The GAA Player of the Month Awards ceremony was held at the Westbury Hotel, Dublin last week and saw the two leading ladies from last year’s camogie and ladies football seasons, Kilkenny’s Anne Dalton and Cork’s Angela Walsh, respectively, honoured with their 2009 Player of the Year awards.
The 2009 Camogie Player of the Year award is a timely fillip for Anne Dalton, coming at the beginning of a season in which Kilkenny will hope to go one better than last year and regain the All-Ireland title they last won in 1994. Despite last year’s All-Ireland defeat to old rivals Cork, 2009 was a memorable year for Anne Dalton, having earlier captained Waterford IT to an Ashbourne Cup Final – a competition she retained with the college in recent weeks. The 21 year-old Legal Studies student already has three All-Ireland club titles to her name with Freshford St Lachtain’s. Congratulating Anne on winning the award, President of the Camogie Association Joan O’Flynn predicted a long and successful career for the current Kilkenny captain. “While Anne may have been disappointed on her biggest day last year by not wining the All Ireland title, her performances throughout the year really stood out, making her a deserving winner of the Vodafone Player of the Year Award. To think that she has already achieved so much and is just 21 years old suggests that there are many great days ahead for Anne and Kilkenny camogie,” she said.
The Vodafone Ladies Football Player of the Year Award crowned a magical 2009 for Angela Walsh, who starred at full back as Cork won their fifth title in a row, just one year after she captained Cork to their fourth title on the trot. The former dual player now has seven All-Ireland titles with Cork - five in football and two in camogie (2005 and 2006 ). The Physical Education and Maths teacher at St Augustine’s in Dungarvan was also a star player in Inch Rovers’ memorable runs to the All-Ireland club finals of ’07 and ’08. Speaking on behalf of awards sponsors Vodafone, Interim Head of Corporate Affairs Christine Heffernan said: “Vodafone is delighted to be here again at the start of a new awards season. This is our 14th year as sponsors of these awards, which give due recognition to the players who entertain us most in these sports and it is great to begin the 2010 awards year by honouring the top hurlers and footballers in the first month of competition as well as the leading ladies of last year in camogie and ladies’ football. No doubt we will be hearing and seeing a lot more of today’s winners throughout the coming year again and I congratulate them on their deserved awards.”
