Katie Taylor has retained her status as Ireland’s Most Admired Sports Personality for the sixth year in a row, albeit down 7 percent to the choice of 18 percent in 2022. She has emerged on top once more in a national survey of 1,000 individuals undertaken by ONSIDE for its 2022 Star Track.
Recency bias does not seem to be an issue for Irish audiences who still have Roy Keane and Brian O’Driscoll coming in second and third on their list of favourites. Keane’s popularity is up two percent on last year and O’Driscoll’s by one percent.
Shane Lowry, up four percent, and Rachael Blackmore, up two percent, are the closest of the currently active stars in the public eye, though Kellie Harrington is a surprising absentee from the Top Five.
“Katie Taylor has an avid fan base of over 680,000 Irish adults that see her as their number 1 Irish sports star,” according to John Trainor, Founder, and CEO of ONSIDE.
“Within that base, she could potentially sell out Croke Park many times over with active supporters that will want to see live, the biggest event in women’s boxing history, if it were to be staged in Ireland.”
“2023 looks set to offer major platforms for Irish sports stars to connect their personal brands with businesses seeking to engage with the 8 in 10 adults that have a sports star they admire most.”
“The Republic of Ireland women’s soccer team journey to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand opens a strong pool of talent, with captain Katie McCabe currently admired most in the squad by the public.”
“Retired rugby stars Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell, and Ireland and Leinster captain Johnny Sexton, also emerge from our latest research as strong prospects for brands seeking to align with talent around the Rugby World Cup in France.”
Outside of sport, the ONSIDE Star Track survey also found that Ryan Tubridy retained his number one status as the most admired television or radio personality in Ireland, achieving his highest score in over 10 years at 18 percent.
Marty Morrissey, Ray D’arcy, and John Creedon replaced Graham Norton, Marty Whelan, and Ian Dempsey in the Top 10 most admired broadcast personalities for this year.
U2 lead singer Bono, who has just released his autobiography ‘Surrender’, topped Dermot Kennedy and Christy Moore in the research category regarding most admired Irish music and live entertainment stars.
Aslan frontman Christy Dignam was the biggest mover in the music and live entertainment category in 2022, up 11 places to joint 5th with Hozier.
“Not only are the athletes, broadcasters, and music talent on our lists familiar and distinctive in their respective fields, but their influence and willingness to speak out on social and environmental issues position them as model ambassadors and corporate speakers for companies seeking to communicate effectively to consumer and corporate audiences.
