football

O'Connor crowned EirGrid U-21 Footballer of the Year

25 May 2018 - 2:36PM

Diarmuid

Mayo's Diarmuid O’Connor has been announced as the 2016 EirGrid U21 Football Player of the Year with a total of 4,000 votes across all social media platforms.

Congratulations are still in order for both Dublin's Con O'Callaghan and Cork's Seán White who were deservedly shortlisted along with O'Connor for their outstanding performances in the 2016 championship.

Fans cast their vote by visiting the official GAA Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages between Tuesday May 24 and Thursday May 26.

Wing-forward O’Connor was an impressive stand-out on a talented Mayo team. His ability to dictate the pace of any game was instrumental as the Connacht side claimed their first All-Ireland title in 10 years.

EirGrid today also announced their 2016 'EirGrid 21 U-21 Awards'. All-Ireland Finalists Mayo and Cork share equal billing in the selection with six players each.

EirGrid U21 Leinster and Ulster Champions Dublin and Monaghan have three players each, while beaten provincial finalists Kildare, Kerry, and Roscommon have one player each.

The awards honour the 21 standout players from the 2016 EirGrid GAA Football U21 All-Ireland Championship as selected by members of the Gaelic Writers Association and EirGrid Ambassadors Seán Cavanagh and Trevor Giles.

Speaking on behalf of the GAA, Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Aogán Ó Fearghail said: "Congratulations to Diarmuid for his award but also to all of the players who have been shortlisted in recognition of their performances over the course of the EirGrid U21 football championship.

"The spread of players included points to the strength of the respective counties who competed for both provincial and national honours and I have no doubt we will be hearing more about these footballers in years to come.

“Thanks to EirGrid for their role in organising these innovative awards and we look forward to Mayo's defence of their title next year."

Rosemary Steen, Director of External Affairs, EirGrid commented: “We are delighted to honour the top 21 performers of the EirGrid GAA Football U21 All-Ireland Championship for the second year in a row. While we were blown away by the character and effort of many team performances this year, it is always nice to be able to recognise the individual feats throughout the campaign.

“The talent displayed proves how competitive and exciting this Championship is. Congratulations to all our winners and thank you for making the EirGrid GAA Football U21 All-Ireland Championship such a fantastic spectacle.

“I would also like to extend my thanks to the families, coaches, trainers and clubs of all of our winners in helping these players perform to the best of their abilities. We expect to hear big things from all of our award winners over the coming years as they go on to join the senior ranks. On behalf of EirGrid, I wish them every success.”

2016 EirGrid 21 U21 Awards

GOALKEEPERS

Conor Forde – Monaghan

Anthony Casey – Cork

DEFENDERS

Eoin O'Donoghue – Mayo

Michael Hall – Mayo

Kevin Flahive – Cork

Kieran Histon – Cork

Cillian O'Shea – Dublin

Dessie Ward – Monaghan

Ryan Houlihan – Kildare