Who is your Coach of the Year?

The Translink Ulster GAA Coach of the Year Award is designed to recognise those coaches who, through exceptional commitment to the teaching and development of Gaelic games, put players, club and community first.

Following a call for nominations, a huge number of submissions were received from clubs across the province. The standard was exceptionally high and reinforced the incredible standard of coaching and level of commitment which is on display on training fields across Ulster.

Our panel of judges including Down Manager James McCartan and Irish News Sports Correspondent, Neil Loughran, had the difficult task of selecting a shortlist. After much deliberation, they have chosen one worthy finalist from each county in the province. With nine finalists up for the award, selecting an overall winner is no easy task – which is why we need your help!

The winning coach will be declared Translink Ulster GAA Coach of the Year. They will WIN specially commissioned commemorative training gear for themselves and 10 FREE coach trips for their team over the next 12 months (subject to T&Cs).

Public voting has now closed.  The winner will be announced in the week commencing Monday 7th March.

Meet the Nominees

ANTRIM

Adrian Mullan

Ardoyne Kickhams

ARMAGH

Paul Cunningham

Craobh Rua/Carrickcruppen

CAVAN

Michael McCann

CLG Cúchulainn

DERRY

Hugh McGrath

Steelstown Brian Ógs

DONEGAL

Johanne McColgan

Naomh Padraig, Uisce Chaoin

DOWN

Peter McCartan

Clann Na Banna

FERMANAGH

Shane McDermott

Irvinestown St Molaise

MONAGHAN

Lorraine O’Donnell

Drumowen Geraldine’s Rounders

TYRONE

Eilis Gormley

Carrickmore

Terms and Conditions

  1. Nominees must meet the following criteria:
    • Must be a volunteer coach who lives out the volunteer ethos of the GAA
    • Must be actively involved in coaching at least one team from any code, at any level, within their local GAA club
    • Nominees also be willing and available to participate in PR photographs and other media profiling opportunities as requested by Translink
  2. The nominating period will open on Tuesday 1st February 2022 and will be accessible through ulster.gaa.ie. Each nominator will provide a full name and explanation (max: 250 words) explaining why this person should win.
  3. Nominations must be submitted by 5pm Sunday 13th February 2022. Nominations after this time will not be included.
  4. Following the nomination deadline, an independent panel will then select the most deserving nominees to be on the shortlist.
  5. Once the shortlist has been announced, the voting phase will begin and the public will have the chance to vote for overall Coach of the Year
  6. Voting for the overall winner will open on Thursday 17th February 2022 and close at 11.59pm Thursday 3rd March 2022. Votes after this time will not be counted.
  7. Only votes submitted via ulster.gaa.ie will be counted.
  8. To nominate your Coach of the Year, visit ulster.gaa.ie. Once the shortlist has been announced, return to ulster.gaa.ie to vote for your winner.
  9. Employees of Ulster GAA or Translink will not be eligible for nomination
  10. The overall winner will be announced on Monday 14th March.
  11. Translink will offer the winning coach bus travel to a maximum of 10 away games for the team they coach. This must be redeemed within 12 months of winning the prize. One bus will be provided per game, which must be held in a ground within the province of Ulster. Travel outside the province cannot be accommodated. Translink must be provided with at least three weeks’ notice for each individual booking.