Pat Noctor Supreme Young Sports Star 2015, who will win

The last of this year’s sports star awards for 2015 will be presented this Friday evening at a function at Ard Scoil na nDéise in Dungarvan.

Now in its 23^rd year, the Pat Noctor Supreme Young Sports Star Awards have grown from strength to strength.

Pat was a Garda based in Dungarvan who before his untimely death was the first Juvenile Liaison Officer in the Dungarvan Garda Division, where he did sterling work amongst the young people in the Dungarvan Division.

Following his death his colleagues decided to honour him and keep his name alive with an award which would be presented each year to a young person in the area involved in sport.

The Dungarvan Garda Division is a large one including areas where there is Garda Stations like Dungarvan, Lismore, Tallow, Cappoquin, Ballymacarbry, Aglish and Ring as well as the surrounding areas.

Down the years some of the winners of the annual award have gone on to make a name for themselves in their chosen sports.

The first winner in 1993 was Jamie Costin who is well known for Race Walking and who has represented Ireland in the Olympic Games. Others that have won the award in the past include David McCarthy who achieved a lot in Athletics, Kate Veale is another well known person through Athletics while Seamus Power is now a professional Golf player and Tom Queally is one of the best jockeys that race in both Britain and Ireland each year.

This years nominations were announced recently and the judges when they make their final call as to who the stand out person involved in sport in 2015 was will have a tough call to make.

For the record the twelve nominations are:

Maurice Daly (Rugby)

Megan Dunford (Ladies Football)

Eoghan Flynn (Athletics)

Aoife Hamilton (Athletics)

Mark McGarry (Cycling)

Caoimhe McGrath (Ladies Football)

Darragh McGrath (GAA)

Jayson Molumby (Soccer)

Aisling Power (Camogie)

Dawn Power (Camogie)

Micheal Power (Athletics)

Kaeisha Tobin (Ladies Football, Camogie and Soccer)

With no disrespect to the males in contention for the award, this blog site is about the promotion of female sports so here we will be hoping that of the twelve the award will go to one of the six females in contention.

Of the six, either would be a worthy winner, but if there was to be one of them to win the overall award which would it be.

The six female’s in contention for the award include no fewer than four players that played and won All-Ireland finals at Croke Park.

Of the four two were involved with the Ladies Football team and the other two were involved with the Camogie team.

Megan Dunford and Caoimhe McGrath were players that most would have expected to be panel players at the start of the year but both quickly established themselves in the team.

Megan in the National League Final against Sligo at Parnell Park was outstanding in Waterford’s defeat and but for her especially in the first half when Sligo were mounting pressure on Waterford time and time again she put herself in the firing line breaking down attacks by the Sligo forwards. Her efforts in the league did not go un-noticed as she was named on the Division three team of the year in the league.

Caoimhe is a player that has got people take notice in the last few years. She was listed amongst the subs for the win over Kildare but when the team ran out to take the field it quickly came to light that she was in fact starting the game.

Having watched her for the past few years it was looking that she could have made the centre back position hers in the years ahead, but Megan Dunford appear to have nailed that position on the team down with some fine performances, but with Michelle McGrath unavailable this year to the Ladies footballers, Caoimhe has moved to the full back position that Michelle played in last year and could well be there for the remainder of the year as she is putting in some excellent performances there.

Aisling and Dawn Power were part of the Waterford Camogie team last year that won a Division 2 League and All-Ireland Intermediate Final double.

Waterford put together a new look management team last year for the league and championship headed up by Sean Fleming who had worked in the last number of years with the underage sides within the county and knew only too well of the talent that was coming through in the county and was not afraid to bring players like Aisling and Dawn into his new look panel and they and the others brought in did not disappoint.

The pair from Cappoquin and Dungarvan respectfully started in the corner forward positions in last years All-Ireland Final win over Kildare and played a vital roll in the win.

On the day Aisling struck an all important goal for Waterford towards the end of the first half, when she was in the right place at the right time to capitalise on an attempt for a score struck by Shona Curran from out the field fell just short and once the dynamic Cappoquin player got control of the ball she got inside the Kildare full back line and facing the Canal End goal at the Jones’ Road venue there was only one thing on her mind and she did not miss.

Kaiesha Tobin is another fine young sporting prospect in the county. A fine footballer, she is equally at home playing camogie or Soccer. She is probably one of these young sports starts that come along every so often who can turn there hand to any sport.

She was part of the County Under 16 panel in both hurling and camogie last year winning honours in both codes, and was also part of a successful under 16 Dungarvan United soccer side that won honours in 2015.

The sixth female in contention is Aoife Hamilton, a young athlete who won several honours for both Club and County in the past twelve months including a silver medal at the Tailteann Games and a bronze at the All-Ireland Cross Country Championships.

So which if any has the best chance of winning this years Pat Noctor Supreme Sports Star Award for 2015?

Any of the six young ladies would be a worthy winner, as indeed would any of the six young men.

Twice in the competitions history has the award been shared. Could the same happen again in 2015? If for example would it be right to favour one of the ladies footballers over the other or the same with the camogie players.

Before naming the person I feel would be the winner it has to be pointed out that when doing the same with the WLRfm/Grandville Hotel Award and with the Park Hotel Award I got it very wrong. Can I make it third time lucky or continue my poor predicting series.

For me there is one all round sports star. Kaiesha Tobin is a player I have heard a lot about in the last two or three years but had not seen in the flesh doing what she does best until recently and I have to admit she does have a very bright future ahead of her.

As pointed out, she is equally as good when using a hurley and sliotar as a Gaelic football or a soccer ball, I have no doubt in the years ahead that she will be much in demand.

When it comes to the ladies games it is slightly easier to give time to two or more games at the top level than it is for the men. Why is this I don’t know as the commitment needed for both men and women’s sports is the same, and sometimes the ladies games can be more demanding as players are often paying expenses incurred to be part of a team from their own pocket or the pocket of their parents when the players are still very young.

Each year the demands to concentrate on game is growing and in the coming years it might be interesting what sport Kaiesha picks as her number one sport and give most time to.

Previous Winners of the Pat Noctor Supreme Young Sports Star Awards are:

 

1993	Jamie Costin	Ring	Athletics
1994	Derek Hayes	Abbeyside	Athletics
1995	Diane Beecher	Tallow	Equestrian
1996	James Keoghan	Abbeyside	Boxing
1997	Eibhlis Ahearne	Ballinamult	Athletics
1998	Alan Harty	Dungarvan	Golf
1999	William Harty	Ballinamult	Athletics
2000	Tom Queally	Cappagh	Horse Racing
2001	Mark Beecher	Tallow	Equestrian
2002	Anthony Condon	Cappagh	Equestrian
2003	Jeremy O'Mahony	Abbeyside	Boxing
2004	David McCarthy	Ballinamult	Athletics
2005	Seamus Power	Ballinamult	Golf
2006	Peter Moloney	Colligan	Equestrian
2007	Stephen Enright	Abbeyside	GAA
2008	Kate Veale	Ballinroad	Athletics
2009	Kate Veale	Ballinroad	Athletics
2010	Kate Veale	Ballinroad	Athletics
2011	Kate Veale	Ballinroad	Athletics
2012	Patrick Curran and Ryan Donnelly	Dungarvan	GAA
2013	Patrick Curran and Stephen Bennett	Dungarvan and Ballysaggart	GAA
2014	Alan McMahon	Ballinroad	Rugby
2015