Ellen Walshe receives the Active South Dublin Sports Star of the Year Award from Mayor Pamela Kearns. With them are Edel Clancy, Community and Sports Development, Senior Executive Officer, SDCC, Colm Ward, CEO of South Dublin County Council and Lorna Maxwell, Director of Community, SDCC
‘I’m looking forward to seeing what this year holds’ – Ellen
ELLEN Walshe won the sports star of the year award for a third time at the Active South Dublin Sports Awards in association with The Echo and South Dublin County Council.
The Templeogue swimmer won the award thanks to amazing performances throughout 2025.
She set 17 Irish National Records and achieved sizable medal hauls in the European Aquatics Championship, World Swimming Aquatics World Cup as well as reaching five finals at the World Short Course Championships in Hungary.
An Olympian at Paris 2024, Walshe has continued to grow and improve in each competition she enters and has shown on numerous occasions throughout the year that she is more than capable of competing with the very best athletes in the world.
It is this continued excellence and consistently hitting such a high standard in her discipline which sees her as a constant winner of the overall sports star of the year award.
Walshe spoke on her achievements in 2025.
“I’ve had a great year. I think it’s hard to think back about all the particular moments because I’ve had so many. I’m looking forward to seeing what this year holds as well.”
“That [European Championships in Poland] was super special, there was a race just after it as well so I was slightly distracted but I’m so glad I took the moment at the end to celebrate it. I guess you don’t really get those moments to enjoy what you have achieved too often.”
“I’ve been at Templeogue since the start, thanks to all of them for coming. I think it shows that it’s a community behind us all. When I race it is individual but there is a massive team behind us that goes all the way down to the tiny tots that we have in the club.”
Walshe also revealed her upcoming plans for the rest of 2026.
“I’ll head to Dubai next week to race so I’m looking forward to that and then we’ll head into Paris for the summer hopefully for the European Long Course Championships.”
