Why I prefer Padraig Harrington, a proud Irishman, to Rory McIlroy -- Love to see him flying the Irish tricolor as he leads golf tournament
Why I prefer Padraig Harrington, a proud Irishman, to Rory McIlroy -- Love to see him flying the Irish tricolor as he leads golf tournament
By: Sean O'Shea | Published Tuesday, December 18, 2012, 12:32 AM | Updated Tuesday, December 18, 2012, 12:32 AM
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| Harrington at Bethpage on Thursday (Credit: Golf Week) |
It was good to see the Irish flag fly highest at Bethpage Black on Long Island this Thursday as Padraig Harrington led the field with a smashing 7 under par.
With all the confusion and rhetoric about whether Rory McIlroy was Irish or British or whether he wanted to play for one country or the other it was great to see an unabashed Irishman like Harrington, who has won more majors than McIlroy, take the lead.
The little symbol of the green white and orange beside his name is unambiguous. This is an Irishman through and through, clear in what he represents, with no apology to anyone.
When Rory McIlroy plays it is under the flag of Northern Ireland, which is his statement of identity that he is perfectly entitled to make. I just can’t cheer him on with the same fervor as I can Harrington though.
I understand McIlroy has to tread carefully on this issue of identity, but I’m always proudest when I see the tricolor flying--- that is just the way I feel.
McIlroy and Tiger Woods were supposed to be the big clash of this tournament but Harrington for now at least, has stolen the thunder.
On Monday this week Harrington played at the only Irish golf course in the Tri-State area. The Links at Union Vale golf course is situated in the rolling hills of Duchess County, surrounded by the beautiful landscape of the Hudson Highlands and the Catskill Mountains.
It was built and created by Irish men and women and Harrington’s presence was the greatest event since the opening in 2000.
Maybe it was the Irish spirit there that saw Harrington head for Bethpage with the old fire in his gut and outshoot McIlroy, Tiger Woods and everyone else.
Or maybe it was the recent snide comments by Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal that Harrington was unlikely to make the team for the seventh consecutive time unless he did something extraordinary.
Well winning the Barclays would certainly do that and I have the feeling that Harrington likes nothing more than a challenge and will give it a right go. Good luck to him.
37 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.EmeraldJoe | Sep 12, 2012, 08:04 AM EDT
What has this guy O'Shea got against Northern Ireland? Why favour the South over the North?
GladToBeGone | Sep 10, 2012, 11:17 AM EDT
I think a geography lesson is needed by most of your writers and readers, not just history. I live in Northern Ireland and I am British. The "North" in "Northern Ireland" is a not a compass point! It is what makes it a different country than Ireland. It is part of the UK and that makes us British!! If I lived in Texas, would I be Mexican? The same thought process of your writers would dictate this.
ancavker | Aug 27, 2012, 04:36 PM EDT
towngate Harrington could be English in origin, or could be the Gaelic O' harrachtain. It helps to have a wife who is a fluent Irish speaker!!! Both the Munset and Ulster dialects.
ancavker | Aug 27, 2012, 04:30 PM EDT
citizen: A country typically denotes that it is independent. Note that England, northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales are not countires in the sense that they are not independent, they are areas within the UK.
citizen69 | Aug 27, 2012, 11:32 AM EDT
@BrendanDunphy: The actual official name of the team is "Great Britain & Northern Ireland Olympic Team" but for marketing purposes they have the brand name "Team GB" since 1999. So if Rory chose to play for Great Britain & Northern Ireland he would still be representing the part of Ireland he comes from.
BrendanDunphy | Aug 27, 2012, 09:39 AM EDT
The team he may become a member of is called "Great Britain" and not "United Kingdom". The latter includes (in some minds anyway) Northern Ireland, BUT THE FORMER DOES NOT. GB is comprised of England, Scotland and Wales only. Fact. Yet Rory wants to join them instead of Ireland?? My support is entirely with Padraig.
BrendanDunphy | Aug 27, 2012, 09:32 AM EDT
I agree with this article 100% and offer no apologies for doing so. If/when Rory accepts his Irishness, I will rethink my position. Until then, Padraig is the man.
seanomelb | Aug 27, 2012, 02:31 AM EDT
I suppose in your narrow definition of a country all is well.
citizen69 | Aug 27, 2012, 01:34 AM EDT
Come back to the real world Seanmelb, not your Irish republican dream world where no shinner dare speak it's name! Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales & England are all countries.
seanomelb | Aug 26, 2012, 09:04 PM EDT
NI is not a country it is a colony. It does not have embassies or foreign ministers etc. it's just a vassal state.
