Exceptional, purposeful, and defining of a moment, the Sport Ireland Outsider of the Year Award represents the very summit of the Irish outdoors over the past twelve months. This category brings together individuals whose achievements transcended categories, performances and projects that didn’t just impress, but reshaped what we believe is possible in Ireland’s wild places.
Nominees in this category may also appear elsewhere across the awards, but Outsider of the Year recognises something deeper: sustained excellence, meaningful ambition, and a powerful connection to the outdoors driven by intent. Whether setting new records, redefining limits, navigating extreme environments, or using adventure as a platform for change, these individuals engaged with the outdoors at the highest level — physically, mentally and emotionally.
Taken together, their stories form a portrait of an extraordinary year in Irish adventure. From mountains and oceans to roads less travelled, their journeys remind us that the outdoors is not just a backdrop for achievement, but a force that shapes character, purpose and legacy. This is the ultimate recognition of those who didn’t just step outside — they left a mark.
The Outsider Awards take place on 11 February 2026 at The Helix, Dublin, proudly supported by Sport Ireland, Craghoppers, Outwest Clothing, Mountaineering Ireland and NowCoco Drinks.
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Rachel Smith
Rachel Smith, 28, from Belfast, became the first woman with type 1 diabetes to climb Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica, marking the fourth of the Seven Summits she has now completed. Rachel’s love of the mountains began in her youth, when she explored the Mournes. Her passion for high-altitude climbing was ignited in 2016 with her ascent of Kilimanjaro, aged 19!
Each summit has been more than a personal challenge; for Rachel, it is a platform to show that type 1 diabetes is not a barrier to adventure. Following her ascent of Aconcagua in 2024, she spent the last two years preparing for Vinson, combining meticulous planning, rigorous training, and a deep commitment to raising awareness for type 1 diabetes.
Managing diabetes on such an extreme expedition added unique challenges. Constantly monitoring blood sugars while battling altitude, extreme cold, wind, and exhaustion required extraordinary mental focus and contingency planning. Rachel balanced the physical demands of climbing with a 24/7 health management responsibility, ensuring her safety in one of the most remote places on Earth.
Rachel’s achievement is deeply personal, with two younger brothers also living with type 1, and it represents a powerful statement about what is possible with determination and careful preparation. Looking ahead, she plans to climb Mont Blanc in 2026 and continue her journey toward completing all Seven Summits, inspiring others with diabetes and beyond to redefine the limits of what they believe is possible.
Becky Gilmor
Two years ago, Becky was searching for a way to survive her grief. After losing a close friend to suicide, she found herself unable to speak about her loss, let alone process it. The outdoors felt like the only place she could breathe. The sea and a skateboard were the last threads connecting her to the friend she missed so deeply. So she set herself a challenge few would even imagine: to skate the entire Wild Atlantic Way, and continue north to Portrush, the place where the two once skated together.
The journey that began as private healing became something much bigger. As Becky shared her adventure online, she realised just how taboo suicide and suicide loss remain in Ireland. Through brutally honest storytelling, she opened a door for others to step through, and suddenly she wasn’t skating alone. Teachers, teenagers, surfers and strangers walked beside her, shared their own experiences and widened the road. “Giorraíonn beirt bóthar,” one teacher told her, two shorten the journey, and that truth shaped the entire expedition.
What followed was a 3,100km odyssey of skateboarding, camping and storm-blown nights. Becky is proof that the darkest chapters can lead to the most extraordinary adventures, and that no one should ever face struggle alone.
Becky’s mission is simple but urgent: to spark conversation, create safe spaces and remind others that hope is real, help exists, and healing is not a solitary act.
Emma Stuart
Emma Stuart has quietly become one of the most formidable ultra-runners Ireland has ever produced. Originally from Sligo and now based in Penrith in England’s Lake District, she balances life as a full-time veterinary surgeon with racing and training at the very highest levels of international mountain running. It’s a mix most athletes would find impossible, yet Emma appears to thrive in it, moving between night shifts at the clinic and long solo training hours in the Cumbrian fells.
