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Commissioner, Chairperson Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, and of course our Sport Stars.

I am delighted to be here this evening at the presentation of the 2017 Annual Garda Sportstar Awards and I would like to thank the chairperson of Coiste Siamsa, Assistant Commissioner Anne Marie Mc Mahon, for her kind invitation to speak to you tonight.
Tonight gives us opportunity not only to celebrate and recognise Garda members who have achieved success in their chosen sports, but also to acknowledge and showcase the importance of sport in An Garda Síochána in developing links with the community and fostering a sense of esprit de corps.
I would like to acknowledge the long history and important role of An Coiste Siamsa.
I offer my sincere congratulations to this year’s winners who displayed in achieving success in eleven categories covering a wide variety of sports from fly- fishing to athletics and Gaelic sports.
The achievement of over a 100 Garda members who took part in the 4 Peaks Challenge raising over €80,000 for the mental health charity Aware is one of the many examples of members of An Garda Síochána supporting communities and raising money for charity through participation in sporting activities.
The Government is committed to a greatly increased Garda workforce. Some 1,600 new Gardai have come on board over the last 3 years, with a further 800 to come on board this year bringing Garda numbers to over 14,000 by the end of this year. With an expanded force and perhaps a younger age profile, we may see even more great achievements in the sporting arena in future years!
New recruits participate in a wide range of sporting activities while studying in the Garda College. It is very encouraging to see the success of the Garda College Hurling team who won both the League title and Ryan Cup Higher Education Championship in 2017.
I would like to thank Mr Marty Morrissey , our MC for the night - him success in his dancing endeavours in Dancing with the Stars
To conclude I would like once again to congratulate all the award winners on their success I look forward to chatting to you more in person later on in the evening.

· In particular, I want to offer my best wishes to retired Garda member Paul Rayfus on his Hall of Fame award. In his golfing career, Paul has achieved much including representing Ireland internationally and he was part of the team that won the Triple Crown for the first time in 1987. I am reliably informed that he and Tiger Woods share something in common - they were both beaten on the 18th at Porthcawl in Wales by Gary Walstenholm, the well-known English golfer.

· I also want to wish Declan Conlon the winner of the fly-fishing award the best of luck when he represents Ireland later this year at the World Masters Championship in Spain.

· Sport gives us the opportunity to take part in the kind of enterprises that make us feel part of something greater than ourselves. The achievement of Garda Eve Mc Crystal who receives a sports award for cycling are a wonderful example of this. In 2017 as a sighted pilot for cycling partner Katie-George Dunleavy, they won gold in the tandem Road Race and Time Trial events at the world Paralympic Championships in South Africa

· In Athletics, I know that Tom Power has been running marathons for ten years and in 2017 ran the Everest Marathon – the highest marathon in the world, at 17,000 feet and in -17 degree temperatures. As part of the first Irish team to ever compete in this event, Tom finished 25th and raised money for three charities. He has our admiration for this.

· It should be no surprise that the Mayo footballers are well represented in this year’s awards. Both the men’s and Ladies’ team competed in the All Ireland Final this past year, and the fact that David Clarke, Colm Boyle and Martha Carter were all nominated for All Star awards is a testament to the involvement of the Gardai in Gaelic Games throughout the island.

· Garda Niall Kennedy has brought international recognition to the Gardai in the international sphere – and inside the ring. Winning the both a Massachusetts State title and a New England title – some achievement for a man based in Wicklow. He is undefeated in his nine bouts, with five knockouts, so obviously he’s a man with a very bright future.

· Not content with winning a single world title, Garda Jeff Kehoe is no less than a triple world champion in the sport of shooting. He has represented An Garda Síochána and his country at many competitions, and this past July, Jeff set a new world record breaking his own previous record in the centrefire gallery rifle. He also played a major role in helping the Irish Team capture the International Gallery Rifle Federation World Cup.