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The Winner of the 2023 Best Sports Teacher at Secondary School level is Michelle McDaid, Crana College, Buncrana.Michelle makes history tonight as the first Crana College teacher to win this Award.The sporting highlight of 2022/23 for Michelle was coaching the Crana College first year girls to Ulster and All Ireland titles. Crana were crowned First Year ‘B’ Girls National Cup Champions thanks to Carly McColgan’s extra time winner. Michelle McDaid’s positive attitude permeated through the team. For the past 15 years Michelle has been teaching PE. She has been a memory maker, opportunity provider and a fantastic role model for the girls at Crana College.
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The Winner of the International Recognition Award is the Donegal Short Mat Bowls TeamIn March there was a World Bowls title for Donegal men John Quinn, Michael Gallagher, Daniel O'Kane and Eddie Curran in the rinks final in Aberdeen. It was the first time for a Donegal team to win the global title. Daniel O’Kane and Michael Gallagher play their club bowls for St Eunan’s, Raphoe, while Eddie Curran and John Quinn play for close neighbours, Ballylennon.In Aberdeen, they qualified top of their group winning all but one of their seven games against Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Wales, England, Scotland and Canada. In the knockout stages, the Donegal men defeated the English rinks team in both the semi final and the final to secure the global silverware for the first time. Teams from 13 Countries took part in the global event.
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The Winner of the Brendan McDaid Memorial Special Achievement Award is the Gartan Open Water Swimmers North Channel Swim Team. At the end of June six Gartan Open Water Swimmers Garvan McCann, Rea Doherty, Mark Loughridge, Karen Crawford, Sinead Diver and Sarah Brennan successfully took on the huge challenge of swimming the 38 kilometers of the North Channel in relay from Donaghadee in Northern Ireland to Port Patrick in Scotland. Their epic task was completed in a time of 13 hours, 15 minutes and 10 seconds. The super six braved the chilly waters wearing only regulation swim suits, a hat and goggles. The North Channel is called the “ Everest of Channel Swims” due to cooler water temperatures, changeable weather conditions and an abundance of jellyfish.
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The Winner of the 2023 Special Recognition Award is Donegal Dragons. The Donegal Dragons made history in 2023 winning gold in the Women’s category at the Lough Rinn Dragon Boat Regatta in September. The Donegal Dragons is inspired and was founded by a breast cancer survivor Deborah Bonner in 2015. It was founded to promote health and well being for people who have survived breast cancer. And coincidentally here tonight there is a remarkable link between Deborah Bonner, the Donegal Dragons and Jim McGuinness. In 2014, Jim was speaking at the Relay for Life Donegal Cancer Conference. And it was there that Deborah heard Jim say that Exercise is Medicine and along with the health benefits, that it also greatly decreases the percentage risk of cancer reoccurring. This was the inspiration behind Deborah’s decision to form the Donegal Dragons.