FIFTEEN months after stepping off Concorde as captain of the victorious Ryder Cup team, Bernard Gallacher was back in Dublin last night.

He was among those honoured by the Links Golfing. Society at their annual Sports Celebrity Banquet, sponsored by Renault for the benefit of the Irish Youth Foundation.

Bill Cullen, chairman of the sponsoring company, also presented awards to aspiring Ryder Cup player, Padraig Harrington, and to European Tour executive director Ken Schofield, who will have a key role in deciding Irish hopes of staging the biennial event in 2005. And there was an award for American industrialist Donald Panoz, prime mover behind the Sarazen World Open.

Bookmaker turned financier, J P McManus, was honoured for his work for charity and a veteran's award went to the former Tipperary hurler, Babs Keating, now manager of Laois. Other GAA personalities to receive awards were Wexford hurling manager Liam Griffin and the Meath footballer, Trevor Giles.