The most-read sports stories of 2025
If sport is about moments, 2025 delivered a lot of good ones. From Rory McIlroy’s Masters triumph, to Kate O’Connor’s pentathlon heroics, our swimmers making a splash, some huge rugby occasions and a certain Mr Parrott – it’s been a hell of a year.
Factor in a Lions Tour, the most acrimonious Ryder Cup in history, the loss of some beloved sportspeople, Gaelic football reborn, Skortsgate and a bonkers hurling final, and 2025 measures up against any recent year in sport.
As is now tradition, we have captured the top 10 stories on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app for each month, to give you a sense of what made you click this year.
Just to note, same as other years, we have not included live blogs, so as to give a better idea of the top news stories, as opposed to events. So if you’re wondering why certain huge rugby, soccer, football or hurling games don’t feature, rest assured the live blogs of these matches would be among top overall articles for the year.
The departed: (L-R) Peter O’Mahony, Cian Healy and Conor Murray all hung up their boots at the end of last season
March
1. Former F1 owner Eddie Jordan dies aged 76
Former Formula One team owner and TV pundit Eddie Jordan died at the age of 76. The Dubliner founded Jordan Grand Prix, a team that raced from 1991 to 2005 and secured four F1 victories in that time.
2. Sarah Healy wins gold in 3000 metres at European Indoor Athletics Championships
In a sign of things to come for Irish athletics in 2025, Sarah Healy won a gold medal in the 3000m at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in the Netherlands.
3. Bulgarian club apologises after minute’s silence for ex-player who is still alive
Easily done… Bulgarian club Arda Kardzhali apologised for holding a minute’s silence for a former player who is still alive. Petko Ganchev was mourned ahead of the 1-1 league draw with Levski Sofia, with both teams lining up on the centre circle and bowing their heads.
4. Pentathlete Kate O’Connor claims silver at World Indoor Championships
Ah, that’s the indoors. Let’s see how she gets on at the outdoor World Championships later in the year.
5. Rampant France end Irish Grand Slam hopes with emphatic win in Dublin
Ireland’s Grand Slam dreams were blown to smithereens by a ruthless and emphatic France, who looked destined to win the Six Nations after this 42-27 Aviva Stadium demolition job.
6. France coach Fabien Galthie furious after ‘reprehensible’ Antoine Dupont incident
France head coach Fabien Galthie reacted furiously to an injury to Antoine Dupont during the above win. The former World Player of the Year jarred his knee when Tadhg Beirne collided with him at a ruck, but no action was taken by the referee Angus Gardner, or TMO Ian Tempest, who deemed it a “rugby incident”.
7. Caelan Doris passed fit but Mack Hansen misses out on France clash
Team news ahead of the defeat to France.
8. St Patrick’s Day delight for Rory McIlroy as he seals Players Championship win
Rory McIlroy celebrated St Patrick’s Day in style by defeating JJ Spaun in a play-off to win the prestigious Players Championship for the second time. As we know, better was yet to come for the Down native.
9. FRC make tweaks as 3v3 rule altered
We weren’t getting through this without mention of the Football Review Committee, who single-handedly saved football (along with David Clifford). This article related to six tweaks ahead of the final two rounds of Allianz League games.
10. Leinster semi-finals moved out of Croke Park
Leinster GAA decided to switch both provincial football semi-finals outside of Croke Park, meaning that it will be the first occasion since 1995 that both provincial last-four encounters will not be played at GAA headquarters. And, what do you know, the Dubs were beaten!
Eddie Jordan was diagnosed with an ‘aggressive’ type of cancer
April was a month to savour for Rory McIlroy
May
1. Munster Camogie defers Cork v Waterford over skortsgate
Every summer needs a saga. After Dublin and Kilkenny players were forced to change out of shorts before a Leinster game, the train was in motion. The Munster senior camogie final between Cork and Waterford was deferred, with Munster Camogie taking the action after both panels confirmed that they would wear shorts in the tie, in contravention of existing rules. To be continued…
2. Jockey Rachael Blackmore announces retirement after glittering career
Rachael Blackmore announced her retirement after a 16-year career. The Tipperary rider won the Aintree Grand National in 2021 on Minella Times as well as the Cheltenham Gold Cup on A Plus Tard in 2022 – the first female jockey to win either race. The 35-year-old had 18 victories in total at the Cheltenham Festival, and was also the first woman to be leading jockey at Prestbury Park in 2020.
