Irish Rugby Captain Coghlan Crowned Sportswoman Of The Year 2013

The captain of Ireland's Grand Slam-winning rugby team, Fiona Coghlan, was today named The Irish Times Irish Sports Council 'Sportswoman of the Year 2013' after a season in which the Irish won the Six Nations Championship for the first time.

The loose-head prop was presented with her award at a gala event in Dublin where 76-year-old former racing driver Rosemary Smith was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her place as a pioneer in Irish sport.

Coghlan was among 14 women who were in line for the award having each won The Irish Times / Irish Sports Council Sportswoman of the Month awards over the past year.

GAA star Cora Staunton, athlete Kelly Proper, hockey's Nikki Symmons and paralympian Bethany Firth and were among the monthly winners competing for the main award. -
But Coghlan's historic achievement in leading the Irish team to its first-ever Six Nations Championship, including their first ever win against England, stood out on the 2013 sporting calendar.

The editor of The Irish Times, Kevin O'Sullivan, said '' Fiona's win is a great boost for women's rugby and participation in a game that up to a few years ago had to fight for any profile. I cast my mind back to a freezing and wet afternoon in Milan last March when the Irish team sealed the Grand Slam with as much bravery and resilience as you are likely to witness on a football pitch. Some of the players were close to hypothermia after the game, which just underlines the huge desire shown by Fiona and her team mates. These awards continue to thrive because our leading sportswomen continue to raise the bar and nobody raised it higher in 2013 than Fiona Coghlan.

Kieran Mulvey of the Irish Sports Council paid tribute to Smith who won titles throughout the world during her racing career and added a unique splash of glamour to Irish sport. She was also controversially among ten racers disqualified from the 1966 Monte Carlo Rally while leading the Coupe des Dammes.

"Rosemary was one of the few Irish people of her time to get to the very top of her sport at international level. Her achievements are all the more remarkable considering she operated in a male-dominated sport at a time when a woman displaying ambition and individuality was generally frowned upon.

"After her retirement from competition, her love of driving never waned and she established a driving academy where she passed on some of her know-how to help younger people stay safe on our roads. She is a deserving winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award," Mulvey said.

The event at the Shelbourne Hotel, hosted by RTE's Des Cahill, was attended by Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring.

The nominees for The Irish Times / Irish Sports Council Sportswoman of the Year award were:

2012
December Fionnuala Britton (Athletics)

2013

January Michelle Fahy (Basketball)
February Fiona Coghlan (Rugby)
March Aisling Blake (Squash)
April Jane Mangan (Racing)
May Annalise Murphy (Sailing)
June Nikki Symmons (Hockey)
July Kelly Proper (Athletics)
August Bethany Firth (Swimming)
September Joint winners: Theresa Maher (Camogie) & Juliet Murphy (Football)
October Joint winners: Aileen Reid (Triathlete) & Aoife Clark (Eventing)
November Cora Staunton (Football)