Woman of the Year brought to you by Sport Ireland Outdoors: Outsider Awards 2023

Wonderful, world-class and downright sensational! We put the call out for you, our readers, to let us know about the most amazing women and their achievements from the Irish outdoor and adventure scene in 2023! And you didn’t let us down. Below you’ll find a list of nominees with boggling achievements to their name. One winner will be picked from this list by our panel of judges and will be named Outsider Woman of the Year 2023 at our event on 21 Feb 2024 in the Sugar Club.

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. 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.

Eve McMahon, sailor

Eve McMahon (19) has had an epic year – winning the U21 World Championship title in her ILCA6 (women’s single dinghy) class in Morocco last October – and just this month securing a spot at the Paris 2024 Games, becoming the youngest ever Irish sailor to qualify for an Olympics.

Eve – from Howth in County Dublin – started sailing at Howth Yacht Club when she was seven years old, following in the footsteps of her older brothers. She began doing summer courses but before long was entering – and performing incredibly well at – international events.

What does she love about the sport? “I love that sailing has ever-changing conditions, no two races are the same, so it requires a lot of skill and attention,” she says. “The freedom that sailing brings is magical, being on the water and around nature in the fresh air every day is truly breathtaking and something that I will never take for granted. I have also loved being able to travel the world while pursuing an Olympic campaign.”

When she became U21 World Champion in Morocco, it was a thrill to see all her hard work and many training hours pay off. “I could sail freely, with no pressure, knowing that I would get a result that I would deserve for all the training and preparation that I put into the event,” she says.

Her advice for young people wanting to take on a big challenge, sporting or otherwise in 2024? “If you put in the work, then dreams do come true.”

Ellie Berry, hiker

Ellie Berry (29) wowed the outdoors community this year when she set a new speed record for climbing every mountain in Ireland.

Ellie, who is from Tipperary and now lives in Roscommon, spent her summer solo-climbing all 275 mountains on the Vandeleur-Lynams list. That is mountains measuring 600m+, with a prominence of 15m. She chronicled her amazing adventures on Tough Soles, a YouTube channel and blog she runs with her partner Carl Lange.

It was Carl who had suggested the target to Ellie in the first place. “I have a really deep love for the outdoors and mountains,” she says. “When Carl learnt about this challenge, he thought it was perfect for me though it took him a while to convince me to do it!”

Ellie completed the feat in 50 days, 5 hours 45 minutes, beating the previous record by almost six days. The part she loved the most? Spending all that time outside. “This project brought me to corners of the island I would otherwise never have explored and showed me just how incredibly beautiful Ireland’s wild places are.”

Inevitably, there were some tough moments along the way, especially as the exhaustion took hold on the Dingle Peninsula, and the unrelenting weather wore her down, but she dug deep and kept going to the end.

What did she learn from the experience? “It feels so cliche, but to embrace the fear. Let yourself feel the big emotions or doubt, and then focus on the next step. It’s all about one foot in front of the next, until you get to that final peak.”

Emma Stuart, ultra runner

Emma Stuart has solidified her status as Ireland’s premier female ultra runner with remarkable achievements this year. The 32-year-old veterinarian, who is originally from Sligo, has had an incredible year of accomplishments all over Europe at some of the most competitive long-distance mountain ultra races.

Emma clinched victory and set a new record at the Arc of Attrition 100-mile race in southwest England, she won the Ultra Trail Snowdonia by UTMB 100-mile race, defeating a former Hardrock winner, and became the summer Spine race champion. However, her most notable feat in 2023 came at the Tor des Géants, one of the world’s prestigious multi-day ultra trail races. Emma dominated the field of over 1,300 starters and made her way along the 350km route through the Alps for an astonishing 82 hours.

Remarkably, Tor des Géants was Emma’s first multi-day race of any kind, and she emerged as the youngest-ever winner of the Female category at this race. This outstanding accomplishment has elevated her to a standout star in the global ultra-running community.

Jennifer Greenlees, stand-up paddle boarder

Long-distance stand up paddle master Jennifer Greenlees (50) continued to propel herself around the coast of Ireland this year.

Originally from Belfast, and currently living in Portrush, Jennifer first came across stand up paddling in America in 2007. Back then, in Northern Ireland the sport was still rare and it was highly unusual to see people paddling out at sea, aside from Al Mennie, a famous big wave surfer who paddled 25 miles to Scotland as a fundraiser.

Jennifer was impressed with Al’s feat and wanted to try a paddle challenge of her own but being out in the ocean felt way out of her comfort zone. “I feel safer hugging the coast,” she says. So, she decided to paddle 75 miles from Portballintrae to Bangor in three days, the longest distance paddled in Ireland at the time, to raise funds for her cousin’s cancer treatment.

“I’d only ever paddled 10 miles in one day but I was determined to give it a go,” she says. The wonderful sense of achievement she got inspired her to take on longer challenges including paddling the 100 miles from Bangor to Dublin. And now, having paddled the whole way around Northern Ireland, she’s decided to keep going around the rest of the island to raise money for the RNLI. She is currently as far as West Cork

Jennifer has battled nerves, gnarly currents, thick fog, and even had her rescue boat and camera equipment destroyed when the vessel hit rocks. “Expect the unexpected,” she says. “You almost need a backup plan for every backup plan!” But she has loved the experience and raised significant money for charity in the process.

