THE SHORTLISTS FOR this year’s PFAI Player of the Year awards have been announced today.
2019 winner Jack Byrne is in contention to scoop the prize for a second consecutive year after leading Shamrock Rovers to their first Premier Division title since 2011.
A double could still be on the cards as Stephen Bradley’s side meet Dundalk in the FAI Cup final this Sunday.
The Hoops midfielder is widely regarded as the SSE Airtricity League’s best player, and earned his third and fourth senior international caps for Ireland in the recent Uefa Nations League campaign.
Dubliner Byrne is joined on the shortlist by his Rovers team-mate Roberto Lopes — a commanding presence at the back for the champions — and Bohemians winger Danny Grant, who enjoyed a superb season with the runners-up.
Grant is also up for Young Player of the Year, along with fellow Bohs player Dawson Devoy and Brandon Kavanagh.
20-year-old Kavanagh was key for Rovers’ second team and is nominated for the First Division Player of the Year too, alongside Drogheda United forward Mark Doyle and Yoyo Mahdy of UCD.
Hosted by Darragh Maloney, the PFAI’s annual awards will be livestreamed on YouTube next Wednesday, 9 December from 12.30pm.
If Byrne is successful, it would be the first time back-to-back Player of the Year awards have been won since another Byrne — Jason — in 2003 and 2004.
As voted for by the players, the nominees for Player of the Year, are @Jackb_8, @dangrant99 and @picolopes. Winners of all our awards will be announced on our Livestream Dec 9th @ 12.30pm. Listen to @LOIweekly this afternoon to hear from some of the nominees pic.twitter.com/8kTqqvNTO5
— PFA Ireland (@PFAIOfficial) December 2, 2020
Unbelievable how they are unable to transfer any of their incredible success at Minor Level to Senior level, their record at Minor level is off the wall. This is a county that had never won a Minor Championship until 1983, now I think that is their 14th title, where do all these players disappear to?
@The Firestarter: Beertown
@The Firestarter: straight into all Ireland semi final for majority of those years. Not battle hardened?
@The Firestarter: The seniors have been in 6 all Ireland finals since the turn of the millennium so the players haven’t disappeared. Mayo footballers have zero all Irelands in that time but no one would argue that they haven’t been one of the best football teams in the country over the last 20 years.
Well done to our young lads . Making history again .
@Finnster:Just wondering how ye made history again with minors?
@Declan Lacey: Well 3 in a row was history previously for Galway Minor hurling when they became only one of two counties in Ireland the other being Cork back in the 70′s to achieve it.
Also on a side note as the new U20 All Ireland football championship is not that old I think Galway are also the only county to hold it and the minor Hurling Championship at the same time as they defeated Dublin in the final.
@Declan Lacey: read the article , the clues are there
@Declan Lacey:
Probably the most successful minor hurling team of each decade by number of All-Ireland Minor Hurling titles
2000s: 4 for Galway (2000-04-05-09)
2010s: 5 for Galway (2011-15-17-18-19)
Jesus the ref did his best for kilkenny to win it. Great win tonight
Congrats to a fine young Galway team. A lot of senior teams would want take note of that game today. All skills of game on show and no diving or pussyfooting about.
@Mervyn Queally: none of that Limerick Bish bash bosh stuff
@Mervyn Queally: have to agree, he gave a penalty to Kilkenny rightly so , shortly afterwards a Galway forward was taken down in the same fashion, nothing given. With a couple of minutes left a Galway forward was taken out, if the tackle was made in rugby it would be yellow or red card. The referee threw in the ball.
Great achievement! well done to the the tribesmen braves.
1 senior all Ireland since 88, what goes wrong in the west. Serious talent.
@Kevin Shortall: is that a congratulations you were trying to say there in a Kilkenny kind of way
@Kevin Shortall: 3 since 86 though and lost 6 all-ireland finals since then. Not bad for a traditionally football county.