RTÉ Sports Person of the Year

Seán Kelly won in 1986.
Stephen Roche won in 1987.
Christy O'Connor Jnr won in 1989.
Sonia O'Sullivan won in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998 and 2000.
Ken Doherty won in 1997.
Roy Keane won in 1999.
Mick McCarthy won in 2001.
Ronan O'Gara won in 2004.
Henry Shefflin won in 2006.
Brian O'Driscoll won in 2009.
Graeme McDowell won in 2010.
Rory McIlroy won in 2011 and 2014.
Katie Taylor won in 2012, 2020 and 2022.
A. P. "Tony" McCoy won in 2013.
Michael Conlan won in 2015.
Conor McGregor won in 2016.
James McClean won in 2017.
Johnny Sexton won in 2018.
Shane Lowry won in 2019.
Rhys McClenaghan won in 2023.

The RTÉ Sports Person of the Year Award is the titular award of the RTÉ Sports Awards ceremony, which takes place each December. The winner is the Irish sportsperson (from the island of Ireland) judged to have achieved the most that year. The winner was originally chosen by a special panel of RTÉ journalists and editorial staff, but was selected by a public vote from a pre-determined shortlist in 2016. The first Irish sports award ceremony took place in 1985, and was closely modelled on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

Four people have won the award multiple times: athlete Sonia O'Sullivan won the award five times, including a record three successive awards, and golfer Pádraig Harrington and boxer Katie Taylor, with three wins, and golfer Rory McIlroy, who won it twice. The oldest recipient of the award is Christy O'Connor Jnr, who won in 1989 aged 41. Rory McIlroy, who first won in 2011, aged 22, is the youngest winner. Ten sporting disciplines have been represented; golf has the highest representation, with eight recipients.

Eamonn Darcy, Ronan Rafferty and Des Smyth, who won the Alfred Dunhill Cup in 1988, are the only non-individual winners of the award. Counting them separately, there have been thirty-one winners of the award (from 1985 to 2021). Five of these have been Northern Irish. The most recent award was made in 2022 to Katie Taylor.

