Clare to the fore in under-21 shortlist

SIX PLAYERS have been nominated for the inaugural under-21 hurler of the year award. Not surprisingly, Clare’s surprise march to their first title sees John Conlon, Darach Honan and Colin Ryan shortlisted alongside Kilkenny duo John Mulhall and Richie Hogan, while Joe Canning is recognised for a remarkable 4-7 return in the semi-final defeat to the eventual champions.

Canning is the current young hurler of the year, under the All Star awards system, but these awards are spearheaded by a Bord Gáis campaign.

The selection panel is made up of sponsorship manager and former Cork hurler Ger Cunningham, RTÉ’s Marty Morrissey, Micheál Ó Domhnaill from TG4 and the GAA sponsorship manager Paul Dermody. The winning player will receive a voucher worth €1,000.

“It has been a truly memorable summer for under-21 hurling and I think it cemented for many the real importance this grade holds for developing our stars of the future,” said Cunningham.

“Deciding upon the eventual winner will be a very tough process and whoever comes out on top will be very well deserving of the prize.”

This sounds like the usual press release stuff, but Clare’s progress, despite strong Galway and Kilkenny challenges this season, breathed new life into a competition that has been dominated by the aforementioned counties since Limerick completed their three in a row in 2002. The age grade was almost abolished at Congress.

Honan was the front-runner for the prize before the final, having won two previous man-of-the-match awards, but he was well marshalled by the Kilkenny defence. Conlon was awarded this accolade after the defeat of Kilkenny, while it was Ryan, the free-taker, who made the most notable impact at senior grade this summer.

Hogan is the only Kilkenny under-21 included in Brian Cody’s senior panel and he even forced his way into the starting XV for the All-Ireland final. The winner will be announced later this week.

Meanwhile, to mark the staging of the interprovincial football final in Britain for the first time, an official launch of the event will take place in the Irish Embassy in London this Thursday, when the Irish Ambassador to Britain, Bobby McDonagh, will be joined by GAA president Christy Cooney, as well as Ulster manager Joe Kernan, who was recently appointed Galway football manager, and last year’s Munster supremo Jer O’Sullivan, a member of the Cork backroom for the All-Ireland final against Kerry.

A gala celebration will also be held on the night before the game in a marquee at the Ruislip venue.

The secretary of the Provincial Council of Britain, Tadhg Meehan, anticipates massive interest in both the interprovincial final, and the gala event.

“In the 125th year of the GAA, it’s a tremendous coup for the provincial council of Britain to have been allocated such a prestigious game,” he remarked. “And we know that no matter which teams qualify for the final, it will be a fantastic weekend.”

Munster manager O’Sullivan, who steered the province to last year’s final win over Connacht at Portlaoise, feels that the London setting for the final will boost interest among the players from all four provinces for this year’s competition.

In the semi-finals, on Saturday, October 24th, Munster host Connacht, at Limerick’s Gaelic Grounds, and Ulster entertain Leinster at Crossmaglen.