It has been a sensational year of sport for Irish women.
Katie Taylor, Amy Broadhurst and Leona Maguire all lead the way after stunning seasons.
Ciara Mageean had a magical year as well and smashed Sonia O'Sullivan's longstanding National record with a Diamond League win back in the Autumn. Added to that were silver medals at the European Championship and Commonwealth Games.
The Irish women's rugby sevens side finished fourth in the overall standings in the HSBC World Series, with star player Aimee-Leigh Murphy Crowe being nominated for World Player of the year on the back of her wonderful performances.
All in all, it's been a record breaking year for Irish stars. Take a look below to see some of the top stars of the 2022.
Katie Taylor
It was another golden year for the ‘Bray bomber’ as Katie Taylor cemented her place as the greatest female fighter of all time with two massive wins.
It began in April for the 2012 Olympic Gold medalist under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. For 10 rounds, KT went toe-to-toe with the fearsome Amanda Serrano in the biggest female boxing fight of all time.
After 20 grueling minutes, Taylor was awarded the win and remained undisputed and undefeated lightweight champion. Six months later, she returned to the ring and outclassed Karen Elizabeth Carabajal from start to finish.
With that second win, she set herself up for a massive 2023 and a potential rematch with Serrano. Regardless, all roads seemingly lead to Croke Park and an emotional return home for Ireland’s star boxer.
"For Serrano to become undisputed at 126 and then fight Katie again for the undisputed at 135 at Croke Park in Dublin, it would make that rematch even bigger if you can imagine that," said Taylor’s promoter Eddie Hearn recently.
“She has three options on Croke Park. We want to choose one within the next two weeks max. We want it to be Amanda Serrano.”
Leona Maguire
Building off an impressive 2021, Leona Maguire has taken her game to a new level over the past year.
An early victory at the Drive On Championship gave the Cavan woman a slice of history as she became the first Irish woman to win on the LPGA Tour and continued the tradition of Irish golfers performing when the pressure is highest stateside.
Since then, she has finished in the top 10 on a further nine occasions and has seen herself climb the world rankings and finish the year ranked 11th in the world.
Two of those top ten finishes came in the majors, emphasizing Leona’s tendency to perform at her best when the stakes are at their highest.
Much of 2023 will be focused on eight weeks in late summer/early autumn. With four majors and the Solheim Cup to take place in less than two months, the 27-year-old could well be set to create more history next year.
“I’d like to win a major. But it’s one of those things that whatever happens happens,” Maguire told the Irish Mirror recently.
“I’ll put in the work, try put myself in as good a position as I can and if it happens next year, so be it, if it takes a bit longer that’s fine too I suppose.”
“It’s very hard to win a major but I’ll give it my very best shot next year.”
Amy Broadhurst
Twelve months ago, Amy Broadhurst enjoyed relative anonymity. After a magnificent 2022, she is now one of the biggest female stars in Ireland.
She announced herself on the world stage back in May when she took home the gold medal at the World Championships. Over the next few months, the Dundalk woman backed it up with further gold medal successes at the Commonwealth Games and European Championships.
In December she was named the number one light-welterweight amateur in the world, a stunning achievement made even more impressive by the fact that her actual preferred weight class is lightweight, the same weight that Kellie Harrington competes at.
And to cap things off, Amy purchased her first house and will be enjoying her first Christmas this year as a proud homeowner.
Ireland women’s football team
While the men’s team floundered, Vera Pauw’s women’s side cemented their place as the best soccer team in the country.
The Katie McCabe-led side have been in stunning form in 2022 and have lost just once in nine games, with that sole defeat coming against Russia in the Pinatar Cup.
A 1-1 draw with Sweden in Stockholm proved that the team could compete at the highest level. From that moment, the side seemed to grow in confidence and truly believe that World Cup qualification was a genuine possibility.
After the Sweden game, Ireland won their next four on the spin culminating in the historic 1-0 win over Scotland at Hampden Park. Donegal woman Amber Barrett got the goal just days after the horrific explosion in Creeslough that claimed the lives of 10 beautiful souls.
The draw for Ireland’s maiden berth at an international tournament was made in late 2022 and excitement is building for the adventure of a lifetime in Australia/New Zealand next summer. In a group with hosts Australia, Olympic Champions Canada, and African champions Nigeria, Vera Pauw’s side will have their work cut out for them.
But if we’ve learned anything about this group of women, it’s that they relish the chance to shock the world.
Meath ladies football team
The Royals went back-to-back for the first time ever and retained their All-Ireland crown to cap off another magical season.
Meath rode the wave of momentum that they have been surfing for a number of years now having risen through the intermediate ranks up to senior status. In their first season as seniors in 2021, they won the All-Ireland for the first time.
Having gotten a taste for glory, Meath were rampant this year as they took home the Brendan Martin Cup for the second season in a row. As a result, 13 members of the team were nominated for All-stars, with six eventually taking home the prestigious awards.
With key players Emma Troy, and Orlagh Lally all leaving the panel along with manager Eamonn Murray, 2022 may well be looked back upon as the last dance of this magnificent team.
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