Player of the Year? Goal of the Year? Nominees announced for FAI international awards
THE NOMINEES FOR this year's FAI International Awards have been announced.
Robbie Brady, Nathan Collins and Caoimhín Kelleher are the three players in the running for the senior men's player of the year award, with Kyra Carusa, Anna Patten and Julie-Ann Russell nominated for the senior women's honour.
The now-retired Russell and Brady are also on the shortlist for the Goal of the Year prize, alongside Evan Ferguson, while Finn Azaz, Festy Ebosele and Jake O'Brien, and Abbie Larkin, Jessie Stapleton and Tyler Toland, are in the mix for their respective young player of the year awards.
The winners will be presented with their trophies at an event in the Aviva Stadium on Friday week, 6 June, ahead of the international friendly between Heimir Hallgrímsson's Ireland and Senegal.
The performances taken into account are from June 2024 to May 2025.
The inductees to the FAI Hall of Fame and the Special Merit recipient will be announced prior to the event, along with the nominees for the Amateur Player of the Year.
Here's the full list of the nominees.
*****
Advertisement
35th FAI International Awards nominees
Senior Men's International Player of the Year
Robbie Brady
Nathan Collins
Caoimhin Kelleher
Senior Women's International Player of the Year
Kyra Carusa
Anna Patten
Julie-Ann Russell
Young Men's International Player of the Year
Finn Azaz
Festy Ebosele
Jake O'Brien
Young Women's International Player of the Year
Abbie Larkin
Jessie Stapleton
Tyler Toland
International Goal of the Year
MNT | Robbie Brady vs Finland
MNT | Evan Ferguson vs Bulgaria
WNT | Julie-Ann Russell vs France
Men's Under-21 International Player of the Year
Anselmo Garcia-MacNulty
Matt Healy
Andrew Moran
Men's Under-19 International Player of the Year
Jacob Devaney
Thomas Morely
Freddie Turley
Women's Under-19 International Player of the Year
Jess Fitzgerald
Katie Keane
Aoife Kelly
Men's Under-18 International Player of the Year
Kyle Fitzgerald
Luke O'Donnell
James Roche
Men's Under-17 International Player of the Year
Rory Finneran
Ramon Martos
Finn Sherlock
Women's Under-17 International Player of the Year
Anna Butler
Ella Kelly
Madison McGuane
Boys' Under-16 International Player of the Year
Joe Byrne
Tadgh Prizeman
Niall Sullivan
Girls' Under-16 International Player of the Year
Keelin Comiskey
Ciara Milton
Hailey Twomey
Boys' Under-15 International Player of the Year
Maxim Afonin
Josh O'Dwyer
Archie Quinn
Girls' Under-15 Schools International Player of the Year
Ava Hallinan (Jesus & Mary Secondary School, Enniscrone)
Ciara Milton (St. Leo's College, Carlow)
Hailey Twomey (Eureka Secondary School, Kells)
Boys' Under-18 Schools International Player of the Year
Adam Brennan (Hartstown Community School
Alan Kizenga (St. Mac Dara's Community School, Templeogue)
Rhys Knight (Clonkeen College, Blackrock)
Football For All International Player of the Year
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The 42
5 hours ago
- The 42
Here's the full list of winners from this year's FAI international awards
THE WINNERS OF the 35th FAI International Awards have been confirmed — and honoured at an event in the Aviva Stadium. Robbie Brady and Kyra Carusa were the big winners, crowned Senior Men's and Women's International Player of the Year respectively. Both players were presented with their awards in camp this week, with announcements made on the FAI social media channels. Brady also claimed the International Goal of the Year award (v Finland), repeating his 2016 double. Finn Azaz and Jessie Stapleton won the Young Player of the Year awards, while Cork's Matt Healy took the Men's Under-21 prize. Irish legends Denise Irwin and Olivia O'Toole were inducted into the FAI Hall of Fame. Irwin was capped 56 times, featuring at the 1994 World Cup in USA, while O'Toole is the Ireland women's national team record goalscorer with 54 goals. Denis Irwin (file photo). Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO Broadcaster George Hamilton was the recipient of the Special Merit Award. The event took place at Lansdowne Road before tonight's international friendly between Heimir Hallgrímsson's Ireland and Senegal. The performances taken into account were from June 2024 to May 2025, while a jury from Soccer Writers' Ireland helped with the selection of certain categories. Here's a full list of winners: 35th FAI International Awards Winners Senior Men's International Player of the Year Robbie Brady Senior Women's International Player of the Year Kyra Carusa Young Men's International Player of the Year Finn Azaz Advertisement Young Women's International Player of the Year Jessie Stapleton International Goal of the Year MNT | Robbie Brady vs Finland Men's Under-21 International Player of the Year Matt Healy Men's Under-19 International Player of the Year Freddie Turley Women's Under-19 International Player of the Year Aoife Kelly Men's Under-18 International Player of the Year Kyle Fitzgerald Men's Under-17 International Player of the Year Finn Sherlock Women's Under-17 International Player of the Year Madison McGuane Boys' Under-16 International Player of the Year Niall Sullivan Girls' Under-16 International Player of the Year Keelin Comiskey Boys' Under-15 International Player of the Year Archie Quinn Girls' Under-15 Schools International Player of the Year Hailey Twomey (Eureka Secondary School, Kells) Boys' Under-18 Schools International Player of the Year Rhys Knight (Clonkeen College, Blackrock) Football For All International Player of the Year Heather Jameson (Cerebral Palsy) Amateur Player of the Year Jake Dillon (Fairview Rangers) Hall of Fame Denis Irwin Olivia O'Toole Special Merit George Hamilton. You can view the nominees here>
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
Ireland v Senegal live updates: Heimir Hallgrímsson's side face Senegal at the Aviva
