Five All-Stars for Kilkenny's hurling heroes

Five members of the Kilkenny senior hurling team have ended their season with All-Star awards.

Eoin Murphy, Mikey Butler, Huw Lawlor, TJ Reid and Eoin Cody picked up the awards for the Cats, who bagged a fourth successive Leinster title and reached the All-Ireland final for the second year in a row. All-Ireland champions Limerick lead the way with seven All-Stars. 

Eoin Murphy is now a four-time All-Star goalkeeper after another season making wonder stops and is a feat helped in no small part by that incredible Cat-like reflex save against Clare’s Peter Duggan in the semi-final at Croke Park.

Former Young Hurler of the Year Mikey Butler and his team-mate Huw Lawlor represent Kilkenny in the full-back line with three-time winner Dan Morrissey joining them.

Clare’s John Conlon is named at centre-back and enters a distinguished club of players who have been honoured as forwards and defenders in their career - he was named full-forward in 2018.

Either side of him, Limerick duo Diarmaid Byrnes and Kyle Hayes win their fourth straight All-Star award.

It’s an all-Limerick midfield of Darragh O’Donovan and Will O’Donoghue.

In attack, birthday boy TJ Reid moves into the top 10 most decorated All-Stars of all time. The Kilkenny man turns 36 today. In claiming an equally magnificent seventh All-Star in 12 years, he joins county men and icons Noel Skehan and JJ Delaney as well as Cork dual star Jimmy Barry Murphy and Kerry football hero Mikey Sheehy on seven awards. He is one behind Kerry’s Colm Cooper, two behind DJ Carey, Tommy Walsh and Pat Spillane in a list still headed by his Shamrocks club colleague Henry Shefflin who amassed 11 in his career. His clubmate Eoin Cody, a two-time Young Hurler of the Year, picked up his first All-Star.

"I am delighted to congratulate the distinguished final 15 who have been selected for a PwC Hurling All-Star for 2023," said Uachtarán CLG Larry McCarthy. "The high-calibre list of nominations reflected what was yet another thrilling hurling season and this team represents the cream of that considerable crop. To join the illustrious ranks of the heroes who have been honoured with an All-Star since 1971 is a wonderful achievement and something that I am sure will be shared by your families and clubs. I want to thank our partners in PwC for their continuing support of this prestigious scheme and look forward to a great night in the RDS for the presentation banquet that will celebrate a fantastic GAA season."

The PwC All-Star teams will be presented with their awards at a gala black-tie event which will be staged for the first time in Dublin’s RDS and shown live on RTÉ tv this Friday, where the PwC Football All-Stars will be announced live, as will the GAA/GPA PwC Hurler of the Year, Footballer of the Year and Young Players of the Year awards. These overall awards are voted on from among the inter-county playing body themselves.

The 2023 Hurling All-Stars (previous wins in brackets)

1 Eoin Murphy (Kilkenny) (2016, 2018, 2021)
2 Mikey Butler (Kilkenny) (2022)
3 Huw Lawlor (Kilkenny) (2022)
4 Dan Morrissey (Limerick) (2018, 2020)
5 Diarmaid Byrnes (Limerick) (2020, 2021, 2022)
6 John Conlon (Clare) (2018)
7 Kyle Hayes (Limerick) (2020, 2021, 2022)
8 Darragh O’Donovan (Limerick) (2021)
9 Will O’Donoghue (Limerick) (2021)
10 Shane O’Donnell (Clare) (2022)
11 TJ Reid (Kilkenny) (2012, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2022)
12 Tom Morrissey (Limerick) (2020, 2021)
13 Conor Whelan (Galway) (2017)
14 Aaron Gillane (Limerick) (2019, 2020, 2022)
15 Eoin Cody (Kilkenny)