2026 Gymnastics Ireland National Awards - Winners Announced!

9th November 2026, 18:43p.m. | National Awards

Gymnastics Ireland is proud to announce the winners for the 2026 National Awards with the continuing support of Marsh Ireland as our headline sponsor. The awards evening will take place on Saturday 5th December in the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 2. Full information regarding the event schedule and tickets will be circulated shortly.

Speaking about today’s announcement, Gymnastics Ireland CEO Ciaran Gallagher said:

"2026 has been another year of superb achievements for our members from the local club through to the field of play at major internationals.

It’s hard to believe we are coming up on 1 year since the last awards - that is until you take a moment and look back on the many fantastic achievements over the year! The year passes in a flash but the impressive achievements are many and we look forward to celebrating them on Sat 5th December!

Huge thanks again to our headline sponsors Marsh for their continued investment in this great event!"

Awards open to nomination

GymSTART

Coach of the Year: Abbey Coyne (Coolmine GC) & Therese Doherty (Nadia GC)
Gymnast of the Year: Lucy Stafford (Coolmine GC)
Club of the Year: Arabian GC

JumpSTART

Coach of the Year: Cian Hayes (RGC)
Gymnast of the Year: Emily O'Byrne (Cork Acro GC)
Club: RGC

GymABLE

Coach of the Year: Sharon Whelan (Kilbarry GC)
Gymnast of the Year: James Smyth (Citadel GC)
Club of the Year: Trojan GC

National Series

Coach of the Year: Alison Tate (Trojan GC)
Gymnast of the Year: Lucy Buckley (Douglas GC)
Club of the Year: Precision GC

The Floor Display Club: Douglas GC

The Floor Display Coach of the Year: Sophie Twoomey (Bliss GC)

Youth Leaders: Eimear Hogan (Kilkenny GC) & Sophie O'Driscoll (Trojan GC)

Unsung Hero: Sinead Healy (Gorey GC)

Directly Appointed Awards

Club Social & Digital: Citadel GC

Club Governance: Douglas GC

Inclusive Club: Nadia GC

Special Recognition:

Club Development/Operation
- Julie Masterson - Limerick GC
- Anne Harrington - Dungarvan GC
- Sandra O’Leary - Ballincollig GC
- Janet Hawkins - Coolmine GC
- Claire Lindsay Maia - Eccles GC

Participation
- Jenny Wenger (Ballincollig GC) - GymSTART programme support
- Chloe O’Toole (Carrigaline GC) - GymSTART programme support

Coaches - who enabled gymnasts to hit our High-Performance Strategy benchmark of 'final/medal potential' throughout the year at significant international events:
- Women's
  - Marisa Peters (DP GC)
  - Natasha Day (Douglas GC)
  - Emma Hamil (Douglas GC)
  - Ash Healy (Phoenix GC)
- Trampoline
  - Amanda Morrison (Flight GC)
  - Naoise Holohan (Supersonic GC)
  - Dean Loughnane (Wexford GC)
- Tumbling
  - Elaine Ryan (RGC)
  - Rachel Baird (Flight GC)
- Acro
  - Michelle O’Leary (Wexford GC)
  - Julie Vaughn (Wexford GC)
- Men's
  - Wayne Healy (Phoenix GC)
  - Scott Shearon (Phoenix GC)
  - Kieran Behan (Douglas GC)
  - Sergey Sizhanov
Judges
- Adam Doyle (Carrigaline GC) - Men's
- Aisling Swords (Wexford GC) - Acro
- Eimer Shortiss (Cork Acro GC) - Acro
- Joanna O’Donavan (Vortex GC) - Acro
- Ciara O’Leary (Ballincollig GC) - Acro
- Leah Duffy (Limerick GC) - Women's

Performance Gymnasts - who delivered results that hit our High-Performance Strategy benchmark of 'final/medal potential' throughout the year at significant international events:
- Trampoline
  - Laoise Cox (Cobra GC)
  - Fionnuala Mulholland (Flight GC)
  - Liam Talbot (Wexford GC)
  - Louise Carlin (Flight GC)
  - Fiadh Rogers (Flight GC)
- Tumbling
  - Cian Hayes (RGC)
  - Hugo Kinahan (RGC)
  - Stevie Oliver (Flight GC)
  - Erin Scott (Flight GC)
- Acro
  - Sophia Whelan & Maddison Somers (Wexford GC)
  - Clara Duffy & Tara O’Neil (Carlow GC)
  - Emily McCarthy & Ava Guiney (Cork Acro GC)
- Men's
  - Finlay Hazleton (Phoenix GC)
  - Matthew Hickey (Phoenix GC)
  - Evan Kinsella (Excel GC)
  - James Hickey (Phoenix GC)
  - Daniel Fox (Douglas GC)
  - Oisin O'Connell (Phoenix GC)
  - Chester Enriquez
  - Rhys McClenaghan
- Women's
  - Emma Slevin (RGC)
  - Mimi Moloney (Douglas GC)
  - Blathnaid Higgins (Phoenix GC)
  - Maeve McGunniess (Phoenix GC)
  - Lauren Kelly (Excel GC)
  - Roisin Hickey (Excel GC)

Service to Gymnastics:
- Colm Murray

Retiring Gymnasts:
- Adam Steele

Coach of the Year - National:
- Lorenna Antunes da Rocha (Excel GC)

Rising Star:

- Robert Ward (Phoenix GC) - 2026 Men's European Championship Junior All-Around & Vault Finalist
- Estella Vlkoff (DP GC) - Ireland's first women's European Championship apparatus finalist (junior)

Coach of the Year - International:
- Conor McGovern - Coach to European Championship senior finalists Eamon Montgomery & Rhys McClenaghan

Gymnast of the Year:
- Eamon Montgomery - European Championship Floor finalist

Again huge congratulations to all our 2026 Award winners!

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