EVERY day’s a school day, as the latest West Cork Sports Star Awards monthly presentations proved.
Given how hectic – and successful – this summer has been for local sportspeople, there was a backlog in presentations, so four awards were presented at the Celtic Ross Hotel on Tuesday night. Almost a mini-awards night in itself that, as these awards continually do, showcase the best in the west.
It’s the beauty of these awards that have the ability to bring local sportspeople from different sports together – look at the main photo on this page as Olympians Phil Healy and Nicola Tuthill, Goleen football captain Padraig Reidy and Cork and Newcestown camogie star Ciara O’Sullivan all shared the same stage.
So, they came from Goleen in the west and Kilbrittain in the east – it’s a 90-minute car drive one way from one to the other, but the worlds of Goleen’s county junior B winning footballers and Kilbrittain’s Olympic hammer thrower Nicola Tuthill crossed paths on Tuesday night, united by their sporting achievements.
European 4x400m relay silver medallist and two-time Olympic finalist Phil Healy – the most successful sportswoman in the history of the West Cork Sports Star Awards – and All-Ireland winning Cork camogie player Ciara O’Sullivan were honoured too. You learn something new every day, as it turns out that Phil and Ciara are second cousins. Phil’s mom, Phil, is a first cousin to Ciara’s dad, Richard – the sporting genes are incredibly strong here, a story replicated all over West Cork.
Cork camogie star Ciara O’Sullivan and Olympian Phil Healy are second cousins.
The DNA in this region lends itself to sporting greatness. Look at Gary and Paul O’Donovan being first cousins to Munster rugby star Gavin Coombes, as Paul and Gary’s dad Teddy O'Donovan is a brother to Gavin’s mom Regina. There’s even a family connection between Gary and Paul and another Skibbereen rowing Olympic medallist, Emily Hegarty, as Teddy O’Donovan is a second cousin to Emily’s dad, Jerry Hegarty.
Head further west towards Bantry, and the Wycherley rugby clan that includes Munster’s Fineen and Josh are related to the Brady kickboxers, including Oran who is competing at the WAKO Youth World Kickboxing Championships in Budapest this week. Some of the many family connections that knit West Cork sport closer together, while also highlighting the sense of community locally – this was an area that Goleen captain Padraig Reidy highlighted when he accepted his West Cork Sports Star Award in recognition of their county junior B football final success.
‘You’d struggle to go the length and breadth of the country to find a club that is as close-knit as Goleen. There are 25, 26 players on the panel and from the oldest down to the youngest we are all friends with each other. We all hang out with each other outside of training too, and that sense of community is massive for a place like Goleen,’ Padraig explained, and the communities that surround all four monthly award winners made the journey to support their athletes on a not-your-usual Tuesday night.
Bandon Athletic Club were there in numbers, the progressive club where Phil and Nicola took their first steps in their athletic adventures. It seemed that half of Goleen made the trip to support Padraig. Newcestown and Cork camogie were there in force to cheer on Ciara, and amongst her supporters were county team-mates Saoirse McCarthy and Millie Condon, two local GAA stars well connected with the West Cork Sports Star Awards over the years, but also fantastic role models for kids throughout the region. Ditto for Phil, Nicola, Ciara and Padraig – and we are blessed in West Cork with more role models than most.
Local kids don’t need to look too far to find real heroes because every community has them. Local people who show what is possible and that there are paths from West Cork to the elite levels of so many sports.
Take Phil Healy, the trailblazer from Ballineen who, as well as being the fastest woman in Ireland for years, is a two-time Olympian and Olympic finalist, and born and bred in West Cork. The ideal role model for kids to look up to, her story includes being a late developer before rising to the top. At her recent homecoming in Ballineen and Enniskeane, following her Olympic adventure when the Irish women’s 4x400m relay team finished fourth, Phil shared some great advice to the next generation of local sports stars.
‘It's so important to remember that it's not about winning all the time, because we didn't win the last day, but we did our best and we went out there and we represented the country. But for me, when I was younger, I definitely wasn't winning. I did the different sports because I enjoyed them, I had fun and I was making friends. So you just have to remember, they're the three things that you always need to do and just because you don't win, that doesn't mean it's a failure,’ Phil said, and those words carry extra weight because she’s a local woman who has shown what’s possible. There are examples dotted all around West Cork. Wannabe Cork footballers just need to look at Brian Hurley’s journey from Castlehaven to Cork captain, and the resilience, character and grit he has shown on his journey. Newcestown’s Luke Meade is proof local hurlers can reach the top level. Melissa Duggan from Dunmanway and Libby Coppinger from Kealkill are two of many ladies’ GAA heroes. Rugby has current Munster and Ireland heroes like Jack Crowley and Enya Breen. A boy from Bandon, Conor Hourihane, grew up to play in the Premier League and for the Republic of Ireland. Keith Cronin in the world of motorsport. And, not forgetting, Skibbereen’s rowers who have conquered the world – Paul O’Donovan, Fintan McCarthy, Emily Hegarty, Gary O’Donovan, Aoife Casey. It’s a glimpse into the sporting talent in West Cork, but also a nod to the role models that live amongst us, including the four who picked up West Cork Sports Star Awards on Tuesday night.
In the lead-up to the All-Ireland senior camogie final Ciara O’Sullivan spoke of how, coming up through the underage ranks, she looked up to Colette Desmond in Newcestown.
‘She was fantastic for Newcestown and it was just brilliant to see that someone from Newcestown, that’s not a city club or anything, can go and they can represent their county,’ Ciara said, and now she is that figure in her home club. Like how Phil and Nicola’s success will inspire the next generation in Bandon Athletic Club. Like how Paul and Fintan have shown young Skibbereen rowers the plan for success, and the homecoming in Skibb for its four Olympic rowers this Sunday will highlight, again, not just the incredible strength of West Cork sport, but how our search for heroes to look up to and emulate doesn’t need to go beyond this region. They’re right here.
