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People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Don’t wrap the green flag around golfer Rory McIlroy -- Let Rory play under the Union Jack if that’s what he wants

Posted on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 08:14 AM
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 Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, watches his tee shot on the seventh hole during
the third round of the PGA golf tournament in Carmel, Ind (Photo: AP)


 Let’s not wrap the green flag around Rory McIlroy like many pundits want to do.

The lad would prefer to play for Britain and not Ireland, that much is clear.

Why not let him and just accept his preferences.

When Northern Ireland players like Darren Gibson opt out of Northern Ireland’s soccer team and declare for the Republic no one in the south appears to complain.

What goes around comes around.

Sure, Rory McIlroy is a Catholic but according to the latest opinion poll, about 30 percent of Catholics would vote against a united Ireland if the vote came tomorrow.

So Rory is one of those 30 percent, middle class Catholics in the main, who since the peace process has done well in Northern Ireland.

Good luck to them and to Rory I say. The notion of being both British and Irish has a long history in Ireland.

Look at Daniel Day Lewis as just one example.

So why should the reverse not be extended to Catholics who want to be British first as Rory clearly does?

Here in America we are aware of all kinds of dual identity. Most Americans are something else, whether it is Irish, Italian, Hispanic, or whatever.

Truth is we slice and dice identity at will.

Rory has played under the tricolor at the World Cup of golf so why should he not play under the Union Jack at the Olympics?

The magnificent thing about sport is that it knows no boundaries. I cheered my heart out for Scot Andy Murray because he deserved a grand slam win at the US Open and he thankfully got one after years of frustration.

It mattered not a whit to me whether he spoke with an Irish, American, or Scottish accent.

It will be the same for most sports followers when Rory McIlroy tees off in the majors or the Olympics. Sportsmen are not politicians; they should not be even indulging in that arena.

McIlroy is Irish and British and the best in the world – enough said.



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39 Comments

15 - 39 | See all comments

Mousemess | Sep 15, 2012, 01:00 PM EDT
ce cuma faoin ngalfaire Ruairi Mac Giolla Ruaidh?

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ancavker | Sep 14, 2012, 10:19 AM EDT
If some Irish are upset by Rory's self identification, than some Irish must also ironically realize that they too prefer British over Irish in mnay respects. British media, entertainers, indifference and in many cases outroght hostility to the Irish language, disdain for the music.

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DanOLoingsigh | Sep 14, 2012, 04:40 AM EDT
and an Irish mob watched masked gunmen fire a 'salute' over the coffin of an alleged gangster near a church...that was Dublin, Sept 2012...not sure Rory had either image in mind?

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warrenpoint00 | Sep 13, 2012, 04:46 PM EDT
The british mob marched around in a circle ouside a catholic church in Belfast Ireland chanting "the famine is over why dont the Irish go home" and up to our knees in feinan blood.All the british politicans were ereily silent. This is Belfast July 2012 do not forget and poor Rory McIllroy and many like him living in Ireland want to identify themselves with this type of british unionism.Im so glad I am an Irishman from Warrenpoint Co Down Ireland

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ancavker | Sep 13, 2012, 11:20 AM EDT
Patirck: Agreed he can call himself whatever he wants. But as far as Catholics wanting to stay in the U.K., it is more out of a belief that they are better off in the the U.K. And if better off is defined as a better dole, as the statelet is one big welfare state, than fine but it does not say a lot about the people that feel that way, or the kind of state they live in in my opinion. I guess my whole question is what exactly does he mean by he feels "British". I travel a lot in Britain on business, and find people identify much more with either England, or Scotland ( I have not figure out yet how Wales feels about it). Most people I know over there regard British as what is on their passport. But when asked how they identify it is either English or Scots, and I have found that all across class lines.

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Happyhippo | Sep 13, 2012, 08:35 AM EDT
Rory feels more British than Irish, would the fact that his future earnings would be far higher opting for the former have a bearing on his decision,because at the end of the day the bigger the payday the more patriotic you feel.