citizen69 | Aug 26, 2012, 12:00 PM EDT
@buffalobrave: You have already assumed Rory wouldn't "have the backbone" to play for Ireland (which he has already done) but it is gracious of you to accept the personal choices he makes for himself. On the contrary, Northern Ireland is a constituent country of the United Kingdom and no nation on earth disputes this. Obviously you also have little understanding of British Citizenship and British Subjects. There are in fact quite a few British subjects in the Republic of Ireland but in Northern Ireland we are British citizens (or Irish,or duel citizens if one so chooses). Of course Northern Ireland will always be Irish! It's the Irish part of the United Kingdom and so long as the people of NI wish it, it will remain that way.
seanomelb | Aug 26, 2012, 12:16 AM EDT
Maybe you can refer me to any brit bashing I have done on this particular post clowngate. I have not demeaned McIllroy on any site. Facts my dear man!!
Cranleigh | Aug 25, 2012, 06:44 PM EDT
Harrington's a bit of a pain - what do you expect from an accountant? Reminds me of Sir Nick Faldo. Before the major successes, he used to come up with all sorts of excuses for losing. I think I'd be more comfortable having a pint with Darren Clarke over Harrington or McIlroy any day of the week.
Towngate | Aug 25, 2012, 04:56 PM EDT
The name 'Harrington' does not sound more oIrish then McIlroy. Sean - this is an 'unhelpful' post and you would be better advised to keep your hatred and Brit-bashing bigotry to yourself in future if you want to be taken seriously as a journalist!
Buffalobrave | Aug 25, 2012, 03:26 PM EDT
citizen69: You assume quite q bit on my behalf. How do you know I will not except his choice if it is other than Irish.? I may not agree with his choice but I assure you I will accept it. However the problem is Northern Ireland is not a country and it is occupied by a foreign country. The island of Ireland is and always will be Irish. The British are intruders and they should leave. If you are satisfied by being a British subject, ( you don't have the privilege of citizenship ) then that's your choice. Please show me stats and proof that "A lot of Irish Americans share this sectarian attitude." A nebulous concept if there ever was one.
citizen69 | Aug 25, 2012, 08:50 AM EDT
@Buffalobrave: Yes, I'd be proud of Rory if he decided to play for Ireland in the next Olympics. He has already represented Ireland in amateur golf. He's proud of being from Northern Ireland and will always represent it whether he plays for GB&NI or the island of Ireland. He has played for both jurisdictions proudly. He is British & Irish. Anyone who can't accept that then that's their problem. Graeme McDowell doesn't get this same criticism or scrutiny from the Irish diaspora and it's purely because Rory is a Catholic. It's nothing less than sectarianism. It is suggesting that if he is a Catholic and doesn't share certain political views then somehow he is not entitled to call himself Irish. A lot of Irish Americans share this sectarian attitude. As you say, under the GFA Rory has the right to choose yet you and other will criticize him for not making a choice you agree with.
Buffalobrave | Aug 25, 2012, 07:57 AM EDT
citizen69: Would you be proud of him if he did decide to play for Ireland.? Under the GFA he has a right to choose. I think not, but if it where to happen, (Rory playing for Ireland )please prove me wrong. I'll wait!
citizen69 | Aug 25, 2012, 07:39 AM EDT
Why don't you all get over yourselves? Rory McIlroy is from Northern Ireland, not the Republic. The Irish tricolour is NOT the flag of Northern Ireland. Harrington DOES live in the Republic of Ireland and therefore should fly his own flag. When you see McIlroy, McDowell & Darren Clarke playing on TV, the flag beside their names is the Northern Irish flag. I'm very proud of all these guys regardless of religion, religion doesn't come into it. How many times do you need to be told that the Republic of Ireland does not have exclusivity on the word Irish, nor is the tricolour the only Irish flag. QUOTE:"Maybe it was the Irish spirit there that saw Harrington head for Bethpage with the old fire in his gut and outshoot McIlroy"... meaning what? That Rory doesn't have "Irish spirit" because he doesn't fly the flag of the Republic? Typical bigoted anti-unionist nonsense spewed by the so-called "journalists" of Irish Central! You stick to supporting whomever you like. It won't make one bit of difference to the success of Rory McIlroy. We in Northern Ireland are very proud of him.
