1.
The Winner of the 2023 Athletics Award was Kelly McGrory, of Tír Chonaill A.C. There was a silver medal at the Senior Championships in the 400m Hurdles that sealed her selection on the 4x400m Ireland relay team to compete at the World Championships in Budapest.There is no doubt that the highlight for Kelly was being a member of that Irish squad which finished 4th in their heat and qualified for the World Championships final in Budapest. Kelly ran a great third leg in the final helping the team to finish eighth in the World.It's Kelly’s first time to win a Donegal Sports Star Award. She is the eighth woman to win the Athletics Award after Sommer Lecky, Mary McLoone, Sharon Foley, Shauna Colhoun, Bridie Lynch, Kay Byrne and Danea Herron.
2.
The Winner of the 2023 Donegal Sports Star Badminton Award was Rachael Darragh from Raphoe. It is Rachael Darragh’s third time to win the Donegal Sports Star Awards badminton category. Her previous successes were in 2015 and 2022 while she has also previously been a nominee. Rachael saw off the challenge of her uncle Joshua Magee to take the honour. Her aunt Chloe Magee has taken the badminton category a record seven times.The highlight of 2023 for Rachel Darragh was winning the Lagos International Tournament. The 26-year-old also reached the last 16 in Uganda and in the second Round of the World Championships. Rachael has an impressive career CV having competed at the 2015 Baku and 2019 Minsk European Games. She also represented Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia in 2018 and again in Birmingham two years ago. Rachael's award was collected by Naomi, her mother.
3.
The Winner of the 2023 Basketball Award was Lauren Foy from the Ballyshannon 88ers Basketball Club. Lauren Foy has made significant progress in the sport in the last few years. Lauren’s career then took a big step forward after she attended the U16 National team trials in October 2022. She was selected for the international squad and played in the Four Nations Tournament in April 2023. While there was disappointment for Lauren in missing out on the final cut when the squad was reduced to 12 for the European Championships she did receive another International cap in September.And there was further good news for Lauren in November when she was one of 55 players selected to participate in the Basketball Ireland U17 Academy Programme for the upcoming season.
4.
The Winner of the 2023 Boxing Award was Danny Duffy, Raphoe A.B.C.While there were the highs of boxing success for Danny Duffy in the latter stages of the year it came after he lost his mother and two other members of the extended family in a tragic crash in April. It took unbelievable courage and determination for Danny to return to training at Raphoe. But he did and five months after the tragedy with family and friends cheering him on in Belfast, Danny Duffy won an Ulster senior title.It got even better at the National Senior Championships in Dublin in October with Danny emerging victorious in the Bantamweight Final. In November Danny Duffy was crowned a champion at the National Elite Championships in Dublin. It’s Danny’s first time to win here and he is the third boxer from Raphoe to take the boxing category after Leah Gallen and Danny Ryan.