14 Limerick players nominated as Cody misses out on Hurler of the Year shout

Niall McIntyre

14 Limerick players have been nominated for All-Star awards.

Of the 15 that started their All-Ireland final victory over Kilkenny, Gearoid Hegarty is the only player not to be nominated. Declan Hannon also misses out, having missed the All-Ireland semi-final and final through injury while the instrumental Cathal O’Neill was overlooked.

That aside, it’s a clean sweep for John Kiely’s side.

The all-conquering Limerick men are also responsible for all three nominees in the Hurler of the Year category, with Aaron Gillane vying it out with his Patrickswell club-mate Diarmaid Byrnes and Kyle Hayes.

Limerick player Aaron Gillane is expected to win the Hurler of the Year award.

Should Byrnes or Gillane pick up the award, it would mean that, for the third consecutive year, the best player in Ireland would be a Patrickswell man.

There were some eyebrows raised at the omission of Eoin Cody from the Hurler of the Year short-list, the Ballyhale Shamrocks man having led Kilkenny to the All-Ireland with 5-21 in eight games.

Meanwhile, Clare’s Adam Hogan will compete with his county-man Mark Rodgers and Ciaran Joyce for the Young Hurler of the Year award.

With nine nominees, Clare are the next best-represented team on the short-list, followed by Kilkenny with eight, Galway with six, Cork with four, Tipp with three and Dublin with one player, in Donal Burke. Of the Kilkenny crew, Richie Reid might feel unlucky to miss out, having impressed at centre back throughout the season.

The 2023 winners will be announced on Thursday, November 16, and they will receive their awards at a banquet the following day. The All-Star football nominees will be revealed on Friday morning.

PwC Hurling All-Star Nominations

Goalkeepers (3)

Eoin Murphy (Kilkenny)

Nickie Quaid (Limerick)

Eibhear Quilligan (Clare)

Defenders (18)

Barry Nash (Limerick)

Mike Casey (Limerick)

Dan Morrissey (Limerick)

Kyle Hayes (Limerick)

Diarmaid Byrnes (Limerick)

Mikey Butler (Kilkenny)