Unique pieces by Seamus Cassidy for annual awards

The fourth annual Meath Chronicle / Cusack Hotels sportsperson-of-the-year awards will take at Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim on Friday night, 7.30. The black tie event has grown is stature since the inaugural event which was spawned by an idea to recognise local sporting achievements by the late John Cusack. The main award will be presented on Friday night by Marie Cusack, but since inception, the awards have expanded gradually and now cater for a number of subsidiary categories as well as the overall sportsperson-of-the-year. Master of ceremonies for the occasion will be Michael O Muircheartaigh who has proved hugely popular with both awards winners and guests at the annual awards night. Previous winners include Gordon Elliott (2007), the late Darren Sutherland (2008) and Johnny Murtagh (2009). Murtagh is one of the monthly nominees for 2010 and will be bidding to win the title again, but he faces strong opposition from the other 11 monthly winners. Each of the monthly winners are eligible for the overall award and January's nominee was Christopher Blaney for his boxing exploits. Star of the Sea athlete Colin Costello took the accolade for February while horseracing also features for March with Ashbourne jockey Andrew Lynch nominated. Showjumper John Floody took the April accolade followed by cyclist Mark Cassidy (May) and Murtagh (June). Meath footballer Graham Reilly took the plaudits for July with Dunshaughlin trainer Edward Lynam rewarded for his achievements at York with Sole Power in August. Skryne manager Liam Harnan took the September award with golfer Damien McGrane (October), Devin Toner (rugby) took November and showjumper Cian O'Connor rounded off the nominations in December. Each monthly winner will receive a specially commissioned award created by Beauparc woodturner Seamus Cassidy and the overall winner will also receive a one-off piece. The winners of the subsidiary awards will also receive a piece fashioned by Cassidy who works and lives close to the historical site of Newgrange, one of Ireland's most visited tourist attractions. “The key to my work is an ability to recognise a beautiful object in an apparently ordinary piece of wood and a skill in revealing the unique beauty of each piece of Irish timber,†he told the Meath Chronicle this week as he put the finishing touches to the awards. “My designs combine traditional and contemporary characteristics, resulting in innovative and stylish artistic forms. “Rather than coerce nature into perfect forms, I exploit natural features to aesthetic advantage, I suppose that my elusive style could be described as elegance in harmony with nature,†he added. He is a native of Meath and was educated in Kells and Dundalk. After completing his education he moved to Dublin to work for a number of architectural firms. While working in Dublin he took up woodwork as a hobby. His experience in design and drawing has been invaluable in enabling him to produce unique and creative pieces. Cassidy turned professional in 1996 when he left Dublin and moved back to Meath. He renovated an old carthouse as a workshop and gallery, selling his own work exclusively. He has experience in teaching woodturning and in demonstrating woodturning skills in Ireland and abroad. He has exhibited at the prestigious National Crafts Competition at the RDS on a number of occasions. He won awards in 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the RDS Award of Excellence in 2009. Apart from producing the awards for the Meath Chronicle / Cusack Hotels annual event, pieces have been commissioned by President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, Government Ministers, Office of Public Works, RDS, Irish Landscape Institute, Custom House Docks Development Authority, Enterprise Ireland, Meath Co Council, Meath Tourism and others. Cassidy's artistic work is sold exclusively through his own gallery and the awards that will be presented on Firday night are ebonised Irish oak, burr oak and 24 carat goldleaf. Seamus Cassidy may be contact at (041) 9825031 or (086) 8710710 or by email: seamuscassidy01@eircom.net Apart from the overall award, pieces created by Cassidy will be presented to the recipient of the Hall of Fame award which will be announced on the night. Previous recipients included Sean Boylan (2009) and Tommy Carberry (2010). The overall winners in the outstanding achievement individual category and team category and the winner of the youth award will also take home pieces by the Beauparc artist. The final selection process will be completed this week. The monthly awards and the other category awards will be presented at the start of the function from 8.0 on Friday evening and a small number of tickets are still available for sale from Knightsbrook Hotel.