Six Kildare lads claim prestigious Under-20 accolades, including Best Player

Not a Best 15, but a squad of 20 of the best U20 players from the championship.

2018 saw the inaugural U20 All-Ireland Football Championship and Kildare captured the crown at Croke Park in early August. Six of those players - Jimmy Hyland, Aaron O'Neill, Mark Dempsey, Mark Barrett, Aaron Masterson, Jimmy Hyland and Brian McLoughlin - have been honoured by being named in the 'top 20' at the ‘EirGrid 20 U20 Awards’. In addition, Hyland has been awarded the 2018 EirGrid U20 Player of the Year. The 20 players were selected by The Gaelic Writers Association, with Player of the Year chosen through a public vote. Hyland collected more votes that Lilywhites teammate Aaron Masterson and Mayo’s Ryan O’ Donoghue to take home the award.

All-Ireland finalists Mayo have four players included (Patrick O’Malley, Paul Lambert, Cathal Horan and Ryan O’Donoghue) with three coming from Ulster champions Derry (Oisin McWilliams, Callum Brown and Ben McCarron).

Kerry also have three recipients (Stefan Okunbor, Daniel O’Brien and Diarmuid O’Connor) of the award. Dublin, who reached the Leinster final, are represented by Nathan Doran, while Roscommon’s Cian McKeon, Armagh’s Ross McQuillan and Cork’s Chris Óg Jones have received an award for their impressive efforts in the provincial Championship.

Speaking on behalf of the GAA, president John Horan said:

“I congratulate Kildare’s Jimmy Hyland on his overall award. He is a young talent who had a great reputation in advance of this season and saw it enhanced over the course of the summer through his exploits for the Lilywhites. This competition has a crucial role to play in the development of our senior stars and I am delighted that we saw so much to make us confident for the future of the game."

EirGrid 20 U20’s

Goalkeepers

• Aaron O'Neill (Kildare)
• Patrick O'Malley (Mayo)

Defenders

• Mark Dempsey (Kildare)
• Mark Barrett (Kildare)
• Paul Lambert (Mayo)
• Cathal Horan (Mayo)
• Stefan Okunbor (Kerry)
• Daniel O'Brien (Kerry)
• Nathan Doran (Dublin)

Midfielders

• Aaron Masterson (Kildare)
• Diarmuid O'Connor (Kerry)
• Oisin McWilliams (Derry)

Forwards

• Jimmy Hyland (Kildare)
• Brian McLoughlin (Kildare)
• Ryan O'Donoghue (Mayo)
• Callum Brown (Derry)
• Ben McCarron (Derry)
• Ross McQuillan (Armagh)
• Chris Óg Jones (Cork)
• Cian McKeon (Roscommon)