Hi folks, Cillian here again, bringing you the final Cill’s Cuig of 2025. Thanks for all the support this year! I have something a bit different for you today. I’ll be going through the top five sporting moments of the year in no particular order. I’ll try to keep the bias and the Athy mentions to a minimum, but no promises.
- Ava Crean becomes Female Dublin Marathon champion
Back in October, Mungret’s Ava Crean ran a personal best of 2:34:11 at the Dublin Marathon to become the youngest ever Female Dublin Marathon Champion.
Just 19 years of age, Crean finished sixth overall out of 22,500 entrants. It is a phenomenal achievement considering her running journey only began during COVID-19, and ran her first marathon back in May.
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Crean struggled to run 500 metres without stopping during Covid. To go from that to even running a marathon, never mind winning it, is a truly insane achievement.
It will be exciting to see what Ava achieves with the Back2Boston run club (and hopefully Ireland!) into 2026 and beyond!
- Troy Parrott’s week from heaven
The November international break looked like it would be a bleak affair for the Republic of Ireland team. Although Ireland’s World Cup fate was in their hands, anything less than four points against Portugal and Hungary would have signalled the end of the campaign, and possibly Heimir Hallgrimsson’s reign as manager.
With an injury to Evan Ferguson, Ireland’s top scorer in the campaign to that point, it was hard to see where the goals would come from. An already mammoth mountain looked all the more steep when the Roma striker was ruled out.
Up stepped AZ Alkmaar striker Troy Parrott to send the country into hype overdrive. A brace against the might of Portugal at the Aviva was followed by a heroic hattrick in Hungary to seal Ireland’s passage to the playoff round in March.
What can I say about Parrott. In four days, he doubled his international goal tally and booked Ireland’s ticket to Prague.
- A monumental year for Tadhg Beirne
All in all, it was a disappointing 2025 for the Ireland rugby team, as they relinquished their recent Six Nations dominance. One standout was the performances of Munster’s Tadhg Beirne, who was named British & Irish Lions player of the Series.
Tadhg Beirne named player of the Lions series.
Class is permanent.
Pic by @INPHOjames. pic.twitter.com/7vdCtBruua
— Murray Kinsella (@Murray_Kinsella) August 2, 2025
They awarded the Tom Richards Medal to the Kildare native for his stellar performances in the Test series in Australia. He scored a try in the second test to help Andy Farrell’s team to a 2-1 win Down Under.
While his heroics in the red of the Lions were the undoubted highlight, his play with Ireland and Munster also warranted the 33-year-old being named the Guinness Sports Writers Player of the Year.
- Mungret St Paul’s collect first County title
November was a huge month for sport, particularly around Limerick, and it saw Mungret St Paul’s collect their first ever senior men’s county title.
They entered the final as underdogs against a heavily fancied Newcastle West but emerged as deserved four-point victors in Rathkeale.
HIGHLIGHTS: @mungretgaa were crowned the Limerick Senior Football Champions following a win over @NCWGAA in the final on Sunday afternoon.
Coverage in association with @sports_cobi
Official timing sponsor @LimMotorCentre @LimerickCLG | @SportingLK pic.twitter.com/oYNaGrE44D
— StreamSport.ie (@StreamsportI) November 9, 2025
Mungret caused an upset to even get to the final, defeating last year’s winners Adare in the semi-final thanks to a 63rd minute winner from Shane Barry.
Barry scored a point in the final, but it was four points from the boot of John Hutton that made all the difference, giving his team their first ever title.
- Athy’s run to the Leinster Final
Come on, this is my segment, I can write about whatever I want.
Athy’s road to a first-ever appearance at Croke Park was my personal favourite moment of the year. It was a road filled with many acts of heroism, that made our big day out in Croke Park possible.
Padraic Spillane’s epic block against Sarsfields, Barry Kelly’s man-of-the-match performance to stop Naas’ drive for five, Conor Doyle pulling balls from the clouds in Aughrim, and Niall Kelly’s kicking exhibition against Portarlingon. These days will live long in the memory in our town.
🌟AVIVA Game of the week🌟
🔴⚪ @ATHYGFC 1-17
🔵⚪ @NaasGAA 0-18A historic day for Athy as they stop Philly McMahon’s Naas from their drive for 5🙌👏 Huge performances from Barry Kelly and Kevin Feely drove the underdogs onto victory🔥
📺https://t.co/QU7uPhpQ4u | #ClubberTV pic.twitter.com/zqFSqxXUri
— Clubber (@clubber) October 22, 2025
It wasn’t to be for us in Croke Park, as a strong Ballyboden side won the Leinster final. However, I hope all those boys are proud of what they’ve achieved, because everyone else in the town is immensely proud.
It may not yet be Naas’ drive for five, but rest assured myself, Luke Bracken, and Bill Blackburn will be the first three in the stand as Athy chase for a brace.
Thanks again folks for tuning in this year. Whether you’re a first-time reader, or a Cuig Connoisseur, it’s nonetheless appreciated. Have a great Christmas, and I’ll be back with more boomy pieces in 2026!
CH