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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Periscope > Why Rory McIlroy is happier to be British and not Irish -- No history of Irish nationalism in area where he grew up

Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Why Rory McIlroy is happier to be British and not Irish -- No history of Irish nationalism in area where he grew up

Posted on Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 08:11 AM

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Graeme McDowell, right, and Rory McIlroy walk behind the Tricolour during the Opening Ceremony of the World Cup at the Mission Hills' Blackstone Course in Hainan Island, China, last year (Photo: Getty)

Graeme McDowell, right, and Rory McIlroy walk behind the Tricolour during
the Opening Ceremony of the World Cup in Hainan Island, China, last year (Photo: Getty)

I think I know why Rory McIlroy is happier with his British identity rather than his Irish one.

It starts with North Down, the area he comes from.

For the length of The Troubles, North Down was never a hot bed of nationalism, preferring most of the time to send very moderate nationalist politicians to the parliament in Britain.

To this day Sinn Fein has no real traction in the area and despite the death of a relative at the hands of Loyalist killers, McIlroy grew up unaffected by the aftermath of the Troubles.

It is also an historical legacy. Unlike Tyrone and Armagh where the planters were brutal and drove the Catholics off the land and persecuted and damned them, in Down the occupation was much more gently handled.

This led to better relations between the communities there than almost anywhere else in Northern Ireland.

McIlroy is following men like Lord Ballyedmond, formerly Eddie Haughey, another highly successful Catholic businessman from close by to McIlroy, who assumed the British mantle as well.

So McIlroy was insulated from much of the bad stuff growing up and indeed in the post-troubles era his choice of British as his identity is not a complete shock.

He is too young or too successful to have studied the history too much I imagine or his family has made peace with the other side a long time ago perhaps.

Yet when you visit Northern Ireland you immediately become aware of the scope and intent of the original plantation.

All the good land was taken by the Protestants and their holdings tended to literally look down on the Catholic patches where they drove off the natives.

If you visit Stormont, the seat of government, you see how the massive building with its triumphal statue of Carson looks down from a height on the deprived nationalist neighborhoods below.

The history is rife with Protestant triumphalism, Derry, the leading Catholic city still does not have a proper motorway to Belfast – the best roads always led to Protestant towns.

Equally, when a second university was to be built it was sited in Coleraine and not Derry so that Protestants could take better advantage.

Up until the 1970s and the civil rights movement, there was not even one-man one vote. People with property, always Protestants, were entitled to extra votes.

Ironically, an example of this arrogance was on display with McIlroy's former golfing counterpart, David Feherty, now with CBS Sports. During the Notre Dame game in Dublin, Feherty, a Protestant, made the claim that Gaelic football and hurling were not played in Northern Ireland -- even though they are by far the most popular games in nationalist areas.

Those bad days are behind us but driving through the North the other day I could not miss the triumphal Ulster flag flying that still goes on both on the motorway to Belfast and then from Belfast to Derry.

The bad days are over, nationalists are now in a power sharing government and men like Rory McIlroy are free to make a choice that would have been almost impossible a generation ago.

It is still one that will grate with many, especially many Irish Americans I’d wager. Then again I’d rather cheer Padraig Harrington anytime just to see the Tricolor wave after a major tournament.

The Northern Ireland flag, flown by a Protestant like Graeme McDowell, will never bother me in the slightest, flown by a Catholic like Rory, however, will never seem quite right to me.

Read more: Rory McIlroy denies that he has decided to play for Britain in the 2016 Olympics

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merefalow | Sep 12, 2012, 04:24 PM EDT

screw him,stupid bloody game anyway.

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DanOLoingsigh | Sep 12, 2012, 02:47 PM EDT

Pointless misses the point…McIlroy has not defected anywhere…he is exercising his freedom to choose…just as other NI sportsmen, and others, are entitled to do…Pointless doesn’t get to decide who can be Irish and or British, or both…and just what Irish-American visa applicants have to do with anything he has yet to explain?

