Cycling Ulster Awards Celebration 2025 – A Night to Celebrate Our Cycling Community

Cycling Ulster’s 2025 Awards Celebration brought together riders, volunteers, clubs and supporters from across the province for an evening that truly reflected the strength and spirit of our cycling community.

The evening opened with a warm welcome from current Cycling Ulster Chairperson Claire Young, followed by Cycling Ireland President Ciarán Cannon, who spoke about the many successes across Irish cycling and the values that connect us all- a shared love of cycling, friendship, and the simple joy of movement.

After a lovely three-course meal and excellent service from the team at Canavans, the awards ceremony got underway.
Proceedings were led by 2025 Chairperson Paul Sanders, who reflected on the many achievements of Ulster riders throughout the season and the breadth of activity taking place across disciplines.

This year saw the introduction of several new award categories, designed to recognise not only championship success but also the people and initiatives that help cycling thrive. Seeing so many nominees in the room was a reminder of the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes across Ulster.

Award Winners on the Night

• Coach of the Year: Beefy Mullan

• Volunteer of the Year: Olly Logan

• Cycling Initiative of the Year: Volunteer Trail Maintenance Programme

• Event of the Year: Tae in the Pot, Agivey CC

• Chairperson’s Award: Presented in recognition of the phenomenal efforts and results of the 2025 Rás Tailteann team, acknowledging both performance and the work that went into delivering a successful campaign.

The Leisure Awards were presented by Mark Kavanagh, celebrating participation and enjoyment of cycling across the community:

• Leisure King of the Year: Vincent McCarron

• Leisure Queen of the Year: Lesley Watt

• Leisure Club of the Year: Foyle CC

A highlight of the evening was a fireside chat with Hazel Smyth, titled “Triumph Through Adversity”, where Hazel shared her story with honesty and warmth. We also heard from Karen Coulter and Gary Donaldson of Outscape and The Outdoor Partnership, who spoke about the collaboration, planning and volunteer effort behind the Volunteer Trail Maintenance Programme.

The evening also marked the first presentation of Cycling Ulster’s new medals, which were proudly showcased at their inaugural awards ceremony.

Cycling Ulster would like to sincerely thank everyone who joined us on the night, whether as an award winner, nominee, guest or supporter.
Your presence and support made the evening what it was, and we appreciate everyone who continues to contribute to cycling across Ulster.