CLOUD NINE

Limerick’s dominance carries through to end of season awards with record haul of All Stars

THE PwC All Star hurling team carries a green hue as Limerick match the Dublin footballers with nine players honoured.

It’s a reflection of the dominance of John Kiely’s side as they retained their League and Munster titles before adding a second All-Ireland in three years in some style against Waterford in December to round out 2020 with a 100 per cent winning record across all competitions.

The haul of nine All Stars makes Limerick the first county outside of Kilkenny to reach that mark, with the Cats having first achieved it in 1983 before matching it in 2000 and 2008.

It also equals the record in football, which is shared by Dublin (1977 and 2020) and Kerry (1981).

The line-up is completed by three players from beaten Munster and All-Ireland finalists Waterford and one each from Galway, Kilkenny and Clare. Limerick’s Nickie Quaid emulates his late father Tommy (inset), the All Star goalkeeper in 1992, as he wins his first award between the posts. It’s just the fourth time in the history of the hurling All Stars that a father and son have been honoured after Fan and Philip Larkin (Kilkenny), Richie Power Senior and Junior (Kilkenny) and Ken and Brian Hogan (Tipperary).

The Hogans (1987 and 2019) were the

first father and son to be selected in the same position, a feat that has now been matched by the Quaids a year later.

With Tommy’s cousin Joe chosen in 1994 and ‘96, it’s the fourth time that a member of the Quaid family has been named the All Star goalkeeper, with Brian Murray winning Limerick’s only other award in that position in 2007.

There are three survivors from last year’s team – Limerick pair

Sean Finn and Aaron Gillane along with Kilkenny talisman

TJ Reid, who wins his fifth award.

Indeed, it’s Finn’s third year ina-row to make the All Star team, a feat not managed by a Limerick hurler since Gary Kirby from 1994-96.

Six of those chosen are honoured for the first time, five of them Limerick men, with Waterford’s Stephen Bennett the other.

By joining Reid in winning his fifth award, all of them since 2015, Daithi Burke moves alongside Joe Cooney, Pete Finnerty and Joe Canning as Galway’s most prolific All Star winners.

Burke slots in at left corner-back this time despite having only played three games for Galway last year, though he was outstanding against Kilkenny, Tipperary and Limerick in the Championship.

Dan Morrissey, picked at wing-back in 2018, becomes just Limerick’s third All Star full-back, following in the footsteps of iconic duo Pat Hartigan and Leonard Enright, who won five and three awards in the ‘70s and ‘80s respectively.

Morrissey’s achievement is particularly noteworthy for the fact that he was only thrust into the new role last year on the back of injuries to Mike Casey and Richie English.

His brother Tom wins his first award at wing-forward, making them the 24th set of siblings to win All Stars in hurling and it’s the second year running that a pair of brothers have been chosen on the same team after Tipperary’s Ronan and Padraic Maher.

Another of Limerick’s first is Gearoid Hegarty, who linked up brilliantly with the younger Morrissey on the half-forward line throughout the Championship campaign and notched 0-7 from play in the All-Ireland final.

One of the most keenly contested areas was midfield, where Jamie Barron and Tony Kelly are the pairing.

Kelly was always going to be accommodated somewhere after his tour de force for Clare and it may come as a surprise to some that it’s just his second award and first since 2013.

Despite an indifferent All-Ireland final showing for Waterford, Jamie Barron edged out William O’Donoghue, whose Limerick teammate Cian Lynch shifted up to centre-forward having been nominated at midfield.

In the 50th year of the scheme, Bennett, picked at left corner-forward, enjoys the distinction of being the 1,500th All Star.

Offaly’s Damien Martin was the first in 1971 having been chosen in goal on the hurling team, former Cork footballer Niall Cahalane, selected at right halfback in 1987, was the 500th and Kerry’s Paul Galvin, at right half-forward, was the 1,000th in 2004.

COMING TOMORROW: Big interviews with PwC GAA players of the year Gearoid Hegarty and Brian Fenton