O'Sullivan honoured as year of greatness for women's sports celebrated

Boxer Broadhurst named Irish Times / Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year

Meath footballer Niamh O’Sullivan has been honoured at the Irish Times / Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year Awards after an outstanding year for the corner forward.

The Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels player won the Sportswoman of the Month award for July after inspiring her team to All-Ireland victory over Kerry and securing a second senior All Ireland title in a row for the Royals.

When Meath found themselves five points down after just seven minutes of the match, some may have wondered if 2021 had indeed been a one-off. O’Sullivan’s central role in the panic-free fight back which ensued earned her the player of the match award but as she was quick to point out any of her comrades could have been singled out, among them half-backs Aoibheann Cleary and Emma Troy who were both excellent as was Vikki Wall further up the field, while Bridgetta Lynch made a big impact from the bench.

Aside from her contribution of a goal and two points, O’Sullivan played a huge part in Meath recovering from that early deficit and finding their feet in the game, her energy, pace and aggression unsettling the Kerry defence, not least at their kick-outs when the Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels player never gave them a moment’s peace. In the end her 45th minute goal proved pivotal, coming at a stage when Meath were struggling to shake off Kerry’s challenge, the score stretching their lead from two points to five and from there they pulled away. Lynch added another goal three minutes later, Meath going on to win by a comfortable nine points.

While there was a good deal of talk in the wake of the victory about the impact of the departure of several players to Australia and managerial changes on Meath’s chances of achieving a three-in-a-row – Davy Nelson has since been confirmed as Eamon Murray’s successor – O’Sullivan remained bullish about the county’s prospects.

“Meath are on the rise, that’s for sure. We won’t be going anywhere soon,” she said. For her achievements O’Sullivan was presented with the Sportswoman of the Month award for July at a gala lunch at the Shelbourne Hotel just before Christmas.

This was the 19th year of the awards and O’Sullivan – was among 12 other monthly award winners nominated for the 2022 title including boxers Katie Taylor, Kellie Harrington and Lisa O’Rourke, para rower Katie O’Brien, athletes Ciara Mageean and Rhasidat Adekele and golfer Leona Maguire.

Overall Sportswoman of the Year

It was boxer Amy Broadhurst, from neighbouring Louth, the first Irish female boxer to take gold at the World Championships, European Championships and Commonwealth Games who was crowned The Irish Times Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year for 2022 at the gala lunch in the Shelbourne Hotel.

In what was a fantastic year for boxing, Broadhurst became only the second Irish fighter to land the three titles - Michael Conlan being the only other to achieve the feat. For good measure the 25-year-old Dundalk woman was named ‘Boxer of the Tournament’ at the Europeans.

Katie Taylor, Kellie Harrington and Conlan had been Ireland’s only amateur world champions until Broadhurst made it four with her victory over Algeria’s Imane Khelif in the light-welterweight final. The Dealgan Boxing Club fighter, who was making her fifth appearance in the World Championships, overcame her opponent’s five-inch height advantage to take gold on a unanimous points decision in Istanbul in May.

Teammate Lisa O’Rourke made it an historic double for Irish boxing following her into the ring and claiming gold in the 70Kg final.

Broadhurst is a close friend of Katie Taylor, and the Bray boxer invited her to Connecticut to spar with her in the run-up to Taylor’s fight against Amanda Serrano. Those couple of weeks clearly proved to be highly useful for both with Broadhurst claiming that she learnt a lot from Taylor who she described as ‘a big role model’ and ‘the best female boxer ever.’

While Broadhurst, who was recently named best light welter weight boxer in the world, will no doubt be looking to turn professional at some point, for now she says her eyes are firmly set on the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Outstanding Achievement Award

This year’s Outstanding Achievement Award went to the Ireland women’s soccer team who qualified for the World Cup for the first time after beating Scotland 1-0 in a playoff in Hampden Park in Glasgow.

A penalty save by Courtney Brosnan and a second half goal by substitute Amber Barrett of Turbine Potsdam secured a memorable victory for the ‘Girls in Green’ and booked their ticket to the World Cup in Australia / New Zealand.

Barrett whose grandparents were from Creeslough and who spent a lot of time in the village growing up, dedicated the goal to the 10 people who died following an explosion at a petrol station in the village just four days earlier. The Glasgow win was the culmination of a long qualifying campaign which featured two wins over group second seeds Finland, a 1-1 draw away to world number two side Sweden and an away win over Slovakia.

Led ably by Katie McCabe the campaign featured strong contributions by players like Diane Caldwell, Abbie Larkin, Áine O’Gorman and Saoirse Noonan who were on hand to receive the trophy on behalf of the team from Irish legend Olivia O’Toole, who was capped over 130 times for her country, the most appearances for the Irish national team of any player male or female.

Vera Pauw’s team, who have been drawn in Group B alongside Australia, Canada and Nigeria will travel to their Brisbane base determined to make more history.

Sports editor of The Irish Times Noel O’Reilly said women’s sport this year has been momentous on both the national and international stages.

“Yet again the bar has been pushed ever higher with inspirational performances and achievements across the board," he said. "A huge congratulations to all the monthly winners, sportswomen whose stories continue to show the next generation that nothing is impossible. They are heroes of Irish life, examples to our daughters and sons and a credit to their families, coaches, partners, and friends.”

The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin said: “This has been an excellent year for Irish sport, and it is important to recognise and celebrate the success of our many sportswomen across such a broad range of sports during the year. Their dedication and commitment to their sport and their determination to succeed is so inspiring and is such an example for young girls all over the country. I want to congratulate all of this year’s award recipients and acknowledge their enormous contribution to Irish sport.”

Dr Una May, CEO of Sport Ireland, paid tribute to all the award winners, saying: "Over the past year we have witnessed some remarkable successes in a wide range of sports with our athletes making history and breaking records on a regular basis. Sport Ireland are a proud partner of The Irish Times to mark their achievements. I would like to congratulate all of today’s award winners and thank them for being such fine ambassadors for both their sport and their country."