Like many other children of Irish emigrants that were born in the UK, it's clear that Tyson Fury considers himself to be, in some sense, Irish.
Given the undeniable Irish propensity for hopping on any passing bandwagon, the lukewarm reception to Fury's world title win struck many as curious. People didn't consider him Irish. The playing of 'God Save The Queen' prior to the fight has been cited as a reason but it has since been reported that Fury had requested that the song not be played. Fury himself has said 'I was born in Manchester but I am Irish'.
In an interview with Sean O'Rourke on RTE Radio One, he revealed the hurt both he and his family felt when he was denied the chance to box for Ireland at the 2008 Olympics and, not for the first time, disclosed his desire to box in Croke Park.
Interestingly, Fury mentioned the Croke Park ambition after confirming to O'Rourke that the pre-fight contract entitles Klitschko to a rematch.
I don't know if he is going to take the rematch or not. There is a contract to say he is entitled to a rematch. I don't know where it is going to be. I have always said I would like to fight at Croke Park. Maybe that can be a reality one day.
I've always said I'd like to fight in Croke Park. Maybe that can be reality one day. I've always said there's a couple of venues that I want to box in in the world. One of them is Madison Square Garden, I've done that one. One of them is Old Trafford, I haven't done that one. The other one is Croke Park.
Tyson Fury wants to fight Vladamir Klitschko in Croke Park. Bring it on.
— Ronan McGreevy (@RMcGreevy1301) December 1, 2015
Fighting in Croker is a longstanding ambition for Fury.
Later in the interview, Fury talked about being denied the chance to box for Ireland in the 2008 Olympics, a twist of fate that hurt his father greatly. Naturally, he says that the decision effectively cost Ireland a gold medal in Beijing.
It was heartbreaking, it was heartbreaking for my family and for my Dad. They tried to deny his Irish heritage and it was a very upsetting time for the family. You can take the man out of Ireland but you can't take the Irishness out of the man... Ireland was denied a gold medal.
Like I said the press conference, I'm the first Irish heavyweight champion of the world... (British-Irish) is how I would describe myself. I wouldn't say I was an Irish born and bred person because that would be just lying. I was born and bred in Manchester in England but people who know me know I would be back and forth to Ireland a lot of times.
Fury repeatedly paid tribute to God throughout the interview, noting 'if God is with you, who can be against you?'
Inevitably, O'Rourke questioned him about his past remarks on homosexuality. When questioned about previous comments by Channel 4 News yesterday, he said that he had 'quite a few gay friends'. Today on RTE, he said he was been misquoted.
It's all misquotes. I don't have hate for anybody. I'm not homophobic. I'm not racist. All I have for people is love.
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