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Ireland’s success in world and European competition reflected in the 2006 Texaco Sportstars Awards recipients

DUBLIN, IRELAND - 15 NOVEMBER 2006 - Ireland’s success in World and European competition is reflected in the ten stars chosen to receive this year's 2006 Texaco Sportstars of the Year Awards.  Selected by Sports Editors representing print and broadcast media, north and south, from a shortlist of eighteen sports, the full line-up of Texaco award winners for 2006 comprises:

ATHLETICS Derval O’Rourke
BOXING Bernard Dunne
EQUESTRIAN SPORT Jessica Kuerten
GAELIC FOOTBALL Kieran Donaghy
GOLF Padraig Harrington
HORSE RACING  Aidan O’Brien
HURLING Henry Shefflin
ROWING

Gearoid Towey
Eugene Coakley
Richard Archibald
Paul Griffin

RUGBY  Denis Leamy
SOCCER  David Healy

Two additional awards will be presented to the Texaco Hall of Fame and Special Achievement Award winners, both of whose names will be announced shortly.  Of the thirteen stars who will receive awards, including the four-man rowing team, six are being honoured for the very first time.  They are Derval O’Rourke, Jessica Kuerten, Kieran Donaghy, Denis Leamy, David Healy and Bernard Dunne.

Commenting, Texaco Country Chairman Declan McAndrew said "Ireland’s profile as an international sporting nation is underlined by the calibre of this year’s Texaco Award winners. Their success in domestic and international competitions has brought pride and joy to the Irish people and is an inspiration to a younger generation that will follow in their footsteps."

The 49th Texaco Sportstars Awards will be presented by An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern TD at an awards ceremony which takes place in Dublin later this month.

Athletics: Derval O’Rourke
In Athletics, the award goes to Cork athlete Derval O’Rourke. Poised to succeed Sonia O’Sullivan as the queen of Irish athletics, Derval’s achievements in 2006 were quite outstanding. Determined to prove herself after illness cruelly curtailed her performance at the Athens Olympics, Derval showed what an exciting talent she is with her magnificent gold medal victory in the 60m hurdles at the World Indoor Championships in Moscow and her silver medal success in the 100m event after her dramatic photo-finish at the European Championships in Gothenburg.

Boxing: Bernard Dunne
In Boxing, the award goes to Bernard Dunne. Billed as one of the finest young boxers ever to come out of Ireland, the charismatic 26-year-old Dubliner capped an illustrious career at the Point last weekend when he overcame his English opponent Esham Pickering to capture the vacant European super bantamweight title. Before a capacity audience of 7,000 excited spectators, the Neilstown dynamo crafted a superb victory to win a points decision and become the first Dubliner ever to take a European title in his home town. In what was an historic night for Irish boxing, Dunne became the fifth Irishman ever to hold a European title, taking his place alongside Barry McGuigan, Rinty Monaghan, Ray Close and Charlie Nash. Boxing seriously since he was 12 years old, he is now undefeated in 22 pro contests. He turned professional with a record of 119 amateur fights behind him in which he lost on only 11 occasions, the last being a pre-Olympic qualifier in 1999.

Equestrian Sport: Jessica Kuerten
In Equestrian Sport, the award goes to Antrim rider Jessica Kuerten. 2006 was a fantastic year for Jessica, one which saw her established as the World No.2 rider. From the start of the year, she produced a series of dazzling wins. With her Danish-bred mare Quibell and German-bred mare Castle Forbes Libertina, Jessica took the spotlight winning $250,000 at the prestigious Dubai Show, and quickly adding a Mercedes by winning the Grand Prix in Zurich. Her good form continued throughout the year, and included a magnificent second place at the FEI World Cup in Kuala Lumpur.

