McNamee Awards 2005

June 21, 2006
The GAA have announced the winners of the 2005 McNamee awards. These awards are presented annually by the GAA in recognition of outstanding contributions made by individuals in the area of communications. The concept evolved as a result of the McNamee report published in 1971.   The Awards will be presented to the recipients by Mr Nickey Brennan, President of the GAA at a function on Saturday, July 15th 2006. There are eight recipients in the 2005 Awards. They are:   Best Website - Fintona GAA Club, Tyrone http://gaa.fintona.org The Fintona web site has a very pleasing appearance, especially on the home page. However, it does more than just look good. The site marshals an incredible amount of interesting news and information about the club itself as well as the wider world of the GAA and it presents it in a way that is very simple to navigate. The site is also cleverly used to augment the task of administering the club.   Best County Final Programme - Clare Hurling and Football Finals Truly Souvenir Programmes in A4 Size, the Clare Hurling and football final programmes were easily read, extremely colourful and contained all of the necessary information in keeping with the occasions. The programmes were produced on high quality paper with excellent use of photographs.   Best Local Radio Programme - Clare FM for Jamesie (presenter Mike McCartney) This programme features former Clare hurler Jamsie O'Connor, who talks about his hurling career from his early days in Galway, where he was born, right through his career with Clare from minor up to senior until his retirement. O'Connor holds interest throughout as he provides an informative look at his career and the build-up to Clare's All Ireland triumphs. He is helped along the way by presenter Mike McCartney, who steers O Connor carefully throughout with his prompting and allows the interviewee to express his views without interruptions. Short inserts featuring such prominent personalities as Fr. Seamus Gardiner, Eamonn O'Shea, Anthony Daly, Len Gaynor and Ger Loughnane, who  recall their memories of O'Connor the hurler,  greatly enhance the entire presentation.   Best County Yearbook - Tipperary This publication provides a colourful and comprehensive review of activities at every level of the association in Tiobraid Árann in 2005 - at club, inter-county, schools and even higher education, in hurling, football, camogie, handball, Scór, and international hurling-shinty. There is also an array of articles that are of interest to GAA enthusiasts everywhere giving a valuable insight into the relevance and importance of the activities of Cumann Lúthchleas Gael locally, nationally and beyond in the present day.   Best Club Media Presentation - Castlewellan, Co Down The Town , a publication marking the centenary St Malachy's GAC Castlewellan, is a handsome 500 page hardback book and accompanying DVD which tells the story of Gaelic games in the parish of Kilmegan over the past 100 years. Authors Ciaran Crilly and Gerry Dougherty ambitiously extend the scope of the book and chart the development of Gaelic games and culture in the context of the development of the town.  The accompanying DVD features club members telling the story of the club in their own words, and uses old photos and rare footage interspersed with footage from more recent times. Its production values are high, reflecting a growing trend of clubs harnessing digital media, and it is a most useful companion to the book itself.   But what shines through most strongly in The Town is the love Castlewellan people have for Gaelic games and culture, and their pride in belonging to an Association that provided an outlet for the culture in a sometimes turbulent century.   Best Article in a National or Provincial Newspaper - Damian Lawlor The agonies, the trials, the tribulations and, finally, the ecstasy of a sporting career are acutely captured in Damien Lawlor's reflections with Mayo and Ballina Stephenites footballer David Brady in the Irish Daily Star following his team's All-Ireland club championship success in 2005. The victory brought an end to a long series of All-Ireland defeats for the player and his memories provide a great sports story.   Special Merit Award - Kerry County Board: Eolaire - Information Booklet for GAA Officials and Supporters Since 1988, the Kerry County Board have annually produced an outstanding Information Booklet for officials and supporters of Gaelic games in the Kingdom. The comprehensive publication contains contact details for members of the county board, officers in all of the county's clubs and details of sub-committees and their responsibilities. It also includes information on County bye-laws, football, hurling and minor board fixtures, championship dates and regulations. 3,000 copies of the booklet are distributed free of charge annually to GAA clubs, members of the media, referees and officials in the county.   Hall of Fame - John Barry (former Sports Editor, The Kerryman) John played hurling and football for Austin Stacks in Tralee and covered Gaelic Games for the Kerryman for over 40 years, many as Sports Editor until his retirement last year. Widely respected among his media colleagues, John joins a distinguished list of former winners of the Hall of Fame Award including Micheál Ó Hehir, Seán Og Ó Ceallacháin, Paddy Downey, Micheál O Muircheartaigh, Sean Kilfeather and Mick Dunne

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