Joanne Cantwell Q&A: 'The biggest challenge is providing balance'

Journalist and presenter Joanne Cantwell has been one of the TV and radio success stories for RTÉ Sport this year, anchoring Olympic and Paralympic Games coverage in an authoritative and no-nonsense style that has become her trademark.

Q: 2016 was a big year for Irish sport. How was it for you?

A: It was brilliant. For me, it started with the K Club and Rory McIlroy’s win. It was definitely one of my highlights of the year, especially given how much he has done for the Irish Open and how little credit he gets for sacrificing his own game for that. It went through the summer then with the Euros and Robbie Brady’s goal. From a Gaelic games point of view, the Tipperary footballers’ performance in Croke Park to beat Galway was one of the best sporting occasions I’ve ever been at, despite the fact there weren’t that many Tipperary fans there to cheer them on. It’s just the type of football they played... I remember having a smile on my face the whole time. Then there was the Olympics and two Cork boys, Annalise Murphy, Thomas Barr… For me, Scott Evans stood out along with the other three because of his story and what he has had to sacrifice. And then there were so many incredible performances in the Paralympics and athletes who stood out for what they did. From Phil Eaglesham, the shooter who had the campaign to get people aware about depression, to Paul Keogan who is one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever read about.