Presented by Darragh Maloney, the live show will review what was another momentous year for Irish athletes and teams, and look back on the dramatic and memorable sporting moments of 2015.
The RTÉ Sport Person of the Year shortlist features the following 14 nominees: Leighton Aspell, the first jockey to win back-to-back Aintree Grand Nationals for forty-one years; Rena Buckley; earned Camogie and Football All Stars in a year that saw her win her 15th and 16th All Ireland titles; Michael Conlan, European and World Bantamweight Champion – Ireland’s first ever World Championship gold medallist; Andy Lee, defeated Matt Koborov to become the WBO middleweight champion of the world; Shane Lowry, the Clara native won his first US Tour event, picking up the prestigious World Golf Championship -Bridgestone Invitational in August; Jack McCaffery, Dublin’s flying wing-back was named Footballer of the Year; Conor McGregor, the Notorious became interim UFC Featherweight World Champion in July; Rory McIlroy, finished a disrupted year as Europe’s top golfer by winning the Race to Dubai; Michael McKillop, won Double IPC World Championship Gold, bringing his all-time major championship gold-medal haul to twelve; Paul O’Connell, Ireland’s second row giant led Ireland to their second Six Nations triumph in two years and was named Player of the Tournament in the process; TJ Reid, a key member of Kilkenny’s All Ireland winning hurling team and the 2015 Hurler of the Year; Sophie Spence; one of the three rugby players up for the title of World Women’s Rugby Player of the Year; Richie Towell – scored the goals that clinched both the Airtricity League title and FAI Irish Daily Mail Cup in a season that saw him score 25 goals from midfield; Jonathon Walters, the man Martin O’Neill singled out as the epitome of the Republic of Ireland’s team spirit, he scored the goals that cemented the Republic’s place at the 2016 European Championships.
This year the highly-coveted RTÉ Sport Team of the Year Award will again be open to a public vote. The public will be able to vote for their favourite Irish team of 2015 by phone and text on the night. Voting lines will be open on the night with details announced at the beginning of the programme and on www.rte.ie
Celebrating the collaborative achievements of Irish athletes, the RTÉ Sport Team of the Year shortlist features: Dublin Football, a clean sweep of honours in 2015; Kilkenny Hurling, claimed back-to-back All Ireland Hurling titles; Cork Camogie, won back-to-back All Ireland Camogie titles; Cork Ladies Football Team, won their 10th Ladies Football Championship in 11 years; Dundalk, won back-to-back SSE Airtricity League titles and sealed the double by winning the FAI Irish Daily Mail Cup; Ireland Women’s Cricket Team who won the Women’s World T20 Qualifier beating Bangladesh in the final in Bangkok; Ireland Men’s Rugby Team, 6 Nations Champions; Ireland Women’s Rugby Team, 6 Nations Champions; Ireland Men’s Hockey Team, beat England to win Euro bronze, became the first Irish team to qualify for an Olympic team event since 1948; Ireland Boxing Team, picked up a phenomenal 10 medals in 2015 at the European Games, the European Championships and the World Championships; Northern Ireland Soccer Team, qualified for their first ever European Championship Finals; Republic of Ireland Soccer Team, qualified for Euro 2016 after a play-off win over Bosnia and Herzegovina; Special Olympics Team Ireland, 88 athletes brought home 82 medals, amassing 26 gold, 28 silver and 28 bronze medals
In recognition of the huge effort behind the scenes and on the sidelines, the RTÉ Sport Manager of the Year award features the following 12 nominees: Brian Cody, managed the Kilkenny Hurlers to an 11th All Ireland Senior title under his charge; Craig Fulton, coached the Ireland National Men’s Hockey side to their first Olympics qualification in 108 years; Jim Gavin, managed the Dublin footballers to All Ireland victory; Stephen Kenny, his Dundalk side’s retained their SSE Airtricity League Premier Division title and added the FAI Irish Daily Mail Cup; Willie Mullins, trained a record eight winners at this year’s Cheltenham Festival; Paudie Murray, led his Cork Camogie side to back-to-back All Ireland Camogie titles; Martin O’Neill, managed the Republic of Ireland to Euro 2016 qualification after beating
Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-offs; Michael O’Neill, under his tutelage Northern Ireland topped their Euro 2016 group and qualified for their first ever European Championship finals;
Eamonn Ryan, Cork Ladies Football manager whose side became ladies senior football champions for the tenth time in eleven seasons; Joe Schmidt, managed the Ireland Rugby team to back-to-back 6 Nations championships; Tom Tierney, his Ireland Women’s Rugby team clinched a second 6 Nations title in three 3 years; Billy Walsh, the former Head Coach of Irish Boxing whose team won 10 medals this year at the European Games, the European Championships and the World Championships.
The awards ceremony will also see the honour of the RTÉ/Sport Ireland Hall of Fame Award presented to a very special Irish sporting legend.
Date: Saturday 12 December 2015
Further information: Fergus McCormack, RTÉ Television, 01 208 3117 / 086 8674751. Email: Fergus.mccormack@rte.ie
Note to Editor:
The winner of the RTÉ Sport Team of the Year will be selected by the public via phone and text vote.
The winner of the RTÉ Sport Sports Person of the Year will be selected by a panel of RTÉ Sport journalists and editorial staff.
The winner of the RTÉ Sport Manager of the Year will be selected by a panel of representatives from national media outlets.
For more information see www.rte.ie/