We often see Rory McIlroy’s wife Erica Stoll and four-year-old daughter course-side to support him during big tournaments.
And while they’re there to celebrate or console, whatever the weather, it was Rory’s beloved parents Rosie and Gerry, or his ‘best friends if you will, that put in the graft behind the scenes.
They fostered his love of the sport from a young age and supported him, not only financially, but mentally and emotionally through the rough times before he got to where he is today: a Grand Slam champion.
So who exactly are Rosie, 64, and Gerry, 65, Rory’s beloved mum and dad, who teed up his career as a professional golfer?
An Armagh woman and a Down man
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and his mom Rosie and father Gerry pose with the Claret Jug after his two-stroke victory in The 143rd Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. Pic: Getty Images
Gerry, Rory’s dad, grew up in public housing outside Belfast, a short distance from Holywood Golf Course that would later become a cornerstone in the McIlroy family’s lives.
Rory’s mum Rosaleen, or Rosie as she’s affectionately known, grew up in Taghnevan, Co Armagh, before she eventually moved to Belfast, where she met Gerry when she worked as a waitress at the bar he managed.
Speaking previously to the Independent, proud Down man Rory said: ‘My home town, Holywood, Northern Ireland, is a picturesque little coastal town with very welcoming people, superb restaurants and homely pubs.’
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland celebrates on the 18th green with his father Gerry McIlroy and his mother Rosie McIlroy after winning the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic on the Majilis Course at the Emirates Golf Club. Pic: Getty Images
The rest, as they say, is history as Rosie and Gerry went on to wed at St Colmcille’s Church in Holywood in January 1988 and later welcomed their only child to the world, Rory, who is now 38 years of age.
Gerry McIlroy is from Northern Ireland and grew up in public housing outside Belfast, a short distance from Holywood Golf Club, where he honed his skills in the sport and later played at a scratch-handicap level.
A shared love of golf
Rory McIlroy’s father Gerry McIlroy and mother Rosie McIlroy (R) on the first tee during the Morning Foursome Matches for The 39th Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club. Pic: Getty Images
As aforementioned, Holywood Golf Course became a cornerstone in the McIlroy family’s lives. As a young man, it’s where Gerry honed his skills and later played at a scratch-handicap level.
The Down man nurtured this love of the sport in Rory. In fact, he was so young when the seeds of his sporting career were sewn that he was still in a buggy when Gerry would take him to the golf course to ‘soak up’ the scenery and listen to the sound of the ball ‘coming into contact with the head of the club’,’ per the New York Times.
Rory McIlroy with his father Gerry. Pic: Luke Walker/Getty Images
Rory was given his first plastic golf club when he was just 21 months old. When he was around four years old, Gerry realised his son had a gift for the game and presented him to coach Michael Bannon to fine tune his skills.
Coach Bannon previously praised Gerry’s coaching techniques, saying: ‘His dad adjusted the pars on the golf course,’ adding that they were ‘smart’ tactics.
Rory’s dad caddied for him until he was 17 years old, and frequently travelled with him early in his career. The father-son duo still love to play golf together whenever they can find the time.
Sacrifices were made
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland poses with the trophy alongside his parents Rosie and Gerry after winning the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic on the Majilis Course at the Emirates Golf Club. Pic: Getty Images
In order to help Rory see his dream of becoming ‘the best golfer in the world’ through, Gerry and Rosie worked several jobs and countless hours to support him.
In 2022, the golfer told The Open: ‘I wasn’t aware at all of the sacrifices my parents made.
‘It really took me until probably when I turned pro at 18 when I started to make my own money that I realised the sacrifices they made and how hard they worked and what they allowed me to be able to do.’
Rory McIlroy with his father Gerry. Pic: David Cannon/Getty Images
Per ESPN, Rosie worked graveyard shifts at a factory while Gerry worked three jobs. This resulted in the family-of-three cherishing the rare moments they could spend together as they ‘basically never saw each other’.
Speaking previously to the Mail on Sunday, Gerry, 65, recalled: ‘I’d work from 8am to noon as a cleaner at a sports club,’ Gerry previously recalled to the Mail on Sunday.
Rory McIlroy with his mother Rosie. Pic: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
‘From 12-6pm I was a bartender at Holywood Golf Club; then, after going home for tea, I’d return to the sports club from 7pm-midnight to work behind the bar.’
‘I am a working-class man and that’s all I knew to get the money we needed for Rory to be able to learn and compete at golf.’
‘Sometimes, you might get a bit browned off or tired, but Rosie would always cheer me up. “Gerry,” she’d say, “one day this could be all worthwhile”,’ he recalled.
Rosie and Gerry even forewent taking a family holiday for over a decade when Rory was younger as they tried to save every last penny possible.
The McIlroys weren’t ‘pushy parents’
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland Celebrates with His Mother Rosie McIlroy and Father Gerry McIlroy After Winning the Omega Dubai Desert Classic 2015 Golf Tournament at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai United Arab Emirates. Pic: REX
One thing Rory has been insistent on over the years is that Gerry and Rosie nurtured his love of golf, it was never something that was thrust upon him.
In that same 2022 interview with The Open, the dad-of-one said: ‘I was never pushed into it in any way. If anything it was the other way around. I had to drag my dad out to the golf course so I was never pushed into playing golf.
‘It was pure, pure joy and pure passion for me.’
‘Best friends’
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland poses with his father Gerry, mother Rosie and wife Erica Stoll after victory in the final round of the final round of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation at The K Club. Pic: Getty Images
It’ll come as no shock to you that as their only child, Gerry and Rosie’s bond with Rory is a special one. In 2017, he described his parents as his ‘best friends’ adding that he can ‘lean on them’ and ‘tell them anything’.
The couple keep their son grounded; As we’ve seen countless times before, it can be very easy to be swept up in the fame and fortune of it all. In 2014, he told the Belfast Telegraph: ‘Even to this day, they’re the two people in this world that I can talk to about anything.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland laughs with his parents, Rosie and Gerry McIlroy as they pose with the trophy after the Final Round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club. Pic: Getty Images
‘I couldn’t ask to have two better parents. They’re there for me at the worst of times, like this time last year after missing the cut, or the best of times, walking off as the champion golfer of the year.’
‘I can’t speak highly enough of my parents. They’re the best people in the world,’ Rory gushed.
Rory McIlroy’s parents Gerry and Rosie. Pic: Oisin Keniry/Getty Images
We can only imagine then how head over heels Gerry and Rosie are for their four-year-old granddaughter Poppy given how much they doted over, and still dote over, Rory.
After he won the Masters, Rory said he couldn’t wait to get home to see his mum and dad and teared up about the sacrifices they had made for him. We have no doubt his homecoming in Down over the next few days will be a celebration, not only about his achievement, but of their life’s work.
