Green teams class at home

Luke Dempsey

Westmeath football manager

"The one big memory I have of the last year was Ireland's win over England at Lansdowne Road, which I was lucky to be at with my son. It was a fantastic occasion, before, during and after the match. I think the GAA could learn something about the pre-match buzz, with the party atmosphere and bands around Lansdowne Road before the game.

"On top of that it was a great performance. I played rugby myself years ago with Carlow and Mullingar. But of course, that was only in the GAA off-season. My son plays with the under-14s in Mullingar now.

"I have a great interest in all sports, and especially athletics. But I suppose it was a downbeat year for the Irish, with the big names like Sonia O'Sullivan not doing much. And Mark Carroll had a disappointing year as well. The rowers did very well at the world championships, and that was something I was very impressed with.

"But I definitely came home from that rugby match with a fantastic sense of occasion and it was a performance to be really proud of, because they were really up against it.

"When I met Warren Gatland a few weeks ago I had to feel sorry for him - to have such a great memory of the year, but then to be so unceremoniously removed, had to be a bit strange."

Tomas Dunne

Tipperary All-Ireland hurling winning captain

"I would follow nearly every sport on television and in the papers, and one of the main things I followed last year was the Munster rugby team.

"I got to see them against Saracens this year up in Thomond Park and some other smaller games, but unfortunately I didn't get to any of the big European games. I would always watch the rugby internationals as well, but I don't get to go to many of them.

"Soccer would have to be the big highlight of last year. When Ireland actually qualified it was great, but the Holland game sticks out for me because that was just a tremendous win. It was just a few weeks before the All-Ireland so I couldn't really afford to watch that one in the pub.

"Golf is another big sport for me and I watch a lot of that on Sky Sports. Tiger Woods had an excellent year and Retief Goosen had a tremendous season as well. I remember watching him live in the US Open where it went to a play-off after he missed a short putt on the 18th, but still managed to win.

"From Tipperary's point of view, there are a lot of things that stand out as well but for me the game against Clare was certainly a big one. The final whistle that day stands out for me. That was definitely a huge highlight and set us on the road." Gareth Turnbull

1,500m Silver Medallist,

World Student Games

"Outside of athletics the main thing for me would have to be horse racing. Last year was disappointing in that the Cheltenham festival was weakened by foot-and-mouth, but making up for that was being at Leopardstown to see Galileo against Fantastic Light in the Irish Champion Stakes.

"It was just brilliant, two furlongs with two horses in their absolute prime. Just to see that was amazing because it was the sort of race people will talk about for years to come. It was the sport at its pinnacle.

"This interest in racing started about five years ago at Down Royal, just after Christmas for what was a family day out. I remember getting out of jail that day with a fiver on the last, a horse called Swan Point at 3 to 1. That was 15 quid when I was about 14, which was great.

"But it compliments the running brilliantly. When I want to get away from the training I can just stick my nose in the Racing Post, and I would now go three or four times a week. I'm a member now of Southwell racecourse and Wolverhampton racecourse.

"I prefer National Hunt, even if I do lose more money there. It's a lovely distraction from my masters' studies (at Loughborough) and you definitely get a great buzz from the sport. But it's not a question of going to gamblers anonymous, because it's like athletics in that you have to be disciplined and you have to have your rules."

Pat Hickey

Olympic Council of Ireland president

"The year started on a high for me when I was re-elected as President of the Olympic Council of Ireland, but of course the big highlight would have to be the soccer team qualifying for the World Cup in Japan and Korea.

"I am a huge fan and was at every game this year, with the exception of the away game in Iran. That was a few weeks before the end of my (successful) campaign for the post of secretary general of the European Olympic Committee and the problem with Iran was that there were no mobile phones working, which wouldn't have done the campaign much good.

"I will definitely be going out for the World Cup next summer. But there's no doubt that the team deserved to go. To come out of that group with so many points was a tremendous achievement.

"There was a great sense of occasion for the home game against Iran. It was the first time that a team from that part of the world played here, and even though it was a good result on the night, no one was quite sure if it would be enough to get us there.

"The other highlight for me would have been the success of the rowers at the World Championships. It was a fantastic weekend for them and you don't get too many results like that in Ireland in a sport with such limited resources.

"I was also lucky enough this year to be at the two big rugby internationals, the England game and the New Zealand game. The atmosphere at both those games was unbelievable and even though I wouldn't be an expert on the game, I think they were two great performances."

