Student Sport Ireland congratulates the 8 award-winners of this year’s Sports Awards, which were presented as the organisations annual Networking Event in the Hodson Bay Hotel.
South East Technological University Waterford student, Kate Hickey was named the SSI Sports Person of the Year 2025 in recognition of her extraordinary achievements in basketball at university, club, and international levels. As captain of the SETU Waterford Basketball team, she led them to an unbeaten season, capturing both the league and Intervarsity titles and earning MVP honours in the final. Her success extended to the SETU Waterford Wildcats, where she helped secure their first Regular Season Championship since 2001 and was named Basketball Ireland’s Player of the Month. Representing Ireland in the EuroBasket Qualifiers, Kate’s unforgettable buzzer-beater against elite opposition highlighted a remarkable year defined by leadership, excellence, and dedication.
This year’s SSI Performance athlete of the Year Award winner is Róisín Ní Rían from University of Limerick. A world-class Paralympic swimmer in the S13 category, she has had an extraordinary year—changing course in her studies while excelling in the pool. At the Paris Paralympics, she claimed a silver in the 100m backstroke, a bronze in the 200m individual medley, and placed 4th in two other events. With 6 European and 4 World Championship medals to her name—including two recent podium finishes in Barcelona—Róisín continues to inspire as an elite athlete and exceptional ambassador. Her achievements were further recognised as she was named both Young Paralympian of the Year and RTÉ Sports Young Sportsperson of the Year.
Ellen Donnelly (South East Technological University Waterford) was the recipient of the SSI Leadership/Volunteer of the Year Award 2025 for her exceptional dedication and impact within the SETU Karting Club. Through her tireless volunteer efforts, Ellen transformed the club from small numbers, while fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment. A passionate advocate for gender equality in motorsport, she helped with the organisation and was the winner of the first-ever all-female karting race, inspiring a new generation of female racers. Ellen’s leadership, commitment, and community spirit have left a lasting legacy, making her a truly deserving winner of this award.
Trinity College Dublin Women’s Basketball Team are being recognised for an outstanding season, completing a flawless 12–0 run to secure both the student league and cup titles. Blending experienced leadership with exciting new talent, the team maintained their unbeaten streak from start to finish. Their campaign culminated in a dominant 55–31 victory over long-time rivals UCD in the Varsity Finals, securing the double for a second consecutive year. This remarkable achievement highlights the strength, depth, and determination of a truly exceptional squad.
The 2024/25 season has been nothing short of transformative for the University of Limerick Swim Club. Officially affiliating with Swim Ireland for the first time, the club expanded from occasional competition to regular national-level meets, now boasting over 40 competitive swimmers and a total membership of 214. Their success in the pool includes podium finishes at the Munster Championships and an impressive Varsities performance, with eight swimmers selected for international representation. Beyond competition, UL Swim Club has championed inclusion, wellbeing, and community—introducing adaptive training, proactive mental health initiatives, and dynamic leadership development. From innovative social media campaigns to elite training camps and student-led governance, UL Swim has set a gold standard in performance, inclusion, and impact across Irish university sport, making them worthy winners of the 2025 SSI Sports Club of the Year Award.
The event of the year award was won by The University of Limerick Kayak Club, who hosted the Irish Kayaking Intervarsities, bringing together 350 competitors from 13 colleges across five events and four venues. The year-long planning effort included collaborations with Canoeing Ireland, UL Sport, and over 30 volunteers to deliver a safe, inclusive, and memorable weekend. Highlights included the introduction of a custom-built boater-X ramp, new gender balance rules, and a full-on event celebrated community and creativity. With national recognition, a fully self-funded budget, and a lasting legacy through a detailed handover guide, University of Limerick Kayaking Club delivered a fantastic sporting event.
The SSI Competitions Recognition Award was awarded to University of Galway Pool Club. One of the smaller sports in the 3rd level sporting landscape, however this team driven by student engagement and administration, potted there way around the country winning all before them. The SSI League, SSI Cup and the Pool Intervarsity were all secured making them worthy winners of this award. So dedicated these lads were to their sport, they were late back for their local sports awards as they were in Navan defeating National College of Ireland in the SSI Cup Final.
Dublin City University collected this years Student Sport Ireland Sports College of the Year Award after topping the podium in multiple sports during the 2024-25 academic year. Some of the successes during a memorable year for the North Dublin University included joy in Men’s and Ladies Football winning the Sigerson and O’Connor Cups, 3 Rugby titles were secured on one glorious afternoon in DCU Morton Stadium as they collected the Brendan Johnston Cup, the Women’s Tier 1 Cup and the Men’s Tier 3 Cup. Right down to the smaller competitions DCU were succeeding and their Karting team collected the championship and long-time student Shane Murphy was fittingly crowned the individual championship winner also.
