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Top men: Sligo's Mark Quigley and Jason McGuinness celebrate. ©INPHO/James Crombie

Sligo dominate PFAI award shortlists

Jason McGuinness, Mark Quigley, Ronan Finn and Sean O’Connor have been nominated for PFAI Player of the Year.

Updated 18.20

CHAMPIONS SLIGO ROVERS lead the charge for the end-of-season honours after bringing the League of Ireland title back to the Showgrounds for the first time in 35 seasons.

Bit O’Red pair Jason McGuinness and Mark Quigley feature on the four-man shortlist for the PFAI Player of the Year honour, where they are joined by Shamrock Rovers midfielder Ronan Finn and Sean O’Connor of St Patrick’s Athletic.

All four are also named on the Premier Division Team of the Year which sees Sligo and Pat’s carve up nine of the 11 spots between them.

McGuinness and Quigley are joined by team-mate Gary Rogers in goal, defender Gavin Peers, and goal machine Danny North who struck 14 times in the league before suffering a cruciate injury which ruled him out of the latter part of the season.

Pat’s captain Ger O’Brien, Ian Bermingham and James Chambers are the Saints’ other representatives while Finn and Derry City winger Stephen McLaughlin are the only nominees to break through from the league’s nine other clubs.

Sligo and Pat’s also go up against each other in the Young Player of the Year category where David Cawley and Chris Forrester are joined by Seanie Maguire, who fired Waterford United’s promotion chase with 13 goals in the First Division.

Maguire is also nominated for First Division Player of the Year alongside Blues general Gary Dempsey and Rory Gaffney of champions Limerick FC.

Three former League of Ireland starlets — Wes Hoolahan, Shane Long and James McClean — are up for Overseas Player of the Year while Referee of the Year will be contested between Neil Doyle, Alan Kelly and Paul McLoughlin.

2012 PFAI Awards – Nominations

Player of the Year: Ronan Finn (Shamrock Rovers), Jason McGuinness (Sligo), Sean O’Connor (St Pat’s), Mark Quigley (Sligo).

Young Player of the Year: David Cawley (Sligo), Chris Forrester (St Pat’s), Sean Maguire (Waterford).

Premier Division Team of the Year: Gary Rogers (Sligo); Ger O’Brien (St Pat’s), Jason McGuinness (Sligo), Gavin Peers (Sligo), Ian Bermingham (St Pat’s); Sean O’Connor (St Pat’s), Ronan Finn (Shamrock Rovers), James Chambers (St Pat’s), Stephen McLaughlin (Derry); Mark Quigley (Sligo), Danny North (Sligo).

First Division Player of the Year: Gary Dempsey (Waterford), Rory Gaffney (Limerick),  Sean Maguire (Waterford).

First Division Team of the Year: Packie Holden (Waterford); Pat Purcell (Limerick), Brian McCarthy (Athlone), Shane Tracy (Limerick), Noel Haverty (Longford); Gary Dempsey (Waterford), Keith Gillespie (Longford), Joe Gamble (Limerick), Stephen Bradley (Limerick); Sean Maguire (Waterford), Rory Gaffney (Limerick).

Overseas Player of the Year: Wes Hoolahan (Norwich City), Shane Long (WBA) and James McClean (Sunderland).

Referee of the Year: Neil Doyle, Alan Kelly and Paul McLoughlin.

Limerick dominate First Division team of the year

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3 Comments
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    Mute John Travers
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    Oct 29th 2012, 7:17 PM

    Out of 53 photos only 1 of trouble. Well done Shamrock Rovers, and ya wonder why you get bad press!

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    Mute Réisín Cawley
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    Oct 29th 2012, 9:14 PM

    This MUST Stop next season. Calling Shamrock, ‘Rovers’ gives the impression that De Rov-ers i.e. Sligo Rovers, are involved with fighting the Garda and burning, fireworks and generally interrupting games. Whether it be against Bohs, Rov-ers or any team in the league. On behalf of the real Rov-ers i.e. Sligo Rovers, please differentiate between the league champions and the other crowd intent on causing trouble. To ‘the Shams’ fans who came to cheer their team, see you next season, to the bowsies, stay away from the beloved Shogies

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    Mute Vinny O'Connor
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    Oct 29th 2012, 9:47 PM

    Nobody refers to Sligo as “Rovers”, except for Sligo fans of course.