Bill Dooley

Head Coach, Irish Senior Basketball team

"Since moving here from the US this past year I've discovered a great interest in soccer, though mostly the Premiership. I would never have watched soccer back in the US, partly because they don't show it very much and mostly because I had no interest in it. Frankly I thought it was boring.

"Now that I'm here that's changed. My little boy, who's eight, follows it in a big way. He follows Liverpool and I've been watching a lot of their games with him, and all the other games as well. They've been up at the front for a while now, which is great.

"I've also gone to a couple of the Irish international games in the last few months. I was there for the game against Iran at Lansdowne Road, so I've got into that team in a big way as well and enjoy following all their games. They have been great fun to watch, and I was really happy for them when they qualified for the World Cup.

"For us though, getting to the semi-round of the European championships was definitely the big point. That had never been done before in Irish men's basketball and we had to beat Finland, who had a very good team, including a player from the NBA.

"That was big for us, but I think it was big for Irish basketball in general in that it lifted the profile of the game so much. We weren't that surprised by the result."

Declan Kidney

Munster coach and Ireland's assistant coach

"Of course the win for Ireland over England was, outside of everything that happened with Munster, the big memory of the last year. It was one of those days when everything came together, and a great occasion.

"There was so much happening elsewhere that it's hard to pick out one particular thing. But that's the great thing about Irish sport at the moment, in that almost every weekend there is some major achievement, and some major sporting occasion where Ireland has done well. You no longer have to look overseas to experience big success.

"The achievement of the soccer team was another highlight, and I remember how intense those last few minutes were in the last game against Iran.

"Being from Cork, I also follow the championship quite closely and one of the big games this year was the Munster final against Kerry. I would have watched all the big hurling matches along the way as well, but again there's no particular one that stands out, except to say that Tipperary came out clear winners.

"It was a good year for Irish golfers as well and the big one there was Padraig Harrington. After that run of eight second places he still stuck at it and was then able to come through in the end to win the Volvo Masters. That was definitely an achievement to be proud of."

John Treacy

Irish Sports Council chief executive

"The one highlight that definitely stands out was the result against Holland in the World Cup qualifier. I was lucky to be there and it was heart-racing the whole way. You couldn't help but get soaked up in the atmosphere and of course it was an outstanding result.

"The way they fought until the end was superb, it was a great team effort. You got the feeling after 20 minutes that it wasn't going to be Holland's day, and they just weren't going to get the bounce of the ball.

"But I think as well that Mick McCarthy deserved all the luck that he got, because he'd had so much bad luck in the past. This was the game that set up the World Cup qualification as well, so it was a truly special day.

"The result that the Irish rugby team got against England was also outstanding. Three years ago a victory like that at Lansdowne Road would have been unthinkable. It was a remarkable turnaround, but also reflected the way that rugby has been turned around in Ireland over the last few years. Again I was lucky enough to be there and it was a great occasion.

"Outside of that I think the success of the rowers at the World Championships was another big highlight. Overall though it has been an outstanding year for Irish sport, not just on the international scene.

"The domestic games provided some big highlights as well, with a big GAA season and then the win in Australia for the International Rules team."

Reggie Corrigan

Leinster captain

"The Republic of Ireland's achievement in qualifying for the World Cup next summer in Japan and Korea was tremendous.

"Occasionally we would bump into the lads at the Holiday Inn hotel in the airport. Mick McCarthy seems like a decent skin and I'm very happy for him.

"It was also great to see Padraig Harrington finally win a tournament after finishing second place so often.

"I have a huge interest in GAA and given that my mother is from Galway and my father from Tipperary, it was quite a year.

"I tried to go to games when I could and this year I got tickets for the All-Ireland football final. Naturally I wasn't allowed to keep them and had to give them to my parents. I remember shouting at the TV though.

"I got a chance to see a lot of Wimbledon and Goran Ivanisevic's victory in the men's singles was definitely the comeback of the year. That shot he played off his knees was the best I have ever seen.

"I'm a bit of a motor racing fan and enjoyed the Formula One championship in a general sense, although the Jordan's campaign was a bit of a disaster.

"In rugby I have several memories, the first of which was the Lions winning the first Test against Australia. If there was a bad moment it was the reaction of the Australian crowd in the third Test.

"The fact that Greystones are leading the AIB League Division Three is another personal highlight but the best of all was Leinster's victory in the Celtic League Final. You dream about days like that."