On Monday 3 June 2024 the Deep RiverRock Blues Sporting Awards were held in Queen's Whitla Hall.

The Blues Awards is an annual event celebrating the sporting achievements of Queen's Sports Clubs and Athletes.

Host for this year's Deep RiverRock Blues Awards was Professor Helen McCarthy (Professor of Nanomedicine Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor)​. Helen started off the evening by paying tribute to this year's Blues, acknowledging their achievements in the sporting arena whilst balancing this with their academic careers. This is something that was encapsulated perfectly in the Power of Sport Video

On the night, 67 students (pictured below) from various sporting backgrounds were presented with a Blues Award and a special Blues Pin. You can view a full list of this year's Blues Recipients and their sports at the bottom of this page. 

Throughout the evening guests were treated to various Q&A sessions which gave an insight into Sport at Queen's and what it takes to succeed. One of the Q&A sessions involved Donal McAnallen, brother of the late Cormac McAnallen (2024 Hall of Fame inductee). Donal detailed the importance of Queen's in shaping Cormac's sporting pathway and the continued support provided by Queen's since his untimely death in 2004.

Karl Oakes, Head of Queen's Sport and Wellbeing rounded off the evening by congratulating all the successful athletes and teams as well as thanking everyone who helped make the 2024 Blues Awards such a great occasion.

Special Achievement Winners 2024

As well as the Blues, Special Achievement Awards were presented. These awards recognise individuals, teams, and groups who not only have achieved but also have contributed to the overall development and success of their sport at Queen's and the local community.

Sporting Hall of Fame Inductees 2024

Last year also saw the inaugural Queen's Hall of Fame awards which honours and celebrates the most distinguished sporting alumni going back each decade to the 1950's. This year we we inducted Bernie Collins (Motor Racing) and Cormac McAnallen (Gaelic Football) to the Hall of Fame.

Bernie Collins (Motor Racing)

Bernie Collins has been involved in Formula One racing since her undergraduate years at Queen's. In 2009 she accepted a place on McLaren Racing’s highly competitive graduate training programme. 

In 2015, Bernie left McLaren to join Force India as their Senior Strategy Engineer. Subsequently, she was Senior Strategy Engineer for the BWT Racing Point Formula One team and in 2020 became Head of Race Strategy for the Aston Martin F1 Team. Bernie is currently Director of BC Engineering Consultancy Ltd.

Bernie has excelled in one of the most technically complex and highly demanding sports in the world. Her accolades include being named as one of Forbes "30 under 30"; becoming an ambassador for the UK Governments' "Make it in Great Britain" and her role in the Aston Martin F1 team as Head of Race Strategy.

Bernie recently joined Sky Sports F1 punditry and is widely regarded as one of the most respected names in Formula One. For many young women she is a role model whose achievements inspire them to take up STEM subjects at school and University.

Cormac McAnallen (Gaelic Football)

In his short life, Eglish man Cormac McAnallen won every honour in Gaelic Football. He was an All-Ireland Minor winning Captain and Captained the Tyrone sides that won back-to-back All Ireland Under-21 titles in 2000 and 2001. He went on to win an All-Ireland Senior Football title with Tyrone in 2003 and was recognised with All Star and International Rules accolades. He was Young Footballer of the Year in 2001. Cormac was a huge sporting talent whose inspirational leadership helped Queen’s to capture the Ryan Cup (1999) and Sigerson Cup, the premiere Higher Education Gaelic Football championship (2000).

Cormac died suddenly at home in the early hours of 2nd March 2004, a death that sent shock waves throughout the GAA community and across the country in general. In the wake of his untimely passing the Cormac Trust was set up, with assistance from the Club Tyrone and the Tyrone County Board to fundraise for and purchase defibrillators, so that every community in the country would have access to this life saving equipment.

The Cormac Trust wound up on the 20^th anniversary of his death, after having helped provide over 300 automated external defibrillators (AEDS) in clubs, school, universities, and communities across Ireland at a cost of over £200,000. It trained over 2500 volunteers in the use of (AEDS) and provided an additional £180,000 for medical research into Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome and the funds raised still support an Irish Cardiac Society Bursary. The Cormac McAnallen Medal was established in 2012 by the Queen’s University GAA Club and Queen’s University Past Member’s Union. This prestigious award is presented to an exceptional student for outstanding commitment to, and performance for, the Queen’s GAA club.

Mickey Harte, former Tyrone Manager paid the ultimate tribute recently when he said: “I think he could have become one of the best players ever to play the game”

Below are just a few images from this year's Deep RiverRock Blues...  To view the full photo gallery click HERE