O’Leary and Nenagh Ormond among the winners at Munster Rugby Awards

Tipperary players and clubs won four of the awards at the annual Munster Rugby Awards, presented by Virgin Media, held at the Woodlands House Hotel in Adare, last night (Tuesday).

11 awards were presented to worthy recipients involved in professional and domestic rugby in Munster.

Maeve Og O’Leary - Bank of Ireland Women’s Senior Player of the Year

The Ballina native had another excellent season which saw her start in all four matches for Munster in the 2023/24 Women’s Interprovincial Championship, scoring two tries.

Maeve Óg also played in the historic clash against the Barbarians at Thomond Park before going on to represent Ireland in the WXV3 competition.

O’Leary, who has eleven senior appearances for Munster, was called up to the Ireland squad for the 2024 Women’s Six Nations.

Maeve Óg made her senior debut for Munster in August 2021 and has since become a cornerstone of the Munster team. Maeve Óg, who came up through the ranks at Ballina-Killaloe RFC, also represented Munster at U18 level in both 15s and 7s.

Nenagh Ormond - Bank of Ireland Senior Club of the Year

The club enjoyed a fantastic season both on and off the pitch. The club finished top of the table in Division 2A of the Men’s All Ireland League to gain automatic promotion to 1B.

One of the province’s oldest clubs, Nenagh Ormond was founded in 1884 and has played in the All-Ireland League since 2005/06 - the first Tipperary Club to do so. With a thriving age-grade section, they boast several full international players among their alumni including Fiona Steed, Trevor Hogan, Donnacha Ryan and Ben Healy.

In the past twelve months there have been major developments in the club which include a full size 3G Pitch, 50x14m training 3G, upgraded LED floodlighting and upgraded gym and dressing rooms.

BRIAN GLEESON - Academy Player of the Year

20-year-old Brian Gleeson enjoyed a whirlwind first year in the Munster Rugby Academy that included ten senior appearances and promotion to the senior squad on a two-year contract.

Loughmore native Gleeson, who came up through the ranks at Thurles RFC and Rockwell College, made his Munster debut against Sharks in October 2023. He made three Champions Cup appearances last season at the age of just 19 against Exeter Chiefs, Toulon, and Northampton Saints.

On the international front, he featured for the Ireland U20s in the 2024 Six Nations and captained the side in their World Championship semi-final loss to England.

The powerful back-row forward was a Grand Slam winner with the Ireland U20s in 2023 and plays his AIL rugby with Garryowen.

BETH BUTTIMER - Breakthrough Women’s Player of the Year

Senior hooker Beth Buttimer enjoyed a remarkable 2023/24 campaign for club, province and country.

Beth made her Munster debut against Connacht on her 18th birthday during the 2023/24 Women’s Interprovincial Series and went on to play both games against Leinster as Munster narrowly lost out on the title.

She won the All-Ireland League title with UL Bohemian and also lined out for the Clovers in the Celtic Challenge.

At international level, she was Player of the Match for the Ireland U20s in their win over Scotland at the inaugural Six Nations Women’s Summer Series.

Beth came up through the ranks at Rockwell College and Fethard & District RFC.

The other award winners were:

Men’s Senior Player of the Year: Calvin Nash

Nash enjoyed an excellent 2023/24 campaign which saw him score six tries in eighteen appearances for Munster including a superb solo effort against Toulon in the Champions Cup. His rich form was rewarded with being called up to the Ireland squad for the Six Nations and summer tour of South Africa. He started all matches in the Six Nations and summer tour, scoring two tries.

Virgin Media Supporters’ Players of the Year – John Hodnett and Muirne Wall

A poll was held on the Munster Rugby website with John and Muirne coming out on top against their peers.

John enjoyed another excellent season which saw him score three tries in eighteen appearances for Munster while Muirne started all four games for Munster during the 2023/24 Women’s Interprovincial Championship in addition to lining out for the Clovers in the Celtic Challenge.

John and Muirne both came through the club system with John representing Clonakilty RFC in his youth while Muirne lined out for Listowel RFC and Tralee RFC.

Referee of the Year – Andrew Brace

It was a busy year for Andrew as he was Ireland’s sole referee at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, officiating in three games during the pool stages and performed as an assistant referee in five other matches throughout the tournament.

Andrew refereed a fantastic final in the Pinergy Munster Schools Boys Senior Cup back in March. In addition to his regular duties in EPCR and URC competitions, Andrew regularly gives up his time to mentor and coach up and coming referees in Munster.

Bank of Ireland Junior Club of the Year – Clonakilty RFC.

The West Cork club have displayed excellent participation numbers across all age-grades for both boys and girls. Clonakilty reached the Munster Clubs U14, U16 and U18 Girls Cup finals, winning the U16 title.

There is a club ethos towards promoting participation and this is reflected in both minis and youth numbers approaching almost 700 players. They have also developed a strong Affiliate Referee panel, with fifteen active referees, supported by two MAR officials in the club.

The club have been very proactive in driving coaching course attendance and accreditation while they also opened a new 4G pitch at the start of the 2023/24 season.

There are other ongoing works afoot to improve facilities at Shannon Vale and the Club is to be one of the first Munster clubs to undertake the Sustainable Clubs Programme which has been developed by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communication as part of their ongoing Green Strategy.

School of the Year – Presentation Brothers College

The Cork school won a memorable double in the Munster Schools Boys Junior Cup and the Pinergy Munster Schools Boys Senior Cup.

The Mardyke outfit became the first school to go back-to-back in both flagship competitions since 1966.

They are the first to accomplish a hat-trick of Junior titles since 1986 and their record tally of Junior Cups (32) now matches their Senior Cup haul (the most wins in both competitions).

There was also a memorable weekend at the beginning of February when former pupils Peter O’Mahony and Alex Kendellen captained Ireland (v France) and Munster (v Crusaders) respectively within a 24-hour period. Their Senior Cup captain Gene O’Leary Kareem has been rewarded with a place in the Munster Academy.

Age-Grade Section of the Year – Bruff RFC

The County Limerick club fielded two teams in last season’s Munster Clubs Boys U18 competition with one of the teams contesting the Cup final against Waterpark.

They have fielded girls age-grade teams at all levels and have also positively engaged with Munster Rugby Development Programmes.

The County Limerick club also hosted the IRFU’s Give It A Try programme in April which ran for eight weeks and gave girls aged 8-14 an opportunity to play the sport of rugby in a fun environment.

Club Mini Section of the Year – Dungarvan RFC

During the 2023/24 season, Dungarvan hosted the Munster Minis Blitz, the largest blitz held in their history with everyone involved in the club working extremely hard to ensure its success. The club has seen a lot of growth in the number of girls playing rugby and they also have up to 140 Minis players registered with the club.

Dungarvan took part in the IRFU Minis Festival in Dublin, and they will also be hosting next season’s Aviva Minis blitz.