Sixth annual Meath sports awards launched
The 2012 Meath Chronicle / Cusack Hotel Group annual awards will culminate with the banquet at Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim on Friday 18th January next year when the monthly winners will be joined by nominees in all the other categories for the sixth annual awards. The awards were officially launched last week at Knightsbrook Hotel and the format for this year will show some small changes with Meath Chronicle readers afforded an opportunity to vote for the winners in the outstanding achievement team and individual categories. The format for the overall winner remains the same with the monthly recipients all eligible for the overall award and that will be selected by members of Meath Chronicle and Cusack Hotel Group. Nominated already as monthly winners are Andrew Lynch (January), Stephen Bray (February), Barry Geraghty (March) and Thomas Gibney (April) while the monthly winner for May will be announced next week. The unique awards, carved from wood, for each of the category winners and the overall winner will be designed by Meath man Seamus Cassidy who is based at The Carthouse, Beauparc near Navan. Popular RTE presenter Evanne Ní Chuilinn will compere the evening for the second time, she was immensely popular last January where she interviewed the nominees in each category as they received monthly awards and mementos before popular Ratoath woman Nina Carberry was announced as the overall winner. Other awards that will be presented again include the young sportsperson-of-the-year and the hugely popular Hall of Fame which last january was presented to Meath's 1949 All-Ireland-winning senior football captain Brian Smyth. Meath Chronicle readers will have an opportunity to nominate candidates for the outstanding team and individual awards in two phases. For the period from January to June, a nomination form will be printed the in next week's edition and a list will be published after which there will be a voting process. Nominees for the second half of the year will be finalised in December and from that a shortlist of three in each category will go forward for consideration for the overall awards. The awards were inaugurated in 2007 by the late John Cusack and his wife Marie and family have supported the initiative annually since his untimely passing. Speaking at the annual awards last January, Jonathan Cusack said that he was delighted with the continued success of the annual awards which was a way of honouring Meath's top sportsman and women and also a tribute to his late father's memory. Previous winners: 2011 - Nina Carberry; 2010 - Damien McGrane; 2009 - Johnny Murtagh; 2008 - Darren Sutherland; 2007 - Gordon Elliott.