Buffalobrave | Aug 25, 2012, 07:31 AM EDT
Because McIlroy lives and plays out of the north, I personally don't think he will have the back bone to play for Ireland. The orange threat will be to much for him. I remember Eddie Irvine the retired F1 driver claiming Irish citizenship (even though he was from the north and a protestant) being threatened by the UVF. Eddie's family was a target also. So no Rory will not play for Ireland, simply because he does not live in a democracy.
thetint | Aug 25, 2012, 07:28 AM EDT
Rory has clearly decided he is British - his right - so I'm all for Harrington. Rory will find out like George Best before him that when things are going well he is British and when things go bad he is Irish.
seanomelb | Aug 24, 2012, 05:43 PM EDT
lawyer4 I suppose the stars and stripes is a stripy cloth or are you a petty and narrow minded??
warrenpoint00 | Aug 24, 2012, 04:15 PM EDT
Not too much confusion here Sean that is if you are a true Irishman, there should be no confusion at all.Most Irish people can allude to the fact that there is no north or south just plain old Ireland while there are others in Ireland that are pro british union and partitionists The compromise that is now the Irish free state and north OF Ireland that exists within our country seems to be that what is confusing you. In the meantime all true nationalists anxiously and paitently await the return of our nation to us.Best of luck to both Irish men Padraic and Rory,of course that is if they pertain to be Irish.
shuvonn | Aug 24, 2012, 02:50 PM EDT
Lawyer4 I think most people do not see their flag as petty and many have died fighting for their flag. And there are several ways to spell Pádraig and it is a personal choice as to what his parents chose to call him, sort of like Bryan, Brian, I prefer Brian but many like Bryan.
cillowen | Aug 24, 2012, 02:28 PM EDT
Mcbritishnesslroy loves his danish ways with the paddies - could be a gandy dance balance he'll have to really face in 2016.
pilib04 | Aug 24, 2012, 01:22 PM EDT
"Padraig" Harrington? Since Sean wants to make issues of everything, how about his name? What was wrong with Padraic?
pilib04 | Aug 24, 2012, 01:20 PM EDT
Rory is a good kid and we both hail from Northern Ireland. We have both met Martin McGuinness and we both love Florida. Can you leave the politics out of sport, please.
pilib04 | Aug 24, 2012, 01:17 PM EDT
Rory Mcilroy has not made a decision about which flag he will compet under for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Normally Rory competes under Northern Ireland, however that choice is unavailable (at this date). His choice at this point is GB or Eire. He has already stated he will delay his decision until the last moment. Given the significance of 2016, I would think that the lad is making the right choice.
lawyer4 | Aug 24, 2012, 11:46 AM EDT
Isn't it amazing how excited some people get about pieces of stripy cloth? Petty nationalism at its most infantile.
derrymarch | Aug 24, 2012, 11:07 AM EDT
Hard to blame Rory, a Catholic, for being careful....
shuvonn | Aug 24, 2012, 10:54 AM EDT
Was it bigotry when the UVF murdered Rory's uncle Joe for moving into a protestant neighborhood?
johhnyb | Aug 24, 2012, 10:40 AM EDT
Is Irish Central ever going to get over its petty bigotry?
stephendoyle | Aug 24, 2012, 10:39 AM EDT
torbreezy, there were no threats made as required by jingoism, just statements of fact as to the physical location of where he was born. I don't give a rats aXX if he thinks he is Martian....
torbreezy | Aug 24, 2012, 10:30 AM EDT
This "jingoism" should be taken lightly and with a touch of blarney . . . . Huh?
dermotfastnet | Aug 24, 2012, 10:12 AM EDT
He was born within the 32 counties of Ireland so he's Irish. Forget the flags and bunting and enjoy his great talent as an 'Irish' golfer
shuvonn | Aug 24, 2012, 09:57 AM EDT
And there is something incomprehensible that a man whose uncle was murdered by loyalists in Northern Ireland simply because he was a Roman Catholic considering declaring for Great Britain in the next olympics. Lets clarify your assertion that he does not feel Irish, so far to my knowledge he has ALWAYS maintained you can consider him Irish if you want, and British if you want. I notice a certain contempt for all things Irish and Ireland in ALL of your posts..... but it's quite typical that if he was no longer successful Great Britain would have him be Irish right away and since he is successful they are trying to declare him British. Like they used to say about Georgie Best, the greatest British footballer but an Irish alcoholic.
stephendoyle | Aug 24, 2012, 09:53 AM EDT
WoundedKnee- Wether Mcllroy feels Irish or not, he is just that. He was born on the island and will Irish, wether he admits it or not. I am sure there are plenty of people that do not identify with their native countries, but just like family, you can't change where you are born.
WoundedKnee | Aug 24, 2012, 09:20 AM EDT
As you rightly state, McIlroy can make his own mind up as to what nation he identifies with, Borneo or Bhutan for all I care. But I read the Irish newspapers, and there is something contemptible about the sniveling way the Irish media try to claim Irishness for a guy who doesn't feel Irish.