Malcolm McCausland wrote:
1. It is not an Irish record because it was run on a point-to-point course - similarly you cannot run a World record in the Great North Run either for the same reason.
2. Cragg's mother is not Irish; nor are any of his grandparents; there was some cockandbull story about one of his great grandparents leaving Cork to work in the diamond mines of South Africa.
The truth is that his father acquired an Irish passport at a time (apartheid) when everyone in South Africa who wanted to leave the country had a second passport of another nation. Really Barack Obama probably has more claim to being Irish.
1. Its reported as an Irish record on the Irish federations official website:
http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=18195Maybe it doesn't sound but surely they of all people wouldn't have reported it as such if it wasn't
2. The passport comes from his mothers side not fathers(fathers family are Scottish settlers. He is also eligible for Britsih citizenship). Both of his maternal grandparents' families were Irish immigrants. People forget that in apartheid era SA the origins of your family was of the utmost importance. Its unlikely than even though they were born there that either grandparents was ever considered to be a SA citizen and thus the family would most likely have considered themselves Irish.
Also Cragg wouldn't have been able to claim citizenship from his great grandparents alone . Beause its so far back his mother would have to have been an Irish citizen at the time of his birth to make him eligible for it