Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time: www.rte.ie/tv/irelandsgreatest

RMCF

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You'd think that it would obviously be someone who would have done something that important or big that they either changed the face of this country, or else be so important that their name is known the world over.

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I tend to find these types of polls absolute nonsense but come on folks, to have names in it like Stephen Gately, Ronan Keating, Joe Dolan, Daniel O'Donnell and Louis Walsh included just makes a mockery of it.
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

...and Louis shares the same row as the likes of Oscar Wilde, Wolfe Tone :D
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

And where are Mrs. Kennedy from Castleross, Tom Riordan, Tom & Alice Foley, Tom & Pascal, Bottler, Bang Bang, An Gobán Saor, Kitty the Hare and so on?- the list is so lacking in real personalities as to render it useless.
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

You have to wonder who decides what names go on these shortlists

Compare the achievements of Michael Collins and Stephen Gately

Michael Collins
Michael Collins was a member of the delegation that negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty of the 6th December 1921 which established the 26 county Irish Free State

Stephen Gately
He also found success in musical theatre, playing key roles in Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Wizard of Oz.
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

The greatest Irish people are the people who we seldom hear about, they are the people who have to overcome major obstacles everyday, the people who have buried children through sickness or tragedy, who maybe constantly in and out of hospitals themselves through chronic illness. These people are 'great people' .
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

TK Whitaker - Voted greatest Irish person of the 20th Century (RTE poll).
Now not even on the list.
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

Please tell me RTE are not going to publish the results. I can just see the reaction around the world as Ronan Keating is crowned the greatest Irish person of all time.
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

John O'Shea is looking a bit rough. I suppose Man United can do that to you.
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

You know Mathepac, I reckon if Roger was Irish he'd have made the list.
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

Michael Collins
Michael Collins was a member of the delegation that negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty of the 6th December 1921 which established the 26 county Irish Free State

Big deal. It's not as though he was ever on the Late Late or Strictly Come Dancing.
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

Colin Farrell ...tears of laughter/sorrow all at once.
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

That list is ridiculous. What is Charles Haughey, he of charvet shirt shame, doing on it?
I agree with an earlier poster and would say that the greatest Irish people today are people who deal with tragedy on an ongoing basis. I think that carers are the unsung heroes of today.
There was a couple on the Late Late show recently and they were highlighting awareness of an illness that both of their two children had. Both children are likely to die within a few short years. The mother said she had not slept properly in years - her husband needed to work abroad to keep the family afloat. They deal with the Irish health system on a daily basis - they weren't whinging, just stating the facts. Now, they are great irish people.
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

The Ordinary Man that Christy sings about. These people of both sexes are people who deserve recognition. Like most, just everyday people.
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

Ah come on guys. We all know that the types of ordinary people who suffer great hardships and do so stoically are to be admired (and, dare I say it, pitied) for the obstacles they've overcome. However, in a poll you would have literally thousands of, to a greater or lesser extent, deserving candidates.

No 'media darling' should be in it, no actors or the usual dross on E-news or whatever.
Poets/painters/playwrights/authors etc, should not either IMO. All they did is write something for goodness sake, what makes them so 'great' in the grand scheme of things?
Politicians are the next least deserving simply of the scale of the cowboys we've had since being a discernable country (with a fair few notable exceptions, to be sure) but the likes of Haughey and Dev should not IMO be on it.

People whose deeds will stand the test of time and whose achievements will be as notable for their brilliance, daring, passion, determination and ingenuity in 100 years as they are today are the people who 'should' be on the list.

But that's just my opinion.
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

+1 for Phillo. I suppose Lex as Rory Gallagher wasn't on the list the Donegal crowd have to vote for someone, although Stephen Gately is the closest alphabetically. :)
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

Ah come on guys. We all know that the types of ordinary people who suffer great hardships and do so stoically are to be admired (and, dare I say it, pitied) for the obstacles they've overcome. However, in a poll you would have literally thousands of, to a greater or lesser extent, deserving candidates. ..................
Like Rodin's The Thinker - if there was a sculpture depicting an ordinary couples' journey through life. Perhaps a series of them, in brass and marble, from early adulthood until final breath. We have enough of the others.
 
Re: Vote for the greatest Irish person of all time

In all seriousness, and obviously there are plenty there that shouldn't be, but there are notable omissions too e.g. Tom Crean?

Not "great" in a history making kind of way, but certainly a great man by almost any other evaluation.
 
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