The All Stars Awards, currently sponsored by Vodafone, are given annually since 1971 by the Gaelic Athletic Association to the best player in each of the fifteen positions in Gaelic football, Hurling, Ladies football, and Camogie in Ireland. Additionally, one player in each code is selected as the player of the year.
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History and procedure
Since the 1960s there had been a tradition of annually selecting the best player in each position, in football and hurling, to create a special team of the year. Between 1963 and 1967 these players received what was known as the Cú Chulainn award. In 1971 these awards were formalised into the annual All-Star Awards. The All-Stars team comprises the best player in each position, regardless of club or county affiliation. The composition of the All Star teams are decided by a small panel of sports journalists from the national media. The awards are presented at a gala banquet in November following the end of the championship season. Both mens teams are honoured with a special holiday where they play an exhibition game. Since 1971 over 1,000 players have been honoured with All-Stars Awards. Damien Martin of Offaly was the first ever recipient of the award, while in 2004 Paul Galvin of Kerry became the 1,000th winner of the award.
Winners
Most Recent Winners
Mens Gaelic Football, 2006 The footballer of the year was awarded to Kieran Donaghy
| Player | Position | County Team |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Cluxton | Goalkeeper | Dublin |
| Marc Ó Sé | Right Corner Back | Kerry |
| Barry Owens | Full Back | Fermanagh |
| Karl Lacey | Left Corner Back | Donegal |
| Séamus Moynihan | Right Half Back | Kerry |
| Ger Spillane | Centre Half Back | Cork |
| Aidan O'Mahony | Left Half Back | Kerry |
| Nicholas Murphy | Midfield | Cork |
| Darragh Ó Sé | Midfield | Kerry |
| Paul Galvin | Right Half Forward | Kerry |
| Alan Brogan | Centre Half Forward | Dublin |
| Alan Dillon | Left Half Forward | Mayo |
| Conor Mortimer | Right Corner Forward | Mayo |
| Kieran Donaghy | Full Forward | Kerry |
| Ronan Clarke | Left Corner Forward | Armagh |
Hurling, 2006 The hurler of the year was awarded to Henry Shefflin
| Player | Position | County Team |
|---|---|---|
| Donal Óg Cusack | Goalkeeper | Cork |
| Eoin Murphy | Right Corner Back | Waterford |
| J. J. Delaney | Full Back | Kilkenny |
| Brian Murphy | Left Corner Back | Cork |
| Tony Browne | Right Half Back | Waterford |
| Ronan Curran | Centre Half Back | Cork |
| Tommy Walsh | Left Half Back | Kilkenny |
| Jerry O'Connor | Midfield | Cork |
| James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick | Midfield | Kilkenny |
| Dan Shanahan | Right Half Forward | Waterford |
| Henry Shefflin | Centre Half Forward | Kilkenny |
| Eddie Brennan | Left Half Forward | Kilkenny |
| Eoin Kelly | Full Forward | Tipperary |
| Martin Comerford | Full Forward | Kilkenny |
| Tony Griffin | Left Corner Forward | Clare |
Past winners
For a complete listing of all winners see the following articles
- GAA All-Time All-Star Award (Hurling)
- All Stars Footballer of the Year
- All Stars Hurler of the Year
- GAA All Stars Awards Past Winners (Football)
- GAA All Stars Awards Past Winners (Hurling)
- GAA All Stars Awards Past Winners (Ladies Football)
- GAA All Stars Awards Past Winners (Camogie)
Records
Brothers
Fifteen sets of brothers have won All Star Awards in hurling. They are:
- Colm, Conal and Cormac Bonnar of Tipperary.
- Tom and Jim Cashman of Cork.
- Andy and Martin Comerford of Kilkenny.
- John and Joe Connolly of Galway.
- Jimmy and Joe Cooney of Galway.
- Johnny, Billy and Joe Dooley of Offaly.
- Colm and Tony Doran of Wexford.
- Liam and Ger Fennelly of Kilkenny.
- Pat, Ger and John Henderson of Kilkenny.
- Eoin and Paul Kelly of Tipperary.
- Brian and Frank Lohan of Clare.
- Willie and Eddie O'Connor of Kilkenny.
- Seán Óg and Setanta Ó hAilpín of Cork.
- Aidan and Bobby Ryan of Tipperary.
- Martin and John Quigley of Wexford.
One set of twins have won All Star Awards in hurling:
- Jerry and Ben O'Connor of Cork.
Nine sets of brothers have won All Star Awards in Gaelic football. They are:
- Matt and Richie Connor of Offaly.
- Tomás and Liam Connor of Offaly.
- Dermot and Paul Earley of Roscommon.
- Seán and Brendan Lowry of Offaly.
- James and Martin McHugh of Donegal.
- Anthony and John McGurk of Derry.
- Tom, Mick and Pat Spillane of Kerry.
- Tomas, Darragh and Marc O Se of Kerry.
- Kenneth and Conor Mortimer of Mayo.
Father and Son
Five father and son pairings have won All Star Awards. Four of these were in football:
- Pat Reynolds and Paddy Reynolds of Meath.
- Dermot Earley and Dermot Earley, Jnr of Roscommon and Kildare.
- Liam O'Neill and Kevin O'Neill of Mayo and Galway.
- Frank McGuigan and Brian McGuigan of Tyrone.
- Bernard Brogan Snr and Alan Brogan ( Dublin )
The only hurling father and son pairing are:
- Fan Larkin and Philly Larkin of Kilkenny.
Dual All Stars
One player, Ray Cummins of Cork, holds the unique record of winning a hurling and a football All Star in the same year (1971). Three other players share the distinction of winning All Star awards in both hurling and football, but they did not win the accolades in the same year. These players are:
- Jimmy Barry-Murphy of Cork
- Brian Murphy of Cork
- Liam Currams of Offaly
Due to the pressures of the modern games it is unlikely that these players feats will ever be repeated.
Top Winners
People who have received five or more awards since their introduction in 1971.
- 9 awards - Pat Spillane of Kerry in football, D.J. Carey of (Kilkenny) in hurling
- 7 awards - Mikey Sheehy (Kerry) in football, Noel Skehan (Kilkenny) in hurling
- 6 awards - Peter Canavan (Tyrone) in football, Jack O'Shea (Kerry) in football, Ger Power (Kerry) in football, Joe McKenna (Limerick), Nicky English (Tipperary) and Henry Shefflin (Kilkenny) in hurling,
- 5 awards - John Egan (Kerry), John O'Keeffe (Kerry), John O'Leary (Dublin), Páidí Ó Sé (Kerry), all in football, Pat Hartigan (Limerick), Joe Hennessy (Kilkenny), Eoin Kelly (Tipperary) in hurling, Eddie Keher (Kilkenny) in hurling (Keher also earlier won 4 Cú Chulainn awards, 9 total)
