GOOD YEAR FOR:Tim Cook
This was Tim Cook’s first full year as CEO of Apple inc and it included the release of the iPhone 5, the iPad 2 and iPad mini, all of which sold incredibly well, despite a poor response to Apple Maps.
Irish soccer
Irish fans may still be singing, but during Euro 2012 our players managed to score only one goal in three matches. The squad lost valuable long-serving players Damien Duff and Shay Given.
Felix Baumgartner
The daredevil Felix Baumgartner set the world record for skydiving out of a capsule –39 kilometres – eventually landing in New Mexico.
This feat also led to Baumgartner becoming the first person to break the speed of sound outside of a vehicle.
EL James
James’s raunchy novel Fifty Shades of Grey went from fan fiction to the most talked-about book of the year. The Fifty Shades trilogy spawned copycat novels and the movie is expected to hit screens in the near future.
Irish boxing
A very successful Olympic Games for team Ireland made national heroes out of Katie Taylor, John Joe Nevin (above), Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlon. The nation was hooked on our boxing team throughout the London games.
Enda Kenny
Despite constant protests at the Dáil, the Taoiseach will end 2012 with a smile, having won the European of the Year award and graced the cover of Time magazine as ‘The Celtic Comeback’. FG approval ratings are still high while Labour is the least popular party.
Michael D Higgins
The President’s first full year in office included official trips to Britain and South America; astute and careful comment; and he even went viral with an audio clip of him verbally lashing a Tea Party supporter on an American radio show.
Bad year for:
Seán Quinn
Quinn started the year saying he was a simple farmer’s son, but he is now serving a nine-week jail sentence for contempt of court. He was granted three days’ compassionate temporary release for Christmas.
Mitt Romney
As if losing the US presidential election wasn’t bad enough, Mitt Romney’s campaign cost $752.3 million. Not only that, it was marred by plenty of gaffes, such as insulting London in the run-up to the Olympic Games.
Fidelma Healy Eames
The Galway Fine Gael senator was fined €1,850 for driving without a valid tax disc; she was fined €100 for being on a train without a ticket; and a tradesman sued her over unpaid bills.
James Reilly
This year the besieged Minister for Health survived a ‘no confidence’ motion but had to deal with Róisín Shortall’s resignation and accusations of stroke politics. And he appeared in Stubbs Gazette.
Lance Armstrong
The former respected cyclist was stripped of all his titles since August 1st, 1998, including his Tour de France wins. He is also banned from cycling for life and sponsors such as Nike, Trek and Anheuser-Busch have ditched sponsorship deals they had with him.
