From Rory to Sonia and Seán: who is Ireland's greatest ever sportsperson?
Your opinions are in, you have had your say on who is the greatest Irish sportsperson of all time. The years ranged from ancient times (Cú Chulainn, who 'invented hurling without trying') to the currently active and covered a wide range of sports, male and female athletes, from North and South of the island.
For this impossible question
Rory McIlroy
got 23 per cent of responses. Deserved, but no doubt helped by the recency bias of just seeing him put on the green jacket. Next up was
Seán Kelly
with 13 per cent, with cycling fans arguing a strong case in favour, followed by
Paul O'Donovan
and
George Best
. After that there were also multiple entries for Katie Taylor, Roy Keane, Sonia O'Sullivan, Ronnie Delany, Jason Smyth and Brian O'Driscoll.
You all argued your points brilliantly and there were many impressive answers, too many to include, but here is a flavour of some of the best:
'For Rory McIlroy to be the first European winner of the career Grand Slam, it cements his name in history'
McIlroy is awarded his Masters green jacket by Scottie Scheffler. Photograph: Michael Reaves/Getty
'I think the answer has to be Rory McIlroy. To achieve what he did at such a young age, and to have won four Majors by the age of 25, is an achievement in itself. But the cumulation of it all, when he sank that putt on the play-off hole, was a visceral reaction. To complete the career Grand Slam in golf, which only five previous giants of the game had done? Remarkable. To think of all the Major winners over the years, who had won multiple times and for there to be only two Grand Slam champs in the last 50 years?
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'If you go through the list of all the modern day professional golfers you might think there may have been many who could have achieved this feat before Rory. But there was only one (!) other, Jordan Spieth, who tied second at the PGA in 2015, denying him that glory. This shows how the career Grand Slam is a Herculean task in modern golf. And not only did he do it, he did it in the hardest way possible.
'Battling personal demons, labels of being a choker, missed cuts, thrown away leads, agonisingly close putts, he put them all to bed. To be the first European winner of the career Grand Slam is an achievement that cements his name in history. For it to be an Irishman couldn't but fill you with pride. To top it all off he is also the first Irishman to win at Augusta. With the golfing talent we as an island have produced over the decades it really is nothing short of one of the greatest achievements by an Irish sports person on the main stage.
'McIlroy won it his way, with ups, downs, drama, despair and triumphant jubilation. No need for the movie of his life, just watch back the full 19 holes Sunday, a Holywood production. Better than any sports biopic Hollywood could make.'
− Dermot Sheridan, Co Dublin
'Seán Kelly, the second greatest cyclist of all time and Ireland's best'
Cyclist Sean Kelly. Photograph: Getty Images
'Seán Kelly is Ireland's greatest ever sports star. He spent 18 years in the professional peloton, with cycling an incredibly hard sport on the body by any measure. Ranked number one in the world rankings for seven of those years. He had 159 professional wins, nine of which would be considered 'majors' or monuments in cycling parlance. One Grand Tour win, four Green Jerseys. 19 Grand Tour stage wins. Seven Paris-Nice in a row! A sprinter who could climb. Ranked the second greatest cyclist of all time (after Merckx) by the UCI.'
− Philip Kearney, Co Dublin
'Paul O'Donovan is a humble man who beat the best on the planet'
Ireland's Paul O'Donovan taking a selfie with supporters after receiving a gold medal. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
'Paul O'Donovan must be the greatest Irish sportsman of all time, double Olympic champion, a silver Olympic medallist, seven-time world champion, who is not finished yet as he prepares for the next Olympics. He is from a tiny hamlet with initially little financial support and to beat the best on the planet as an amateur participant. The lack of hype in Ireland that surrounded his successes never bothers him. A truly humble man.'
