Breakthrough Achievement of the Year: Outsider Awards 2023

We put the call out for you, our readers, to let us know amazing newcomers or those who had achieved major breakthroughs in 2023. You didn’t let us down. You’ll find some incredible stories below. And we hope you’ll be inspired to have your own great breakthroughs in 2024.

If you’re a nominee, consider yourself cordially invited to our annual awards ceremony on the evening of Wednesday 21 February 2024 in the Sugar Club, Dublin.

If you aren’t a nominee but would like to come along for the party and to rub shoulders with these amazing folk, then you can buy tickets here. We are thrilled skinny to announce that our fab sponsors are on board to help us celebrate all that is great and good about the Irish adventure scene, so it’s guaranteed to be a good party.

Our hugely generous title sponsor for the Outsider Awards 2023 is Sport Ireland Outdoors, our other supporting sponsors are Craghoppers, Leave No Trace, Salewa, Vagabond Tours, Sustainable Travel Ireland and Nuasan.

For everyone else, a limited number of tickets are on sale through the link below. Subscribe to our email newsletter on our homepage to hear more about the Outsider Awards 2023.

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We were bowled over by both the quality and quantity of the stories you sent us. So sit down, make yourself comfortable and read the spine-tingling and inspirational stories of these extraordinary people who are now officially on the long list of nominees for the #OutsiderAwards.

Gearoid McDaid, surfer

Gearoid McDaid (27) has long blazed a trail in Irish surfing – he won his sixth national title in September – but this year, he took things up a notch on the international circuit by bagging a silver at the European Surfing Federation Championships (Eurosurf) in Portugal.

The super-talented surfer – from Strandhill in Sligo – has been riding waves since he was 10. “My dad got me into it, and it took over my life,” he says. Gearoid enjoys competing for the progression it brings to his surfing. “Whether you win or lose, you’re always learning something new about how to better yourself competitively.”

He finds losing the hardest part about contest surfing but admits you have to get used to that as you invariably end up losing more contests than you win.

One way to handle that, he says, is by keeping the fun and breezy side of the sport alive. “It can be easy to get too locked down with the competitive side of things and lose the fun,” he says, “but when you go back and remember it’s all just a lot of fun, it helps bring out your competitive side too.”

Whether he’s being towed into big waves at Mullaghmore, charging the Peak at Bundoran in between contest heats or travelling to warm water waves in Indonesia to film video parts, a quick look at his Instagram feed shows he has the fun part of the sport very much dialled. So, his strong showing in recent contests comes as no surprise.

Luke Weldon, trail runner

Luke Weldon (19) put in a storming performance that belied his young age at the popular EcoTrail Wicklow this year, topping the podium in the 30k race.

Luke – a local lad from Kilmacanogue in County Wicklow – was originally a rock climber on the Irish youth development team when Covid struck. He started to run on the roads to gain fitness for climbing but when a hand injury forced him out of the sport, his neighbour suggested he join her on a trail running race run at Little Sugarloaf, a local mountain. “After that race I felt I had found my new passion and decided to see where I could go with it,” he says.

The forecast for this year’s EcoTrail was rain and wind, Luke’s favourite conditions to run in, though he wondered how it would be to run on his local trails as he knew them so well. “I live in Kilmac and I have always known the climb from Kilmac to the shoulder of Big Sugarloaf is very mentally tough,” he says. “The field was very competitive and being the youngest competitor gave me a real buzz. Coming down the final straight off Bray Head and into the Prom with family and friends cheering me on shouting at me that I was coming in first was an amazing experience.”

Next year, Luke plans to race in Europe more and push himself against the best athletes in his age group, targeting the European Trails in April and Youth Skyrunning World Championships in June.

Oisin O’Callaghan, mountain biker

Oisin O’Callaghan (20) wrote himself into the history books this year – when he secured the first ever Irish elite World Cup Downhill mountain bike win, at Snowshoe in West Virginia, USA.

Oisin – who is from County Limerick – first got into mountain biking in his local woods, in the Ballyhoura Mountains. He was a strong racer in his teens, and former Junior World Champion, but this was his first win at senior level, in just his second season on the circuit. A victory that was made all the sweeter by the fact his compatriot Ronan Dunne came in second.

“First time ever. Doing it for the boys at home,” he told Eurosport after the race. Oisin and Ronan “train together, ride together and party together”, he told Pink Bike, and said he was made up to be inspiring young mountain bikers back home.

What does Oisin love best about racing? “The way you forget about everything when you’re focused and in the zone,” he says. “It’s like everything is quiet around you. When you get to the bottom of a good race run sometimes you can’t even remember the ride down.”

There are of course some lows in the sport, injuries for one, which are quite common in downhill racing but for Oisin that isn’t something he worries too much about, he just tries to focus on enjoying the sport. “If you’re not having fun you’re not going to be happy and get better,” he says.

Ronan Dunne, mountain biker

Ronan Dunne (21) solidified his place at the top of World Cup Downhill racing this year by coming second at Snowshoe in West Virginia, USA.

