Declan Darcy joins the greats as 1994 captain joins Leitrim Sports Star Hall of Fame

Declan Darcy will join a very select group of Leitrim sports people after he was named as the 2023 Leitrim Sports Star Awards Hall of Fame winner, 30 years on from leading the county to only their second ever Connacht Senior Football Championship title.

An All-Star nominee and twice captain of a Leitrim team who won Provincial titles (U21 1991 and Senior 1994), Declan won four  Leitrim Senior Championship titles with Aughawillan, reaching two Connacht Finals before going on to win a Leinster Championship with Dublin and Leinster & Dublin club championships with St Brigid's.

In a storied management career with Dublin, Declan was a key figure in Jim Gavin's management team that won seven All-Ireland Senior Championship titles between 2013 and 2020 as well as four National League titles and two All-Ireland U21 titles in 2010 and 2012. Declan is now a performance coach with the high flying Leinster Rugby team.

Keeldra Gaels LGFA celebrate at Presentation night - GALLERY

Keeldra Gaels LGFA honoured their teams who won Leitrim LGFA League titles from 2019 to 2022 at the special medal presentation evening in the Lough Rynn Castle Estate & Gardens on Friday December 29. Observer photographer Willie Donnellan went along to capture some images from the evening ... see who you can spot!

The 12th annual Leitrim Sports Star Awards, organised by the Leitrim Sports Partnership, will be presented on Saturday February 10, in the Lough Rynn Castle Estate & Gardens Hotel in Mohill with some extraordinary competition to win the awards.

The purpose of the awards, featuring a four course meal followed by the awards and entertainment, is to acknowledge Individuals, Sports Clubs, Teams, Schools and Community Volunteers for their outstanding contributions to and achievements in sport and recreation in Leitrim.

LSP chairperson Michael O'Rourke said “All of the awards aim to recognise not just people operating at the top level of their sport in the county but also to recognise people who provide the background support for their club and team. 

"The Board of Leitrim Sports Partnership decided that while the awards have recognised many individuals and teams over the last twelve years that it is time to recognise the great sports clubs in the County and not just those with the most silverware but the clubs who strive to improve the lives of their members and communities”.

LSP Coordinator Declan Boyle stressed the difficulty in actually selecting the final nominees after another action packed year for Leitrim sport: “Again, in 2023, there have been some excellent achievements both on an individual and team basis in Leitrim and we expect tough competition for the awards.”

With more category nominations due to be announced next week, the list of nominees for some of the individual awards highlights the depth of achievement attained by Leitrim's sports people over the past 12 months. In the Senior Sports Person of the Year award alone, there are three internationals nominated along with four others who won national titles in their sports.

Internationals and incredible talents abound in the Juvenile Sports Star of the Year nominations for the next generation of stars who were aged 18 or younger in 2023 while the coach of the year award features nominations of those who have guided their charges to local, provincial and even international glory as well as the Olympic Games in Paris next Summer.

More lows than highs in 2023

THE LAST POINT

In total, individuals and teams from nine different sports have been nominated for an award this year

Nominations in the Club of the Year, Schools Sports Teacher of the Year and Special Achievement Awards will be announced next week.

Details on how to get your tickets will be available on the Leitrim Sports Partnership website at www.leitrimsports.ie.

The following are the nominations:

HALL OF FAME

Declan Darcy - Leitrim GAA 

JUVENILE TEAM OF THE YEAR

• Scoil Mhuire Carrick on Shannon - Cumann na mBunscol Division 2 champions
• Ballinamore Community School Boys Junior Football Team - Connacht Champions
• Carrick-on-Shannon Rugby U16 Division winning team
• Allen Gaels Fenagh St Caillins - Leitrim GAA Minor League & Championship winners
• Glencar Manorhamilton Ladies - Leitrim LGFA Minor champions

TEAM OF THE YEAR

• Mohill Senior Men - Leitrim SFC  Champions
• Glencar Manorhamilton Ladies - Leitrim LGFA Senior Champions
• Annaduff Senior men - Leitrim GAA IFC champions
• St Brigid’s ladies - Leitrim LGFA League & IFC winner, Connacht Finalists
• Ballinamore Sean O’Heslins Ladies - Leitrim & Connacht IFC champions, All-Ireland finalists

SPORTS INDIVIDUAL - JUNIOR

• Luke Fitzmaurice - North Leitrim AC & Ireland international racewalker
• Diarmuid O’Connell - Carrick RFC & Ireland international
• Paul Honeyman - Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins  & Leitrim
• Gerard Murtagh - Carrick RFC & Ireland international
• Darren Cox – Annaduff & Leitrim
• Lucy Murphy – Ballinamore - Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins Ladies
• Charlie McDermott - Leitrim Darts

COACH OF THE YEAR

• Brian Breen - Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins Ladies manager
• Gerard O'Donnell - Carrick AC & Dublin Sprint Club
• Jason Clancy - Sean McDermott Boxing Club

SPORTS INDIVIDUAL - SENIOR

• Eilish O’Dowd - Dublin LGFA All-Ireland winner
• Ricky Wynn - Ultra running international
• Roisin McHugh - Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins Ladies
• John Mulligan - Mohill International showjumping
• Ronan Kennedy – Mohill GAA
• Fintan Earley - Rowing All-Ireland winner
• Dearbhaile Beirne - Peamount Utd
• Muireann Devaney - Athlone Town & Glencar Manorhamilton Ladies
• Ray Mulvey - Leitrim & Ireland Darts