It was a fabulous night for the Kilkenny hurlers on Friday last as they dominated the All Stars, picking up nine awards for the team selection and the tenth award - ‘Player of the Year’ going to the deserving Eoin Larkin. Speaking to Eoin after the banquet he told me he was absolutely thrilled with the award, and was delighted that all his hard work and dedication had helped.
The annual team was revealed at presentations in the City West Hotel in Dublin where over 800 people attended the glitzy event which was sponsored by Vodafone.
It was Larkin and Joe Canning’s first All Star award along with Tipperary pair Conor O’Mahony and young midfield sensation Shane McGrath, after the Premier County’s National League and Munster Championship triumphs.
Henry Shefflin’s pursuit of the record number of All Star awards continues. He became the first player in the history of the scheme to be selected on seven consecutive occasions. This is his eighth award and he is now just one short of the record jointly held by his former team mate DJ Carey and Kerry football legend Pat Spillane while team-mate Tommy Walsh won his sixth All Star award in-a-row with the Cats.
Apart from Kilkenny and Tipperary, there are only three other counties represented on the team, with Cork, Waterford and Galway all having one player each in the forward line.
