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[[Michelle Smith]], and
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[[John Treacy]].

==Ireland's Greatest Scientist==
In 2010, the website science.ie selected its Top 10 Irish scientists, in response to the exclusion of scientists from the RTÉ longlist.
#[[Robert Boyle]], founder of modern [[chemistry]] and discover of [[Boyle's law]]
#[[William Rowan Hamilton]], mathematician who developed [[Hamiltonian mechanics]] and discovered [[quaternion]]s
#[[Ernest Walton]], physicist who "[[nuclear fission|split the atom]]"; the only Irish [[Nobel Prize|Nobel laureate]] in a science ([[Nobel Physics Prize|Physics]], 1951)
#[[Kathleen Lonsdale]], [[X-ray crystallographer]] who discovered the molecular structure of [[benzene]] and [[diamond]]s
#[[Dorothy Price]], introduced the [[Bacillus Calmette-Guérin|BCG]] [[tuberculosis]] [[vaccine]] to Ireland
#[[John Tyndall]], physicist who studied [[radiant energy]] in [[air]]
#[[Harry Ferguson]], inventor of the modern [[tractor]]
#[[George Gabriel Stokes]], physicist who worked in [[fluid dynamics]], [[optics]] and [[mathematical physics]]; also discovered [[Stokes' theorem]]
9. Fr [[Nicholas Callan]], who invented the modern [[induction coil]]<br>
9. [[Charles Algernon Parsons]], inventor of the [[steam turbine]]<br>
9. [[William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin]], who formulated the first and second [[Laws of Thermodynamics]]


==Criticism==
==Criticism==

Revision as of 22:29, 22 October 2010

Ireland's Greatest is a 2010 public poll by by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) and associated television documentary series to be broadcast on RTÉ One, where viewers vote to choose the greatest person in the history of Ireland.[1] The concept is based on the BBC series 100 Greatest Britons.[2]

Format

To draw up an initial shortlist of 40 names, RTÉ commissioned an opinion poll of 1000 members of the public,[3] carried out by Ipsos MRBI in late 2009.[1][4] The shortlist was published on 22 March 2010 on the RTÉ.ie website,[5] and readers could vote for their preferred person for 12 days, ending on 2 April;[1] one vote per IP address was permitted.[3] The top ten was announced on The Tubridy Show with Myles Dungan on 5 April 2010.[6] The top five was established at this point,[3] but not publicised until RTÉ's programming schedule for autumn 2010 was unveiled in August.[7] Each of the top five will be profiled in a one-hour documentary programme to be broadcast in September 2010 and presented by a public figure advocating that person's claim to the title of "greatest person". Viewers will vote for the overall winner, to be announced on The Late Late Show in October.[6]

Top five

The advocates who will each present a one-hour documentary about one of the top five nominees are as follows:[8]

Nominee Presenter
Bono Dave Fanning
Michael Collins Michael McDowell
James Connolly Joe Duffy
John Hume Miriam O'Callaghan
Mary Robinson David McWilliams

Top 40

The following people were shortlisted:[7][6][1]

