Ireland has had a number of phenomenal black athletes, past and present. In this article, Sports Editor Adam Schmitz takes a closer look at the backstory and careers of two of Ireland’s best athletes as well as taking note of three other athletes excelling in their sport.
To celebrate Black History Month we’re shining a spotlight on two of Ireland’s greatest ever Black athletes, and admiring others who have excelled across various sports.
Rhasidat Adeleke
Whether it’s smashing national records or hanging out with Rihanna in London, one thing for sure is that Rhasidat Adeleke is at the top of her game and the height of her fame. The sprinter is the Irish Athlete on everyone’s minds in 2024 and currently sits as the bookie’s 7th favourite to win RTÉ Sportsperson of the year.
The Irish sprinter was born in Dublin in 2002 and is the daughter of Yoruba parents, originally from Oyo State in Western Nigeria. Ireland is home to more than 10,000 Yoruba people, who are an ethnic group who constitute more than 50 million people in Africa. Adeleke went to Primary school in Tallaght before attending Presentation Community College Terenure and accepting a scholarship to the University of Texas, which she attended for 2 years before leaving to turn professional.
With seven national records to her name, Adeleke has already cemented herself as one of Ireland’s greatest ever athletes.
In 2024, the Irish mixed 4x400m relay team, in which Adeleke tends to run the second leg, won gold in the European Championships and bronze at the World Relays in the Bahamas. They also set a new national record while taking 4th place at the Olympics in Paris, a finishing position that was matched by Adeleke individually in the 400m sprint.
In a post by @black_andirish on Instagram in 2021, Adeleke spoke about life as a black athlete in Ireland. “In my early teens, I thought that racism in Ireland had significantly decreased until I started representing Ireland internationally. Each year I found that racist remarks would flood the comment section under posts of my international success.
2017 was the first time I experienced it, at the age of 14, I wasn’t sure how to react.”
At the end of the post, she quoted Angela Davis, saying “In a racist society it’s not enough to be non-racist. We must be anti-racist”.
Paul McGrath
What do Ian Rush and Gary Linker have in common? No, it’s not that they’ve both won the English First Division Golden Boot, it’s that they both named Ireland’s Greatest ever defender, Paul McGrath, as the toughest opponent they ever came up against.
McGrath was born to an Irish mother and Nigerian father who disappeared shortly after his conception. After being brought up in foster care until the age of 18, McGrath struggled with alcoholism and has previously said he has attempted to take his own life on four different occasions.
McGrath’s struggles off the pitch faded to the background for the public who admired his illustrious career. Having started his career at St Patrick’s Athletic, he went on to make over 160 appearances for Manchester United where he won an FA Cup, and over 250 appearances for Aston Villa, where he became one of just six defenders to ever win the PFA Player of the Year Award and was given the simple nickname of ‘God’.
He made 83 appearances for the Irish national team and is commonly referred to as the country’s greatest ever footballer.
Speaking on Virgin Media sport, McGrath said “The only time I felt the Black thing was when I looked in the mirror… I’m actually quite proud of being the colour I am”. Throughout his playing days for St Patrick’s Athletic he was affectionately known as ‘The Black Pearl of Inchicore’.
More of Ireland’s Greatest Black athletes
Sophie Spence is a Grand Slam Winner for Ireland’s Women's Rugby Team having won the Six Nations in 2013. She represented Ireland in two World Cups and was a member of the first Irish teams to beat New Zealand and England. After retiring from playing she opened an academy for girls rugby and is currently training to be a coach in Wales.
UCD Alum Israel Olatunde was raised in Dundalk to Nigerian parents and is Ireland’s fastest man. In 2022 he became the first Irish man to reach the final of the 100m sprint at the European Athletics Championships. He holds the Irish 100m record with a time of 10.17.
Simon Zebo has over 150 appearances for Munster Rugby team and is their all time leading try scorer in the European Champions Cup. He was part of the Irish team to win the 2015 Six Nations and scored a try in the 2016 win over New Zealand.