McCONVILLE HONOURED BY PEERS
Richard Bullick
Armagh ladies gaelic legend Lauren McConville has been unveiled as one of the three nominees for 2024 All Ireland Player of the Year on the back of another outstanding season in the orange jersey for the Crossmaglen great.
To be in contention for her sport’s most prestigious individual award is a great tribute to McConville’s excellence but what will be particularly gratifying for the 29-year-old is that the shortlist was decided by the votes of fellow county footballers.
Peer recognition is especially cherished in sport and panellists from the 12 Senior Championship counties have chosen Armagh’s McConville, Kerry’s Kayleigh Cronin and Galway’s Nicola Ward as their top trio.
McConville won both the LGFA and GPA All Ireland Player of the Month awards for April this year after shining in Armagh’s historic National League title triumph with a Player of the Match performance in the Croke Park showpiece win over Kerry.
The converted centre half back, who was originally a forward, was inevitably named in the NFL Team of Division One and has subsequently been crowned Ulster Ladies Footballer of the Year along with picking up her fourth consecutive provincial All Star.
Lauren, who reached the milestone of 100 Armagh appearances against Mayo on St Patrick’s Day without ever having been injured or dropped from the team during an Orchard career which began back in 2014, has made the All Stars shortlist for a fourth year running.
Cronin was Player of the Match in August’s All Ireland final as Kerry were crowned champions for the first time since the 1980s by beating Galway, for whom Ward had played a starring role as the Tribeswomen dethroned Dublin at the last eight stage.
Tyrone captain Aoibhinn McHugh joins Leitrim pair Michelle Guckian and Charlene Tyrrell on the Intermediate Player of the Year shortlist with Fermanagh duo Blaithin Bogue and Eimear Smyth in contention for Junior Player of the Year along with Louth’s Kate Flood.
McConville is currently Down Under representing Gold Coast Suns in the AFLW but the silver lining of the Queensland’s franchise’s failure to qualify for the play-offs is that Lauren will be back home in time for the All Stars banquet in Dublin on November 16.
