Current All-Ireland U21 football winning captain, Colm O'Neill, has been named as the 2009 Cadbury Hero of the Future at an awards ceremony in the Player's Lounge in Croke Park. Colm has been honoured in recognition of his passion, excellence and commitment to the sport and was presented with his Cadbury Hero of the Future Award by Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Criostóir Ó Cuana and Shane Guest, Senior Brand Manager Cadbury Ireland. 15 footballers were shortlisted as part of the 'Cadbury Hero of the Future' initiative which ran in tandem with the Championship to highlight the achievements of individuals for outstanding teamwork, passion and performance on the field. A Hero of the Match award was presented to a player at each provincial semi-final, each provincial final and the national semi-finals with the last Hero selected at the Cadbury GAA Football U21 Final in Portlaoise on May 4th 2009. Colm, who plays his club football with Ballyclough, was named as a Cadbury Hero of the Match for his performance against Waterford in the Munster semi final. Colm captained the winning Cork side all the way to final where a last minute goal saw them defeat a very strong Down side and was presented with the Clarke cup by GAA president Christy Cooney. Colm was crowned the overall Cadbury Hero of the Future, as voted by members of the public on www.cadburygaau21.com and an expert judging panel, which included senior Kildare footballer Dermot Early, former Dublin manager Paul Caffrey and TG4 journalist Michael O'Domhnaill. Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Criostóir Ó Cuana said, "Colm's award crowns what has been a fantastic year for the Cork U21 football team and anyone who was lucky enough to be present at O'Moore Park for their dramatic final win over Down was treated to an excellent spectacle that underlined the importance of this competition to followers of Gaelic Games. I congratulate Cadbury on five years of sponsorship for this championship and acknowledge their commitment to this grade, which is evidenced in the Hero of the Future Scheme." The full list of nominees for the 2009 Cadbury Hero of the Future Award are: · Gary Gaughan (Sligo) · Ger Reddin (Laois) · Stefan Forker (Armagh) · Paul McComiskey (Down) · Peter Fitzpatrick (Down) · Conor Poland (Down) · Colm O'Neill (Cork) · Colm O'Driscoll (Cork) · Ciaran Sheehan (Cork) · Dean Kelly (Dublin) · Patrick Andrews (Dublin) · Tom Parsons (Mayo) · Aidan O'Shea (Mayo) · Sean Carey (Tipperary) · Brain Fox (Tipperary) Commenting on the Cadbury Hero of the Future Award last night Shane Guest Senior Brand Manger at Cadbury said; "This is Cadbury's fifth year as sponsor of the U21 Football Championship and, as we continue to invest in and commit to Gaelic Games in Ireland, I am delighted to say that the Championship continues to go from strength to strength. The Awards are a positive means of thanking each of the shortlisted players for their commitment, skill and passion for the sport." As the overall winner Colm received a specially commissioned bronze award, and a holiday voucher to the value of 1,000. In addition to this, Colm's club, Ballyclough, also received a grant of 1,000 as did the Cork County Board. This year Cadbury supplied each of the 15 Hero's of the Match a training kit for their club. Commenting on the winning player Paul Caffrey stated, "It was a tough decision as there were some real contenders for the award this year but we felt that Colm has had an outstanding season leading his Cork side to the Championship, and is a deserving winner of this award." Micheal O Domhnaill, TG4 commentator and presenter reflected this sentiment by saying: "Myself, Dermot and Paul were looking for the player that epitomises the skill levels, leadership and dedication that a Hero requires and we felt Colm had all these attributes in abundance." Cadbury will be continuing their commitment to U21 Football by extending their sponsorship of the GAA Football U21 Championship for a further 3 years, building on a successful four year reign as the first sponsors of the U21 Football Championship. Tweet

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