Two new categories have been introduced to the list this year with the men's and women's senior player of the year awards split into two parts. The nominees below reflect the newly created Senior Club Player of the Year, distinct from the Senior Player of the Year. The latter award will be voted for by the core senior international players.
Here's the full rundown of the nominees:
Senior Club Player (male): Jonathon Bruton (Cork C of I); Neil Lyons (Three Rock Rovers); Gareth Watkins (Monkstown); Ian Hutchinson (Cookstown)
Senior Club Player (female): Susie Martin (Ballymoney); Emma Smyth (Railway Union Ladies); Anna O’Flanagan (Hermes); Jean McDonnell (Railway Union Ladies)
U18 Player (male): David Carson (Corinthian); Kyle Good (Three Rock Rovers); Shane O’Donoghue (Glenanne); Stephen Cole (Monkstown)
U18 Player (female): Naomi Carroll (Catholic Institute); Niamh Atcheler (Hermes); Dora Gorman (Greenfields); Chloe Watkins (Hermes)
Coach of the Year: Turloch O’Siochain (Three Rock Rovers); Craig Fulton (Pembroke Wanderers); Michael Haycock (Cookstown); Mary Logue (UCD)
Club of the Year: Cookstown; Pembroke Wanderers; Railway Union Ladies; Three Rock Rovers
Umpire of the Year: Geoff Conn; Robert Johnston; Carol Metchette; Kieran Bolger
Emerging Club of the Year: Wexford; Limerick;
Volunteer of the Year: Sally Ann Fanagan (Loreto); Norma Gartside (Ards); Mary Flahavan (Naas); Finbarr Kelleher (
Development Coach of the Year: Niall Denham (Three Rock Rovers); David Cole (Monkstown); Fintan O’Flynn (Greenfields); Natalie Fulton (Pembroke Wanderers)
Youth Club of the Year: Monkstown; Lisnagarvey; Bandon;
71 comments:
3:05 pm you have to read the piece first before you can give out.
There is a players player of the year award this year. So anyone inolved in the Irish set up isn't able to win club player of the year. They are involved in a seperate award voted for by the players. So the two Harte's, Lewis and Sothern are ineligible for this award. Ok Gilesy could have been nominated but it dilutes your point signifcantly. All people ever do on here is moan nowadays.
Aren't they all eligible to win the other award for players???
I think the club/coach one is strange.. With the timing of the nominations, it seems that the IHL must never be factored in. Last year, despite Hermes winning Leinster League and Cup and the IHL, neither Hermes nor Colin Stewart were shortlisted... possibly because the nominations were out pre-IHL??? This year again neither Hermes nor Bacchus are shortlisted which to me suggests that IHL/performances in European competitions are bound never to be considered.
I'm not 3:05PM but sometimes I think it's not really about moaning... I think it's more that because people invest a huge amount in hockey they end up feeling very deeply about things and having points they want to make.. No one wants to hear malicious comments obviously but I think it may be that sites like this are one of the only ways to air your views. Positive and negative. Because people generally have a mix of both and it would be entirely unbalanced and unrealistic to expect people to only post the positive. Personally I like to hear both.
Just to confirm, the Senior Player of the Year award is confined to just senior Irish squad members which takes them out of the running for the Club player of the year.
go on the swede!!!!
colin stewart is a legend and anyone whose worked with him knows that. His achievements with sutton and hermes show he can succed with big names in the case of hermes and with limited resources with sutton. Congradulations to everyone nominated. If there was a second division player of the year i imagine abbott would be a worthy winner
any bann players?
great to see 3 cookstown players up.
It's great to see Railway Ladies with 2 players among the nominations and club of the year. They've had a super year winning 1st & 2nd Division. They are no longer a club you join for the social life more than the hockey. they are a force to be reckoned with!! Mind you the craic in Park Avenue is even better now that they are doing so well.
I've seen sothern score far more goals from play this year than penalty corners,and i play with him,he's only started to bang in the corners in the last month or so,up until that it was all from play basically!good luck to the others nominated for player of year,watkins shud win it tho!!
Stephen Gareth Watkins is in the senior irish squad how come hes in the club player of the year? Regardless of this Im delighted to see gar in there, hes had a fantastic season for the town and good to see he is being recognised!
In response to April 29, 2009 5:01 PM.
I assume when it comes to what is defined as the Irish squad, it refers to the core, central squads named earlier this season - on the men's side that would mean the players limited by the 14-game rule - rather than the players who have come up through the development squad.
i thought senior club players wernt internationals; 3 of the 4 nominated in the mens are internationals! and ian hutchingson.
