It has been yet another remarkable year for Irish sport with our women taking centre stage in 2019. We recount the highlights and our most memorable moments of the year in this 2019 review.
Check out Part II and Part III
Harrington Receives Best European Female Boxer Award
Kellie Harrington was unveiled as the European Elite Female Boxer, at the inaugural European Boxing Confederation Awards in the Netherlands.
Harrington won gold at the World Championships in New Delhi in 2018 and moved up the rankings to claim the number one spot in the lightweight (60kg) division.
Ireland Sevens Secure Historic World Rugby Series Finish
The Ireland Women’s Sevens team claimed their highest ever finish in an HSBC World Rugby Series, finishing fourth in Sydney.
Ireland were unbeaten in the pool stages for the first time in history and finished as the highest ranked European side in the competition.
Lucy Mulhall, Eve Higgins and Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe all had tournaments to remember with outstanding individual performances.
Mageean Wins 1500m Indoor Bronze At Europeans
Ciara Mageean continued her brilliant indoor form after smashing the Irish indoor mile and 1500m records, by winning won bronze in the 1500 metre final at the European Indoor Athletic Championships in Glasgow.
Mageean clocked a time of 4:09.43 to add an indoor bronze medal to her outdoor European bronze medal which she won in Amsterdam at the European Championships in 2016.
https://youtu.be/o-M9b4u7wBk
Boylan Takes Home Silver At World Track Cycling Championships
Lydia Boylan won silver in the Points Race at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Poland.
This was Boylan’s first ever medal on the world stage and Ireland’s second ever female medal in the points race, an Olympic event.
Boylan finished just one point behind Australia's Alexandra Manly who won gold.
Broadhurst Becomes European U22 Lightweight Champion
Amy Broadhurst celebrated her birthday and St. Patrick’s Day in style, with gold at the European U22 Boxing Championships in Vladikavkaz, Russia.
Broadhurst was crowned lightweight (60kg) champion after defeating Italy’s Rebecca Nicoli on a 4-1 split decision.
Broadhurst’s Irish teammate, Aoife O’Rourke had to settle for silver in the middleweight division after falling ill on the day of the final.
Natalya Coyle Claims Silver At Modern Pentathlon World Cup
Natalya Coyle made a stunning start to her modern pentathlon season as she won silver at the UIPM Pentathlon World Cup in Egypt.
This was Coyle’s second ever World Cup medal, having won silver at last year's event in Sofia.
Katie Taylor Defeats Volante To Become Three-Belt Champion
Katie Taylor became a three-belt World Champion, after defeating Rose Volante in Philadelphia.
Taylor secured the WBO lightweight crown with a ninth round stoppage and became the first Irish boxer to hold three belts simultaneously.
The victory set up a showdown with WBC champion Delfine Persoon in New York, in June.
Ailish Considine Wins AFLW Title Down Under
Clare's Ailish Considine the Adelaide Crows to victory in the Australian Football League Women’s Grand Final at the Adelaide Oval, in her debut season.
Considine and her teammates went unbeaten after the first game of the season, eventually running out clear winners in the final against Carlton with a score line of 10.3 (63) to 2.6 (18).
Considine’s success has spurred other AFLW teams to look for Irish players as 18 players have signed up for the 2020 season down-under.
Leona Maguire Seals First Victory As A Pro
Leona Maguire claimed her maiden professional win after she beat Pajaree Anannarukarn in a dramatic play-off at the Windsor Golf Classic in California.
Maguire made seven birdies in a bogey-free final round of 65 and looked to be heading towards victory but a birdie by Anannarukarn on the 18th took the tournament to a deciding hole.
Maguire held her nerve in the play-off as she birdied the hole to seal her first win since turning professional.
McCormack Breaks Personal Best Six Months After Pregnancy
Fionnuala McCormack produced a stunning performance at the prestigious Boston Marathon, as she finished in 11th place, with a new personal best time of 2:30:38.
McCormack crossed the line as the best placed European, this just six months after giving birth to her daughter, Isla.
Michaela Walsh Earns Gold At Boxing World Cup
Michaela Walsh became the new featherweight (57kg) champion, after defeating India’s Sakshi Choudhary on unanimous decision at the Boxing World Cup in Cologne.
Walsh convincingly beat Choudhary, who was a former World Youth Games gold medallist.
Walsh became the first Irish female champion at a Boxing World Cup.
George Dunlevy And McCrystal Win Double Gold At Paracycling World Cup
Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal produced two stunning displays at the Paracycling World Cup in Belgium, as they won two gold medals.
The world-class duo took home gold in the tandem time trial and the road race, retaining their medals which they had previously won two years on the bounce.
Cricket Ireland Offer Six Historic Professional Contracts To Women
Cricket Ireland announced the offering of six part-time professional contracts to women cricketers for the first time in history.
Irish senior players Laura Delany, Kim Garth, Mary Waldron, Shauna Kavanagh, Gaby Lewis and Celeste Raack were awarded the deals.
These ground-breaking contracts made cricket one of very few team sports in Ireland to have professionally-contracted women players.
Jenny Egan Seals Silver At Canoe Sprint World Cup 1
Jenny Egan took home a silver medal at the Canoe Sprint World Cup in Poznan, after finishing just half a second behind Inna Hryshchun of Ukraine.
In tough windy conditions, Egan used her marathon experience and cruised through the portages. In the end it came down to a head to head sprint in which Egan took home a World Cup silver medal after being narrowly edged out on the line.
