Fade to green. The Hurling Championship for the ages climaxed with yet another maniac, compelling conclusion as Limerick defeated Galway 3-16 to 2-18 in the All-Ireland Final at Croke Park.
Thus, it is time for the team of the year. The Sunday Game selection panel was made up of Brendan Cummins, Jackie Tyrell, Anthony Daly, Ken McGrath, Eddie Brennan, Cyril Farrell, Donal O'Grady. It finished with seven from Limerick, three from Galway, two from Clare and one from Kilkenny.
Given the competitive nature of this year's tournament the selection was always going to be contentious and so it proved.
1) Eoin Murphy - Kilkenny
2) Sean Finn - Limerick
3) Daithi Burke - Galway
4) Richie English - Limerick
5) Diarmuid Byrnes - Limerick
6) Declan Hannon - Limerick
7) Padriac Mannion - Galway
8) Darragh Fitzgibbon - Cork
9) Cian Lynch - Limerick
10) Peter Duggan - Clare
11) Joe Canning - Galway
12) Tom Morrissey - Limerick
13) Graeme Mulcahy - Limerick
14) John Conlon - Clare
15) Seamus Harnedy - Cork
Galway's Pádraic Mannion was voted player of the year.
A poor final showing from Galway's forward unit seems to have cost several players a spot. Cork captain Seamus Harnedy was rewarded after scoring 3-16 from play. Peter Duggan had a stormer for Clare this year while Eoin Murphy is rewarded after a stunning goalkeeping performance against Limerick.