International friendly: Republic of Ireland v Senegal, Aviva Stadium, 7.45pm Key reads: Preview: Hallgrímsson stresses Ireland's World Cup ambitions before valuable Senegal test Double header is perfect opportunity for Ireland trio of Parrott, Idah and Ferguson to hit the target Comeback kid Robbie Brady hopes career renaissance takes him and Ireland all the way to the World Cup -8 minutes ago Senegal fans Hussein Ofai and Dior Diallo make their way to the Aviva ahead of the game. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho 8 minutes ago The good news (or bad news, depending on how you see it) is Senegal aren't in short supply of talent beyond their main man Mané. Previewing this evening's game, Gavin Cummiskey gave us a quick run through of Senegalese players whose names ought to ring a bell: 'Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye, Everton team-mates of Jake O'Brien, were a positive presence at Goodison Park last season, while Ismaïla Sarr excelled during Crystal Palace's FA Cup success, scoring twice in the semi-final win over Aston Villa. Add Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pape Matar Sarr and Nicolas Jackson, who scored 10 goals as Chelsea's primary striker, to the equation and Ireland could face a chastising 90 minutes.' Read the full preview below: [ Hallgrímsson stresses Ireland's World Cup ambitions before valuable Senegal test Opens in new window ] 12 minutes ago Fans heading to the Aviva this evening will be denied the privilege of seeing Senegal's Sadio Mané live in action. The former Liverpool (turned Bayern Munich, turned Al-Nassr) star asked to sit this one out. We won't take it personally. He's also giving the England game a miss, so at least he's not just snubbing us. 17 minutes ago Hello and welcome along to The Irish Times live blog for the Republic of Ireland 's international friendly against Senegal. Kick-off at the Aviva Stadium is at 7.45pm. We'll be keeping you up to date on all action, as well as reports, ratings and reactions from our writers after the final whistle. To get us started, here's Ireland's starting XI: STARTING XI | Ireland v Senegal First starts in a green shirt for Great to see Will Smallbone return to the starting line-up with kick-off at 7.45pm 🇮🇪 — Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) Ireland: C Kelleher, M Doherty, R Manning, D O'Shea, W Smallbone, J Knight, A Idah, R Brady, K McAteer, J Taylor, N Collins (capt). Subs: M O'Leary, J Keeley, J O'Brien, T Parrot, E Ferguson, A Omobamidele, A Moran, L Scales, F Ebosele, J Honohan, J Patrick, K Phillips.
RTÉ News
14 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Robbie Brady buoyed by Irish growth amid World Cup dreams
The renaissance of Robbie Brady's career has even taken the Dubliner a little by surprise. In 2021, his time at Burnley came to an end and there were fears that the trajectory would be only downward. The FAI provided a fitness plan before a season with Bournemouth in the Championship was hampered by injury. Preston North End took a fancy to Brady in the summer of 2022 and while the first season saw regular first-team football, he began to fade from the international picture, Stephen Kenny looking elsewhere despite Ireland's struggles. Brady could only control his own form at Deepdale, but admits it was a challenging time as he was outside the tent for the entire Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. "You have to keep a level head and keep that belief in yourself," he told RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue. "It was all about getting myself back in good shape and contention. I never stopped believing I could do that." Did he think he may have played his last game in green? "At one point I did. I think a lot of people had written me off and thought they might never see me again, and maybe a couple of times I thought that myself." With Kenny exiting the Irish hotseat, Brady's former team-mate John O'Shea was brought in to steady the ship before a permanent appointment. Brady's previous contributions in an Ireland shirt, plus his consistent form at wing-back for Preston saw his re-introduction to the international arena. A little over 12 months later and the 33-year-old has penned a new deal with Preston – a 12-month deal signed last month – and was crowned the men's senior player of the year earlier this week. Heimir Hallgrimsson has liked what he has seen, with Brady's value clear for all to see with his goal and assist in a vital 2-1 defeat of Finland last year. "I felt I had a good time last year with Ireland. I didn't expect to win it (the award), but I'm delighted I did." Brady doesn't gloss over the "sticky period" Ireland endured over the past few years, suggesting the game-management and the know-how in getting over the line was lacking. Momentum has been building following back-to-back Bulgaria wins in March, and Hallgrimsson's side have now won four of their last six matches, with a chastening night at Wembley also in the mix. Brady says the mood music in the camp – a point also made by striker Adam Idah this week – is changing. "It's the confidence each one of them has in themselves is a little different to previous years. They have a lot of belief in themselves and a lot of them are playing fantastic football at club level. "Putting a few results together and getting a bit of momentum is so important, especially at international level. "It's difficult when you're not picking up results, it's dampening for the supporters. What it means to people when we are winning, you can sense it, you can feel it. The whole mood changes, not only in the camp, but outside it." Tonight's friendly against Senegal follow by a meeting with Luxembourg are the latest games allowing Hallgrimsson find out a little more about his squad, and in particular those on the periphery of the team looking to stake claims for starting berths with September's World Cup qualifiers against Hungary and Armenia on the horizon. The Icelander is bidding to lead the Boys in Green to a first World Cup since 2002. Should he manage to achieve that, a huge travelling support would be expected to flock to North America. Brady – the match-winner against Italy in Lille and an early goalscorer in the 2-1 defeat to hosts France – has happy memories of Ireland's last appearance at a major tournament at Euro 2016, and has allowed himself to think of what next summer could look like. "It's exciting thinking about it," he said. "What a lift it would give everyone, to be part of a tournament like that. We have seen in previous tournaments, the fans have travelled in mad numbers. If we could manage to quality, it would be absolutely incredible."
