Donegal’s Caitríona Jennings was honoured recently at The Irish Times Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year awards after the ultra-runner smashed the world record for 100 miles in Illinois. Jennings received the Sportswoman of the Month award for November after she ran the Tunnel Hill 100 Mile in 12 hours, 37 minutes and four seconds, beating the previous best mark set in 2017 by five minutes.
Remarkably this was the Letterkenny AC runner’s debut at the distance, 60 miles the longest she had run in one go before. Jennings, who turned 45 in June had already set a string of Irish records over shorter distances. Early last year she broke the Irish record at the Donadea 50km National Championships and she also holds the 100km record set in 2021.
She has helped herself to multiple top-10 finishes at the Comrades Marathon, the 88km race between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, the world’s oldest ultra-marathon, and in 2022 she won the IAU 50km European Championships. Her best (regular) marathon time of 2:36.17 qualified her for the London Olympics in 2012.
But this one beat them all. Proudly wearing her Letterkenny AC colours, Jennings averaged 7:34 minutes per mile (4:42/km) in Illinois, remaining under world record pace the entire way. She finished fourth overall and almost four hours ahead of the next best woman.
“I just kept telling myself to be patient at the start,” Jennings said afterwards, her husband Martin McCoy also providing crucial food-and-drink backup on the day. “Because it’s such a long race, you have to really hold back and run slower than you would think you would anticipate when you’re usually racing…..Words can’t describe this feeling,” crediting her coach Terry McConnon for driving her on towards the achievement. Not that she had much time to celebrate it, she was back to work with Aviation Capital Group, an aircraft leasing company, the next day.
Until November, Leona and Lisa Maguire were the only sisters since the awards got under way in 2004 to earn themselves a spot – lots of them – on the monthly roll of honour, but Jennings now joins her sibling, Olympic rower Sinead, on the list.
O’Connor named Sportswoman of the Year 2025
At the event, Kate O’Connor, who crowned an unbelievable breakthrough year by winning silver in the heptathlon at the World Championships in Tokyo in September, was named The Irish Times Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year 2025.
The award capped an amazing 12 months for the 25-year-old Dundalk-based track and field star who medalled in all four of the championships she entered and announced herself on the world stage as one of the best all-round women athletes in the world. In a year of outstanding achievements her silver at the World Championships in Tokyo was the crowning glory. As well as scoring five personal bests in the seven events, she attained a tally of 6,714 points, smashing her own Irish record set in July.
She told reporters afterwards she never imagined herself winning the overall award. “To be honest I’m speechless that I’ve won this award. I was here last in 2019 after I’d won the U20 silver medal and not for one second did I ever imagine myself winning the overall award, so it truly is an honour. And when I look at the names on the list of previous winners, I genuinely can’t believe that I’m going to be amongst all these women.”
With that silver medal-winning performance in Tokyo, O’Connor, who has been trained by her father Michael since she was 10 years old, becomes only the sixth Irish athlete to win a medal at the World Championships and the first Irish athlete to win an outdoor multi-event medal.
Other awards
Legendary Mayo Gaelic football forward Cora Staunton, who won four All-Irelands and three National League titles with the county, was honoured with the Irish Times / Sport Ireland Outstanding Contribution to Sport Award. In addition to her county medals, Staunton, who made her debut for the county team in 1995 aged just 13, won six All-Ireland ladies club football championships with her club Carnacon. In a senior career which spanned 24 years in total in the red and green of Mayo, she amassed a total of 11 All Star Awards. She retired from intercounty football in 2019.
This year, the 21st year of the Awards was clearly a special one for Irish athletics, with athletes making up over a quarter of the 15 monthly award winners (For some months there are double winners). In addition to O’Connor and Sarah Healy, Orla Comerford (Sept) and Caitríona Jennings (Nov) won Sportswoman of the Month awards.
Some of the other winners included boxers Katie Taylor and Aoife O’Rourke, soccer player Katie McCabe as well as Lara Gillespie and Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly in cycling. Last year Katie-George Dunlevy, whose father hails from Mountcharles, along with Kelly and her previous pilot Eve McCrystal won The Irish Times / Sport Ireland Team of the Year award. (For full list of monthly award winners see below)
The Sports Editor of The Irish Times Noel O’Reilly paid tribute to all the 2025 winners.
“Once again, it has been a pleasure and a privilege for our team of reporters at The Irish Times to cover the achievements of these women through 2025. They are heroes of Irish life, examples to our daughters and sons and a credit to their families, coaches, partners, and friends. We thank them and salute them for making it such a memorable and special year, and we wish them continuing success in the year to come.”
The Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan said: “Irish sportswomen have delivered extraordinary achievements this year, breaking records and making history across multiple disciplines. Their dedication reflects resilience and commitment in the face of significant challenges. Their sacrifices and unwavering commitment deserve sincere appreciation. We are privileged to have such inspiring role models, and I warmly congratulate all of this year’s award recipients for their outstanding contribution to Irish sport.”
Dr Úna May, Sport Ireland CEO said: “This year has been extraordinary for Irish women in sport, and today we proudly celebrate their achievements. These successes are built on the unwavering support of coaches, families, volunteers, and communities. We owe them all a debt of gratitude. It’s important to also credit the state for its strong and consistent investment. The Government’s generous €4m allocation to the Women in Sport Programme is truly transformative. This funding drives initiatives in participation, coaching, leadership, visibility, and more, ensuring women and girls thrive at every stage of sport.”