Rank Name Born Died Field(s)
Top 5 Bono 1960 Music, charity
Top 5 Michael Collins 1890 1922 Politics
Top 5 James Connolly 1868 1916 Politics
Top 5 John Hume 1937 Politics
Top 5 Mary Robinson 1944 Politics
Top 10 Noël Browne 1915 1997 Politics
Top 10 Stephen Gately 1976 2009 Music
Top 10 Phil Lynott 1951 1986 Music
Top 10 Patrick Pearse 1879 1916 Politics
Top 10 Adi Roche 1955 Charity
Top 40 Éamon de Valera 1882 1975 Politics
Top 40 Joe Dolan 1939 2007 Music
Top 40 Ronnie Drew 1934 2008 Music
Top 40 Colin Farrell 1976 Acting
Top 40 Garret FitzGerald 1926 Politics
Top 40 Bob Geldof 1951 Charity, music
Top 40 Pádraig Harrington 1971 Sport
Top 40 Charles Haughey 1925 2006 Politics
Top 40 Séamus Heaney 1939 Literature
Top 40 James Joyce 1882 1941 Literature
Top 40 John B. Keane 1928 2002 Literature
Top 40 Roy Keane 1971 Sport
Top 40 Ronan Keating 1977 Music
Top 40 Seán Lemass 1899 1971 Politics
Top 40 Jack Lynch 1917 1999 Politics, sport
Top 40 Paul McGrath 1959 Sport
Top 40 Christy Moore 1945 Music
Top 40 Liam Neeson 1952 Acting
Top 40 Daniel O'Connell 1775 1847 Politics
Top 40 Daniel O'Donnell 1961 Music
Top 40 Brian O'Driscoll 1979 Sport
Top 40 Michael O'Leary 1961 Business
Top 40 John O'Shea 1944 Charity
Top 40 Sonia O'Sullivan 1969 Sport
Top 40 Charles Stewart Parnell 1846 1891 Politics
Top 40 Christy Ring 1920 1979 Sport
Top 40 Theobald Wolfe Tone 1763 1798 Politics
Top 40 Louis Walsh 1952 Music
Top 40 Oscar Wilde 1854 1900 Literature
Top 40 William Butler Yeats 1865 1939 Literature

Ireland's Greatest Women

In 2005, Marian Finucane's radio show organised a similar poll to find Ireland's greatest woman. There were some claims of ballot-stuffing.[9] The top ten was:[10]

  1. Nano Nagle, founder of the Presentation Sisters
  2. Mary Robinson, President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
  3. Michelle Smith, winner of three gold medals and a bronze medal in swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics (later tarnished by allegations of usage of the performance-enhancing drug androstenedione)
  4. Saint Brigid, 4th/5th century abbess and one of Ireland's patron saints (many modern historians believe Brigid to be fictional)
  5. Gráinne Ní Mháille, Galway pirate
  6. Christina Noble, founder of the Christina Noble Children's Foundation
  7. Edel Quinn, Catholic missionary
  8. Sophia McColgan, child abuse survivor
  9. Kathleen Lynn, suffragette, Sinn Féin TD and Easter Rising participant
  10. Nora Herlihy, co-founder of the Irish League of Credit Unions[11]

Ireland's Greatest Sportsperson

In September 2009, RTÉ ran an online poll in sponsored by Paddy Power to nominate Ireland's greatest sportsperson.[12] A shortlist of 32 names was selected by a panel of experts.[13] The top ten was announced on 31 December 2009:[14]

  1. Pádraig Harrington (golf)
  2. Brian O'Driscoll (rugby union)
  3. Joey Dunlop (motorcycling)
  4. George Best (soccer)
  5. Roy Keane (soccer)
  6. Sean Kelly (cycling)
  7. Sonia O'Sullivan (athletics)
  8. Christy Ring (hurling)
  9. Vincent O'Brien (horse racing)
  10. Paul McGrath (soccer)

The other 22 were:[13] D. J. Carey, Eamonn Coghlan, Ronnie Delany, Ken Doherty, Mike Gibson, Johnny Giles, Kevin Heffernan, Alex Higgins, Jack Kyle, Eddie Macken, Tony McCoy, Barry McGuigan, Aidan O'Brien, Mick O'Connell, Christy O'Connor Snr, Mick O'Dwyer, Jack O'Shea, Mary Peters, Stephen Roche, Henry Shefflin, Michelle Smith, and John Treacy.

Ireland's Greatest Scientist

In 2010, the website science.ie selected its Top 10 Irish scientists, in response to the exclusion of scientists from the RTÉ longlist.

