100 Greatest Irish People - The vote!

OK I have taken a number of your suggestions on board and I have personally compiled a shortlist of what I believe to be the 100 greatest Irish people of all time. However, as I stated already, I'd like the list to have a lot of input from all of you.

With that being said, over the course of the next few weeks I will post ten polls with ten Irish figures to a poll. This week I've posted two polls which can be found to your left. These are mutiple choice polls meaning you tick the box of the figures you feel are most deserving of a HIGH ranking.

The Irish figures with the most votes will obviously feature higher in the eventual list and obviously those with little support will be at the tail end of the list.

So, for example, one of the polls to your left features Michael Collins and Seamus Heaney. If you are of the view that Collins is a great Irishman and that Heaney is not, obviously you'd tick the box of Collins and leave Heaney's blank. It's pretty straightforward really.

So then, here are some details on this week's featured Irish figures which you can vote for in the sidebar. Remember you can select as many as you want.

Poll #1

Michael Collins - Revolutionary hero from County Cork

John Tyndall - Great natural philosopher from County Carlow

Roger Casement - Dublin-born British diplomat as well as Irish revolutionary

Lord Kelvin - Born William Thomson in Belfast, Ireland. Regarded as one of the great leaders in the physical sciences during the 19th century.

Hugh O'Donnell - Ulster rebel who fought the English occupation of the island.

C.S. Lewis - Belfast-born author, best known for his literary classic The Chronicles of Narnia.

Gay Byrne - Ireland's most well-known broadcaster, born in Dublin and who fronted the world's longest runing chat show, The Late Late Show, for 37 years.

Susan Jocelyn Bell - Northern Ireland-born astrophysicist, famous for discovering the first radio pulsars.

T.K. Whitaker - County Down born economist, largely responsible for the upturn in fortune for the Irish economy in the sixties.

Seamus Heaney - County Derry born poet, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995.


Poll #2

Oscar Wilde - World-renowned Dublin-born playwright, novelist, poet and short story writer.

Terence O'Neill - County Antrim born fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland who attempted to end sectarianism in the North.

Chaim Herzog - Belfast-born sixth President of Israel who served in World War 2 and who helped liberate several concentration camps.

Lord Castlereagh - Dublin-born Whig noted for attempting to emancipate Catholics as well as securing the Act of Union.

Mary Robinson - First female President of Ireland. Born in Mayo and noted for her humanitarian work.

Wolfe Tone - Dublin born revolutionary, widely regarded as the founding father of Irish republicanism.

Michael Davitt - Mayo-born IRB member who worked hard for people's land rights in the 19th century.

Samuel Beckett - Dubliner noted for his critically acclaimed novels, dramas and poetry who received the Nobel prize in Literature in 1969.

Bono - Born Paul Hewson, frontman of U2, the most successful Irish band of all time. Also known for his humanitarian work in Africa.

Richard Harris - Limerick-born actor widely regarded as one of the finest Irish actors of all time.

So there you have it. Stay tuned for the next set of polls.

No doubt many of you will both support and oppose many of the names listed here but sure tis all part of the process. Now get voting for your favourites, folks!