SEVEN ALL-STAR NOMINATIONS FOR CAVAN AS DUBLIN LEAD THE WAY
CAVAN’S Ulster Championship success has been recognised with seven PwC All-Star nominations as All-Ireland champions Dublin lead the way with 13.
Despite the shortened season, the scheme continues and it is intended to present the awards in a TV show next month.
Leading Dublin duo Brian Fenton and Ciarán Kilkenny will have Mayo’s Cillian O’Connor for company for the Footballer of the Year award.
Fenton and Kilkenny have been nominated together twice before, 2016 and 2018, with Fenton winning in 2018. In 2016, O’Connor’s Mayo colleague Lee Keegan was chosen by the players as Footballer of the Year.
O’Connor broke the scoring record for a single championship game when he hit 4-9 in the All-Ireland semi-final against Tipperary and looks certain to add to his previous All-Star award in 2014.
Successes
Mayo will be winning the Young Footballer of the Year award once more, following back-to-back successes for Cillian O’Connor, 2011 and 2012, and Diarmuid O’Connor, 2015 and 2016, as three of their players have been shortlisted – Oisín Mullin, Eoghan McLaughlin and Tommy Conroy.
Dublin’s Jonny Cooper and Paddy Small are the only All-Ireland final starters not to make the cut. James McCarthy has been named among the six midfielders with Cavan’s Thomas Galligan pushed into attack.
Galligan is one of seven Cavan nominees, reflecting their Ulster journey that concluded with a first provincial title win since 1997. His cousin Raymond joins Dublin’s Stephen Cluxton and Mayo’s David Clarke, regular nominees, while three Cavan defenders, Pádraig Faulkner, Ciarán Brady and Gerry Smith all feature.
Tipperary’s first Munster Championship win since 1935 has earned nominations for defenders Bill Maher and Kevin Fahey, Colin O’Riordan at midfield and captain Conor Sweeney in attack. Limerick’s Iain Corbett is the county’s first football nominee since John Galvin in 2010, reflecting their McGrath Cup and Division 4 triumphs, in addition to pushing Tipperary to extra-time in the Munster semi-final, while David Clifford’s impressive league form, as he captained Kerry to the title, scoring 2-32 in seven games, 2-19 from play, prior to hitting seven points against Cork in a Munster semi-final, earns him a nomination.
Two Galway players, Shane Walsh and Paul Conroy, feature despite Galway playing just one championship match but their performances in the league were also a factor.
PWC ALL-STARS FOOTBALL NOMINATIONS 2020
GOALKEEPERS – David Clarke (Mayo), Stephen Cluxton (Dublin), Raymond Galligan (Cavan)
DEFENDERS – Davy Byrne, Michael Fitzsimons, Eoin Murchan, John Small, Robbie McDaid (all Dublin); Oisín Mullin, Eoghan
McLaughlin, Lee Keegan, Chris Barrett, Patrick Durcan (all Mayo); Ciarán Brady, Pádraig Faulkner, Gerry Smith (all Cavan); Kevin Fahy, Bill Maher (Tipperary); Iain Corbett (Limerick); Aidan Forker (Armagh), Peadar Mogan (Donegal).
MIDFIELDERS – James McCarthy (Dublin), Brian Fenton (Dublin), Colin O’Riordan (Tipperary), Gearóid McKiernan (Cavan), Matthew Ruane (Mayo), Ian Maguire (Cork).
FORWARDS – Niall Scully, Con O’Callaghan, Ciarán Kilkenny, Dean Rock, Seán Bugler (all Dublin); Cillian O’Connor, Kevin McLoughlin, Ryan O’Donoghue, Aidan O’Shea, Tommy Conroy (all Mayo); Martin Reilly, Thomas Galligan (both Cavan); Shane Walsh, Paul Conroy (both Galway); Michael Langan, Ciarán Thompson (both Donegal); Conor Sweeney (Tipperary), David Clifford (Kerry)
PWC GAA/GPA YOUNG FOOTBALLER OF YEAR NOMINEES
Oisín Mullin, Tommy Conroy, Eoghan McLaughlin (all Mayo)
PWC GAA/GPA FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
Brian Fenton (Dublin), Ciarán Kilkenny (Dublin), Cillian O’Connor (Mayo)