Ciaran Smithers and Mairead Kennedy were among the big winners at the Arabian Celts GAA Club’s annual end-of-season awards night, as they were honoured as the club’s Men’s and Ladies Players of the Year respectively.
The electric Smithers has been a talismanic figure for the Celts Senior Men’s team and duly retained the award he won in an impressive debut season last year.
After appearing for the Middle East representative team for the World Games competition in Dublin last summer, Smithers picked up from where he left off and was one of the driving forces for the Celts in what has ultimately been a difficult campaign for the side.
Kennedy meanwhile claimed an extremely-competitive ladies gong ahead of Aoibheann McDonnell, Deirdre O’Neill and winner of the award for the previous two years, Orla Reilly.
The Wicklow native was ever-present as the attacking fulcrum of the ladies team that finished as runners-up to the all-conquering Al Ain in the Intermediate League.
Elsewhere, Richie Ryan took home the Junior Men’s Player of the Year, having continued as a model of consistency for the Arabian Legends team.
Louise Vaughan meanwhile, won the inaugural Ladies Junior Player of the Year after superbly leading the junior ladies team in their maiden overseas outing in Abu Dhabi in March.
Jamie Collins and Roisin Healy were popular winners of the men’s and ladies’ Most Improved Player awards, while Dave Sweeney and Shannon Greer deservedly took home the respective Newcomer of the Year awards.
The Arabian Legends’ Junior Cup victory at the Bahrain Games back in November seemingly was enough to see them named ‘Team of the Year’ over the consistent excellence of the ladies team, with club secretary and ladies captain Reilly rightfully presented with the Club Person of the Year award.