My New Year Honours... Cork folk who left a mark on 2024
The Rebel County has had a year to remember, one in which our people left their mark on all areas of society, from sport to music, politics to television.
Here is my own New Year Honours list, after a 2024 to remember on Leeside.
Ireland, and of course Cork, has oodles of sporting greats, but the West Cork rowers stood out from a crowded field this year because of their compelling and über-upbeat personalities.
How can such a masochistic sport leave two people looking so happy?!
Serial gold medal winner O’Donovan was a deserved winner of the RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year award this month because of this blend of winning mentality, shrug-of-the-shoulders modesty, and a penchant for banger one-liners.
You would expect a doctor who spends hours every day forcing his body to make crazy exertions to come across as a serious and disciplined chap. Not our Paul, who is always ready with a quip and a neat line in self-deprecation. Pure Cork, boy!
A word here too for Ronan O’Gara, who coached his French club La Rochelle to another Champions Cup final win over the Dubs from Leinster.
Some neutrals wondered who to support in the final... not us down in Cork. Dowtcha, Ronan!
Here in Cork, we like our superstars to have no airs, graces and notions, and Cillian lived up to that billing as he nonchalantly collected a deserved Oscar this year - all while giving off the vibe of someone who would much rather be having a walk down the Marina and talking GAA than mixing with the stars in LA.
Normally, an Academy Award would propel the winner into the Hollywood A-list category for a time, but Murphy typically shunned the limelight and reunited with his old Disco Pigs co-star Eileen Walsh to produce and star in a delightful Irish film, Small Things Like These.
Next up in 2025... Murphy in the Peaky Blinders movie.
Mark my words, we will all be agog when the Irish version of hit show The Traitors debuts on our screens after it is recorded in the spring - and every celeb in the country wanted the gig of presenting it.
We’ve just been told that the job has gone to Ovens actress Siobhán McSweeney (left) - and no better woman than the Derry Girls actor and Great Pottery Throw Down presenter.
The Traitors role demands a little bit of bonhomie, a dash of grandstanding and over-acting, a twist of devilment, and a soupcon of sympathy. Siobhán will nail all that for sure.
A mention in this category too for our own Roy Keane, who continues to be forthright and opinionated in a sporting and TV world where being both can swiftly get you cancelled.
Keano remains box office, and I have to put forward a thesis that I played a small part in his career in punditry!
Way back at Christmas 2005, Keane’s career was at a crossroads as he had just left Manchester United and joined Celtic, and I wrote on this very page that he should look into the option of being a TV pundit.
“Think about it,” I wrote. “A man who says exactly what he thinks sitting on a TV football panel...
“The fact is, Keano would be brilliant in the job — the man is pure box office gold, alluring for the ladies, compelling for the men. We could rely on him to cut through all that ‘over the moon’ bull.
“The Keane for pundit campaign starts here. How about it, Roy?”
Someone in Mayfield must have read those lines and sent on the tip!
What a wily fox Micheál Martin has turned out to be - and in 2024 the Corkman was the undisputed Irish Politician of the Year.
Just two months ago, Simon Harris was nailed on for this award. After taking over as Taoiseach from Leo Varadkar, he had overseen a Harris ‘Hop’ in the polls and his energy and vitality were lauded across the political spectrum and reflected on the polls.
I never really got why he was so popular, but a disastrous election campaign for Fine Gael, during which Harris flounced away from Kanturk disability worker Charlotte Fallon, saw Martin pounce from the long grass and lead his Fianna Fáil to a clear victory at the polls.
The moral of the story: Never write off a Corkman, and don’t dare snub a Rebel lady when she is in full flow!
I must confess I had never heard of Bambie Thug in January when I broke the story that the Macroom singer was among the acts vying to represent Ireland at Eurovision in The Late Late Show.
When I chatted to Bambie, they were full of energy and hope, and told me we “should send someone that shakes up the contest ”.
The headline on my column declared ‘Send this Rebel to Eurovision!’ ... and send them we did.
Bambie did indeed qualify and went on to shake up the contest in Sweden with the song Doomsday Blue, coming sixth - our highest place in 24 years.
Only the second act from Cork to perform at Eurovision, Bambie has reinvigorated Ireland in the contest after years of mediocrity from acts that were Not-Cork.
Let’s hope RTÉ take note as they select the 2025 Eurovision representative in the coming weeks. Maybe Bambie deserves a second shot?
A mention here to for Kabin Crew, whose summer rap hit The Spark amassed more than two billion views on social media, and has been long listed for the 2025 Grammy Awards.
Here’s to another great year for Cork people in 2025 - I hope all of you reading this have a good one.
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