Tracy Sheehan shocked and honoured to enter Hall of Fame at Echo Women in Sport Awards

The Echo Women in Sport Hall of Fame recipient for 2025 is Tracy Sheehan.

Tracy said she was both shocked and honoured to receive the award on Thursday night.

“I thought I was just going along to enjoy the awards ceremony,” said Tracy. “I was listening to the citation being read out and, at the start, I was looking around the room and wondering who the person was.

“As it read on and a few more facts were said, it slowly started to dawn on me that it might be me.

I am honoured to be selected for this award as I know some of the previous recipients and what they have done for their chosen sport.

“I would like to thank all involved with The Echo for honouring me and I hope these awards continue for many years. It’s great to see the paper honour women involved in sport, month after month and year after year.”

Like lots of people, Tracy’s involvement with the administration side of the game began with her club, Mayfield GAA, before moving on to divisional and county level.

At just 18, Tracy got involved as an administrator as an officer for their underage section, a role she held for several years.

Her love and desire to help out continued, and it wasn’t long before Cork came calling and Tracy got involved with the juvenile camogie board, which eventually was phased out and came under the auspices of the senior board.

Cork were enjoying great success at senior and intermediate level and, on a return trip from meeting President Michael D Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin, Tracy was approached to get involved with the senior board.

Though Tracy hesitated at first, she didn’t take much convincing to come on board as secretary and continued to show why her administrative skills were in much demand.

When Tracy’s time as secretary came to an end, for a number of reasons, she decided to step away from camogie and take a break.

However, that break didn’t last long as she got an unexpected call and switched from camogie to football and hurling.

This time, it wasn’t as secretary but as assistant treasurer for a board that was undergoing a revamp at the time.

“I got a call from Tomás Martin, the treasurer of Seandún, asking me to come on board as I was no longer involved in camogie and, after some thought, I decided to take on my new role as assistant treasurer,” said Tracy

Like all her other positions, Tracy rose to the challenge and soon put her stamp on her new role, and it wasn’t long before she helped in getting the board running smoothly and making improvements year after year.

MAJOR ROLE

Last year, Seandún celebrated their 100th anniversary, and she played a major role in organising their many activities across the year to mark the occasion.

“We had a wonderful year that started with a lovely outdoor Mass in July and to have 300 people attending our dinner, with Seán Kelly as guest speaker, was a major achievement.”

For many years of her involvement as an administrator at club and county level for camogie and now as a highly respected officer of the Seandún division, Tracy was honoured with The Echo Women in Sport Hall of Fame award.