Success on both the national and international stage in 1999 is reflected in the annual Texaco awards, which are announced today. From Roy Keane's towering performances for Manchester United in the club's march to the treble to Trevor Giles's inspirational role in Meath's All-Ireland victory, the 42nd Texaco awards honour 13 of Ireland's outstanding sportsmen in 1999.
David Humphreys: Ulster's unforgettable march to the European Cup was marked by a series of outstanding performances by captain and outhalf David Humphreys. The 27-year-old Ballymena-born player scored the try of the tournament with a wonderful piece of individual skill that embellished the province's remarkable semi-final victory over Stade Francais last January. In the previous match against Toulouse, Humphreys kept Ulster in the competition with a try-saving tackle in the closing minutes, having earlier dropped two goals in a 15-13 victory. In the final against Colomiers at Lansdowne Road Humphreys kicked another dropped goal and led Ulster to one of the most famous victories in Irish rugby history.
A key member of Ireland's team throughout the Five Nations and World Cup, Humphreys offered a flawless placekicking display, scoring all of the 27 Irish points on the night of their ignominious exit from the tournament against Argentina.
Tommy and Paul Carberry: The great racing tradition of son following father in all aspects of the sport was brought to new levels on a spring day at Aintree when the Tommy Carberry-trained Bobbyjo was partnered to success in the Grand National by his son Paul. Bridging a 24-year gap since the last Irish winner, the 10 to 1 shot came home ahead of Blue Charm to win by 10 lengths.
Ironically, the last Irish winner was L'Escargot in 1975 which was ridden by Tommy. To complete a remarkable day in 1999 for the family, Bobbyjo was led in at Aintree by another Carberry son, Philip. Tommy, who trains at Ratoath in Co Meath, is a former champion jockey who also enjoyed Cheltenham Gold Cup success on L'Escargot and Ten Up while Paul rode Bobbyjo to victory in the Irish Grand National in 1998.
Roy Keane: By any standards, 1999 was an astonishing year for Roy Keane. The Republic of Ireland captain was acknowledged as the club's most important player in Manchester United's march to the elusive treble of Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League. As captain, Keane led by example and nothing underlined his commitment more than his display against Juventus in the Champions League semi-final when he brought Manchster United back into the game with a great header and then suffered a heart-breaking booking which kept him out of the final. On the international front, Keane was the pivotal figure in the Republic's best display of the year when they beat Yugoslavia at Lansdowne Road in a Euro 2000 qualifying game in September. Since then, Keane's value to Manchester United has been reinforced by the club's decision to make him the highest-paid player in Britain with a new fouryear contract.
Trevor Giles: Within a year of undergoing major surgery on a knee injury, Trevor Giles was back doing what he does best in 1999: influencing football games. Indeed, the Skyrne player - who started the year accompanying the Irish schools team to Australia as physiotherapist and finished it by inspiring Ireland to victory in the International Rules series - was a key player in Meath's successful march to the Leinster and All-Ireland titles.
And, yet, one of his most influential games came in the All-Ireland semi-final win over Armagh where he repeatedly pumped balls into Graham Geraghty with either foot to effectively swing the game Meath's way.
Trevor Coyle: Derry-born Trevor Coyle enjoyed one of his best seasons ever in the world of equestrian sport. The 41-year-old rider got his season off to a remarkable start with a second-placed finish in the World Cup final in Gothenburg in April. Riding Cruising, Coyle was only beaten in a jump-off for the sport's biggest prize by Brazil's Rodrigo Pessoa.
Coyle went on from there to capture one of the most prestigious grand prix on the circuit when he held off a world class field to win the Aachen GP in June, only the second time an Irish rider has won the event. Before this year, Coyle's best season was 1995 when he was part of the Irish team that won an unprecedented three Nations Cups.
Marty Moloney and Revlin Minihane: Students ashore but professionals afloat is an appropriate description of Marty Moloney and Revlin Minihane who beat a 79-boat fleet of the best dinghy sailors to win the class world championship in May. Moloney (18) and Minihane (14) belied their youth with a series of impressive races at the World Championships in Cape Town, eventually coming home three points ahead of Australia's John Padget and John Fletcher.
Helmsman Moloney aims to campaign in his new 420 class dinghy in the coming years while Minihane has returned to his studies until the 2000 season gets under way.
Eddie Irvine: When the cars lined up on the grid for the opening grand prix of the year in Australia last March, long odds were available on Eddie Irvine being in contention for the world drivers' title at the end of the season in Japan. But the opening race in Melbourne proved to be the start of a spectacular season for the Northern Ireland driver. In his 82nd grand prix and his 50th race for Ferrari, Irvine led home Jordan's Heinz Harald Frentzen and put down a challenge to the rest of the formula one circus. Irvine maintained that form as the campaign moved back to Europe, with top six finishes in a succession of races. When teammate Michael Schumacher broke a leg at Silverstone, Irvine moved centre stage for Ferrari and won both the Austrian and German grand prix. He went into the final race on level terms with Mika Hakkinen but ultimately failed to stop the Finn retaining his title.
Padraig Harrington: A tournament victory may have eluded the 28-year-old Dubliner during 1999, but five runner upfinishes on the European Tour - in the Italian Open, West of Ireland Classic, BMW International, German Masters and Volvo Masters - combined with a singles win over Mark O'Meara on his Ryder Cup debut, made it a highly productive year's work for Padraig Harrington.
In fact, Harrington, who had played his way into the European team by finishing second in the final two qualifying events, emerged with a 1-1-1 record from his three matches in Brookline. He finished the season in seventh place on the European Order of Merit (with prizemoney of £610,830) and improved his world ranking from 105th to 50th.
Brian Corcoran: Considered the "veteran" of the Cork team, Brian Corcoran - the only survivor from the defeated All-Ireland team of 1992 - was a tour de force in their annexation of the Liam McCarthy Cup. Time and again, the so-called quiet man from Glounthane was the lynchpin in the Cork side in bridging a nine-year gap since their last All-Ireland hurling championship.
Fittingly, one of Corcoran's best individual displays was reserved for the final itself, when he closed out of Kilkenny's dangermen, John Power. A proven dual player, Corcoran's decision to concentrate on hurling has been thoroughly vindicated with an All Star and player of the year award.
Neville Maxwell and Tony O'Connor: Neville Maxwell and Tony O'Connor, winning their second Texaco award, have been the outstanding figures in Irish rowing since they first paired up in the mid 1990s. The Neptune oarsmen stand at the top of the rankings for Irish national titles, and on a world stage their medal haul tells its own story: as a lightweight pair they won gold at the Lucerne regattas in 1994 and '99 and have twice won world championship silver (Strathclyde, 1996, Aiguebelette, '97), and bronze (Indianapolis 1994 and St Catharines, Ontario, '99).
That last bronze, won in August, might so easily have been gold as they led for most of the race and were passed only yards from the line by the Italian and Chilean crews. But their biggest disappointment was perhaps in the 1996 Olympics when as part of a lightweight four (with Derek Holland and Sam Lynch), they narrowly missed an Olympic medal. Next autumn, they will be intent on filling that blank on their CV at the Sydney Games.
The awards will be presented at a banquet in Dublin on January 17th.
