The Irish Times/Vhi Healthcare Sportswoman Award for December - Madeline Perry (squash):If it wasn't for the injuries that forced her to withdraw from the 2000 and 2005 Irish National Squash Championships Madeline Perry might well have completed a 10-in-a-row at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club last month when she beat Aisling Blake in the final.
That victory, then, brought to eight the number of national titles won by the 30-year-old Banbridge squash professional since her first in 1997, but considering what she had endured just two months before she will have savoured this success more than any.
Perry suffered serious head injuries in September in an incident in Milan, where she had been training for the week, when, after leaving friends she had been dining with, she was found unconscious on the ground.
"After that I remember nothing," she said. "My friends found me lying on the ground with blood coming out of my ear. My handbag was gone, so I could have been mugged, but nobody saw anything. I was unconscious for a few minutes before coming round, but I don't really remember any of it.
"I just remember waking up in the hospital ward."
The temporal bone in Perry's skull was broken and she also suffered bleeding and bruising to the brain. On release from hospital she was advised not to fly home by the medical staff, and so set off on a marathon return to Banbridge by land and sea.
A local neurosurgeon told her she was lucky to survive the injuries, leaving her, somewhat stoically, concluding "it could have been worse".
Mind you, Perry has never been one to settle for conventional sporting injuries, she was once knocked unconscious by her board when she was surfing off Cornwall, her broken jaw requiring reconstructive surgery. It can, then, be useful at times to have a medical dictionary at hand when reading the latest instalments in the life and times of Madeline Perry.
Even before the September incident Perry's season on the professional circuit had been interrupted by a persistent knee injury that frustrated her hopes of breaking in to the world top five, having reached a career high six in April 2006 (ranking her third in Europe). She is now at 13.
Undaunted, Perry is intent on making up on lost ground in 2008.
"It's like for an electrician or anyone - I haven't been earning because I haven't been working," she said, "I couldn't have survived without my Sports Council funding. This season had gotten off to a good start so missing those tournaments was hard to take, but there will still be a lot to play for when I get back."
That she competed at all in Fitzwilliam in December was a testament to Perry's resolve; that she saw off a spirited challenge from Irish number two Blake was evidence of her determination. One of Ireland's gutsiest and most gifted sportswomen wins her fourth monthly award in as many years.
2007 Monthly winners
JANUARY:Marie Breen (Basketball): Captained Glanmire to victory in the Superleague National Cup final, scored 29 points and was named Most Valuable Player.
FEBRUARY:Chloe Magee (Badminton): The Donegal teenager helped Ireland to the final of the Helvetia Cup, and won the singles and doubles titles at the national championships.
MARCH:Nina Carberry (Horse racing): Carberry triumphed again at the Cheltenham Festival, winning the Sporting Index Handicap Chase on Heads Onthe Ground.
APRIL:Emma Byrne (Soccer): The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper starred in Arsenal's perfect season when they won every competition they entered, including the Uefa Cup.
MAY:Lisa and Leona Maguire (Golf): The 12-year-old Cavan twins shared our May award after Leona won the Hermitage Scratch Cup and Lisa reached the semi-finals of the Irish Close.
JUNE:Jessica Kürten (Equestrian): Dropped out of the world top 10 after a quiet start to the year but embarked on a run of form in April that lifted her back to third.
JULY:Eileen O'Keeffe (Athletics): The hammer thrower broke the 70-metre mark five times at the National Championships and went on to finish sixth at the World Championships in Osaka.
AUGUST:Joanne Cuddihy (Athletics): Became the first Irishwoman to run under 51 seconds in the 400 metres at the World Championships.
SEPTEMBER:Mary Leacy (Camogie) and Valerie Mulcahy (Gaelic football): Leacy captained Wexford to their first camogie senior All-Ireland title in 32 years while the ever-prolific Mulcahy helped Cork to a football three-in-a-row.
OCTOBER:Katie Taylor (Boxing): The 21-year-old Bray fighter won her third successive European Championship title in Denmark.
NOVEMBER:Cora Staunton (Gaelic football): The Mayo forward, who won the fifth All-Star of her career in 2007, led her club, Carnacon, to success by scoring 2-9 in the All Ireland Club Championship final.
• Each sportswoman was eligible for just one monthly award in 2007 but her achievements through the year will be taken into account by the judges when the decision on the overall winner is made.