Lianne van Dijk, ultra runner

Lianne van Dijk (32) took the ultra-running community by storm this year – winning both the Beara Way Ultra and the Wicklow Way race – while beaming a big smile throughout.

During the Beara Way Ultra, at the darkest point of the night, Lianne, who was born in the Netherlands but is now based in Kerry, remembers standing in the middle of a bog, shining around with her head torch and not being able to spot any trails or markers.

“I knew I’d been in that exact same spot before so I should know where to go, but when your body and mind are tired you really need to force yourself to stay focused and positive. Luckily there were no escape routes or roads nearby, so I had no choice but to keep going,” she says. “Things rarely go according to plan. I think an adventure, or a challenge can only be a success when you learn to work with that instead of against it.”

It’s that flexible and positive mindset which powered Lianne to win these two major ultras this year and helps explain why she’s such a popular running coach. It also helped her overcome the unthinkable when she was attacked during a race abroad, which left her scared to run at night. Instead of hiding away from the problem, she leaned into it and deliberately took on the Wicklow Way Race, which starts at 9pm, as her final race of the season.

“Women in particular are often told to avoid risks, but I think taking the right risks is what it’s all about. It makes life that much more meaningful,” she says.

Claire Ryan, ice freediver

Claire Ryan (44) was already an accomplished freediver – but this year she took it to the next level by completing a jaw-dropping 60m dive under ice.

Yes, you read that right. Claire, who is from County Kildare, though has spent most of her life in Dublin, first got the idea for the challenge when a video of world-record holder Johanna Norblad’s under ice freedive popped up on her social media.

“The video ignited a fire of curiosity in me,” she says. “As an ice swimmer I had lots of cold water experience but didn’t know how to freedive under ice. I wondered if I could learn?”

She went on to do just that, thoroughly enjoying the process and finding out about the evolutionary science behind our ability to hold our breath. “The body’s capacity to breath hold, even with no apparent value in our day-to-day lives, is truly amazing,” she says.

Claire enlisted a coach, Alice Hickson, who encouraged her to focus on improving her stroke efficiency rather than just her breath holding skills. She found the 60m challenge itself exhilarating. “The excitement of the task mixed with the endorphin rush from the exposure to the cold water was a heady mixture and I imagine I will be chasing that feeling in the future,” she says.

The only low moments in the whole experience came once the challenge was done. “I was happiest with a goal on the horizon and was a little rudderless after I succeeded in my 60m freedive,” she says, though she’s solved that problem with the adoption of new goals and hopes to complete an 80m dive very soon.

Pam Lee, transatlantic sailor

Pam Lee (35) wowed the nation and inspired female sailors from all around the world when she became the first Irish woman to skipper a boat at the iconic Transat Jacque Vabre race this year.

Pam – from Greystones, County Wicklow – has always had a passion for the ocean. “There’s something about its wildness and its vastness,” she says. As soon as she realised that being a professional offshore sailor was a job that people actually did, she pursued that goal with all her might.

In 2019, she successfully set the World Record for the fastest sailing around Ireland. “I noticed that some women and girls were inspired – so I wanted to continue to take on extraordinary sailing challenges, both for myself as a passion and a career, but also to show what women in extreme sports could do, to inspire others to shoot for ‘crazy’ goals.”

Pam has completed numerous transatlantic crossings over the years, but 2023’s Transat Jacques Vabre was her hardest challenge yet – it’s sailed double-handed, with only two crew.

During the race, a number of their sails exploded, including their number one sail for the entire Atlantic traverse. But Pam worked hard to keep a positive mindset and loved the whole experience, from reading the weather and being in nature, to making decisions and living moment to moment.

“I learnt so much from this challenge. Of course, in the technical sense of sailing experience, but also in lessons that I can apply to my own life in many ways,” she says. “Outdoor activities and sport, and challenges no matter how big or small, can teach us about ourselves and enrich our lives. So, get out there!”

Rachel Nolan, adventure racer

Rachel Nolan (38) did the country proud this year – when it comes to off-road navigation-based racing – placing fifth in the Adventure Racing World Champs in South Africa after five days of gruelling competition.

Rachel – from Ballina in County Mayo – was racing with a team of four (two from France, and one from South Africa) in the event, which attracted 109 teams from 38 different countries.

The race involves disciplines of mountain biking, trail running, trekking, abseiling, canyoning, and kayaking, all with no GPS, watch, phone, or connection to the outside world. “The conditions are extreme,” says Rachel. “This year’s route took us to the most remote and rugged locations with teams suffering with everything from heat stroke to hypothermia, but the clock does not stop.”

“There will always be highs and lows. However, with experience, we all know that nothing lasts forever and if one teammate is having a low, we help them, take their pack, pull them with a rope, feed them, let them sleep on the back of the kayak or whatever is needed to keep the team moving forward,” she says. On the flip side, if someone is feeling extra strong, they can take a little more of the pressure to even out the team efforts, says Rachel.

Although this was their first race together, Rachel says the team’s dynamic and goals fused perfectly, and they kept their cool, even when a navigation error led to a four-hour detour on the bike! Her advice for others wanting to challenge themselves? “Don’t be afraid to be uncomfortable, it’s where the magic starts!”