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The Winner of the 2023 Youth Award is Caolan McFadden, Loreto Community School, Milford and Cranford A.C.It’s Caolan second time to win here having previously taken the Best Primary School Sports Star Boy Award in 2019. What made Caolan McFadden stand out last year was the consistency and spread of his triumphs. The national success started in April when Caolan did the double at the National Indoor Championships winning both the 1,500 and 800m finals. He rounded off the season at the National Uneven Age Cross Country Championships in Navan, taking gold in the boys U17 race.There’s no doubt that Caolan is a special talent but he has also shown the dedication to turn that into success in virtually every race he enters. Legendary Cranford AC coach Eamonn Giles has looked after McFadden’s career to date with great care. Caolan has also competed abroad and is heading shortly to an international meet in Boston.
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The Hall of Fame Winner is Tom Conaghan from Donegal Town. Now 78 Tom is the tenth inductee from the sport of GAA. Tom Conaghan was the man who set the foundations for Donegal’s development into the elite category of inter-county teams. The Donegal Town native managed the County to their first ever All-Ireland adult GAA title in 1982 when the U21s triumphed. It was the second time he had made history that year as had guided Four Masters to their first ever County Senior Football Championship title. In 1988 he was in charge of the Donegal senior side that secured promotion to Division 1 of the league for the first time in the county’s history. Tom Conaghan’s historic achievement in 1982 saw him receive an Appreciation Award from the Donegal Sports Star Committee that year. As a result of that achievement he was also named Ulster Manager of the Year. Tonight Tom becomes the 48th inductee into the Donegal Sports Star Awards Hall of Fame.
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The Winner of the Overall Donegal Sports Star Award for 2023 is Oisin OrrThe stand out success for the Rathmullan jockey came in November at the fifth running of the Bahrain International Trophy. It produced a memorable result and scenes of jubilation as he rode the six-year-old gelding Spirit Dancer, co-owned and bred by Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson, to a decisive victory to land the winner’s share of the 1 million Sterling prize fund. Oisin also had an outstanding 2023 season in the UK with trainer Richard Fahey where his 64 winners earned the horse owners a staggering 1.6 million Sterling.It is Oisin’s second time to win the Overall Award having done so previously in 2020. He is the only jockey to ever win the Overall in the 48 year history of the Awards. Oisin also becomes only the sixth person to win the top honour twice after Sharon Foley, Billy Bourne, Sinead Jennings, Mark English and Brendan Boyce. Sinead and Mark have gone one better as three time winners of the Overall. His father Raymond picked up the award.