drug-fueled Chinese athletes.
Allegedly denied Olympic gold in Sydney 2000 by Gabriella Szabo, whose husband and coach was later found with a car load of PEDs.
Continues to give back to Irish sport on her frequent visits to this country.

All-up, an incredible example of what Irish people are capable of achieving on the global stage with a combination of talent and determination.

trixi001 · 08-01-2021 7:37pm

Hello 2D Person Below wrote: »

A true leader.

Put her people first and not the economy.

As a result, they're now back open and getting back to normal while everyone else is suffering through another wave of mass death.

My admiration has nothing to do with Covid - many of the things she did pre covid are amazing - the way she reacted to the Christchurch attacks etc, her family friendly policies etc.

As for Covid - she had an advantage to every other leader, the remoteness of New Zealand meant few cases were on the islands when the pandemic was declared. Its a 3 hour flight to Australia, so people aren't flying in/out for a few hours for meetings etc. (although i have family in New Zealand, and they aren't so keen on the policy of keeping the borders closed, and the enormous cost of mandatory quarantine)

ILoveYourVibes · 08-01-2021 7:40pm

lavinia kerwick

https://avondhupress.ie/lavinia-kerwick-still-changing-ireland-for-the-better/

[Deleted User] · 08-01-2021 7:41pm

Michael Schumacher

[Deleted User] · 08-01-2021 7:41pm

J. R Tolkein

[Deleted User] · 08-01-2021 7:43pm

Nikki Lauda

Recovered from very serious burns in 1976 F1 crash. Very competent businessman.

Some Yoke · 08-01-2021 7:46pm

Joe Schmidt. Attention to detail, get the basics right, focus on the next task ahead not abstract ideas, personnel management, no guff or sledging others.

wiggle16 · 08-01-2021 7:49pm

Edward Jenner. And not just cos it's topical, I've always thought the man should have three of everything named after him.

ancapailldorcha · 08-01-2021 8:12pm

I'd be inclined to moot Angela Merkel as well. She enjoyed a career in Physics research before rising to the top of a male-dominated conservative party.

Riddle101 · 08-01-2021 8:22pm

Michael Collins

wiggle16 · 08-01-2021 8:25pm

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I'd be inclined to moot Angela Merkel as well. She enjoyed a career in Physics research before rising to the top of a male-dominated conservative party.

Reminds me of another: theoretical physicist Leonard Susskind. He was a plumber who went on to put himself through college and came up with string theory and the holographic principle. He's very funny too.

iamstop · 08-01-2021 8:35pm

A.O.C
Ilhan Omar
Serena Williams
My OH
Julian Assange
Edward Snowden
Chelsea Manning

Hello 2D Person Below · 08-01-2021 8:35pm

Nikola Tesla, a bona fide genius.

Many of his inventions are responsible for making the modern world go around. He was working on providing free electricity to the world and fought against the thief Thomas Edison and the wider capitalist society.

Upon his death his house was raided by the FBI and his belongings seized.

maudgonner · 08-01-2021 8:36pm

Michael Davitt - you can stick your Patrick Pearses, your Wolfe Tones, your DeValeras, even your Michael Collinses, Davitt is the historical hero for me! Overcame a horrible start in life - family evicted from their farm, had to emigrate to Lancashire where he worked in a cotton mill from age 9, and had a horrible accident aged 11. Jailed as a Fenian gunrunner but realised that peaceful means could bring about more change for the Irish than violence. The Land War worked - it reformed land ownership through (largely) peaceful agitation and changed Ireland and the lives of Irish people forever (arguably more even than the War of Independence did). Davitt travelled the world, writing about human rights violations and the hardships suffered by minority populations in South Africa, Australasia, the Pacific, Russia, North America etc. He played chess with Tolstoy and turned the sod in Celtic Park. He inspired Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

And he did it all with one hand tied behind his back

Everlong1 · 08-01-2021 8:49pm

Bono. For being the frontman of one of the best bands in rock history who put this country on the map during the '80's when the only stories coming out of Ireland were unemployment, recession and the daily slaughter in the North. Still doing it today.

And for having the courage to keep doing it despite the torrent of abuse he gets from bitter little losers the length and breath of the country.

See also: Adam Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullen Junior.

Capt. Autumn · 08-01-2021 9:06pm

Everlong1 wrote: »

Bono. For being the frontman of one of the best bands in rock history who put this country on the map during the '80's when the only stories coming out of Ireland were unemployment, recession and the daily slaughter in the North. Still doing it today.

And for having the courage to keep doing it despite the torrent of abuse he gets from bitter little losers the length and breadth of the country.

See also: Adam Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullen Junior.

The main problem people have with Bono, apart from his proclivity to pontificate is that he stayed on stage far too long. He outstayed his welcome and by now it's almost impossible to remember how vibrant and exciting U2 were in the early 80's.

