Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) dominated the annual Trinity Sport Awards this week, claiming 5 of the 11 awards on offer including Sportsperson of the Year, while Dublin University Archery Club (DUAC) capped off a superb season by claiming Club of the Year.
The awards, which were held in Clontarf Castle, coincided with the beginning of celebrations for the centenary anniversary of Dublin University Central Athletic Club (DUCAC).
Linda Djougang, of DUFC Women, claimed one of the evening’s most coveted awards by being named as the College’s best individual athlete this year after some superb performances in a Trinity shirt and a call-up to the Irish senior squad for the Six Nations. DUFC Men won Performance of the Year for their pulsating display last month against University College Dublin in Colours.
Joe Horan won Coach of the Year after steering DUFC Women to two provincial finals in two months, while the club’s under-20s won Team of the Year after winning the Fraser-McMullen Cup.
Áine Tucker, the captain of Trinity Women’s Soccer for the last two years, won the inaugural Game Changer of the Year award after helping her side to the final of Division 1 of the Colleges and Universities Football League (CUFL).
For Trinity’s archers, who were only recognised as an official club by DUCAC in 2015, the award shows the progress made by the club under the stewardship of captain Diego Coyle Diez and vice-captain Eve Kearney.
Another trophy-laden season for Dublin University Fencing Club was marked by Bethany Rush, who took home the award for Administrator of the Year.
Trinity’s rugby players also claimed the award for Social Media Campaign of the Year, an award won last season by Trinity GAA.
DUCAC also awarded its annual Pink awards – handed to individual athletes who have excelled – to 12 students. DUFC captain Colm Hogan and Sorcha McAllister of Dublin University Harriers and Athletics Club (DUHAC) were among those who received the honour, described by DUCAC Chair Donagh McDonagh as “the highest accolade given to a sportsperson” at Trinity.
The ceremony was presented by broadcaster and journalist Máire Ní Cheallaigh, and featured appearances from Olympic rower Sinead Jennings and Mark Pollock, the motivational speaker and former Commonwealth medalist. Both athletes spoke about the importance of sport to all aspects of life. Pollock reflected candidly on how the challenges one faces in their respective sports can be applied to life’s challenges, and said becoming the first blind man to reach the South Pole was a way for him to “rebuild [his] identity” after losing his sight at the age of 22. Jennings, acknowledging the quiet determination of athletes in their day-to-day lives, joked about spending more time on the river than at lectures during her university days.
DUCAC Vice-Chair Jemil Saidi – who recently launched a petition calling for a major change to the organisation’s voting structures in order to “create a more transparent DUCAC” – closed the ceremony, spoke of the “bond of friendship” at the centre of Trinity sport.
Saidi praised sports clubs for helping students find a place in College.
Correction: 14:40, May 3rd, 2019
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that DUFC had claimed 6 of the 11 awards on offer. In fact, DUFC claimed 5 of the 11 awards.
