Galway star Nicola Ward was named as the 2024 TG4 Senior Players’ Player of the Year at the annual TG4 All Star banquet, in association with Lidl, at The Bonnington Dublin Hotel on Saturday night.

The coveted individual accolade capped a memorable night for the 28-year-old Kilkerrin-Clonberne player, who also collected a second TG4 All-Star award, to add to her previous success in 2019.

Ward enjoyed a superb season in Galway colours, driving her team forward from defence and earning the Player of the Match award for her All-Ireland quarter-final display against Dublin at Parnell Park, when the Tribeswomen knocked out the then defending champions.

Galway then saw off the challenge of Cork to reach the TG4 All-Ireland Final, where they lost out to Kerry.

Ward held off stiff competition from Kerry’s Kayleigh Cronin and Armagh’s Lauren McConville to win the Senior Players’ Player of the Year award, which was voted for by fellow inter-county players.

The 2024 TG4 Intermediate Players’ Player of the Year award, meanwhile, went to Leitrim captain Michelle Guckian.

From the Kiltubrid club, Guckian captained Leitrim the 2024 TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate title and she contributed 1-23 across the All-Ireland series, including five points in the Final, to help the Connacht side to glory.

Guckian landed the Intermediate Players’ Player of the Year award ahead of Leitrim team-mate Charlene Tyrell and Tyrone captain Aoibhinn McHugh.

All three nominees were recently named on the 2024 TG4 Intermediate Team of the Championship.  

And there was further glory for Fermanagh following their TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship success as brilliant forward Eimear Smyth was named Junior Players’ Player of the Year.

This is the third time that Smyth, from the Derrygonnelly Harps club, has won the TG4 Junior Players’ Player of the Year award, following previous successes in 2019 and 2020.

Smyth claimed the 2024 ZuCar Golden Boot award as top scorer across the TG4 All-Ireland Championships with an astonishing haul of 8-48, including 1-9 in the All-Ireland Final in a Player of the Match performance.

Smyth’s Fermanagh team-mate Bláithín Bogue and Louth’s Kate Flood were also nominated for the TG4 Junior Players’ Player of the Year award.

Bogue and Smyth were recently named on the TG4 Junior Team of the Championship, while Flood finished as leading scorer for Louth as the Wee County progressed to the TG4 All-Ireland decider.

Earlier in the evening, Laois legend Sue Ramsbottom was officially inducted into the LGFA Hall of Fame.

Ramsbottom was a TG4 All-Ireland Senior medallist in 2001, and she also won seven TG4 All-Star awards during a glittering career.

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