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>
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Really happy' Irish star Sarah Healy ‘having a lot of fun' after sensational first-ever Diamond League victory in Rome
SARAH HEALY declared "I'm having a lot of fun" after securing his first ever win at the Diamond League. The Irish star ran 3:59.17 to romp to victory in the 1,500m at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Friday night. Advertisement The Dubliner surged to the front in the last 40 metres to edge Australian duo Sarah Billings (3:59.24) and Abbey Caldwell (3:59.32). And she said: 'I'm obviously really happy to come away with the win. 'It was a really competitive field, I thought it wouldn't be crazy quick and it was quite crowded, there was a lot of bodies and I was further back than I wanted to be the whole time. "But I tried to stay patient and in the last lap I had to make a good few moves, which I was happy with, especially on the home straight. Advertisement Read More on Sarah Healy 'I know my shape is good, I ran a big 3km PB two weeks ago so I know I'm really fit. "Hopefully a PB in the 1500m is coming for me soon but today, I just wanted to compete for the win. "I know I'm good at hard, fast races, but races like this were more where I struggled so I'm really, really happy to win – it's really cool.' Healy has been edging towards victory in recent times, having finished third in the 3,000m at the Rabat Diamond League. Advertisement Most read in Athletics She will next race in 1,500m at the Paris Diamond League on June 20, and revealed the secret behind her success. She added: 'I'm having a lot of fun which is the main thing. Inside Sarah Healy's life beyond athletics from impressive college degree to passion for travelling the globe 'And it's probably why I'm running so well.' 2025 is already set up to be a stunning year for Healy, who claimed European gold as recently as March. Advertisement The Irish star dominated the 3,000m at the Euro Indoors, crossing the line in a brilliant 8:52.86, She followed that up by finishing Healy was in contention throughout and only lost touch with the leaders in the final 400m when gold medal winner Freweyni Hailu of Ethiopia kicked clear. Healy crossed the line in 8.40.00, just 13 days after she won the European title in Apeldoorn. Advertisement She said: 'It was a pretty solid race from me. I put myself in the right position from the start. 'I expected the race to be faster, it ended up being slow with a big wind-up towards the end. 'When the big move was made at three laps to go, I was a little too far back and had a lot to make up. 'I think sixth is a pretty solid result for me and I'm pretty happy with it, but it does leave me hungry for more.' Advertisement 1 Sarah Healy claimed her first ever Diamond League victory in Rome Credit: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
The 42
2 hours ago
- The 42
'Of course it concerns me': McIlroy's nightmare round the worst possible prep for US Open
RORY MCILROY PLANS to spend the weekend testing new drivers after missing the cut at the Canadian Open with a disastrous second round of eight-over par 78. The world number two had a new driver in the bag this week in Toronto in a bid to get more control, but hit just four out of 14 fairways in his nightmare second round. One such miss came at the par-four fifth where he was right off the tee before firing his approach shot long and out of bounds, taking a quadruple-bogey eight that effectively condemned him to a first missed cut of the season. 'Yeah, of course it concerns me,' McIlroy told media afterwards when asked about the short turnaround to the third Major of the season, the US Open at Oakmont next week. 'You don't want to shoot high scores like the one I did today. Still I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver thinking that that sort of was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn't. Obviously going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways. [I'm] still sort of searching for the sort of missing piece off the tee. 'Obviously for me, when I get that part of the game clicking, then everything falls into place for me. Right now that isn't. Yeah, that's a concern going into next week.' McIlroy finished his round with four bogeys and a double as well as the quad at the fifth, and spent the latter part of Friday's round Advertisement 'I didn't hit enough fairways. I felt like I drove the ball better yesterday than I did today. 'I think once I made that big number on the front nine, I was always behind the eight ball a little bit. After nine holes, I sort of resigned myself to the fact that I'd be flying home to Florida tonight. 'Yeah, it was just about trying to think about — trying to make a few good swings, seeing where the misses were. You're trying to sort of learn as much as I could just looking ahead to next week. He explained: 'I think there's still learnings that you have to take from a day like today. Look, even though the last two days didn't go the way I wanted them to, there's still things that I can take from it, and there's still things that I can learn. I'm going to have to do a lot of practice and a lot of work over the weekend at home and try to at least have a better idea of where my game is going into next week.' Part of that work will involve figuring which driver to put in the bag as he bids to go one better after agonising near misses and runner-up finishes at each of the last two US Opens. 'I was saying to Harry [Diamond, his caddy] going down the last this is the second time this year I've tried the new version, and it hasn't quite worked out for me. 'So I'd say I'll be testing quite a few drivers over the weekend.' Irish eyes this week are firmly on Shane Lowry who backed up his brilliant opening round with a second-round 68 on Friday, moving to eight-under par and four shots off the lead held by America's Cameron Champ. Lowry will tee off at 6.10pm on Saturday evening alongside first-round co-leader Cristobal Del Solar of Chile, with Champ and Andrew Putnam — who is two shots back — out in the final group at 6.50pm.
