All of the following athletes are listed online as either being Irish, Northern Irish (totally separate thing) or Irish-American (totally another separate thing).
So on March 17, be sure to salute your next green beer to one of these guys!
Related: The Guide To Picking The Perfect Cocktail For You
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports.
Photo Credit: Getty
Irish Athletes
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Ben Hogan
One of the greatest golfers of all-time. 69 career wins, two wins at The Masters.
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Danica Patrick
Yup, she's supposedly half Irish. 2005 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year. 4 top 10 wins in NASCAR. You know her mostly for her modeling and GoDaddy commercials.
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Jack Dempsey
The greatest boxer of his generation, Dempsey was an Irish-Cherokee Mormon from the early 20th century.
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Jimmy Connors
Along with John McEnroe, both tennis players are Irish-American.
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John Daly
There are many golfers on this list. Makes sense since the game was invented in neighboring Scotland. Daly has 5 PGA Tour wins all-time, but is mostly known for his outrageous attire.
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John Elway
Former Broncos quarterback. Two-time Super Bowl champion. Irish-American.
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John McEnroe
Considered with Connors as one of the all-time tennis greats and another Irish-American.
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John Stockton
The NBA's all-time assists leader is Irish-American.
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Kelly Slater
Who knew the greatest surfer of all-time had an Irish background? Slater is an 11-time ASP world champion and is of Syrian and Irish ancestry.
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Kevin McHale
I know, shocking that a McHale turns out to be Irish. This all-time Celtics great who played with Larry Bird in the 80s. Hale is listed as being from Irish and Croat origin.
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Mark McGwire
Big Mac! The greatest home run hitter of all-time who was on roids NOT named Barry Bonds is of Irish heritage.
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Michael Phelps
The greatest swimmer known to man has more Olympic medals than anyone else in history. He's also listed as being of English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and German descent.
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Nolan Ryan
An Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame member, and the most vicious strikeout hurler in the history of the game.
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Rory McIlroy
The Northern Ireland native is currently, arguably, the best golfer in the world. He has 16 career PGA wins and is the 2014 Masters champion.
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Roy Keane
The former Manchester United star who has 57 career goals is Irish.
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Sam Snead
One of the best players in the game of golf for the first half of the century, Snead is first all-time in PGA Tour wins (82) and is listed as Irish-American.
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Tom Brady
You know him. Patriots star. Model married to Giselle. Possibly best quarterback ever. Brady was raised in an Irish-American Catholic family.
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Whitey Ford
Hall-of-Famer who spent his entire 16-year career with the Yankees, this Cy Young Award winner and 10-time All-Star is Irish-American.
