SPORTS AWARDS Shortlist Announced for the RTE Sports Awards 2010

RTة Sport today (Tuesday 14 December, 2010) announced the shortlist of nine finalists for the RTة Sports Person of the Year Award and eight finalists for the RTة Team of the Year Award. The winners will be presented with their awards at The RTة Sports Awards 2010 in association with The Irish Sports Council which will be broadcast live on RTة One, Wednesday 22 December at 9.30pm.

Presented by Darragh Maloney, Michael Lyster, Joanne Cantwell and Des Cahill, the live show will review what was a wonderful year for Irish athletes and teams and look back on the dramatic and memorable sporting moments of 2010.

The RTة Sports Person of the Year shortlist consists of: Katie Taylor, third time World Amateur Boxing Champion; Graeme McDowell, US Open champion and Ryder Cup team hero; Grainne Murphy, European Long and Short Course Swimming Championships triple medal winner; A.P. McCoy, Grand National and Champion Hurdle winning jockey; Lar Corbett, Tipperary hat-trick hero in this year's All Ireland Hurling final; Paddy Barnes, European Boxing Champion; Tommy Bowe, RBS 6 Nations Player of the Year and Magners League winner; Derval O'Rourke, European Athletics Championships silver medallist; and Rory McIlroy, winner of his first PGA Tour event at just 20 years of age and the youngest winner since Tiger Woods on America's PGA tour.

Celebrating the collaborative achievements of Irish athletes, the RTة Sports Team of the Year shortlist includes: the Irish Men's Senior Boxing team, winners of an unprecedented five medals at the European Boxing Championships; All Ireland Football Championship and National League winners, Cork; FIFA World Cup quarter finalists, the Republic of Ireland U17 Women's Football Team; first time All Ireland title winners, the Dublin Ladies Football team; Airtricity League Premier Division title winners, Shamrock Rovers Football Club; All Ireland Hurling Champions, Tipperary; European Championship Gold Medal Winners, the Irish Men's U-23 Cross Country team and All Ireland Camogie Champions, Wexford.

The winners will be selected by RTة sports journalists, editorial staff and broadcasters and will be announced live on the night.
The awards ceremony will also see the honour of the RTة/Irish Sports Council's Hall of Fame Award presented to a very deserving Irish sporting legend.