RTÉ Sports Person of the Year

Seán Kelly won in 1986.
Stephen Roche won in 1987.
Christy O'Connor Jnr. won in 1989.
Mick McCarthy won in 2001.
Ronan O'Gara won in 2004.
Brian O'Driscoll won in 2009.
Graeme McDowell won in 2010.
Rory McIlroy won in 2011 and 2014
Katie Taylor won in 2012.
A. P. "Tony" McCoy won in 2013.

The RTÉ Sports Person of the Year Award is the titular award of the RTÉ Sports Awards ceremony, which takes place each December. The winner is the sportsperson, judged by a special panel of RTÉ journalists and editorial staff, to have achieved the most that year. The winner is selected by a public-vote from a pre-determinted shortlist. The first Irish sports award ceremony took place in 1985, and was closely modelled on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

Three people have won the award multiple times: athlete Sonia O'Sullivan won the award five times, including a record three successive awards, and golfers Pádraig Harrington, with three wins, and Rory McIlroy, who won it twice. The oldest recipient of the award is Christy O'Connor Jnr., who won in 1989 aged 41. Rory McIlroy, who first won in 2011, aged 22, is the youngest winner. Ten sporting disciplines have been represented; golf has the highest representation, with seven recipients.

Eamonn Darcy, Ronan Rafferty and Des Smyth, who won the Alfred Dunhill Cup in 1988, are the only non-individual winners of the award. Counting them separately, there have been twenty-seven Irish winners of the award, and five Northern Irish winners. The most recent award was made in 2014 to golfer Rory McIlroy.

Winners

By year

RTÉ Sports Person of the Year Award winners
Year Nat. Winner Sport Rationale Note
1985  IRL McGuigan, BarryBarry McGuigan Boxing Defeated Eusebio Pedroza to become World Boxing Association featherweight champion.
1986  IRL Kelly, SeánSeán Kelly Cycling He finished on a podium in a grand tour for the first time when he finished third in the 1986 Vuelta a España.
1987  IRL Roche, StephenStephen Roche Cycling Winner of the 1987 Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and World Cycling Championships.
1988  IRL
 NIR
 IRL		 Darcy, EamonnEamonn Darcy
Rafferty, RonanRonan Rafferty
Smyth, DesDes Smyth		 Golf For winning the Alfred Dunhill Cup.
1989  IRL O'Connor Jnr., ChristyChristy O'Connor Jnr. Golf For a stunning 2 iron shot on the last hole at the Belfry which he left just 4 feet from the hole during the successful 1989 Ryder Cup.
1990  IRL Bonner, PackiePackie Bonner Football For his famous penalty save from Daniel Timofte of Romania at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
1991  IRL Keyes, RalphRalph Keyes Rugby union Overall top scorer with 68 points at the 1991 Rugby World Cup.
1992  IRL Carruth, MichaelMichael Carruth Boxing Gold medallist in the welterweight section at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
1993  IRL O'Sullivan, SoniaSonia O'Sullivan Athletics Silver medallist in the 1500m at the World Championships.
1994  IRL O'Sullivan, SoniaSonia O'Sullivan Athletics Gold medallist in the 3000m at the World Championships.
1995  IRL O'Sullivan, SoniaSonia O'Sullivan Athletics Gold medallist in the 5000m at the World Championships.
1996  IRL Smith, MichelleMichelle Smith Swimming Triple Olympic gold medallist for the 400m individual medley, 400m freestyle and 200m individual medley, and bronze medallist for the 200m butterfly event.
1997  IRL Doherty, KenKen Doherty Snooker Winner of the 1997 World Snooker Championship.
1998  IRL O'Sullivan, SoniaSonia O'Sullivan Athletics Double gold medallist at the World Cross-Country Championships and double gold medallist at the European Championships.
1999  IRL Keane, RoyRoy Keane Football Captain of the Manchester United team that completed a treble of English Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League successes.
2000  IRL O'Sullivan, SoniaSonia O'Sullivan Athletics Olympic silver medallist in the women's 5000m at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. [1]
2001  IRL McCarthy, MickMick McCarthy Football Secured qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup for the Republic of Ireland national football team. [2]
2002  IRL Harrington, PádraigPádraig Harrington Golf Member of the European team that won the 2002 Ryder Cup. [3]
2003  IRL Geraghty, BarryBarry Geraghty Horse racing Winner of the Aintree Grand National on Monty's Pass. [4]
2004  IRL O'Gara, RonanRonan O'Gara Rugby union Member of the Ireland team that won the Triple Crown in the 2004 Six Nations Championship. [5]
2005  IRL Ó hAilpín, Seán ÓgSeán Óg Ó hAilpín Hurling All-Ireland-winning captain with Cork and winner of a third All-Ireland medal.
2006  IRL Shefflin, HenryHenry Shefflin Hurling Won his fourth All-Ireland medal with Kilkenny as well as being named Hurler of the Year for a second time. [6]
2007  IRL Harrington, PádraigPádraig Harrington Golf Became the first Irishman in over sixty years to win the Open Championship. [7]
2008  IRL Harrington, PádraigPádraig Harrington Golf Retained his title as British Open championship, thus becoming the first European to win back to back major championships.
2009  IRL O'Driscoll, BrianBrian O'Driscoll Rugby union Grand Slam-winning captain and member of the Leinster team that won the 2008–09 Heineken Cup [8]
2010  NIR McDowell, GraemeGraeme McDowell Golf Winner of the 2010 US Open and member of the European team that won the 2010 Ryder Cup. [9]
2011  NIR McIlroy, RoryRory McIlroy Golf Winner of the 2011 US Open. [10]
2012  IRL Taylor, KatieKatie Taylor Boxing Olympic gold medallist in the women's lightweight section at the 2012 London Olympic Games. [11]
2013  NIR McCoy, TonyTony McCoy Horse racing 18-times champion jockey who created history in November when he rode his 4,000th winner over jumps. [12]
2014  NIR McIlroy, RoryRory McIlroy Golf Won the 2014 Open Championship and 2014 PGA Championship, became the first European to win three different majors, and was a member of the European team that won the 2014 Ryder Cup. [13]

