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10 key Irish figures of the past 100 years

From the birth of the Republic, through the ‘Dev’ years, to Roy Keane and Mary Robinson

Michael Collins in London in October 1921 as part of the Treaty delegation. Photograph: Hulton Archive

Darragh Murphy
Sat Oct 29 2016 - 06:00

1. Michael Collins.

Put the administrative and military flesh on the bones of the figurative Republic declared in 1916. Waging guerrilla war against an empire with a mix of ruthlessness and administrative flair, Collins also managed to raise a £400,000 national loan in his spare time. Negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, and helped to draft the Free State Constitution. One in five Irish people attended his funeral.

2. Mary Robinson

Mary Robinson, Ireland’s first woman president and, later, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Photograph: AP

Ireland’s first female president, as barrister and Senator she helped to end bans on: women in juries; married female civil servants; contraception; divorce; and, as senior counsel in Norris v Ireland, homosexuality. Awarded US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, in recognition for her work at the UN.

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3. WB Yeats

As romantic a nationalist as Collins was pragmatic, Yeats was the driving force of the Irish literary revival and an international symbol of cultural independence. As Senator (1922-1928), he warned against the encroachment of Church power and, in 1923, became the first Irishman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was lauded for giving “expression to the whole spirit of a nation”.

4. Noel Browne

A former tuberculosis patient who became a doctor, in 1948 Browne became Minister for Health at 33, and reduced TB fatalities. Brought down the first Coalition after Taoiseach John A Costello abandoned the Mother and Child Scheme amid fierce opposition from the Catholic Church.

5. Ken ‘TK’ Whitaker

Whitaker was voted Irishman of the 20th Century for kickstarting Ireland’s belated industrialisation. After much prodding, his seminal White Paper ‘Economic Development’ was adopted in 1959 by Taoiseach Seán Lemass, ending protectionism, and increasing inward investment. He is due to turn 100 in December.

6. Gay Byrne

Surely few broadcasters – bar CBS anchor Walter Cronkite – has had a comparable effect on a Western society as the RTÉ presenter has had on Ireland. The first person to introduce the Beatles on screen, Byrne's time at the helm of the Late Late Show (1962-1999) helped to transform Irish life by breaking taboos on contraception, abortion and homosexuality.

7. Roy Keane

Keane emigrated from recessionary Cork to become the most expensive player in British history, captaining Manchester United for eight years. Named Ireland’s Player of the 1994 World Cup, he drove the country to the 2002 Finals. Split Irish society over Saipan. His disagreement with Mick McCarthy was variously painted as a newfound Irish disillusionment with underperformance – or the inability of the Celtic Tiger generation to sublimate their own desires to the greater good.

8. Eamon de Valera

For over 40 years ‘Dev’ was either head of government or head of state, seeking a frugal, self-sufficient, Irish-speaking society. Recognised the “special position” of the Catholic Church in the 1937 Constitution, which was presented for approval to the Vatican prior to a Dáil vote and referendum. Yet he ensured that constitutional politics prevailed after the Civil War, and emphasised Ireland’s independent role in world politics.

9. Bertie Ahern

A self-described “socialist” who received “dig-outs” from developer friends, Ahern embodied all the contradictions of the turn of the century. Elected Taoiseach three times, he brilliantly negotiated the 1998 Belfast Agreement, ending a process begun by Garret FitzGerald, Haughey and Reynolds. Criticised for failing to rein in public spending prior to the 2008 banking collapse.

10. Saoirse Ronan

Raised in Carlow and Dublin, the actor appeared on the cover of Time magazine in June, billed as a "next generation leader". Publicly supported the Yes side in the 2015 Marriage Equality referendum and this year gained her second Academy Award nomination. Her performance in Brooklyn, based on Colm Tóibín's novel, underlines the link between Ireland and its emigrants, and the changing role of women over the past century.