The first Nationalist Quarterly Sports Awards of 2026
The Nationalist's Quarterly Sports Awards will be held in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel on Friday 17 April
The first Nationalist Quarterly Sports Awards of 2026 will be held in the Woodford Dolmen on Friday 17 April where the below will be recongnised for their sporting achievements:
The marathon is surely the most gruelling event that an athlete can put themselves through.
26.2 miles of pure physical and mental torture but for those that excel at it, it’s the perfect test of endurance.
The fact that a record time for an over 40 Carlow man was set 45 years ago says a lot about the talent and ability needed to smash such a time.
That’s where St Laurence O’Toole athlete Ian Molloy comes in.
He ran a superb time of 2:33.42 in last October’s Dublin City Marathon, almost seven minutes quicker than he managed in the Haspa Marathon in Hamburg six months earlier.
He was the first Carlow man home and finished 16th overall in the Over 40 section. Quite the achievement and fully worthy of a quarterly award.
The conveyor belt of exciting young talent emanating from the St Laurence O’Toole club shows no sign of slowing down and Emily Kidd is just one of the latest off the blocks.
Racing is in her genes with her father Dave a fine athlete himself but Emily showed that she is well capable of making her own mark as she recently followed up a Leinster sprint and hurdle double with an U15 national title in the 60m hurdles and bronze in the sprint.
She won the hurdles in a personal best time of 9.26 and then followed that with a fine display in the 60m sprint.
More recently, she was part of the St Laurence O’Toole relay team that won bronze in the U15 All-Ireland 4x200m final alongside Libby Harris Byrne, Fatima Mohammed Ibrahim and Amelia Skebas. The team were just two tenths of a second off winning a silver and Emily is definitely a name to remember for the future.
ATHLETICS – St Laurence O’Toole U19 Leinster Mixed Relay winning team
The Leinster Relays is one of those events that produces so much excitement amongst juveniles. With three spots in each age group guaranteeing national qualification, the enthusiasm and determination is second to none.
The U19 mixed relay took home gold. The team of Cassie O’Byrne, Sofia Granjo, Ayman Bouanba Nichistroi and Éanna Dunican recorded 1:36.94 to hold off pre-race favourites Ratoath and Celbridge.
Mixed relays have become very popular with the success of the Irish quartet on the World and European stage.
Each of the four are superb athletes in their own right but they teamed up together to deliver a superb performance and bring home a cherished Leinster title to the St Laurence O’Toole club.
This SETU Carlow student and badminton player arrived in Ireland three years ago and immediately got herself involved in the local club on Oak Park Road. It was apparent that she was a special talent but she had a set-back when picking up an injury during the 2024 season.
It was a matter of remaining patient and the Leinster Badminton Championship which took place in early December at Baldoyle came at the right time for her. Playing three matches she swept to victory to confirm her place as the number one ranked player in the province.
She was an automatic selection on the Leinster team with the interprovincial championships taking place in March at Lisburn.
Playing in the singles and mixed doubles matches she once again emerged unbeaten as Leinster beat Ulster and Connacht in the singles and mixed events with Munster opting not to field a team.
By her own admission Irene is ranked eighth in singles and is in the top ten in doubles while she plays for Carlow in tournaments including the ultra-competitive Dublin Premier League.
Club members describe her as a player who has ultra-sharp reflexes, reads the game well and is an excellent doubles player. She is also giving something back to the sport and has coached underage players with success.
BASKETBALL – Presentation Carlow
It was a memorable day for Presentation Carlow when they won the U16 ‘B’ Boys Basketball All-Ireland Schools Cup after a convincing 63-36 win over Kildare Town Community School in the National Arena in Tallaght.
Coached by sixth year student Calum Joyce, the side had reached the final after a brilliant semi-final win over Edmund Rice College 50-33 in the semi-finals played in University of Limerick in the week before Christmas and they proved they weren’t overawed by the big occasion as they carried that form into the final.
There was only six points between the teams at half time but a 12-0 in the third quarter created a gap that Kildare could never close. Multi-talented captain Ben Nolan took the MVP award after finishing the game with 23 points and they saw out a brilliant win to bring a national title back to their school.
Presentation Carlow U16 Basketball squad - Ben Nolan, Ross Egan, Cathal Renehan, Harry Ryan, Zuxin Huang, Denisas Ribinskis, Jamaal Adegoke, Temi Adetoro, Angelo Cunningham, Mael O’Rock, Bevan Petersen, Noel Butler, Quincey Ogbuka.
It has been a difficult year for the Carlow camogie team who are in transition. For this Muinebheag Quarterly Award winner it has still been an excellent season so far where she featured in all of Carlow’s five
Division 2 National League games. Rebecca has played mainly at midfield but her versatility has seen her perform in both the half-forward and half-back lines.
