Munster Council honours Kingdom mastermind Fitzmaurice

All-Ireland winning Kerry boss Eamonn Fitzmaurice has been named as the Munster Council’s Manager of the Year.

Fitzmaurice will be amongst 30 people honoured at the provincial council’s annual gala awards ceremony in Dromoland Castle, Co Clare on Saturday night. Despite the retirements of a number of key players, and a season ending injury to captain Colm Cooper, Fitzmaurice guided an inexperienced team to provincial glory against Cork before progressing to defeat Donegal in the All-Ireland final.

Kerry’s James O’Donoghue was named Footballer of the Year for the second successive season, finishing a year which also saw him collect an All Star and the prestigious GAA/GPA Footballer of the Year crown.

Cork’s Patrick Horgan was named Hurler of the Year for his instrumental role in securing Cork’s first Munster senior hurling title since 2006. He scored eight points in the provincial final and contributed 2-43 to Cork’s championship tally in 2014.

Munster Council chairman Robert Frost said: “Patrick Horgan and James O’Donoghue contributed hugely to their teams’ march through Munster to secure titles for Cork and Kerry respectively. The success of Kerry in winning All-Ireland senior honours following an intriguing football championship is a great tribute to the leadership and managerial skills of Eamonn Fitzmaurice and he is a deserving winner of Manager of the Year.”