Famous Northern Irish Sportspersons

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George Best

(Northern Irish Professional Footballer Who Played as a Winger)

Birthdate: May 22, 1946

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Died: November 25, 2005

Manchester United winger/midfielder George Best was the 1968 European Footballer of the Year and was placed sixth on the FIFA Player of the Century list. A skilled dribbler, the Northern Irish player was also known for his stunning good looks and his affinity for women and alcohol.

Rory Mcllroy

(Northern Irish Professional Golfer)

Birthdate: May 4, 1989

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Holywood, Northern Ireland

Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy competes as part of both the European and PGA Tours. He won four major titles by 25, becoming one of three people to achieve the feat. Rory was named the RTÉ Sports Person of the Year twice and has won the World Cup, too.

Alex Higgins

(Northern Irish Professional Snooker Player)

Birthdate: March 18, 1949

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Died: July 24, 2010

Alex Higgins was a Northern Irish snooker player. Renowned for his fast play, which earned him the nickname Hurricane Higgins, Alex was one of the most iconic snooker players of his generation. Thanks to his popularity, he was also called the People's Champion and is credited with popularizing the game of snooker.

Recommended Lists:

Northern Ireland

Football Players

Ken Doherty

(Snooker Player)

Birthdate: September 17, 1969

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland

Tony McCoy

(Horse racing jockey)

Birthdate: May 4, 1974

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Moneyglass, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Eoin Morgan

(Cricketer)

Birthdate: September 10, 1986

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland

Height: 5'9" (175 cm)

Joey Dunlop

(Motorcycle racer)

Birthdate: February 25, 1952

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Armoy, Northern Ireland

Died: July 2, 2000

Shane Lynch

(Singer)

Birthdate: July 3, 1976

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland

Height: 6'2" (188 cm)

Steven Davis

(Northern Irish Professional Footballer Who Plays as a Midfielder)

Birthdate: January 1, 1985

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Ballymena

Height: 5'8" (173 cm)

Kyle Lafferty

(Northern Irish Professional Footballer Who Plays as a Striker)

Birthdate: September 16, 1987

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Enniskillen, Northern Ireland

Height: 6'4" (193 cm)

Carl Frampton

(Former Professional Boxer From Northern Ireland and a Former Two-Weight World Champion)

Birthdate: February 21, 1987

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Carl Frampton is a British former professional boxer who won the silver medal at the Men's 2007 European Union Amateur Boxing Championships where he represented Ireland. He held the IBF super-bantamweight and WBA (Unified) titles between 2014 and 2016. From 2016 to 2017, he held the WBA (Super) featherweight title.

Mark Allen

(Northern Irish Professional Snooker Player)

Birthdate: February 22, 1986

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Craig Breen

(Irish Rally Driver)

Birthdate: February 2, 1990

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Waterford, Ireland

Died: April 13, 2023

Pat Eddery

(Jockey and race horse trainer)

Birthdate: March 18, 1952

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Newbridge, Ireland

Died: November 10, 2015

Pat Jennings

(Northern Irish Former Professional Footballer Who Played as a Goalkeeper)

Birthdate: June 12, 1945

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Newry, Northern Ireland

Height: 6'0" (183 cm)

Eddie Irvine

(Retired Racing Driver Who Competed in 'Formula One')

Birthdate: November 10, 1965

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland

Eddie Irvine is a retired racing driver who participated in F1 races between 1993 and 2002, finishing second in the World Drivers' Championship in 1999. Apart from F1, Eddie Irvine has also competed in Jaguar Racing, Formula 3000 Championships, and Formula Three. Since his retirement, Irvine has established himself as a media personality.

Jonathan Rea

(Northern Irish Professional Motorcycle Racer)

Birthdate: February 2, 1987

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Larne, Northern Ireland

Northern Irish motorcycle racer Jonathan Rea began his career with motocross and then switched to circuit racing later. He made history when he became the first racer to win six WorldSBK titles, that too, back-to-back. He earned the second place in the 2017 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award race.

Martin Donnelly

(Race Car Driver)

Birthdate: March 26, 1964

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Martin Donnelly is a motor racing driver best known for competing in popular races, including the Formula 3000 International Championship and Formula Three. He also competed in Formula One before a serious crash ended his F1 career. Since then, Martin Donnelly has been an important driving coach and works with Lotus Cars.

Jim Beglin

(Irish Former Professional Footballer and Co-Commentator)

Birthdate: July 29, 1963

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Waterford, Ireland

Height: 6'2" (188 cm)

Ryan Burnett

(Boxer)

Birthdate: May 21, 1992

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Height: 5'4" (163 cm)

Brendan Rodgers

(Northern Irish Professional Football Manager and Former Player)

Birthdate: January 26, 1973

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Carnlough, Northern Ireland

Height: 5'7" (170 cm)

Danny Blanchflower

(Northern Ireland Footballer, Football Manager and Journalist)

Birthdate: February 10, 1926

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Died: December 9, 1993

Height: 5'9" (175 cm)

Norman Parke

(Northern Irish Mixed Martial Artist)

Birthdate: December 22, 1986

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Height: 5'11" (180 cm)

Joe Brolly

(Irish Gaelic Football Analyst, Former Player and Barrister)

Birthdate: June 25, 1969

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Dungiven, Northern Ireland

Height: 5'10" (178 cm)

Wayne McCullough

(Boxer)

Birthdate: July 7, 1970

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Height: 5'7" (170 cm)

Adam Maxted

(Reality Star and Professional Wrestler)

Birthdate: March 27, 1992

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Height: 6'3" (190 cm)

Tony Dunne

(Irish Footballer Who Played as a Left-Back)

Birthdate: July 24, 1941

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland

Died: June 8, 2020

Height: 5'7" (170 cm)

Ralph Bryans

(Motorcycle Racer)

Birthdate: March 7, 1941

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Died: August 6, 2014

Caolan Lavery

(Canadian Professional Footballer Who Plays as a Forward)

Birthdate: October 22, 1992

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Red Deer, Canada

Height: 5'11" (180 cm)

James Tennyson

(Boxer)

Birthdate: August 6, 1993

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Lisburn, Northern Ireland

Height: 5'8" (173 cm)

Kelly Gallagher

(British Retired Alpine skier)

Birthdate: May 18, 1985

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Northern Ireland, England

Ryan-Zico Black

(Guernsey Footballer Who Plays as a Midfielder)

Birthdate: August 4, 1981

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Guernsey

Chris Tardif

(Former Professional Footballer)

Birthdate: September 19, 1979

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Guernsey

Height: 6'1" (185 cm)

Darrel Wilson

(Northern Irish Compound Archer)

Birthdate: July 17, 1980

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Bangor, Wales

Ayeisha McFerran

(Field hockey player)

Birthdate: January 10, 1996

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Robyn Stewart

(Track cyclist)

Birthdate: April 10, 1990

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland