The William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year was an annual Irish

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. ...

sponsored by bookmakers William Hill. Established in 2006, it was related to the International

William Hill Sports Book of the Year The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British sports literary award sponsored by bookmaker William Hill. The award is dedicated to rewarding excellence in sports writing. It was first awarded in 1989, and was devised by Graham ...

(est. 1989). The award sought to honour

sports books In the United States, a sportsbook or a race and sports book (sometimes abbreviated as book) is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, horse ra ...

produced in Ireland. The award lost its sponsorship after 2011 and has been discontinued.

History

The inaugural winner of the William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year in 2006 was Irish footballer Paul McGrath whose autobiography ''

Back from the Brink Back from the Brink may refer to: * ''Back from the Brink: Pre-Revolution Psychedelic Rock from Iran: 1973–1979'', a 2011 album by Kourosh Yaghmaei * ''Back from the Brink'', a 1983 book by Michael Edwardes * ''Back from the Brink'', a 2006 autob ...

'' described his football career and his battle with alcoholism. The following year, Irish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player

Trevor Brennan Trevor Brennan (born 29 September 1973) is an Irish former rugby union player. He played for Barnhall, Bective Rangers, St Marys College RFC, Leinster, Stade Toulousain and Ireland, being capped 13 times. He played either in the second row ...

won the award with ''Heart and Soul'', in which Brennan is described as an "anti-hero". The 2008 award was presented to

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

driver Tommy Byrne for ''Crashed and Byrned'', a biography including his brief five-race career with the now-defunct Hong Kong

Theodore Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory * Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saskatche ...

team. Hurler Donal Óg Cusack, the first openly gay elite Irish sportsman, was the 2009 recipient of the William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year with his autobiography ''Come What May''. Writing about the 2009 season of hurling club side St. Joseph's Doora-Barefield, Christy O'Connor won the 2010 award for ''The Club''. Winning the 2011 Irish Sports Book of the Year award with his biography of tetraplegic former rugby union player

Matt Hampson Matthew "Hambo" Hampson (born is an English former rugby union prop who became paralysed from the neck down (C4/5 tetraplegic), after a scrummaging accident when practising with England under-21 squad in March 2005. His condition requires ...

Paul Kimmage Paul Kimmage (born 7 May 1962 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish sports journalist and former amateur and professional road bicycle racer, who was road race champion of Ireland in 1981, and competed in the 1984 Olympic Games. He wrote for '' The ...

was the first author to win both the Irish and International awards (1990).

List of winners

* 2006 ''

'', Paul McGrath with Vincent Hogan * 2007 ''Heart and Soul'',

with

Gerry Thornley Gerry is both a surname and a masculine or feminine given name. As a given name, it is often a short form (hypocorism) of Gerard, Gerald or Geraldine. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814), fifth US vice presi ...

* 2008 ''Crashed And Byrned: The Greatest Racing Driver You Never Saw'', Tommy Byrne with

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...

* 2009 ''Come What May: The Autobiography'', Donal Óg Cusack * 2010 ''The Club'' by Christy O'Connor * 2011 ''Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson'',

References

External links

*{{cite web , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908100431/http://www.irishsportsbookoftheyear.com/ , archivedate=8 September 2013, url=http://www.irishsportsbookoftheyear.com , title=William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year , work= , author= , date= , accessdate=29 May 2014 2006 establishments in Ireland 2011 disestablishments in Ireland Awards established in 2006 Books about sports Irish literary awards Sports writing awards William Hill (bookmaker) Annual events in Ireland Awards disestablished in 2011