Top 10 Irish sportsperson of all time .

Total joke of a poll by RTE

Disappointing alright.

No disrespect to Joey Dunlop, but him at No.3 is a total joke.

any chance of posting the top 10?? cheers

1. Podge Harrington
2. Brian O'Driscoll
3. Joey Dunlop
4. George Best
5. Roy Keane
6. Sean Kelly
7. Sonia O'Sullivan
8. Christy Ring
9. Vincent O'Brien
10. Paul McGrath

Harrington
O'Driscoll
Dunlop
George Best
Roy keane
Sean Kelly
Sonia O'Sullivan
Christy Ring
Vincent O'Brien
Paul McGrath

Thats roughly hte order from memory.

surely if you watched that programme on christmas night about vincent o' brien, there can be no doubt about who should be no. 1.

Joke poll, embarassing having to read it.

Joey Dunlop hey again not disrespecting the dead but he shouldnt be in the top 1000 not to mind the top 3.Brian O Driscoll number 2 is another joke,if they were on about sportspersons egos then hed be in business but not about ability.

^ top 10 please

polls such as this are always biased towards sportsmen/women competing in the last 20 years , pat o callaghan olympic gold medallist 1928 & 1932 and ronnie delaney olympic gold 1956 are glaring omissions. if you are going to classify riding a motor bike as being a sportsman in my humble opinion jockeys should also be considered so kinane, fallon, mccoy, ruby, deserve consideration.
brian o driscoll a fantastic irish sportsman , but surely willie john mcbride ranks above him as a great rugby player.
vincent o brien is the greatest irish race horse trainer but i cant equate training horses as being a sportsman, or if you do wheres ger mckenna ? brian cody ? mick o dwyer ?
no boxer on the list surely carruth or mcguigan or both should be included ?
no gaelic footballer ? jack o shea , mick o connell surely deserve to be on such a list .
mick barry multiple bowling champion ?
duxie walsh handball champion ?
i could go on and on ....
any other opinions ?

I wonder did they publish the entire poll/result?
It's a travesty that Sean Kelly isn't in the top 10.

Michelle Smith-Swimming
Cian O Connor-Showjumping
Ferdy Murphy-Horse racing
Tony Martin-Horse racing
Michael McGowan-Darts
Stephen Roche-Cycling
Francis Barrett-Boxing
Matt Doyle-Tennis
Brendan Matthews-Greyhound Racing
Pat Dolan-Football

Sean Kelly was in the top 10 but you obviously didnt look close enough.Forgot about Duxie Walsh and Mick Barry.Would these 2 have been in the top 10 in the villages that they lived in.

duxie walsh and mick barry both boast lengthy careers at there respective sports and have more titles won than best , mcgrath and o sullivan. im not saying they should be on a top irish sportsperson of all time top 10 but i am saying in terms of titles won and lenght of career they should be above the above mentioned trio.

Indeed he is! I must still be asleep!

Road bowling is played in about 2 counties regularly in this country and has an unhealthy amount of pikeys involved.Definitely not a proper sport.As for handball,thats played by about 2 people in Ireland.Handball allies are nowadays used as places to shoot up and arrange spliffs.The one thing you are guaranteed is privacy because nobody will disturb you with a handball in their hand.

everyone is entitled to an opinion. the point i was trying to make is that sportsmen like barry and walsh deserve to be higher in the list of top irish sportsmen than some on the list.
michelle smith and cian o connor obviously deserve to rank high on any list of discredited irish sportspeople, as for ferdy murphy and tony martin ... even there best friends would think twice before putting them on a top irish sportsman list - anyway i dont think horse trainers should qualify as sportsmen ( and if they did surely aidan o brien, dermot weld, jim bolger and john oxx would rank above murphy and martin ).
mcgowan , doyle and dolan ? lol

Can't compare individual performers and team players imo

^^^^ Very true Vubiant.

michells still has 4 olympic medals
drug tested more than any athlete at the games and could find nothing

how dare rte exclude her
and sean kelly over stephen roach

anybody ever here off innocent till proven guilty

so we dump all out top sport stars for a little controversy but re elect all our c o rrupt tds every term

fecking country would make me barf

not into the motor cycling so was suprised joey made the list but didnt the say 70k turned up for his funeral and he won a sh itload of tt's- big motorhead side of ireland who voted him their messiah

as for bod or harrington- yes they are recent so it takes the shine off it but in 20 years they'll be still in top 5- maybe still 1-2


bloody awesome

no gaelic footballers- shows how hard it is to stand out- spillane was prob raging

Roddy Collins............very dissapointed..

looking at that list.... 2 & 3 are just ridiculous. I would have george best as no.1 He is rated as one of the top players of all time and that is without playing in a world cup. Best was a tiger woods or sugar ray robinson of his sport.

