Rory McIlroy

Started by Oraisteach, February 26, 2012, 06:13:56 PM

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Ulick

Quote from: Orior on June 19, 2014, 12:13:16 AM
Rory is still eligible for Down and would be associated with the St Pauls club in Holywood

Or his mother's club, St Paul's in Lurgan.

haranguerer

I think its most likely he always wanted to represent Ireland, and was always going to do so, but realised the need of masking that in some way, so as not to get the death threats from loyalists say Eddie Irvine did for F1 playing Amhran na Bhfiann on that occasion

Kidder81

Lads McIlroy has as much interest in GAA as Peter Robinson. Deal with it.

johnneycool

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 19, 2014, 12:17:17 AM
Quote from: Orior on June 19, 2014, 12:13:16 AM
Rory is still eligible for Down and would be associated with the St Pauls club in Holywood

He'd have to play for Bredagh as St Pauls don't hurl (I think)

They do at underage.

Rorys grip was OK, not cack handed as he said, its the feckin golfers who grip cack handed.

Orior

Quote from: Kidder81 on June 19, 2014, 08:45:52 AM
Lads McIlroy has as much interest in GAA as Peter Robinson. Deal with it.

There is no harm in surmising
Cover me in chocolate and feed me to the lesbians

Milltown Row2

Quote from: Orior on June 19, 2014, 11:19:26 AM
Quote from: Kidder81 on June 19, 2014, 08:45:52 AM
Lads McIlroy has as much interest in GAA as Peter Robinson. Deal with it.

There is no harm in surmising

There are thousands of west Belfast lads not interested in Gaa either, it's not a hanging offence as far as i'm aware
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Ea

Orior

Let's start a rumour.

Pranksters working for Dublin Aiport took hostage of his clubs until Rory signed up to play for Ireland.

By the looks of todays score, they must have substituted a set of clubs belonging to a 28 handicapper.
Cover me in chocolate and feed me to the lesbians

stew

The man has declared for Ireland, how the fcuk can anyone have a problem with that!

He has declared for us, get behind the man and cheer him on like we did  Clarke and Harrington et al.

The man deserves credit and shocked a fair few of you who are now scurrying like rats at the news, you thought he was going to declare for the brits did you not???

Hell slap it up ye! :)
Armagh, the one true love of a mans life.

armaghniac

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 19, 2014, 12:23:55 PM
Quote from: Orior on June 19, 2014, 11:19:26 AM
Quote from: Kidder81 on June 19, 2014, 08:45:52 AM
Lads McIlroy has as much interest in GAA as Peter Robinson. Deal with it.

There is no harm in surmising

There are thousands of west Belfast lads not interested in Gaa either, it's not a hanging offence as far as i'm aware

well that's true,  and yet they are putting the stadium there.
If at first you don't succeed, then goto Plan B

Milltown Row2

Quote from: armaghniac on June 19, 2014, 06:50:30 PM
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on June 19, 2014, 12:23:55 PM
Quote from: Orior on June 19, 2014, 11:19:26 AM
Quote from: Kidder81 on June 19, 2014, 08:45:52 AM
Lads McIlroy has as much interest in GAA as Peter Robinson. Deal with it.

There is no harm in surmising

There are thousands of west Belfast lads not interested in Gaa either, it's not a hanging offence as far as i'm aware

well that's true,  and yet they are putting the stadium there.

Its for all the soccer games and concerts, and a we bit of GAA
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Ea

AQMP

Quote from: stew on June 19, 2014, 02:08:53 PM
The man has declared for Ireland, how the fcuk can anyone have a problem with that!

He has declared for us, get behind the man and cheer him on like we did  Clarke and Harrington et al.

The man deserves credit and shocked a fair few of you who are now scurrying like rats at the news, you thought he was going to declare for the brits did you not???

Hell slap it up ye! :)

You haven't lived in the North for a while, stew??

