It’s a good thing Kate O’Connor is so adept at the multi-events. After a long year of running, jumping and throwing beyond all previous measures, O’Connor was crowned The Irish Times/Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year for 2025.
She’s fast becoming familiar with such accolades, and just like her medal success on four major championship stages, O’Connor is taking it all in her graceful stride.
Even with the all-star cast assembled at Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel at lunchtime on Friday there was no disputing O’Connor’s top prize. She repeatedly went where no Irish woman or indeed man had gone before, winning major multi-event medals in the indoor pentathlon and the outdoor heptathlon, smashing her own Irish records along the way.
The 25-year-old from Dundalk has already scooped end-of-year awards at events hosted by Athletics Ireland and the Olympic Federation of Ireland, with the prospect of more to come. Last weekend she also graduated with a MA in communications from Ulster University, and in receiving her award spoke of what such recognition meant away from the track and field.
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“It’s just been such an insane year,” she said. “During indoors I just got on a roll and just started to pick up medals, I enjoyed that feeling and I didn’t want to stop. And hopefully it doesn’t stop for the next few years.
“it’s been very busy, and I suppose nothing prepares you for the storm that comes after a year like I’ve had. I kind of thought that I would take a couple of weeks off, I would do all the media stuff, and then that would be it over. And it certainly was not like that at all.
“But I’ve just tried to enjoy it all as much as I can. The year has been incredible, and I know this is just part and parcel of it. And it’s lovely to see how much people care about what I did this year.
“It was just lovely to see the buzz it brought everybody at home, because we worked so hard for it at times. And I think that’s the beauty of the heptathlon, everyone can buy into the story at times.”
Mayo footballer Cora Staunton was presented with the Outstanding Achievement award, the four-time All-Ireland winner receiving a standing ovation. She made her senior debut for the county back in 1995, aged just 13.
Staunton’s stellar career also saw her win six All-Ireland ladies club football championships with her club Carnacon and 11 All-Star awards, before her retirement in 2019.
It was another unprecedented year of success for Irish women in sport, on both the national and international stages, with O’Connor among the 15 monthly award winners, most of whom were also assembled in the Shelbourne Hotel. But still, after the avalanche of other firsts and rising stars, O’Connor stood alone.
Her World Championship silver in the heptathlon in Tokyo brought her medal tally from her four multi-event competitions to four – a perfect score. It started with her breakthrough indoor performances in the pentathlon back in March, when she won bronze in the European Indoor Championships, then upgraded to silver on the World Indoor stage.
They were the first senior medals won by any Irish athlete in a multi-event, and O’Connor then made another breakthrough in the heptathlon, winning gold at the World University Games in July, where she improved her Irish record to 6,487 points – bettering that again to 6,714 points in Tokyo.
Her father and coach Michael was also present, and is also juggling end-of-year awards, having being recognised by World Athletics with their annual coaching award last month.
O’Connor joins previous outright winners from athletics in Derval O’Rourke (2006) and Olive Loughnane (2009), who, like O’Connor, made global medal podiums in their successful years.
The 15 monthly winners were spread across eight sports, including six newcomers: boxer Aoife O’Rourke matched her sister Lisa’s achievement in becoming a world champion, and world record-breaking ultra-runner Caitríona Jennings joined rower Sinéad on the monthly roll of honour.
Basketball’s Hazel Finn, the MVP in the National Cup final, and rugby’s Aoife Wafer, the Six Nations’ player of the tournament, picked up their first awards too, as did Kelly Brady from Athlone Town, and double world Para Athletics sprint champion Orla Comerford.
Others were multiple award winners before, including two Katies – Taylor and McCabe – both also former sportswomen of the year, Taylor on five occasions.
Katie-George Dunlevy made the monthly list for the eighth time, Sarah Healy sharing the March award with O’Connor after winning European Indoor gold over 3,000m. Lara Gillespie enjoyed a superb 2025 when taking World Track Cycling gold in Chile. Fiona Murtagh made the rowing podium at World and European level.
In the 22nd year of the awards, sports editor of The Irish Times Noel O’Reilly paid tribute to all the 2025 monthly winners.
“We thank them and salute them for making it such a memorable and special year,” he said, “and we wish them continuing success in the year to come.”
The Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, and Dr Úna May, Sport Ireland CEO, were also in attendance to present the awards.
Monthly winners – December 2024: Ellen Walshe (Swimming); January: Hazel Finn (Basketball); February: Lara Gillespie (Cycling); March: Kate O’Connor and Sarah Healy (Athletics); April: Aoife Wafer (Rugby); May: Katie McCabe (Soccer); June: Fiona Murtagh (Rowing); July: Katie Taylor (Boxing); August: Katie George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly (Cycling); September: Aoife O’Rourke (Boxing) and Orla Comerford (Athletics); October: Kelly Brady (Soccer); November: Caitríona Jennings (Athletics).
