Among those being honoured were four members of the Galway panel who captured Liam McCarthy in September, nine Limerick U21 hurlers and five players from the winning Tipperary Intermediate LGFA.

Speaking at the inaugural event, University of Limerick President, Dr Des Fitzgerald said that the recipients were ,“shining examples of what we’re trying to achieve”. He commended the GAA club for their hard work in becoming one of the top clubs in the country. “We are leading the way in a number of areas. Continued investment in the facilities will allow us to continue to bring stars of the game here to pursue their dreams.”

Head of Sport at UL, Dave Mahedy: “The GAA is the top club in UL. Four out of the last five All Ireland winning captains are graduates of UL”. You are role models, you are leaders. Not just on the field, but in business and academia. And that’s why you come to UL, to achieve.”

The All Ireland winning Galway captain, David Burke graduated from UL with a degree in Materials and Architectural Technology Education. He won a Fitzgibbon Cup with the club in 2011. 

Speaking at the event he said, “UL is a massive institution in terms of the GAA. It’s a household name in college circles and it’s only getting bigger. It’s great to come here tonight and meet people who trained me and coached me, they’ve been part of the progress I’ve made as a sportsperson.”

Third year Physiotherapy student, Aisling McCarthy is a dual star with UL and is part of the Tipperary Intermediate Ladies Football team who won the All Ireland. During this “surreal” week, she was named the TG4 Intermediate Player’s Player of the Year.

“UL GAA is getting stronger and it’s very special to be recognised here tonight along with some greats. The success that we had last year winning the Ashbourne and O’Connor Cup and the success a lot of us have had with Tipperary will give us great confidence going into the season ahead. I’ve never been involved in a setup that’s been so professional as there is in the UL GAA club and the standards that we set is something I’ve never come across before and it’s a testament to the people involved and the ethos they try to foster.”

Nine members of the All Ireland U21 hurling champions, Limerick were honoured at the Castletroy Park Hotel on Tuesday evening, including three players from the Bord Gáis Energy team of Year, Ronan Lynch, Kyle Hayes and Sean Finn.

Their captain, Tom Morrissey praised UL for recognising player achievements outside of the college. “It’s great to see the college take pride in what we do with the UL jersey on but also with our counties. It’s been a great year for everyone here tonight and to have it highlighted by the college makes it even more special. Fitzgibbon success has alluded me so far but hopefully before I leave I can get that medal and we have a brilliant team so that’s what we’ll be looking for.”

FULL LIST OF RECIPIENTS 

Julia White (Cork) – Graduate, Physical Education

Shauna Molloy (Galway) – Third year, Physical Education

Siobhan Condon (Tipperary) – Graduate, Physiotherapy

Maria Curley (Tipperary) – Fourth year, Sport and Exercise Science

Aisling McCarthy (Tipperary) – Third year, Physiotherapy

Emma Buckley (Tipperary) – Fourth year, Sport and Exercise Science

Roisin Howard (Tipperary) – Second year, Arts – Joint Honours

Eamon Kiely (Kerry) – Graduate, Materials and Engineering Technology Education

David Burke (Galway) - Graduate, Materials and Architectural Technology Education

Johnny Coen (Galway) - Graduate, Materials and Engineering Technology Education

Martin Dolphin (Galway)

Cyril Donnellan (Galway)

Tom Morrissey (Limerick) – Fourth year, Business Studies

Sean Finn (Limerick) – Fourth year, Business Studies 

Dan Joy (Limerick) – Third year, Construction Management 

Ronan Lynch (Limerick) – Third year, Design and Manufacture Engineering 

Kyle Hayes (Limerick) – Second year, Business Studies

Barry Nash (Limerick) – Third year, Technology Management 

Lorcan Lyons (Limerick) – Third year, Business Studies

Paudie Ahern (Limerick) – Third Year, Design and Manufacture Engineering

Michael Mackey (Limerick) – Second year, Bioscience