Young Sports Stars of the Year Award winner No. 14: Ciaran Kilkenny

Youth was the bedrock on which Balla's GAA success was built in 2018, so it's fitting that the next Young Sports Stars of the Year Awards monthly recipient is one of the team's standout talents.

After contesting a county senior fooball final back in 1993, the club went through some barren years but over that time they continued to produce some of the finest players at many levels.

Youth was to be the way foward for the club and in bringing that county junior title home after beating Achill in the final last September, they had a number of players who stepped up to the plate and played a brand of brash and exciting football.

One man who crafted a lot of those scoring chances, and indeed sliced the posts himself and consistently caught the eye, was wing-back Ciaran Kilkenny, who was one of a group of young players who helped the club to victory in 2018.