LOCAL GAA historian Dónal McAnallen and Ballycran GAA club are among the winners of this year’s prestigious GAA MacNamee Awards.
McAnallen’s book ‘Forgotten Gaelic Volunteer’ has been named as Best GAA Publication for 2019.
It tells the story of Ulster GAA members who fought in World War One, an area that had never been properly detailed prior to the book’s publication.
The judges said it was “a fascinating piece of research, a very well-crafted publication and a worthy addition to the history of the Association”.
St Joseph’s Ballycran have been awarded Best Website of last year. The Ards club, winners of back-to-back Down senior hurling titles in the last two years, were praised for having “a great example of what a GAA club website should be.
“Informative and engaging, the website is clearly laid out and simple to navigate. The most important club information is easily accessible, and the menus are logical and well structured.”
Featured articles, particularly with members who have travelled overseas, was also praised as a defining feature of the site.
Retired journalist Martin Breheny has been inducted into the Hall of Fame. He joined the Irish Independent in 2000 and alongside becoming the paper’s GAA editor later in his career, the Galway native has also written a series of books, including Joe Kernan’s.
The MacNamee awards are presented annually by the GAA in recognition of outstanding contributions made in the area of media and communications.
Due to the Covid-19 situation, the presentation of the awards has been postponed until a future date.
