Katie Taylor has retained her title as Ireland’s most admired sporting star, new research by the Onside sponsorship shows. The Bray boxer’s record-breaking bout in July of this year completed a historic trilogy against Amanda Serrano. Taylor has held the top position since 2017, excluding 2023 where rugby legend Johnny Sexton claimed prime position.
Sexton still features in fourth place ahead of fellow retired internationals Ronan O’Gara, Paul O’Connell and Brian O’Driscoll. Olympic gold medalist boxer Kellie Harrington was tenth on the list. Sky Sports punter Roy Keane and golfer Rory McIlroy joined Taylor in the top three, with fellow golfer Shane Lowry also in the top ten.
Heroics
The research was completed after the Offaly man’s recent Ryder Cup heroics. Kate O’Connor was in 12th place after her heptathlon silver medal at the World Athletics Championship, with 400-metre runner Rhasidat Adeleke in the top 10 for a second successive year. All-Ireland winners David Clifford (Kerry) and Noel McGrath (Tipperary) made the top 20.
Outside sport, Ryan Tubridy and Patrick Kielty have remained as the top two in TV and radio’s most admired. Tubridy, who has held the top spot since 2019, saw his admiration score drop from 18 per cent in 2022 to seven per cent this year, though he remains most popular with those aged 18-24. Kielty holds second place for the second consecutive year.
Claire Byrne (third), Joe Duffy (fourth), and Graham Norton (fifth) completed the top five. U2 frontman Bono is first for music and live entertainment for the fourth year in a row, with CMAT and Kneecap jumping to fourth and sixth place respectively in this year’s list. Daniel O’Donnell was second, Hozier third, and Dermot Kennedy fifth.
