Trinity Sport recently announced their list of nominees for the Trinity Sport Awards which will take place next week.
Dublin University Rugby Football Club (DUFC) star Joe McCarthy is amongst the the nominees for Trinity’s Sportsperson of the Year award, having enjoyed a meteoric rise from the fringes of the Leinster senior team to making the Ireland squad within this academic year.
The other nominees for the prestigious award include McCarthy’s DUFC teammates Luis Faria and Harry Sheridan as well as Anna Jones of the Ladies Gaelic Football Club, Thomas Stevens of the Dublin University Boat Club (DUBC) and international cricket allrounder Leah Paul, who was one of two Trinity students to be called up to the senior Irish women’s team this year.
Making her debut in 2019, Paul has been capped 29 times for Ireland.
Faria and Sheridan have both been capped for Ireland’s under-21 rugby side, while Jones has been instrumental in the success of Westmeath football team, scoring 3-24 throughout the course of the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship while contributing 1-6 in the final as they beat Wexford 4-19-0-06.
Stevens’ nomination comes having won the club single sculls in the National Rowing Championships in August and setting a course record by a full ten seconds in the process.
Dublin University Central Athletic Club (DUCAC) Chairperson Matthew Simons announced the nominees via email last week.
Winners will be announced at a ceremony taking place in the Aviva on May 9th.
Five teams are nominated for this year’s team of the year award. The men’s Gaelic Football Freshers team are shortlisted, having won the All-Ireland Division 2 Freshers Championship after a facile 4-15-1-10 victory over Carlow IT. The Ladies Harriers team are also in line for the award, having claimed seven medals in the All-Ireland intervarsities in April.
Also up for the award, is the women’s volleyball team, who beat Maynooth to win the All-Ireland Championship in February, as well as the DUFC under 20 team, who won the All-Ireland for the third year in a row following a 28-23 extra-time victory over University College Dublin (UCD).
The archery student national team complete the list having won five gold medals at the national student championships in February. Their victory also sees coach Keith Hanlon nominated in the Coach of the Year category.
The performance of the year category recognises an excellent performance by a team in their season.
One of five nominees for the award, the women’s netball team have been highlighted for their 51-21 win over the Leinster Jaguars to claim the Division 2 All-Ireland Championship. The men’s rugby team’s 34-27 victory over UCD in the Colours Festival in April earns them the second nomination.
The women’s cross-country team also feature, having claimed the gold medal in the National Cross-Country Championship for the third consecutive year. Their performance on home soil in Santry was a fitting celebration of 150 years of athletics in Trinity, also earning team coach Iain Morrison a nomination in the Coach of the Year category.
The final performance of the year nomination goes to goalkeeper Cian McAllister and his show-stopping performance in the men’s soccer team’s 1-0 victory over Maynooth in the first round of the Collingwood Cup.
The Club of the Year category recognises a club’s performance over the year from both the men’s and women’s teams across all grades. The four shortlisted clubs are badminton, athletics, volleyball and rugby.
Further team and individual awards recognise excellence in inclusion, volunteering and overall impact, among other categories.
The full list of nominations for the 2022 Trinity Sport Awards is available online.
