Dan Goggin and Eilís Cahill named AIL Players of the Year
Dan Goggin has been named Energia's Men's Division 1A AIL Player of the Year while Eilís Cahill name the Women's AIL Player of the Year for the 2024/25 season.
St Mary's Goggins enjoyed a good season in his debut season while UL Bohemian's Cahill was a standout performer for her side throughout the season which culminated in scoring a last minute winning try in the final.
The Energia Possibilities Awards went to Lansdowne FC. It was a tough start to the season Lansdowne won th Energia All Ireland Bateman Cup that galvanized the team after a near perfect second half of the season and demonstrated the power of possiblity.
The Men's Coach of the Year award went to Old Bevedere's Quenton O'Neale with Wicklow's Jason Moreton collection the Women's Coach of the Year award.
Clubs from across the country nominated members or volunteers that demonstrated exceptional commitment to their club and Young Munster's Cathal Quaid was awarded the Community Hero Award for 2025.
Cathal is the minis coach with the U8s, assistant secretary and was pivotal in the structuring pathway for the U21 team for next season.
Commenting on the Energia AIL Awards, Declan Madden, President of the IRFU said: 'The 2024/25 season was a memorable one at Club level, coming, as it did, for the IRFU's 150th anniversary. Club rugby plays a hugely important role in the fabric of rugby in Ireland and on behalf of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), I would like to congratulate the winners across all the divisions of the Energia All Ireland League for their efforts over the course of the season.
"I would also like to thank Energia for their unwavering support of Irish rugby at all levels. Their commitment continues to play a vital role in raising the profile of the Club game right across the island of Ireland'.
Women's Division Player of the Year: Eilís Cahill, UL Bohemian
Men's Division 1A Player of the Year: Dan Goggin, St Mary's College
Men's Division 1B Player of the Year: Kevin O'Flaherty, Nenagh Ormond
Men's Division 2A Player of the Year: Bevan Prinsloo, Instonians
Men's Division 2B Player of the Year: Jamie Kavanagh, Wanderers
Men's Division 2C Player of the Year: JB Du Toit, Midleton
Men's Division Coach of the Year: Quenton O'Neale, Old Belvedere
Women's Division Coach of the Year: Jason Moreton, Wicklow
Community Hero Award:,Cathal Quaid, Young Munster
Referee of the Season: Dan Carson
Possibilities Award:Lansdowne FC
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Heimir Hallgrimsson reveals element of Senegal friendly that makes it perfect preparation for Portugal in World Cup bid
WHEN Senegal were unveiled as friendly opponents for Ireland, Heimir Hallgrimsson stressed the importance of such games to prepare for a World Cup. With our last global finals appearance almost a quarter of a century ago, it has been a long time since Irish fans have dared look that far ahead. 3 Heimir Hallgrimsson believes the friendly against Senegal will be perfect preparation for Ireland's World Cup bid Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile 3 Ireland face the African side at the Aviva Stadium tonight Credit: AFP or licensors And most would probably settle for the team being able to hold its own in In reality , the fact that Yet at 19th in the world, Senegal were — after the And, with 20 games played since their last defeat, they boast the longest current unbeaten run in international football . Read More on Ireland MNT Ending that before they go on to play Pape Thiaw's team reached a record Ivory Coast may have edged them out on penalties in the Most read in Football Prior to that, they had gone nine consecutive games without defeat meaning just one loss in 30. By way of contrast, Ireland have been beaten 16 times in their last 30. Watch Robbie Brady aim hilarious dig at Ireland teammates after winning Player of the Year award After The Three Lions scored seven times without reply over two And Hallgrimsson is pleased with what he says are signs of improvement. He said: 'I would say we have taken a step, both defensively and in attack. We have tried to simplify things, some things we like to repeat all the time. Some things the players are starting to understand, what to think when you win the ball, where to look, our identity is clearer and clearer every camp we play and we try to hammer that home. 'As I have said often, going to a club, playing for your club for three months and then coming in for a week with the national team, the most important thing is to try and sink in how we should think as a team, defend as a team, what are the principles here. 'It might be totally different at your club. That's the most important thing in a national team, that the principles are 100 per cent. If you don't have the basics then details don't matter. 'We try to hammer in the basics, in our principles defending and our principles in attack. 'Hopefully you see it, but we see it when we analyse the game, show them the clips of the good things that are happening. For me, it's because they are thinking now more and more the same way.' STYLES CLASH But he acknowledged Ireland will be coming up against a completely different style of football to what they have faced to date. It has been 15 years since the Boys in Green took on African opposition, beating Algeria 3-1 at the RDS during Giovanni Trapattoni's reign. That is, in part, down to the reduced number of friendlies in international football but more to do with Ireland's absence from the Hallgrimsson said: 'If you look at their matches and how they play, massive physicality, I'd say not only speed but running power, they come at you again and again, they look for the space behind you. 