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Conor Kenna wins Airtricity Player of the Month Award for March

Conor Kenna accepts his Player of the Month Award from Airtricity's Head of Communications Jason Cooke
 

Conor Kenna of St Patrick's Athletic has been selected as the Airtricity/Soccer Writers' Association Player of the Month for March. The announcement was made this morning at Richmond Park, the home of St Patrick's Athletic in Inchicore, Dublin 8.

 
Airtricity, sponsor of domestic league football in Ireland, has also this morning confirmed its sponsorship of the Soccer Writers' Association Player of the Month awards for 2010, as well as its sponsorship of the Association’s annual Personality of the Year Gala Awards. Today’s Player of the Month award to Conor Kenna is the first to be presented since the kick-off of the Airtricity League last month.
 
The St Patrick's Athletic defender was rewarded by the members of the Soccer Writers' Association for his performances during the month which saw St Pat's reach the summit of the Premier Division table and qualify for the semi-finals of the Setanta Sports Cup. Kenna was ever-present in their six games during March with Pete Mahon's side impressing in their four league matches in particular. St Pat's claimed three wins on the trot against Galway United, Shamrock Rovers and UCD without conceding a goal. The team drew a blank in their final game of the month against Dundalk but, once again, the defence held firm. It represents an impressive start to Kenna's St Pat's career, particularly because he is one of three new arrivals in their back four; Shane Guthrie and Ian Bermingham joined from Galway United and Shamrock Rovers respectively.
 
Announcing the award Airtricity Managing Director Kevin Greenhorn said that after only a month, the new season of the Airtricity League is already proving to be an exciting competition for real football fans. “Airtricity is delighted to announce its sponsorship of the Soccer Writers' Association Player of the Month awards. This sponsorship is a further extension of our partnership with Irish football and allows us, on behalf of the real fans of real football, to acknowledge the up-and-coming stars of Irish football playing in the Airtricity League. Each Player of the Month award is a real high-point for players and fans alike – as a very serious football fan myself, I’m looking forward to finding out which players are going to emerge each month as yet another outstanding footballer of the Airtricity League. Given his super performances on behalf of Airtricity League leaders St Pat’s, Conor Kenna is a worthy winner of this first Airtricity/Soccer Writers' Association Player of the Month title and a real star of the future for Irish football.”
 
Conor Kenna, 25, was signed by Coventry City as a youngster but returned to his native Dublin in 2003 when he joined Shelbourne. Unable to force his way into the first team at Tolka Park, he was signed by Mahon for the first time, joining UCD and helping them to win promotion to the Premier Division in his first season at Belfield. Called into the Ireland under-21 squad in 2005, Kenna was forced to withdraw because of injury but subsequently gained international recognition when he was capped at under-23 level.
 
Following UCD's relegation in 2008, it was inevitable that Kenna would be snapped up by a top-flight club and he won a host of new admirers with his displays for Drogheda United last season which saw the Boynesiders retain their Premier Division status against the odds prior to being lured to Richmond Park. The 6ft centre-half – who can also play at right-back – is now just 11 games away from chalking up 200 league appearances.