best george..................... soccer
brady liam .......................soccer
carey d j......................... hurling
carruth michael..................boxing
coghlan eamon................. athletics
cudmore harold..................yachting
delaney ronnie..................athletics
downey angela..................camogie
fallon kieran......................jockey
gibson mike.......................rugby
harrington padraigh.............golfer
keane roy.........................soccer
kinane mick.......................jockey
mackey mick......................hurling
mcbride willie john...............rugby
mccoy tony.......................jockey
mcguigan barry..................boxer
mckiernan catherina............athletics
o callaghan pat..................athletics
o connor christy (snr)...........golf
o connell mick....................football
o driscoll brian...................rugby
o driscoll fiona...................camogie
o shea jack.......................football
o sullivan sonia..................athletics
ring christy.......................hurling
tompkins larry...................football
walsh ruby.......................jockey
walsh michelle...................swimming

above i list in alphabetical order irish sportspeople who in there prime would be the best in the world at there respective sport.
lets debate pros and cons - and of course some glaring ommissions for which i apologise in advance.
by year end we may come to a definitive top 10.

There are so many sports its difficult to get them all in and thew most popular sports always get more votes in any poll
Tony mccoy not getting a look in in the bbc sports personality and ryan giggs getting the gong
I didnt know n.ireland sportsmen would be included in top irish sports person of all time, while boxing is a 32 county sport soccer is not so george best should not be included.
Many a fine sportsman in the past would not be known or remembered by younger people who may have formed the poll though standards in most sports are higher right now.

POD has acheived more than any golfer in our history so he deserves to be n0.1
I always beieved sean kelly to be a better cyclist than roch and won many classics , the tour wasnt his type of race but roche did win a tour+a world championship
No horse trainer has acheived what MVOB acheived so he deserves his place

But he had bigger impact on any sport(& industry) than any other Irishman, before or since.

i agree with the gotchee, a trainer isnt a sportsman, impact on a sport isnt the same as playing /competing. mick o dwyer or jim mcloughlin or ger mckenna or brian cody all had great impact as trainers / managers. but we are looking for the greatest players. so with regards mv o brien i couldnt agree with him on the list. however, i would have him in my top 100 irishmen of all time but thats for another day lol

so are billy colman derek daly and eddie irvine but no one has them on a list - being a legend doesnt make you a great sportsman

Definitely agree with Downallstar , MVO'B not only was the best ever at his "profession " , he changed the way horse training worked on a world basis . He had more influence on his "sport " worldwide than any other Irishman dead or alive had on theirs . . Unlikely that his record will ever be challengeable .

Not a motor bike fan myself , in fact I would ban road racing as too dangerous . But Joey Dunlop set new standards in it , dismissing him because he might be viewed as "British " is not on .

Nobody has mentioned any boxers , possibly because a lot of the better ones came from North of the border . Monaghan , Gilroy , Caldwell ( all from Belfast ) were all world champions well in advance of Barry ( who was in my opinion better than all 3 of them ) . Presumably he "qualifies " as he was born in Clones , although he chose to ply his trade from North of the border . Not a boxing fan myself , would probably consign it to the dust bin given free rein , but fair is fair .

The salient fact is , in sporting terms we punch a lot above our weight as a small nation --south and north . Personally I rejoice in that , Tony and Ruby remind us every day , thank goodness . Long may it continue !

A sportsperson (gendered as sportsman or sportswoman) or athlete is a person who participates regularly in a sport. (For the different meaning of "athlete" in British and American English, see Athlete of the Year.)
above is from wikipaedia.
1.a man who is interested in or takes part in sports, esp. in hunting, fishing, etc.
2.a person who can take loss or defeat without complaint, or victory without gloating, and who treats his opponents with fairness, generosity, courtesy, etc.
above is from websters dictionary

i agree bobbybocala, john treacy a glaring ommission from my list

Sorry , Finster , missed that .

No golfer should make any such list.
It's a ridiculous hobby played by middle aged men who have gone too slow to play hurling.
It's the only 'sport' in the world where the guy carrying the equipment is fitter than the participant. To find a similar level of ridicule Phil Taylor et al would have to employ someone to carry their darts.
When guys with broken legs & injured hands win majors we know there is a serious problem with the overall quality of this 'sport'.
Amatuers & pensioners frequently perform with distinction & almost win majors.
Imagine Ted Walsh coming out of retirement & riding See More Business to second place in the Gold Cup. That's how preposterous golf is.
Golf is more popular in the US than any other country & less than 1% of the American population play golf less than twice a year.
How many Irish primary or secondary schools have golf teams?
Golf is a minority passtime of the privileged & the retired but as they are the same people who run tv stations/newspapers/organise corporate sponsorship it gets a hugely disproportinate level of media coverage & money thrown at it.

This survey is important & useful. Hopefully the respondents had to give their names or contact number.
Anyone that voted for Harrington is too stupid to have a vote at election time & should not be given a ballot paper.
I'm not surprised he won. This is the same electorate that voted Donna & Joe & Dustin the Turkey for Eurovision, reelected Bertie Ahern (twice) & votes for Michael Lowry/Beverley Cooper Flynn/Jackie Healy Rae at every general election.

trent,if memory serves me correct you voted FF last time out ;)

Over 99% of Americans play golf at least twice a year????

Most of the secondary schools in my locality have golf teams and I live in the sticks.

Golf is one of the most popular sports in ireland and is no longer a game tor the wealthy and privileged--every tom dick and harry picks up a club these days
Cant have besty or pat jennings , they played for northern ireland , some sports are 26 counties and some are 32 counties .
The sports that competitors favour playing for uk countries cannot have a person included in irelands top sports stars of all time imo

Pat Jennings easily outranks Paul McGrath in terms of performance on the soccer field , ahead also of Keano in my own estimation . The fact that he played for Northern Ireland internationally surely does not rob him of his Irishness , and he grew up playing gaelic football . He would not be in the consciousness of most RTE viewers though , partly because of age and also because in his days there was not a huge soccer culture in RTE as there is now .

Best Irish goalkeeper ( north and south ) of all time to date , closely followed by Harry Gregg --voted independently as the best goalkeeper in the world in 1958 . Loads of other brilliant Irish goalies through the years including Shay Givens , but Jennings and Gregg were special , and Gregg proved it off the field too if proof were indeed needed .

macrocky can you name these sports that are only played in 26 counties and not in all 32 because i cant think of any????

anyone who pledges allegiance to the queen should not be considered.

if its only people that have represented the r.o.i in sports that cancels out boxing rugby gaa etc as these are all ireland sports which people from all over ireland compete in. irish is irish imo

Yeah Pat O'Callaghan should be in Top 10 no doubt

Double GOLD Olympic Medallist - 1928/ 1932

First person from an INDEPENDENT IRELAND to win a Medal at Olympics

1928 - The podium presentation was particularly emotional as it was the first time that the Irish tricolour was raised and it was the first time that Amhrán na bhFiann was played

And and and he was a doctor