A Limerick woman who played a pivotal role in securing a first ever Olympics appearance for the Irish Women’s Hockey team has been named Limerick Person of the Year for 2019. Róisín Upton from Raheen, Limerick showed nerves of steel and ice cool precision as she scored one of the goals in the sudden death shoot out last November to see Ireland through to the finals in Tokyo this summer.
Accepting the award, a visibly shocked Róisín said she was ‘completely blown away’ as a very proud Limerick woman: “I’m so proud of my roots, to have gotten to where I am, it takes an absolute village. I was lucky to be part of a history making group of women in the World Cup - I’m one of 28 on the Irish team and I’m the only one from Limerick and I carry that flag proudly and the support has just been phenomenal. To have made history again in 2019, being the first female team to have qualified for the Olympics is very special and I hope that we can top this again in 2020 as we’re on this road to Tokyo. The calibre of people in this room is incredible, this means the world to me.”
At the gala event in the Clayton Hotel in Limerick today (Thursday 27 February 2020) the monthly winners for 2019 gathered to see who would be chosen as Limerick Person of the Year.
Now in its 19th year and sponsored by The Limerick Leader, Southern Marketing Design & Media and the Clayton Hotel, and supported by Limerick City and County Council, the Limerick Person of the Year Award was set up to honour the achievements and success of local people at home and abroad.
Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Michael Sheahan said: “Congratulations to Róisín Upton on receiving her award today. She has shown her true colours in the white heat of sport, when the stakes were extremely high. She has the edge when it comes to being on the pitch and competing for club and country, and her enthusiasm and the way she interacts with supporters and the general public is all embracing. She epitomises what Limerick is all about.”
Eugene Phelan, Editor of the Limerick Leader said: “Limerick Person of the Year is one of the highlights of the year for us at the Limerick Leader as it gives us a chance to honour ordinary people who have done extraordinary things during 2019. There is great diversity in this year’s nominees: we have two Emmy Award winners; sports stars; campaigners and the winner of the Rose of Tralee, not to mention Love Island.”
Pat Reddan, General Manager, Clayton Limerick Hotel said: “The Clayton Hotel Limerick is delighted to be a sponsor of The Limerick Person of The Year since its inauguration.To be involved in a group, with my fellow sponsors, that gets the chance to recognise the extraordinary achievements by an individual or a group of people to better our city, county and country, is, as a Limerick man, something that I am very proud to be a part of.”
Congratulating all nominees, Dave O'Hora, Managing Director of Creative and Media Agency Southern said: “Creativity and storytelling are at the heart of what we do at Southern. The people nominated here today as Limerick people of the year each tell a very different story. They share a common credit, their individual, powerful tales of achievement, endeavour, winning, losing and above all else trying, to reinforce the story of this remarkable place, Limerick!”
Past winners of the title include philanthropist JP McManus, Limerick’s All-Ireland winning senior hurling team, world champion boxer Andy Lee, rugby star Paul O'Connell, Tidy Towns champion Helen O’Donnell and anti-bullying campaigner Luke Culhane, whose important video against bullying has been highlighted again since the tragic death of TV star Caroline Flack.
This year's Limerick Person of the Year judging panel consisted of Cllr. Michael Sheahan, Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Eugene Phelan, Editor of the Limerick Leader and Dr Pat Daly, Chief Executive of Limerick City and County Council.
Monthly Award Winners
- January - John Shinnors
- February - Malachy Browne
- March - Crafty Angels
- April - Students of Ardscoil Mhuire, Corbally
- May - Sean Byrnes
- June - Saoirse Exton
- July - Adare Manor team
- August - Sinead Flanagan
- September - Greg O’Shea
- October - Max Dennison
- November - Róisín Upton
- December - Sarah Corbett-Lynch