Her rise hasn’t been loud or dramatic. She didn’t come through a traditional athletics pathway and didn’t grow up thinking she’d one day be chasing podiums on the world stage. She simply found running later in life, figured out she was built for long distances, and went all in. And results followed, big ones. In late 2024, she smashed the women’s course record at the Winter Downs 200, a two-hundred-mile race she covered in a staggering 50 hours and 52 minutes.
Then came UTMB 2025, the most competitive mountain ultra on the planet. Emma ran her way to 11th place among the women and 70th overall, recording the highest finish by any Irish athlete in the history of the race. It was a breakthrough not just for her, but for Irish trail running as a whole. With her trademark humility, she returned quietly to work the next week, animals to care for, mountains still calling. Emma Stuart runs without fanfare, grounded in purpose, and proving one finish line at a time that elite performance and real life can beautifully coexist.
Carol Morgan
Irish ultrarunner Carol Morgan has never been one to shy away from a big challenge, but her latest achievement in the Lake District’s fabled fells might just be her most astonishing yet. Inspired after watching James Gibson’s film on the Winter Wainwrights, Carol set her sights on completing the gruelling circuit herself, in the depths of winter, when the days are shortest, the winds bite hardest, and the margins for error are razor thin.
Carol is no stranger to suffering. With winter Spine victories and solo attempts Bob Graham rounds under her belt, she arrived ready, but even she faced a full British weather sampler: rain, wind, ice, hail, darkness and the kind of fatigue that fogs the sharpest minds. A pre-planned safety team stepped in at the midpoint and, after a fierce internal battle, she agreed to stop for 24 hours, holed up in a borrowed van, dogs curled against her, being fed by friends through the door.
What followed was pure magic. Rejuvenated, she surged back onto the fells, surrounded by a rotating cast of supporters, more than 70 in total, many complete strangers who simply turned up to help a woman chasing something extraordinary.
In the end, Carol not only completed the Winter Wainwrights, but she set the overall record and became the only finisher in mid-winter conditions. Summiting all 214 mountains.
From Glasnevin’s “hills” to England’s hardest mountains, she proved what grit, humility, and community can achieve. And she hopes her story sparks one outcome above all: more women dreaming big, and lacing up to chase it.
Daragh Morgan
Some adventures are measured in distance. Others in heart. Daragh Morgan’s Swim Éire is both.
In 2025, Dara became the first person to complete a staged swim around the entire coastline of Ireland, an extraordinary 1,500km journey powered solely by his own arms, grit and spirit. But for Daragh, the mileage was only the surface. Swim Éire was a months-long immersion in the wild edges of Ireland, a pilgrimage by water that traced every inlet, harbour and headland of the island he calls home.
From battling jellyfish blooms and night swims beneath a full moon to navigating tides, storms and bare-bones logistics, Dara swam an average of 15–17km a day while living aboard a small support boat with a tiny crew. Sleep faltered, nutrition crumbled to ham sandwiches, and nothing came easy. Yet what endured was connection, to the sea, to the rhythm of weather, to coastal communities, and to the deep cultural threads that bind Ireland to the water.
Daragh calls the swim his North Star. It was a calling he planned in his head for six years before he was ready to attempt it. Training solely outdoors, embracing uncertainty, and trusting his team, he completed the swim not just as an athletic feat, but as a soulful exploration of identity, heritage and place.
Now, with Ireland fully circled stroke by stroke, Daragh continues to advocate for adventure at home, and reminds us that the extraordinary often begins at the edge of our own island.
Brian Mullins
At 45, Cork’s Brian Mullins has been redefining what it means to endure in the mountains. 2025 was a year to remember: a second-place finish at the legendary TOR450, one of the toughest mountain races on the planet, saw him push his limits against a field of elite international athletes. Add to that the thrill of finally winning the IMRA Carrauntoohil Race, an ambition for almost 7 years, and it’s clear Brian’s year was nothing short of extraordinary.
Resilience comes naturally to Brian, honed over 40 years of mountain running. “Consistency is key,” he says, spending almost all his training on rugged terrain rather than track or road. This devotion allows him to move from long race to long race with astonishing recovery, making 700km Alpine challenges feel just like days in the hills.
Brian describes TOR450 not as a race, but “a week in the mountains with like-minded individuals, testing body and mind to the limit.” Every outing teaches him something, and he lives by a philosophy imparted by alpinist Mark Twight: “Discovering one’s self, one’s talent and ambition and learning how to express it is a creative process so may not be rushed.”
