RTE has commissioned a series along the lines of the BBC's "Great Britons", to find out who, we the public think, is the greatest Irish person ever. They got Ipsos MRBI to conduct a survey of the Irish public asking them this same question. Below are the top forty names from that survey in alphabetical order.
The Top 5, as nominated by voters, will then become the subject of one of five brand new hour-long documentaries, each charting the individual's impact and contribution to Irish life, as interpreted and championed by a well-known personality. This series of documentaries will be broadcast this September on RTÉ One. Once these documentaries have aired, the public will again be given the opportunity to reassess which person actually deserves the accolade of Ireland's Greatest.
http://www.rte.ie/tv/irelandsgreatest/
Bono
Dr. Noel Browne
Michael Collins
James Connolly
Éamon De Valera
Joe Dolan (sweet Jesus!)
Ronnie Drew
Colin Farrell (head in hands)
Garret Fitzgerald
Stephen Gately (This is getting embarrasing!)
Bob Geldof
Padraig Harrington
Charles Haughey
Séamus Heaney
John Hume
James Joyce
John B Keane
Roy Keane
Ronan Keating (Fcuk me!)
Séan Lemass
Jack Lynch
Phil Lynott
Paul McGrath
Christy Moore
Liam Neeson (nahh!)
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Donnell
Brian O'Driscoll
Michael O'Leary (he'll probably get passengers to vote for him at the check-in desk!)
John O'Shea
Sonia O'Sullivan
Charles Stewart Parnell
Pádraig Pearse
Christy Ring
Mary Robinson
Adi Roche (head in feet)
Wolfe Tone
Louis Walsh
Oscar Wilde
WB Yeats
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Christ almighty - that list makes embarrassing reading. Democracy is over-rated!
Off the top of my head, here's some of the figures that I think, should have been on it;
Robert Emmett,
George Best,
Van Morrison,
Brendan Beha,n
Robert Boyle,
Ernest Walton,
Jonathan Swift,
Sean O'Casey,
Samuel Beckett,
Edmund Burke,
William Rowan Hamilton,
St. Patrick,
St. Columba,
Oliver Plunkett,
St. Brigid,
Arthur Guinness.
and finally,................the original "defector" - Darron Gibson.
I think the poll closes soon, so.........GET VOTING!
Last edited by The Fly; 02/04/2010 at 12:49 AM.
Good list of "missing people" there, The Fly. Emmett and Boyle would have been in my 5 and Walton was close. The big names I would add on a short think would be Rory Gallagher, Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche. There would be arguments for Ronnie Delaney and Eamon Coughlan too but not as strong, similar for Bram Stoker, wrote the worlds most read fiction book, and was continually using his influence and connections to lobby for assistance for Ireland. Commodore John Barry as founder of the US navy would probably get more acclaim from abroad than ever in Ireland.
It is amazing that none of the saints were included - mine not being a religious standpoint some of them as real people made a significant impact on the world. Columcille / Columba pulling strings through Europe, and St. Brendan's voyage allegedly part of the inspiration to Columbus. I am sure that I will kick myself when I see some of the names I missed
The more I look at that RTÉ list from the general public, the more surprised that Uncle Gay or Gerry Ryan are not on it. Tintin Keating and Gately, FFS. At least Mikey was in Fatal Deviation. There is certainly more of a reason to included he detestable Tony O'Reilly than Mick O'Leary too. It does sap faith in the Irish public when you see some of those names listed.
Mine from the list would be (in alphabetical order):
Noel Brown
James Connolly
Bob Geldof*
James Joyce
John B Keane (as a social and cultural historian as much as a writer documenting an Ireland antithetical to Joyce's now almost vanished)*
*Before I saw the list I had already added Boyle and Emmett, and needed to find replacements, Walton was the 6th man.
That question was less stupid, though you asked it in a profoundly stupid way.
Help me, Arthur Murphy, you're my only hope!
Originally Posted by Dodge
Missing out on Monaghan altogether there, where are Barry McGuigan, Pat McCabe, Patrick Kavanagh?
McGuigan not only brought the excitement of winning a world title but also went on to be one of the best loved boxing commentators and tv personalities and is as worthy of a place there as any other man or woman.
McCabe is not only one of the most exquiste modern writers but also has had his books made into amazing movies.
And Kavanagh is one of the literary giants of this country and one of Irelands best loved characters. His eloquence when speaking on the mundane no doubt inspired the likes of Heaney.
The absence of TK Whitaker is a tad insane as well. While our economy is now an utter mess he's essentially the reason we once had an economy.
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Daniel O Donnell, Gately and Keating in ahead of Rory Gallagher? Sweet Jesus.
