Snub to Cats as Tipperary top All Star nominations
Eyebrows will be raised by the fact that Kilkenny have received 12 All Star nominations in comparison with All-Ireland finalists Tipperary’s 13, despite the fact that the Cats beat the Munster county in both the league and championship deciders this season, a run of success which has contributed to Kilkenny being hailed as one of the greatest teams of all time.
“I wasn’t aware the nominations were out,” said Kilkenny selector Martin Fogarty yesterday evening.
“To be honest we wouldn’t put much store by those.
“Obviously they’re nice awards for the players to receive, but All Stars and Man of the Match awards, they wouldn’t really mean that much.”
Eyebrows will also be raised at the disclosure that Waterford’s Eoin Kelly, the second-highest scorer in this year’s All-Ireland senior hurling championship, has been omitted from the list of nominations for 2009.
The omission echoes last year’s controversy, when Kelly’s county colleague John Mullane did not make the final selection, despite notching 2-21 from play that season, though Mullane later picked up a Gaelic Players Association (GPA) award.
Kelly scored 2-47 this year, one point behind top scorer Joe Canning of Galway, who is nominated for this year’s full-forward line. Two years ago Kelly was also omitted from the nominations while his county team-mate Eoin McGrath made the longlist, even though McGrath was used as an impact substitute that season.
At that time Kelly said: “It just seems like it is going to be a bit of a joke, doesn’t it?
“Looking at it, I just thought it was a bit silly but that’s it.”
In all there are 14 first-time nominees — including the Tipp players Pádraic Maher, Paddy Stapleton, James Woodlock, Pat Kerwick, John O’Brien and Noel McGrath; Dublin’s Stephen Hiney, Alan McCrabbe and David Treacy (David O’Callaghan was nominated last year); Kilkenny’s Michael Rice; and Limerick’s Gavin O’Mahony.
The others are Waterford’s Noel Connors, and Fergal Moore and Aengus Callinan of Galway.
All but three of last year’s All Stars team are nominated (the exceptions are Cats Noel Hickey and Cha Fitzpatrick as well as Eoin Kelly of Waterford).
Tommy Walsh is line for his seventh successive award, while Henry Shefflin will join his fellow county-man DJ Carey and Kerry football great Pat Spillane on nine awards if selected this year.
Eoin Kelly of Tipperary is going for his sixth, having missed for the last two years.
Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh of Waterford is nominated for the half-back line, having won an award at midfield in 2007 and being nominated at half-forward the previous year.
Declan Fanning, who is nominated at half-back, was full-back on the 2007 All Star team.
Four of Kilkenny’s All-Ireland starters miss out — Brian Hogan, Derek Lyng, Richie Hogan and Aidan Fogarty.
Last year Martin Comerford was the only one of the 15 starters omitted.
Twelve months ago Kilkenny had 14 players nominated while Tipperary had nine.
John Mullane, Lar Corbett and Tommy Walsh have been nominated for Player of the Year, while the Young Player of the Year nominees are Joe Canning, Pádraic Maher and Noel McGrath.
Meanwhile, the 2010 NHL will begin with a repeat of this year’s All-Ireland hurling final between Kilkenny and Tipperary at Semple Stadium.
The glamour tie will be played under lights on Saturday, 20 February.
The other Division 1 first round games between Limerick and Galway, Cork and Offaly, and Waterford and Dublin, will take place the following day, Sunday, 21 February.
In football Ulster rivals Derry and Tyrone, and Connacht neighbours Mayo and Galway, will launch the football league on Saturday, February 6.
Both games will be played under lights in Celtic Park and Castlebar respectively.
The following day, Kerry and Dublin and Monaghan and Cork will face off in the remaining Division 1 first round ties at Killarney and Clones respectively, though all fixtures are subject to final ratification by the county boards concerned.
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