Rory McIlroy - Issue not as sensitive as it once was

Ever since it became apparent that Rory McIlroy could be a world great in his sport some people have, for less than honourable reasons, tried to force him to declare allegiance to either Ireland or Britain.

This paint-him-into-a-corner blackmail had nothing to do with the individual, nothing to do with his wondrous talent or how he so impressively uses it. It had nothing to do with how he behaves or how he promotes these islands. In fact it had nothing to do with him at all.

Rather it is the same old, sad never-say-dies trying to create a conflict where there is none, trying to throw fuel on embers to try to re-ignite a dying conflict.

Just like the dangerously deluded people parading in paramilitary uniforms at a criminal’s funeral in Dublin this weekend they seem lost in a them-or-us time warp, unable to accept or understand that time, the country and the people they imagine they champion, have passed them by.

Rory McIlroy has a higher international profile than anyone alive on this island and, with the exception of Queen Elizabeth, may even be more widely recognised than anyone alive in Ireland or Britain. Getting him, or browbeating him, to say he was Irish would have been a pyrrhic victory for those who still can’t accept that people have a choice in how they define themselves far beyond their address or their place of birth.

Rory McIlroy has, by saying that he feels more British than Irish, pointed to factors that might influence his eventual decision about his Olympic participation. He has also acknowledged the positive role Ireland, especially the Golf Union of Ireland, has played in his life. He has, however, asserted that he has not reached a decision and will not in the foreseeable future. That he felt he had to issue a clarification so soon after a newspaper interview that seemed to suggest he may have shows how very sensitive this issue remains.

But it’s not as sensitive as it once was or as sensitive as some would have us believe it still is. Just as the very real apprehension before the English rugby team played in Croke Park proved groundless, maybe, hopefully, time has made decisions like this apolitical and far less divisive than they once were. There are plenty of examples that suggest that might be the case.

In recent weeks the great majority of people in Northern Ireland were happy to celebrate the medal-winning achievements of boxers Michael Conlon and Paddy Barnes under the Irish flag at the London Olympics. Of course there were some who were not but they were a minority.

And, if we are honest, maybe we, south of the border, should review how we celebrated the silver medals won by Coleraine brothers Richard and Peter Chambers who rowed for Britain in the lightweight men’s four.

Sport is the great international language and because of that it carries a powerful symbolism that can be exploited. It is also one of the great unifying forces, bridging conflict in a way that few other vehicles can — maybe that is why it is so often hijacked by people with an agenda outside of sport.

Whatever decision Rory McIlroy eventually reaches he must be respected and supported. And those, of whatever hue, who would exploit his situation should be seen for what they are.