Looking at ourselves - So, who is Ireland’s greatest?

LISTS that aim to honour greatness are usually no more than a snapshot of the moment we live in.

At their best they might just be cultural self-analysis by numbers but they are always arbitrary and subjective. They say as much, maybe even more, about the compilers as they do about those honoured by inclusion.

As often as not, lists generate as much heat by their exclusions as they do through inclusions. The final list of 40 contenders offered for consideration in a voting process to identify the Greatest Irish Figure, drawn up for RTÉ, is just that.