Along Ireland’s small roads, All-Stars and pride sprinkled generously…

Dean Rock of Dublin scores his side's first goal during the All-Ireland final last year. Rock's award, alongside clubmates John Small and James McCarthy mean Ballymun Kickhams are the second most decorated club in the history of the awards. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Since the inception of the GAA All-Stars in 1971, 1,470 awards have been presented to worthy recipients across hurling and football as a recognition of their individual feats of brilliance. But behind each All-Star, there is a local parish, a local GAA club, and an army of volunteers who, in most instances, have helped mould their star player long before county colours were adorned.

The list of clubs that have produced the most All-Stars is striking, in that, for the most part, it’s the epitome of rural overachievement and that age-old adage, mighty oaks from little acorns grow.

The three villages that encompass the parish of Ballyhale comprise a total population of 366, yet their renowned hurling club has amassed a record total of 29 All-Star awards. It would be more too, had Frank Cummins, a native of Knocktopher, not upped sticks and moved to Cork before the Shamrocks club could get off the ground in the early 1970s.

Cummins’ four All-Stars were won while he was donning Blackrock’s famed green and gold hoops. Ballyhale’s current king-in-situ, TJ Reid, is likely to add another gong to the stack tomorrow night to bring the sum total to 30. In order to fully comprehend the magnitude of the club’s achievements in yielding such an impressive harvest, think of it this way: Were Henry, TJ, the Fennellys, and the rest compelled in a fit of benevolence to distribute their well-earned wares around the baronies of Ballyhale, Knocktopher, and Knockmoylan, almost one in every 12 parishioners would be able to proudly flaunt a bronze bauble.

Similarly, the last-recorded population of Johnstown doesn’t top 500, which hasn’t prevented the prestigious Fenians club from producing a host of All-Stars — 20 to be precise.

In Kerry, the small rural area of Templenoe has also refused to let bare numbers (population 800) deny it a more than healthy return of county representatives and All-Star recipients. Their total of 13 awards, all of which have been accumulated by members of the Spillane tribe, is in fact four more than that of Dr Crokes from the well-populated town of Killarney.

Much like Ballyhale Shamrocks and Fenians in Kilkenny, Templenoe offers a prime example how the cruel reality of population statistics can be overcome by farming a culture of excellence. The three clubs also typify how the success of rural clubs, where numbers are invariably scarce on the ground, is often intrinsically linked to familial tradition.

The tradition of the GAA has always been rooted in families and so it is no coincidence that the pantheon of All-Star award-winners is interspersed with an array of celebrated footballing and hurling dynasties. In total, just over two-thirds of the All-Stars scattered around Ballyhale rest above Fennelly fireplaces, the five collected between Colin and Michael supplementing the five picked up by their uncles Ger and Liam in the 1980s and early ’90s.

All but three of the Fenians’ All-Stars have been claimed by members of the Henderson and Delaney clans while as mentioned above, all of Templenoe’s All-Stars are of Spillane extraction.

Likewise, all of Gaeltacht’s 17 awards are attributable to the eminent O Sé family. The Dooleys of Seir Kieran and the Connors of Walsh Island — six All-Star awards each — are but two more examples of how one family can become the lifeblood of a club, while attaining national acclaim in the process.

Ironically, of the 10 clubs with the most football All-Stars, only Ballymun Kickhams have representatives on this year’s shortlist. With John Small, James McCarthy, and Dean Rock all claiming awards, Kickhams have now become the second most represented club in the country, behind only Austin Stacks of Tralee.

Raheny now move to nine after the selection of midfielder Brian Fenton.

In the hurling roll of honour, Patrickswell could pass out Cork’s Glen Rovers and become the sixth most decorated club in the country in terms of All-Stars, should their three representatives, namely Diarmaid Byrnes, Cian Lynch, and Aaron Gillane, all get selected this weekend.

This year’s All-Star selection, the 50th such edition, could potentially see a number of clubs represented for the first time. Waterford’s Callum Lyons and Stephen Bennett are both in contention for places and in doing so, would become inaugural award-winners from Ballyduff Lower and Ballysaggart respectively.

The novelty of the provincial championship winners in Munster and Ulster, meanwhile, will see first-time representations from clubs in Cavan, Mayo, and Tipperary. The Galligan cousins from Lacken GAA club, Conor Sweeney from Ballyporeen, and Oisín Mullen from Kilmaine have all inked their place in history.

In many sports, individual awards have become nothing more than a monument to vanity, self-indulgence, and an unhealthy lust for personal glory and decadent baubles.

Thankfully, the GAA’s All-Star awards offer an antidote to such toxicity. When the 2020 All-Star recipients are pressed for comment next month, as always an almost comically steadfast refusal to accept praise will play a prominent role in their responses. Such excessive humility, while open to ridicule, remains nonetheless genuine and endearing.

It’s about the team.

It’s about the family.

And it’s always about the club.