So are Railway union ladies and men seperate clubs now?...a bit strange.
how is it decided who wins the awards ....comity vote or what?
did anyone ever think that maybe its not all about the winning but also about the development of hockey in general.? For instance Mary Logue may have only won something this weekend with ucd but she has done fantastic work in developing their skills and style of play to help make them a force in the next year or so. Railways nomination reflects their development from a serial middle of the table side to league winners.
Also, 3.05pm the dates that these awards count for are feb 08 to 09 when Pembroke won only the ISC. It would seem right that their achievements in the last few months will hopefully be recognised next year.
I think Mary Logue was put forward for Coach of the year for her work with Irish Under 18's.
Also, the nominations were made when UCD had already beaten Loreto and Hermes in the ISC.
Also there are a few other points needed to be cleared up as I personally am sick of logging onto to the blog every day to read people moaning.
RE: Watkins. He was only called into the squad midway through the year so probably doesn't qualify for players player of the year (which i think is a good idea). For me, he should definitely win the Club player of the year award.
RE: people moaning about IHA clicks, the nominations are put forward by the clubs. Are you suggesting that the IHA ignored these. I put through my own clubs nominations and two of those we nominated are listed. So stop complaining about who deserved what and congratulate those who made it.
Put it this way, if you where nominated you'd be dissapointed to log on and see people giving out about it.
well said 5.58.
good luck and well done to all nominated.
These awards are difficult. I can think of several all over Ireland. One i know has attended training as a coach upto 4 times a week for 44 weeks, taken part in courses attended, never mind the matches over the weekend. Inter-pros and then travelling to Dublin to watch and get educated. I do not think they ever expect to get an award or even recognised but the IHA or anyone. This is the lot of most coaches, work hard, get little reward and plenty of back bitting and critisism.
So lets forget about who is nominated as no one will really ever agree.
Personally i would have club player of the Adam Pritchard, really was a tower this season, Clinton Sweetnam was outstanding, Jason Black still an outstanding club player and best left back/half back in the country. Paul Cooke, development coach of the year along with any of the Munster coaches who bring small squads and develop them to compete and not just make up the numbers. That is development, not having the best but making every player better and them appreciate team work and how individual skill fits into a team structure> any of the Monkstown development/ under age coaches.
Lots will disagree with this so as i say they cannot plaease everyone
hello! mick mckinnon anyone?
In relation to the question about Railway men and women, yes we are two seperate clubs
To all nominated - congratulations
id say its between cole or carson for u18s
April 29, 2009 6:04 pm
leinster 18s lost to the others ye sure they did but remember its not a player wins a match its the team all together nd well done to all!!!!
Find it odd that Railway Union aren't up for youth club of the year - 2nd in u16 League and Cup, lots of players on Leinster u16s and 4 on the Irish u16s
Easy to be a bit negative, but I'm more confused.If the awards are from Feb. to Feb. then surely that's easier to make decisions. Who did what during that period?Which club won what and who was coaching them.You can include schools, interpro's etc.
I'd have to add that I gave up on these awards when I saw a couple of years ago when Glenane won 4? trophies and didn't get club of the year, and their coach Noel Keogh didn't receive a nomination either.
Development Coach of the Year will be Niall Denham. Top class guy and coach.
Agree with that Denham is very good and going to be even excellent
Surprised a couple of female ucd players were not nominated, especially some of their defenders considering their defensive record this season.
Railway ladies defo. deserve some awards.
And def. Carol Metchette for umpire of year.
point taken, though it's actually 17 non-Leinster and there is a fourth province involved in this who deserve some credit...
I wonder about these awards, though, the IHA will take flak for whoever is up for an award - look at all that junk about Giggs and his pfa player of the year award.
while its nice for them to recognise great acheivements, people are always going to be up in arms that their guy didn't get picked. I play each week seeing the same guys doin well week in and week out but only see opponents once of twice off during a season. Say they have a bad game but are otherwise excellent all season, i'll still probably say something like 'don't know what the fuss is about, had him in my pocket'. difficult for all us to throw stones... but sure, puck it, lets throw them anyway.
here's a stat for you:
Leinster have 5/8 IHL semi-finalists (62.5%)
Leinster has 26/43 IHA nominations, (60.5%)
fairly similar
Queso's mate
knowing Mick well the last thing he would want is an award....
but come on! where has the guy been that there has not been success, player development and probably good banter
10.04pm in relation to your comment about Glenanne not been awarded Club of the year a few years back, they choose not to nominate themselves......there reason at the time was that another Club should recognise their success and nominate them!!!
