The nominees have been announced for the 2023 TG4 Players’ Player of the Year Awards in the Senior, Intermediate and Junior grades.
The winners will be revealed at the 2023 TG4 All-Star Awards banquet at The Bonnington Dublin Hotel on Saturday, November 18.
The Senior shortlist is comprised of Dublin pair Leah Caffrey and Jennifer Dunne, and Kerry forward Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh.
Ní Mhuircheartaigh, a three-time and current TG4 All-Star, finished as leading scorer in the 2023 All-Ireland series with a haul of 3-31, having also topped the 2022 scoring charts at Senior level.
Ní Mhuircheartaigh was also nominated for the Senior Players’ Player of the Year Award in 2022 and she was in scintillating form again this year as Kerry landed the Lidl National League Division 1 title before advancing to a second successive TG4 All-Ireland Senior Final.
Ní Mhuircheartaigh scored 1-7 in the Final against Dublin but it wasn’t enough to deny the Sky Blues a first Senior title since 2020.
Central to Dublin’s efforts in 2023 were Caffrey, magnificent in defence, and Dunne, a hard-running and dynamic midfielder who also chipped in with 0-8 during the All-Ireland series.
As Dublin improved incrementally throughout their season, Dunne hit the heights in the concluding stages with 0-4 against Cork in the Thurles semi-final before adding two points in the Final victory over Kerry.
Caffrey is also three-time All-Star, winning the last of those awards in 2021, and she’s nominated for another award this year, along with fellow Players’ Player of the Year nominees Dunne and Ní Mhuircheartaigh.
The Intermediate shortlist, meanwhile, is made up of players from champions Kildare, runners-up Clare and Antrim.
In Kildare’s 2023 Lidl National League Division 3 and TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Final victories over Clare, Róisín Byrne received the Player of the Match Award on both occasions.
She’s now nominated for the Intermediate Players’ Player of the Year Award alongside Clare’s Fidelma Marrinan and Antrim’s Orlaith Prenter.
Marrinan claimed the ZuCar Golden Boot Award as leading scorer across all three grades in the 2023 TG4 All-Ireland Championships, contributing 5-38, while Prenter finished second on the Intermediate scoring list with 4-19 as Antrim, the Lidl National League Division 4 champions, progressed to the All-Ireland Intermediate semi-finals.
Byrne and Marrinan have also been nominated for TG4 All-Star Awards.
In the Junior grade, there are also nominations for three different counties in the race to be crowned Players’ Player of the Year.
Representing champions Down is Natasha Ferris, who finished the season as leading scorer in the All-Ireland Junior series with 7-31, just a point behind Clare’s Fidelma Marrinan in the overall ZuCar Golden Boot standings.
From runners-up Limerick, captain Róisín Ambrose has been nominated on the back of a consistent season at midfield, while Fermanagh’s Bláithín Bogue, the 2022 Junior Players’ Player of the Year, completes the 2023 shortlist after scoring 2-20 in the All-Ireland series.
The nominees in all three categories have all been selected by their fellow players, who could not vote for their own team-mates.
TG4 Senior Players’ Player of the Year Award Nominees
Leah Caffrey (Dublin)*Jennifer Dunne (Dublin)*
Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh (Kerry)*
TG4 Intermediate Players’ Player of the Year Award Nominees
Róisín Byrne (Kildare)*Fidelma Marrinan (Clare)*Orlaith Prenter (Antrim)
TG4 Junior Players’ Player of the Year Award Nominees
Róisín Ambrose (Limerick)Bláithín Bogue (Fermanagh)Natasha Ferris (Down)
*(also nominated for a TG4 All-Star Award)
