Castleknock win best website in McNamee Awards

McNamee award winners announced Thursday, 05 August

The GAA have announced the winners of the 2003 McNamee awards.
These awards are presented annually by the GAA in recognition
of outstanding contributions made by individuals in the
area of communications. The concept evolved as a result
of the McNamee report published in 1971. The Awards will
be presented to the recipients by Mr Seán Kelly, President
of the GAA, at a function in the Burlington Hotel on Saturday,
August 28th 2004. There were nine categories in the 2003
Awards.

The winners are:

Best Article in a Provincial Newspaper: Frank Rogers – Ulster
Herald (former winner for his secretary’s report with Beragh
Red Knights – 1979)
Frank Rodgers’ column is enriched by his deep personal feelings
for the subject of Gaelic games in his native area, and
this was clearly illustrated in his thoughts, recollections
and reflections on the tragic death of Cormac McAnallen.

Best Article in a National Newspaper: Kieran Shannon, The
Sunday Tribune
Kieran Shannon’s evocative profile of and interview with
Frank McGuigan brought to life the legend of one of the
greatest footballers of modern times, while dealing sensitively
with the human element of McGuigan’s life, his battle with
alcohol and the victory in that battle.

Best Local Radio Programme: South East Radio – “Countdown
to Croker”
Alan Corcoran’s splendid example of a well produced programme
excels in presentation and content as the programme looks
back on Wexford’s 2003 All Ireland hurling semi-final draw
with Cork and contemplates the replay. Featuring the thoughts
of current players and an insightful interview with former
Wexford great Ned Wheeler the programme also provides musical
inserts relevant to Wexford hurling. The entire package
adds up to an informative and entertaining presentation
– easy listening for GAA fans at its best!

Best County GAA Yearbook: Down
Down has consistently produced a quality yearbook over the
years. This year, its entry is superb – production, variety,
photographic content, layout, editing and printing technique
– all of the highest standard. This annual records Down’s
Centenary Year and includes a wonderful Paddy Doherty tribute
occasion, some terrific portrayals of youthful GAA endeavour
(Bredagh’s U-12 success as an example) and strikes the perfect
balance between informative articles and use of photographs.

Best County Final Programme: Kerry Senior Hurling Final

This was a very colourful production with an attractive
lay-out and interesting content. For example, statistics,
which can be very boring, were presented in an attractive
and novel way. All in all, this was a programme compiled
with great care and flair.

Photography Award: Paul Reidy, Imokilly People
Paul Reidy ” The Crying Game”, captured the incredible emotion
surrounding the All Ireland finals, with his picture of
Cork’s Diarmuid O’Sullivan comforting a disconsolate Setanta
O hAlpín at the end of their 2003 Guinness Hurling final
defeat to Kilkenny.

Best Club Media Production CLG Naomh Jude
“Growing with the Community” In a year that saw a particularly
high calibre of entrants, the St Jude’s publication took
a novel approach to recounting the story of the club. It
is part club history, part social memoir and part tall tale.
Dozens of writers contributed articles on every aspect of
the club and the book is effectively a collection of short
stories that, when taken as a whole, recounts the history
of the club more effectively than a simple narrative ever
could. For its refreshing approach to writing a club history,
and for its sheer readability, Growing with the Community
is this year’s McNamee award winner.

Best Website: Castleknock GAA Club
The Dublin club’s website is a deserving winner of this
year’s awards. Their site www.castleknock.net, is regularly
updated and easy to navigate. It also offers regular email
updates to club members and contains excellent photographic
content with extensive archival information.