Outstanding performances at world, European and national championship level across a variety of sports are reflected in the 49th annual Texaco awards, which are announced today. The 10 winners will be honoured at a banquet in Dublin next week where they will be presented with their awards by the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern

Henry Shefflin

In a team dotted with outstanding players, Henry Shefflin was the pivotal player throughout the summer as Kilkenny moved through the Leinster championship and then on to All-Ireland glory.

His National League campaign was disrupted by injury and he only returned to Brian Cody's side for the knockout games against Tipperary and Limerick.

But Limerick hopes he would be a bit player in the final proved unfounded as he racked up 2-3 of Kilkenny's 3-11 total.

That scoring rate, allied to his wonderful work ethic, was maintained in the championship as Kilkenny cruised through Leinster and then dismissed Galway and Clare in the All-Ireland quarter- and semi-finals. His virtuoso performance in the semi-final victory was one of the best of the season with Shefflin running up 1-13 of his team's total.

In the All-Ireland final against double champions Cork, Shefflin was again a towering presence, contributing eight points as his team won by 1-16 to 1-13.

Derval O'Rourke

Derval O'Rourke became the first Irish female athlete to win a world indoor athletics title when she raced to the 60-metres title at the championships in Moscow in early March.

Although the Cork-born athlete went to the championships with a growing reputation, her form did not mark her out as a potential gold medal winner. However, on her way to winning, she broke the Irish record twice and held off seven of the best sprint hurdlers in the world.

The 25-year-old missed a good deal of the early outdoors season through injury but began her build-up to the European Championships in Gothenburg with a number of impressive wins at grand prix events, breaking the Irish record for the 100 metres hurdles twice in quick succession.

Fulfilling the form shown in the build-up to Gothenburg, O'Rourke took the silver medal in her event, lowering the Irish record to 12.72 seconds. Later in the same championships, O'Rourke ran the first leg for the Irish 4x100-metres team which also broke the Irish record.

Padraig Harrington

Although his performance at the Ryder Cup fell below his own high standards, the 36-year-old Dubliner saved his best form for the end of the season when he captured the Dunhill Links championship at St Andrews.

While this victory propelled Harrington into contention for the European Order of Merit title, he still went to the Volvo Masters in Spain at the end of October over 218,000 behind Paul Casey.

Requiring a top-two finish at Valderrama to secure one of the most coveted awards in European golf, Harrington appeared to have blown his chance when he opened his final round with two bogeys.

However, he staged a wonderful recovery and proceeded to single putt the last eight greens to finish second for the 30th time in his career. On this occasion second place proved very welcome as it secured one of Harrington's career objectives, the title of Europe's top golfer.

Kieran Donaghy

By any standards, Kieran Donaghy was the revelation of the Gaelic football year. The 23-year-old basketball player was converted into a full forward by Kerry manager Jack O'Connor in a masterstroke that sealed the county's 33rd All-Ireland title. His aerial power combined with deft football skills drove Kerry to All-Ireland series wins over Longford, Armagh and Cork after surrendering their Munster title to Cork in early July.

Donaghy's height and handling ability tortured Longford in their All-Ireland qualifier in Killarney. That day he scored three goals but his performance against highly-rated Armagh full back Francie Bellew in the All-Ireland quarter-final was exceptional and he rounded off an outstanding season by scoring one of Kerry's goals and setting up another in their demolition of Mayo in the All-Ireland final.

Aidan O'Brien

A previous Texaco award winner, Aidan O'Brien enjoyed another remarkable year at Ballydoyle, saddling 14 Group One winners worldwide as well as capturing the Budweiser Irish Derby with Dylan Thomas, who also went on to win the Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.

In May, O'Brien's long-time favourite, George Washington, lived up to the pre-race hype with a hugely impressive win in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Although he narrowly failed to complete the English-Irish 2000 Guineas double at the Curragh, George Washington was back to his best in capturing the Queen Elizabeth 11 Stakes at Ascot in September.

Alexandrova was the star filly for O'Brien winning the English and Irish Oaks, the first win for the trainer in the domestic classic.

The Irish Derby success by Dylan Thomas was O'Brien's fourth victory in the race and ensured the valuable prize stayed at home for the sixth time in the last seven years. Successes at Goodwood with Yeats and at Longchamp with Holy Roman Emperor rounded off another outstanding year.

David Healy

For the first time in over a decade a player from Northern Ireland wins the Texaco award for soccer. David Healy's scoring exploits have been extraordinary and he already holds the Northern Ireland goal-scoring record with 24 goals.

If his most famous goal was his winning strike against England in 2005, his hat-trick against Spain at Windsor Park last September will be remembered as one of the great achievements by a player from the North. The last player to score a hat-trick in Belfast playing for Northern Ireland was George Best.

The Leeds United player, who started with Down High Academy School, joined Manchester United in the late 1990s. After a spell with Port Vale on loan, Healy signed for Preston where he spent three years before joining Leeds in 2004.

Since then he has made over 80 first-team appearances for Leeds.

Irish Rowing Team

For the second year running, the Irish lightweight four wins an award after a superb season which saw them win two World Cup regattas before going on to take the bronze medal at the World Championships at Eton in August. Showing one change from the four that won a Texaco award last year, Gearóid Towey, Richard Archibald, Paul Griffin and Eugene Coakley made their mark in early summer by winning a World Cup regatta at Poznan and then finishing second in Munich.

They then turned their attention to the famous Lucerne Regatta where they emerged with another World Cup victory. When all the best crews in the world gathered at Eton in August, the Irish four came through the heats with enough in reserve to contest a terrific battle with France for the silver medal at the World Championships. Only pipped in the last 200 metres, the Irish four laid down a marker that they will be serious contenders for the Olympic title in Beijing in 2008.

Jessica Kuerten

Jessica Kuerten was the world's leading female rider in 2006. Despite a shoulder injury, the 36-year-old lifted both the masters and the world's richest prize, the $750,000 grand prix at the Dubai International in mid-January. With a hat-trick in Leipzig and another masters/grand prix double in Zurich, Kurten moved up to an Irish record world number two in the rankings.

The wins kept coming, but the Antrim-born rider was thwarted at the World Cup finals in Kuala Lumpur at the end of April.

She went on to record an incredible 19 international wins during the 2006 season, but none of those were on an Irish team after a row with manager Robert Splaine.