Who will be named Irish Motorcyclist of the Year?

The past year has again seen competitors and teams from across the island of Ireland achieve remarkable levels of success in two-wheel motorsport.

In short circuit racing, racing on public roads and off-road competition, there has been much to celebrate and enjoy for fans of the sport.

Those achievements will be recognised at the annual gala awards ceremony in Belfast on Friday, 16 January, with the coveted Joey Dunlop Trophy being handed over to the winner of the main award on the night - the Irish Motorcyclist of the Year.

A variety of other awards will also be presented at what has become a highlight of the motorcycling calendar, attended by top riders, teams and race organisers from across Ireland.

With the big night looming, BBC Sport NI assesses the six nominees for the main prize.

The 2025 season was another hugely successful one for Michael Dunlop as he added four more Isle of Man TT race wins to his tally to take his record total of victories at the iconic Manx races to 33.

The Ballymoney rider clinched two successes in the Supersport races to extend his winning sequence in that class to eight in a row and to 15 overall in the middleweight class.

He also made it seven career wins in the Supertwins class at the TT by securing a double in that category.

His four-timer across the week was his fourth at the meeting, emulating the feat he previously achieved in 2013, 2014, 2023 and 2024.

The 36-year-old ended a nine-year win drought at the North West 200 in style by sealing a hat-trick of triumphs, crossing the line first in the Superstock and Supersport races on Thursday evening, and one of the Superbike races on Saturday.

Dunlop, who also took two wins apiece at the Cookstown 100 and Tandragee 100 Irish national events, was twice previously named Irish Motorcyclist of the Year, including 12 months ago.

Donegal rider Rhys Irwin completed a stellar campaign by securing the British Supersport title in 2025, riding his Gearlink by Performance 15 Suzuki.

He clinched the championship crown in the final race of the season at Brands Hatch to triumph with four points to spare over Ben Currie.

The Irish rider accumulated six race victories en route to claiming the championship, including a double at the Donington Park GP round in September.

To cap off a successful season, Irwin raced to a comprehensive double success in the Supersport category at the Sunflower Trophy meeting at Bishopscourt in October.

Irwin will step up to the feature British Superbike class in 2026 as a member of the MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing team.

Dubliner Jack Kennedy finished third in the British Supersport series for the Honda Racing team.

The five-time series winner won four races during the year and ended up 25 points behind championship winner Rhys Irwin.

He stood on the podium 12 times.

Kennedy will participate for Honda in the series again in 2026, with a sixth title very much in his sights.

Eglinton rider David Allingham finished runner-up in the National Superstock 1000c series held on UK short circuits in 2025.

Allingham claimed a double at the Brands Hatch round of the series in late July.

Having ended up second in the standings to Ukrainian Ilya Mikhalchik last year, the Northern Ireland rider will hope to go one better when he competes in the same championship in 2026.

It was revealed in November that his SMS/Nicholl Oils team will have full official BMW backing next term.

Nikki Coates finished third in the BMW F 900 R Cup series, 10 points behind championship winner Barry Burrell and three-and-a-half adrift of runner-up Josh Corner.

Riding for LDC BMW by FPF Racing, Coates took nine race wins during the campaign, and 14 podiums.

Coates had win doubles at Snetteron, Brands Hatch GP and Donington Park GP.

He also set two new lap records for the class from seven circuits visited and emerged with the fastest lap of the weekend from five of the nine rounds he contested.

Jonathan Rea opted to bring the curtain down on an illustrious 17-year World Superbike career when he announced in late August that he would be retiring from the series at the end of the 2025 championship.

He finished 16th in the standings in his final year in the global series, with fifth place finishes at the UK and Aragon rounds on his Pata Yamaha his best results of the campaign.

Rea exits the World Superbike stage having become the most successful rider in its history, with six consecutive title successes between 2020 and 2025, and accumulating 118 race wins and 264 podiums.

The 38-year-old will perform the role of a Honda test rider in 2026 and will take part in selected Endurance World Championship racing with the team.

Rea has won the Irish Motorcyclist of the Year accolade a record nine times, including a run of seven times in a row.

Teenager Casey O'Gorman enjoyed a breakout year in 2025 as he secured a place in the Moto3 World Championship after previously participating in the National Sportbike BSB support series.

The 18-year-old notched his first world championship points as a replacement for the injured Luca Lunetta with 18th and 13th positions for the SIC58 Squadra Corse team at the Austrian and Hungarian Grand Prix rounds.

He achieved a best finish of sixth in the Portugal round at Portimao in his second stint of the season as a replacement rider, this time for Intact GP as a substitute for David Munoz.

O'Gorman rounded off his season by taking 13th in the season finale in Valencia.

His impressive performances with the SIC58 Squadra Corse team proved enough to earn the former British Talent Cup champion a full-time contract for the world Moto3 series in 2026.

During 2025, young motocrosser Cole McCullough impressed in the EMX125 category, before a wrist injury unfortunately curtailed his season.

The teenager claimed a very creditable moto victory at the iconic Arco di Trento and a podium berth at Riola Sardo.

After spending two seasons racing Fantic machinery in the European Championship, McCullough will link up with the De Baets Yamaha team for the 2026 season.

He will compete for them in the fiercely competitive EMX250 category as he takes on more experienced opposition.