− Billy O'Flynn, Cork City
'Sonia O'Sullivan has a range of medals unsurpassed in Irish sport'
Sonia O'Sullivan. Photograph: Getty
'My view, for a long time on this question, is that Sonia O'Sullivan is Ireland's greatest sportsperson. Greatness is measured in many ways but surely one of the purest is a measure against the best from every nation on earth. Sports like rugby, horse racing and golf are pursuits in mainly western nations, some with as few as five or six countries competing at top level. Athletics, particularly middle distance running, is a sport enjoyed in every country, and so whomever wins the big events in Olympics, world athletics and cross country, etc, can truly say they are the best in the whole world in their category as measured by all who went before to qualify. Sonia, in her prime, did just that time and again, and has a range of medals unsurpassed in Irish sport. While she missed out on Olympic gold its fair to say it was stolen from her through some very dubious performances.'
− Declan Hughes, Co Dublin
'George Best is one of the best footballers of all time'
Manchester United's George Best celebrates scoring against Northampton in an FA Cup tie in 1970. Photograph: Michael Webb/Keystone/Getty Images
'He is considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time. This is the view of the players who played, both alongside him, and his opponents. Best was catapulted to superstar status at the age of 19, when he scored two goals in a European Cup quarter-final match against Benfica at the Estádio da Luz on March 9th, 1966. On February 7th, 1970, he scored an FA Cup record six goals in a match where he ran rings around the opponents. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1968 and came fifth in the Fifa Footballer of the Century vote. In 1972 Pele said Best was the best player he ever saw.'
− Patrick Brennan, Magherafelt
'There is no greatest Irish sports person of all time'
Olympic gold medallist Katie Taylor returning home in 2012. Photograph: Eric Luke
'Sport is about the feelings, the shivers down your spine, being drawn back to that time, to that place! Summer of 1992, I'm 14 years old, on my way from Ashbourne to a Meath mixed foursomes pitch and putt competition in Oldcastle. My Dad is my partner and also the driver. Jimmy McGee is commentating on the radio, his daughter taught ballet in Ashbourne, and we're hanging on his every word. Grown men and myself screaming at the radio – hit him, hit him! The criss-cross journey across back roads flew past as we savoured Michael Carruth's victory.
'Summer of 1993 I'm alone in our sittingroom on a glorious June morning. Eurosport still shows the NBA and I'm watching Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls complete the 3-peat against Charles Barkley and the Suns. I'm basketball mad and in awe of how he floats through the air, tongue out, around the opposition, creativity at its finest. The joy is bursting through me and I skip down the road to the local primary school to watch my little brother and sister compete in their sports day, my sister cleaning up as she did every year, much to my chagrin.
'Olympics 2000, I'm on-site in Lotus Santry. They set up a giant screen in the canteen. Over 1,000 of us cram into the room. The atmosphere is electric – we're breathing in unison. Come on Sonia, come on, come on. Damn Szabo and her kick. We don't care, an Olympic silver medal! On our feet, we ring out 'Ole, olé, olé'. I go back to my desk and ring my Dad. Did you see it? A true rebel, he replies.
'Olympics 2012, I'm in the Excel arena in London. Katie Taylor dances around her opponent as only she can. It might as well be a home fight, there's nothing but green, white and gold. I look at the Russian lad sitting beside me. He shrugs and grins, what else can he do? We don't know much about boxing but we know a champion when we see one. Her hand is lifted and she goes to embrace her Dad. If only my Dad could see it, an Irishwoman winning an Olympic gold in boxing.'
'Masters 2025, my girlfriend rings at 11.47pm. I watch the Augusta greens on her TV through my phone screen, for 47 minutes, as Rory McIlroy misses the putt on 18, and drowns the putt in the play-off against Justin Rose. Even through the phone I see the relief ooze out of him. I wish my Dad were here to witness the first Irish winner of the Masters and the first European to win the Grand Slam in golf. I wish he were here to tell him I watched it through a phone!
'There is no greatest Irish sports person of all time. There are many great Irish sporting moments which we share as a small but mighty nation.'
− Jen Daly, Co Meath
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