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Rory delays Ireland call

Rory McIlroy last night stressed that he is still a long way off declaring which country he intends to represent at the 2016 Olympics.

Golf’s world No 1 published an open letter via his Twitter account in the wake of quotes from a newspaper interview printed on Monday in which the 23-year-old from Holywood, near Belfast, indicated he may opt to play for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team rather than Ireland when his sport is re-introduced at the Rio Games four years from now.

McIlroy told a UK newspaper he was a British passport holder and “always felt more British than Irish” but did not state outright that he was about to declare his golfing allegiance to Team GB & NI.

Golf is a 32-county, all-Ireland sport and players from all four provinces represent Ireland at amateur level under the banner of the Golfing Union of Ireland. McIlroy was one such golfer and his open letter, posted last night, alluded to the dilemma he will face in four years’ time.

“I am in an extremely sensitive and difficult position,” McIlroy wrote. “I am a proud product of Irish golf and the Golfing Union of Ireland and am hugely honoured to have come from very rich Irish sporting roots... I am also a proud Ulsterman who grew up in Northern Ireland. That is my background and always will be.

“I wish to clarify that I have absolutely not made a decision regarding my participation in the next Olympics. On a personal level, playing in the Olympics would be a huge honour. However, the Games in Rio are still four years away and I certainly won’t be making any decisions with regards to participating any time soon.”

As McIlroy brought the issue to a head, stoking a fierce debate in the media and on social media sites, Des Smyth said he believed Irish golf should celebrate McIlroy’s incredible achievements and consign political bickering and sectarian strife to the dark ages.

European Senior star Smyth, 59, does not believe Ireland should be trying to claim the world No 1, who declared nearly six years ago that he felt more allegiance to the UK than Ireland.

“I would identify myself as British,” McIlroy said in a December 2006 interview with Golf Digest Ireland. “I’m from Northern Ireland so I’m a British citizen and I’ve got a British passport.

“I’m Northern Irish but I can have an Irish passport if I want. It’s just easier to say it. I didn’t really have any experience of all the troubles. Holywood is a quiet area and nothing really goes on.”

After travelling the world with golfers from both sides of the border since the violent days of the 1970s, Smyth believes it’s time we grew up politically and focused on the golf not the flag-waving.

“I don’t see how we can lay claim to people from Northern Ireland,” Smyth said yesterday. “They are part of the United Kingdom.

“Jimmy Heggarty was my travelling buddy on tour for many years. He was from Ulster, part of the United Kingdom and I never had a problem with that.

“I am from Drogheda, which is part of the Republic of Ireland. At the end of the day we are all Europeans, so who gives a damn?

“People are only looking for trouble by making a big deal out of this. He will be playing for Europe in the Ryder Cup in a couple of weeks and the fact is that he will be a Ryder Cup player from Ireland and that’s that.

“Why go back into those areas we have been trying to get away from for so many years?

“He is the best player we have produced on this island and that should cover it.
“I never thought I’d see the day when a player from Ireland would achieve so much. I don’t think there is a list he is not No 1 on. You have to be unbelievably talented to do all that.”

Link to Rory McIlroy’s open letterHome

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