Aoife Prendergast of Dicksboro has been named as the 2023 AIB Camogie Club Player of the Year, at the AIB Camogie club player awards.
It was a memorable year for Prendergast as she helped Dicksboro to their first ever AIB Camogie All-Ireland senior club championship title and was named player of the match in the final.
Following their success in the Kilkenny county championship and overcoming St Martin’s (Wexford) in the AIB Leinster Senior club camogie semi-final, Dicksboro advanced to their second Leinster final in three years. In an enthralling encounter they overcame the challenge of St. Vincents (Dublin) to claim their first ever AIB Leinster senior club camogie title.
Prendergast was central to proceedings while also wearing a camera for AIB’s Meet #TheToughest series, providing a unique view of the game and what the players go through on the field.
Dicksboro then faced the 2022 All-Ireland final runners up Loughgiel Shamrocks (Antrim) in the AIB All-Ireland senior club camogie semi-final. A strong second half performance – led by Prendergast – helped Dicksboro overturn a five-point half-time deficit to topple the Ulster champions.
A tightly contested All-Ireland final saw Dicksboro take on three-in-a-row chasing Sarsfields (Galway). Dicksboro hit the ground running with Prendergast leading from the front. The game was end-to-end, but tenacious defending from Dicksboro managed to hold Sarsfields scoreless for twenty minutes in the second half. This was key to Dicksboro overcoming the reigning champions and claiming their first AIB Camogie All-Ireland senior club title, with Prendergast giving a player of the match display with 9 points to her name.
The 2022 Kilkenny captain’s leadership, free taking, and ability to score from play throughout the season were pivotal to Dicksboro ending the year with their first ever AIB Leinster and All-Ireland senior club camogie titles.
Adding to her player of the year award, Prendergast was also named on the 2023 team of the year along with seven of her Dicksboro teammates. Five players from beaten finalists Sarsfields (Galway) also made the team of the year while one player each from Loughgiel Shamrocks and Sarsfields (Cork) also made the selection.
This year saw AIB celebrating its 11th year as a sponsor of the AIB Camogie Club Championships, which featured some of #TheToughest players from clubs across Ireland, who take to the field year after year to represent their clubs, teammates and communities with such pride. AIB is proud to once more be celebrating these players and the teams behind them, from coaches to volunteers, referees and fans, who play such a vital role in sustaining our national games.
“AIB is proud to celebrate and recognise the incredible feats achieved by club players across Ireland during the 2023 season and on behalf of everyone at AIB, we extend are heartfelt congratulations to all the players being honoured tonight,” said Chief Marketing Officer Mark Doyle.
“The incredible effort and determination to achieve success with your clubs epitomises everything that is special about the AIB GAA Camogie Club Championships.”
“The 2023 AIB Camogie Club Championships were a fantastic showcase of our game,” added Camogie Association President Hilda Breslin.
“It has been a pleasure to work with AIB to showcase the Camogie club players and highlight how special the AIB Camogie Club Championships are. In what is an exceptionally competitive championship each year it’s no surprise that we had a first-time winner in Dicksboro. On behalf of the Camogie Association, I would like to congratulate everyone that took part in the championships this year along with player of the year Aoife Prendergast who showed fantastic talent and determination throughout the season.”
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