The Irish Times/Irish Sports Council Sportswoman Award for August: Fiona Coghlan (Rugby)
We’ve had a few speedy decisions on monthly awards in our time, but this one was Usain Bolt-like. “Fiona.” “Fiona.” “Fiona.” “Fiona.” And that was the job done, in less time, actually, than it takes the Jamaican to complete 100 metres.
It was, of course, an unforgettable summer for the Dubliner, captaining Ireland to the semi-finals of the rugby World Cup, more than enough to make her a contender for our 2014 Sportswoman of the Year award - and if she wins it, it’ll be a two-in-a-row, Coghlan crowned our 2013 winner after leading the team to a Six Nations Grand Slam.
The truth is, we could have chosen any one of a clutch of players from the World Cup squad, the outstanding Niamh Briggs, a nominee for the IRB's world player of the year award, the only one 'ineligible' because she was already our sportswoman of the month for February for her contribution to the Six Nations' campaign.
Three Irish players - Briggs, Gillian Bourke and Marie Louise Reilly - made it in to the team of the tournament, Claire Molloy just missing out, according to the IRB, while Lynne Cantwell can't have been far off either. And the rest of the team that famously beat New Zealand - Ailis Egan, Sophie Spence, Paula Fitzpatrick, Heather O'Brien, Tania Rosser, Nora Stapleton, Alison Miller, Grace Davitt and Ashleigh Baxter - wouldn't have looked out of place on our roll of honour either.
So, again, we’ve opted for Coghlan, not just for her own performances and leadership, but as a representative of a team that rose to the occasion this summer and truly captured the imagination, raising the profile of women’s rugby to levels these pioneers could only have dreamt of.
The tournament marked the end of Coghlan’s international career, the teacher announcing her retirement once her work was done. Once she gets her breath back, she plans on “giving something back to the game”, but after 13 years in an Irish shirt, 85 caps, and captaining the team to a Six Nations Grand Slam and a fourth-place finish at the World Cup, she’s done a fair old bit already.
Fiona Coghlan, then, is our sportswoman of the month for August - and what an August it was.
Previous monthly winners (awards run from December 2013 to November 2014, inclusive).
December: Madeline Perry (Squash). The Banbridge squash professional won her 14th national title with a straight games victory over international colleague Laura Mylotte, capping a year that saw her rise again in the world rankings, reaching seventh in the list.
January: Gráinne Dwyer (Basketball). Named 'Most Valuable Player' for her performance for Team Montenotte in an outstanding Superleague National Cup final in which they beat the University of Limerick's Huskies, who were seeking a three-in-a-row, after overtime.
February: Niamh Briggs (Rugby). The Waterford woman was prolific as ever in Ireland's Six Nations' campaign, carrying her form in to the summer's World Cup - and she earned herself a place on the shortlist for the World Player of the Year award.
March: Sarah Greene (Hockey). Greene captained the UCD hockey team to a near perfect season, winning their third successive Leinster division one title, their second Irish Senior Cup in three years, and, for the first time, the big one: the Irish Hockey League.
April: Savannah McCarthy (Soccer). The Listowel teenager, who was the FAI's 2013 Under-17 International Player of the Year, played a starring role in the Republic of Ireland's first ever qualification for the Under-19 European Championships. And she went on to star again in July's finals where the team reached the semi-finals.
May: Sanita Puspure (Rowing). The Cork resident ended Ireland's eight year wait for a medal in an Olympic event at a major rowing Championships when she took bronze in the single sculls at the European Championships in Serbia.
June: Katie Taylor (Boxing) and Stephanie Meadow (Golf). Taylor won a record-breaking sixth European title in Bucharest, making her European, World and Olympic champion all at the same time, while Meadow made a spectacular start to her professional career, finishing third at the US Open and European Masters.
July: Chloe Mustaki (Soccer). The Peamount United midfielder captained the Irish under-19 football team to the semi-finals of the European Championships, where they lost to eventual champions the Netherlands, beating the higher ranked Spain, England and Sweden in their group in their debut in the competition.
