Rugby News: Paul O'Connell was honoured as the Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland Player of the Year at a function in Killiney Castle yesterday. The Munster captain and Ireland secondrow earned the recognition by virtue of a series of outstanding performances for province and country.
O'Connell studied at Ardscoil Rís in Limerick and played with Young Munster before joining the Munster provincial set-up. He excelled at swimming and golf before giving up both in favour of rugby. A former underage international, he has 33 Ireland caps and toured with the 2005 Lions.
The Dave Guiney Perpetual Cup went to Munster as Team of the Year. Their heroics in winning the European Cup in their third final were framed by those memorable scenes in the Millennium Stadium and O'Connell Street, Limerick, on May 20th.
Shannon, named Club of the Year, won not only the AIB League Division One crown for the eighth time but also six other titles, including their 18th Munster Senior Cup. Three of those titles were at under-20 level and the remaining two were at under-16 and under-13.
The Tom Rooney Memorial Award went to the former referee and honorary secretary of the schools section of the Leinster Branch for over 50 years Kevin Kelleher.
Outside Ireland, Kelleher is perhaps best remembered as the man who sent-off the legendary New Zealander Colin (Pine Tree) Meads at Murrayfield in 1967.
The former Lions, Ulster and Ballymena secondrow Willie John McBride and the man who partnered him 26 times in the Ireland secondrow, Mick Molloy, were inducted into the Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland Hall of Fame.
The awards were presented by Michael Whelan of Guinness and Kieran Rooney of the RWI.
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