![\"stuart-mccloskey-with-the-druids-glen-hotel-golf-resort-moment-of-the-year-award\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779319570_493_.jpeg\")
\n Stuart McCloskey with his award. Ben Brady \/ INPHO<\/p>\n
STUART MCCLOSKEY AND\u00a0Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald were the big winners at the 2026 Rugby Players Ireland Awards, earning the respective Players\u2019 Player of the Year awards.<\/p>\n
Ulster\u2019s McCloskey prevailed after an influential season for both province and country. The 33-year-old edged out fellow Triple Crown winners Jamison Gibson-Park, Dan Sheehan, and last year\u2019s Players\u2019 Player of the Year, and British & Irish Lions Player of the Series, Tadhg Beirne.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure there\u2019s any world in which I would have imagined myself receiving this award this time last year,\u201d said a delighted McCloskey.<\/p>\n
\n Stuart McCloskey with his award. Ben Brady \/ INPHO<\/p>\n
Ben Brady \/ INPHO \/ INPHO\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve really enjoyed this season and having the opportunity to test myself against the very best in the game. I\u2019m also honoured to share the field with many great players, and to have this acknowledgement from them is very special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile,\u00a0Moloney-MacDonald got the nod for the women\u2019s gong ahead of Eve Higgins and Brittany Hogan. After making her Ireland debut in 2015,\u00a0Moloney-MacDonald earned her 50th international cap during this year\u2019s Six Nations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like I\u2019ve had two different careers with Ireland,\u201d said Moloney-MacDonald, who was recalled to the Ireland squad in 2024 after a three-year absence. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been an easy road at times, but the team is now in a great place and well positioned to become a real force at the top of the women\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud to have played my part over the years and while award feels like a full circle moment, I know there is plenty of road in the journey to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"claudia-and-cliodhna-moloney-macdonald\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779319571_800_.jpeg\")
\n Claudia and Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald pictured at the awards ceremony. Ben Brady \/ INPHO<\/p>\n
Ben Brady \/ INPHO \/ INPHO\n<\/p>\n
Elsewhere at the ceremony, the Contribution to Irish Society Award was presented to retiring Connacht Rugby out-half Jack Carty in recognition of his continued advocacy and community engagement, as well as his work across Tackle Your Feelings and other charitable causes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Men\u2019s XVs Try of the Year went to Ulster winger Rob Baloucoune, while Eve Higgins clinched the Women\u2019s XVs Try of the Year following a memorable breakaway score during Ireland\u2019s World Cup campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nominated in three different categories, Robyn O\u2019Connor won the Women\u2019s XVs Young Player of the Year after a breakthrough season that included a try-scoring Irish debut, while Ulster Rugby\u2019s Bryn Ward was the Men\u2019s XVs Young Player of the Year.<\/p>\n
Megan Burns was announced as the Women\u2019s 7s Player of the Year, while Ireland\u2019s successful pursuit of another Triple Crown was the Moment of the Year.\n<\/p>\n
****<\/p>\n
Rugby Players Ireland Awards 2026<\/p>\n
OCC Consulting Men\u2019s XVs Players\u2019 Player Of The Year –\u00a0Stuart McCloskey<\/p>\n
Nominees: Tadhg Beirne, Jamison Gibson-Park, Dan Sheehan<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
OCC Consulting Women\u2019s XVs Players\u2019 Player Of The Year –\u00a0Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald<\/p>\n
Nominees: Eve Higgins, Brittany Hogan<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nevin Spence Men\u2019s XVs Young Player Of The Year –\u00a0Bryn Ward<\/p>\n
Nominees: Billy Bohan, Joshua Kenny<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Energia Women\u2019s XVs Young Player Of The Year –\u00a0Robyn O\u2019Connor<\/p>\n
Nominees: Dannah O\u2019Brien, Katie Whelan\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mercedes-Benz Ballsbridge Men\u2019s XVs Try Of The Year –\u00a0Rob Baloucoune (v Italy)<\/p>\n
Nominees: Dan Kelly (v Glasgow Warriors), Tommy O\u2019Brien (v Scotland #1)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
AIB Women\u2019s XVs Try Of The Year –\u00a0Eve Higgins (v Japan)<\/p>\n
Nominees: Robyn O\u2019Connor (v Italy), B\u00e9ibhinn Parsons (v Italy #3)\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
TritonLake Women\u2019s 7s Player Of The Year –\u00a0Megan Burns<\/p>\n
Nominees: Alana McInerney, Robyn O\u2019Connor<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zurich Contribution To Irish Society Award –\u00a0Jack Carty\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort Moment Of The Year –\u00a0Ireland Chasing down the Triple Crown accepted by\u00a0Stuart McCloskey<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STUART MCCLOSKEY AND\u00a0Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald were the big winners at the 2026 Rugby Players Ireland Awards, earning the respective…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[199055,61,60,43,3654,199056,83298,199057],"class_list":["post-459168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-cliodhna-moloney-macdonald","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-rugby","tag-rugby-players-ireland-awards","tag-stuart-mccloskey","tag-top-picks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}