SPORT STAR OF THE YEAR 2018
The Sport Star Awards are on Saturday January 26th in the Westcourt Hotel
JANUARY Stephen Murphy
NEWFOUNDWELL FC’s outstanding 2017/18 season moved into top gear in January, with defender Stephen Murphy - also part of the Division 2 FL-winning O Raghallaigh’s team - pivotal to their remarkable success.
In the space of 7 days they won two penalty shootouts in Cork and Kilkenny to reach the last 16 in both the FAI and Leinster Junior Cups, with Murphy scoring the decisive spot kick against Knocknaheeny.
‘Well went on to reach the quarter-finals in Leinster before securing their first-ever North East League Premier title and the Kilmessan Shield.
MARCH Mary Leech
A SERIES of race wins on home soil were eclipsed in Madrid where Drogheda & District AC’s Mary Leech captured silver in the M40 1500m at the European Masters Indoor Track Championships.
She moved into the medal places with just over 200m remaining and pushed hard in the latter stages to snatch second spot behind the Spanish winner. Mary was also seventh in the 3,000m final and went on to finish ninth in the 1500m at the World Masters in Malaga.
MAY Niall Craven
DONORE cyclist Niall Craven’s hopes of taking on the iconic Ras Tailteann seemed to have been shattered when he crashed and broke his collarbone in another event just 26 days before the race.
But somehow he made it to the start in Drogheda along with his Louth teammates Barry Hughes, Cian Delaney, Arek Klus and Paul Smith. Niall then battled for eight consecutive days, surviving crashes, extreme weather and the toughest of time limits to complete the entire 1,180km.
JULY Cormac Kerr
DROGHEDA 19-year-old Cormac Kerr pocketed the biggest success of his career when capturing the World Under-23 8-Ball Pool title.
The 2017 European and World Junior champion stepped up to the next level, competing against the top 64 players in the U-23 age group, and he began by knocking out the previous year’s runner-up in the first round. From there he progressed all the way to the final where he defeated the reigning European Under-23 champion Jack Smithers 8-4.
SEPTEMBER Eoin Rogers
ARDEE schoolboy Eoin Rogers, aged 13, continues to take the sport of angling by storm after landing his fifth Under-15 NCFFI Junior All-Ireland Championship in succession this year.
Indeed, Eoin completed a Grand Slam in that age group by winning the All-Ireland Canal Championship, Float Championship, Feeder Championship and IADA All-Ireland titles. Further afield, he secured a top-10 finish at the Under-15 World Coarse Angling Championships in Italy.
FEBRUARY Ruarcan O Gibne
RUARCAN, of Boyne AC, is emerging as one of Ireland’s major middle distance prospects after capturing 800m gold in a thrilling Irish Indoor Under-19 Final in Athlone. He was involved in a titanic struggle with chief rival Craig Giles from Clonliffe Harriers and drove hard across the finish line to snatch the National title in a fast time of 1min 57.92sec.
Amazingly, Ruarcan is also the Louth 200, 400, 800 and 1500m champion, while other titles he holds include the North Leinster Schools 800 and 1500m and the Leinster Indoor 800m and Outdoor 1500m.
APRIL Karl Martin
ANOTHER of Boyne RFC’s youth players looks to be heading for the top after Karl Martin’s starring performances at the Under-18 Six Nations Festival.
Having just turned 16, the Drogheda native was one of the youngest on the Ireland Schools panel, and yet he featured in all three games, set up a crucial score in the victory over Italy and finished the competition by scoring his first international try against Scotland.
JUNE Dylan Keating
SEAPOINT’S Dylan Keating came from four shots behind the leader on the final day to capture golf’s Irish Boys Under-16 Championship.
The Dundalk Grammar schoolboy had a Spanish exam to contend with before making the 3-hour journey to Sligo, but he shot 72 and 73 before saving his best until last as he carded a final-round 70 to win the title by a three-stroke margin. Dylan also finished top of the pile in the U-16 Irish Order of Merit and trains with the Ireland Under-18 squad.
AUGUST Daniel Mulligan
THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD Laytown & Bettystown clubman Daniel Mulligan stormed to victory in the Irish Boys U-14 Championship by 11 shots.
The St Mary’s DS student, who plays off 4, hit six birdies in a stunning opening 68 at Mullingar, and followed up with a 73 in tougher conditions. Even that score was better than any other player managed on either day.
Daniel, who has been selected for Ireland’s Under-16 training panel, also won this year’s Under-14 Leinster Order of Merit.
OCTOBER Emmet Carolan
VICTORY in the Senior and U-21 football championships with Newtown Blues capped a memorable year for Emmet Carolan after he emerged as one of Louth’s breakthrough stars at inter-county level.
The full back made an impressive Reds debut in the O’Byrne Cup victory over Kildare and was an ever-present in their NFL and Championship campaigns, while with the Blues he won the Division 1 league, U-21 FC and - most importantly - the SFC at the expense of Naomh Mairtin.