The Irish Sports Journalist of the Year Nominations Thread 2013 (held in 2014)

Culture
1

It’s awards season and I think it’s time we gave a little back to the sports journalists of Ireland who keep us entertained throughout the year.

I’m asking posters to submit nominations here.

Criteria:
[LIST]
[]Journalist must be Irish or writing primarily/exclusively for an Irish publication or media outlet. (No Sid Lowe.)
[]Journalist must be actively writing in 2013. (No Tom Humphries.)
[]Journalist must be prepared to travel to TFK offices in Dublin 4 to collect prize.
[]Journalist can be nominated for a body of work (like the Nobel Prize for Literature) or for one particularly oustanding piece of work (like the Man Booker Prize).
[/LIST]

Nominations:

The nominations should include:
[LIST]
[]Name of the journalist. (This will be helpful in allowing us to identify who the journalist you have nominated is).
[]Particular strengths of the journalist’s body of work that appealed to you.
[]Accompanying example(s) (or links to examples) that illustrate this excellence.
[]Any other reason why you feel your nominee is deserving of this award.
[/LIST]
Nominations will close on Friday 10th January 2014 at 7.30pm Irish Winter Time with a vote to follow the next week if there is more than one nominee.

2

I’m going to kick things off with a nomination for Tadhg Peavoy himself. The RTÉ correspondent has graduated from minute-by-minute and score-by-score updates of Allianz League matches online to writing fuller length articles on rugby union, travel and other sports that pique his interest from time to time.

My nomination for Tadhg is largely for his beautiful style of writing. Tadhg has a lovely way with words. He has a unique talent for drawing out sentences into whole paragraphs, using commas to separate completely independent points. Here’s one terrific sentence to illustrate that point:

[INDENT][U]http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/international/2013/0507/390813-feature-the-european-lions-concept/[/U]
The idea has been floated of late that it is time to adapt the British and Irish Lions to become a continent-spanning European Lions; that isn’t to say that weaker players must be included for the sake of having more countries included on the tour, but that the option to have players from any European nation included should be there.[/INDENT]

Tadhg has a tantalising way of using the word “while” to create an expectation of more substance in a sentence but he then cuts things short abruptly, leaving the reader begging for more:

[INDENT][U][I]http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/rabo-direct-pro-12/2013/1228/495044-pro12-preview-leinster-v-ulster-kick-off-1845/[/I][/U]
While last Friday’s 11-6 defeat to Edinburgh was a game Leinster could, and probably should, have won.

[I]http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/irish/2013/1228/495069-blog-rog-the-ronan-ogara-documentary/[/I]
While O’Gara’s ability to both praise and criticise the likes of Declan Kidney, David Humphreys, himself, and others, without flinching, makes it a must-see film for sports fans.
[/INDENT]
While more prosaic writers might be inclined to stick to tried and trusted similes in sports reporting. Tadhg however is not afraid to step outside the norm. This attractive simile calls to mind the many father-and-son club rugby matches we’ve all played in over the years:

[INDENT][U][I]http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/rabo-direct-pro-12/2013/1228/495044-pro12-preview-leinster-v-ulster-kick-off-1845/[/I][/U]
When they met in the final of the Heineken Cup at Twickenham in 2012, Joe Schmidt’s Leinster swatted Ulster away like an annoying little child tugging at an adult’s shorts during a club father-and-son match, smashing them 42-14.
[/INDENT]
Finally, I think if one sentence could sum up Tadhg’s style, it’s this:

[INDENT][I][U]http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/irish/2013/1228/495069-blog-rog-the-ronan-ogara-documentary/[/U][/I]
What makes him be – and want to be – the best that he can be? [/INDENT]

Two questions we’ve all been asking for years. What makes Ronan O’Gara want to be the best that he can be? And, more interestingly, what makes Ronan O’Gara be the best that he can be? What makes him be indeed? That’s the truly existential question that other journalists aren’t even imagining, never mind grappling with.

3

Was this the cunt who commentated on a Wexford hurling qualifier this year and used the phrase “onion sack”?

4

Bravo, @Rocko. :clap:

5

That was Tadhg Peavoy.

