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Katie Taylor named RTE Sportsperson of the Year

Katie Taylor [17(6)-0] became a two time RTE Sportsperson of the Year winner tonight.

The Irish sensation beat off tough opposition to claim another award and yearly tribute.

Last time out Taylor put on a boxing masterclass to successfully defend her undisputed lightweight belts against mandatory challenger Miriam Gutierrez, inflicting a first professional defeat on the Spaniard.

In August, the Bray boxer, one of boxing’s biggest draws, defeated her nemesis Delfine Persoon in a gruelling high profile rematch.

Taylor finished a year, in which she cemented her status as the Pound for Pound #1, being named Ring Magazine’s ‘Female Fighter of the Year’ for the second year in succession.

The Brian Peters managed fighter’s achievements were noticed by RTE as she won Sportsperson of the Year for the second time. She first received the honour in 2012 after her historic and ground breaking London 2012 success.

Taylor beat the likes of Sam Bennett, Sanita Puspure, Ciarán Kilkenny and Colin Keane to the gong.

Katelynn Phelan wasn’t as successful. The Kildare native was nominated for Young Sportspersons of the Year after her career changing victory over Jessica Schadko in Munich to claim the WBC youth title.


Limerick teenager Oisin O’Callaghan took that award after claiming a first ever downhill gold for Ireland at the Junior World Mountain Bike Championships in Austria.

It was O’Callaghan’s first ever race at that level. The 17-year-old followed up his win in Austria with two stage wins at the recently held World Cup competition in Portugal.

Limerick manager John Kiely won Manager of the Year as the Treaty boss saw his impressive Limerick team go through the year unbeaten. They were the standout hurlers in 2020, winning back-to-back league and Munster titles, as well as regaining the Liam McCarthy Cup they last won in 2018.  

Kiely’s Limerick charges over-powered Waterford to complete the perfect season and reclaim the All-Ireland hurling title. The Treaty County won all ten of their competitive 2020 matches to claim the League, Munster and All-Ireland titles and tonight were named as the RTÉ Sport Team of the Year.

Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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