Established in 2006, it was related to the International William Hill Sports Book of the Year (est.
The award sought to honour sports books produced in Ireland.
[2] The inaugural winner of the William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year in 2006 was Irish footballer Paul McGrath whose autobiography Back from the Brink described his football career and his battle with alcoholism.
[5] Hurler Donal Óg Cusack, the first openly gay elite Irish sportsman,[6] was the 2009 recipient of the William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year with his autobiography Come What May.
[8] Winning the 2011 Irish Sports Book of the Year award with his biography of tetraplegic former rugby union player Matt Hampson,[9] Paul Kimmage was the first author to win both the Irish and International awards (1990).