ANTRIM Minor and Under-21 Hurler Christy McNaughton has been included on the shortlist for the Bord Gáis Energy Team of the Year.
The Cushendall clubman, who hit 1-2 in the Saffrons All-Ireland U21 semi-final defeat to Wexford, is among 45 nominees for the team, which will be announced live on Newstalk’s Off The Ball over four days, beginning on Wednesday September 30.
All-Ireland Champions Limerick have, unsurprisingly, received the most nominations with 12 and the final 15 will be presented with their awards at a special ceremony in Dublin on Saturday, 3 October.
Two players from the victorious Limerick team are also nominated for Player of the Year. Captain Diarmaid Byrnes is joined on the list by Richie English, while Wexford star Conor McDonald, who is nominated for the second successive year, is the third player in contention. The ‘A’ championship and the ‘B’ championship Players of the Year will be announced at the awards ceremony.
The full judging panel for the awards includes Bord Gáis Energy Sports Ambassador Ger Cunningham, TG4’s Micheál Ó Domhnaill, Galway star Joe Canning, Waterford great Ken McGrath and Newstalk’s Óisín Langan.
U21 hurling supporters are once again being given their chance to vote for the Score of the Year which will be announced live at the awards ceremony. In total twelve scores from this season’s championship are in the running. A total of 12 scores will be available to view and vote for on the dedicated championship website www.bgeU21.ie from Monday September 28. Fans will also be able to vote for their favourite score via Facebook and Twitter. Voting will close at midnight Friday October 2.
Full Shortlist
Goalkeepers: Keith Hogan (Clare), David McCarthy (Limerick), Oliver O’Leary (Wexford)
Full Backs: Michael Breen (Tipperary), Michael Casey (Limerick), Eoin Conroy (Wexford), Richie English (Limerick), David Fitzgerald (Clare), Conor Gleeson (Waterford), Shane McNulty (Waterford), Eoin Quirke (Clare), Liam Ryan (Wexford)
Half Backs: Diarmaid Byrnes (Limerick), Tadhg de Burca (Waterford), Conor Cleary (Clare), Diarmuid Cody (Kilkenny), Padraig Foley (Wexford), Ronan Maher (Tipperary), Aidan McQuane (Clare), Barry O’Connell (Limerick), Jack O’Connor (Wexford)
Midfield: Diarmuid Byrne (Carlow), David Conroy (Clare), Conor Devitt (Wexford), Austin Gleeson (Waterford), Darragh O’Donovan (Limerick), Pat Ryan (Limerick)
Half Forwards: Shane Bennett (Waterford), Cian Boland (Dublin), David Dempsey (Limerick), Bobby Duggan (Clare), Cha Dwyer (Laois), Kevin Foley (Wexford), Ian Galvin (Clare), Cian Lynch (Limerick), Ronan Lynch (Limerick)
Full Forwards: Patrick Curran (Waterford), Cathal Dunbar (Wexford), Jason Flynn (Galway), Conor McDonald (Wexford), Christy McNaughton (Antrim), Tom Morrissey (Limerick), Brian Molloy (Galway), Barry Nash (Limerick), Colin O’Riordan (Tipperary)
