Tadhg Beirne: 'You want to put in great performances that the Irish people can get a lift off'

It's a lovely, lovely accolade to get for sure and I appreciate those who voted for me and it's obviously a big honour. A lot of big names have won it in the past so, yeah, it's a big honour for sure."

MEN'S PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tadhg Beirne is aiming to build on the form that earned him the Guinness Rugby Writers Ireland Men’s XV Player of the Year award to help the national team finish this month’s Test window on a high.   Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Tadhg Beirne is aiming to build on the form that earned him the Guinness Rugby Writers Ireland Men’s XV Player of the Year award to help the national team finish this month’s Test window on a high.

A successful British & Irish Lions tour to Australia ended with the Munster captain landing the Lions’ player of the series honour following a 2-1 victory over the Wallabies and Beirne brought the level of performance into the new campaign with a towering display in his province’s URC derby victory over Leinster at Croke Park last month in his first appearance of the season.