Another month and another female sports star in Waterford has impressed.

Another month has passed so its time to name someone involved in ladies sports in Waterford who achieved something special in the month of November and name them as the unofficial Women’s Sports Woman for the month.

From the outset, I must admit I took my eye of the ball a little in the month of November and did not keep as close eye on who was achieving what, so this month lets do something different.

Lets begin with a question.

How many All-Stars was Waterford won down the years. Many on the ball will know that since 1974 Waterford have won 32 All-Stars in hurling, the most recent being Noel Connors, Tadhg de Búrca and Maurice Shanahan, the first being Portlaw’s John Galvin.

In between Kevin Moran, John Mullane, Michael Walsh, Eoin Kelly, Ken McGrath, Tony Browne, Dan Shanahan, Stephen Molumphy, Eoin Murphy, Paul Flynn, Fergal Hartley, Jim Greene and Mossie Walsh have all being honoured for their exploits by those charged with selecting the team of the year each year.

Some supporters will know that prior to the All-Star Awards as we know them started to be presented, in the 1960’s the Cu Chulainn Awards were presented for a number of years. Austin Flynn won three of these awards and Larry Guinan, Mick Flannelly and Phil Grimes all won one award each in the life time of these awards.

But Waterford’s awards don’t stop there.

Down the years Waterford have won  All-Stars in both Ladies Football and Camogie and it is important that we hold the holders of these awards in the same esteem that we hold those that have won them in hurling as the effort that our female players put in is the same and sometimes greater than what our males put in.

Waterford’s first lady to win an All-Star was back in 1986 and was won by Marie Crotty (Ballymacarbry) in the centre forward position.

That was the year that the Ladies Football All-Ireland Finals were first played at Croke Park and as the Junior final was played before the senior final, Marie in addition to being Waterford’s first female All-Star she also holds the distension of being the first lady to score in a football All-Ireland Football Final to be played at G.A.A. Headquarters.

Since then, Waterford have added many other All-Stars in Ladies Football, with some of Waterford’s all time greats of the sports from the great team of the 90’s winning many awards.

Before that great team came along however, Waterford had other players that won All-Stars in their first years playing ion the senior grade.

Ann Fitzpatrick (Ballymacarbry) was selected in the number 5 shirt on the All-Star team selected in 1987.

1988 saw the amount of awards won in Ladies football won over doubled as three Waterford players were selected in the team of the year.

Dolores Tyrell (Ballymacarbry) was selected in the number four shirt, June Whyte (Kilrossanty) was selected at centre back and Marie Crotty (Ballymacarbry) was selected at centre forward.

There was another three All-Stars for Waterford in 1989. This time all three awards went to members of what was a superb Ballymacarbry Club Side at the time as Anne Dunford was selected at number four while Áine Wall and Bernie Ryan were selected at numbers ten and eleven respectfully.

With Waterford now beginning to bring through one of the most exciting groups of players ever to grace the Inter County Ladies Football scene, in 1990 three more All-Stars followed for Waterford as Ann Fitzpatrick was selected at Centre Back and Áine Wall and Marie Crotty were selected in the wing forward positions.

In 1991 Waterford won the first of five All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Finals in the 1990’s and it was only fitting that Waterford had the highest representation on the team of the year with five members of the All-Ireland winning team named on the team of the year.

Martina O’Ryan was selected at full back, Anne Dunford was named at number four, Anne Fitzpatrick at seven, Marie Crotty in the middle of the field and Áine Wall was selected at Full forward. All five were members of the Ballymacarbry club.

Waterford retained the All-Ireland title in 1992 and again had the highest representation on the team of the year with five. Twin sisters Martina and Geraldine O’Ryan were named at Full back and Centre Forward respectfully, Kilrossanty’s June Whyte was picked at number four and Bernie Ryan and Áine Wall were selected in the centre of the field and at full forward.

Waterford lost the 1993 Munster Final to Kerry and at the end of the year with no visit to GAA Headquarters that year, Waterford had to do with one All-Star as Áine Wall was named in the number 15 shirt.

Waterford won a third All-Ireland final in 1994 and again at the end of the year won five All-Stars as Martina O’Ryan and Noreen Walsh were selected at Full Back and Centre Back, Caithriona Casey was selected at number 12 while Fiona Crotty a younger sister of Marie and Áine Wall were picked in the full forward line.

In 1995 a fourth All-Ireland Final was won for Waterford and so too was a record seven All-Star Awards (for Waterford) was won.

Anna Lisa Crotty was selected as the goalkeeper of the year and Regina Byrne and Cleona Walsh who like Anna Lisa Crotty were part of the Ballymacarbry club was named in the corner back positions and Dunhill’s Julie Ann Torpey was also selected in the back line at number seven. Marie Crotty and Caithriona Casey were picked in the half back line and Geraldine O’Ryan was picked in the number 13 shirt.

Waterford won four All-Stars in 1996. Anna Lisa Crotty was again picked as the goalkeeper of the year, Noreen Walsh was picked at full back and for the second year in a row Julie Anne Torpey was picked at number seven, while Áine Wall was named in the number fifteen shirt.

