Another accolade for 2010 All Ireland winning manager Liam Sheedy

Former Tipp and 2010 All Ireland Final winning manager Liam Sheedy has another trophy in his collection. The last man to mastermind an All Ireland winning game plan against Kilkenny is amongst the recipients at the National Awards to Volunteers in Irish Sport. The former blue and gold boss was the recipient of the Special Recognition award for his work with his local club Portroe.

The awards celebrates the contribution of those who volunteer across all of Irish sport. In making the presentations Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring, TD acknowledged the contribution made by volunteers saying that without their incredible efforts sport as we know it in Ireland today would not exist.

The National Awards are a collaboration between the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Irish Sports Council and the Federation of Irish Sport which represents over 70 sports in Ireland. This scheme is also supported by the Community Foundation of Ireland.

The award winners were selected by a committee chaired by Olympic gold medal winner, Ronnie Delany. Also on the committee were representatives from the Federation of Irish Sport, the Irish Sports Council, the Irish Times, RTE and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

Speaking at the presentation of the awards Minister Ring said he was delighted to see the breadth of this year’s awards which took in ten sports. He said the honours were all well-deserved for they demonstrated once again just how important volunteerism is in Irish sport as we know it today. He said that despite the professionalism that has come into sport at all levels, volunteers still have a huge role to play.