THE TRADITIONAL FINAL – and sometimes fraught – act of the football championship on the Sunday Game is the selection of the Team of the Year along with the show’s crowning of the Footballer of the Year.
This year’s 15-man selection was drawn entirely from the All-Ireland semi-finalists, with Dublin the best-represented with six players, followed by another five from Kerry and a trio from Derry along with one player from Monaghan.
Dublin duo Cormac Costello and Brian Howard were deemed the most unlucky to miss out, with honourable mentions also going to Gavin White of Kerry, Roscommon’s Enda Smith, and Tyrone’s Darragh Canavan.
The Footballer of the Year gong, meanwhile, went down to a choice between two players: James McCarthy and David Clifford. It ultimately went to McCarthy, whom Tomás O’Sé hailed as Dublin’s greatest-ever player.
Sunday Game Football Team of the Year – 2023
- Stephen Cluxton (Dublin)
- Michael Fitzsimons (Dublin) Conor McCluskey (Derry), Tom O’Sullivan (Kerry)
- James McCarthy (Dublin), Tadhg Morley (Kerry), Conor McCarthy (Monaghan)
- Brian Fenton (Dublin), Brendan Rodgers (Derry)
- Paul Mannion (Dublin), Sean O’Shea (Kerry), Paudie Clifford (Kerry)
- David Clifford (Kerry), Shane McGuigan (Derry), Colm Basquel (Dublin)
Sunday Game Footballer of the Year – 2023
James McCarthy (Dublin)
