Leinster and Ireland star Brian O’Driscoll capped off a memorable year for province and country when he was named the RTE Sports Person of the Year on Sunday night…
Asked about the desire, hunger and will to win shown by himself and all the shortlisted sports people, O’Driscoll said: “It’s something that’s innate, it’s in you or it’s not. You’re looking to get the teams and the individuals, to see that standard…for a small enough country, we bat fairly well above our average.
“It’s a huge honour for me to receive this award tonight, knowing what great competition I had from the other people shortlisted.”
O’Driscoll said that winning the Heineken Cup with Leinster was ‘”the icing on the cake” for him this year and to win it with close friends – like Shane Horgan, Malcolm O’Kelly and Girvan Dempsey – made it “extremely special.”
Boxers Bernard Dunne and Katie Taylor, horse trainer John Oxx, race walker Olive Loughnane and young golfing stars Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry were among the nine nominees for the RTE Sports Person of the Year award.
GAA great Mick O’Dwyer was inducted into the RTE/Irish Sports Council Hall of Fame while Ireland’s Grand Slam winning team pipped Leinster’s victorious Heineken Cup winners to the RTE Sports Team of the Year award.
