ON Friday night he watched his manager Liam Buckley pick up a major award at the Shelbourne Hotel, and 24 hours later it was Conan Byrne's turn.

Life doesn't get much better for Swords native Conan, or indeed for his team Sporting Fingal, the League of Ireland club which is in its infancy but has already achieved more than many of its rivals.

So many deserving contenders for the title Fingal Independent/Clarion Hotel Dublin Airport Sportstar of the Year – yet the genuinely warm applause and standing ovation from the whole function room reflected the popularity of the chosen candidate.

Who could disagree, when this quietly-spoken 24year-old bagged 25 goals last season – more than any other player in the league – and has yet to miss a competitive game in Sporting's two-year history!

Quite understandably, Conan immediately sought to share the accolade with his absent teammates.

In true Hollywood style, he told the packed audience: 'I would like to thank the Sporting Fingal team, without whom I would not be here today, the team management, the Fingal Independent for their coverage of Sporting Fingal and my girlfriend Amanda.

'The squad have been tremendous. We won promotion and got the added bonus of the FAI Cup and it's been great to be involved in all the community work we've been doing too.

'I missed all the celebrations, but there's more to life than football,' he said, referring to the aid mission to Zambia he undertook the day after the Cup final.'

Traditionally, teams promoted from Division 1 state

that

their primary aim for the new season is simply to maintain their Premier status. Not so for the burgeoning club that is Sporting Fingal,' Conan told compere Michael Lyster.

'We had a wee chat the other day as a team and we were talking top-four in the Premier Division, and the main aim is to get to the group stages of the Europa Cup.

'Our players are technical, just like the Europa Cup is, and I can't wait for the season to get started.'

After the formalities were over, Conan took time to expand on his thoughts about how he values such an award.

'I've had a fantastic night and it means so much. When you are born and reared in this area and when you look at the other local sportsmen who have won before, it's these kinds of awards that mean the most. And the Fingal Independent is a paper that we get every week in the house.

'There were four outstanding things that happened to me last year, and this is number five. 'Obviously there was winning promotion and the FAI Cup, the trip to Zambia, and the fourth thing was scoring a hat-trick on my birthday against Monaghan, where my mother's from. That was a big thing in the house at the time!' Conan said he was surprised to be voted as the overall Sportstar of the Year for 2009, given the level of competition he was up against.

'There were world champions there, and I would like to congratulate all the winners on their personal achievements.'

And with that, Conan returned to his table to enjoy a bit more precious time with mum and dad Kay and Aidan and girlfriend Amanda. After all, pre-season training started the following morning – the start of an exciting new adventure in the top flight for Conan Byrne and Sporting Fingal.

- Marcus CAVAROLI