Annerville Award winners are the real influencers in Tipperary sport

Above: At the Annerville sports awards presentation at the Talbot Hotel Clonmel were, from left, Eamonn Wynne, Chairman of the Tipperary United Sports Panel; Derek Nolan, Bulmers; Paddy Turner, Jimmy Cooney Lifetime Achievement Award winner; Knocknagow Award winner John O'Donoghue and Noel Coonan, Leas Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council. Picture: John D Kelly

In this age of social media, the winners of the annual Annerville sports awards were the real influencers that we were looking for in Tipperary sport.

This was stated by Derek Nolan, who represented sponsors Bulmers at the presentation of the 2022 Annerville awards by the Tipperary United Sports Panel at the Talbot Hotel Clonmel.

The awards, the longest running sports awards in the country, have been presented for the past 63 years and for 57 of those years they have been sponsored by Bulmers.

Derek Nolan said he was delighted to attend this fantastic event that had continued for 63 years.

It was fantastic that 24 winners had been recognised and to have such a wide variety of sports represented was a truly tremendous thing for county Tipperary.

Mr Nolan said he was delighted to see Paddy Turner, the winner of the Jimmy Cooney Lifetime Achievement Award, being recognised for his voluntary work for Clonmel Town Football Club over the last sixty years.

“Clubs won’t function without the Paddy Turners of this world,” he stated.

He said that sporting prowess doesn’t become a reality overnight. It needs families, coaches and the wider community to help the elite athletes to get to where they are. And no club could do anything without financial support.

Every sport needs the support of the community and this event recognised not just the elite athletes but their coaches and their families as well, he said.

Mr Nolan hoped that everyone being honoured with an award would give something back to help Tipperary sport to grow in the future.