Ogbene, Brosnan and McCabe among the winners at FAI International Awards

TRAILBLAZER: Nora McHugh with her Hall of Fame award during the 34th FAI International Awards at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

Chiedozie Ogbene, Courtney Brosnan and Katie McCabe were among the big winners as the FAI handed out their annual honours at an event at the Aviva Stadium.

The 34th edition of the FAI International Awards saw Ipswich Town winger Ogbene named as the Senior Men's International Player of the Year while Brosnan was named the Senior Women's International Player of the Year for the second year in a row.

The Young Men's International Player of the Year and the Young Women's International Player of the Year Awards were collected by Evan Ferguson and Heather Payne - both winning for the second successive year.

Ireland Women's captain Katie McCabe scooped the International Goal of the Year Award for her superb strike against Canada at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, that goal just making the cut on the FAI's confusing criteria. The winners were selected from performances taken into account are from June 2023 to June 2024 while the League of Ireland Player of the Year Award refers to performances in the 2023 season, in spite of that campaign wrapping up over 12 months ago. Lee Grace of Shamrock Rovers took that award. 

Nora McHugh became just the sixth woman to be inducted into the FAI Hall of Fame (following Emma Byrne, Anne O'Brien, Paula Gorham, Linda Gorman and Sue Hayden) as the first ever captain of the WNT was recognised for her impact on Irish Football. Former Men's International Niall Quinn was also honoured as a Hall of Fame inductee. 

The recipient of the Special Merit Award was Michelle O'Neill. The recently-retired match official was celebrated for her outstanding career that included officiating at FIFA Women's World Cups, UEFA Women's European Championships, the UEFA Women's Champions League Final, the UEFA Men's Super Cup Final as well as in the League of Ireland.