Carey and Linden to be inducted into GWA Hall of Fame
Friday 26 October 2018
Mickey Linden and Ciaran Carey will tonight (Friday, October 26) be inducted into the Gaelic Writers’ Association Hall of Fame.
In addition, Monaghan’s Conor McManus has been selected as the 2018 Football Personality of the Year with Limerick midfield dynamo, Cian Lynch winning the hurling accolade.
Journalist Donal Keenan will also be amongst those honoured tonight in Dublin’s Woolen Mills, the Roscommon native receiving the GWA Lifetime Achievement Award.
It’s a Rossies double on the night as the PRO of the Year accolade goes to Hugh Lynn.
About the winners:
Mickey Linden won All-Ireland titles with Down in 1991 and 1994, having made his county senior debut in 1981.
Linden is regarded as one of the greatest corner forwards to ever play the game. The Mayobridge man holds two Ulster medals and one All Star award, and in 1994 he was crowned Texaco Footballer of the Year.
Remarkably, at 55, Linden recently came on as a substitute for his club in a reserve final, hitting a fine long range point, in what was his 38th year playing at adult level.
Linden holds eight Down senior championships, and is also an renowned athlete, holding Irish over-45s long jump and 100 metre All-Ireland titles.
Ciaran Carey is regarded as one of hurling’s great stylists and is an icon of the game’s golden era of the 90s.
The 48-year-old holds two Munster titles, a brace of league titles and three All Star awards – two at centre-back and another at midfield.
Carey is a proud native of hurling stronghold Patrickswell, and in an illustrious club career won nine Limerick and two Munster titles.
He has managed Limerick under-21s twice, Limerick camogie team and acted as senior selector for his county
The Football Personality of the Year award goes to Conor McManus, who has been a key figure in reviving the fortunes of Monaghan.
Clontibret ace McManus helped his side to a first Ulster title in 25 years back in 2013, before adding a second Anglo-Celt cup in 2015. He also holds two All Stars and five county championships.
McManus represented Ireland in four series against Australia, winning the GAA medal for the best Irish player twice.
Limerick midfielder Cian Lynch will be presented with the Hurling Personality of the Year award.
Limerick midfielder Cian Lynch will be presented with the Hurling Personality of the Year award.
Limerick dynamo Cian Lynch is the Hurling Personality of the Year after a season in which Limerick claimed a first All-Ireland title since 1973, bridging a 45 year gap.
Lynch – a nephew of Ciaran and Pa Carey – was a four year Limerick under-21, winning two All-Ireland titles. He is famed for his silky skills and as having one of the best touches in the game.
This year’s GWA Lifetime Achievement award goes to Donal Keenan. Donal worked with the Roscommon Champion and Westmeath-Offaly Independent, before joining the Irish Independent in 1981.
He became the Independent’s GAA correspondent in 1985 before moving to the Sunday Times in 1996.
Keenan also worked for ‘the Title’ (later part of Ireland on Sunday and then the Irish Daily Mail), while he has penned books, including ‘Paidi – a big life,’ and co-written the autobiographies of Michael ‘Babs’ Keating and Teddy McCarthy.
Donal’s father, also Donal, won two All-Ireland senior medals with Roscommon and was GAA President from 1973-76.
The 2018 PRO of the Year is Roscommon’s Hugh Lynn. Lynn is a teacher at Abbeycarton National School (Elphin), and a columnist with the Roscommon Herald.
Eire Og man Lynn has been Roscommon PRO since late 2015, and his co-operation and professionalism in dealing with the media sets him apart.
