McIlroy claims another sports personality of the year award

Rory McIlroy has been named BBC Northern Ireland’s Sports Personality of the Year.

The Co Down golfer sealed the prize after already receiving overall BBC Sports Personality of the Year and RTE Sport Sportsperson of the Year awards.

At the Ryder Cup later in the year, he contributed three-and-a-half points to Europe’s dramatic victory over the US.

He said: “I just want to say thank you to everyone from Northern Ireland for supporting me and believing in me, and being on this journey with me, I feel like everyone’s watched me grow up.

“I’ll always love coming home, I don’t get back as often as I would like, and I feel like I bring Northern Ireland with me everywhere that I go.”

Neil Brittain, executive editor of BBC Sport NI, said it was “impossible to look past what” McIlroy had achieved this year.

McIlroy was voted overall winner this year ahead of World Championship silver medallist, athlete Kate O’Connor, IBF welterweight titleholder Lewis Crocker, record-setting Isle of Man TT racer Michael Dunlop and Northern Ireland men’s football captain Conor Bradley.