May: Shane Horgan

HE ranked Leinster's 2009 Heineken Cup triumph as better than winning a Triple Crown with Ireland - and Shane Horgan reflected on another new high in his rugby life when helping steer the province to a second European crown.

The prospects of a second title looked all but shattered by half-time in Cardiff as opponents Northampton Saints stormed into a shock 22-6 lead. But Leinster delved deep into their reserves to turn one of the biggest upsets into the greatest comeback in Heineken Cup history - 33-22 at the finish.

As always, Bellewstown native Shane had a big part to play in Leinster's second-half onslaught, and his form throughout the tournament and in the Magners League had some rugby commentators calling for an end to the 32-year-old's three-year international exile.

A month earlier the former Boyne youth player passed another milestone during a Magners League clash against Munster when he scored the game's only try on his 200th appearance for the province.

June: Des Smyth

A THRILLING final round of 65 enabled veteran Des Smyth to capture his fourth European Senior Tour title at the Van Lanschot Senior Open in Holland.

The Baltray man (58) started the final day four strokes behind joint overnight leaders and fell further adrift following a three-putt bogey on the 2nd green, but after a confidence-restoring birdie on the 4th there was no stopping the former Ryder Cup player.

Eagles at the 5th and 10th, together with birdies at 9, 13 and 14 put him in the driving seat and another birdie at the last hole gave the chasing pack too much ground to make up.

Afterwards, Des, who finished the year 12th out of 109 players on the Order of Merit - ahead of other household names such as Sam Torrance, Mark James, Sandy Lyle and Costantino Rocca - paid tribute to compatriot Christy O'connor jnr for a pre-tournament lesson that helped smooth out his faltering swing.

July: Ronan Pentony

DROGHEDA'S Ronan Pentony ended the season with a new army of supporters and the respect of his racing colleagues.

He started the year by winning the Senior Support class on his Suzuki 750 at the Cookstown 100 Races, and finishing third in the Junior Support.

The following week he triumphed in the Junior Support at Tandragee, and during the summer he finished on the podium 11 times in 12 races at Bush, Skerries, Walderstown, Kells, Armoy and Timoleague.

On the last weekend at Killalane, a second place in the Senior race meant Ronan finished the year as runner-up in that class. However, third in the Junior Support race proved enough to land that title.

An appeals process is ongoing in relation to that latter championship, but whatever the outcome 2011 proved a fantastic year for Ronan - second in the Irish Senior Support, fourth in the 650, second in both Ulster championships and an award from Duke Road Race Rankings for Newcomer of the Year.

August: David Foy

YOUNG Laytown & Bettystown golfer David Foy is definitely a player to watch in the future, after landing a major national title last summer.

The Julianstown schoolboy was up against an elite field of the most talented golfers in the country when he lined up for the Under-17 Irish Boys Amateur Close Championship at the Ardee club.

His chances looked slim after three rounds of 75, 76 and 71, but David covered the final 18 holes in a brilliant 68 to land the coveted title. During the year David also competed in the Leinster, Connacht and Munster Boys, Leinster Youths, Faldo Series, Mullingar Scratch Cup and East of Ireland championships.

Golf will take a back seat to an extent as he focuses on his Leaving Cert studies over the next few months, but David has come a long way since taking his first swing aged 11.

He started at the Bellewstown club, but now plays on the links of Laytown & Bettystown, where he is coached by Bobby Browne. -The final four nominees for the Drogheda Independent Sport Star Awards, which will be held on Friday February 24th, will be announced in next week's paper, and readers will have the chance to have their say on the winners through text voting in the papers of February 15th and 22nd.