Rhys McClenaghan wins the 2018 RTE Young Sportsperson award
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McClenaghan is currently recovering from a shoulder injury
Commonwealth and European pommel horse gold medallist Rhys McClenaghan has won the 2018 RTE Young Sportsperson of the Year award.
The Northern Irish gymnast had a breakthrough year, stunning Olympic champion Max Whitlock to win gold at the Commonwealth Games in Australia.
He then became the first Irish gymnast to win a European Championship medal when he took gold in Glasgow in August.
The 19-year-old is currently recovering from shoulder surgery.
The injury forced McClenaghan to miss the recent World Championships in Doha, but he confirmed in November that the operation "went to plan" and said on Saturday that he expects to return to action in 10 weeks.
He also won World Cup gold in Turkey in 2018, preparing for the event by training in his back garden after coach Luke Carson was made redundant from Rathgael Gym in Bangor.
The other nominees for the Young Sportsperson of the Year accolade were Rhasidat Adeleke, David Clifford, Naimh Coyne, Sean McCarthy Crean, Lara Gillespie, Kyle Hayes, Sarah Healy, Sommer Lecky, Diana Moorhouse, Donnacha O'Brien, Nicole Turner and Dearbhla Rooney.
Hockey heroes honoured
The Irish women's hockey team were named Team of the Year following a remarkable performance in the World Cup, which saw them reach the final despite being the second lowest ranked side in the tournament.
Head coach Graham Shaw edged out Ireland rugby boss Joe Schmidt to collect the Coach of the Year award.
"This is a huge moment for our sport and for me personally,," said Shaw upon receiving the award.
"I have got a special group of people (in the team) who work and train really hard."
Sportsperson of the Year went to Leinster captain Johnny Sexton, who last month became the first Irishman since 2001 to be named as World Rugby Player of the Year.
Along with a series win in Australia and a memorable win over the All Blacks, instrumental fly-half Sexton won the Six Nations, Pro14 and the European Champions Cup in a stunning year for Irish rugby.
"You feel a bit bad accepting individual awards as a number 10," said the 33-year-old.
"You are meant to be the guy that sits in the background and tries to help control the team, it is the other guys that make you look good."