Waterford's greatest Sporting Hero is a soccer star.
Republic of Ireland international John O' Shea was today announced as the county's best sports star, sponsored by Flahavans.
Over 20,000 people voted on wlrfm.com for the month of June on a shortlist of 25 sports people in Waterford
That list was narrowed to down to seven including Aine Wall, Niamh Briggs, Gillian Hayes, John Treacy, John Mullane, Tom Cheasty and the overall winner John O Shea.
The Ferrybank native had a stellar career with Manchester United and Ireland.
Making 118 appearances for Ireland before retiring from international football in 2018 - O'Shea's goal against Germany in 2014 came on his 100th cap for Ireland and sealed a draw against the world champions in a game that was going against the Irish side.
Playing 12 seasons at Old Trafford, O'Shea was one of Alex Ferguson's favourite players as he could play in a number positions across the park. A solid defender who could also put in a shift in the middle of the field - he popped up to score 10 goals for United in his time there.
He continued to play after leaving United in 2011 with moves to Bournemouth, Antwerp, Sunderland and finishing his playing career at Reading - where he now works as first team coach making a total of 515 Premier League appearances for the Waterford man over 20 years.
His list of honours is impressive with 5 Premier Leagues, 2 FA Cups, 1 Champions League and 1 Club World Cup
He is one of the most decorated Irish footballers of all time,
The U21 Ireland Assistant manager says he is honoured to be named Waterford's Overall Sporting Hero
He praised all those involved in sport in Waterford including backroom staff and parents.
An expert judging panel was made up of Matt Keane, Kieran O Connor, Michelle Ryan and Ray Scott.
People voted in their thousands and narrowed the list of Waterford's most worthy sporting stars from 25 to 7. Their fate was then left in the hands of our 4 judges and following much deliberation, we had a winner!
The competition was sponsored by Flahavans.
You can listen back to the finale on Deise Today with Damien Tiernan and the four judges - and the winner himself here:
