Team holiday leaves several Kerry nominees facing All-Stars ceremony absence

The party are due to fly out on October 27, three days before the All-Stars gala in Dublin’s RDS, and return home on November 5.

While a couple of Kerry players in contention for awards will be forgoing the trip, the Clifford brothers, who have 10 All-Star awards between them, are not expected to be among them.

The break comes between the siblings’ involvement with East Kerry in the senior county championship and Fossa’s Munster intermediate semi-final against the Clare or Waterford representatives on November 22.

Last week, the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) contacted the Kerry County Board about the clash, but there would appear to be no means of resolving the matter.

A similar situation is understood to have arisen with Limerick’s All-Ireland winning hurlers. Their team holiday was to coincide with the schools’ mid-term break thus conflicting with All-Stars night but has since been changed.

Both David and Paudie were among Kerry’s eight 2025 All-Star winners who returned home early from their team holiday in the US and Mexico last November to receive their awards.

David Clifford claimed his third footballer of the year in 2025 and is shortlisted alongside Mayo pair Ryan O’Donoghue and Jack Carney for the top individual accolade following last week’s selection meetings. Kerry’s 2026 All Star nominees are the Clifford brothers, Shane Murphy, Jason Foley, Mike Breen, Mark O’Shea and Dylan Geaney.

Limerick and Mayo are due to fly out for their team holidays the same weekend of the All-Stars, while All-Ireland SHC finalists Galway are planning to go on theirs the following week.

The absence of All-Stars from the event is not a new phenomenon. In 2023, recipients Eoin Cody and TJ Reid were on Reid’s brother and fellow Kilkenny hurler Richie’s stag in Cheltenham and missed the gala. Last year, Galway’s Cathal Mannion was travelling at the time of the presentation as was Tyrone’s Niall Morgan when he won the goalkeeper award in 2024.

Meanwhile, tensions between the GAA and GPA show little sign of desisting as they have clashing press events on Wednesday. On Friday, Croke Park invited media to a briefing with Kevin McStay and members of his football expert advisory group about the experimental rules that will be trialled in forthcoming third level league games. It is due to take place at 11am in Croke Park.

On Monday, the official inter-county players body sent out a diary notice for their annual membership survey media briefing in Dublin city centre at 10am.

Earlier this month, the Irish Examiner reported GAA president Jarlath Burns wrote to GPA chief executive Tom Parsons expressing his disappointment with their public reaction to Mary McAleese’s resignation as chairperson of the steering group on integration.