Dublin created history on Saturday by defeating Galway to win the last ever All-Ireland U-21 Football title.
The Tribesmen battled all the way to the final whistle, but a smarter and more cohesive Dublin team deserved their win.
This week’s nominees for GAA.ie Footballer of the Week are Dublin’s Brian Howard and Eoin Murchan, and Galway’s Séan Andy Ó Ceallaigh.
The voting process is simple: retweet the image of your chosen player on the GAA's official Twitter account (@officialgaa) or like their image on the GAA's official Facebook and Instagram pages. Voting will close at 10am on Tuesday, May 3 and the winner will be announced on GAA.ie.
GAA.ie Footballer of the Week nominees
Brian Howard (Dublin)
One of the keys to Dublin’s victory in the EirGrid All-Ireland U-21 Final victory was the dominance they established at midfield.
Brian Howard excelled in their engine-room, as he processed a huge amount of ball and was very influential in both attack and defence.
He drove Dublin forward time and again with his surging runs from deep, and capped a fine individual display with a well-taken point.
Séan Andy Ó Ceallaigh (Galway)
Ó Ceallaigh produced a classic full-back performance full of defiance as he successfully limited the influence of Dublin’s danger-man Con O’Callaghan.
Ó Ceallaigh used his physicality to great effect to dominate O’Callaghan under the dropping ball, but he proved too he is much more than a stopper.
Time and again he sought to inspire his team by bursting past Dublin tacklers and driving out of defence. It was the sort of heroic display that suggests he has a bright career as a senior county footballer ahead of him.
Eoin Murchan (Dublin)
It looked like a physical mismatch when Eoin Murchan was given the task of shadowing Galway danger-man Micheál Daly.
Murchan was giving away a few inches in height and a few kilos in weight to Daly, but he stuck doggedly to his task and held Galway’s centre-forward to just a single point from play.
It was a master-class in man-marking as he snapped at Daly’s heels from the first minute until the last and made a number of crucial interceptions that snuffed out Galway attacking moves.
Players of the Week are decided based on votes cast by followers of @officialgaa on Twitter, on the Official GAA Facebook Page and on the Official GAA Instagram page.
**
**