From local peaks to epic ultramarathons, Brian Mullins embodies the relentless spirit of Irish mountain running.
Catriona Jennings
Caitríona Jennings, from Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, has long been a force in Irish distance running, representing her country at the 2012 London Olympic Marathon before transitioning to ultra-distance events with remarkable success. 2025 was a year for the history books. In February, she smashed the Irish 50 km record at the Donadea Championships in 3:16:33, marking the fourth-fastest time in the world that year. Summer saw her cross the finish line of the Comrades Marathon in South Africa in 8th place, her fourth consecutive Top 10 finish, earning a coveted Gold Medal.
But it was November that truly cemented her name in the ultra-distance history books. At the Tunnel Hill 100 Mile race in Illinois, Caitríona ran the distance in 12 hours, 37 minutes and 4 seconds, breaking the women’s world record by over five minutes in her first-ever 100-mile competitive race. Averaging a consistent 7:34 per mile (4:42 min/km) over 160.9 km, she demonstrated not just endurance but precise pacing and mental toughness.
Jennings’ performances reflect a career defined by resilience, strategic brilliance, and relentless dedication. From Irish records to international accolades, she continues to push the boundaries of what Irish runners can achieve, inspiring a new generation to take on the ultra-distance challenge.
Eve McMahon
Eve McMahon, from Howth, Co. Dublin, had a breakthrough year in 2025, establishing herself as one of the world’s leading ILCA 6 sailors. Building on her experience as a Paris 2024 Olympian, Eve made history by winning bronze at the 2025 ILCA World Championships in Qingdao, China, the first Irish female sailor to medal at a senior World Championship in this class. That achievement propelled her to the number one spot in the World Sailing rankings, another first for an Irish sailor.
Her remarkable season didn’t stop there. Eve claimed gold at the LA Grand Slam, an elite World Sailing event held on the future 2028 Olympic course, gaining invaluable experience and proving her ability to perform under pressure on the world stage. She also earned a bronze medal at the U23 ILCA 6 European Championships in Sweden, adding yet another international podium to an already stellar campaign.
Recognised for her extraordinary 2025 season, Eve was named “Rising Star” at the Team Ireland Olympic Sport Awards. With her combination of historic firsts, international victories, and steady progression from youth to senior competition, Eve McMahon has firmly positioned herself as one of Ireland’s most exciting sporting talents, a trailblazer inspiring the next generation of sailors.
Gearóid McDaid
Gearóid McDaid made history in 2025 when he became the first Irish surfer to win gold at the European Surfing Championships. Already respected as one of Ireland’s top competitive surfers, the achievement felt surreal. Ireland is world-famous for its big-wave coastline, but standing on top of the podium proved that Irish surfers can also win at the highest international level. For Gearóid, the hope is simple: that success brings more opportunity for the next generation to follow.
2025 wasn’t a straightforward season. An elbow injury early in the year kept him out of the water for four months, and rebuilding his form took time. But only a week after returning, he travelled to Poland for a high-level invitational and finished second, a huge confidence boost that set the tone for what came next. Training camps in Nicaragua, Portugal and at home pushed him back to his peak just in time for the European Championships.
This year also saw Gearóid launch the first Gearóid Invitational youth event in Strandhill, giving young Irish groms a platform to compete, qualify and showcase their talent on proper waves. It’s something he’s passionate about growing, a surfer-driven pathway that didn’t exist when he started.
Looking ahead, the long-term goal is clear: qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games. While the route to qualification hasn’t been announced, he’s already preparing, training full-time, travelling for coaching, and building momentum from a year that changed everything for Irish competitive surfing.
JUDGING PANEL CATEGORIES
Sport Ireland Outsider of the Year
Craghoppers Most Inspiring Person Award
Mountaineering Ireland Mountain Volunteer Of The Year
Outwest Clothing Outdoor Adventure Of The Year
Sport Ireland Outdoors For All Award
VOTING CATEGORIES
Craghoppers Outdoor Content Creator – VOTE NOW
Irish Outdoor Experience– VOTE NOW
Audience Choice Award – VOTE NOW
