Fr Michael Cremin chosen for Hall of Fame award

The legendary Fr Michael Cremin has been chosen for the Hall of Fame award in the 2011 Westmeath Independent/Hodson Bay Hotel Sports Awards. Fr Cremin led the Carmelite College, Moate, to three All-Ireland Colleges senior football titles (1976, 1980 and 1981), as well as six Leinster crowns. Indeed, during a glorious period for the Moate school, the Carmelite won four provincial championships in a row (1975 to 1978), adding two more Leinster titles in '80 and '81. With 2011 being the 30th anniversary of the Carmelite's last Hogan Cup success, it's a fitting time to recognise the immense contribution that Fr Cremin made to the sporting life of Moate and surrounding areas. Recalling the glory days of the Carmelite College, Fr Cremin said: "Good players like Val Daly, Aidan O'Halloran and Vinny Henry came along and I made use of them. I studied Gaelic football closely and also rugby and soccer, and I picked up tips from those sports. I worked on fitness work with the ball and everything in training was done at speed. Having a system of play is most important. We had a few principles, and I put a lot of emphasis on freetaking and not losing possession. "It got to a stage that if we were going to be beaten, it would have to be by a team much better than us. We got great support from all around Westmeath when we were going well." The 1980 All-Ireland winning Carmelite team was captained by Jimmy Bradley from Moate, while the 1981 team was skippered by Pat Fleming from Clara. In 2010, Jimmy was one of the organisers of a reunion of the successful Carmelite College teams. "Fr Cremin was an amazing man, he was ahead of his time with his training methods. It was a great period for us to go to school in the Carmelite," recalled Bradley. Fr Cremin coached the Westmeath minors to a Leinster minor title in 1963, defeating Dublin in the Leinster final, before losing to Kerry in the All-Ireland decider. Fr Cremin also managed the Westmeath senior team for a couple of years and he was in charge when the team ran Offaly quite close in 1981, with Eugene McGee"s side going on to win the Leinster title, before adding the All-Ireland the following year. A native of Cork, Fr Michael Cremin was among those honoured in the 2009 GAA President's Awards. Fr Cremin taught in the Carmelite College and he also served as principal of the school, which closed its doors in 1996. Now based in Gort Muire in Dublin, Fr Cremin still keeps in touch with his many friends in Moate. Gala night The Westmeath Independent/Hodson Bay Hotel Sports Awards ceremony will take place on a gala night in the acclaimed Hodson Bay Hotel on Friday, January 27. The ceremony will see all of the monthly award winners presented with their awards. The overall Sports Star of the Year will be revealed on the night. Readers also have the chance to vote for the Readers' Choice award. Votes can be cast using the coupon on this page or via the Westmeath Independent website. Simply log on to www.westmeathindependent.ie/sportsstar/ and follow the instructions there. Both the overall sports star winner and the readers' choice award will be chosen from among the 12 monthly winners who are listed below. Monthly award winners January - Chloe Joyce, Brendan Gibbons and Alex Condron (Swimming) February - Senan Kilbride (Gaelic Football) March - Pat Fox (Hockey) April - Robert Henshaw (Rugby) May - Joe Woods (Soccer) June - Joe Ward (Boxing) July - Paul Dalton, Michael Glynn, John Michael Gannon (Special Olympics) August - Sean Dempsey (Angling) September - Mark Rohan (Paracycling) October - Laura Walsh, Michelle Malone, Laura Brennan (Ladies Gaelic football) November - Charlie McMickan (Golf) December - Dessie Dolan (Gaelic Football).