Carberry back in winner's enclosure

SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD:SUCH WAS the calibre and range of contenders for the 2011 Irish Times/Irish Sports Council Sportswoman of the Year award that the deciding factor might well have been the ability to beat the best of the men too.

On that note Nina Carberry proved a uniquely deserving and popular winner – her victorious ride in the Irish Grand National last April making her only the second ever woman jockey to win the race outright.

Carberry’s achievement also extended a remarkable family record given her mother’s father, her own father, and her two brothers also rode winning horses in the Irish Grand National.

“And now me,” said Carberry at yesterday’s award luncheon in Dublin, attended by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and The Irish Times editor Kevin O’Sullivan, amongst others, plus of course the various monthly award winners from 2011 and representatives of their sports.

Carberry had been a monthly winner in previous editions of the award, now in its eighth year, and despite it being a particularly memorable year for Irish sportswomen, her ride on Organisedconfusion last April was enough to convince the judging panel that her moment had indeed come – especially given the way she fended off the best of the men en route to her ultimately flawless victory.

“No, you never get an inch,” she confirmed, “and it is very competitive. It’s never sexist at all, either way, and in fact you’re learning off the fellas the whole time. But horse racing is a great sport and I’m delighted to be a part of it, and I hope this will inspire even more women to enter the professional horse racing arena.

“And all the women here today representing so many sports, and it’s great to have horse racing represented here too.

“I’d like to congratulate all of the other finalists on their amazing successes that have brought us all here today, and also thank The Irish Times for doing a fabulous job in promoting all these women in sport.”

However, there could only be one winner, and while the 25-year-old from Ratoath in Co Meath was the standout for 2011, the Taoiseach paid tribute to all the 14 monthly winners (including joint winners for July and September) for their exceptional performances on both the national and international stage.

“Today we have recognised Irish women from horseracing and canoeing to golfing and rugby,” he said, “and their success is a result of commitment and dedication to their sport and their training.

“Their exploits on the field will help motivate thousands of girls and young women to continue to excel in sport, giving us a new generation of Irish sportswomen to be proud of.

“To the ladies celebrated here today I would say: Ireland needs you as sports heroes. We share in your continued success and are looking forward to watching your careers soar even higher.

"I want to also thank The Irish Timesfor their continued support for these awards which recognise the abilities and achievements of women in Irish Sport."

There was also the promise from The Irish Times editor of further improvements in the coverage and acknowledgement of women’s achievements in sport.

“This is a celebration of women’s sports and the gifted individuals who are every bit as talented and committed as their male counterparts,” said O’Sullivan.

"Sports media are male-dominated and much more needs to be done by newspapers, radio, TV, and digital providers to redress the imbalance in coverage between men's and women's sports. That includes The Irish Times, but we believe we are beginning to change the national conversation on this front.

“What’s more, a great many of the truly memorable sports events this year have involved Irish women. Also, our sports editor, Malachy Logan, is a great champion of these awards, for which I thank him.”

Kieran Mulvey, chairman of the Irish Sports Council and speaking of behalf of their joint sponsorship of the awards, said: “These achievements are based on the talent and dedication of the athletes. The sports council has always believed that Irish athletes could compete at the very highest level of world sport.

“They deserve great credit for competing in more than 70 countries worldwide while wearing the green of Ireland. Their ambitions are supported by clubs, schools and colleges, coaches, partners, family and friends; we celebrate them all here today.”

Also recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award was Ireland’s most renowned and respected women’s golfer, Mary McKenna, who has captained the Irish golf team on four occasions, the joint Britain-Ireland team twice in the Curtis Cup against America and four times in the Vagliano Cup against Continental Europe.

McKenna has been active in Irish golf since the age of 14, in 2006 was awarded an honorary MBE for her contribution to the sport in Ireland and Britain, and she acknowledged her award via a video link from Canada.

All but three of the monthly winners were present to accept their award, including Fionnuala Britton, who earlier this month won gold at the European Cross Country Championships in Slovenia.

Britton had been nominated last December when she finished fourth in the same event, as the awards actually run from December 2010 to November 2011, but she looks certain to reclaim that award for December 2011 and thus put herself in the running for next year’s overall honour.

It’s likely that other 2011 monthly award winners will be back in frame next year too, given six of them are set to represent Ireland at next summer’s London Olympics: Katie Taylor (boxing), Deirdre Ryan (high jump), Aileen Morrison (triathlon), Jenny Egan (canoeing), Chloe Magee (badminton), and also Britton (3,000 metres steeplechase).

All the monthly awards and the overall winner is decided by a judgging panel consisting of Mary Hannigan of The Irish Times, RTÉ's Greg Allen and Lindie Naughton from the Evening Herald.