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maryosullivan | Sep 12, 2012, 10:18 AM EDT

Darao, I agree people are free to call themselves whatever they wish, however, can you explain why the the newspapers constantly questioned McIIroy's political views and never questioned those of McDowell.

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darao | Sep 12, 2012, 10:05 AM EDT

Posters - please spare us all the historical stuff. We all know what happened ages ago in Ireland, in Spain, In ussia and many other places. It has little or no relevance to current events or choices. Ireeland, North, South, East and West are moving ahead with new positive energy focused on building better lives for the people. People feel free to call themselves Irish, British, Northern Irish or whatever else and it occupies little of their energy. Joan Baez said "I would like people to think of me as a human being first, a pacifist second and a folk singer third. I would like the same for all people in Ireland - Human being first, pacifist second and from whatever town or area you wish third.

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Kilsally | Sep 12, 2012, 07:56 AM EDT

I see Newton Emerson from The Irish News sees the holes in this article (see his Twitter account) - O`Dowd thinks Dundonald is Nationalist - presumably refering to O`Dowds silly comment about Stormont and Carson`s Statue looking down on Catholic housing estates when in fact they are mostly working class Protestant / Loyalist houses in Dundonald. Doh Niall!!

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Kilsally | Sep 12, 2012, 07:52 AM EDT

gerardmccabe53 `You can't deny that the Brits conquered Ireland, tried to kil the language and the Catholic religion, to no avail and then partitioned the North, creating an aritifical majority which sewed the seeds for the violence for the next 80 years.` sorry Bernard but the people of Northern Ireland created Northern Ireland - later this month we are celebrating the centenary of the 1912 Ulster Covenant (on Ulster Day, 28th Sept) and formation of the Ulster volunteers, formed to fight the South OR Westminster government. Indeed a declaration of the formation of a provisional Ulster government followed - only the outbreak of World War 1 stopped civil war in Ireland - the Ulster Volunteers going to WW1 as the 36th Ulster Division. You can`t blame the Protestant Reformation on the British - it was a European movement - Britain has millions of Catholics.

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Kilsally | Sep 12, 2012, 07:46 AM EDT

branagh - the Irish Open was in Northern Ireland at Royal Portrush gold course - golf on the island of Ireland is governed on an All-Island basis as it was created before partition and continued as an All-island governing body - therefore the Irish Open takes in both Ireland/UK jurisdictions under its auspices on the island of Ireland - indeed it is not so long ago that the likes of the GAA banned it`s members from playing such `foreign sports` as golf, cricket, football and rugby - they being British sports played by `protestants`.

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citizen69 | Sep 12, 2012, 07:30 AM EDT

@IrelandNorth: Rory's dad was a barman & his mum was a factory worker. They both worked extra shifts and additional jobs to earn the money to pay for Rory's golfing development. They very much sound like working-class people to me.

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citizen69 | Sep 12, 2012, 07:11 AM EDT

O'Dowd would like to present himself as an open-minded person. He will see himself as a supporter of gay marriage, green cards for illegal immigrants and ex-terrorists in government yet where his prejudices shine through are in regards to religion. By his own admission he simply cant accept a Catholic showing loyalty to Northern Ireland. This pathetic sectarianism is at the heart of many bigoted comments made here on the Irish Central website. He is obviously quite comfortable with Ulster Protestants of a British identity competing for Ireland in the Olympics, Rugby, Cricket, Golf or whatever but he will not accept it the other way around. Meanwhile he would have his readership believe it is only Protestants in Ireland who were/are sectarian & bigoted. One just needs to read this website to prove that is not true. @Branagh: As Rory is British AND Irish (like many in NI) he would see both the Irish & British open as his own, just like Graeme McDowell & Darren Clarke.