Gaelic Football: Kieran Donaghy
In Gaelic Football, the award goes to Kerry full forward Kieran Donaghy. As Kerry struggled in their early games in Munster, coach Jack O´Connor took the decision to switch Kieran from midfield to full-forward - a move that was to have a major impact on the team’s performance. Pitted against some of the best defences in the country, the 6ft 5in Kerry star was unstoppable, as the defenders of Longford, Armagh, Cork and Mayo discovered! As well as picking off some fantastic scores on his own account, he was equally impressive in the way he helped steer Kerry to another All Ireland victory, winning possession and setting up scores for the other forwards around him. Described as a classic full forward target man, he is a player hailed as being in the great tradition of Kerry full forwards.

Golf: Padraig Harrington
In Golf, the award goes to Padraig Harrington. A great season saw Padraig end up as European No.1 golfer.  After a moderate beginning to the year, Padraig made a big impact at the US Open where he was in contention right up to the end, finishing in 5th place. Buoyed by his performance, he returned to Ireland where he played an important role as a member of the European team in their memorable Ryder Cup victory over the United States at the K Club. Winning the Dunhill Links title at St Andrews, he went on to clinch the Harry Vardon Trophy and the title Europe´s No.1 after a battling second place finish in the Volvo Masters.
 
Horse Racing: Aidan O’Brien
In Horse Racing, the award goes to trainer Aidan O’Brien. It has been an outstanding season for Aidan O’Brien, not just in Ireland but internationally. In total, he saddled a remarkable thirteen Group 1 winners worldwide in 2006. In Ireland, the highlight of his season came with his fourth win in the Irish Derby and a superb success for Dylan Thomas at the Curragh.  Jockey, Kieran Fallon bided his time before Dylan Thomas left the other 12 runners to win by three and a half lengths.  And there were many other stars  in the O’Brien stable - George Washington, the brilliant 2,000 Guineas winner, Alexandrova, who has won both the English and Irish Oaks, Ascot Gold Cup winner Yeats, and dual Group 1-winning juvenile Holy Roman Emperor.

Hurling: Henry Shefflin
In Hurling, the award goes to that great Kilkenny star, Henry Shefflin. For his consistency, his attitude and his outstanding talent, Henry wins the award in what was certainly Kilkenny´s year in hurling as they won both the League and the Championship. Though there were several star performers in the Kilkenny line-up, Henry outshone them all, finishing the year as top scorer. As Cork supporters would agree, he proved to be a huge influence on the Kilkenny team, denying the Leesiders the three-in-a-row with a brilliant performance in the All-Ireland final.

Rowing: Gearoid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald & Paul Griffin
In Rowing, the award goes to Gearoid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald & Paul Griffin. In what has been another fantastic year for the Irish Lightweight Four, their record in the three World Cup events is nothing short of remarkable. Taking silver in Munich, gold in Poznan, and gold in Lucerne, they became the first ever Irish crew to win the World Cup series outright. Then at the World championships in Eton they took bronze, after being pipped by France for the silver by the tiniest of margins...nine hundredths of a second.

Rugby: Denis Leamy
In Rugby, the award goes to Munster and Irish international Denis Leamy. In such a memorable year for Irish rugby, a year in which Ireland won the Triple Crown and Munster finally got their hands on the European Cup, the task of choosing a star was one that proved most difficult. While a case was made for several players, it was the sheer consistency of this Tipperary man that swung the judges - a factor that makes the award all the better for Denis given that he beat off so many outstanding contenders to take the trophy. His courage, his power, and his ability to score memorable tries like the one for Ireland at Twickenham, when victory over England clinched the Triple Crown are especially remembered. So too are his heroic defensive qualities so often illustrated with Munster in this fantastic year.
 
Soccer: David Healy
In Soccer, the award goes to Northern Ireland international David Healy. For the Leeds United striker, this has been an exceptional year, one in which he was to be Northern Ireland’s record goal scorer in circumstances that are unforgettable. Already a legend for scoring the goal that gave Northern Ireland their famous victory over England in Windsor Park last year, David experienced the pressure was on the Irish team after they lost their first European Championship qualifier at home to Iceland.  On the following Wednesday, Northern Ireland gave their supporters something to cheer about  when they stunned the world of international football with a remarkable 3-2 victory over Spain - a game in which David scored all three goals to create his own unique position in the annals of Northern Ireland football.

- ENDS -

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