Jordan Morris and Conor Burke win Player of the Month awards
DUBLIN’S CONOR Burke and Meath’s Jordan Morris are the PwC hurling and football Player of the Month winners for June.
Waterford captain Emma Murray is the Women’s Player of the Month for football while Galway’s dynamic forward Niamh Mallon picks up the award for camogie.
Burke scored a point off the bench for the Dublin hurlers in their 21-point victory over Kildare to earn his place in the starting side for the All-Ireland quarter final against Limerick.
In an enthralling game, Dublin beat Limerick despite playing the majority of the game with 14 men. Burke’s standout performance, with five points from play, was invaluable in getting Dublin over the finish line and setting up an All-Ireland semi-final against Cork.
Two superb victories for Morris’ Meath this month over Kerry and Galway have booked the Royals a spot in this year’s All-Ireland semi-finals. After what many thought was a season ending injury for Morris earlier this year in the Leinster Championship, he has fought back to be Meath’s star attacker.
Morris scored two points as Meath defeated the Kingdom in the All-Ireland Championship for the first time since 2001. In the All-Ireland quarter-final against a heavily favoured Galway side, Morris gave a man of the match performance, scoring 1-6, 1-2 of that tally in the decisive final minutes of the game as the Royal County set up a semi-final date with destiny against Donegal.
In June, Mallon played a key role in Galway’s eight-point victory over Kilkenny adding one point to her personal tally, before a player of the match performance in the top of the table clash against Waterford helped secure Galway a ticket direct to the All-Ireland semi-final at the end of July.
Murray’s two points and energy were the catalyst for a brilliant Déise performance as they came close to securing a first ever senior football championship win over Dublin, only for Dublin to rescue a draw with a last second point. Waterford bounced back from that disappointment in style with Murray captaining the side to 21-point victory over Leitrim.
Jarlath Burns, GAA President said: “As the championships were at their busiest and most frantic in the month of June, the job of picking the players of the month was arguably at its toughest.
“The performances of Jordan and Conor and that of Emma and Niamh however, were a class apart and I congratulate them on their awards and thank them for the commitment they make to Gaelic games and the enjoyment they give to so many. These PwC All-Star awards allow us to recognise the extra special talents we are fortunate to have playing our games.”
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