Everlong1 · 08-01-2021 9:15pm

Capt. Autumn wrote: »

The main problem people have with Bono, apart from his proclivity to pontificate is that he stayed on stage far too long. He outstayed his welcome and by now it's almost impossible to remember how vibrant and exciting U2 were in the early 80's.

The hundreds of thousands who flocked to their Joshua Tree anniversary and Experience and Innocence Tours a few years ago might disagree.

AllForIt · 08-01-2021 9:27pm

I'd be inclined to moot Margaret Thatcher. She enjoyed a career in Chemistry research before studying law, then rose to the top of a male-dominated conservative party and remains there to this day.

wiggle16 · 08-01-2021 9:38pm

AllForIt wrote: »

I'd be inclined to moot Margaret Thatcher. She enjoyed a career in Chemistry research before studying law, then rose to the top of a male-dominated conservative party and remains there to this day.

I'd never say I admire her, but she was definitely a more multifaceted character than people tend to think.

Junkyard Tom · 08-01-2021 9:46pm

Nicholas Winton.

ablelocks · 08-01-2021 10:05pm

TK Whitaker - Irish Times obit

Junkyard Tom · 08-01-2021 10:06pm

theguzman wrote: »

Donald Trump, an alpha male

He's a draft-dodging coward who'd be an utter liability in a difficult situation.

Let's see if the wimp hangs around to face the music in the next months/years.

Frankie Machine · 08-01-2021 10:12pm

Hello 2D Person Below wrote: »

On a serious note, Corbyn would be mine too. A fine man.

Tony Been would be another. A man that grew up in wealth, inherited a peerage from his father, fought to renounce his title which led to the Peerage Act of 1963 and spent the rest of his life fighting for the ordinary man and woman.

His speech on Iraq is one of the finest that has been given in Westminster.

Yes, a very decent man.

His November '90 speech in the Commons on Maastricht, was at least as magnificent...

Some people genuinely believe that we shall never get social justice from the British Government, but we shall get it from Jacques Delors.

We are discussing whether the British people are to be allowed to elect those who make the laws under the which they are governed. The argument is nothing to do with whether we should get more maternity leave from Madame Papandreou than from Madame Thatcher. That is not the issue.

I invite the House to vote against the Government's motion and not to support a motion which purports to take us faster into a Community which cannot reflect the aspirations of those who put us here. That is not a nationalist argument, nor is it about sovereignty. It is a democratic argument, and it should be decisive in a democratic Chamber.

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199192/cmhansrd/1991-11-20/Debate-6.html

I admired him greatly.

One person I admire, and whom I wish more people knew of, was Jack White from Broughshane, Co. Antrim.

A co-founder of the Irish Citizen army, from Unionist stock, Winchester College and Sandhurst, Gordon Highlanders in the Boer War.

White started to develop a dislike for the British ruling classes while in South Africa. It is said that at the battle of Doornkop he was one of the first to go over the top. Looking back, he saw one 17-year-old youth shivering with fright in the trench. An officer cried "shoot him". White is said to have aimed his pistol at the officer and replied, "Do so, and I'll shoot you"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_White_(trade_unionist)

Red Cross medic in Spain, where he became involved in anarchism.

What a man, what a life.

ps Merkel, on the other hand... ugh. Detestable. OP on a wind-up, certainly.

Sam Hain · 08-01-2021 10:12pm

Michael Malloy, known as either Mike the Durable or Iron Mike.
An Irish man who lived in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s. A former firefighter, he is most famous for surviving a number of murder attempts on his life by five acquaintances, who were attempting to commit homicide and life insurance fraud. Some story, If you never heard it, check out the wiki at least.

AllForIt · 08-01-2021 10:50pm

I have to say I'm really surprised by the adoration of Jeremy Corbyn. Aside from his woeful management of the Labour party I find him to one of the most unlikable short tempered politicians I've come across, and I could say the same about some other current Labour politicians, but he set the bar. I found him to be more of an ideologue than an actual pragmatic politician, hence the manner of his demise never came as a surprise to me or to anyone I'd imagine.

Tony Benn on the other hand had a personality the diametric opposite of Corbyn. A man of intelligence and conviction but wasn't swallowed up by his own opinions and saw the bigger picture, totally unlike Corbyn.

Thelonious Monk · 08-01-2021 10:53pm

Capt. Autumn wrote: »

The main problem people have with Bono, apart from his proclivity to pontificate is that he stayed on stage far too long. He outstayed his welcome and by now it's almost impossible to remember how vibrant and exciting U2 were in the early 80's.

I don't actually mind him he seems ok, I just never want to hear the music again because it was so bloody overplayed throughout my lifetime

Someone you really admire.

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