'If you watch Afcon, a team like Senegal are specialists in finding pockets to play into, to run into, a third man running in, so we will be tested defensively massively in this game if they play like they have done. 'In their last 20 games they haven't lost. It's amazing for a national team to play 20 games without losing and, before that again, nine games without losing so they are a massive team. 'The first goal is important and that's another aspect of the game when we play them, and individual qualities, similar to 'Everything happens a little bit quicker when we need to defend — if we are ready for that it's a good preparation for 'It's a different kind of opponent, they are looking for spaces behind us and it doesn't happen that often in Europe. Normally there are a few passes before the teams play behind us but that's one of the things we need to look at and improve.' TOPPING THE PILE Portugal's Nations League semi- final win over But the ambition remains to top that group because the play-offs are as much a trap door as a back door. Hallgrimsson added: 'If you end up second, you need to go through two play-off matches to qualify. So everybody's eyes at the beginning of the tournament are on first spot. 'And I think looking at the group, there will be lost points, even for Portugal. So we just need to take care of ourselves and let's see where that brings us.' For now, tonight's game, and Tuesday's match in Luxembourg, will be about preparation for September when With Tonight's starting side may not resemble the line-up in September, given Josh Cullen has been rested and others such as Sammie Szmodics and But Hallgrimsson — who will check on how He said: 'I wouldn't mind losing both these games if we won both games in September, but obviously we want to win all of our matches and we go to every match to win it. 'It is important that we have more than 11 players ready to play. 'There is a different type of individual but the principles are the same and we'd like to introduce the principles to as many players as possible. We never know what's going to happen in September, October, November.' 3 Evan Ferguson and Andrew Moran, right, during a Republic of Ireland training session Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Jim Crawford backs Ireland U21 starlet to ‘take hype in his stride' as he reveals ‘his family's experienced it before'
JIM CRAWFORD backed Cathal O'Sullivan to block out the noise by making some of his own with the Republic of Ireland U21s. The Cork City starlet is one of three League of Ireland players to have earned their first call-ups into Crawford's panel for today's friendly against 2 Cathal O'Sullivan is one of the rising stars of the League of Ireland Credit: Seb Daly/Sportsfile 2 Jim Crawford backed him to take the hype in stride Credit: Manu Reino/Sportsfile That will be followed by another friendly against next Tuesday. O'Sullivan is joined by And the Ireland U21 boss praised the trio for making a seamless transition, saying: 'They haven't looked out of place. 'I had a conversation with Cathal saying that last year, when he was playing in the First Division, I thought he was outstanding. Read More on Ireland MNT 'And then, when they got promoted, I said, great, he has that taste now of being in a league winning team. 'He's been excellent. He really has. He's exciting crowds and I'm looking forward to seeing him play for us in this window. 'Cory was someone so young, playing with the top team in the league and looking comfortable. 'He plays with a maturity and a know-how that merits his inclusion. Most read in Football 'Warren's been having a great year. He knows that he's at a stage that will help him develop even more.' O'Sullivan has been the talk of the Watch Robbie Brady aim hilarious dig at Ireland teammates after winning Player of the Year award The 18-year-old scored seven goals in 28 appearances as the Leesiders won the First Division in 2024 and has played 14 times in the Premier Division this season. While City are second from bottom, O'Sullivan's reputations has continued to blossom. The winger visited After Meanwhile, City teammate – and ex-Preston North End star - Seani Maguire argued he is Crawford revealed that the youngster's brother spent time at family handled that experience will serve O'Sullivan well. GOOD STOCK He added: 'I've seen it with players where players would lose the run of themselves with all the external stuff coming from social media or from other people around the game. 'He's played some big games for Cork and he's been excellent, he really has, so I would suggest that he'll just take it in a stride. 'His brother played with Aston Villa. I think he was there for a year, he was saying. 'The family have experienced somebody at that level that goes away to England and tries to forge a career in the game.' Crawford also confirmed that Man Utd prospect Jacob Devaney will make his Ireland U21 debut in this window. The Yorkshire-born midfielder got his first call-up having previously played for the U19s. The 17-year-old is among the smattering of first-timers that also includes Killian Barrett, Cian Dillon – who was drafted in after injuries to Mason Melia and Jack Moorehouse – and the aforementioned League of Ireland trio. And Crawford said: 'Jacob's come in and he's trained well. He had to step out for one of our sessions. It was just to modify his load. 'The beauty with him, he can play as that holding midfielder and he can play as a full-back too, which is always a strength for a player as well in international football . 'He's come in and again, another player who hasn't looked out of place. 'He's a fantastic personality and he's a credit to his family because he's come in and it could have been quite daunting for him to come into a 21s camp. 'He's come in and he's been excellent, he really has, so he's definitely looking forward to putting on the green jersey .'
