And Ireland’s richest sports person is… a surprise

The Sunday Times has published their sporting 'Rich List' today and Ireland’s richest sports person is a bit of a surprise.

Last week the Sunday Times published their annual 'Rich List', a fairly depressing read for the vast majority of us. Today, the paper follows up with the sporting version so like the money-crazed person I am, I flicked to find who Ireland’s richest sports person is.

When I found it, I was both surprised and disappointed. The gong goes to Tony O’Reilly, the former owner of Independent News and Media. He qualifies as he played rugby for Ireland in the 1950s but O’Reilly didn’t make any of his money on the rugby field, no matter how good he was for Ireland and the Lions so we think the Times have gotte this one wrong.

So we move to number two, and there we find a more suitable name, Eddie Irvine. The former F1 driver has €99m in the bank thanks to his big wages while driving and smart investments since. Padraig Harrington takes third. The golfer is estimated to have a wedge (sorry) worth €40million and as one of the nicest men in sport, we couldn’t be happier for him.

Fourth is the one and only Roy Keane, who has €35million in the bank, so there is no real rush to get back to work for the Cork man. Next up is Damien Duff, with €21million, while the Fulham man’s long-time partner in the Irish team, Robbie Keane is tied with Darren Clarke on €19m.

It was interesting to note that Giovanni Trapattoni has €24m but after being at the top for over 50 years, he has probably earned it.

As far as worldwide big earners, Tiger Woods still leads with £538m, but he would be close to the magic £1billion but for a rather costly divorce you may have heard a bit about.

A quick look at the list suggests that if you want to make big money, F1 and golf are the way to go. Race you to the picth and putt then.