Shortlists

The winner is in bold.

2010

[14]

2011

[15]

2012

[16]

2013

[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Sport: Sonia wins RTÉ Sports Award". RTÉ Sport. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "McCarthy wins top RTÉ sporting award". RTÉ Sport. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "Harrington wins RTÉ award". RTÉ Sport. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  4. ↑ "Geraghty scoops major sports award". RTÉ Sport. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "O'Gara named Sports Personality of the Year". RTÉ Sport. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "Shefflin named RTÉ Sports Person of the Year". RTÉ Sport. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  7. ↑ "Harrington named RTÉ Sports Person of Year". RTÉ Sport. 26 December 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "Rugby stars dominate RTÉ Awards". RTÉ Sport. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  9. ↑ "McDowell named Sportsperson of the Year". RTÉ Sport. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  10. ↑ "McIlroy, Leinster and Trap win RTÉ awards". RTÉ Sport. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  11. ↑ "Katie Taylor named RTÉ Sports Person of the Year". RTÉ Sport. 24 December 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  12. ↑ "Tony McCoy crowned RTÉ Sports Person of the Year". Irish Independent. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  13. ↑ "Rory McIlroy named RTÉ Sport Sports Person of the Year". RTE Sport. Retrieved 22 December 2014
  14. ↑ "Shortlist for RTÉ awards named". The Irish Times. 15 December 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  15. ↑ "RTÉ Sports Awards shortlist revealed". RTÉ Sport. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  16. ↑ "Nominees for RTÉ Sports Awards". RTÉ Sport. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  17. ↑ "RTÉ Sports Awards 2013". RTÉ Sport. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013.