Well it looks like John Hume takes both the Greatest Ulsterman and Greatest Irishman Award from Slugger O’Toole readers. As you can see he can hardly contain his delight! He comes well ahead of Presbyterian United Irishman Henry Joy McCracken. Sadly no women were represented in our Ulster poll, but the Countess Markievicz polled a very respectable third behind CS Parnell in the all island category. James Joyce caught up with Oscar Wilde to tie for fourth place – Seamus Heaney took third in Ulster. Whilst Harry Ferguson (inventor of the tractor) failed to catch George Best in fourth in the northern contest. Who is the greatest Ulster man or woman?
John Hume 31% 615
Henry Joy McCracken 26% 528
Seamus Heaney 11% 215
George Best 8% 167
Harry Ferguson 7% 148
Peter Canavan 7% 131
Daniel O’Donnell 5% 96
Pat Jennings 3% 57
Louis McNeice 1% 23
Alex Higgins 1% 28
2,008 votes total
Who is the greatest Irish man or woman?
John Hume 26% 399
Charles Stewart Parnell 15% 239
Countess Markievicz 15% 237
James Joyce 9% 143
Oscar Wilde 9% 143
TK Whittaker 7% 116
Bono 3% 51
St Columba (Colmcille) 6% 90
Daniel O’Donnell 6% 86
Mary Peters 3% 43
1,547 votes total
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
Discover more from Slugger O'Toole
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.