The surge of Women in Sport that has been evident in the dominance of the nominees for the RTÉ Sportsperson and Young Sportsperson of the Year has come to a halt when it comes to the Manager of the Year category.

All ten of the Mangers nominated are men, and all are worthy of inclusion. It is more an issue for sports leadership that there is a paucity of female leadership role models in management. Then again Andy Farrell might also be feeling a little left out after beating New Zealand only a month ago.

Vera Pauw and Lisa Fallon are exceptions in an Irish context, but across the board in team and individual sport, male coaches are to the fore. The last woman to manage a team to Senior All -Ireland glory in either Camogie or Ladies Football was Ann Downey in 2016.

But that is an issue for another day.

This award has been the most diverse down the years with eight sports being recognised in the past ten years.

The ten deserving nominees for this year’s RTÉ award to be presented on Saturday night are as follows:

BRIAN DOOHER & FEARGAL LOGAN

Brian Dooher and Feargal Logan made history by becoming the first joint managers to lead a team to All-Ireland Senior Football Championship glory. They surprised many by beating the odds, a covid outbreak, a much-fancied Kerry team, and Mayo in the Croke Park decider. Adding to the achievement was the fact that it was their first year in charge of Tyrone.

CATHAL MURRAY

The Galway Camogie manager led his players to another O’Duffy Cup victory, erasing the heartbreak of losing last year’s All-Ireland final, and claim the title for the second time in three seasons with a dramatic win over Cork.

DOMINIC CASEY

Ireland’s lightweight rowing coach again oversaw success on the water with Ireland’s first ever rowing Olympic gold medal. The 2018 World Rowing Coach of the Year celebrated as Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy put in several dominant displays throughout the year, firstly in the Lightweight doubles sculls at the European Championships and then the Tokyo Olympics.

EAMONN MURRAY

In one of the shock results in recent GAA history, Eamonn Murray’s Meath, who only won the intermediate crown in December, went all the way to deny Dublin in their quest for 5-in-a-row, and win an All-Ireland Ladies crown for the first time in the counties history. Earlier in the year they also claimed the National Football League Division 2 title.

HENRY DE BROMHEAD

County Waterford’s Henry de Bromhead became the first trainer to have won the Champion Hurdle, the Champion Chase and the Gold Cup in one year at the Cheltenham festival. A month later the big prizes kept coming as he saddled the first and second horses home in the Aintree Grand National, with Minella Times taking the victory.

JOHN KIELY

In what is now a golden era for the county, Limerick Manager John Kiely oversaw a third All-Ireland in four years. Kiely’s men turned in one of the all-time great final performances with their demolition of Cork. It’s also the county’s first ever back-to-back triumph at senior level. Enroute they also won Munster for a third consecutive year; the first time this feat has been achieved since 1989.

LEO CULLEN

Leinster Head Coach Leo Cullen delivered an unprecedented four PRO14 titles in-a-row. The men in blue secured the crown by dispatching Munster with a minimum of fuss at the RDS in March.

NEILL DELAHAYE

Paracycling coach Neill Delahaye helped Team Ireland deliver four medals at Tokyo 2020. He was in hand-cyclist Gary O’Reilly’s ear throughout his bronze performance in the H5 Time Trial, whilst duo Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal credited Delahaye’s diligent coaching, as they won two golds and a silver at the games.

STEPHEN BRADLEY

Dubliner Stephen Bradley achieved back-to-back titles with Shamrock Rovers, as the Tallaght side celebrated winning the Airtricity League Premier Division with games to spare. Despite being relatively young in years, Bradley has managed to turn Rovers into the dominant force in domestic football.

ZAUR ANTIA

Ireland’s boxing head coach Zaur Antia masterminded two more Olympic medals in Tokyo. The Bray-based Georgian is credited for coaching athletes to a quarter of Ireland’s total Olympic medals. Aidan Walsh’s bronze and Kellie Harrington’s gold were added to his list of boxing achievement at this year’s games.

 

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