3. Ireland women relay team impress to qualify for Worlds
The Ireland women’s 4x400m relay team joined the 4x400m mixed relay quartet in qualifying for the World Athletics Championships. Having missed out on the final in the qualifiers at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China, Ireland took full advantage of the backdoor route by romping to victory in their repechage on Sunday.
4. Ireland mixed relay team power into World Championships
Report on Conor Kelly, Rhasidat Adeleke, Cillín Greene and Sharlene Mawdsley qualifying for the World Championships in Tokyo, finishing second in their heat at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China.
5. Camogie Assocation give green light to wearing of shorts after special congress
Following a special congress at Croke Park, the Camogie Association voted overwhelmingly in favour of allowing shorts to become part of the official kit for the code. The ballot of the 133 delegates saw 98% vote in favour of change.
6. Davy Fitzgerald says he will go to Croke Park over officials
Antrim manager Davy Fitzgerald lashed out at the match officials following his side’s Leinster SHC defeat to Galway, pledging to “go to Croke Park” after Declan McCloskey was sent off just before half-time.
7. Allegations of abuse campaign dominate Mayo meeting
GAA president Jarlath Burns criticised what he described as “bullying, intimidation and threats” directed at officers of the Mayo county board. At a special meeting of the Mayo GAA board in Westport, delegates were shown examples of emails sent to board officers, which were described by Burns as “toxic” and “way beyond what is normal”.
8. Special congress called to vote on Camogie skorts issue
Within six days of the controversy blowing up in Dublin, the Camogie Association took steps to rewrite their own rulebook. Calling a special congress did not prevent the postponement of the Munster final (see above).
9. Maro Itoje named captain as injured Caelan Doris to miss Lions tour
Caelan Doris missed out on selection for the British and Irish Lions following shoulder surgery, with head coach Andy Farrell naming a 38-man squad for the tour of Australia this summer. The touring party was to be captained by England lock Maro Itoje.
10. Dublin’s Leinster reign over as Meath end 15-year wait for victory over neighbours
It only took a decade-and-a-half but Dublin’s dominance of Leinster football was ended in Portlaoise. Just a pity for Meath they lost the final to Louth!
Skorts were a hot topic in May
4. Cork seize Munster hurling crown from Limerick after historic penalty-shootout triumph
Another Limerick hurling defeat to feature prominently. This time the dramatic penalty shootout defeat to Cork in the Munster final. The Rebels won 3-2 on penalties after the match finished Limerick 2-27 Cork 1-30 after extra-time.
5. Jim McGuinness explains fiery touchline row with Ray Galligan
After both he and his Cavan counterpart were shown yellow cards, the Donegal football manager said he was frustrated with some perceived delaying tactics during his team’s round robin win.
6. All-Ireland quarter-final draw on Monday with Armagh to face Kerry
Such was the football fervour that gripped the country that previews of draws were big hits – albeit this one did confirm a tasty last-eight match-up between Armagh and Kerry.
7. Tyrone canter into All-Ireland SFC semi-finals as wasteful Dublin bow out
Dublin exited the championship at the quarter-final stage for the second year running after Tyrone cantered away to victory. The result marked the end of Dessie Farrell’s six-year reign as Dublin manager, the Na Fianna man confirming the news in an at times emotional press conference afterwards.
8. All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals: All You Need to Know
Our preview of the matches between Monaghan and Donegal, Tyrone and Dublin, Meath and Galway, and Armagh and Kerry.
9. Dessie Farrell steps down as Dublin manager
Dessie Farrell, an All-Ireland winner in 1995, succeeded Jim Gavin in the Dublin hotseat in January 2020. And in the Covid-affected season that followed, he guided the county to a sixth successive Sam Maguire win.
10. Tomos Williams’ Lions tour is over, Hugo Keenan and Jamison Gibson-Park make first start
The British & Irish Lions confirmed Welsh scrum-half Tomos Williams suffered a tour-ending hamstring injury, while Hugo Keenan and Jamison Gibson-Park were in line to get their first starts in the match against the Queensland Reds.
July
1. Ciara Mageean reveals cancer diagnosis
European 1500m champion and Irish record holder Ciara Mageean revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer. On social media the 33-year-old confirmed she had started treatment, adding she’s “ready to face this with the same fight I’ve always brought to the track”.
2. Katie Taylor triumphant in trilogy fight against Amanda Serrano by majority decision
Katie Taylor emerged victorious from her trilogy fight with Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden to seal a clean sweep of wins in their rivalry. The three judges scored it 95-95 97-93 97-93 in her favour as she retained her undisputed WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO women’s super lightweight titles.
