Woman Of The Year Sponsored by Sport Ireland: Outsider Awards

Trailblazing, tenacious and truly inspiring! We asked our readers to highlight the women making waves on the Irish outdoor and adventure scene in 2024—and the nominations did not disappoint. Without further ado, we present to you the nominees for Woman Of The Year 2024 Sponsored by Sport Ireland.

You’re Invited!

If you’re a nominee, consider this your official invitation to the Outsider Awards, taking place on the evening of Thursday 27 February 2025, at the Sugar Club, Dublin.

We are beyond thrilled to announce the support of our incredible sponsors, who are helping us celebrate all the brilliance of the Irish adventure scene. With their backing, it’s shaping up to be an unforgettable night!

A special thank you to our title sponsor, Sport Ireland, as well as our supporting sponsors: Craghoppers, Sustainable Tourism Network, Fáilte Ireland and Salewa.

Get Your Tickets

Not a nominee? Don’t worry—a limited number of tickets will be available for purchase! Click the link below to secure yours. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media for all the latest updates on the Outsider Awards 2024.

BUY YOUR TICKETS

Tickets will be on sale shortly, be sure to sign up for our newsletter to be the first to hear!

We were blown away by the quality and quantity of the nominations we received this year. So, sit back, relax and prepare to be wowed by the incredible nominees for Woman Of The Year sponsored by Sport Ireland.

Laura O’Driscoll

In a feat of almost unimaginable endurance, Laura O Driscoll won the Annapurna Himal this year, a gruelling 14-stage expedition race at altitude in the Himalayas.

Laura (42) – from County Louth – has always had a passion for running and the outdoors. She did her first multi-day adventure race – the Beast AR – in Ireland in 2015 and before her mum passed away in 2020, after suffering long-term illness and dementia, she had decided to enter the Himal race to get some much-needed headspace.

Covid may have delayed her entry for four years, but it didn’t dampen her resolve to compete. And the experience did not disappoint. Despite racing for over 450km at altitude with over 24,000m of climbing, she still found the energy to enjoy everyday encounters with Nepalese people, whose happiness she found infectious, and felt like every day was an adventure.

“Maps and GPX files mean very little in a country where the landscape is constantly evolving. Landslides, river diversions, earthquakes and rapid construction meant that paths had disappeared and what you thought might take two hours took six!” she says.

There were some sketchy moments along the way and on more than one occasion she ended up on unstable terrain with sheer drops below. But she managed to escape with just minor cuts and bruises and remain healthy throughout, though by day six she’d worn through the soles on her running shoes.

Her biggest learning from the challenge? “You have to surrender to whatever situation you find yourself in. To forget about the summit or finish line and fully immerse yourself in the journey, just like in life itself.”

Collette O’Hagan

You might remember Collette O’Hagan – the inspirational young-at-heart runner who was nominated at last year’s awards for having run 900 marathons. Well, this year she’s knocked that figure out of the park by completing her 1000th marathon at the tender age of 75.

Collette – from Dundalk in Co Louth – started running in 1990 and completed her first marathon in Dublin aged 41. She began running multiple marathons each year when she met members of the 100 marathon club. Since then, she has travelled all over the world and competed in the six majors – Tokyo, New York, Boston, Chicago, Berlin and London.

Collette – who has also fostered children her whole life, inspired by a childhood of looking after her siblings while her parents worked on a farm – loves the freedom that running brings to her life. It’s all about “the meeting of body and mind, where you can get lost in the wonder of nature, be at one with your thoughts and perhaps solve some difficulties you may be experiencing,” she says.

And she revels in the camaraderie that she feels amongst her running friends at home and abroad, which makes training in bad weather conditions and all the travel associated with her racing so much easier.

Her best advice for others? “Believe in yourself – you never know how far you can go. Don’t be afraid to test your limits because testing them will give you confidence in yourself. And never be afraid to step outside of those limits, your body is capable of far more than you can imagine.”

Jennifer Doherty

Having become the first blind person to conquer Ireland’s seven biggest mountains in 2023, disability advocate Jennifer Doherty took things up a notch this year by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain.

Jennifer (38) – from Buncrana in Co Donegal – had wanted to go to Africa since she was a child, inspired by the Lion King, the animals and African music. But she’d never considered visiting the mountains there. Then on the way home from trekking to Everest Base Camp with her sight guide, Jason Black, in 2022 and hearing him speak about the work he’d done in schools in Africa, she decided she wanted to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Jennifer, who was born blind, reached the 5,895m summit in June this year, with Jason Black saying shortly afterwards: “To witness [her] strength and determination to summit, embracing every step, facing head-on every challenge like a champion was brilliantly fantastic.”

As for Jennifer, she loved being immersed in the local culture and the sense of camaraderie and support she got from Jason and his mountaineering team. “The guides never treated me any differently because I’m blind. They gave me directions and let me feel my way around the rocks and climb as independently as possible,” she says. “I’m not afraid of heights so I was completely relaxed. Being blind has its advantages sometimes!”

The toughest part was the cold, especially on summit night. “The tea I had at Stella Point before the final push was the best cup I’ve ever had in my life,” she says.

