Ceire Smith chosen as Anglo-Celt Overall Sports Star of the Year

Boxer Ceire Smith was crowned the Anglo-Celt’s Overall Sports Star of the Year for 2019 at the annual awards bash in the Cavan Crystal Hotel last night, which was sponsored by the Cavan Crystal and new partners Quinn Building Products.
The Ballyhaise southpaw, sporting a cast on her right hand from an injury picked up at a recent international training camp, spoke of her dream of making the Olympic Games in Tokyo and described her intense training regime.
Ceire also paid tribute to her mentor, long-time Cavan BC head coach Brian McKeown.
“We have some fantastic athletes in the room and it’s just an honour to lift this trophy tonight, even with my bad hand,” she smiled. 
“Thank you very much to my family and friends and especially to Brian McKeown. He’s been in my corner since I was 14 and I wouldn’t be representing my club, my county or Ireland if it wasn’t for him… Whether it’s inside in the heat or outside in the rain, Brian is always there helping me, timing my runs and telling me to go faster.
“I am training twice a day with the High Performance Unit, then I train twice on a Saturday and my rest day is a recovery run down at Breffni Park. And I work part-time in Sports Direct as well.
“I did my undergrad in DCU and please God I will be starting my Masters in physio down in UCC in September. I deferred that for a year, but it’s a big year, it’s make or break.”
While she will now miss the Olympic qualifiers in London in two weeks’ time, Smith is confident she will be back in action for the final qualifier next month in Paris.
“Maybe I am a glutton for punishment. When you put on the Irish vest and you’re so close to the top and always right there… I lost on a split decision to the world number one and that was just after coming back from huge injuries. It isd possible. This is just another small setback.
“I know I’ll come back, it could be worse. It could be my left hand!” she joked.
Ceire follows in the footsteps of previous winners including Paul Brady, Leona Maguire, Killian Heery, Leanne Kiernan and the late Craig Lynch.
Also honoured on the night with the prestigious Young Sports Star of the Year award was Virginia soccer player Sean McEvoy, an Irish U17 international. The Readers’ Choice award went to the brilliant Casey Mulvey, with Denn camogie winning Team of the Year, Kingscourt Handball Club picking up the Club of the Year and rugby international Amanda McQuade winning the Outstanding Achievement category.
PRO of the Year went to Cavan LGFA’s Aideen Coyle and most popular winners of the Hall of Fame gong were Cavan football greats Tom Lynch, Ray Carolan and Gabriel Kelly.
The event was attended by almost 300 sportspeople and their friends and familes.

See this week’s print edition for full coverage.