The nominees for the 2009 Opel GPA Hurling Team of the Year have been announced today by the Gaelic Players Association. A total of 45 players have been shortlisted for the Team of the Year, while three players also received nominations for the prestigious Opel GPA Hurler of the Year Award.
The shortlist for the Opel GPA Hurling Team of the Year includes three players for each position reflecting the dominant role played by the player during the 2009 season. The list contains players from seven counties including; Kilkenny, Tipperary, Cork, Waterford, Limerick, Dublin and Galway.
The Opel GPA Hurling Team of the Year shortlist reflects the most successful counties in this year's championship with All-Ireland champions Kilkenny receiving a total of 11 nominations while losing All-Ireland finalists Tipperary go one better with 12. Semi-finalists Waterford and Limerick both received four and two nominations respectively while Galway and Dublin both had six players nominated.
The three nominees for the Opel GPA Player of the Year for Hurling, as chosen by the Hurling Selection Committee are: Tommy Walsh (Kilkenny), Lar Corbett (Tipperary) and John Mullane (Waterford).
The shortlists were drawn up by a selection committee headed up by Chairman Donal O'Grady. The winners will be selected by GPA members.
Commenting on the announcement, Chairman of the Hurling Selection Committee, Donal O'Grady said, "The GPA scheme offers the players a major input into team selection.
The selection committee has put forward what it believes are the three best nominations for the various positions and the players will now make the ultimate choice and select their best player for the 15 individual places - no doubt creating debate and analysis of their selections as happens with all awards."
Dave Sheeran, Managing Director, Opel Ireland, said, "The announcement of the Hurling shortlist for 2009 reflects the fact that this season's championship was extremely competitive with players from seven counties making the shortlist. The nominations recognise the huge contribution and effort these players have made to the continuing success of the sport. I look forward to celebrating their achievements at the Opel GPA Awards ceremony on Friday, 6th November."
Dessie Farrell, Chief Executive of the Gaelic Players' Association said, "Kilkenny's success in achieving an historic four-in-a-row capped a memorable hurling season in which the champions were pushed all the way by Tipperary. Last month's All-Ireland final was a testimony to the ambition and dedication of the top two counties this season and this is reflected in their 23 combined nominations. The players will now decide who will be honoured in each position. Congratulations to all the nominees, thanks to our selection committee headed by Donal O'Grady and thanks to Opel for their continued support of this unique awards scheme."
Nominees for Opel GPA Hurling Team of the Year:
1. Brendan Cummins (Tipperary) / Donal Óg Cusack (Cork)/ PJ Ryan (Kilkenny)
2. Ollie Canning (Galway) / Michael Kavanagh (Kilkenny) / Paddy Stapleton (Tipperary)
3. Tomás Brady (Dublin) / JJ Delaney (Kilkenny) / Eoin Cadogan (Cork)
4. Oisín Gough (Dublin) / Shane O'Neill (Cork) /Jackie Tyrrell (Kilkenny)
5. Declan Fanning (Tipperary) / Stephen Hiney (Dublin) / Tommy Walsh (Kilkenny)
6. John Lee (Galway)/ Conor O'Mahony (Tipperary) / Michael Walsh (Waterford)
7. Mark Foley (Limerick) / Padraic Maher (Tipperary) / John Tennyson (Kilkenny)
8/9. Seamus Hickey (Limerick) / Alan McCrabbe (Dublin) / Shane McGrath (Tipperary) /
Stephen Molumphy (Waterford) / Michael Rice (Kilkenny) / James Woodlock (Tipperary)
10. Eddie Brennan Kilkenny / Aonghus Callanan (Galway) / Ben O'Connor Cork
11. Seamus Callanan (Tipperary) /Martin Comerford (Kilkenny) / Cyril Donnellan (Galway)
12. Eoin Larkin (Kilkenny) /John O'Brien (Tipperary) / Andy Smith (Galway)
13. Noel McGrath (Tipperary) /John Mullane (Waterford) / David O'Callagan (Dublin)
14. Joe Canning (Galway) / Eoin Kelly (Tipperary) / Henry Shefflin (Kilkenny)
15. Lar Corbett (Tipperary) / David Treacy (Dublin) / Eoin Kelly (Waterford)
Nominees for Opel GPA Player of the Year for Hurling:
Tommy Walsh (Kilkenny), Lar Corbett (Tipperary) and John Mullane (Waterford).