Have your say: Who is the greatest Irish sports star of them all?

Is there anything more pointless than those heated debates that kick off after monumental sporting events, when the arguments start over whether the latest feat proves beyond question that [blankety-blank] is the greatest Irish sports person of all time?

First of all, why can’t we just luxuriate in the majesty of the latest accomplishment without needing to rank the protagonist in a pretendy list that offers only subjective views and cannot possibly come up with anything measurable or tangibly useful?

Secondly, why can’t we appreciate all our mighty sporting superstars rather than getting in to stormy scraps that lead to rivals to your preferred choice for the title of ‘the greatest’ being demeaned?

Eg: “It’s the horse that does all the bloody work!” “How many people are there in rowing? Twelve??” “It took him 11 years to win his fifth Major – it won’t even take that long to build the children’s hospital!” “Women’s boxing? Lol.” “Cycling?! Riiiiight ...”

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Thirdly, how on earth do you even compare, say, golf with hurling, rowing with football, boxing with rugby, horse racing with athletics and, more generally, individual with team sports? You can’t, so don’t even try.

Brian O'Driscoll in action against New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in 2013. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

And fourthly, how many of you were alive to see, say, Christy Ring, Mary Peters, Jack Kyle, Ronnie Delany and Mick O’Connell do their sporting things? Exactly, so enough with pretending you can expertly compare and contrast Christy with Henry Shefflin in their pomp.

Listen, just relax, enough of this nonsense, just wind back that playoff hole from Sunday for the 57th time and enjoy.

So any way, who is the greatest Irish sports person of all time?

Did McIlroy seal the crown on Sunday night?

Or will nothing ever top Katie Taylor’s 2012 gold medal and subsequent professional career?

What about Paul O’Donovan, the only Irish athlete to medal at three separate Olympic Games?

Then there’s Tony McCoy and his 4,358 winners and 20 consecutive Champion Jockey titles.

Rachael Blackmore has won most of the great National Hunt races during her career. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho

Or how about Rachael Blackmore? Grand National, Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, the works.

Sonia O’Sullivan and her mammoth collection of medals? A fair shout.

Brian O’Driscoll? He wasn’t bad. Nor were George Best, John Giles, Liam Brady, Paul McGrath and Roy Keane in the proper footballing code.

Boxing gave us a heap more big achievers, among them Barry McGuigan and Kellie Harrington, Pádraig Harrington has had many a memorable day, and ... ah here, too many to mention, so far we have five contenders, with blankety-blank just shading it.