In her younger days, she competed successfully in Feile skills competitions and is playing her college camogie with DCU. She has been selected on intercounty teams since she was fourteen years of age.
An excellent attitude to training where she is so often one of the first to arrive the Muinebheag player is well capable of scoring from play or from placed balls.
Now that experience has been put to good use where her dominant style as a defender allows her to take clean possession while Rebecca’s off-loading to her colleagues is accurate which puts the ball receivers in good positions to continue their attacks.
This year’s experience so far has been huge for Rebecca and as time goes by both her club team, Muinebheag, and Carlow will continually benefit from a player who gives her all from the moment she steps across the white line.
DARTS - Niall Culleton
Back in January, Niall Culleton secured his tour card for the upcoming season having tried for seven years. As somebody who did not have a tour card previously, Culleton entered Q-School at Stage One and secured himself a top 16 spot in the Order of Merit, ensuring he made it to Stage Two.
There he made a run all the way to the final on Day Two to secure his Tour Card having endured a scare in the first round that day, coming from 5-0 down to progress. Culleton has been going to Q-School since 2018 and never got a tour card so his success this year is a huge achievement for him.
Since then, he’s gone on to take some big scalps on his journey. In just his second match on tour, he defeated World Number 14 and former UK Open and World Matchplay Champion, Nathan Aspinall and has since gone on to beat Northern Irish man, Brendan Dolan, Michael Smith and World Number 16, Martin Schindler at Players Championship 7.
In his first televised major, the UK Open, Culleton made it all the way to Round 4.
DARTS - Charlie Power
Charlie Power has been playing with Carlow Youth Darts for over two years, and during that time he has grown from strength to strength. His dedication has been especially evident over the past few months, putting in a tremendous amount of practice—and it’s clearly paying off.
In March, he competed in the Boys Youths All-Ireland, facing a field of over 400 youths from across the country. Charlie produced an outstanding performance to reach the final, building on his strong form, including a JDC final appearance last year.
Earlier this year, Charlie also claimed a Leinster Youths medal, winning with the Carlow first team—another fantastic achievement in his young career. Adding to this, at just 14 years of age, he has made the cut for the Carlow Men’s B team and will compete later this month in the B All-Irelands.
Charlie’s calm approach and ability to stay cool under pressure set him apart, marking him as a player with a very bright future ahead.
GAA – Pádhraig Bolger
This Quarterly-Award winner has had an excellent start to his senior intercounty career where he came in early in the season and stamped his place on the Carlow team. He featured in four of the O’Byrne Cup/Shield games. It didn’t do anyone any harm when Carlow beat Wicklow in the Shield final which allowed confidence levels to rise.
From there it was into the National Football League where he featured in six of Carlow’s Division 4 games as they progressed to a final show-down in Croke Park.
It was here where the Rathvilly man, who won a senior football championship medal in 2024, went on to have an excellent game on the greatest stage of all. He may have worn the number seven jersey on his back but on the biggest day of his sporting career, Padhraig got himself forward scoring three points in a game which went to extra-time. His final point asked a serious question of the defender where a goal chance presented itself but with the defence closing him down he smartly hooked the ball over the bar to give Carlow a two-point lead with time running out. The Barrowsiders went on to win by three points in an historic moment for the county on a day which this Rathvilly man will surely treasure for the rest of his sporting life.
HOCKEY – Amy Handcock
Womens hockey continues to grow in Ireland and that will only increase with the exposure of a third successive World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands this summer.
Qualification was secured in dramatic fashion in Chile in March and part of that squad was Bennekerry’s Amy Handcock.
After making her senior international debut on the tour to America last summer, Handcock was on duty for the Ireland Under 21 team in Chile before Christmas, helping Ireland to a 13th place finish.
That led to a first call up to the senior squad for a major tournament when Ireland head coach Gareth Grundie picked his panel for the World Cup qualifiers tournament, back in Chile.
Handcock scored her first international goal in a 5-1 win over Canada in the final group game as Ireland moved into the knockout stages.
Ireland’s first chance of qualifying for the World Cup came and went when they lost 1-0 to Australia but qualification was secured after a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Japan.
Handcock will now hope for more opportunities in future internationals and to secure her spot in the squad for the World Cup in August.
HURLING – Fiach O’Toole
They say everything comes to those who wait and remain patient. This is very much the case for this Naomh Bríd and Carlow senior intercounty hurler.
He has had to bide his time. He has been in the Carlow senior panel for a number of years now and won a Joe McDonagh Cup medal in 2023.
Game time has surely not been as much as he would have liked. Last year he featured in two league and two Joe McDonagh Cup ties but bolstered by Naomh Bríd’s rise into senior ranks, Fiach continued to dedicate himself to getting a starting place on the Carlow team.
