Stars out in force for the 2017 JLT Gymnastics Ireland National Awards

Irish Sport HQ, Dublin:  Gymnastics Ireland's annual gala awards night took place on Saturday 18th November in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dublin, to celebrate another hugely successful year for the sport of gymnastics in Ireland. With over 160 guests the JLT Gymnastics Ireland National Awards was a night that saw 24 representatives of the sport winning awards from clubs through to international stars. The awards were an acknowledgement by Gymnastics Ireland of the success achieved and hard work put in by those making a special contribution throughout the year in the development of the sport in Ireland, supported by our headline sponsors JLT Ireland.

See the highlight video of the night below…

The categories were wide ranging and rewarded representatives from both the competitive and participation bases within Gymnastics Ireland. A few highlight winners of the night were Irish international star and first year senior Rhys McClenaghan who was awarded 'Gymnast of the Year' having won 'Rising Star' in 2016. Junior European Youth Olympic competitor Meg Ryan was awarded the 'Rising Star' for 2017 and seasoned senior gymnast Andrew Smith was awarded a special recognition award for his many achievements on the international scene.

MC on the night, Joanne Murphy, kept the guests entertained throughout, including Mr. Dave Conway, former development manager & CEO for the National Sports Campus Development Authority and a key supporter for the inclusion of gymnastics within the National Indoor Arena which opened its doors in Jan 2017, in addition to former President of Gymnastics Ireland Mr. Jim O’Leary.

As a special guest, Michael Gilroy from the CARA Centre presented the Inclusive Club of the Year award which recognised the efforts of clubs in becoming inclusive and offering gymnastics programmes for people with disabilities. This represents a sample of the success of the new Gymnastics Ireland GymABLE Club Inclusion Programme, that focuses on developing gymnastics opportunities for people with disabilities.

Gymnastics Ireland Chairman Ger Rellis, CEO Mr Ciaran Gallagher and other Board members in attendance presented awards across a number of categories on the evening. Our headline sponsor JLT Ireland were represented on the night by their Executive Director Amanda Harton and Client Service Executive  Louise Hughes who also presented awards from four different categories.

Also a big thank you to our public funding partner Sport Ireland, in addition to our other partners Profile Events, RSPD and Lee Brothers for their support in making this such a great night.

For more news and updates like us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat & LinkedIn @GymnasticsIRE

#NationalAwards #SportStartsHere #GymnasticsIreland