Niamh O’Dea has been selected as the sole Clare nominee for the 2016 Camogie All-Stars.
It was a season to forget for Trish O’Grady’s side as they failed to win a single championship game. Few members of the Clare panel would have expected to be in contention for an All-Star and so O’Dea’s nomination comes as a pleasant surprise.
She lined out at centre-forward in three of the Banner County’s games in this year’s Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship scoring 0-02 from play against Cork. Niamh was missing from the team that lost out to Wexford 7-12 1-05 in their final outing to her commitments to the Clare footballers.
An Ashbourne Cup winner with the University of Limerick, Niamh is in nominated in the half-forward line.
Having won their first All-Ireland title since 1994, Kilkenny have been rewarded with fifteen nominations. Beaten finalists Cork have ten players in the running. Five players from Tipperary made the shortlist while National League finalists Galway will be hoping one of Sarah Dervan, Rebecca Hennelly, Aoife Donohue or Ailish Reilly will collect a coveted All-Star.
Offaly and Wexford both defeated Clare this year and there are four representatives from either county named in the forty five woman shortlist. Limerick’s Niamh Mulcahy and Patricia Jackman of Waterford like O’Dea are the only representatives from their County.
Kilkenny’s Ann Downey is the favourite for the Manager of the Year award, once more she is up against Paudie Murray from Cork while Carlow boss Mark Brennan is also nominated.
Catherine Neary, President of the Camogie Association congratulated all of the nominees. The Camogie All-Stars celebrate the outstanding skill, commitment, athleticism and sportsmanship of our players and it is important to acknowledge at a national level their contribution to our game and to provide them with the recognition they so richly deserve”.
On behalf of Liberty Insurance, Deirdre Ashe said “The Camogie All-Stars recognise the outstanding achievement of players and management from the Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Camogie Championships earlier this summer; congratulations to everyone who has been nominated”.
Camogie All-Stars 2016 sponsored by Liberty Insurance, nominees list:
Goalkeepers: Aoife Murray (Cork), Emma Kavanagh (Kilkenny), Mags D’Arcy (Wexford)
Defenders: Full-Back Line: Rena Buckley (Cork), Pamela Mackey (Cork), Laura Treacy (Cork), Sarah Dervan (Galway), Collette Dormer (Kilkenny), Jacqui Frisby (Kilkenny), Davina Tobin (Kilkenny), Jean Brady (Offaly), Aoife McGrath (Tipperary)
Half-Back Line: Gemma O’Connor (Cork), Rebecca Hennelly (Galway), Anne Dalton (Kilkenny), Meighan Farrell (Kilkenny), Edwina Keane (Kilkenny), Claire Phelan (Kilkenny), Siobhán Flannery (Offaly), Patricia Jackman (Waterford), Sarah O’Connor (Wexford)
Midfield: Orla Cotter (Cork), Ashling Thompson (Cork), Anna Farrell (Kilkenny), Miriam Walsh (Kilkenny), Teresa Ryan (Tipperary), Shelley Kehoe (Wexford)
Forwards: Half-Forward Line: Hannah Looney (Cork), Niamh O’Dea (Clare), Aoife Donohue (Galway), Denise Gaule (Kilkenny), Julie Ann Malone (Kilkenny), Niamh Mulcahy (Limerick), Michaela Morkan (Offaly), Mary Ryan (Tipperary), Nicole Walsh (Tipperary)
Full-Forward Line: Briege Corkery (Cork), Katrina Mackey (Cork), Ailish O’Reilly (Galway), Shelly Farrell (Kilkenny), Katie Power (Kilkenny), Michelle Quilty (Kilkenny), Tina Hannon (Offaly), Orla O’Dwyer (Tipperary), Kate Kelly (Wexford)
Manager of the Year: Mark Brennan (Carlow), Paudie Murray (Cork), Ann Downey (Kilkenny)
The 13th annual All-Stars Awards banquet sponsored by Liberty Insurance will take place in Citywest Hotel on Saturday November 5th.