His commitment and ability was recognised this year by the selectors as he featured on both of Carlow’s Walsh Cup/Shield ties and went on to feature in all the National Hurling League Division 1B games. These were memorable days particularly when Clare, the All-Ireland senior champions of 2024 came to Netwatch Cullen Park where the Naomh Bríd man acquitted himself well.
He has also been able to come forward and has raised a number of white flags for his county. Thanks to his willingness to graft and work hard, life as a senior hurler is just getting better and better for one of the youngest members of the county panel.
LADIES GAA – SETU Carlow
The footballers in SETU Carlow created their own bit of history when they became the first ladies team to win a championship title. They did it in style too coming through a difficult qualifying group and went on to beat SETU Waterford convincingly in the knock-out stages. A week later they were back on the South Campus this time accounting for University of Limerick with another emphatic victory.
Getting to the weekend Colleges finals is always the aim at the start of the year and this year they were held in DCU. ATU Galway provided the opposition and having met earlier in the season with the Carlow side coming out narrow winners, this was always going to be close.
First half goals from Aoibhe Ryan and Ruby Roache seemed to have set the eventual winners on their way but the Galway opposition came roaring back in the second half. They went one point clear with the clock running down. SETU battled back and with time almost up they were level and had one last chance.
Working the ball forward they drew the free to the right of the posts. Niamh Farrelly had been a proverbial goal machine all season but this time accuracy and a nerve of steel were required.
With players hardly daring to draw breath, the full-forward drilled the ball over the bar for the winning score. For ATU it was a desperately disappointing way to lose a game and a great way to win it but on the night, SETU Carlow were deserving winners.
LADIES GAA – Edel Hayden
When it comes to football, the Hayden name is associated with achievement and excellence. So many of her family and extended family have all achieved at club and intercounty level. Edel is no exception. This is her 25th year playing senior football for Carlow.
At club level she won two senior football titles with Baile Ceatharlach and four years ago won an intermediate with Éire Óg.
After coming so near so often with Carlow, she finally annexed a National Football League Division 4 titles two years ago to go with the Leinster championship success in 2023.
In 2019 Edel completed a rare double when selected on the LGFA Team of the League which sat nicely beside the Carlow Lady Footballer of the Year award. She has an array of individual awards to go with her achievements with the Carlow footballers at junior and intermediate level.
This year, she was all but an automatic selection for every game as Carlow went through the NFL 4 competition unbeaten on their way to winning the final, where she scored a well taken goal. She may have worn the number 10 jersey but she was also a sticky defender when required. The Éire Óg star got forward so often knocking over some vital points at critical times. The beauty is that, having done Carlow proud for a quarter of a century of sport behind her, there is no sign of Edel letting up yet.
LADIES GAA - St Leo’s College
It is surely a day which will remain in the memories of these young footballers for many years to come. Having come through Leinster in convincing style in early March they headed to the Kilkenny GAA Training Centre in determined mood. They had nothing to fear but they knew that Cashel CS would present a fearsome challenge.
The Carlow side didn’t start well and found themselves trailing by 1-3 to 0-1 early on. Back they came and goals from Lucie O’Reilly and Amy Wall saw the game swing back in their favour when leading 2-5 to 1-3 at the interval.
The second half was a white-knuckle ride all the way to the final whistle. The County Tipperary side scored three goals and looked set for victory. Lucie Reilly scored her second goal but St Leo’s lost a player to a black card. Yet they produced a superb last ten minutes to bring the teams level. Extra-time looked a certainty but St Leo’s pressed hard and with the final kick of the game Amy Wall’s point from play proved to be the match-winner.
It wasn’t to be in the final. The Leinster champions came up against an excellent Bailieborough side who were deserving winners. Defeat at The Naul in the Lidl All-Ireland Junior Football Schools B Final was to be St Leo’s lot but what a wonderful year for everyone involved.
MEN’S SOCCER -Alex Kelliher
Alex Kelliher is the name on everybody’s lips in the Carlow League at the moment, he’s the player everybody is talking about this season. He’s magic, and a star in the making. Burrin Celtic started this season out without their two top scorers from last season in Cillian Fagan and Shane Duffy with the pair involved in Ballon’s run to the Leinster Junior Football Final. Up step Alex Kelliher. The 22 year old joined his home town club at the back end of last season after time away from the game and in the absence of their two main goalscorers this season, stepped up massively. Burrin were on the brink of relegation from the Premier this time last season but they managed to stay up, and this season they’re flying high in third place at the time of writing, and Kelliher played a major part in that. He has nine goals, and currently sits just one behind Dean Kelly in the Golden Boot standings at the time of writing. He has played underage in the League of Ireland for several years with Wexford, Waterford and Cork City.
