Gearóid Hegarty and Brian Fenton named players of the year

Eoin Cody and Oisín Mullin pick up the young player awards

Gearóid Hegarty of Limerick with his PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Year award for 2020. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Limerick’s towering wing forward Gearóid Hegarty has been chosen by his peers as the PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Year with the St Patrick’s star claiming his first award.

Raheny’s midfield maestro Brian Fenton is PwC GAA/GPA Footballer of the year with the Dublin star having previously won the top prize in 2018.

Eoin Cody from Ballyhale Shamrocks is the PwC GAA/GPA Young hurler of the Year after his exploits with Kilkenny last season, while Oisín Mullin is the PwC GAA/GPA Young Footballer of the Year after the Kilmaine flier picked up an award in the football team announced on Friday.

The announcement was made as part of a special programme to honour all of the PwC All-Stars shown on RTÉ 1.

Brian Fenton of Dublin with his PwC GAA/GPA Footballer of the Year award for 2020. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Uachtarán CLG John Horan saluted the winners and said: “For the last 50 years the All-Stars has stood apart as something special in Irish sport, and our thanks to PwC for enabling us to continue this great tradition and particularly after the significance of staging the Championships last winter.

“Congratulations to all of the players, not only for their awards, but for the inspiration they are to their clubs and counties and it’s an especially great night for Gearóid, Brian, Eoin and Oisín and their families for being chosen by their peers for overall awards.” Paul Flynn, GPA CEO, added: “Congratulations to the PwC All-Star hurling team of 2020. These selections always generate plenty of debate, but the 15 players selected certainly merit their inclusion for their outstanding performances. Congratulations too, to all the nominees.

“I want to pay tribute to the Gearóid and Eoin on being named PwC Hurler of the Year and PwC Young Hurler of the Year respectively. Similarly, I want to acknowledge Brian and Oisín on their awards as PwC Footballer of the Year and PwC Young Footballer of the Year. " 

“These awards are voted for by their fellow players which makes them even more special.” 

Feargal O’Rourke, Managing Partner, PwC, said: “Everyone at PwC wishes the most heartfelt of congratulations to the winners of the 2020 PwC All Star Hurling Awards – each of them are deserving winners for everything they achieved during the season. In changed circumstances they proved their ability to adapt to produce outstanding displays for their teams. These awards are for individual performances, though each of the winners is a team player of the highest calibre.

“We also pay tribute to Brian Fenton and Gearóid Hegarty, the winners of the PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Year Awards for football and hurling respectively. Both of them produced a string of fantastic performances and are worthy winners. These awards are due recognition for the outstanding seasons they had with the All-Ireland winners of Dublin in football and Limerick in hurling. 

“There’s no doubting how tough 2020 was for many people and Gaelic Games were something that uplifted the whole country when it was really needed, with brilliant entertainment, outstanding individual displays and enthralling games. We congratulate all of the winners on the part they played in that and wish them well for the 2021 season.” 

The PwC All-Stars team was chosen by a group of 16 Gaelic Games correspondents from across print, radio, tv and digital media. The PwC GAA/GPA Player and Young Player awards were chosen from votes cast by the players themselves.