This year's Guinness GAA Writers' Player of the Year awards have gone to Kerry's Maurice Fitzgerald in football and Clare hurler Jamesie O'Connor. Neither choice will occasion too much surprise, and the presentations will be made in Dublin next week.
Fitzgerald's team-mate Michael F Russell, of Laune Rangers, and Tipperary's Eugene O'Neill won the Young Player awards in football and hurling, respectively.
Fitzgerald (27), a teacher from Cahirciveen, has long been regarded as one the primary talents in the game. A perfectly ambidextrous kicker and free-taker, he was the championship's top scorer. Until this year, he hadn't featured in an All-Ireland final due to the unfortunate co-incidence of his career with the worst barren spell in Kerry's history.
During the championship, he made up for some of that lost time with a season of towering achievement culminating in an outstanding display in last month's AllIreland, during which he contributed nine of his team's 13 points. Also nominated were Mayo's Pat Fallon and Kenneth Mortimer.
Jamesie O'Connor (25), and like his football counterpart a teacher, exercised a huge influence on Clare's All-Ireland and scored the winning point in the All-Ireland defeat of Tipperary. Freed from the need to switch to midfield thanks to the team's impressive championship debutant Colin Lynch, O'Connor gave a number of exceptional displays at wing forward and his dead ball-taking was an important source of scores for the team.
Physically more resilient this year, his best performance was against Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final, where his astonishing workrate took him all around the middle third of the pitch, even in the fraught dying minutes as Clare held on grimly for victory. He saw off competition for the award from his teammate Brian Lohan, Clare's nonpareil full back, and DJ Carey of Kilkenny.
Russell and O'Neill took the Young Players' awards ahead of Fergal Costello (Mayo) and Cathal Daly (Offaly), and Kevin Broderick (Galway) and Seanie McGrath (Cork), respectively.
Dublin have made three changes for Sunday's Section C visit of Leinster champions Offaly. Paul Curran, Enda Sheehy and Jim Gavin come into the attack in place of Peter Ward, Martin Barnes and Robbie Boyle. Gavin had been selected for the last match in Sligo but had to cry off before the throw-in and was replaced by Barnes. He is now recovered, as is Curran, who gets a spin in the unusual position of centre forward - although he played in the forwards during Paddy Cullen's management earlier this decade and won a Leinster medal in 1989 at wing forward.
Declan Darcy, the former Leitrim captain who made a big impression two weeks ago, moves from centre forward to full forward.
there are two changes in the Mauyo side for the Section A visit of neighbours Galway to Castlebar on Sunday. Pat Fallon's return from honeymoon sees him come back into the team at centre field wih James Horan returns with Declan Sweeney reverting to the bench.In Section B, Derry's selection shows two changes from the opening draw with Westmeath, for the trip to Donegal, Gary McGill and Michael Gribbin come in on the left flank of the attack in place of Gary Doyle and Kevin Heaney.Cork's county fihnal on Sunday week deprives the team of all Castlehaven and Beara personnel. For the match against Waterford, there are six changes, including the return of Steven O'Brien who is named at full back.
