Brian O’Driscoll has retained his number 1 status on Ireland’s most admired sports personality list, according to sponsorship consultants Onside.

One in six Irish adults singled out the ex-Irish rugby centre as the sports personality they admire most overall. Katie Taylor was next in line at 11%. Rugby World Cup captain Paul O’Connell, injured in the RWC pool victory over France, was the sports star making the most gain in Irish public admiration.

Conor McGregor appeared in Onside’s Top 10 for the first time at sixth place, two spots behind Roy Keane (4th) and Rory McIlroy (5th).

Onside CEO John Trainor remarked: “Among 18-24 year olds, Katie Taylor and Roy Keane are the personalities holding most appeal.”

The Top 10 also includes Robbie Keane, Henry Shefflin, Ronan O’Gara and Sonia O’Sullivan.

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Trainor cautioned that personality endorsement is not an easy win to build brand appeal and conversion to business growth. "An association with a top athlete can be a highly effective way to engage with fans, but without a well-developed activation plan it can under-perform significantly,” he said

Outside of sport, Onside says that Ryan Tubridy is the most admired television or radio personality in Ireland. Gay Byrne ranks second, ahead of Miriam O’Callaghan. TV3 host Vincent Browne and Today FM breakfast host Ian Dempsey also made positive gains in the new research.