Anna Lisa Crotty, Noreen Walsh and Julie Anne Torpey were selected in the 1997 team of the year in the same positions that they filled twelve months earlier and there was two more All-Stars that year for Waterford as Geraldine O’Ryan and Caitriona Casey were picked in the corner forward positions.

Waterford won a fifth All-Ireland Final in 1998 and with it won six All-Stars. Siobhan O’Ryan was picked at full back and Noreen Walsh was picked at number four while Anna Lisa Crotty won a fourth award in a row but in a new position at number five and there was an all Waterford full forward line as Rebecca Hallahan, Aine Wall and Geraldine O’Ryan all named in the team of the year.

Waterford won four All-Stars in 1999 as Siobhan O’Ryan and Anna Lisa Crotty were selected in the same positions as twelve months earlier and Caitriona Casey and Geraldine O’Ryan were picked in the numbers twelve and fifteen shirts.

Waterford won four All-Stars in 2000. Oliva Condon was picked at number four, Martina O’Ryan was picked at centre back, Anna Lisa Crotty was a winner again in 2000 but this time in the middle of the field and Old Parish’s Mary O’Donnell was selected at number twelve.

After this the great Waterford team of the 1990’s began to break up as more and more players began to retire. However for a while the All-Stars continued to come Waterford’s way.

In 2002 Waterford won four All-Stars as Tramore’s Donna Frost and Na Déise’s Olivia Butler (nee Condon) were selected in the former back positions and the exploits of Julie Ann Torpey again caught the eyes of the judges as she was again picked at number seven and Mary O’Donnell was picked out for some outstanding performances in the middle of the field.

In 2003 two former All-Stars for Waterford Anna Lisa Crotty and Mary O’Donnell was selected in the team of the year at wing back and centre field respectfully while Clashmore’s Mary O’Rourke was also named in the team of the year at number thirteen.

A third All-Star followed for Mary O’Donnell in 2006 when she was picked again in the centre of the field, and in 2007 Rebecca Hallahan became the last Waterford player to win an All-Star in Ladies Football when selected at number two in the team of the year.

In Camogie, All-Stars are a much newer concept than in Ladies Football and are often won mainly by players playing in the senior grade.

However for those that are playing in the intermediate and junior grades of intercounty camogie there is soaring stars where players in these grades are judged on players playing with sides in a similar standard to they are playing in themselves.

Waterford have not won any All-Stars in Camogie to this point but have won a number of Soaring Stars.

After Waterford lost out to Offaly in the 2009 All-Ireland Junior Final when the team of the year was picked, Waterford had two players named in the best team of the year as Áine Lyng was selected at wing forward and Karen Kelly was picked at full forward.

Twelve months on Waterford were in the Junior All-Ireland final again but the final outcome was the same as in 2009 as Waterford lost out to Antrim after a replay. However, Waterford players involved in that team did enough to have four named in the team of the year.

Shona Curran was picked at full back, Trish Jackman was picked at centre back, Jennie Simpson was named at number seven and for the second year in a row Áine Lyng was named in the team of the year, this time at centre forward.

Waterford made it third time lucky in 2011 as the side managed by Mark Cooney won the Junior All-Ireland final beating Down in the final at Croke Park.

Seven players of that winning side were named in the team of the year as Aisling O’Brien was named as the goalkeeper of the year, Emma Hannon and Jennie Simpson was named in the full back line, Gráinne Kenneally was named at wing back, Trish Jackman was picked in the middle of the field on the team of the year, Nicola Morrissey was picked at centre forward and Karen Kelly was picked at full forward.

For both Ladies Football and Camogie in Waterford 2015 was a great year as the two sides won Intermediate All-Ireland finals two weeks apart at Croke Park both against Kildare.

For both sides, they were honoured with three players from the respective panels being named for awards recently.

In Ladies Football, Ballymacarbry’s Linda Wall and her younger sister Aileen were named in the 45 names in with a chance of being named on the team of the year along with Abbeyside’s Maria Delahunty.

None of the three made the overall team of the year, but in just getting named in the final selection was a great achievement.

In Camogie, Cappoquin’s Lorraine Bray, De La Salle’s Beth Carton and Gailltir Trish Jackman won intermediate Soaring Star awards for their efforts during the course of the year.

All this said, the winner of the Unofficial Waterford Sports star of the month has a connection with the above.

In both Camogie and Ladies Football Waterford players were named as the Intermediate players of the year during the month of November.

In Camogie Trish Jackman was the winner after excellent year.

She was part of the Waterford team that won a Division two league final in May and in September won an All-Ireland Intermediate title and in between she won a seventh All-Ireland Puc Fada in a row.

In Ladies Football Aileen Wall was also outstanding in the Waterford shirt, helping Waterford reaching the Division three league final for the second year in a row, where Pat Sullivan’s charges had to settle for second best against a good Sligo side, but they won the one that matters most at the end of September as she hit 2-2 for Waterford in Croke Park against Kildare as Waterford won the right to compete in the Senior Championship in 2016 for the first time since they were relegated in 2008.

Both Trish and Aileen were named as the Intermediate Camogie and Ladies Footballer of the year at both Associations All-Star Awards night during November and as recognition are this months award winners, the prize for which is some extra publicity for their chosen sport on here.