McCoy, considered by many the best NH jockey of all time and then there are people in that list who weren't even considered the world's best at what they did when they were in their pomp. Farcical!

who actually voted this list in?

Just MHO, but Sean Kelly was a way better cyclist than Stephen Roche and deserves easily his place in that list.

Surely for catching the imagination and sheer brilliance it should be Besty.

Been away for last few days , but post obviously struck a chord .

The lack of Galeic footballers ( as against 3 admittedly world class soccer players , but professionals through and through ) is amazing , as it is the most played and spectated pastime in this small country of ours by a street .

The bias towards recent performers is also noticeable , Brian O'Driscoll is NO 2 , and Mike Gibson is not featured . Saw them both in their prime , Gibson at out -half and centre , BOD in centre only . Both great players , but I would have to pick Gibson in front of BOD.

Christy O'Conner was a better natural player than Padraig , little between them , one is No 1 and Christy nowhere .

Tony McCoy is also a terrible omission in the land of the horse . Best in the world , ever , and for 14 consecutive seasons without a break , World NO 1 .

Maybe we should do our own list , at least there would be lively debate !

Sorry , Gaelic and Christy O'Connor .

harrington has won 3 majors. thoroughly deserves it.
no-one comes even close.

dunlop is a joke.
best is a joke.
kelly ahead of roche-joke
no mick o'connell-biggest joke of all

and sean kelly over stephen roach

Can't work out why anyone thinks Roche was better than Kelly.
Kellys career spanned decades and dominated classics over that period. He was the best in the world over an extended period. Roche was a very good cyclist in his own right but was somewhat lucky in that his most successful season coincided with injuries to his major competitors...LeMond, Fignon etc... One majorly successful season and then little after.

If a top 10 cyclists ever was compiled, most cycling enthusiaists would include Kelly without hesitation. He would probably get top 5. Roche would struggle to get top 20 imho.

ok maybe Podge is an honourable winner but if you were told somebody wins 4 olympic medals and does not even get a mention there has to be something seriously wrong..........

Michael Toal.....

10 not out


somone said Mick Barry and mentioned the pikeys.....


how many of you have seen toal the bowl in action..

watch before you speak IMVHO

Cooldine 03 Jan 11:25


Michelle Smith-Swimming
Cian O Connor-Showjumping
Ferdy Murphy-Horse racing
Tony Martin-Horse racing
Michael McGowan-Darts
Stephen Roche-Cycling
Francis Barrett-Boxing
Matt Doyle-Tennis
Brendan Matthews-Greyhound Racing
Pat Dolan-Football

a most mischevious list .....fishing surely

Badgers Back , stating that no one comes close to Padraig is not consistent with facts . When they finish off at obituary time , Best will still be in Top 5 of all time , unlikely Padraig will get past Nicklaus , Woods , Nelson , Hogan , Snead , Norman , Ballesteros , even Faldo , not to mention Watson , Trevino etc . People have short memories and get carried away by recent success .

Reference Christy Senior , he has 43 tournament victories to his credit , Padraig 25 . Anyone who ever saw Christy in his prime would never discount his worth . He was also the most "capped " Ryder Cup player from 1955 to 1973 , 10 on the trot until Faldo overtook him .

Likewise Darren Clarke has 19 tournament victories to date , would have been more I suspect but for his wifes untimely death .

Fred Daly was the best player in the world ( which included Snead and Hogan and Byron Nelson ) for 2-3 years after the war ( which interrupted his career big time ) .

Jimmy Bruen also deserves mention , although I never saw him play unlike the 3 others . Still holds the course record at Newcastle from 1935 --a 65 -- . Tiger had an approximate 80 first time he played Newcastle ( my brother followed him around --7.30 a.m. start ) some years ago with Lee Janzen and Rocco Mediate .

Of the 10 mentioned in despatches by RTE only Best and Dunlop can match Padraig in world terms , but the omissions in the list show what a skewed poll the RTE one seems to be . Sean Kelly and Sonia also deserve their places , but doubt McGrath and Keane figure in world terms .

Any Irish based poll wich ignores "wee Antony" is worthless . And Ruby will be close behind , may even finish in front of McCoy when the dust settles . 2 stellar performers day in and day out in a tough sport .

