Swim Ireland recognized its best of the best at its 7th annual awards ceremony held on November 24th. Celebrating and honoring the fantastic work and outstanding accomplishments of its athletes, coaches and volunteers throughout the year, the awards service also inducted six individuals into the Swim Ireland Hall of Fame.
23-year-old diver Oliver Dingley came away with the Performance Athlete of the Year award. Dingley finished 7th at the Diving World Cup in June, securing his place in the Diving World Series, an exclusive competition reserved for only the top 8 divers in the world.
The Performance Pathway Swimmer of the Year award was bestowed upon Niamh Coyne, the Youth Olympic Games 100m breaststroke silver medalist who earned Ireland’s only swimming medal in Buenos Aires.
Ben Higson, coach of Coyne at the National Centre Dublin, earned the Performance Pathway Coach of the Year award at the ceremony.
Club of the Year | Templeogue SC | |
Connacht Club of the Year | Claremorris SC | |
Leinster Club of the Year | Templeogue SC | |
Munster Club of the Year | Killarney SC | |
Ulster Club of the Year | Ards SC | |
Performance Athlete of the Year | Oliver Dingley | National Centre Dublin |
Para Swimmer of the Year | Ellen Keane | NAC SC |
Performance Pathway Athlete of the Year (Swimming) | Niamh Coyne | National Centre Dublin |
Performance Pathway Athlete of the Year (Diving) | Tanya Watson | |
Performance Coach of the Year | Dave Malone | NAC SC |
Performance Pathway Coach of the Year | Ben Higson | National Centre Dublin |
Team Coach of the Year | Davy Johnston | Ards SC |
Club Volunteer of the Year (Connacht) | Tracy Boland | Galway SC |
Club Volunteer of the Year (Leinster) | Louise Doyle | Barracuda SC |
Club Volunteer of the Year (Munster) | Catriona McDonnell | Ennis sC |
Club Volunteer of the Year (Ulster) | Trevor Reid | Ards SC |
National Volunteer of the Year | Mary Power & Nicola Emmet Byrne | Shamrock Diving |
Open Water Swimmer of the Year | Charlotte Reid | Aer Lingus Masters |
Masters Outstanding Achievement Award | Helen O’Leary | NAC Masters |
Outstanding Contribution to Water Polo | Gerry O’Neill | Cathal Brugha WPC |
President’s Award | Tim O’Connell | Kingdom SC |
Mike O’Connell | Kingdom SC | |
Hall of Fame | Wally Clarke | |
John Kenny | ||
Aisling O’Leary | ||
Ann Ball | ||
Brenda McGrory | ||
Christine Fulcher |
Never rains for Higson …. knows how to fall and land on his feet this lad