Kilruane selected as North Tipperary Club of the Year for 2018
In a year in which they bridged a 28 year gap to win another North Tipperary senior hurling championship title, Kilruane MacDonaghs ended another wait this week after being named as North Tipperary GAA's Club of the year for 2018.
This is the fifth occasion Kilruane have received the accolade but it is the first time since 1985 that the MacDonagh Trophy will be spending the year in the club of its namesake.
There were great scenes of celebration in MacDonagh Park, Nenagh last September when they ended a long wait to get their hands on the Frank McGrath Cup, defeating Kildadangan in the final.
The North Tipp Club of the Year Award takes into account all areas of club life, including on field achievements which this year saw Kilruane also win the North Minor 'B' hurling title while their under 14's won the North & County 'B' title and also represented the county at Feile na nGael. In addition their under 21 hurlers and footballers, as well as minor footballers all reached divisional finals.
Off the field areas judged include juvenile work within the club and local schools, number of referees, development, handball, scor, camogie, social initiatives etc... This year saw Kilruane MacDonaghs develop their facilities in Cloughjordan further with the with the installation of a new astro-turf surface at the ball-wall which will help skills development of all players going forward.
The MacDonagh Trophy for the North Tipperary Club of the Year will be presented to Kilruane MacDonaghs at the annual awards night to be hosted by the winning club early in the New Year, at which the club will also see Justin Cahill pick up the North senior hurler of the year award for his outstanding performances in helping the club to the divisional senior title this year.
Also at that event, the remaining individual player awards will also be presented with Borrisokane's Shane Nevin selected as intermediate hurler of the year. The junior hurler of the year comes from Toomevara for the second straight year with Paddy Grace picking up the award while clubmate Jack Delaney was selected as under 21 hurler of the year as the greyhounds won the North 'A' titles in their grades, while Kiladangan's Bryan McLoughney rounds off the hurling winners as minor player of the year.
In Gaelic football, Kiladangan's Darragh Egan was named senior footballer of the year with Borrisokane's Colm Larkin scooping the intermediate accolade. Portroe retained the North Junior 'A' title with Noel O'Halloran selected as junior footballer of the year while the under 21 and minor awards went to Newport's Jack Delahunty and Inane Rovers Darragh Tynan respectively.
The overall Nenagh Guardian Hurler of the year and the Darrel Darcy Memorial Footballer of the year will be announced at the awards presentation night next month.