The 42
2 hours ago
- The 42
'I still very much have the grá for it. People say it's a sacrifice, but it's a choice'
IT IS ALMOST 11 years since Caoimhe Costelloe conducted her first feature interview with this writer. Signposted for superstardom, she had just turned 18, already had All-Ireland intermediate and minor medals in her pocket and was looking forward to making her debut in what is now the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior camogie championship. What's more, her Leaving Cert results had provided the Adare tyro with the points she needed to get into the teacher training college, Mary I. What strikes you reading that On The Ball article back, and a few more from the next four or seasons, is the incredible maturity of the Adare teenager, the obvious leadership skills and the fierce ambition. She was in it to win it. Now, ten days removed from her 29th birthday, and remarkably, having played in every championship game since – she didn't start once ten years ago due to a broken thumb but came on – Costelloe grins ruefully when considering her veteran status. 'You kind of think you're still the youngest in your head, but I think I'm like third or fourth eldest now,' says Costelloe. 'Some days I feel it, I definitely think I've abused my body now, a few aches! 'When I look at some of the girls that have got injured down through the years, I've been lucky touch wood. I broke my thumb in 2015 for the first round of the championship. I came on as a sub, I think that's the only championship match I didn't start so I have been lucky that way.' There were some All-Ireland quarter-finals along the way but largely, it's been more anguish and despair than exultation and joy. Inconsistency has pockmarked what the Shannonsiders have done and many of the historic minor-winning outfit of 2014 that came through and offered great hope for the future are no longer involved. Costelloe remains though and admits that her mindset is very different now to when she was interested only in winning senior All-Irelands with Limerick. But one thing, the core element, has never changed. Advertisement In action against Waterford's Bevan Bowdren last year. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO 'I think maybe time has made me a realist. At 17, I was probably confident that we could push on and, challenge for an All-Ireland, because underage, we've done that. But I probably, at that time, didn't anticipate how much it takes and how many things just need to fall into place for that to happen. 'But, I still very much have the grá for it, you know? I love going training, I love meeting new girls that come into our panel, and seeing the progress in them over a little while. 'Obviously, I would love to have challenged a bit more. And we probably had teams that were capable of challenging a bit more, but the grá hasn't gone away… I enjoy the company that the girls give. And it's nice sometimes, that younger generation has maybe a different attitude maybe to what I had, and they're a little bit more carefree. And I love watching that. 'People say it's a sacrifice, but it's a choice. I love challenging myself against the very best. I love going training and then challenging myself to try and get better. And you're looking at your stats and you're watching the video, and you're like, 'How much more could I have done in this situation?'' This latter element, this ability to measure contribution and improvement is one of the major changes in the world of inter-county camogie in the past decade. 'When I first came on the panel in 2013, we didn't have an S&C coach. There was no video analysis. It was a case of, 'Go out and win your own ball.' When I reflect back, I think how far we have come as a group and as a sport. Like, before, I remember being told at 13 or 14, that any ball inside the four white lines is a good ball. You'd get crucified if you went and did that now!' Much is altered but, life is still good. She began teaching in her alma mater, Our Lady's Abbey Girls NS and remains there. That means she is still living at home. Adare won a Munster junior title in 2022, which meant the world. Costelloe was nominated for an All-Star that year too. And she has had a ball immersing herself in the experience of being a devoted supporter of the hurlers, who changed the face of Limerick GAA forever in recent years, captained for all of that time until this year by her clubmate, Declan Hannon. 'I'm a Limerick fan first and foremost. I have loved going to Croke Park and seeing the boys succeed the way they have. And the family memories that we've created because of it.' The Limerick hurlers celebrate after last year's Munster final. Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO By the time John Kiely's mob bid for a seventh straight Munster title this evening, Costelloe and her teammates will know exactly where they stand with regard to the Glen Dimplex Championship, because their Group 1 derby with Clare at Biomet Zimmer Páirc Chíosóg this afternoon [throw-in 2pm] is to all intents and purposes, a knockout game. They have both beaten Wexford, and with all-conquering Cork and last year's Division 1A League champions Tipperary also in the group, the consensus is that it is between this pair for the third knockout spot though a Wexford defeat of Tipperary at Chadwicks Wexford Park [4pm] would launch a couple of cats among the pigeons. Clare had a bye last week after winning their opener, while Limerick are playing their third game in a fortnight. They recovered from a chastening 38-point defeat by Cork in the first round, to edge out Wexford by a goal last week at Mick Neville Park. But Joe Quaid had the team very focused on the games that would matter in this period and there was no damage done by that initial hammering. With Costelloe scoring eight points, her clubmate Sophie O'Callaghan dominant in the middle, Laura Southern grabbing the goal and goalie Sarah Gillane making a great save, Limerick delivered. There is a good vibe around. It was Quaid that called Costelloe into the panel in 2013 while the current lead coach, Willie Banks, was a coach of the minor-winning squad the following season. It feels like things have gone the full circle for Costelloe. Certainly, there is no mistaking the excitement she feels ahead of a big game. 'We knew that the two games against Wexford and Claire were going to be huge. And I'm sure they were thinking the exact same thing. We and Clare know each other going back a long, long way now at this stage. It's great that this is probably a preliminary quarter-final in many ways. It's gonna be pure shoulder to the wheel for as long as we can and hopefully that will get us over the line.'
