Who is (or was) the Greatest Irish Person Ever?

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mathepac

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I did a search and I can't find a similar thread.

There are no real rules regarding the candidates, living or dead, and they can be from any walk of life - business, arts, entertainment, politics home or abroad, science, medicine, military, religious life, sport, NGO, etc.

Just list their names, achievements, sphere(s) of influence and your reasons for naming them as candidates for the title.

Some less obvious candidates might be :

  • the Duke of Wellington (politics and military)
  • Lord Kitchener (military)
  • Robert Boyle (science)
  • Ernest Shackleton (exploration)
  • Davy Crockett (hats, politics, exploration and military)
  • Brendan Bracken (politics)
  • Walt Disney (arts and entertainment)
  • Harry Fergusson (tractors)
  • Henry Ford (cars)
while the obvious ones, are well, just obvious.
 
Henry Ford was not Irish; he was born in Michigan, USA
Walt Disney was not Irish; he was born in Illinois, USA
Davy Crocket was not Irish; he was born in Tennessee, USA
 
And please please please, nobody say osama, sorry obama. Or mary robinson.
 
They get in under the grandparent rule. They could all have played for Ireland if Jack was picking this team.
 
By all means feel free to introduce your own rules.
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Well I suppose they actually have to be Irish. How exactly do you determine that I wonder?


How about Bertie Ahern for Ireland's economic miracle. As soon as he stepped down from being boss of Ireland, the country collapsed.
 
My first candidate is Ernest Walton, Nobel Laureate (1951), physicist, mathematician, acedemic, researcher, an exceptional teacher and educator. An unassuming, humble man he saw no conflict between the advancement of scientific discovery and his deeply-held religious beliefs.

A visionary, decades ahead of his time, in a letter to the Government in 1957 he wrote, "...We are today entering a new scientific era and, if we are to benefit from it, our people should not be allowed to grow up scientifically illiterate..." stressing his belief in the importance of a firm scientific / research base upon which to build a sustainable and prosperous industrial economy.

If only we had listened and learned instead of being seduced by sub-prime mortgages, derivative junk-bonds, cronyism and the lure of easy money. We ignored the voice of a scientific and intellectual giant and we will pay the price for years to come.
 
Purple said:
Yep, I'm a big Tom Crean fan as well but Rodger Casement had to be up there too (mainly for his work in The ongo with E.D. Morel).
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Ongo? A hitherto undiscovered land? Pray tell us Purple before Budget Holidays get there first:rolleyes:
 
A few that haven't been mentioned yet

Alan Brooke (military WWII) If his war diaries can be believed he stopped Churchill making potentially disastrous strategic blunders
William Rowan Hamilton (mathematician, astronomer & physicist)
Charles Stewart Parnell (politician)
 
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