THE list of early contenders to become 'Ireland's Greatest' person - which includes four people who are still alive - has been criticised by leading historian Diarmaid Ferriter, who says it will not be taken seriously.

The leading 10 last week, before voting closed on Friday, were Bono, Michael Collins, James Connolly, Stephen Gately, John Hume, Phil Lynott, Pádraig Pearse, Mary Robinson, Adi Roche and Oscar Wilde. The final 10 will be announced on Ryan Tubridy's morning radio show tomorrow.

Wolfe Tone and Charles Stewart Parnell were overlooked, as were writers James Joyce and WB Yeats. Former taoisigh Seán Lemass, Eamon de Valera, Garret FitzGerald, Charles Haughey and Jack Lynch also failed to make the cut.

No sports figures featured on the early list, but Brian O'Driscoll, Sonia O'Sullivan, Pádraig Harrington and Roy Keane were previously longlisted in the top 40.

Now Ferriter says the list lacks any historical context and will not be taken seriously.

"It is going to be very hard to take this seriously for historians. When we see the likes of Stephen Gately on the list, which is no disrespect to him at all, we take a step back. I am all in favour of encouraging historical debate, but including people like Adi Roche who are still alive is not putting this is any kind of context, it is just making a contemporary list," says Ferriter.

According to Ferriter, the early shortlist is hugely hampered by contemporary obsessions. "Not enough time has elapsed to put them into any kind of proper historical context. It is now just some sort of list about contemporary preoccupations.

"People who were previously in the top 40 like Wolfe Tone are still being revaluated historically, when new archives and documents come to light, so evaluation is always ongoing long after death and this is a major difficulty. If almost half on the list are still alive, how can there honestly be a greatest Irish person ever picked out?"

Ferriter says that well-known RTE presenter Marian Finucane tried to compile a list of the greatest Irish women ever a number of years ago, which backfired due to a listeners' campaign.

"Nano Nagle, founder of the Presentation Sisters, was coming in first and next of all there was this campaign set up to get Michelle Smith instead. So a similar thing may happen with this, when a campaign is set up for reasons other than historical greatness.

"These things can lead to lively historical discussion but in this case when you see some of the individuals on the list I can't see how that would happen. I don't want to knock the list but there is a sense of perspective that is missing for all of this," says Ferriter.

An MRBI poll originally created a list of the top 40 Irish personalities. Online voting finished last Friday and the list will be whittled down to five. These will then be made into five separate documentaries and then the greatest Irish person of all time will be chosen by public vote once again. The winner will be announced on the Late Late Show in October.

THE TOP 10

Bono (1960-)
Michael Collins (1890-1922)
James Connolly (1868-1916)
Stephen Gately (1976-2009)
John Hume (1937-)
Phil Lynott (1951-86)
Pádraig Pearse (1879-1916)
Mary Robinson (1944-)
Adi Roche (1955-)
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)