Clare dominate under-21 hurling award nominations
Back-to-back All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling champions Clare lead the way with 14 nominations for the inaugural Bord Gáis Energy Team of the Year Award ceremony which will be televised live on TG4 on Saturday week (October 12) at 8.30pm.
Gerry O'Connor and Donal Maloney's talented Clare panel have also provided the most nominees for the Player of the Year award with senior stars David McInerney, Colm Galvin and Podge Collins all in the running for the coveted honour.
Notably, Antrim's achievement in reaching a first ever All-Ireland U-21 final is recognised with a total of five Team of the Year nominations - Tiernan Coyle, Jackson McGreevey, Eoghan Campbell, Ciaran Clarke and Stephen McAfee.
An excellent year for the ever-improving Saffrons included a dominant provincial campaign followed by that famous victory over Wexford in the All-Ireland semi-final.
The hour-long broadcast on TG4 will look back over the 2013 Bord Gáis Energy U-21 Hurling Championship with contributions from current and former U-21 players and managers in addition to contributions from the judging panel themselves.
In addition to the Team of the Year announcement, the Bord Gáis Energy Player of the Year award will be presented in both the 'A' and 'B' Championships. This is the first year that a 'B' award has been presented.
Finally, fans of the Championships will be able to have their say with a Bord Gáis Energy Score of the Year award which will be voted for by fans on social media in the week leading up to the programme.
A selection of the ten best 'Score of the Game' clips from each of the televised matches (including the All-Ireland U-21 Hurling 'B' final) are available to view on the Breakingthrough Youtube channel.
Fans are asked to vote for their favourite score via Bord Gais Energy's U-21 Hurling Facebook, Twitter or Instragram pages. Voting will close at midnight on Friday week (October 11).
Beaten provincial finalists Kilkenny and Tipperary have both received six nominations for the Team of the Year, including Bord Gáis Energy ambassador Jason Forde. The Tipp forward finished the campaign with an impressive total of 5-23, and he is also shortlisted for the Player of the Year honour.
Speaking at the announcement of the shortlist, Ger Cunningham, sports ambassador at Bord Gáis Energy, said: "It's a fantastic way to finish up what has been a Championship full of excitement, passion and hurling of the highest quality.
"To narrow the list down to 45 players was a mammoth task and we now have to finalise the final fifteen which is not going to an easy task.
"It will no doubt be a wonderful night for all involved and Bord Gáis Energy is delighted to be involved in recognising the best young hurlers in 2013."
Clare were undoubtedly the form team in 2013 and this has been highlighted in the shortlist which includes team captain and Bord Gáis Energy ambassador Paul Flanagan as well as All-Ireland final man-of-the-match David O'Halloran.
Leinster champions Wexford have received five nominations, following their first provincial title in 11 years. Their talismanic skipper Lee Chin is one of the six nominees for Player of the Year.
Offaly and Waterford, who ran Kilkenny and Clare close in their respective outings, have earned three nominations each while Galway, Limerick and Carlow have all been rewarded with one nomination apiece.
The full judging panel for the awards include Bord Gáis Energy sports ambassadors Ger Cunningham and Joe Canning, in addition to TG4's Mícheál Ó Domhnaill and former Waterford star Ken McGrath.
1. Aaron Duggan (Kilkenny), Daragh Mooney (Tipperary), Ronan Taaffe (Clare)
2. Paul Flanagan (Clare), Cathal Barrett (Tipperary), Tiernan Coyle (Antrim)
3. Dan Kelleher (Offaly), Willie Phelan (Kilkenny), David McInerney (Clare)
4. Brian Kennedy (Kilkenny), Jack Browne (Clare), Mark Carmody (Limerick)
5. Seadna Morey (Clare), Andrew Kenny (Wexford), Joe O'Dwyer (Tipperary)
6. Shane O'Gorman (Wexford), Alan O'Neill (Clare), Pat Camon (Offaly)
7. Stephen O'Halloran (Clare), Ray Barry (Waterford), Diarmuid Byrne (Carlow)
8. Colm Galvin (Clare), Jackson McGreevy (Antrim), Stephen Roche (Waterford)
9. Lee Chin (Wexford), Tony Kelly (Clare), Eoghan Campbell (Antrim)
10. Jack Guiney (Wexford), Peter Duggan (Clare), Jason Forde (Tipperary)
11. Podge Collins (Clare), Ian Byrne (Wexford), John Power (Kilkenny)
12. Niall O'Meara (Tipperary), Jake Dillon (Waterford), Stephen McAfee (Antrim)
13. Stephen Quirke (Offaly), Cathal O'Connell (Clare), Ger Alyward (Kilkenny)
14. Kevin Kelly (Kilkenny), Bill Walsh (Tipperary), Conor Cooney (Galway)
15. David O'Halloran (Clare), Ciaran Clarke (Antrim), Shane O'Donnell (Clare)
David McInerney (Clare)
Jason Forde (Tipperary)
Podge Collins (Clare)
Kevin Kelly (Kilkenny)
Colm Galvin (Clare)
Lee Chin (Wexford)
Antrim v Clare (All-Ireland final): Score of the Game: Tony Kelly
Kerry v Kildare (All-Ireland 'B' final): Score of the Game: Pádraig Boyle
Galway v Clare (All-Ireland semi-final): Score of the Game: Cathal O'Connell
Wexford v Antrim (All Ireland semi-final): Score of the Game: Ciaran Clarke
Tipperary v Clare (Munster final): Score of the Game: Peter Duggan
Waterford v Clare (Munster semi-final): Score of the Game: Peter Duggan
Tipperary v Cork (Munster semi-final): Score of the Game: John McGrath
Wexford v Kilkenny (Leinster final): Score of the Game: Gary Moore
Kilkenny v Offaly (Leinster semi-final): Score of the Game: Michael Brennan
Tipperary vs Limerick (Munster quarter-final): Score of the Game: Shane Kenny
