Flynn lands county player of the year while Masterson gets club award as Kildare GAA announce individual awards for 2018

The winners of the various individual awards in Kildare GAA have been announced, with no less than 10 gongs set to be handed out to various players at the Kildare GAA Awards night on Saturday November 17 at the Osprey Hotel.

Following a successful year for the county on the GAA front, which saw the U20 footballers win the Leinster and All-Ireland Championships, the junior side capture the Leinster title, and the senior hurlers win the Christy Ring Cup, there were plenty of strong contenders in each grade.

Members of the local media came together to pick through each category, sizing up the options and agreeing upon the individual winners.

The Club Senior Footballer of the Year is Daniel Flynn whose superb campaign earned him an All-Star nomination for the second year in a row. The big Johnstownbridge full-forward scored 7-21 across the league and championship this year, all of which came from play. His highlight performances came in the league defeat to Kerry when he kicked six points from play in Tralee, while he scored some stunning goals in the championship, including a mesmerising run and strike in the win over Derry.

Jimmy Hyland was the obvious recipient for the U20 award after winning the GAA’s own U20 Footballer of the Year title having delivered some scintillating performances en route to his county’s success this year. The Ballyteague clubman was in superb form for Kildare throughout the Leinster Championship, but he kicked it up a notch in the final win over Dublin when he scored eight points and won a penalty that was scored by Tony Archbold.

Graham Waters, who captained the Kildare juniors to the Leinster title this year, was named as the county’s Junior Footballer of the Year after putting in some fine performances as his energy from wing-back helped his side to the provincial honours for the first time since 2013.

On the club front, Aaron Masterson’s astonishing 12 months was capped with the Senior Club Footballer of the Year Award. Masterson has won almost everything at club and intercounty level in the last 12 months, helping Moorefield to successive county titles and to provincial glory in 2017, before captaining the Kildare U20s to their All-Ireland success this summer. He was an ever-present for the Moores throughout their successful championship campaign this year, and he is still continuously improving all the time.

Aidan Casey’s man of the match display in the Kildare Intermediate Championship final helped him to seal the Intermediate Club Footballer of the Year title. The Two Mile House forward landed 10 points in the win over Monasterevan, but that was only a faction of his fine season as he consistently put up big tallies to help his club to the senior ranks for the first time in their history.

Milltown captain Colin O’Shea has been named as the Junior Club Footballer of the Year after he proved a pivotal figure for the green and reds at centre-back. He scored a decisive penalty in the county final win over Rheban, and he also impressed in their Leinster Championship opener against Kilcoole, where he scored a late goal from the spot once again to seal the victory.

Milltown captain Colin O'Shea(left)

On the hurling front, Paddy McKenna has added another award to his trophy cabinet following his breakthrough season with the Kildare seniors. The Clane goalkeeper won his first Christy Ring Cup All-Star last week and was also named as the Christy Ring Cup Player of the Year following a superb campaign, with notable performances coming in the wins over Wicklow and Derry on the Lilywhites’ route to the title.

Tom Fitzgerald is the Senior Club Hurler of the Year after helping steer Celbridge to their second county title in three years. The corner-forward formed an impressive inside line alongside Fergal Conway and Tom Finnerty for Damien Byrne’s troops, and his haul of 1-3 in the county final win over Ardclough was key to their success.

Celbridge's Tom Fitzgerald

Ciaran Tobin won the Intermediate Club Hurler of the Year as he helped Naas to defend their championship title, scoring seven points in the final win over Maynooth.

The Junior Club Hurler of the Year went to Kilcock’s Declan Keane who came up with a couple of big scores when the game was in the melting pot against Naas in the junior final, with the north Kildare outfit eventually edging towards victory.

All players will be presented with their awards on what should be a fantastic night on November 17 at the Osprey Hotel.

The senior hurling team will be presented with their Christy Ring Cup medals, the U20 football team will be presented with their All-Ireland and Leinster Championship medals and the junior football team will be presented with their Leinster Championship medals.

Kildare GAA Awards recipients

County POTY- Daniel Flynn

County U20 POTY- Jimmy Hyland

County Junior POTY- Graham Waters

Club Senior POTY- Aaron Masterson

Club Intermediate POTY- Aidan Casey

Club Junior POTY- Colin O'Shea

County POTY- Paddy McKenna

Club Senior POTY- Tom Fitzgerald

Club Intermediate POTY- Ciaran Tobin

Club Junior POTY- Declan Keane