The Annual DkIT Sports and Societies Awards for 2009/2010 took place in the Park Hotel Dundalk on Thursday 25th March 2010, with Broadcaster, Adventurer, Lecturer, Motivational consultant & World Record holder Ian McKeever, being the main guest speaker. The event which was organised by DkIT Sports and Societies Office, and sponsored by AIB and Sevens Coaches, saw over 250 guests attend the Black Tie event, which acknowledged and recognised students, staff and individuals for their involvement and contribution to student-based sports and societies in DkIT.
DkIT Sports and Societies Officer, Diarmuid Cahill was the host for the evening and he opened the evenings proceedings by welcoming everyone. He spoke about enthusiasm, commitment and sheer hard work by all DkIT’s Sports and Societies committee members over the past year and that the night was about acknowledging their hard work. He stated that enthusiasm is often neglected as a force. Yet without it there would be few achievements. He then went on to welcome DkIT’s Table Tennis Club – winners for the third year in a row of the Intermediate All Ireland Championships, DkIT Student Paul Fitzpatrick – Irish Universities Indoor 2km Champion, DkIT Women’s Senior Fencing Team – winners of the Sabre Varsity Championships and DkIT Senior Hurling Team – winners of All Ireland League title and Championship runners up.
DkIT President Mr Denis Cummins then said a few words and thanked all in attendance for being involved in student activities in DkIT and for the buzz they created around campus. Fr Emlyn was then called upon for grace.
After the meal had finished there was a short video presentation by the DkIT Fit 4 Life Society and DkIT Media Society on the Sober and Crazy Project they had been running during the second semester where four students Sean Doherty, Killian Farrelly, Niamh Kelly and Sarah McManus went alcohol free for a period of over four weeks (including Rag week and St Patrick’s Day), where they had to take part in various fitness regimes and fitness tests, where they had to be breathalysed every morning and where they were followed by a TV crew throughout the four weeks.
Mrs Linda Murphy, DkIT Academic Administration and Student Affairs Manager then carried out presentations of framed photos to the various All Ireland winning teams. The next speaker was Ian McKeever – the main speaker for the evening.
Diarmuid introduced Ian as “someone who led by example, and among his many achievements he holds the world record for the 5 peaks of Britain & Ireland set in 2004, he created the world’s largest mural, made up of 1.6 million coins – all to mark the Euro changeover in 2001. In 2005 he staged the world’s longest unbroken DJ performance, lasting 78 hours in Dublin and in 2007 he also set a new world record when he climbed each of the highest mountains on the seven continents in a record time of 155 days, and that in 2009, despite never having rowed before in his life, he attempted to break the oldest record at sea by trying to row across the North Atlantic in less than 55 days. A record that was set in 1896 by two Norwegians.
Ian’s speech was both enthralling and riveting as he spoke about how he carried out the 'Seven Summits Challenge' in a new world record time of 155 days which was compounded by the remarkable fact that he had never been to altitude prior to the challenge and survived coming off Mount Everest completely blind for five days! How he had to contend with snow blindness on the descent of Mount Everest, being robbed in Moscow, suffering frostbite on Mount Elberus and narrowly avoiding tribal warfare in the jungles of Indonesia. How his tremendous resilience and determination knocked an incredible 32 days off the existing record of Daniel Griffiths, which had stood previously at 187 days. Ian then went on to talk about how he guided his 10 year old godson Sean to the highest point in Africa in 2008 and how this led to him writing a book called Give me Heroes which celebrates the lives and touching stories of 15 very humble, very ordinary, yet very different Irish heroes.
After Ian had spoken the various awards were presented to recognise and award the achievement of certain individuals and clubs.
SOCIETY AWARDS WINNERS
• Best Media Production by a Society: Chinese Student Society
• Best Event: Fit 4 Life Society – Sober and Crazy
• Best New or Improved Society: DJ Society
• Best Overall Society: Media Society
• Best Individual within a Society: Ros Madigan (Media Society) and Fidelma Carroll (Mature Student Society)
SPORTS AWARDS WINNERS
• Best Administrator within a Sports Club: Blaine Healy (Men’s Rugby)
• Best New Sports Club: Surf Club
• Most Improved Sports Club: GAA Club
• Coach of the Year: Shane D’Arcy (Hurling)
• Sports Club of the Year: Kenpo Club
• Sportsperson of the Year: Marie Greenan (Camogie Club)
On the night some small individual awards were also presented by to individuals for running of the clubs and achievement within that club.
Individual Activity Awards Winners 2009/2010
Archery Club Guo Xingsheng
Christian Union Society Amie Boyd
DJ Society Keith Brady
DJ Society Chris McGrath
Equestrian Club Rebecca Brennan
Fencing Club Emma Foy
Fencing Club Brian Nordon
Fit 4 Life Society Sandra Gaffney
Fit 4 Life Society Amy Fitzpatrick
Fresher's Gaelic Football Damien Wheelan
GAA Club Marie Greenan
GAA Club Ronan Lynch
GAA Club Sean Doherty
Hip Hop Society Gabriela Marsella
Irish Dancing Society Shi Hui
Irish Dancing Society Di Zhu
Irish Dancing Society Ying Zha
Irish Dancing Society Santhosh Wilson
Kenpo Karate Club Patrick Phillips
Kenpo Karate Club Diarmuid Moloney
Ladies Gaelic Football Siobhan Jordan
Ladies Rugby Club Keri Doyle
Mature Students Society Fidelma Carroll
Mature Students Society Andrew Mc Keon
Media Society Ros Madigan
Media Society Iarla O Neill
Men's Gaelic Football Cathal Kearney
Men's Gaelic Football & Fit 4 Life Society Daniel Luby
Men's Rugby Club Blaine Healy
Men's Soccer Club Johnny McGailey
Photography Society Tim Wang
Pool Club Fearghal Cotter
Pool Club Shane Smith
Salsa Society Luke Bermingham
Surf Club Peter Carroll
Society of Young Surveyors Helen Hughes
Table Tennis Club Nagendra KC
Traditional Music Society Niamh Quigley
Volleyball Club Sunil Kumar
Nagandra KC (Captain), Marc Lambert, Darren Mc Mahon and Oliver Adamson (Coach)
Irish Universities Indoor 2km Champion 2010Paul Fitzpatrick
Women’s Fencing Team 2010 - Women’s Sabre Varsity ChampionsEmma Foy (Captain), Carrie McEneaney, Alex Lolies, Gillian McGrath and Marcos Simpson (Coach)
2010 Div 3 Hurling League Winners & Fergal Maher Cup Runners UpMichael Walsh (Captain), Philip Mc Govern, Cian Dunne, Peter Durnin, Darren O’Hanrahan, John Shiels, Daithi Watters, Noel Kirby, James Connolly, Eoin Marsh, Derek Horan, Padraig Kelly, Padraig Keogh, John Lawlor, Edward Kirby, Sean Doherty, David Deane, Johnny Brady, Darren Brennan, John Kelleher, Adrian Wallace, Danny Maguire, Mark Wallace, Gavin Kerrigan, Malcolm Doyle, Kenneth Boyd, Christopher Smyth, Chris Gallagher, Michael Doherty, Vincent Walsh, Niall Cleary and Shane Darcy (Manager)