LADIES SOCCER -Wictoria Gorczyca
Wictoria Gorczyca is a powerhouse in the women’s game. With 30 goals in the Women’s League in Carlow this season, she’s been a force to be reckoned with, winning the Golden Boot by a massive 16 goals. She has a total of seven hat-tricks and thus a major part of why Vale were crowned Women’s Division champions this season, having been so close last season where Wictoria only played five games. The 21 year old is a goal scoring machine and has incredible speed and acceleration that makes her a nightmare to mark and she can beat defenders almost at ease, thus making her the perfect striker. She also has the ability to bring in other players around her. The perfect example of this was the game against Parkville where Vale won the league. Parkville double marked her to keep her quiet, which allowed Clodagh Lawler to capitalise on the available space. She has experience in the League of Ireland, having spent two seasons with Shamrock Rovers U17’s from 2020-2022, scoring several goals whilst there.
KARATE – Brian Keating
Carlow karate athlete Brian Keating made history earlier this year when he won the IMAC (Irish Martial Arts Committee) Outstanding Senior Athlete of the Year Award at the IMAC Irish Martial Arts Awards in Dublin.
It is a momentous occasion for the sport right across Ireland as the Carlow man's distinction marks the first time a karate athlete has ever won the award.
Keating's martial arts journey began at a young age, joining Carlow Martial Arts Sanctuary as well as studying Kung Fu under Sensei Brian Whelan. He now trains and competes out of Carlow Karate Club.
The 18-year-old from Graiguecullen, who attends Knockbeg College, currently holds a second degree Kyu brown belt in Wado Ryu karate, and produced a remarkable year of success in 2025.
The Carlow club man was part of the Irish team that won gold in the Senior Male Team Ippon Kumite (Open Weight) event at the IKU European Championships in Poland - the first time Ireland has ever won the title.
Keating and Ireland added to their medal haul by claiming bronze in the Team Kata event.
There was also Individual success at those Championships, winning gold in the Senior Male Individual Kumite (-68kg) and collecting a silver medal in the Individual Kata.
He also enjoyed a huge amount of domestic success in 2025, winning two Senior Male All-Ireland titles and multiple gold medals at the Irish Open, the Belfast Open and the Southwest International.
The highlight of the year, however, came when Keating returned to Poland for the UKF (Ultimate Karate Federation) World Cup, where he won his first professional fight and can now officially call himself a World Champion.
RUGBY – Dara Cosgrave
A former senior cup player with Newbridge College, Dara Cosgrave came to study in SETU Carlow and was persuaded to link up with Tullow Rugby Club. It is an arrangement which has benefitted both sides.
Described as excellent under the high ball and quick to react when in possession, he is also an excellent field runner but it is his prodigious use of the boot which people are talking about.
Away to Seapoint in January, he kicked two superb penalties for Tullow and landed three conversions in a Leinster League Division 1A win which went a long way to turning his club season around.
In the semi-final of the Provincial Towns Cup against a fancied Naas side, he may have had the help of a strong breeze but he found the posts with a penalty from two metres inside his own 10 metre line. An amazing feat.
On the higher education college front, the Tullow centre played his part as SETU Carlow beat DCU in the semi-final of the Brendan Johnston Cup.
In the final against UCC three tries gave the Carlow college the platform for victory. Dara’s hat trick of conversions and his penalty gave the eventual some breathing space.
It was needed as the Cork students struck back and narrowed the gap to 24-18. In the end, Dara’s kicking was the difference in what is turning out to be a great year for this young rugby player.
SWIMMING – Hannah Coady
Following on from a very successful season last year, Tullow’s Hannah Coady has had a busy 2026 schedule.
First up for the St Fiacc’s 16 year old swimmer was a Leinster Long Course event where she competed against some top swimmers. In early February, representing Tullow Community School in the Leinster Senior Schools Championships Hannah claimed gold in the 100m backstroke event and silver in the 100m freestyle.
The Leinster Aspiring Championship event saw her gain valuable experience and from there she went on to compete at the McCullagh International Meeting where excellent times were recorded. At the Wycombe Long Course Premier meeting Hannah was first in the 100m freestyle, second in the 50m freestyle followed by first in the 50m back-stroke and second in the 100m back-stroke.
In late March Hannah was part of the Leinster Senior Schools squad which won the Interprovincial Schools title at the National Aquatic Centre. Here she claimed first place in the 100m back-stroke and second in the 100m freestyle. She also swam on two winning Leinster winning relays teams.
Under the watchful eye of coach, Gillian Markey, Hannah is continually moving towards achieving personal bests and at The Irish Open 2026 in Bangor last week she recorded the fastest ever junior time in the 50 metre freestyle.
