MAYO STAR DIARMUID O’Connor has capped a remarkable 12 months with another honour after he was named EirGrid U21 Football Player of the Year for 2016.
The wing-forward was instrumental in Mayo’s run to All-Ireland glory against Cork last month and saw off competition for the award from Dublin’s Con O’Callaghan and the Rebels’ Sean White.
O’Connor, 21, the younger brother of Mayo forward Cillian, was named Young Footballer of the Year last season for his performances with the Mayo seniors as they won their fifth successive Connacht title before bowing out of the championship in a semi-final replay defeat to Dublin.
The Ballintubber man was joined by five of his Mayo team-mates in a selection of 21 players who stood out in this year’s U21 championship.
All-Ireland finalists Cork also figured strongly with six players chosen, while Dublin (3), Monaghan (3), Kildare (1), Kerry (1) and Roscommon (1) made up the rest of those recognised.
The players were chosen by the Gaelic Writers Association and EirGrid ambassadors Seán Cavanagh and Trevor Giles.
Goalkeepers:
Conor Forde (Monaghan)
Anthony Casey (Cork)
Defenders:
Eoin O’Donoghue (Mayo)
Michael Hall (Mayo)
Kevin Flahive (Cork)
Kieran Histon (Cork)
Cillian O’Shea (Dublin)
Dessie Ward (Monaghan)
Ryan Houlihan (Kildare)
Midfielders:
Matthew Ruane (Mayo)
Stephen Coen (Mayo)
Sean White (Cork)
Andy Foley (Dublin)
Forwards:
Diarmuid O’Connor (Mayo)
Michael Plunkett (Mayo)
Sean O’Donoghue (Cork)
Sean Powter (Cork)
Barry McGinn (Monaghan)
Con O’Callaghan (Dublin)
Diarmuid Murtagh (Roscommon)
Killian Spillane (Kerry)
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
Well deserved
The man is a machine
How come Connor Loftus didn’t make the team???
Agree Morgan, a surprise!
D O Connor a good footballer and team player but it wasn’t scoring that won him this award like some pundits seem to think.
For the record
V Leitrim (1-0, penalty);
V Roscommon 0-0
V Dublin 1-1
V Cork 1-0
He set up a serious amount of scores though, including the winning free in the semi against Dublin and a couple of goals in the final against Cork.