BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year
Award
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year is an annual sports award organised by BBC Northern Ireland. It was first awarded in 2003, and has been awarded annually ever since, with the exception of 2016.
CountryNorthern Ireland
Presented byBBC Northern Ireland
First award2003
Currently held byRory McIlroy (2025)
| BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year | |
|---|---|
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Presented by | BBC Northern Ireland |
| First award | 2003 |
| Currently held by | Rory McIlroy (2025) |
| Related | BBC Sports Personality of the Year |
The award is conspicuously awarded to athletes whether they represent all of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Northern Ireland or even the Republic of Ireland or Europe (e.g. in golf), so long as they are from Northern Ireland. As of 2025, Rory McIlroy holds the record for most titles, with four. Golf, with five awardees, is the most successful sport at the awards.
Winners
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| Year | Winner | Sport | Rationale | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Peter Canavan | Gaelic football | Won the 2003 All-Ireland with Tyrone. | [1] |
| 2004 | Margaret Johnston | Lawn bowls | Won a third outdoor World Bowls Championship singles. | [2] |
| 2005 | David Healy | Association football | Scored the only goal in iconic 1-0 victory over England at Windsor Park. | [3] |
| 2006 | Darren Clarke | Golf | Key role in winning 2006 Ryder Cup with Europe while grieving loss of his wife, Heather. | [4] |
| 2007 | David Healy | Association football | Scored a hat-trick against Spain in Euro 2008 qualification. Ended as top scorer with 13 goals. | [3] |
| 2008 | Sean Cavanagh | Gaelic football | Man of the match in 2008 All-Ireland final, winning a third title with Tyrone. | [5] |
| 2009 | Jason Smyth | Athletics | Became first legally blind athlete to qualify for able-bodied European Athletics Championships. | [6] |
| 2010 | Graeme McDowell | Golf | Won the 2010 U.S. Open | [7] |
| 2011 | Rory McIlroy | Golf | Won the 2011 U.S. Open | [8] |
| 2012 | Rory McIlroy | Golf | Won the 2012 USPGA and 2012 Ryder Cup. | [9] |
| 2013 | Martyn Irvine | Cycling | Won the scratch race at the 2013 UCI World Track Championships to become Ireland and Northern Ireland's first track World Champion. | [10] |
| 2014 | Rory McIlroy | Golf | Won the 2014 Open and USPGA, won both PGA Tour and European Tour. | [11] |
| 2015 | Michael Conlan | Boxing | Won both the World and European Amateur Boxing Championships at bantamweight. | [12] |
| 2017 | Jonathan Rea | Motorcycle racing | 3rd Superbike World Championship | [13] |
| 2018 | Jacob Stockdale | Rugby union | Awarded Player of the 2018 Six Nations Championship, scoring a record seven tries as Ireland won Grand Slam. | [14] |
| 2019 | Jonathan Rea | Motorcycle racing | 5th Superbike World Championship | [15] |
| 2020 | Jonathan Rea | Motorcycle racing | 6th Superbike World Championship | [16] |
| 2021 | Rachel Furness | Association football | [17] | |
| 2022 | Rhys McClenaghan | Artistic gymnastics | Became World Artistic Gymnastics champion on pommel horse. Ireland's first world champion in the sport. | [18] |
| 2023 | Ciara Mageean | Athletics | Broke the ParkRun 5k world record, and placed 4th in the World Athletics Championships. | [19] |
| 2024 | Daniel Wiffen | Swimming | Became Olympic and double World champion in the pool, and Northern Ireland's first individual Olympic gold medalist for almost 40 years. | [20] |
| 2025 | Rory McIlroy | Golf | Won the 2025 Masters becoming the sixth player to win the career Grand Slam of all four men's golf majors. | [21] |
