Sportspeople from Holywood, County Down

Rory McIlroy MBE (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, having spent over 100 weeks in that position during his career. He is a four-time major champion, winning the 2011 U.S Open, 2012 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship, and 2014 PGA Championship. Along with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, he is one of three players to win four majors by the age of 25.

Darren Cave (born 5 April 1987) is a professional rugby union player who currently plays centre for Ulster in the Pro14 and European Rugby Champions Cup.

Stephen Alexander Martin MBE (born 13 April 1959) is a former field hockey player from Northern Ireland who represented both Ireland and Great Britain at international level. Between 1980 and 1991 he made 135 senior appearances for Ireland. He also captained the Ireland team. He represented Ireland at the 1983, 1987 and 1991 EuroHockey Nations Championships and at the 1990 Men's Hockey World Cup. Between 1983 and 1992 Martin also made 94 senior appearances for Great Britain. He represented Great Britain at the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in 1984 and a gold medal in 1988. In 1994 he was awarded an MBE. In 2001 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Ulster University. In 2011 Martin was inducted into the Irish Hockey Association Hall of Fame. After retiring as a field hockey player, Martin became a sports administrator. Between 1998 and 2005 he served as Deputy Chief Executive of the British Olympic Association and between 2006 and 2018 he served as Chief Executive of the Olympic Council of Ireland. He now runs his own leadership and management consultancy business and is an associate consultant at Lane 4.

Zara Malseed (born 11 June 1997) is a Northern Irish field hockey player. She competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

William Pollock (28 August 1886 – 24 November 1972) was an Irish first-class cricketer.

Mark Richard Adair (born 27 March 1996) is a cricketer from Northern Ireland, who plays international cricket for Ireland. He has also played English county cricket for Warwickshire County Cricket Club. He is a right-arm fast bowler, who also bats right-handed. He made his international debut for the Ireland cricket team in May 2019. In January 2020, he was one of nineteen players to be awarded a central contract from Cricket Ireland, the first year in which all contracts were awarded on a full-time basis.

Hugh Conn McCall, usually known by his middle name (29 March 1940 in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland – 7 June 2002 in Bangor, County Down) was an Irish cricketer. A right-handed batsman and left-arm orthodox spin bowler, he played 15 times for the Ireland cricket team in the 1960s including seven first-class matches. His son Mark played rugby union for Ireland.

Charles Stewart Anderson (29 December 1881 in County Down – 1 March 1943 in County Antrim) was an Irish cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and bowled both right-arm medium-pace and off-breaks. He played just once for Ireland, a first-class match against Oxford University in 1926. He had little success in the match, as he was dismissed without scoring and bowled 13 overs without taking a wicket.