Ronan – who is from Wicklow – found the sport of mountain biking by chance one day when a friend brought him out in the Wicklow Mountains. Ronan had a passion for Moto Trials so it’s no surprise that he quickly progressed in the sport of downhill mountain biking. This year he broke onto the elite stage when he joined his pal (and fellow Outsider Awards nominee), Oisin O’Callaghan, on the podium in Snowshoe, a huge achievement for any rider, let alone someone so young and fresh on the scene.

When we asked him what he enjoys about downhill mountain biking he told us, “it has to be the pure adrenaline, the feeling when you’re just on the limit, the verge of crashing yet holding on and when it comes down to a race run it’s just you and your bike, there’s nothing else like it.” This passion and adrenaline-fuelled performance is obvious if you have ever watched Ronan race. He has a bold style which leaves even experienced mountain bikers in awe. However, Ronan doesn’t fear crashing, “I’ve never been scared of crashing. I’m more scared of failure and I usually get myself into the mindset that failure isn’t an option”

This was Ronan’s second podium at a World Cup downhill race and the feeling was one of “just pure happiness and also a massive weight off my shoulders.”

Ruby Knox, surfer

Longboard surfer Ruby Knox (25) had a stellar 2023, making the Irish surf team for the first time and placing fifth in the European Surfing Federation Championships (Eurosurf) in Portugal.

Ruby hails from The Maharees on the Dingle peninsula in County Kerry, or as she describes it as “probably the best place in Ireland for longboarding”. Her earliest memory is of riding on the nose of her dad’s longboard. “My family are water people,” she says. “Everything revolves around what the ocean is doing.”

She did a bit of surfing as a child and teen but also spent a lot of time being scared of big waves. It wasn’t until she was 17 that she started getting back into it and she only began competing two years ago.

Does she find it difficult competing against surfers who’ve grown up surfing in warm water waves? “Definitely. When you surf in cold water it takes time to get used to the cold winters, and our lineups have traditionally been more male which makes it more intimidating. Whereas there have been a lot more women surfing for longer in warm water, inspiring generations of girls.”

But she believes the more Irish surfers show up at these events, the more level the playing field will become, and she wouldn’t change where she’s from for the world. “Having the support of Irish surfers behind me gave me a lot of confidence and made me see my potential to do even better,” she says.

Aichlinn O’Reilly, Ironman triathlete

The triathlete Aichlinn O’Reilly (28) had an awesome year of racing – breaking the Irish record in the Ironman distance in Western Australia – and becoming the first person in the country to go under the notorious eight-hour barrier.

Aichlinn – who is from Westport in County Mayo – was originally a club swimmer but, at his coach’s suggestion, he competed in his first triathlon when he was 15. “I absolutely loved it,” he says, and shortly after he became a member of the Triathlon Ireland High Performance Programme. He raced his first Half Ironman in 2017, and then after he finished his studies, his first full Ironman-disctance triathlon in 2022 in Killarney at The Hardman Triathlon, which he describes as a stunning race.

This year’s Ironman Western Australia in Busselton, where he broke the Irish record running 7:59:37, was his first race as a professional over the full Ironman distance, which involves a 3.9km swim, a 180.2km bike leg and a marathon run. Aichlinn says he loves everything about racing that distance. From the training and tactical approach in the race to the camaraderie amongst the competitors.

He had been chasing the Irish record with a singular focus for a very long time, despite having no professional support or sponsors. “It’s the first time I have ever based my entire year around one race and it was nice to see it pay dividends,” he says. “It was also proof for myself that I do belong on the international stage, and that I can be competitive against world class opposition. It gives me a lot more confidence for the future.”

Brianna Jackson, Marathon Swimmer

In January 2020, Brianna Jackson (39), hailing from Washington but living in Dalkey, Co Dublin, faced a challenging time as she gave birth to premature twins who spent a month in the NICU. Balancing the care of her two-year-old alongside the newborns, she was presented with the additional struggle of lockdown with no friends or family available for support. In an attempt to save her sanity, she turned to the solace of the sea, dipping daily come rain, hail or shine. Only able to doggy paddle, she decided she would teach herself to swim.

Recently nominated for a World Open Water Swimming award, Brianna’s ascent in the swimming world has been nothing short of meteoric.

Reflecting on her journey, Brianna reminisces about her initial foray into ice swimming, completing an Ice Kilometre in Austria during her first year. The subsequent year saw her undertaking three solo and one relay marathon swims, representing Ireland at the World Ice Swimming Championships in Samoens, France.

In 2023, Brianna knocked out an impressive eight marathon swims, marking a remarkable transformation from novice to seasoned swimmer.

Recalling her recent exploits, she expresses immense joy in being the first woman to conquer swims from Howth to Bray, Kish to Lambay Island, and Lambay Island to Rockabill Lighthouse. She was also delighted to complete Fastnet Lighthouse to Baltimore and Galway Bay Blackrock Tower to Aughinish, achieving two-thirds of the Irish Triple Crown.

Reflecting on her swift progression, Brianna concludes, “I loved all my swims, swimming with my friends, and I can’t believe the distance I’ve covered in such a short span.” Her journey from doggy paddling to achieving these remarkable feats is truly remarkable.