Texaco Awards: Twelve of the country's best known sports personalities are to be honoured in the 47th annual Texaco Awards.
Nine of the winners are first-time recipients and they will receive their awards from the Taoiseach at a banquet in Dublin next week.
Swimming/David Malone
Following a year of disenchantment with the sport, Terenure's David Malone was finally coaxed back to the pool and into full-time training for the Athens Paralympics. A gold medallist from Sydney 2000 and a silver medallist from Atlanta in 1996, Malone was entered in the S8 (athletes with a physical disability) 100-metre backstroke event. In the final, the 27-year-old Dubliner showed his class and determination to swim the toughest race of his career and claim the silver medal. He finished behind American Thomas Mohr in a time of 1 minute 12.55 seconds, his fastest time in over three years.
Golf/Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke
The three Irish players played a huge role in Europe's annihilation of the US in the Ryder Cup in September. Harrington and Clarke, who had qualified for the European team early in 2004, played in all five foursomes, fourballs and singles matches and accumulated seven and a half of Europe's overall points tally of 19. McGinley, who holed the winning putt in the far more evenly-contested staging of the event in 2002, showed huge resolve and determination in qualifying to play on the European team for the second time. The Dubliner played 10 weeks in succession to edge his way onto the team after the final counting event in Germany. In Detroit, McGinley underlined his status as an outstanding Ryder Cup player by emerging unbeaten in his three matches, taking two and a half out of a possible three points.
Gaelic football/ Colm Cooper
In his three short years as an intercounty player, Colm Cooper has made an enormous impact and is recognised as one of the most skilful Gaelic footballers to emerge in the last 10 years. The Kerry forward hinted at a fine season in store when he helped his county win the NFL in May. However, the 21-year-old Dr Crokes player reserved his best form for the championship. Scoring 1-23 in the championship, Cooper notched up 1-16 of that total in the quarter-final victory over Dublin, the semi-final win over Derry and the All-Ireland final success over Mayo. In that final, Cooper displayed the accuracy, speed and imagination that have been the hallmarks of his career to date. His man-of-the-match All-Ireland winning performance was rounded off with a sublime goal.
Hurling/ Seán Óg Ó hAilpín
Seán Óg was superb throughout 2004 and a pivotal figure in Cork winning their 29th All-Ireland hurling title against Kilkenny. In what was probably the finest season of his career, the Cork man was also a key member of the Irish squad that overwhelmed Australia in last month's International Rules series. And to round off the season, the 27-year-old then helped his club side Na Piarsaigh to their first county hurling title since 1995. Although Cork lost the Munster final to Waterford, Ó hAilpín was an inspiration throughout his county's subsequent march to the All-Ireland final. In a virtually faultless display in the All-Ireland final, Ó hAilpín restricted Henry Sheflin to just one point from play, forcing Kilkenny to move their star forward.
Soccer/ Shay Given
The mere fact Shay Given beat Alan Shearer in the club's Player of the Year poll run by the city's main newspaper at the end of last season is a fair indication of the consistency and quality of the goalkeeper's form in the Premiership. He also finished the season as the holder of the record for the most consecutive Premiership appearances (129). Fortunately for Brian Kerr and Ireland supporters Given's form has been just as outstandingthrough the opening games of the World Cup qualifying campaign. His performances against Switzerland in Basel in September and against France in Paris last month were virtually flawless and underlined his crucial importance to the team in their efforts to qualify for Germany in 2006.
Boxing/ Andy Lee
The Limerick man was one of the few Irish success stories to emerge from the Athens Olympics - the middle- weight came through a difficult qualifying process to be the only Irish boxing representative at the Games. Lee was quick to underline the fine form he showed in qualifying by disposing of Mexico's Alfredo Angulo Lopez in the opening round. He came within a point of winning a place in the quarter-finals, only going down to Hassan Ndam Njikam of the Cameroon on a countback after both fighters finished on the same number of points. Earlier in the year, Lee took bronze at the European Championships, a placing which also secured his place at the Olympics. And he went on to win silver at the European Union championship in Moscow in June.
Rugby/ Gordon D'Arcy
The young Irish centre was the outstanding player of the Six Nations with a series of sublime displays which were instrumental in Ireland capturing the Triple Crown. First capped in 1999, the Leinster player capped a wonderful championship by scoring two tries in the game against Scotland that sealed the Triple Crown. The 24-year-old appeared in all five games in the championship, starting in the centre against France because of an injury to Brian O'Driscoll. When O'Driscoll resumed, he teamed up with D'Arcy in the centre and they formed a formidable midfield partnership. His style of play also earned him the respect of his provincial and international colleagues who selected him as their player of the year.
Camogie/ Una O'Dwyer
The Tipperary full back becomes the second Tipperary player to win a Texaco award in as many years. The talented player was the cornerstone of the county's All-Ireland success over Cork in September, the county's fifth All-Ireland success in six years. Having captured the National League and Munster championship, O'Dwyer and her team-mates set their sights on winning the O'Duffy Cup in the centenary year of the camoige association. That desire drove the county through to the All-Ireland final against arch-rivals Cork, who had denied them a four in a row two years previously. However, the Cashel player gave a virtuoso defensive performance, restricting the Cork attack to just nine points while watching her own team accumulate 2-11.
Horse Racing/ Pat Smullen
Pat Smullen was champion jockey in both 2000 and 2001, but the 27-year-old from Rhode in Co Offaly secured the most important success of his career when Grey Swallow won this year's Budweiser Irish derby at the Curragh. Dermot Weld's stable jockey added to that classic as Vinnie Roe completed an emotional fourth Irish St Leger in a row. Married to the leading Irish trainer Frances Crowley, a sister-in-law of Aidan O'Brien, Smullen secured the job as number one rider to Weld five years ago. Since then he has made a significant impact on the international scene, including winning this year's American Derby at Arlington on Simple Exchange.
Bowling/ Margaret Johnston
Margaret Johnston wins her third Texaco award for another remarkable year in a career that has seen the Irish bowler dominate the sport at national and international levels. Johnston won her third women's world singles title at Leamington Spa in August, which was her sixth world title in all, having won three world pairs titles with Blackrock's Phyllis Nolan. The Ballymoney woman is a Commonwealth Games winner and reached this year's Irish Ladies Outdoor final, but went down to her one-time pairs partner Nolan.
