The nominations for this year's Gaelic Football All-Star awards have been announced and, as always, there are some contentious omissions. All-Ireland champions Kerry have 13 players nominated, including super-sub Maurice Fitzgerald but there is no place in the list of nominees for backs Mike Hassett and Tom O'Sullivan or forward Noel Kennelly. However, more surprising is the omission of Galway half-back Séan Óg de Paor. The losing All-Ireland finalists have seven nominees in total, as do Kildare and Armagh. Derry have five nominations, Dublin have three, while Meath, Fermanagh and Antrim have one each.
Only two of last year's All-Stars have been nominated again this year - Armagh's Kieran McGeeney and Meath's Graham Geraghty. Although Meath were sensationally knocked out of the Championship by Offaly, they had a good run in the National League, only losing out to Derry in a replay of the final.
The full list of nominees are - Goalkeepers: C Byrne (Kildare), D O'Keeffe (Kerry), S McGreevy (Antrim);
Defenders: S Monynihan, M McCarthy, T Ó Sé, E Fitzmaurice (Kerry), K Doyle, G Ryan, A Rainbow (Kildare), T Meehan, G Fahy, D Meehan (Galway), G Reid, K McGeeney, A McCann (Armagh) SM Lockhart, P McFlynn, K McKeever (Derry), P Christie, P Andrews (Dublin);
Midfielders: D Ó Sé, D Daly (Kerry), J McEntee, P McGrane (Armagh), A Tohill (Derry), W McCreery (Kildare)
Forwards: A MacGearailt, L Hassett, MF Russell, J Crowley, D Ó Cinnéide, Maurice Fitzgerald (Kerry), P Joyce, D Savage, M Donnellan, P Clancy (Galway) O McConville, C O'Rourke (Armagh), P Brennan, D Earley (Kildare), C Moran (Dublin), Rory Gallagher (Fermanagh), G Geraghty (Meath), E Muldoon (Derry).
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
