Fenlon named personality of the year

PAT FENLON was named personality of the year at the Eircom/Soccer Writers Association of Ireland annual awards in Cork on Saturday night.

The Shelbourne manager was given the award to mark his club’s second Premier Division title in succession as well as their run in Europe in 2004.

Fenlon beat off competition from clubmates Jason Byrne and Owen Heary, Pat Dolan and Kevin Doyle of Cork City and Daryl Murphy of Waterford, to claim the award and join such illustrious names on the roll of honour as John Giles, Brian Kerr and Liam Tuohy.

Making it a double for the Dublin club, Shelbourne’s Steve Williams was named goalkeeper of the year, ahead of fellow nominees Dan Connor of Drogheda United and Michael Devine of Cork City.

And on a night when the Soccer Writers Awards ceremony left Dublin for the first time in 43 years, to mark Cork’s status as European City of Culture, Cork was well represented in the form of a special merit award to veteran Willie Cotter, as well as a presentation to the Irish Examiner’s Billy George to mark his contribution to the game, and a speech from one of the city’s finest ever footballing exports, guest of honour Noel Cantwell.