DAVID CLIFFORD AND Diarmaid Byrnes have been announced as the PwC GAA-GPA Player of the Year award winners for 2022.
They end All-Ireland winning seasons with the Kerry footballers and Limerick hurlers respectively as first-time winners of the prestigious individual accolades.
Byrnes becomes the third Limerick Hurler of the Year recipient, following in the footsteps of his Patrickswell clubmate Cian Lynch (2018 and 2021) and Gearóid Hegarty (2020).
Fellow Treaty star Barry Nash and Kilkenny great TJ Reid were the other nominees this season.
Clifford, meanwhile, is the first Kerry Footballer of the Year winner since James O’Donoghue in 2014. The 23-year-old Fossa ace has four All-Star awards to his name, from 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
He was joined by Galway duo Shane Walsh and Cillian McDaid on the shortlist.
Jack Glynn (Galway) and Mikey Butler (Kilkenny) are the Young Player of the Year winners.
Glynn was selected for the football award ahead of Derry’s Ethan Doherty and Dublin’s Lee Gannon, while Butler — who also won his first All-Star tonight — saw off competition from Kilkenny team-mate Eoin Cody and Ciarán Joyce of Cork for the hurling prize.
All nominees were decided by a panel of Gaelic Games media correspondents and the committee was chaired by GAA President Larry McCarthy. The awards were voted on exclusively by inter-county players.
The All-Star hurling and football teams were also confirmed tonight:
