A huge congratulations to Fiona Murtagh, Sophia Young, Denise Walsh, Zoe Hyde and Mags Cremen who all have been shortlisted in the 2026 Team Ireland Olympic Sport Awards, with the public now invited to cast their votes and help decide this year’s winners.
The shortlist celebrates an outstanding year in Irish Olympic sport, recognising the athletes, teams, coaches and high-performance programmes who excelled in 2026, along with the events, images and community initiatives that made their mark.
Fiona Murtagh – Female Athlete of the Year
Achievements in 2026
- Silver Medal – Women’s Single Sculls, World Rowing Championships (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
- Silver Medal – Women’s Single Sculls, World Rowing Cup III (Lucerne, Switzerland)
- Bronze Medal – Women’s Single Sculls, World Rowing Cup I (Seville, Spain)
- Inducted into the Fordham University Athletic Hall of Fame (New York, USA)
- Winner of the 2026 University of Galway Alumni Award for Contribution to Sport
Fiona’s achievements in 2026 culminated in her winning Silver at the World Rowing Championships having come into the competition as reigning champion while also carrying an injury from her successful outing in Lucerne just a few months prior. She overcame a difficult and challenging few weeks to come within seconds of winning gold and defending her world title, and in September she was also inducted into the Fordham University Athletic Hall of Fame following her achievements as a Fordham alumni, joining famous sporting icons such as Vince Lombardi of NFL fame.
“I’m truly honoured” Fiona says. “It’s been a hard year overcoming obstacles and injuries so I’m proud of how I’ve faced those challenges and still produced podium performances at every event. Thank you to Team Ireland for the nomination and looking forward to the night! It’s also very exciting to see so many of Rowing Ireland athletes and coaches nominated across different categories. I think it’s a great reflection of the work we have put in this year.“
Vote for Fiona HERE.
Zoe Hyde & Mags Cremen – Team of the Year
Achievements in 2026
- Gold Medal – Women’s Double Sculls, World Rowing Championships (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
- Gold Medal – Women’s Double Sculls, World Rowing Shanghai Sprints (Shanghai, China)
- Bronze Medal – Women’s Double Sculls, World Cup I (Seville, Spain)
- Fourth Place – Women’s Double Sculls, World Cup III (Lucerne, Switzerland)
Having each competed with different partners at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Mags and Zoe’s achievements are particularly significant successfully having transitioned into the open weight women’s double sculls following the removal of lightweight rowing from the Olympic programme. Since being paired together they have gone from strength to strength in the Women’s Double Sculls, and having become World Champions in Amsterdam in August where they defeated reigning champions the Netherlands, they effectively defended their title a month later at the inaugural World Rowing Shanghai Sprints where they once again beat Dutch pair Roos de Jong & Benthe Boonstra to take home their second successive World Rowing Gold medal in as many months.
Mags said: “So delighted to be nominated for the Olympic sports awards with Zoe and it’s amazing to see so many nominees from Rowing Ireland! We had a great year, we learned so much, had such fun along the way and had so much support from our amazing coaches, support staff, teammates and families – to hear the National Anthem that evening and become World Champions really was such a dream come true!! Thank you so much to Team Ireland Olympic for the nomination!”
“To be nominated for this award alongside some of Ireland’s most talented and inspiring athletes is a huge honour” Zoe said. “It makes us incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together. Myself and Mags never thought we would become world champions this year and to have our hard work, dedication and success recognised in this way makes it all the more special.”
Vote for Zoe and Mags HERE.
Denise Walsh – Coach of the Year
Achievements in 2026
- Direct Coach to World Champions Mags Cremen and Zoe Hyde
- Direct Coach to World Silver Medallists Mags Cremen and Konan Pazzaia
Since transitioning from a High-Performance athlete in the Rowing Ireland Elite Training Squad to becoming a full-time coach in May 2025, Denise has played an integral role in developing the Rowing Ireland High Performance programme in throughout 2026. She is a direct coach of World Champions Zoe Hyde and Mags Cremen and has been crucial in supporting the blossoming of their partnership which has gone from strength to strength this year with the pair winning gold twice in Amsterdam and Shanghai. In addition, she is also a coach to world silver-medallist Konan Pazzaia, who won silver alongside Mags Cremen in the World Championship Mixed Double, and then went on to win bronze at the Shanghai Sprints having beaten World Champion Oliver Zeidler in the quarter finals.
Denise has assisted Head Coach Dominic Casey across a high performance programme that delivered eight senior medals from three regattas, including three World Championship medals. When she is not on the water at sunrise shouting encouragement and instructions through the Rowing Ireland megaphone, Denise can be found anywhere from repairing shells in the boathouse to holding one-on-one analysis sessions with our athletes at the National Rowing Centre.
“I’m really honoured to be nominated. It’s a privilege to be able to do a job I love, working with such great athletes and having the support of my family and the team at Rowing Ireland.“
Vote for Denise HERE.
Sophia Young – Rising Star Award
Achievements in 2026
- Silver medal – Women’s Single Sculls, World Rowing U23 Championships (Duisberg, Germany) – 26 July 2026
- Fifth Place – Women’s Double Sculls, World Rowing Cup I (Seville, Spain) – 31st May 2026
Following a breakout year in 2025 which saw her win multiple gold medals in the Irish National Championships, Sophia has made the jump from junior to senior international rowing look easy. In addition to making her Senior World Championships debut in Amsterdam where she was part of the Women’s Quadruple Sculls alongside Emily Hegarty, Alison Bergin and Izzy Clements, Sophia also partnered Alison at World Cup I where they finished 5th in Seville.
The highlight of her year came in July when she won silver in the Women’s Single Sculls at the World Rowing U23 Championships in Germany, and she will be one to watch in Women’s rowing heading into 2027.
“Being nominated for the Olympic Sports Awards is an incredible honour, and I feel so proud to have my hard work and dedication recognised by the Irish community.”
A huge well done to all our Rowing Ireland nominees – get your votes in now!!
