Kilkenny hurler JJ Delaney and Armagh footballer Steven McDonnell were named the SEAT Players of the Year at the Gaelic Players' Association (GPA) annual awards ceremony in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin, last night.
In recognition of some wonderful displays at wing back this year, Delaney saw off stiff competition from Eddie Brennan, Noel Hickey and rising Cork star Setanta Ó hAilpín.
In football, McDonnell was the only player to be nominated from outside Tyrone, the other nominees being Peter Canavan, Philip Jordan and Seán Cavanagh.
Having just returned from the International Rules series in Australia with most of the plaudits, McDonnell was a popular choice for the accolade. The 24-year-old's three goals against Limerick and decisive strike against Donegal, in the semi-final, were just some of the many memorable contributions he made to Armagh's run to the final.
Other awards on the night saw the Remus GPA Rep of the Year going to Donnach Callan of Louth hurling and David Mitchell of Westmeath football, while the Most Improved Team of the Year award went to the Limerick football team, the beaten Munster finalists whose progress in the qualifiers was halted in round four by All-Ireland finalists Armagh.