Winners

RTÉ Sports Person of the Year Award winners
Year Nat. Winner Sport Sporting synopsis Ref.
1985 IRL Barry McGuigan Boxing Defeated Eusebio Pedroza to become World Boxing Association featherweight champion.
1986 IRL Seán Kelly Cycling He finished on a podium in a grand tour for the first time when he finished third in the 1986 Vuelta a España.
1987 IRL Stephen Roche Cycling Winner of the 1987 Tour de France, 1987 Giro d'Italia and 1987 World Cycling Championships.
1988 IRL
NIR
IRL 		Eamonn Darcy
Ronan Rafferty
Des Smyth 		Golf For winning the 1988 Dunhill Cup.
1989 IRL Christy O'Connor Jnr Golf For a stunning 2 iron shot on the last hole at the Belfry which he left just 4 feet from the hole during the successful 1989 Ryder Cup.
1990 IRL Packie Bonner Soccer For his famous penalty save from Daniel Timofte of Romania at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
1991 IRL Ralph Keyes Rugby union Overall top scorer with 68 points at the 1991 Rugby World Cup.
1992 IRL Michael Carruth Boxing Gold medallist in the welterweight section at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
1993 IRL Sonia O'Sullivan Athletics Silver medallist in the 1500m at the World Championships.
1994 IRL Sonia O'Sullivan Athletics Gold medallist in the 3000m at the European Championships.
1995 IRL Sonia O'Sullivan Athletics Gold medallist in the 5000m at the World Championships.
1996 IRL Michelle Smith Swimming Triple Olympic gold medallist for the 400m individual medley, 400m freestyle and 200m individual medley, and bronze medallist for the 200m butterfly event.
1997 IRL Ken Doherty Snooker Winner of the 1997 World Snooker Championship.
1998 IRL Sonia O'Sullivan Athletics Double gold medallist at the World Cross-Country Championships and double gold medallist at the European Championships.
1999 IRL Roy Keane Soccer Captain of the Manchester United team that completed a treble of English Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League successes.
2000 IRL Sonia O'Sullivan Athletics Olympic silver medallist in the women's 5000m at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
2001 IRL Mick McCarthy Soccer Secured qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup for the Republic of Ireland national soccer team.
2002 IRL Pádraig Harrington Golf Member of the European team that won the 2002 Ryder Cup.
2003 IRL Barry Geraghty Horse racing Winner of the Aintree Grand National on Monty's Pass.
2004 IRL Ronan O'Gara Rugby union Member of the Ireland team that won the Triple Crown in the 2004 Six Nations Championship.
2005 IRL Seán Óg Ó hAilpín Hurling All-Ireland- winning captain with Cork and winner of a third All-Ireland medal.
2006 IRL Henry Shefflin Hurling Won his fourth All-Ireland medal with Kilkenny as well as being named Hurler of the Year for a second time.
2007 IRL Pádraig Harrington Golf Became the first Irishman in over sixty years to win the Open Championship.
2008 IRL Pádraig Harrington Golf Retained his Open Championship, thus becoming the first European to win back to back major championships.
2009 IRL Brian O'Driscoll Rugby union Grand Slam-winning captain and member of the Leinster team that won the 2008–09 Heineken Cup
2010 NIR Graeme McDowell Golf Winner of the 2010 US Open and member of the European team that won the 2010 Ryder Cup.
2011 NIR Rory McIlroy Golf Winner of the 2011 US Open.
2012 IRL Katie Taylor Boxing Olympic gold medallist in the women's lightweight section at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
2013 NIR Tony McCoy Horse racing 18-times champion jockey who created history in November when he rode his 4,000th winner over jumps.
2014 NIR Rory McIlroy Golf Won the 2014 Open Championship and 2014 PGA Championship, became the first European to win three different majors, and was a member of the European team that won the 2014 Ryder Cup.
2015 IRL Michael Conlan Boxing Won the gold medal in the bantamweight division at the 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships.
2016 IRL Conor McGregor Mixed martial arts Became the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously.
2017 IRL James McClean Soccer Scored one of Ireland's most famous goals when he netted to secure a 1-0 win away to Wales, which secured a 2018 FIFA World Cup playoff spot.
2018 IRL Johnny Sexton Rugby union Won a Six Nations Grand Slam with Ireland, a Pro14-Champions Cup double with Leinster and was named World Rugby Player of the Year.
2019 IRL Shane Lowry Golf Winner of the 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club.
2020 IRL Katie Taylor Boxing Successfully defended her undisputed lightweight belts after defeating Delfine Persoon and Miriam Gutiérrez.
2021 IRL Rachael Blackmore Horse racing The first woman to win the Grand National and the first to claim the leading rider title at the Cheltenham Festival.
2022 IRL Katie Taylor Boxing Successfully defended her undisputed lightweight belts after defeating Amanda Serrano in a historic fight at Madison Square Garden, and also beating Karen Carabajal.
2023 NIR Rhys McClenaghan Gymnastics McClenaghan won a second European title and retained the world title in the 2023 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

By number of wins

This table lists those who have won more than once (ordered by the most wins, with the earliest win acting as a tie-breaker).

Accurate up-to and including the 2022 award.

Multiple winners
Winner Number of wins
Sonia O'Sullivan 5
Pádraig Harrington 3
Katie Taylor 3
Rory McIlroy 2

By sport

This table lists the total number of awards won by the winner's sport (ordered by number of wins, with the earliest win acting as a tie-breaker). The 3 winners in 1988 (all golfers) are counted separately.

Accurate up-to and including the 2023 award.

Winners by sport
Sport Number of wins
Golf 11
Boxing 6
Athletics 5
Soccer 4
Rugby union 4
Horse racing 3
Cycling 2
Hurling 2
Swimming 1
Snooker 1
Mixed martial arts 1
Gymnastics 1
Total 41

By nationality

This table lists the total number of awards won by each nationality. The 3 winners in 1988 (two from the Republic of Ireland, and one from Northern Ireland) are counted separately.

Accurate up-to and including the 2023 award.

Winners by nationality
Nationality Number of wins
IRL 35
NIR 6
Total 41

By gender

This table lists the total number of awards won by the winner's gender. There have not yet been any mixed-gender winners (unlike figure-skating couple Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in the British equivalent). The 3 (male) winners in 1988 are counted separately.

Accurate up-to and including the 2023 award.

Winners by gender
Gender Number of wins
Male 31
Female 10
Mixed 0
Total 41

By disability

So far (as of the 2022 awards) all winners have been able-bodied athletes, but para athletes among the nominees have included Jason Smyth (para athletics) in 2012 to 2014, 2017 to 2019, and 2021, and Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal (para cycling) in 2016 and 2017.

2010s winners and nominees

The winner is in bold.

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020s winners and nominees

The winner is in bold.

2020

2021

2022

2023