Stars in our midst as third-level students recognised at GAA awards
The Electric Ireland Higher Education and Third-Level teams of the year have been announced and between them feature a number of young and talented players from Mitchelstown, Bride Rovers, St Catherine’s, Lismore and Mallow. Furthermore, Aherlow’s Anna Rose Kennedy has been included on the Yoplait Higher Education College’s All-Star team for 2023.
15 exceptional players from this season’s Camogie Third Level Championships were announced in March, including St Catherine’s player Laura Hayes for UCC. She is one of four of the University’s players who were runners-up to TU Dublin in this year’s Ashbourne Cup.
Speaking with The Avondhu, Ms Hayes, a fourth year food marketing student, said that she was surprised and pleased to be nominated.
“A lot of players performed very well, and credit is due to all the coaches and players too.”
Playing with Cork and her club St Catherine’s “at a very high level”, Laura says that playing at college level is fun and less pressure: “you can clear your head after an intense season”. It also brings the benefit of meeting a wide variety of people and players from across the county. She is now living with two players from Clare and Tipperary respectively, whom she met in first year through the Ashbourne Cup.
This year’s Electric Ireland Camogie Third Level Rising Star Player of the Year is TU Dublin’s Megan Dowdall, where her “winning ability and eye for the posts made her almost unstoppable during TU Dublin’s Ashbourne Cup campaign.”
HURLING
The 2023 Fitzgibbon Cup was taken home this year by UL over the University of Galway for the second year in a row. UL has seven players in the Rising Stars Hurling team, while beaten semi-finalists UCC and SETU Waterford each have two players represented. These include Rathcormac/ Bartlemy club representative, Bride Rovers’ Eoin Roche for UCC and Lismore’s Jack Prendergast for SETU Waterford.
Speaking with The Avondhu, Eoin said that, like Laura Hayes, continuing to play GAA throughout college has allowed him to expand his social circle.
“The people involved are great, and it’s also great to be playing with other players from other counties.”
Also in fourth year, the Commerce students found out he was on the Rising Stars team via Twitter.
“It’s a bit of a surprise, but it’s always nice to see. I’m delighted to get an individual award to recognise the hard work.”
MEN’S FOOTBALL
This season’s Higher Education Rising Stars Football Team of the Year features local player Cathail O’Mahony, a student of UCC and native of Mitchelstown, as well as Shane Merritt, also of UCC and a Mallow man. UCC took home the Sigerson Cup title this year defeating UL, and the Cork university has six players on the Team of the Year.
H.E.C. ALL STARS
The Yoplait Higher Education Colleges All Stars and Rising Stars have also been announced following the conclusion of the Championships. The O’Connor Cup winners DCU Dóchas Éireann have eight representatives, including team captain and midfield dynamo Anna Rose Kennedy from Aherlow, County Tipperary. The All-Star player will receive her award on Friday, March 31st at The Bonnington Dublin Hotel alongside the other star players.
The Electric Ireland Higher Education GAA Rising Star Hurling and Football Player of the Year will be announced at the Higher Education Awards Ceremony on Monday, 3rd April. These awards will acknowledge one outstanding performance from this year’s Fitzgibbon and Sigerson Cup Championships.