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IrishmanOz | Sep 13, 2012, 03:06 AM EDT
Seanmor's comments: What a load of drivel and Yes there is something wrong with that! 1. Anyone on the island of Ireland can acquire British citizenship if they really want it. 2. "Wee six"! Did you make that up? 3. Southern Ireland does not exist; it's EIRE, Rep. of Ireland or Ireland to you. 4. Since 2001 there are now 29 Counties in Ireland that you obviously know nothing about. 5. Finally and most importantly you should not place the Irish Flag below the "Stars & Stripes"... Your own United State's Flag Code states "When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from separate staffs of the same height. The flags should be of approximately equal size. International usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace". Of course the U.S. is at war with everybody at the moment so maybe it's not really "peace time"! As for McIlroy - Rory is both Irish & British and proud to be both and more power to him. Ireland has been an integral part of British history (and vice versa) for thousands of years and semantics won't change any of that! Scotia was originally a Roman name for Ireland; inhabited by the people they called Scoti or Scotii. Use of the name shifted in the middle Ages to designate the part of the island of Great Britain lying north of the Firth of Forth, the Kingdom of Alba. By the later middle Ages it had become the fixed Latin term for what in English is now called Scotland. So to all you American Scotch Irish out there; your original heritage is Irish. Thankfully you can now drop the Ulster /Scot moniker and reveal your true heritage i.e. Irish or Irish American! By the way it's the Union Flag not the Union Jack. The Union Flag is called a Jack when onboard a ship!

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cillowen | Sep 12, 2012, 08:12 PM EDT
England's Gitmo boys Feherty and McIlroy are spot on for American glory and as being both UKer and British and having had the benefits of starting out playing for Ireland is it any wonder they now see themselves as scots and when naturalized as Feherty ravingly is - they'll be Scots-irish, in America. They be pretzel twisted beyond belief but nonetheless become mighty wealthy as scots are wont to become. Who knew the power of splicing and dicing.

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norm2012 | Sep 12, 2012, 05:45 PM EDT
here we go again, same topic over and over.......... rory will play for the gold, that's all i'm certain of.

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DanOLoingsigh | Sep 12, 2012, 05:35 PM EDT
Brolaur - maybe the same reason you haven't heard of Catholic-American or Quaker-American?

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Seanmor | Sep 12, 2012, 04:09 PM EDT
It is entirely up to Rory and any other resident of the "Wee Six" to decde whether he/she wants to represent G.B. or Southern Ireland in the next Olympics - or whether any such Olympian prefers the flag of an overseas country to the Tri-Colour. As for me, A London-born U.S. citizen, I fly the TRI-COLOUR from my garage at a lower level than the Stars & Stripes, the latter representing all of Amerca's 50 states, and the former all of Ireland's 32 counties. My U.S. citizenship aplies to all of the U.S., and my cultural heritage to the whole Irish nation. Is there something wrong with that?

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barneyjo | Sep 12, 2012, 03:07 PM EDT
@Tooreenagrena - I know it is said that ignorance is bliss, but really!!! It may interest you to know that as a resident of Northern Ireland, I am entitled to both Irish and British Nationality. As such, should I choose to, I can legally hold both an Irish AND British passport simultaneously!! Actually, the technical term for both documents is "European Standard Community Model Passports". In design and layout they are practically identical; you could not tell them apart from the back. I can also make an application for a new Irish passport, or a renewal through UK Post Offices. And you're quite wrong about Rory McIlroy not being worthy of wrapping the tri-colour around him. When you think of the colours of orange and green at the extremes and the white in the centre, McIlroy is a symbol of unity given that he enjoys support across the board. I am an Irish Nationalist, and both a victim and survivor of our war. I have buried loved ones who were casualties of that brutal war. I have known and sympathised with folk from the other side who have done the same thing. The pain is no different. So no, I think the "Armchair Republicans" will find themselves in the minority on this. I would further express the hope that if the result of the upcoming Ryder Cup competition goes to the wire, that it will be young McIlroy who sinks the winning putt for Europe at the Medinah country club in Illinois!!

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Brolaur | Sep 12, 2012, 02:53 PM EDT
Irish American, Italian American etc. Never heard of Jewish American? I wonder why?

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Kilsally | Sep 12, 2012, 02:36 PM EDT
Tooreenagrena - sorry to inform you of this but I am Northern Irish first and foremost but am also British & Irish. I am all 3 - indeed my Northern Irish aspect also has an Ulster-Scots/Scots-Irish aspect as my ancestors came from Scotland in the 1600`s plantations.

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bostonblakie | Sep 12, 2012, 01:09 PM EDT
In a free country a man gets to chose his identity and should not have to worry about others who may disagree.

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