AFTER another gruelling 12 months on the Antrim GAA scene, Friday evening saw the culmination of the sporting year with the Devenish Antrim GAA Allstar Awards for the best players the Saffron County produced this past season in both the Gaelic and Hurling codes.
Teams were selected by the public after a panel of Antrim's leading sports journalists threw their eye over each level to definitively arrange a team befitting of a public vote ahead of the big night.
James McNaughton was awarded the Hurling Top Scorer
From awarding the best young player in the county, to the welcoming of legends of Antrim into the inaugural Hall of Fame the evening was filled with anticipation and excitement – accompanied by a very special guest, Kilkenny icon Richie Power.
Power, along with host Mark Sidebottom, delighted the audience, regaling them with a tale or two from his playing days. A special "Hurling Team of the Decade – so far" from the pair ended the evening in truly fantastic fashion, making it a privilege to attend.
Seamus McMullan gets the night underway
Young Hurler of the Year – Fiontan Bradley (Cushendall)
In the wake of the shock sending off of captain Neil McManus, the Glens club relied on youth in the form of their very own 18-year-old Fintan Bradley who stepped up after a great year in his age group.
Despite St John's prevailing, Bradley stole the show with his tremendous attacking threat, keeping his side within a whisker of reaching the Championship final. It's no doubt just the beginning of a glittering career.
St John's star Shea Shannon was named in the Team of the Year
Young Footballer of the Year – Brian Healy (Sarsfields)
The Paddies enjoyed a tremendously successful campaign which saw them win Division Two and just falter at the final hurdle with a Championship final defeat at the hands of Moneyglass.
Throughout the campaign Sarsfields relied on the offensive capabilities of Brian Healy. The young man was a serious force to be reckoned with and proved to be a resilient character in the face of adversity as the Paddies enjoyed some great comebacks on their road to the final.
Footballer of the Year – Seaan Elliot (Dunloy)
Antrim's new boss, Mark Doran, welcomed Elliot to the stage with rousing applause from the crowd. The question on everyone's lips is, can Seaan Elliot compete for Antrim in both codes, given that the man who is famously one of the county's best hurlers decided to ply his trade in the opposite code and the outcome spoke for itself.
Elliot drove Dunloy to their first Antrim Football title in 89 years, and in the final alone he showed why he truly was the best footballer in the county this year. His unbelievable pace and power with the addition of his eye for scoring from outrageous angles gave him the edge this year.
Hurler of the Year – Conor Johnston (St John's)
This superstar ended over 50 years of hurt for the Johnnies in the small ball and epitomised the never-say-die attitude which gave St John's the edge over Loughgiel in this year's county final.
Johnston's brilliance is his ability to strike beautiful scores with little space, or finding the right pass into his forward partners when they need it most. His speed and ability to collect the ball at high tempo was one of many reasons St John's enjoyed that superb success four weeks ago and could give them a shot at the provincial Championship this season.
Oisin McManus was pivotal in St John's championship winning campaign
ANTRIM GAA ALL-STARS HURLING TEAM OF THE YEAR
Goalkeeper: Domhnall Nugent (St John's)
Full-Back – Ryan McNulty (St John's); Ciaran Johnston (St John's); David Kearney (Glenariff Oisin's).
Half-back: Declan McCloskey (Loughgiel); Peter McCallin (St John's); Enda McGurk (St John's).
Midfield: Ryan McKee (Loughgiel); Aaron Bradley (St John's).
Half-forward: Conor Johnston (St John's); James McNaughton (Loughgiel); Conal Bohill (St John's).
Full-forward: Shea Shannon (St John's); Oisín Mac Manus (St John's); Fiontan Bradley (Cushendall).
ANTRIM GAA ALL-STARS FOOTBALL TEAM OF THE YEAR
Goalkeeper: Chrissy McMahon (Dunloy).
Full-back: Paddy Carroll (St Agnes'); Tiarnan McCormick (Moneyglass) – Aidan Bannon (Pearse's)
Half-Back – James Laverty (Cargin) – Ryan McGarry (Dunloy); Conor Kinsella (Dunloy).
Midfield: Eoin McFerran (Dunloy); Deaghlan Smyth (Dunloy).
Half-forward: Aidan McErlain (Moneyglass); Seaan Elliot (Dunloy); Conal Turley (St Agnes').
Full-forward: Conhuir Johnston (Cargin); Keelan Molloy (Dunloy); Brian Healy (Sarsfields).