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Leinster youngster to emulate Brian O'Driscoll historic feat this summer
Stephen Smyth has made just four appearances for Leinster, all of them this season as a sub, and been on the pitch for a grand total of sixty-five next game will be for Ireland in either Georgia or Portugal in which point the 20 year-old hooker will become the first player to play for Ireland without having started for his province since Brian O'Driscoll made his debut against Australia in has been some week for Smyth, who is still a First Year Academy trainee at the Blues and who started the season as, technically, their SIXTH choice hooker and who was the very, very last to know he was selected. Smyth was in Australia on an Academy sabbatical/leadership course with Rugby League outfit Melbourne Storm - a plane ticket/summons home came in the same email as 'congratulations you have been selected...'.As for being down the pecking order at Leinster, no shame there as both Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher were established Ireland stars and, indeed, are going on the Lions Tour this McCarthy was so established Andy Farrell capped him in the November 2024 Series while John McKee and Lee Barron had both made 2022 debuts for the the 2024/25 newbie at Leinster had caught the eye at almost every representative level on the way up culminating in playing Six Nations, World Championships for Ireland U21 and Old Wesley in the AIL through 2023/ the previous parts of his resume which included such as captaining Leinster Schools, playing Ireland U18, captaining Ireland U19 in Japan were impressive the more for Smyth having started his rugby as a centre, moved to no8 and has only latterly converted to hooker."Somebody of his size profile, probably was always going to end up in the pack," says Old Wesley coach Morgan Lennon with whom the hooker has prospered."He's made remarkable strides, it's not obvious to most people that he has only transitioned to hooker two years ago when he came out of school where he was a no8."Like anybody who's picking up the situation at that stage, throwing was the biggest challenge because he'd always been a good ball-carrier, good defender."From the minute I came across him, when he came out of school and made the decision to come to us he always had the raw materials, the size-profile."When you look at him he looks very like a Dan Sheehan or a Ronan Kelleher, he's got that physical profile, six foot two, six foot three, 14 kilos and he's dynamic, quick, powerful."Switching position in rugby doesn't have to be traumatic, Brian O'Driscoll was a scrum-half in school, Denis Leamy was a place-cking centre at school it is just that anyone switching to hooker has a whole new responsibility, throwing into the BOD's case he was playing AIL for UCd when called up by Warren Gatland for the 1999 Australia tour, making his debut at 19 years, four months and 21 days and who would make his Six Nations debut in 2000, a campaign in which he would score his famous Paris hat-trick. "It was the throwing that was always going to be the thing that was going to separate him, that was going to cause some problems and he would be the first to admit he's worked incredibly hard on that."He struggled during the first Ireland U20s campaign when he first came out of school and couldn't really get in."There was a lot of talk about him and I was kind of being told about him, the background noises that he was not going to get to be a pro, but his throwing came on incredibly between the end of the U20 Six Nations and the U20 World Cup."Then, obviously, there was a couple of injuries which meant he started a lot of the games in the 20s World Cup and he's just gone on an upward trajectory since then."That's in part as former Leinster hooker Aaron Dundon (2010-16) is Line-out Coach at Welsey."It's funny because myself and Aaron, we've talked about quite a bit around Stevie and the thing about him is that Aaron would always say that a hooker has to be throwing regularly in game situations, and he has thrown regularly with us."It didn't always go our way, there were times where we were playing AIL and it was like 'Oh my god, we're never going to win him out here'."But he has shown he has the playing capacity and the mental capacity to not let that get into his overall game and I think he also matured a huge amount in two years, he obviously growing from a boy to a man not just on the physical side but mentally too."Smyth, says Lennon, has proved himself remarkably committed to Wesley who are, don't forget an amateur side."Stevie and Billy Corrigan who is also at Leinster and still U20s have been brilliant for us, so good that at 20/21 years they are part of our leadership group."Their contribution here has been excellent whether it is making it to all our training sessions in the evenings even if they have been with Leinster or the U20s in the morning, picking up cones or chatting to the lads."So I'd imagine there will be more for Stevie to pick up while on tour with Ireland, he'll have an exposure to different coaches and while I don't know I would expect Stevie to be able to relate to Paul O'Connell, I think they'll have some common ground."Those who have seen Smyth in action this season for Leinster are hardly legion, there has just been Connacht away (7 mins, Nov), home to Lions (2 mins, Nov), home to Cardiff (23 minutes, March) and away to Bulls (33 mins, March).And while the immediate future is clear, touring and hopefully picking up an Ireland cap, it may be that, given the number of top-flight hookers queuing at Leinster there will be some David Humphreys-style thinning was loaned to Munster for the latter part of this season with the move now full-time and this week's appointment of Stuart Lancaster to Connacht comes with the suggestion there will be a 'loan superhighway' set up between the western and eastern and Kelleher won't be going anywhere but if the question is whether Lancaster will be able to capture one of McCarthy, McKee or Smyth - either full-time or on loan - the answer is almost certainly 'yes'.
