Westmeath player among LGFA player of the year nominees
The LGFA and TG4, in association with AIG Insurance, will honour their 2020 teams of the year and players of the year in a special TV show later this month.
The action-packed hour-long programme - ‘Peil na mBan – Foirne na Bliana – le AIG Insurance’ - will air on TG4 on Saturday, February 27, at 7.15pm. It will be presented by Peil na mBan lead anchor Máire Ní Bhraonáin.
The nominees have been revealed for the 2020 TG4 Players’ Player of the Year awards, with Westmeath's Fiona Claffey one of the Intermediate nominees.
A former Kilbeggan Shamrocks player, who now plays with Foxrock-Cabinteely, Claffey has been a key figure for Westmeath over many years. She captained the Westmeath team which reached the 2020 All-Ireland intermediate final where they lost out to neighbours Meath.
Claffey was part of the Westmeath team that won the All-Ireland intermediate title in 2011. Fiona is a first cousin of Garrycastle and Westmeath player Sarah Dolan.
A winner will be confirmed from each of the three championship grades, Junior, Intermediate and Senior. The nominees are as follows below.
Junior: Meadhbh Deeney (Wicklow), Joanne Doonan (Fermanagh), Eimear Smyth (Fermanagh).
Intermediate: Fiona Claffey (Westmeath), Emma Duggan (Meath), Vikki Wall (Meath)
Senior: Aimee Mackin (Armagh), Sinead Goldrick (Dublin), Carla Rowe (Dublin).
The upcoming TV programme will also reveal the 2020 Junior, Intermediate and Senior Teams of the Championship. Fifteen players will be honoured from each of the three grades.
In addition, the 2020 AIG Cúl na Bliana (Goal of the Year) winner will be revealed. Supporters have a chance to get involved and if your 1, 2, 3 for goal of the year matches the choices of the expert panel, you’ll be in with a chance to win a €500 O’Neills voucher, supplied by AIG Insurance, the LGFA’s official insurance partner.
You can check out the eight cracking goals in the running at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoiK8G2nBXE and you can vote for your top three at: https://www.tg4.ie/aig
2020 marked the 20th season of TG4’s sponsorship of the All-Ireland ladies football championships, as well as the 20th year of live TV coverage of the All-Ireland finals.
In a season like no other, players across the three grades provided some golden moments. Fermanagh captured the All-Ireland Junior silverware, Meath landed the Intermediate title, and Dublin were crowned Senior champions for a fourth successive year.
Marie Hickey, Ladies Gaelic Football Association President, said: “Considering the extraordinary year that it was, and the condensed nature of our Championships, we were nevertheless treated to some wonderful football and memorable Championships, which saw worthy winners crowned in Fermanagh, Meath and Dublin.
“Thankfully, we managed to complete our TG4 All-Ireland Championships, and when you consider the lengths that players went to, to represent their counties, we believe that it is right to acknowledge the efforts of our inter-county stars in all three grades. In that regard, we’re delighted to honour Teams of the Championship at Junior, Intermediate and Senior levels.
“We will also learn the identities of our Senior, Intermediate and Junior Players’ Player of the Year winners, and there’s an impressive line-up of goalscorers competing for the AIG Cúl na Bliana award.”
Alan Esslemont, Ard-Stiúrthóir TG4, said: “TG4 is delighted to be able to celebrate the best of the LGFA of 2020, a year which challenged us all like never before and a year in which both sport and media played their part in keeping our spirits strong."
Speaking on behalf of AIG Insurance (Ireland), General Manager Aidan Connaughton said: “We look forward to the action packed broadcast on February 27, where a national audience will get to witness the great skills, talented athletes and teams being recognised for their accomplishments across the 2020 season.”