Roche and Kelly have to be in there from the sports side as well.
Charles Haughey? What the f**k? That's even more depressing than the Boyzone ones!
Incidentally- totally disagree about Patrick Kavanagh, always thought his stuff was a load of irritating, boring ********.
#NeverStopNotGivingUp
Dave Allen
Harry Ferguson
Richard Harris
Even Tim O'Reilly should be ahead of a good few of those actually listed
I think we should have a list for the most sanctimonious Irish person *click*
Heathen.
No B*witched?
what about michelle smith, 3 olympic gold medals dont carry as much weight as they used to,
also surprised michael flatley isnt mentioned,
how do you determine this, ireland has given so much to the world, its almost shamefull to have a top 5, youd need a top 100 to do what the irish people have given the world any justice,
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Since the other half went to see Ronan Keating last night and reckons he's wonderful I'll have to say he's a global brand a has morphed from boyband star to genuine international star - he's even big in Mexico. Gately though, hmm, no, too easy.
St. Brigid is a mythical character who never actually existed (she's a composite of a pagan goddess and christian convert) though according to the annals performed abortions and magic tricks, so have to knock her on the head, and St. Patrick was Romano-British so a bit of a Flatley-Day-Lewis there.
Agree with Magicme on Wee Barry, not only did he do more for cross-border and sectarian healing that any of the clowns who took the glory for it, he beat one of the all-time greats, beat the very best in his weight class and during a dreadful time in Ireland gave us reason to be proud and hope.
I would add Lewis Carroll except he was born in GB, but surely the list had to include Irish who made their mark abroad - William Brown (Argentina), William Lamport (Mexico), Saint Gall (Switzerland) and Darcy McGee (Canada). Any of these type of "votes" are as bad as seeing jedward last to the end of a talent competition. I gave my vote to Oscar Wilde, especially since his father should be on the list as well, if for no other reason than he was a genius and philanderer.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. A great military commander.
Look over his history Osarusan, he was a good commander, not a great commander. I liked him in Blackadder but still wouldn't vote for him, even if his nieces were tasty.
Where's yer wan who rolled a seven after snorting some dodgy gear a while back? She did have our then Taoiseachs Aide de Camp at her service after all. Though ...she was a constituent.
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
Here's the top ten. There's a few dodgy ones but Stephen Gately really takes the biscuit. Is there really anyone out there that reckons he's the greatest Irish person ever? I'm hoping this is just a lot of people being ironic, I really am.
The Ten Greatest
(in alphabetical order)
1 Bono (1960 – )
2 Noel Browne (1915 – 1997)
3 Michael Collins (1890 – 1922)
4 James Connolly (1868 – 1916)
5 Stephen Gately (1976 – 2009)
6 John Hume (1937 – )
7 Phil Lynott (1951 - 1986)
8 Pádraig Pearse (1879 – 1916)
9 Mary Robinson (1944 – )
10 Adi Roche (1955 – )
#NeverStopNotGivingUp
Of that lot, I'd probably go for John Hume, one of the founders of the Civil Rights Movement and despite the bloodshed and murder going on around him, never lost his dignity or belief in peaceful means.
Forget about the performance or entertainment. It's only the result that matters.
These things are always silly so why not have Gately in there. Once the public are involved all sense goes out the window.
My list of greatest Irishpeople (who haven't been involved with Pats...) would probably include Dave Allen, Sean Kelly, James Connolly, WB Yeats and Robert Emmet
My list of Irish people I'd love to punch in the face includes bono
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That any the child abuse we liked to export
Calm down, we are not that well loved abroad, as much as we like to think we are..............
G Best should be on the list anyway
Would give it to Connolly, or larkin (is he on the list)
But seriously...........................Louis Walsh and Joe Dolan...............
this isnt for the world, this is for us, and i dont recall naming the church,That any the child abuse we liked to export
Calm down, we are not that well loved abroad, as much as we like to think we are..............
G Best should be on the list anyway
Would give it to Connolly, or larkin (is he on the list)
But seriously...........................Louis Walsh and Joe Dolan...............
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Chippy Devlin should be near the top.
Isn't Connolly Scottish? Or is this one of those things like the two Glasgow teams are supposedly representative of the two main cultures on this island?
Adi Roche I'm back, Mary Robinson too (especially for her pre-Presidential efforts to both modernise our laws and save our history), John Hume is a good pick, so too Noel Browne, and Bono is recognisable the world over. But Pearse? Lynott and Gately? Michael Collins is a stretch and a great case of hindsight improving the view. Where are the writers and actors? Surely Wilde, Joyce and Neeson deserved to get in the final 10.
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