Applesisapples

This vhanges nothing he's still a tool, imo. Watson must be reaching for the razor blades though!

Zip Code

Quote from: Applesisapples on June 20, 2014, 12:57:39 PM
This vhanges nothing he's still a tool, imo. Watson must be reaching for the razor blades though!

If only he would - a most hateful ****.

OakleafCounty

Quote from: Zip Code on June 20, 2014, 12:58:59 PM
Quote from: Applesisapples on June 20, 2014, 12:57:39 PM
This vhanges nothing he's still a tool, imo. Watson must be reaching for the razor blades though!

If only he would - a most hateful ****.

What's he ever done to warrent that type of criticism?

Minder

McIlroy is clear but conflict remains

Sunday Times 21 June 2014 | Denis Walsh



Ulsterman's decision to play for Ireland in Rio was his easier option

H ALF way through Rory McIlroy's press conference on Wednesday there was a round of applause. After a series of soft ball questions about his missing golf clubs and his desire to win the Irish Open question number 10 was suddenly about the Olympics. The question seemed to be informed by a tip-off, the answer rehearsed. Only the applause was spontaneous.

McIlroy pledged allegiance to the line of least resistance. As an amateur Ireland had been the team he represented. In some respects he was a product of the Golfing Union of Ireland in so much as genius can be produced by an outside agency. He spoke warmly of attending international squad sessions as a boy and continued with a host of predictable lines in support of his new position.

But if it is so simple now why has this question been so complicated all along? This declaration and the rationale that underpinned it had been available to him since the question was first asked. Yet, he had never taken refuge in that position until now.

The issue of McIlroy's identity had preceded the Olympic question and in the beginning we made some lazy, out-dated assumptions. Given that his parents were Catholics, though not active in the faith, and given that there was a rich GAA tradition on his mother's side and that he attended a Catholic primary school, the common belief was that McIlroy leaned towards Dublin rather than London.

Sports Illustrated, though, put it best in a major feature five years ago when they had extensive access to McIlroy and his Dad. "In raising Rory, Rosie and Gerry [his parents] made a break from the Northern Ireland of their youth when class and religion and accent and family history predicted your life with ruthless accuracy." Naturally, McIlroy knew his identity. In an interview with Golf Digest Ireland, in 2006, just before he turned professional, McIlroy was plain about it: "I would identify myself as British," he said. "I'm from Northern Ireland, so I'm a British citizen and I've got a British passport."

Three years later, when golf was formally re-admitted to the Olympics, McIlroy was asked for his reaction and said that he would represent "Team GB." Without assessing the possible outcome of his response or trying to fudge his position McIlroy gave an honest answer.

In another interview two years later he said that he "always felt more of a connection with the UK than with Ireland." Those comments created such a fuss that he issued a conciliatory statement on his website.

But the fact remained that McIlroy had already said what he felt and said what he had meant to say. On Wednesday he said something that seemed to be materially different. "Just weighing up everything and thinking back about the times that I played for Ireland and won the European Team championship with Ireland, won a lot of great amateur titles representing Ireland, I just thought, why change that? Basically, it's just a continuation of what I've always done."

However, he didn't say that he now felt more Irish than British. He said he was happy to play for Ireland in large part because he had always played for Ireland in the past.

He quoted the examples of rugby, hockey and cricket which are governed by all-Ireland bodies and field international teams drawn from both sides of the border. But those examples only serve to illustrate other entanglements in cricket, hockey and soccer.

Pat Hickey, president of the Olympic Council of Ireland, indicated a couple of years ago that McIlroy would be one of the favourites to carry the Irish flag into the Olympic stadium in Rio if he declared for Ireland. That would be a mistake. The Tricolour is not his flag. He has made that clear.

It's settled now. McIlroy has declared his position. Clearly, he was conflicted. Understood. In our response, though, we're entitled to be conflicted too.

"When it's too tough for them, it's just right for us"