The Year in Sport: "With that goal, Ireland’s World Cup hopes were shaken up like a green, white and orange snow globe"

Five-and-a-half seconds was the time it took for Caoimhín Kelleher’s last-gasp punt upfield to meet Liam Scales’s head and finally Troy Parrott’s foot and end up in the back of the Hungary net. With that goal, Ireland’s World Cup hopes were shaken up like a green, white and orange snow globe, the fortunes of the previously beleaguered national team transformed.

Parrott’s winning, zinging strike in a hostile arena in Budapest wasn’t just the highlight of an up-and-down year for Irish sport – it was a lightning bolt that put Ireland’s campaign to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the Republic of Trumpland front and centre of the national conversation.

Coming on the back of an equally miraculous 2-0 victory over Portugal in Dublin days previously, it was that rare good news story which the entire country could get behind – the bonus, of course, being perpetually peevish prima donna Ronaldo heading for an early shower in Dublin after a straight red card.

Could it happen – Ireland at the World Cup? The odds had looked impossible after new (ish) manager Heimir Hallgrímsson oversaw a humiliating opening group stage defeat against Armenia. We also went two-nil down at home to Hungary. But Hungary at the Aviva ended up a draw – and Ireland narrowly lost in Lisbon, after Ronaldo fluffed his penalty. Amid the gloom, there were sparks of light – followed by the full halogen effect as qualification reached the squeaky bum phase away to Hungary.

As we head into 2026, a playoff away to Czechia awaits. Just like the tie in Hungary, it is a daunting challenge – though defeat to the Faroe Islands is proof that the Czechs are far from unassailable. Moreover, after two miracles in as many games, it is suddenly not unthinkable that Ireland’s streak of good fortune could continue – and even potentially lead to North America and the World Cup.

Another huge Irish sporting achievement was in the Women’s Champions League, where giant-killing Athlone Town defeated Croatia’s NK Agram, and storied Serbian champs Crvena Zvezda, before going down fighting in the second qualifying round to Dutch high-fliers Breidablik.

Roisin Molloy of Athlone Town. Photo by Rico Brouwer/Sportsfile

Away from the 11-person game, divine intervention will undoubtedly be needed by the Irish rugby team, who crashed to a shambolic November test defeat at home to South Africa and, at one point, had just 12 players on the field. This was a worrying glitch in the rugby matrix. Over the past 20 or so years, the pattern has been that Ireland beat all-comers between World Cups, only to stutter when it truly matters.

But now the team is falling apart even between World Cups – the biffing by the Boks having followed a severe trouncing by New Zealand in Chicago. If Andy Farrell can turn things around for the next World Cup, then all will be forgiven. If not, questions will be raised about the trajectory of Irish rugby, particularly given that the provinces now routinely flop in Europe.

In GAA, it was a year of Munster domination. Tipperary won the proverbial “handy All Ireland” when they stealthily made their way to the final and then overturned favourites Cork. More than overturned – thoroughly demolished them in a second-hand display of hurling brawn that reduced the Cork sideline to baffled silence, and which led the great forward Patrick Horgan to retire without an All-Ireland medal. Those Cork supporters who’d spent the previous night walking around Dublin begging for a spare ticket might have been relieved we came up short.

Tipperary captain Ronan Maher lifts the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Horgan announcing his retirement without a medal is a tragedy for the sport – and a sorry fate avoided by Kerry forward David Clifford, who led his team to a comprehensive victory over Jim McGuinness’ boring and laboured Donegal in the football All-Ireland. Clifford now has two AIs, and his bravura kicking of two-pointers confirmed him as the GOAT of 21st-century Irish sport.

Winners aside, however, the story in GAA was of a resurgence in Leinster football, where the dead hand of a perpetually dominant Dublin has been brushed aside, and Louth and Meath have filled the gap – drawing a healthy 60,000-plus to the provincial final.

It’s almost as if it’s easier to fill Croke Park when Dublin aren’t involved – a lesson that the GAA might wish to study for future reference. In women’s GAA, Galway claimed the camogie, denying Cork three-in-row. And in football, Dublin won a seventh title, defeating fellow Leinster side Meath in the final.

Elsewhere, the story in soccer has been the domination of Shamrock Rovers, inevitable winners of the League of Ireland following the falling off of Shelbourne, who also parted ways with tortured-soul manager Damien Duff. At the other end of the table, Cork City suffered their third relegation in the decade, leading fans of one of the country’s biggest clubs to protest its current ownership model.

In Europe, Paris Saint-Germain reignited the sportswashing debate when the Qatari-owned side romped to victory in the Champions League final against an outclassed FC Internazionale – and were then trounced in the toy-town “Club World Cup” by Chelsea, one of many British clubs with US ownership.

For Cork City fans, at least, Christmas promises to be a winter of discontent. But for the rest of the country, hope springs eternal. A playoff in Prague with a potential qualification decider against either North Macedonia or Denmark? Could it happen – are we actually going to give it a lash? Stranger things have come to pass – as demonstrated beyond all doubt by Parrott’s miracle toe-poke against Hungary.

In track and field, Kate O’Connor was named Irish Athlete of the Year after winning silver in the heptathlon at the World Championships in Tokyo, gold at the World University Games, and medals in the World and European Indoor Championships. It was a red-letter year for the Newry-born, Dundalk-raised runner, who created history as the first Irish female athlete to claim a medal in a major championship in a multi-disciplinary event – which sets her up for a potentially blockbusting Olympics in LA in 2028.

Kate O'Connor of Ireland celebrates after winning silver in the women's heptathlon during day eight of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

December saw Ireland bag three golds, a silver, and three bronze medals at the European Aquatics Short Course Championships in Poland. These included an equally historic 200m butterfly win for Ellen Walshe, the first Irish woman to win a title at the competition.