William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year

The William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year was an annual Irish literary award sponsored by bookmakers William Hill. Established in 2006, it was related to the International William Hill Sports Book of the Year (est. 1989). The award sought to honour sports books produced in Ireland.[1] The award lost its sponsorship after 2011 and has been discontinued.[2]

William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year
Sponsored byWilliam Hill plc
CountryIreland
Hosted byWilliamhill.com
First awarded2006
Last awarded2011
WebsiteWebsite

History

The inaugural winner of the William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year in 2006 was Irish footballer Paul McGrath whose autobiography Back from the Brink described his football career and his battle with alcoholism.[3] The following year, Irish rugby union player Trevor Brennan won the award with Heart and Soul, in which Brennan is described as an "anti-hero".[4] The 2008 award was presented to Formula One driver Tommy Byrne for Crashed and Byrned, a biography including his brief five-race career with the now-defunct Hong Kong Theodore team.[5]

Hurler Donal Óg Cusack, the first openly gay elite Irish sportsman,[6] was the 2009 recipient of the William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year with his autobiography Come What May.[7] Writing about the 2009 season of hurling club side St. Joseph's Doora-Barefield, Christy O'Connor won the 2010 award for The Club.[8]

Winning the 2011 Irish Sports Book of the Year award with his biography of tetraplegic former rugby union player Matt Hampson,[9] Paul Kimmage was the first author to win both the Irish and International awards (1990).[10]

List of winners

References
  1. "About Us". Irish Sports Book of the Year. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  2. Kieran Shannon (18 December 2012). "Awards miss point when book is only judged by its cover". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  3. Viner, Brian (19 January 2007). "Paul McGrath: 'I don't know if I've had my last drink'". The Independent. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  4. "The travesty of Toulouse". The Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. 13 October 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  5. Redfern, Simon (14 September 2008). "Crashed and Byrned, by Tommy Byrne with Mark Hughes". The Independent. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  6. "GAA star Donal Og Cusack: Teammates helped me through ordeal of revealing I am gay". The Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. 20 October 2009. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  7. Humphries, Tom (15 November 2009). "Donal Óg Cusack: 'There was no torment or agonising'". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  8. Gallagher, Paul (2 December 2010). "'The Club' wins Irish sports book of year". The Irish Times. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  9. Grice, Elizabeth (10 August 2011). "Matt Hampson: 'I will be a better person for this'". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  10. Staff writer (12 August 2011). "'Engage' takes top Irish sports book award for Hampson and Kimmage". The Score. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  11. Staff writer (6 November 2008). "Sports stars longlisted for Irish award". The Bookseller. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  12. Staff writer (14 December 2008). "Crashed and Byrned is the William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year for 2008". PR.com. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
  13. Staff writer (3 December 2009). "Cusack wins Book of the Year accolade". RTÉ News. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Archived from the original on 6 December 2009.
  14. Paul Gallagher (2 December 2010). "'The Club' wins Irish sports book of year". Irish Times. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
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