    When a League of Ireland fan references “Rovers”, they’re talking about Shamrock Rovers, not Sligo. That’s the way it’s always been and that won’t change. Sligo fans can say Shams in every sentence they want, it doesn’t matter.

    Also, Sligo Rovers fans constantly referring to Shamrock Rovers as “Shams” (even club officials, embarrassing) is honestly one of the most cringeworthy things I’ve ever heard/read, it’s almost as odd as them calling Galway fans “crusties”, most of the dopes saying it are in Galway for College because you have to leave Sligo unless you’re content with doing a colourbook course in ITSligo.

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    Mute Gary Mason
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    Oct 30th 2012, 11:48 AM

    36 people from Sligo dislike this

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    Mute Joe Fitzgerald
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    Oct 29th 2012, 9:19 PM

    the reason Shams fans get bad press is because a small minority of them ruin it for everybody else. At the showgeounds on Friday there were people there with their families to enjoy a very special moment in Sligo Rovers history and to be fair not one that happens to often and the so called “fans” ruined it with their behaviour so sad for all LOI fans

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    Mute Gary Mason
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    Oct 30th 2012, 11:46 AM

    go sit on a barstool if you can’t take a game with a bit of atmosphere, less than half those sligo fans will be there next year anyway

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    Mute Baby Ita..
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    Oct 30th 2012, 3:45 PM

    @Gary Mason, there’s a huge difference between a bit of atmosphere and some idiots throwing fireworks at stewards, at players and onto the pitch during the match, which is what happened on Friday night. I’ve been going to the Showgrounds for most of my life, have gone to loads of matches in both Carlisle & Newcastle in the UK, and last Friday night first time I felt genuinely worried that someone was going to get seriously injured on the pitch by supporters acting the way they did-before the match kicked off, there was at least one Sligo Rovers fan on his way to hospital to get glass removed from his eye because of *some* of the Shams supporters. Pretty much every club has some troublemakers, but there’s a huge difference between creating an atmosphere at a match and causing serious injury to someone. (Although in their defence, they did at one point throw a firework onto their own banner and nearly set that alight too….)

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    Mute bignazza
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    Oct 29th 2012, 7:17 PM

    Is it march yet ?

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    Mute Dylan O'Neill
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    Oct 29th 2012, 10:52 PM

    Where’s the flair from UCD / Cork first game of the season?

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    Mute Réisín Cawley
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    Oct 30th 2012, 12:11 PM

    Vinny, Vinny, Vinny,We don’t call our team ‘Rovers’ we say…De Rov-ers! and as for the moniker ‘Shams’ it refers to Shamrock Rovers pretending, that the L.O.I. shines from their ass holes, with the help of the powers that be that is. We in the North West like to call our team De Rov-ers with a hyphen, to distinguish one set of football supporters i.e. De Rov-ers from the so called ‘Fans’ that follow Shams. Your real supporters are salt of the earth, which is why I, along with many others, sat in protest in the midfield of Glenmalure Park, Miltown, fadó, fadó, in solidarity with them. Did you hear and see the applause for Twigs? that my friend is what REAL fans do. You wouldn’t be expected to know this, but hitch your mules to our wagon train next season and experience how De Diehards, Forza Rov-ers and ancillary fans enjoy a game. Bring the family, Grannies, Granddads, Women and Children, they’ll be very safe and enjoy the football. Derry City for the cup!!!

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    Mute Derek Byrne
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    Oct 30th 2012, 9:25 AM

    Hard to believe somebody can conjure up 53 images of league of Ireland football.

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    Mute Dexter Gordon
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    Oct 30th 2012, 10:39 AM

    Always the one knocker.

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    Mute Paul Stewart
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    Oct 30th 2012, 1:42 PM

    Go sit on your bar stool derek!

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    Mute Ronan O'Flaherty
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    Oct 30th 2012, 6:03 AM

    Shamrock are Shelbourne (ask Brian Laws) and Sligo are Sligo. Nobody is Rovers. Simples.

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    Mute Gary Mason
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    Oct 30th 2012, 11:48 AM

    if they bothered to look they’d find more and better pictures, instead we have ‘general view of a linesman’ more than once

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    Mute vv7k7Z3c
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    Oct 30th 2012, 1:49 PM

    Hi Gary,

    While compiling the piece, I looked through all the LOI-related pics available on INPHO, which were taken over the course of the season, and the 53 you see above were the best/most striking, in my view.

    I also really like those linesman pics, and particularly the way the sky looks in them, which is why I used more than one of them. I’m sorry if they weren’t to your taste.

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