3. Liverpool star Diogo Jota dies in car crash
More dark news in July. Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota died at the age of 28 with his brother Andre Silva, also a professional footballer. The car in which they were travelling crashed in Zamora, Spain.
4. GAA to investigate after scoreline confusion in All-Ireland hurling semi-final
This was almost the second GAA saga of the summer, if the score was closer. The GAA was awaiting the report of referee James Owens after it emerged Tipperary were 4-20 to 0-30 two-point winners over Kilkenny in today’s All-Ireland hurling semi-final, one point less than the scoreboard in the stadium suggested. A Noel McGrath effort at the end of normal time was waved wide by the umpire, but given as a point on the scoreboard, apparently putting Tipp four up, 4-21 to 0-29, at the time.
5. All-Ireland hurling final: All you need to know
One of our preview pieces ahead of hurling final and, no, Conor Neville did not predict how second half would go.
6. Ben Healy takes yellow jersey at Tour de France after heroic third place in stage 10
Ben Healy became the fourth Irish cyclist to wear the famous Yellow Jersey as he led the Tour de France after 10 stages of this year’s race. A monster Bastille Day stage through the Massif Central delivered the fireworks as Healy put in a huge shift in the break to maintain a sizeable gap over the chasing peloton, fighting his way to third on the stage and then counting the seconds until Tadej Pogacar crossed the line.
7. Tipperary crush Cork with second-half final masterclass to claim All-Ireland crown
“Coronation hijacked,” as Eoin Ryan put it in his All-Ireland hurling final report. Tipperary famously holding Cork to two points in a shocking second-half collapse from the Leesiders.
8. Swaggering Kerry sweep past Donegal to win 39th title
Written off in mid-summer, Kerry won their 39th All-Ireland title with a bravura display of attacking football to overcome a Donegal side whose characteristic efficiency deserted them. David Clifford scored 0-09 despite having the ball for 43 seconds in total.
9. Ireland’s Ben Healy storms to Tour de France stage victory
More from Healy’s magical Tour de France. Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) produced an aggressive, highly impressive ride, peeling away on a solo attack to take his first victory in the famous race on the 201.5 km stage six from Bayeux to Vire Normandie.
10. Tadhg Beirne starts among eight Irish for Lions Test opener
Team news ahead of the British & Irish Lions’ opening Test win over Australia, with the XV set to feature a record eight Irish players, as head coach Andy Farrell put faith in his Ireland and Leinster core.
Katie Taylor once more got the better of Amanda Serrano
Angry, angry man: Daniil Medvedev takes his frustrations out on his racket
September
1. Ricky Hatton found dead at home aged 46
Former world boxing champion Ricky Hatton died at the age of 46. Hatton was found dead at his home in Hyde. Greater Manchester Police did not treat the death as suspicious.
2. ‘Grateful he’s in my life’ – Cup hero Shane Lowry is Rory McIlroy’s hero
After Shane Lowry sunk the putt that clinched the Ryder Cup for Europe, he was lauded by his good friend Rory McIlroy, who was also on the victorious side that beat their hosts around Bethpage Black.
3. Ryder Cup announcer steps down over Rory McIlroy expletive-filled chant
It wasn’t all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows in New York. The Europeans had to ensure some pretty hostile conditions. A crowd announcer called Heather McMahan stood down after urging fans at the first tee to shout “f***you Rory” together after players were introduced to the crowd.
4. Shane Lowry holes crucial putt as Europe win Ryder Cup and fend off stunning US comeback
Our report as Shane Lowry holed the decisive putt to retain the Ryder Cup for Europe before the team went on to win the tournament outright by a 15-13 margin after holding off a dramatic fightback from the United States at Bethpage Black.
5. Gold for Ireland as Aoife O’Rourke crowned world champion in Liverpool
Boxer Aoife O’Rourke defeated Busra Isildar of Turkey to win gold in the 75kg division at the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool.
6. Rory McIlroy hails K Club fans and toasts ‘a pretty cool year’
Rory McIlroy savoured “a pretty cool year” after adding a second Irish Open title to his Masters win, thanks to a thrilling play-off victory over Joakim Lagergren. McIlroy had to eagle the 72nd hole just to take it to a play-off after Lagergren’s own stunning eagle at the 16th. After the first two extra holes were tied, Lagergren found the water hazard third time around to allow McIlroy to win.
7. ‘Disappointed’ Michael Darragh Macauley part of NFL Croke Park protest
Eight-time All-Ireland winner Michael Darragh Macauley announced his intention to protest outside the Pittsburgh Steelers v Minnesota Vikings game, saying he was “disappointed” NFL action would take place in Croke Park.
