RIP Laura Buckley Noonan
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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Hall of Fame winner Eddie Leddy chats with MC John Lynch Picture: James Molloy
The best and brightest of the Leitrim sporting world were honoured last Saturday night at a star studded 13th annual Leitrim Sports Star Awards in Carrick-on- Shannon’s The Landmark Hotel, a night of celebration to mark the remarkable success of the county’s sporting heroes.
Organised by the Leitrim Sports Partnership, the Sports Star Awards has become a celebration of Leitrim’s sporting achievements across an incredible variety of sports with this year’s winners drawn from Ladies football, rugby, soccer, athletics and handball.
World Champion rower Sanita Pušpure was the special guest on the night and she gave a wonderful address on the sacrifices and commitment needed to reach the very pinnacle of sport but also emphasised the importance of enjoyment and fulfillment in striving to be the very best in the world.
Leitrim's All-Ireland winning Ladies IFC team naturally featured heavily, picking up the Team of the Year while Ailbhe Clancy won the Overall Award and Michelle Guckian won the Senior Award. Sophie Kane's remarkable achievements in winning World and European Handball titles saw the Fenagh youngster win the Juvenile Award while the extraordinary work of Carrick on Shannon Rugby Club saw them win the Club of the Year gong.
Two time Olympian Eddie Leddy made the journey from his home in Florida for the event as he joined an illustrious list of winners of the Hall of Fame award and it was abundantly clear just how much the award meant to him.
CHECK OUT THE LEITRIM SPORTS STAR AWARDS PICTURE GALLERY HERE
“Treasure this for life” was Eddie’s answer when asked how much the Hall of Fame award means to him, before adding “It's because it's my home and it was at a time that I was glad to be a part of Leitrim. It is absolutely a very, very warm award for me.
“It is very, very personal, it means a lot because obviously I started here, my heart is here and to get this award in such a great atmosphere and amongst so many great athletes that are now coming up, it's just wonderful. It wasn't a big effort to come back home because I knew I was going to enjoy it.”
On a night when a wide variety of achievements were being honoured, Eddie said “Leitrim has now won an All-Ireland football title recently - that's pretty inspiring. I remember Leitrim played Galway in Ballinamore when I was about like maybe 12, 11 or 12 and Leitrim lost and it was heartbreaking for me. When I won the All-Ireland in Portumna, that was a very big moment because Leitrim meant so much to me and it was nice to kind of, to have a chance to have won a national title for the county.”
A special video montage from his athletics career capped off a special night for Eddie: “There were a lot of memories tonight and I had forgotten about a lot of them, but they were visually up there and so many nice things said tonight that I don't deserve.”
That tone of surprise was continued by Eamonn McGowan who won the Volunteer of the Year award: “I was actually very surprised because I don't really think of these things to be honest with you. I just do what I do because I love doing what I do but to be given a recognition like this is tremendous altogether.
“I'm absolutely delighted. It's a lovely honour to get after all the years, to get some recognition, so I'm very, very grateful.”
Eamonn paid tribute to the nominees and winners, highlighting the variety of sports in the county: “The Awards are a great event and it was nice to be involved in all the other sports that was recognised tonight as well.
“It's great to see so many more or less new sports than when I started, like athletics and rugby and all those things, the schools and everything. There were no schools or competitions when I was, as a fellow, going to school.”
The full list of Award winners is as follows:
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