Golf
It was the biggest year of Seamus Power's professional career.
The Tooranena native claimed his first PGA Tour win when he came through a six-hole play-off at the Barbasol Championship to beat JT Poston.
Beginning the year outside the top 300, Seamus will return to action after Christmas ranked 71st in the world.
Boxing
Kelyn Cassidy had a year for himself too. Traveling to Dublin for the elite national championships, few had picked the Ballybeg native for success against Tommy Hyde.
Putting Hyde under serious pressure from the first bell, Cassidy went on to win by first-round TKO to claim the title and with it, ended a nine year wait for an elite title in Waterford.
The Saviours Crystals boxer then earned selection for Team Ireland as part of their team for the World Championships.
He became the only member of Team Ireland to win at the Championships, where he would go on to reach a quarter-final.
Fightin in the quarter-final against Belarusian boxer Aliaksei Alfiourau, it was to be the end of his efforts. Beaten on the judge's scorecards the irish elite champion would come home to a hero's welcome in his club
Rally
While Power and Cassidy were busy representing Ireland in their sports, it was another Waterford man who was busy tearing up tarmac and gravel on the WRC.
Craig Breen was getting occasional starts for Hyundai on the world stage, but when he was given the chance, he took it with aplomb.
He began the year in Finland where he took fourth after the weekends racing.
The Slieverue native would miss out on selection for the next three WRC events in Portugal, Italy and Kenya, but came back into fashion when Hyundai wanted him to drive in Estonia - a race he had previously placed second in.
2021 would see him match his previous podium result, taking second for the second year in a row. He followed that up with another second place in Belgium and then his final podium of the year in Finland.
The year was well rounded out for Breen as he signed a deal to race for Ford in 2022 & 2023.
Racing
2021 was a year unlike any other for Waterford horse trainer Henry De Bromhead.
The Knockeen handler made history as he became the first ever trainer to land the Holy Trinity of the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase & Gold Cup at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival in March.
Rachael Blackmore won the Champion Hurdle aboard unbeaten mare Honeysuckle, while Aidan Coleman steered Put The Kettle On to take the Champion Chase – with De Bromhead’s wonder week of six winners capped off with Minella Indo and Jack Kennedy’s thrilling success ahead of stablemate A Plus Tard in the Gold Cup.
Having made headlines all across the world, the De Bromhead and Blackmore partnership once again deep-dived into unprecedented territories in April when they combined to make history in the world’s most famous steeplechase, the Aintree Grand National in Liverpool.
Blackmore became the first female rider ever to win the race as she guided Minella Times home, with another De Bromhead horse, 100/1 shot Balkos Des Flos coming home in second place.
Awards, acknowledgments, and international stardom followed for the pair as they adorned TV screens and newspaper front pages across the globe, the greatest recognition of all followed when De Bromhead was granted the freedom of Waterford City & County on account of his remarkable achievements.
