Nearly 12 years on from THAT hat-trick in Paris, Irish people still regard Brian O’Driscoll as the greatest sportsperson on these isles.
The embattled Irish centre, currently on the sidelines with a long-term shoulder injury, narrowly beat off competition from Rory McIlroy and Katie Taylor to be voted as Ireland’s greatest current sports star in the 2011 Sports Sentiment Index, a survey carried out by Pembroke communications.
O’Driscoll pulled in 16.7% of the vote, a mere 0.4% ahead of McIlroy, while Taylor came in third with 13.1%. Others that figured in the poll were last minute pressure cooker expert Ronan O’Gara (7.6%), FC Hollywood’s Robbie Keane (5.2%) and perhaps the greatest stick merchant of all time, Henry Shefflin (3%).
Speaking of pressure cookers, Stephen Cluxton’s winning point in the All-Ireland Final (20.1%) has been voted as the most iconic sporting moment of 2011, with Darren Clarke’s victory putt at the British Open yielding 17.5% of the votes in second. Interestingly, there was no mention of the extremely long and booze-fuelled celebrations which followed that success.
On the playing fields, it seems as if qualification for the Euros has inspired interest in the garrison game once again, with soccer being voted the most popular sport in the country with 30.9% of the vote, ahead of GAA (20.9%) and rugby (20.5%).
Continuing the soccer theme, Trap’s Army qualifying for the Euros was voted the most outstanding sporting achievement of the last 12 months, followed by Ireland’s victory over the Wallabies at the Rugby World Cup, Rory McIlroy’s US Open win and the Dubs’ All-Ireland success.
It’s a good list and brings back some great memories no doubt, but as far as iconic sporting moments go, where was the cheeky fan nipping onto the pitch over in Tallinn or Sean O’Brien’s agricultural dancing antics in Wellington?
When we look back at 2011, those are the things we’ll remember most.