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IrelandNorth | Sep 12, 2012, 06:49 AM EDT

PS (a) There are such things as Protestant republicans and Catholic unionists, though they tend to be the exception to the abnorm. (b) If Rúadhrí was Jewish, his nationality would be determined by his matrilineage which, as mentioned below, would be Ulster-Scottish. But if his mother were an Ulster-Scot and consequently a Jewish-Protestant, would that not make him an Essene, and entitled to represent Qumran in Palesrael/Israestine? Then we would have to find out, was she Ashkenazi or Hassidic. (c) If he drinks Beck's bier, and nationality is determined by what beer one drinks, would that not make him Germano-American? (d) 2012 Olympics included women's boxing. 2016 will include golf. What next, tiddly winks? Dwarf throwing? Then Highland Games to follow suit with caber tossing, highland flinging and haggis throwing. If rioting were an Olympic event, more golds for NI?(e) Only nations and/or states compete in modern Olympics. And since Northern Ireland (NI) is a neo-provincial statelet, and it's flag that of Ireland's Ulster province, would it actually qualify? (f) If Irish people have "moved on" (sic) from nationality, to where have they moved and from where? And how advisable is it for commentators to unthinkingly parrot revisionist script dictated by a partitionist press/media with a neo-imperial agenda? (g) There were also Anglo-Scot Catholic planters/settlers in Ulster. The town of Strabane in County Tyrone, (on the Donegal county boundary), is a Catholics town of such 'non-native'(?) descendants.

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bogsidebunny | Sep 12, 2012, 06:48 AM EDT

The Irish republic downplays "nationalism" for fear of Ireland becoming like america, where the majority of the citizens put their Country before themselves. The auld Oirish adage is: Keep 'em divided and supply 'em with just enough welfare benefits to by "toys" and they won't be a treat. Works great on 3 year olds.

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EmeraldJoe | Sep 12, 2012, 05:56 AM EDT

Laughably naive, ill-informed and prejudiced article. How are you guys getting on with the Native Americans, by the way? Have you given them their land back yet?

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IrelandNorth | Sep 12, 2012, 05:34 AM EDT

'Nationalism' is not the exclusive preserve of Irish republicanism - ya know! Britishness is a nationality too. It's just a tad more heterogenous than its Irish equivalent. Regardless of what nationality he considers himself to be, I'd be more interested to know what socio-economic class he considers himself to be. And being from north county Down, I expect he's not working class. It's also interesting to note that he considers nationality to be determined by geographical or cultural milieu into whicih one is born, which of course is correct, ie class or nationality being inherited. Ultimately, the choice is his. But if Rúadhrí were to fail to qualify for Team GB, do I correctly intuit he would gladly default to Team Ireland?

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branagh | Sep 11, 2012, 09:00 PM EDT

I have no problem with this guy Team GB or Team Ireland. What I found somewhat ugly and insulting was the interview - specifically,what are the features that make him feel so British and not feel Irish? Seems to be he has some ugly notions as what feeling IRISH entails! Perhaps,he'll have another clarification as what his fine qualities are that make him feel British? Overall,stupid and disappointing: 1. Rio is 4 years away 2. With a little modesty he could say -I have no notion what my form will be then or if either team would want me. Another somewhat unpleasant aspect: he has quoted last year as referring to the IRISH OPEN as his own but on Charlie Rose last week referred to the BRITISH OPEN in the same manner.

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warrenpoint00 | Sep 11, 2012, 08:31 PM EDT

If Rory Mcllroy or indeed any person born in Ireland cannot come to terms with the simple fact that Ireland is a nation comprising 32 counties and four provinces then they absolutely should not consider themselves as being Irish and in no way should they represent our proud nation.We Irish are blessed to have enough people wanting to inherit our proud Irish heritage (e.g 5000 Irish American Irish visa applicants 2004)than to worry about a minority defecting to another nationality something that non Irish are entitled to do .The Irish people were never accorded this same small democratic entitlement by the british colonists that invaded Ireland, the british on the other tried to impose their will and crown on the heads of generations of Irish men and women.Unsuccessfully of course.

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