What was her biggest takeaway from the climb? “Kilimanjaro is a unique experience from start to finish, so I would advise people to enjoy the expedition as a whole and don’t just focus on the summit.”

Linda Blakely

After summiting Everest and Lhotse – the world’s fourth highest mountain – Linda Blakely promised her mum she wouldn’t climb any more mountains. Instead, to celebrate her 50th birthday, she decided to solo row across the Atlantic, completing this amazing feat in 54 days.

Linda – from Lurgan in Co Armagh – is clearly no stranger to extreme adventure. She’s always been sporty and enjoyed setting herself challenges starting with Ironman racing and moving on to climbing mountains. “I like to push the boundaries in everything I do and to be accountable for myself and my actions,” she says.

During her epic rowing crossing of 3,000 nautical miles from Gran Canaria to Barbados, where she felt like the Atlantic was “vast and never-ending”, she had plenty of highs and lows, including capsizing when she was just two days in. And her 50th birthday was both her best and worst day.

At 3am she felt almost beaten from battling winds that were constantly pushing her in the wrong direction, but she pushed on through and at 10am had a break to read birthday cards with a small piece of cake and champagne. Then, her social media man Barry told her to fire up her satellite messenger and she was greeted with hundreds of supportive missives from people all over the world who were following her journey on Instagram.

“It was a moment I will never forget, I felt so inspired by all these people willing me on who didn’t even know me,” she says. And the interest helped her raise over £100,000 for Action Medical Research.

Her advice for others? “You are much stronger than you think.”

Jessika Robson

Jessika Robson is back with another award nomination this year as the amazing Northern Irish teenager became the youngest swimmer ever to complete the Irish Triple Crown marathon swimming challenge.

Jessika (18) – from Hillsborough in Co Down – won the Youth category at last year’s awards when she became the youngest person to swim the North Channel, breaking a World Record in the process. But soon afterwards, she found herself looking for her next challenge and thought the Irish Triple Crown, which involves three solo marathon swims – the North Channel, Fastnet to Baltimore Pier and Galway Bay – would be “awesome to complete”.

In reality, it was incredibly tough. She had to battle hundreds of jellyfish in Galway Bay and faced huge waves on the Fastnet route, which made swimming exhausting and most of her crew seasick. But they made it through. And Jessika, who has swum competitively since the age of eight but only started sea swimming four years ago, felt so happy to finish. She’s also sure those tricky moments taught her a lot about resilience and mental strength along the way.

Her advice for anyone contemplating an open water swim challenge? “Stay calm. With open water, there are so many things that can affect a swim beyond your control, such as tides and weather. There is no point stressing about what could go wrong – just be ready for when things are going right.”

Rachel Nolan

Rachel Nolan put in an inspired performance at this year’s Pan Celtic Race. She was the first woman to cross the finish line and came seventh overall – after almost seven days of gruelling self-supported bike-packing.

Rachel (39) – from Ballina in County Mayo – loves multi-day endurance events. She placed fifth in the World Adventure Racing Championships last year and was keen to enter this year’s Pan Celtic Race because the route looked “class” and it may be the event’s final year.

“It’s a journey to discover the most spectacular landscapes in the Isle of Man, the Lake District and Scotland, and to push as hard as you want physically and mentally,” she says. “It attracts a certain type of person and community and although you are out there alone, you are part of this big adventure all together connecting with nature.”

Rachel says there were so many enjoyable moments during the race, during which she cycled over 2,400km. “I took every section and day as a new one and soaked in all the simple pleasures,” she says. The only wobble came when she got food poisoning for 24 hours and couldn’t keep any food or water down, but she knew from experience it would pass, so she kept moving, albeit at a slower pace. “Once I could eat again, I was off like a rocket,” she says, laughing.

Her advice for others? “Make your own adventure, however you want to do it. I feel incredibly grateful to be able to take on and experience these challenges where I gain so many deep learnings on the journey.”

Emma Stuart

Talented ultra-runner Emma Stuart suffered a disappointing Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) this year due to sickness but a couple of months later she returned to the sport with a bang, winning the epic Kullamannen 100-mile trail race along Sweden’s southern coastline.

Emma (34) – from Sligo, who now lives in northern England – loves ultra-running as she says it’s a great way to explore and get to know places. “I love chasing views – it’s an efficient way to see more scenery in a shorter space of time!” she says, adding that she also loves the problem-solving aspects of the sport.

She works as a busy farm animal vet, and had a battle to get to the start line in Sweden in time for the race, but once there everything fell into place. “Kullamannen was almost a perfect race for me,” she says. “The start at Hoganas is absolutely epic with a knight on horseback charging down the street and we charged after him like warriors into battle – it really fired me up for the challenge ahead.”

She also enjoyed the fact that the Kullamannen is mostly run at night. “Fortunately, the weather was absolutely perfect, so I was able to really just enjoy the beautiful, runnable trails that the Swedish coastline had to offer,” she says.

Her advice for runners thinking of stepping up to longer distances? “Just go for it! Longer distances are more about pacing, nutrition, strategy and mental resilience as opposed to speed, and you can go a lot further than you think you can – it’s amazing what our bodies can do when they are pushed.”