RTÉ Sports Manager of the Year Award
Irish sports award
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The RTÉ Sports Manager of the Year Award is an award given annually as part of the RTÉ Sports Awards ceremony each December. The award is given to the manager who was considered to have made the most substantive contribution to Irish sport in that year. The award is decided by RTÉ Sport department editorial staff.
| RTÉ Sports Manager of the Year Award | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Most substantive contribution to Irish sport |
| Country | Ireland |
| Presented by | RTÉ Sport |
| First award | 2011 |
| Most recent winner | Willie Mullins (2024; horse racing) |
| Website | Official website |
The award was introduced in 2011 in recognition of the huge effort made behind the scenes and on the sidelines.[1] The first recipient of the award was association football manager Giovanni Trapattoni. The award has been presented to people representing a wide range of sports. The most recent award was presented in 2023 to Willie Mullins.
Winners
By year
| Year | Nationality | Winner | Sport | Manager of | Rationale | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 |  ITA |
Giovanni Trapattoni | Football |  Republic of Ireland men's national football team |
for guiding the Republic of Ireland to Euro 2012 qualification, the team's first appearance at a major tournament in ten years. | [2] |
| 2012 | IRL |
Billy Walsh | Boxing | Olympic team |
for guiding the Irish Olympic boxing team to four medals in total in London, including one gold. | [3] |
| 2013 | IRL |
Davy Fitzgerald | Hurling |  Clare senior hurling team |
for guiding the Clare senior hurling team to the All-Ireland title for the first time since 1997. | [4] |
| 2014 |  NZL |
Joe Schmidt | Rugby union | Ireland men's national rugby union team |
for guiding Ireland to RBS Six Nations glory and ending the year with a highest ever ranking of third in the world. | [5] |
| 2015 |  NIR |
Michael O'Neill | Football | Northern Ireland men's national football team |
for guiding Northern Ireland to win their group and qualify for Euro 2016. | [6] |
| 2016 | IRL |
Stephen Kenny | Football | Dundalk F.C. |
for guiding his team to a third successive League of Ireland Premier Division and achieving a first-ever victory for an Irish side in the group stage of European football. | [7] |
| 2017 | IRL |
Aidan O'Brien | Horse racing | Ballydoyle |
for setting a new world record by training 26 Group 1 winners in one calendar year. | [8] |
| 2018 | IRL |
Graham Shaw | Field hockey | Ireland women's national hockey team |
for guiding his team to a runners-up spot at the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup. | [9] |
| 2019 | IRL |
Jim Gavin | Gaelic football | Dublin men's gaelic football team |
record-breaking five successive All-Ireland Championships. | [10] |
| 2020 | IRL |
John Kiely | Hurling | Limerick Hurling Team |
for winning the 2020 Munster Senior Hurling Championship, the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and the 2020 National Hurling League. | [11] |
| 2021 | IRE |
Dominic Casey | Rowing | Rowing Ireland |
for coaching Ireland’s first ever Olympic gold medallists in rowing. | [12] |
| 2022 |  NED |
Vera Pauw | Football | Republic of Ireland women's national football team |
for guiding the Republic of Ireland to the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, which was the team's first appearance at a major tournament. | [13] |
| 2023 |  ENG |
Andy Farrell | Rugby Union | Ireland men's national rugby union team |
for guiding Ireland to a Six Nations title and Grand Slam. | [14] |
| 2024 | IRE |
Willie Mullins | Horse Racing | Carlow |
for training the Grand National winner and 9 winners at the Cheltenham Gold Cup. | |
| 2025 | IRL |
Stephen Bradley | Football | Shamrock Rovers F.C. |
for guiding his team to a first League of Ireland Premier Division and FAI Cup double since 1987 as well as qualifying for the UEFA Conference League league phase for the second time. | [15][16] |
Gallery
Giovanni Trapattoni, the inaugural winner in 2011
Joe Schmidt, winner in 2014
Michael O'Neill, winner in 2015
Stephen Kenny, winner in 2016
Aidan O'Brien, winner in 2017
By nationality
This table lists the total number of awards won by managers of each nationality based on the principle of jus soli.
| Nationality | Number of wins |
|---|---|
| Ireland |
10 |
| England |
1 |
| Italy |
1 |
| Netherlands |
1 |
| New Zealand |
1 |
| Northern Ireland |
1 |
By sport
This table lists the total number of awards won by managers' sporting profession.
| Sporting profession | Number of wins |
|---|---|
| Football | 5 |
| Hurling | 2 |
| Rugby union | 2 |
| Horse racing | 2 |
| Boxing | 1 |
| Gaelic football | 1 |
| Field hockey | 1 |
| Rowing | 1 |