NEWLY-CROWNED ALL-IRELAND champions Clare lead the way with seven representatives on The Sunday Game’s Hurling Team of the Year, including the RTÉ panel’s Hurler of the Year, Shane O’Donnell.
The Banner edged a Croke Park classic against Cork after extra time on Sunday afternoon, winning their first All-Ireland title in 11 years by 3-29 to 1-34.
Runners-up Cork have six representatives on the team, including brothers Eoin and Robert Downey, while the dethroned four-in-a-row champions Limerick fill the two remaining places through Nickie Quaid and Kyle Hayes.
O’Donnell, who was instrumental in Clare’s opening goal and finished with two points of his own, was named Hurler of the Year.
“Shane O’Donnell, throughout the year, was just phenomenal for Clare,” Galway great Joe Canning said.
“Maybe today wasn’t his best day, I think he was carrying a bit of an injury in the second half with his shoulder and he came off near the end with a bit of cramp.
“But the stuff he was doing throughout the Munster championship, and then the quarter-final and semi-final, and even today, when the need was most in the first half, he was just brilliant.”
Clare's Shane O'Donnell is named Hurler of the Year by The Sunday Game panel
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 21, 2024
📺 Watch The Sunday Game back on @RTEplayer pic.twitter.com/iyYuOw0DBS
The Sunday Game Hurling Team of the Year 2024
1. Nickie Quaid (Limerick)
2. Adam Hogan (Clare), 3. Eoin Downey (Cork), 4. Conor Leen (Clare)
5. David McInerney (Clare), 6. Robert Downey (Cork), 7. Kyle Hayes (Limerick)
8. Tony Kelly (Clare), 9. Darragh Fitzgibbon (Cork)
10. David Fitzgerald (Clare), 11. Shane Barrett (Cork), 12. Seamus Harnedy (Cork)
13. Mark Rodgers (Clare), 14. Shane O’Donnell (Clare), 15. Brian Hayes (Cork)
Hurler of the Year: Shane O’Donnell
— Updated 00.13: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Cork’s score as 1-24; they scored 1-34.
Catastrophic for Cork. Beat the best team in the championship twice but folded when the pressure was greatest. Clare took their chance and more power to them.
@Aidan Farrell: ‘folded’. You haven’t a notion
@Cian O: Cork have no All-Ireland but some of these Clare players have two. That’s all that matters.
@Aidan Farrell: They do but this one has a double asterisk, they wont care a jot but they lost to their greatest rivals twice in the championship and until they beat Limerick or at least add a Munster medal to the collection it will always remain.
@colmkearney39@hotmail.com: Look at the base of the Liam McCarthy Cup. It will say 2024 An Clár. There won’t be a single asterisk or a double asterisk beside it. Clare won the All Ireland. That’s all that counts.
@colmkearney39@hotmail.com: nonsense.
Gillane has to be in over Rodgers, and there’s 3 or 4 Kilkenny lads that are maybe hard done by. Between O’Donnell and Fitzgibbon for POTY for me, think O’Donnell deserved it and he’ll probably win the real thing in November too.
@Jack Dooley: drew with carlow, beat a bad Dublin team and through away a semi? Not sure about the Kilkenny lads. Paddy Deegan maybe
Score is wrong guys
When your man of the match in a high quality final your going to get allstar,if Cork had a player on day that played as good as he did the Liam Macathy be on Lee side this morning.
I was wondering to myself does Tony Kelly deserve an all star?
@James Murphy: that performance on Sunday up there with the best we’ve ever seen in a final I thought
@Stephen McGovern: I thought the same but that’s the only game