All-Star banquet cancelled due to Covid numbers rising, GAA and GPA announce

Gearóid Hegarty of Limerick with his PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Year award for 2020. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

The GAA and the GPA have announced that the All-Stars award banquet will not take place this year as Covid cases rise throughout the country.

All-Ireland champions Limerick and Tyrone both have 15 players nominated for awards but for the second year in a row, the pandemic, and lockdown restrictions, have affected the annual ceremony.

The event was due to take place on Friday, 10 December at Croke Park but, instead, RTÉ Two will now broadcast an awards programme from 7pm.

It's the second year in succession that the event has been impacted by the pandemic.

Last year, a scaled-down event was held at RTÉ studios last February to mark the 50th year of the awards.

The Camogie Association also announced on Friday that their award ceremony won't be taking place until the new year.

The announcement comes 24 hours after Limerick City and County Council have postponed their Civic Reception scheduled to celebrate the county's All-Ireland winning hurlers due to the rising Covid case numbers.

"The Civic Reception, which is one of the highest awards Limerick City and County Council can bestow on a person, was due to take place in the University Concert Hall on Friday 26 November and subject to the prevailing COVID-19 guidelines," Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Daniel Butler said.

Elsewhere, Horse Racing Ireland earlier this week announced their annual awards night would not take place due to the "uncertainty" around the current Covid situation.

The HRI's "virtual" ceremony will be broadcast on Racing TV next month.