Irish Times/Vhi Healthcare Sports Woman Award for October: Katie Taylor (Boxing): A few years back we read about Katie Taylor winning the Wicklow Schoolboy Player of the Year award, at a time when there simply was no category for her likes. A ground-breaker she was then, and continues to be.
In June, 2005, the 20-year-old from St Fergal's Club in Bray won our monthly award when she became the first Irishwoman to take a gold medal at the European Boxing Championships, beating the holder en route to winning the 60-kilo (lightweight) final.
Last year also saw her named Eircom FAI Under-19 Player of the Year.
Combining boxing and football (and her Leaving Cert) might have proved difficult at times, but the haul of trophies suggested she was managing just fine.
And a year on she's still managing just fine. Now a first-year student in UCD, Taylor remains a key figure in the Irish senior football team while, as a member of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association's high-performance squad, she continues to excel in the ring.
Yesterday came news Taylor has risen to first in the October world amateur rankings, in the 60-kilo division, reward for her successful defence of her European Championship title in Poland in September, when she beat the reigning world champion, Tatyana Chalaya, in the final. And to cap it all Taylor was named boxer of the tournament.
"Katie proved that she is the top boxer in the world in her weight category and this win ranks up there with the great achievements of Irish athletes in any sport," said Gary Keegan, head of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association.
"To put it into perspective, not only did she successfully defend her European title, but she also beat the world champion to do it and totally outclassed her into the bargain."
Fitness permitting, Taylor, who is coached by her father, Peter - himself a former All-Ireland boxing champion - will be in India next week for the fourth women's World Championships, where her current status will put her among the favourites.
The only significant disappointment the young sportswoman has suffered in recent times was the announcement that women's boxing will not be included in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, news she described as "devastating".
"However, I will be 26 when the Olympic Games are held in London and hopefully women's boxing will be included then and I will be given the opportunity to represent my country in the Olympics, which would be a dream come true," she said.
Overall contenders so far:
Jessica Kürten (Equestrian): A near flawless start to the year, which featured seven successive international wins, lifted Kürten to second in the world rankings.
Derval O'Rourke (Athletics): Gold at the World Indoor Championships in March, and silver at the European Championships in August - a near-perfect year.
Madeline Perry (Squash): Rose to a career high of sixth in the world rankings in the early half of the year.
Nina Carberry (Horse racing): Crowned champion amateur for the first time in April, was one of only nine finishers in the Aintree Grand National and won her first Grade One race at the Punchestown Festival.
Fiona Connery (Hockey): The Hermes defender won her 50th cap for Ireland at April's World Cup Qualifier in Rome, was named player of the tournament in the All-Ireland League play-offs, and finished the season with All-Ireland, Irish Senior Cup and Leinster League winners' medals.
Sinéad Jennings and Niamh Ní Cheilleachair (Rowing): The pair took bronze in the lightweight double sculls final at the second leg of the World Cup in Poznan, Poland, the first senior international medal for an Irish women's crew in an Olympic-class boat. They won their B final at the world championships in Eton a month later.
Joanne Cuddihy (Athletics): The Kilkenny athlete won the 200 and 400 metres at the national championships in July and in Gothenburg became the first Irishwoman to make a European 400-metre final since Maeve Kyle in 1962.
Kelly Liggan (Tennis): Before August the top-ranked Irish player had won two International Tennis Federation titles - by the end of the month she had doubled that tally, winning ITF hard-court tournaments in Spain and Portugal.
Briege Corkery (Camogie and Gaelic football): Our 2005 Sportswoman of the Year was up to her usual tricks again in 2006, winning the double for the second year running with Cork, who beat Tipperary in the camogie All-Ireland final and Armagh in the football.
• Each sportswoman is eligible for just one monthly award in 2006 but her achievements through the year will be taken into account by the panel of judges when the decision on the overall winner is made.
