The Goss.ie Women of the Year Awards will take place on Sunday, October 9th at The Royal Marine Hotel Dun Laoghaire, with broadcaster Gráinne Seoige as host.
We will honour women across multiple genres, including business, the arts, social justice and sports. Plus we have launched a special ‘Local Hero’ category, where Goss.ie readers can nominate local women in their area.
This year the awards are in partnership with Google, Casillero del Diablo, Woulfe and Dingle Distillery.Â
Women’s Aid is our official charity partner for 2022 and will be delivering a keynote speech at the awards, we will also be running a charity raffle on the day to raise funds for the charity.
A highly-esteemed and all-female judging panel will decide the winners of each category.
The Sportswoman of the Year award, sponsored by Gym Plus, honours women who are leading the way in their chosen sport.
Whether it’s winning boxing championships, heading to the olympics or making history in horse racing, these women are all having phenomenal years.
Take a look at this year’s nominees:
Katie Taylor
Bray native Katie Taylor is a globally recognised professional boxer.
She is a two-weight world champion and the current undisputed lightweight champion. Among her incredibly long list of achievements, Katie won an Olympic gold medal in the lightweight division at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The talented sports star was the first female boxer to headline a fight in Madison Square Garden when she fought Amanda Serrano in April.
Katie currently holds four World Championships titles and continues to defend them.
Rachael Blackmore
It’s been an incredible year for Irish jockey Rachael Blackmore.
In 2021, she impressively became the first female jockey to win the Grand National in the race’s 182-year history.
Rachel was named RTÉ’s Sports Person of the Year 2021 and the BBC World Sport Star of the Year 2021, making her one of the most prominent female athletes in the world.
In 2022, Rachel became the first woman to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Ciara Mageean
It has been an incredible year for Ciara Mageean, the middle-distance runner who specialises in the 1500 metres.
She represented Ireland in both the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2022 Tokyo Olympics.
Earlier this year, Ciara won the silver medal in the 1500m at both the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and the European Championships in Munich.
Ciara won her first Diamond League victory on September 2nd, winning her signature event at the Brussels’ Memorial Van Damme – breaking for the first time the 4-minute barrier and Sonia O’Sullivan’s Irish national record, which was set back in 1995, by more than two seconds.
Kellie Harrington
Kellie Harrington has made a serious name for herself in the boxing world, and continues to be one of the most well-known Irish women in sports.
Kellie won a silver medal in the lightweight division at the 2016 Women’s World Boxing Championships, and two years later took home the gold medal in the same division at the 2018 event.
Kellie is an Olympic gold medalist, having won gold in the lightweight division at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Earlier this year, she became the first boxer to be awarded the Freedom of Dublin City award.
Ellen Keane
She danced her way into our hearts on Dancing With The Stars earlier this year, but when she’s not on the dancefloor she’s busy absolutely killing it as a Paralympic swimmer.
Ellen, who was born with an undeveloped left arm and competes as an amputee, won a bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and a gold medal in the same event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
In June, Ellen landed a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke at the World Championships final in Madeira, Portugal.
Linda Djougang
Rugby star Linda Djougang has represented Belvedere, Leinster and Ireland women’s national rugby team.
The Dublin star won her first Ireland cap in 2019 against Scotland in the Six Nations.
Earlier this year, Linda was selected as part of Ireland’s 29-player squad for their tour of Japan.
Linda was nominated for the Accenture Women’s CVs Players’ Player of the Year Award at the Rugby Players Ireland Awards 2022.
Katie George Dunlevy & Eve McCrystal
Tandem cyclists Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal have been amongst the most successful Para Athletes ever to have represented Ireland.
The pair’s greatest success came at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, as they claimed a gold medal in the Time Trial, and a silver medal in the Road Race.
Last month, Katie and Eve won their sixth World Championship at the Para-cycling Road World Championships in Canada.
Cora Staunton
Cora Staunton is best known as a Gaelic footballer, winning four All-Irelands and three Ladies’ National Football League titles with Mayo.
She is also an association footballer, having won an FAI Women’s Cup winner’s medal with the Mayo Ladies’ League representative team back in 2006.
In 2013, she made her rugby union debut for Castlebar Ladies in a Connaught Women’s League game against Tuam and went on to captain the team to the league title.
In June, Cora signed on for another AFL Women’s season with Greater Western Sydney [GWS] Giants, for her sixth consecutive season with the club. Cora is the second highest scorer in the history of AFLW.
The Sportswoman of the Year award is sponsored by Gym Plus.
Gym Plus is a family of seven clubs across Ireland, with a diverse membership for those of all fitness abilities, ages, and interests.
We will always try to make every individual feel right at home when using our cubs, and with the help of some of the friendliest faces in the fitness industry, we’re here to help you meet your health and fitness goals.
Whether you’re coming for a serious workout, some well-earned rest and relaxation, to learn to swim or simply to enjoy a class with friends, we are perfectly placed to deliver a great experience. In addition to our state-of-the-art facilities and 1:1 support from our helpful trainers, you’ll get all sorts of helpful extras such as special member’s events and recipes from our Gym Plus nutritionist.
