THE O’DONOVAN BROTHERS and Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny were recognised for their respective achievements in 2016 at the RTÉ Sports Awards on Saturday night.
The O’Donovan brothers were voted Team of the Year while Stephen Kenny was named Manager of the Year.
Paul and Gary O’Donovan, who beat the likes of the Dublin footballers, Connacht and the Irish rugby team to the award, won a silver medal in the lightweight double sculls at the Olympic Games, while Paul also took home a World Championship gold amid a memorable year.
“We’re young yet, we’re only starting out hopefully,” Paul commented upon receiving the award. “We’ve got a taste of success now, so we’re going to capitalise on it.”
Gary jokingly added: “It’s funny the way it has worked out because we’ve been doing regattas all our lives, it just so happened that RTÉ turned up to this regatta.”
Kenny was similarly gracious in accepting the Manager of the Year award, saying he was “humbled” to receive the accolade, while paying tribute to the efforts of his players.
The Dundalk manager, who guided his side to a third successive league triumph, in addition to overseeing their historic Europa League run, overcame strong competition from the likes of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill and Connacht head coach Pat Lam.
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