Ireland's Greatest Sports Stars

Ireland’s most successful golfer is hugely popular and respected by sports fans around the world. Padraig came to prominence in 2007 when he claimed his first major championship by winning the Open at Carnoustie in a play-off against Sergio Garcia. However, it could all have been so different for Paddy but for a little luck along the way.

In the early 90’s Harrington attended College in Dublin and went on to graduate as an accountant. His degree was always just something to fall back as his talent on the golf course was very evident from early on. He made his way onto the European Tour and it didn’t take him long to win his first tournament, the Spanish Open in 1996. Padraig gradually progressed to become one of the leading lights of European golf. He has represented Europe five times in the Ryder Cup against America since he made his debut in the event in 1999.

Harrington’s focus since the turn of the century has concentrated on the PGA Tour in America. It took him time to adjust to the golf courses and playing conditions on the tour but he finally broke his duck on U.S. soil by winning the 2005 Honda Classic. He then set his sights on his next ambition which was to win the European Tour order of merit. In 2006 he achieved it after a dramatic fight with Paul Casey and David Howell at the final event of the year. Lying in third position at the Volvo Masters, Padraig was already in the club house but needed to finish at least in a tie for second to become Europe’s number one. Sergio Garcia occupied second position at the time but bogeyed the last to move Harrington to the second place he needed to win the order of merit.

After the 2006 season Harrington had only one target in golf left to achieve which was of course to win a major title. In typical Paddy fashion, he won one in the most dramatic style possible. Leading by a single stroke going down the last, Harrington pushed his drive down the right side and the ball bounced in the rough before skipping along a foot bridge and plunging into the water hazard. He dropped the ball on the fairway, let fly with an iron and once again found the water hazard seventy yards from the hole. He then scrambled to make a double bogey but was now one shot behind hoping for a miracle. The new leader was stepping onto the eighteenth tee. For the second year in a row Harrington was relying on a bogey from Sergio Garcia and the Spaniard duly obliged when his putt for par lipped out. Harrington held his nerve in the play-off and won the British Open. Not satisfied with that, Padraig defended the title in 2008 with a much more confident display at Royal Birkdale that saw him victorious by four strokes despite a valiant display from Runner-Up Ian Poulter. Less than a month later, Harrington won his third major title by capturing the USPGA Championship at Oakland Hills. During an exciting final round, Padraig sunk a fifteen foot putt at the last to seal victory against; you guessed it, Sergio Garcia.

Harrington is widely regarded as one of the most exciting players in the world. He possesses a wonderful short game that enables him to escape from most situations with at least a par. What’s more is that he also possesses a wildly uncertain long game that is capable of landing him in any one of these difficult situations. There is no doubt that the process of supporting Padraig should come with a health warning.

O’Driscoll is arguably the greatest rugby player ever to have emerged from the northern hemisphere. Blessed with every technical attribute needed to play the game, Brian also has great mental strength and courage. The Dubliner has played with his home province of Leinster for his entire career to date and despite his brilliance, only recently has he started to accumulate the biggest prizes in the sport. For more than a decade he remained loyal to Leinster even though the team as a whole was simply not competing for league or cup titles. Brian had to watch on as Leinster’s great rivals Munster became the cream of the crop. Munster won two European Cups and countless other awards before Leinster even emerged as a contender.

Brian O’Driscoll burst onto the scene of international rugby with an astonishing hat-trick of tries against France in Paris in 2000. Many experts of the game believe O’Driscoll is the best player in his position of all time. However with Ireland and Leinster struggling to compete, O’Driscoll’s talents were largely going to waste. Leinster won the Magners League in 2002, an insignificant tournament that is contested between club sides from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The 2004 Six Nations championship was memorable for Ireland in that they beat Scotland, Wales and England to win their first Triple Crown since 1985. They won it again in 2006 and 2007 but the national team were still coming under severe criticism for poor performances in the Six Nations Championship and the 2007 World Cup where they failed to qualify from their group.

2009 proved to be a decisive year for Leinster in that they eventually became the dominant team in Ireland by thrashing Munster 25-6 in the semi-final of the European Cup. Having won the Magners League in 2008, Leinster went on to win the final of the European Cup in Murrayfield, Edinburgh where they beat Leicester Tigers 16-9. This success capped a perfect year for O’Driscoll as he had already led Ireland to the Triple Crown, Six Nations Championship and their first Grand Slam success in 61 years.

