Top three ‘Living Legends’in sport

three HARP Living Legends: Giants of NI Sport, Rory McIlroy, Pat Jennings and AP McCoy, were joined by the HARP Angel as they followed in the footsteps of mythical legends from Northern Irelands past at The Giants Causeway, Co. Antrim. The three icons were named as NIs greatest living sports legends by an expert panel including Barry McGuigan (former featherweight world champion), Jackie Fullerton (voice of NI football), Adrian Logan (former UTV sports editor) and Graham Little (Sky Sports).

In a bid to answer those burning questions, HARP brought together four local sports experts to start the debate and thrash out their Top 3.

Thirty years on from becoming World Champion at Featherweight and being named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Barry McGuigan was joined by Graham Little (Sky Sports), Adrian Logan (former UTV sports editor) and Jackie Fullerton (voice of NI football) at The HARP Bar in Belfast to attempt to reach definitive answers.

Football, horse racing, GAA, motorsport, rugby, athletics, boxing, hockey, cricket and golf were all on the agenda and after some serious consideration - and much mickey-taking - the panel eventually agreed their Top 3 Living Legends.

They are - in no particular order - Rory McIlroy (golf); AP McCoy (horse racing) and Pat Jennings (football).

Barry McGuigan ruled himself out of contention by arguing that he hadn’t been at the top long enough to justify inclusion. Barry said: “It really wasn’t easy picking a Top 3, and we all had a favourite that didn’t quite make it.

“But the consensus among the panel was that AP, Pat and Rory have all had an incredible impact and reached the very top level; the pinnacle of what is possible to achieve in their chosen field.

“These three guys are known around the world for their achievements: AP, who was champion jockey twenty times in a row, absolutely peerless.

“Rory, who has already won four majors and could go on to become the greatest golfer of all time; and Big Pat, Northern Ireland’s most-capped player, a man who won the FA Cup with both Spurs and Arsenal and would surely have been in any ‘World 11’ in his day.”

Lisa Ronayne, Senior Brand Manager Europe – HARP, said: “We’ve started a local debate with an expert panel. We’re sure there’ll be plenty of people out there who agree with our Top 3.”