JOE Men of the Year Awards: GAA Player of the Year

Five titans of the hurling and football world, but only one can get your vote.

It would be a stretch to call the 2016 Championship season a vintage one in either code, but as always seems to be the case these days, both of them came to life when it boiled down to the business end. In football, 2016 will be remembered for the amazing consistency of a Dublin team that claimed back-to-back All-Ireland titles for the first time since 2007 (the first time since 1990 with the same manager) and their fourth title in six years. In hurling, it may end up being remembered as the genesis of a truly great Tipperary team, a team that blew Kilkenny out of the water and has the potential to dominate for years to come. Storylines involving individual players in both codes dominated the headlines throughout the summer and there were plenty of worthy contenders when we finalised the nominees for the GAA Player of the Year award. Here are the five we went with; cast your vote at the bottom of the page.

Lee Keegan

There was cribbing in some quarters at Keegan winning Footballer of the Year ahead of a representative from the All-Ireland champions, but the detractors barely have a leg to stand on. The Westport man was given a new man-marking role in 2016 and adapted to it with ease, curbing the likes of Shane Walsh, Sean Cavanagh and Michael Quinlivan while still scoring 1-6 from play, including the goal of the season in the All-Ireland Final replay. His battles with Diarmuid Connolly have become the stuff of legend and Mayo fans will spend the winter wondering if things might have been different had he not been given a black card in the decider.

Brian Fenton

Inter-county football is meant to be a tough gig but Fenton makes it look easy. He hasn’t lost a game in the Dublin colours and after winning an All-Star and man of the match in the All-Ireland Final in his debut season, his performances were good enough this year to merit a Footballer of the Year nomination. A Rolls Royce of a player, Fenton is the best midfielder in the country and plays with an authority belying his 23 years. With no distinguishable weakness in his game, his presence is one of the many reasons Dublin can reasonably expect the glory years to roll on for some time yet.

Diarmuid Connolly

The best footballer in the country might be subject to debate but there’s no disputing the most talented. Connolly can do things with a football that no other player can and he does so with an ease that is almost infuriating. There is no room for indulgence in a Jim Gavin team, however, and Connolly marries his significant ability with a savage work ethic and dedication to the cause. Fully deserved his All-Star and was arguably unlucky to miss out on a Footballer of the Year nomination.

Seamus Callanan

2016 was the third year in a row that the Tipp sharpshooter has been nominated for Hurler of the Year without winning the award, but what harm? He has an All-Ireland medal and a dream performance in the final as a consolation. The full forward grabbed 0-13 in the final, 0-9 from play, to put the icing on the cake of a wonderful season. While events after the 2010 All-Ireland Final should serve as a warning, the sky is the limit for Callanan and his Tipp teammates in the years to come.

Austin Gleeson

It takes a special player to win Hurler of the Year without even reaching the All-Ireland Final and the Waterford man is one of those players that comes along once in a generation. Play him centre-back, play him full-forward, hell, play him in goals and he’ll still probably be the best player on the park, Gleeson is one of the few players in the game that can seemingly bend a game to his own will and boy is it a pleasure to watch. Replicated Tony Kelly by winning the Young Hurler and Hurler of the Year awards in the same season and if he enjoys a season as spectacular as this one in the coming years, then long-awaited glory could finally be coming to the Déise county.