  1. Robert Boyle, founder of modern chemistry and discover of Boyle's law
  2. William Rowan Hamilton, mathematician who developed Hamiltonian mechanics and discovered quaternions
  3. Ernest Walton, physicist who "split the atom"; the only Irish Nobel laureate in a science (Physics, 1951)
  4. Kathleen Lonsdale, X-ray crystallographer who discovered the molecular structure of benzene and diamonds
  5. Dorothy Price, introduced the BCG tuberculosis vaccine to Ireland
  6. John Tyndall, physicist who studied radiant energy in air
  7. Harry Ferguson, inventor of the modern tractor
  8. George Gabriel Stokes, physicist who worked in fluid dynamics, optics and mathematical physics; also discovered Stokes' theorem

9. Fr Nicholas Callan, who invented the modern induction coil
9. Charles Algernon Parsons, inventor of the steam turbine
9. William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, who formulated the first and second Laws of Thermodynamics

Criticism

The list of nominees for Ireland's Greatest was criticised by historians Diarmuid Ferriter,[9] Tim Pat Coogan, and Maurice Manning,[4] and Irish Times columnist Noel Whelan[15] They said that the list was skewed towards recent times, and that many nominees were celebrities from popular culture or sport rather than people who had made a lasting contribution to society; Ferriter said "It is going to be very hard to take this seriously for historians".[15][9] Ryan Tubridy, who presents The Late Late Show, commented, "There are some really silly names in there. It's contentious to say the least".[3] Liam Dolan in the Sunday Independent called it "a shambolic litany of well-intentioned do-gooders and talented non-entities".[16] People whose inclusion attracted criticism included Stephen Gately, Louis Walsh and Daniel O'Donnell.[2] The Belfast Telegraph noted the absence of Van Morrison and George Best;[2] other absentees noted were Michael Davitt, John McCormack,[4] William Rowan Hamilton, Lady Gregory, and Samuel Beckett.[16] Ken Sweeney in the Irish Independent criticised the ranking of Stephen Gately ahead of Éamon de Valera.[3] The dearth of women —3 out of 40— was also noted.[6][2][3] Website science.ie responded to the lack of scientists on the RTÉ shortlist by organising its own poll for Ireland's greatest scientist, won by Robert Boyle.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "RTÉ launches Ireland's Greatest Figures". RTÉ. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d "Ireland's 'greatest' list misses out on the Best". The Belfast Telegraph. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e f Ken Sweeney (6 April 2010). "Dev out but Gately joins the top 10 Irish greats". Irish Independent. Retrieved 16 April 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ a b c Murray, Ken (7 August 2010). "Historians unimpressed by RTÉ 'greatest' shortlist". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  5. ^ "Irelands Greatest". RTÉ.ie. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d "Ireland's Greatest Final Top 10 is Announced" (Press release). RTÉ.ie. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  7. ^ a b McGreevy, Ronan (5 August 2010). "RTÉ unveils autumn schedule". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  8. ^ "The new season 2010/2011" (PDF). RTÉ. August 2010. p. 4. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  9. ^ a b c Bray, Jennifer (4 April 2010). "Ferriter slams RTÉ over 'Ireland's Greatest' top 10". Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  10. ^ Ring, Evelyn. "Nano Nagle voted Ireland's greatest woman". Irish Examiner. 25 June 2005.
  11. ^ "Fifty Years Serving Communities in Ireland 1958 - 2008". Irish League of Credit Unions. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  12. ^ "Sport today on RTÉ.ie". RTÉ.ie. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2010. Voting closes Sunday on our poll to find your choice as Ireland's Greatest Sportsperson
  13. ^ a b "The Greatest Irish Sportsperson Ever!". RTÉ.ie. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  14. ^ "Kelly makes top ten of Irish sporting greats". Waterford News & Star. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  15. ^ a b Whelan, Noel (1 May 2010). "Fictional Keano has a point about 'Ireland's Greatest'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  16. ^ a b Collins, Liam (11 April 2010). "Rockers 'n' rebels -- is this the best we can do?". Sunday Independent. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  17. ^ "Robert Boyle - Greatest Irish Scientist poll". Science.ie. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 12 August 2010.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ireland%27s_Greatest&oldid=392300762"