O’Driscoll has also represented the British and Irish Lions on three tours to the southern hemisphere. In 2001 they were defeated by Australia. In 2005 O’Driscoll captained the Lions against New Zealand, though he was crudely cut down in the first minute of the first test. A calculated and dangerous tackle by two New Zealanders who lifted the Irishman into the air before slamming him to the ground, resulted in a dislocated shoulder. The Lions went on to lose the series. In 2009, after successes with Ireland and Leinster, O’Driscoll travelled with the Lions who once again fell short to the world champions South Africa where they lost the series 2-1. In 2009, Brian O’Driscoll was named as the Rugby player of the decade by Rugby World Magazine. He was also controversially runner-up in the IRB World Player of the Year award in 2009 when he was a big favourite to land the award.

Irish sport has never had a more controversial sportsman than Roy Keane. Keane was born and bred in Cork where he quickly fell in love with soccer. One of his neighbours once remarked that she always knew what time Roy got up in the morning because she would hear him kicking a football against the side of her house, usually at the first sign of dawn. The innocent image of a young boy playing soccer didn’t last long as he gained a reputation in his teenage years as a tough tackling midfielder, who often shouted at older boys for not playing well enough. While playing for Cobh Ramblers, Keane was spotted by scouts who worked for Nottingham Forest in England. They signed him in the summer of 1990 and he quickly established himself as the heartbeat of the team. Despite Keane’s fighting spirit, Nottingham Forest were relegated in 1993 and at that moment it was clear Roy would be leaving the club. Initially he agreed a deal to sign for Blackburn Rovers on a Friday afternoon but the contract would not be signed until the following Monday. During that weekend, Sir Alex Ferguson invited Keane to have a meeting and suddenly everything changed. Roy signed for Manchester United instead of Blackburn, news of which infuriated Blackburn boss Kenny Daglish. In the following season Manchester United won the league and the F.A. Cup. They won the same double in 1996. Despite more league success in 1997, the club was anxious about not making significant headway in the Champions League (European Cup).

In the summer of 1998, Sir Alex signed striker Dwight Yorke from Aston Villa. His partnership in attack with Andy Cole was to prove invaluable in Europe. Roy Keane led United bravely into the Champion League final in 1999. During the semi-final against Juventus however, Keane received a yellow card that meant he would be suspended for the final. Nevertheless, he scored a vital goal in that game and inspired his team to victory. United went on to win the famous treble although Keane insists to this day that his Champions League medal means nothing to him because he didn’t play in the final.

Roy was also a great leader when he played for Ireland. He was part of the squad that qualified for the World Cup in U.S.A. 1994 and he played in every match, including a famous 1-0 victory over Italy. However, Keane has huge expectations and he held very high standards regarding what he wanted from himself and his team mates. Ireland were knocked out of the World Cup by Holland in the last 16. While the country and his colleagues celebrated a good tournament, Keane was unhappy, believing they had failed. He was also bitter that the rest of Ireland were celebrating a mediocre achievement. After Jack Charlton left as manager in 2006, Mick McCarthy took over as a new era began. The players under McCarthy were not of the same quality as before and it took until the 2002 World Cup for Ireland to once again qualify for a major tournament. Keane was the captain and despite good performances by the team he was unhappy that the preparation was not adequate. In a famous interview before the start of the World Cup in Japan and South Korea, Keane described the team’s training pitch as “like a car park”. He was also disgusted that after arriving on the Island of Saipan for pre-competition training, the management had forgotten to bring essential equipment. He decided almost immediately that he wished to leave the team and return home. However, he was eventually persuaded to stay by certain people that were close to him. In another turn of events McCarthy called a team meeting where Keane was asked to explain his recent actions and comments to the entire squad. Keane launched a verbal attack on his manager and walked out of the room, quitting the World Cup. The team went on without Keane until they were eliminated in the last 16 by Spain. The incident divides opinion in Ireland to this day and it is has to some extent harmed Keane’s national reputation.

Keane left United in similar fashion in October 2005 after he gave a frank interview to the club’s own television station where he launched a tirade of abuse against some of his underperforming team mates. This was the final straw for Sir Alex Ferguson who had already recognised that Keane was physically unable to perform at his previous levels. Roy joined Glasgow Celtic for the remainder of that season and retired in the summer of 2006. He has since been a manager at Sunderland and Ipswich and although he has achieved some success, many experts are still not sure if he has the qualities to be a top manager.