6

Then I’m afraid I can’t second this nomination.

John Fogarty of the Examiner has emerged from the pack in 2013 and is one of the better GAA writers at the moment.

7

[quote=“Rocko, post: 881460, member: 1”][*]Journalist must be actively writing in 2013. (No Tom Humphries.)
[/quote]

That’s a shame.

I can’t possibly think of any other reason why Tom shouldn’t get this, or any, award.

8

I know @Rocko specified writing/print media but I would like to nominate Marty Morrissey .

The man transends gaa and has been immense as RTE’s GAA Correspndent this year.

His Holy Moses moment will be recalled for many a year as

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-UiOnVMCC8

He is able to do the hard hitting stuff and the lighter pieces with aplomb and is a national treasure.

He is also a man of the people and doesn’t take himself too seriously

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilp5cP9-kq8

9

those lads who wrote that pisstake article about some horse called Monsignor dying at an old age must be worthy of a nomination?
the part about the horse being a patron of some charity and how he was asked to carry the olympic torch ( they never said what his answer was )was phenomenal stuff… @fenwaypark might know more about them

10

Paul Kimmage. Consistently insightful interviews across a range of sports.

11

Marie Croke.

Hugh McIlvanney like levels of journalism.

12

[quote=“chewy louie, post: 881487, member: 1137”]I know @Rocko specified writing/print media but I would like to nominate Marty Morrissey .

The man transends gaa and has been immense as RTE’s GAA Correspndent this year.

His Holy Moses moment will be recalled for many a year as

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-UiOnVMCC8

He is able to do the hard hitting stuff and the lighter pieces with aplomb and is a national treasure.

He is also a man of the people and doesn’t take himself too seriously

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilp5cP9-kq8
[/quote]

Check out the lovely letter Marty Morrissey sent TFK’s own budding commentator @gaamad1996 for his 18th birthday. It’s on Twitter @SMichaelD100 - Marty always comes across as a very sound guy. :clap:

13

[quote=“Kid Curry, post: 881587, member: 1397”]Marie Croke.

Hugh McIlvanney like levels of journalism.[/quote]
Is she a daughter of Archbishop Croke?

14

Yes.

15

[quote=“Elvis Brandenberg Kremmen, post: 881483, member: 1624”]Then I’m afraid I can’t second this nomination.

John Fogarty of the Examiner has emerged from the pack in 2013 and is one of the better GAA writers at the moment.[/quote]

He can be good, but he can be a bit childish as well. He had a right cut off Mayo lately as well as it seems they don’t want to do interviews about last year. He tried to mask it, but was clearly bent out of shape over it.

I pulled him on something a year or so ago in the comments section of one of his articles, nothing nasty or anything, it took a special request to get it ok for public reading even though other posts were put up that were made after mine but were more favour able to his view.

I think he’s good, but needs to be watched, carefully.

16

[quote=“caoimhaoin, post: 881599, member: 273”]He can be good, but he can be a bit childish as well. He had a right cut off Mayo lately as well as it seems they don’t want to do interviews about last year. He tried to mask it, but was clearly bent out of shape over it.

I pulled him on something a year or so ago in the comments section of one of his articles, nothing nasty or anything, it took a special request to get it ok for public reading even though other posts were put up that were made after mine but were more favour able to his view.

I think he’s good, but needs to be watched, carefully.[/quote]

i had a similar incident with another “journalist” as well, had my comments continually removed from the articles even tho they were constructive but not with the status quo in relation to the “plight” of arab footballers playing in Israel even tho i had conducted an interview with a player that was contradictory to most of the points made in the articles.
Be careful tho kev, these fellas get quite nasty when their internet space is violated, i agree they need to be watched… closely

17

Christy O’Connor.

This guy basically cuts out the bullshit cliches & backs up his arguments with statistics.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/christy-oconnor-nine-weeks-which-changed-the-game-29396857.html

Also, he doesn’t come across as a complete cunt.

18

Tom Mooney

No explanation needed.

I hope @Bandage gives nominations to Brendan Furlong and David Medcalf.

19

Kevin Cashman - lock the thread

20

Slaphead Liam Horan.