8. Kate O’Connor wins World Championship silver in heptathlon following fifth personal best
Backing up her indoor effort at start of the year, Kate O’Connor won the silver medal in the heptathlon at the World Athletics Championships following an incredible fifth personal best from seven events, as she clocked two minutes 9.56 seconds in the decisive 800m.
9. Double gold for Irish rowers at World Championships
There was double gold joy for Ireland at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai as Fiona Murtagh in the women’s singles and Fintan McCarthy and Mags Cremen in the mixed double sculls both assumed top place on their respective podiums.
10. World Cup hopes shattered as Ireland shocked by Armenia
Listen, we could alter this headline in light of later events, but that wouldn’t be honest. At the time, this did a seem a catastophic result. Ireland’s World Cup dream turned into a nightmare as Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side were shocked in Yerevan, losing 2-1 to bottom seed Armenia at the Republican Stadium.
Seventh heaven: Heptathlon hero Kate O’Connor won silver in Tokyo
October
1. Tipperary senior football manager Philly Ryan dies aged 56
Tipperary GAA said it was “deeply saddened” to announce football manager Philly Ryan’s “very untimely death” at the age of 56, decribing him as “a stalwart of Tipperary football, both as a player and in his later role as manager and coach”.
2. How ‘Tony Goal’ rejuvenated his career in France
Ahead of an RTÉ documentary on Tony Cascarino’s time in France, Conor Neville explored this incredibly successful but tumultuous time in the Republic of Ireland striker’s career.
3. Sport Ireland ‘deeply disappointed’ as Shane Ryan joins Enhanced Games
Sport Ireland said it was “deeply disappointed” with the decision of Irish swimmer Shane Ryan to join the Enhanced Games, a controversial competition that permits athletes to take banned performance-enhancing drugs under medical supervision.
4. Referee showed Portugal too much respect – Heimir Hallgrimsson
Following a narrow, last-gasp defeat in Lisbon, Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson criticised the referee for favouring the illustrious hosts. It was a conversation that would continue ahead of Dublin rematch, with potentially era-changing results.
5. Statement Munster performance downs Leinster at Croke Park
Munster’s Clayton McMillan era roared into life at Croke Park, as his side produced a statement win, and a performance to match, to maintain their 100% start to the season – thumping an off-colour Leinster 31-14 at GAA headquarters.
6. Club scene hit by 48 hours of seismic shocks
The club GAA season exploded into life with shocks across Armagh, Tyrone, Galway and Kerry.
7. Caelan Doris returns on bench as Dan Sheehan captains Ireland against New Zealand
Big news ahead of All Blacks clash in Chicago as Caelan Doris set to return from injury, with the Leinster number 8 named on the bench by head coach Andy Farrell.
8. Five-time All-Ireland winning captain Declan Hannon retires from inter-county hurling
Limerick’s five-time All-Ireland-winning captain Declan Hannon retired from inter-county hurling. After 15 seasons with the Treaty County, the 32-year-old three-time All-Star called time on a stellar career.
Former Down goalkeeper Charlie Smyth (39) is forging an NFL career for himself
7. Alan Mahon leaves Republic of Ireland role for ‘personal reasons’
Republic of Ireland women’s assistant head coach Alan Mahon stepped away from the post with immediate effect. Having forged a strong reputation in the women’s game as an assistant boss at Manchester City, Mahon came on board with head coach Carla Ward last January after she was named Eileen Gleeson’s successor.
8. 2027 Rugby World Cup pool draw: All you need to know
Ireland will get drawn against Scotland, again. That was one thing we needed to know. Preview of the RWC draw.
9. RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year nominees revealed
Ahead of the RTÉ Sport Awards, the 12 nominees for the RTÉ Sport Sportsperson of the Year award were named, with Aoife O’Rourke, Ben Healy, David Clifford, Fiona Murtagh, Katie McCabe, Kate O’Connor, Lara Gillespie, Orla Comerford, Rory McIlroy, Roisín Ní Riain, Sarah Healy and Troy Parrott all in the running to lift the prestigious accolade.
10. Ronan O’Gara sent to the stands after repeatedly arguing with referee
Ronan O’Gara was sent to the stands as his La Rochelle side lost out to Pau in a high-scoring Top 14 match at the Stade du Hameau. O’Gara twice remonstrated with officials before being ordered off the sideline by referee Jeremy Rozier.
