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5 Irish sporting records that are very unlikely to be broken

No surprise that most of these records are held by the best of the best.

LET’S SALUTE SOME Irish sporting legends. Well actually, not everyone on this list is legendary but you can certainly argue that their records will never be touched.

Do you think any of these feats will be matched or surpassed?

Robbie Keane – 67 international goals

Robbie Keane celebrates scoring their third goal from the penalty spot Donall Farmer / INPHO Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO

Before Robbie Keane smashed this national record, it stood at a measly 21 goals. With all due respect to Niall Quinn, that is a paltry total for a national team.

Robbie Keane has managed to more than triple that total and while he might not get the adulation he deserves as a result, it is very unlikely that his goals tally will ever be reached.

And if it is broken, at least that means that Ireland have probably unearthed the next Messi or Ronaldo.

Brian O’Driscoll – 47 international tries*

Brian O'Driscoll scores a try James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

Like Keane, O’Driscoll has a very healthy lead over the second man on this list and given Tommy Bowe’s recent knee injury it is unlikely that the Ulsterman will score the 17 tries required to surpass BOD.

Tries are hard to come by at international level – Keith Earls seems to score regularly yet is over 30 tries behind O’Driscoll – and given Joe Schmidt’s often conservative game plan it doesn’t look like any of the current squad will catch the great centre.

*O’Driscoll scored 46 tries for Ireland and one for the Lions.

Pat Spillane, Paidi O Se, Denis ‘Ogie’ Moran, Mikey Sheey and Ger Power – Eight All-Ireland football medals on the field of play

Pat Spillane and Kevin McCabe 1986 Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

Football has become so competitive that only one county has retained the Sam Maguire in the last 25 years and the medal haul of the above five players is unlikely to ever be surpassed – no current player has more than five.

Inter-county careers are becoming shorter as the demands placed on players increase and while someone like James McCarthy – with three wins at just 25 – might come close to tying the record or breaking it, it will be a very tough task for a modern day footballer to finish their career with nine All-Ireland medals.

Henry Shefflin – 11 Allstar awards

Brian Cody and Michael Dempsey with Henry Shefflin Cathal Noonan / INPHO Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO

To even play 11 seasons of inter-county GAA is a feat on its own but to be deemed one of the best players in the country so many times is a truly staggering achievement. There has perhaps never been such a consistent GAA player – Pat Spillane comes close but he only won nine Allstars. The closest active player to Shefflin is Colm Cooper with eight but given his recent injury and form it is unlikely that he will break the record as he turns 33 next year.

Michelle Smith – Most Olympic medals won by an Irish person

The reason why Smith’s four swimming medals (three golds and a bronze) from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta aren’t celebrated are widely known but the results still stand, which gives her a record haul for an a Irish athlete.

Only two other people have won more than one medal representing Ireland – Paddy Barnes with two boxing bronzes in 2008 and 2012 and Pat O’Callaghan with two hammer throw golds in 1928 and 1932.

Since O’Callaghan is unlikely to add two more medals, lets hope that Paddy Barnes can win his third medal in Rio de Janeiro next summer and stay on until Tokyo in 2020 at age 33.

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33 Comments
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    Mute Gary
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 4:14 PM

    Will, “very unlikely to be broken” do you really believe that? They said the same about Carl Lewis and the 100m sprint but along came Bolt. Records will be broken.

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    Mute Bill P. Danger
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 5:32 PM

    The possibility of records being broken is always possible, but if you’re referring to Robbie Keane, his goal tally is a freak event. It’s not just high for Ireland, it ranks internationally. He’s the highest scoring International player currently active. We’re not a Country that are likely to produce that again any time soon.

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    Mute Robert Behan
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 6:44 PM

    And Robbie isn’t finished just yet!

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    Mute Don Draper
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 10:09 PM

    As long as football is football Keane’s Ireland scoring record will never be gotten close to. Never mind beaten

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    Mute David Scott
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 6:21 PM

    think rog has records in europe and ireland which will never be broken. just look up his stats and awards including being europe’s most valuable player for the first 15 years of the comp.. still a bit pissed he never got the send off he deserved for saving our asses so many times and what he did in the red jersey and im a leinster man.. his records will outlast o’driscolls and his european records mite never be broken..

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    Mute James Darcy
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 6:40 PM

    Hear hear! I’d hug you if I could!

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    Mute Andrew Martin Farrell
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    Dec 24th 2015, 12:56 AM

    Martin, don’t you know the2 comment section??? Praise Munster option = green thumb Praise Leinster option = red thumb Criticize Leinster = green thumb Criticise Munster = red thumb The turnips are damn predictable

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    Mute Darren Kelly McCann
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 5:41 PM

    Any sports journalist with a shred of credibility wouldn’t have put Michelle Smith on this list. Sham.

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    Mute Bill P. Danger
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 6:10 PM

    Skimmed past that! Pretty ridiculous alright.

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    Mute James Darcy
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 6:39 PM

    Genuine question but was she not stripped of the medals?

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    Mute Robert Behan
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 7:28 PM

    No she kept her Olympic medals!

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    Mute Laura
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 5:45 PM

    Breige corkery and rena Buckley?? 16 all Ireland’s each.

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    Mute gary sheehan
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 5:51 PM

    Lol They’re woman Laura

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    Mute Wolf Pack
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 5:53 PM

    Run Gary, run very fast :)

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    Mute Laura
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 9:13 PM

    Where’s your 16 all Ireland’s??

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    Mute gary sheehan
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 9:27 PM

    Probably exactly the same place as yours babe. Imaginary

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    Mute Ron Burgundy
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 8:04 PM

    Shefflin has 10 All-Ireland medals on the field of play.

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    Mute Bill P. Danger
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 5:34 PM

    BOD’s cap tally is unlikely to be broken anytime soon with the increasing intensity of Test Rugby.

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    Mute Dónal Ferrie
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 5:54 PM

    Did Richie McCaw not just better O’Driscolls cap tally

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    Mute Bill P. Danger
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 6:09 PM

    Yeah, this is Irish Records. McCaw plays for New Zealand.

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    Mute ronan murray
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 5:11 PM

    If the 8 all irelands have been matched a few times. Am sure it can be broke

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    Mute William Boland
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 7:51 PM

    They all more or less played on the same team.

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    Mute mark
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 7:01 PM

    I hope most of the records are broken – means we will have a healthy sporting future ahead of us

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    Mute Showbiz Babyyy
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 4:59 PM

    Dave Kearney will break BOD’s record

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    Mute Bill P. Danger
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 5:33 PM

    Petty and stupid.

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    Mute Ronan McDermott
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 7:11 PM

    Jaysus you were kinda harsh on Niall Quinn!! We’ve never seen a player like Robbie Keene before

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    Mute John McCabe
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 6:20 PM

    Eamon Coghlans 7 Wannamaker miles will be hard beaten

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    Mute Sean Minogue
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 9:55 PM

    No doubt Robbie keane was a good player but he scores hat tricks against the faroe islands and the likes. A lot better Irish footballers than him. Take duff for an example retired there this week. Keane wasn’t even on the same page as him.

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    Mute Bill P. Danger
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    Dec 23rd 2015, 10:48 PM

    Highest goal scorer currently active in professional international football. This is an article about records. That is an impressive record no matter whom he scored them against.

    He also scored against France (1), Italy (1), Netherlands (2), and Spain (1), to name a few of the higher rankng teams.

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