Very difficult to compile a list. We have what very few other countries have,a national sport that more or less dominates all our sporting lives. So when you are comparing say the likes of Mick O'Connell to Roy Keane you do so with the knowledge that one performed on aan international stage and one didnt

There should be 2 lists compiled.

Top 10 international sports stars
1. Podge
2. Bod
etc etc

Top 10 national sports stars
1.Christy Ring
2. AP
etc etc

No doubting the bias towards South County Dublin in RTE's poll though.

Michael Toal.....

10 not out


somone said Mick Barry and mentioned the pikeys.....


how many of you have seen toal the bowl in action..

watch before you speak IMVHO ..............oh weve seen toal the bowl allright ..a sweet little animal..hes got a nice little record in ballincurrig..a real money making machine..

Levelsyoudevils , slight bias towards Co Cork too , more of them in it than Dublin Fourites I suspect . But maybe they produce more sporting people ?

Bod shuda been no1 followed by aiden mcgeady!

as i said kelly,it comes down to majors and harrington has 3.
not sure how anyone can argue against that point ;)

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.

I salute you for your selection of Ronnie Delaney, great shout.

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

I don't think M.V. O' Brien should not be on the list. He didn't play any sport.

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

**** I don't think M.V. O' Brien should be on the list. He didn't play any sport.****

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

dunno why all the animosity toward joey dunlop.
he is a legend.

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

I agree totally with Downallstar....M V O Brien was undoubtedly a "sportsperson" and can anyone think of another Irishman who completely changed an industry? Harrington isn't even the best at his sport. Ridiculous top 10!

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 !

sonia over john treacy is surely the biggest discrepancy amony the above list..lets face it johns 2 world cross country titles and olympic silver medal has to by a long way far exceed the cobh runners very mediocre sucess at the top level...

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

reading part 2 of websters definition i think i rank in the top 5 sportsperson !!! ive been beaten in every sport ive tried for many many years . and gave up complaining at u 12 level!

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

kelly
regarding boxers , check my list and you will see mcguigan and carruth !

Sorry , Finster , missed that .

Ronnie Delaney and Eamon Coughlan surely outperformed John Treacy and maybe even Sonia in the course of their careers . The fact that the majority of their activity at their peak occurred on the USA possibly clouds our memory of that . They were both nearly unbeatable on the boards in their heyday , Coughlan particularly .

Anither top class athlete was Mary Peters , not mentioned anywhere . Olympic champion . And Thelma Hopkins set a world high jump record in 1953 in Belfast , plus played hockey internationally . There are plenty of others too . Reckon a lot of categories could be filled if we set our minds to it .

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 , you cant dismiss golf or golfers as sport / sportsmen . Particularly significant to Ireland which has over 400 golf clubs , 30% plus of the links in the WORLD , over 250,000 regular golfers , and a large input to tourism consequently .

How many people ride motor bikes as against play golf ? Less than 10% I suspect . In parts of the world it is 99% the other way , but not here .

Golfers nowadays do work out , eat properly , practice a lot .

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

Has to be Mohammed Ali, but I'm from Clare and a bit biased :^0

Then again Trent might dispute my Irishness?

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.

surely looking at this from a soccer point of view i agree george best should be on this list but for no one to mention pat jennings(one of the greatest goalkeepers in the world of all time) totally amazes me

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

Sean Kelly but no Stephen Roache........and yes I know theyre all on the speedy smarties!

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 .

jennings definitely an outstanding goalie, but never won a championship ( i think ) .
do we include all sportspeople born on this island ( north & south ) regardless of what flag they competed under ? or, confine it to people born in the south only? or, and this would be my preference- include all sportspeople born on the island, but if they competed at international level , they represented ireland ( either north or south ).

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

boxing is a 32 county sport for olympics ,n.ireland boxers box for ireland.
Soccer is divided , northen ireland and the republic

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

If you represent the republic of ireland in sport then you are eligible to be considered for greatest irish sportsperson .
I dont like the fact rory mcillroy wants to represent britain in london 2012, if he does then he wouldnt be eligible imo

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

representing ireland or not should not define whether or not a sportsman should be on the list. many great irish sportsmen have played sports that are not played internationally. mv o brien( if he is to be considered) never represented ireland. with regards allegiance to the queen or part of the country a person is born in , i think if a person played any gaelic sport or played for ireland north or south in any sport he/ she is entitled to be considered. if however a sportsperson born on this island has declared to play for another country i would think twice.

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

Thescalper , double gold plus other career exploits entitles him to Top 10 . Did he spend a fair bit of time in the States ? Cant remember off the cuff .