Clubs have to send in their own nominations..........they are given numerous reminders to do so by the IHA. If they choose not to than how can they expect to be short listed or even win.
The IHA may not get everything right all the time but at least they are doing something to promote our sport. The Awards are only going a few years, give them a chance to air out the problems.
More people should get on the supporting/encouraging band wagon instead of the typical irish begrudger moaner band wagon!!!
its getting really boring logging onto the blog and all you see is negative comments - all clubs were invited to nominate on more than one occasion - players, coaches etc. and yet the moaning continues, how do you think it feels to all nominees when they are delighted to read that they have been nominated and yet all they see is a slagging match - so to all coaches, players, clubs and umpires CONGRATULATIONS on your nominations and best of luck at the awards night.
Ray was nominated for umpire of the year 3 years ago. He should get a hall of fame award.
Two of our sports members went to the Olympics last year, Ray and Carol and there was not ONE mention of that at the awards. Didn't even wish them good luck never mind give them an award. Disgraceful. Then they wonder why there is no incentive for us to take up umpiring.
I'm not sure that anyone commenting has knocked a particular nominee, whether club or individual.. people have simply expressed surprise that others have missed out on nomination. Glennane were an obvious one a few years ago (and while it may have been naive of them not to self-nominate, the award selection structure is flawed if it relies on self-nomination)and it's hard to understand why Hermes missed out on nomination in either 08 or 09.
The obvious suggestion would be that they've won it before and their inclusion would be boring but Pembroke have won it in the last 2 years and yet are nominated again... Again, I'm not knocking Pembroke, their record speaks for itself, I'm just questioning why a small club that has won so many trophies in the last 2 years (and not just at Div 1 level), has failed to even make the shortlist.
Also, I think fundamentally it is unfair to have 3 mens clubs out of 4 clubs nominated.
I am not moaning just seeking clarity ..
If one needs to nominate ones self for an award its hardly an 'award' its basically self praise . If I as a coach or player goes about saying i should be 'coach or player of the year' people would say i was an arrogant git. If i have been successful the results speak for themselves and it should stand out, right ?
The process in my opinion is flawed.
Such as Ray o'Connor not getting an award for service to Irish Hockey - Disgrace. Is Ray O'Connor likely to nominate himself - hardly..
Each club should have a vote but not for themselves this would enable their Peers to review achievements. I would imagine you would then get a more sensible system as certain clubs are great at the PR and Self promotion ( some practically have a PR machine that most brands would be enviable of )
Again congrats to all nominated but really have you each achieved the most success this year in your category.?
BLUE ARMY!!!
Self nomination for awards is crazy. Surely, IHA can come up with a better system to recognise the poeple who deserve to be nominated. There have been some stunning ommisions in the last few years and here we go again.....
Is school hockey taken into account for young player? if so should be Atchelor and Coley no question. Both immense for their schools this year apart from how they did for their clubs
re: april 29, 3:16
I think Railway are very deserving of their nomination..
Their 1sts won the league for the first time in the club's history, their 2nds had a similiar achievement and reached the IJC final.
Their 3rds finished 2nd and gained promotion.
Their 5ths, 6ths, 7ths all finished 3rd in their respective leagues.
They also have had an active underage set up for god knows how long now.
It is a nomination for CLUB of the year. Can someone please suggest another cub who has fielded some many teams with such success this year..
C.R
they have indeed
Though "C.R." appears to be inviting someone to knock Railway, I think I'll decline. I do think however that implicit in the question is the assumption that big clubs should win the award. What if you have only a few teams but almost all of them win trophies??
who'll win the mens players player award?my moneys on david harte!
coley is a great player but shano is at least very close to his level of talent and has had a far superior season.
is bruton not involved in the irish setup, if so how can he win senior player?
think 3Rock will win a few awards if it is from feb 08 to 09, they did win the most......
My money is on Kyle Goode. He has been outstanding in his attitude and was rewarded recently with a trip to Spain with the Seniors. To being playing EHL with one of the top teams in leinster and get a Senior Irish look in must put him in pole position
Ian Sloan- Cookstown!!
Ian Sloan should be getting young player of the year!! the guy is 15 and is a nightmare for all aged players!! he recently played with irish u18s in belgium, thats how good he is and has 3 more years at this level!! hes unbelievable!!! he should be in there!!
ive seen him lately drag flicking, and my word.. He's a boy to watch out for!! Ireland and GB!!
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