2009 GAA All Stars touring party finalised

PRESS RELEASE

04.12.09

GAA All Stars, sponsored by Vodafone Ireland, touring party to Buenos Aires finalised

Replacements added as Brian Cody and Liam Sheedy also announced as managers of the 2008 and ’09 teams

The touring party for the 2009 GAA Hurling All Stars, sponsored by Vodafone, has been confirmed, with a spread of hurlers from eight counties added as replacements. Four in a row All-Ireland winning Kilkenny manager Brian Cody will manage the 2008 selection while 2009 All-Ireland final manager Liam Sheedy will oversee the challenge of the 2009 team. This year’s tour will leave Dublin on Wednesday next for the week long trip and the highlight will be provided by the clash of the two travelling teams on Saturday evening December 12 at the Hurling Club, Hurlingham, Buenos Aires.

A total of 32 players will make up the All Stars touring party and they have been drawn from eight counties. Of those, 12 players have been added as replacements, with four of those from Kilkenny, two from Waterford and one each from Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Offaly and Tipperary. Kilkenny’s dominance of the hurling championship over the past four years is reflected in the inclusion of 13 of their players. Tipperary and Waterford will each have five players travelling, Galway with three, Dublin and Cork with two each and Offaly and Limerick with one each.

Four players are unable to travel due to family, work and exam commitments. They are Kilkenny’s Noel Hickey and Henry Shefflin and Tipperary’s Shane McGrath and Conor O’Mahony. Cork’s Diarmuid Kirwan, who took charge of the 2009 All Ireland Final, has been confirmed as the match referee. He will be joined on the tour by this year’s All Ireland football final referee Marty Duffy.

Speaking ahead of the tour, Uachtarán CLG Criostóir Ó Cuana said: “I am really looking forward to what is my first GAA All Stars tour as President of the Association. The All Stars tour occupies a special place in the GAA calendar as it allows us to honour the stars of the championship season for their wonderful displays while at the same time providing ex-pats with a real slice of home in the run up to Christmas. “We are going to one of the world’s top cities, where there is a strong Irish community and tradition and if the experiences of the touring party of 2002 are anything to go by, it should be a really special trip.” Consumer Director for sponsors Vodafone Carolan Lennon said: “This is Vodafone’s thirteenth year as All Stars sponsors and we are very excited about the tour. It is a great and much deserved break for the players and I have no doubt there will be a very special welcome for them from the Irish community in Buenos Aires.”

Players Travelling:

Double All Stars (2008 and 2009)

Tommy Walsh (Kilkenny)

Eoin Larkin (Kilkenny)

Joe Canning (Galway)

Jackie Tyrell (Kilkenny)

2008 All Stars

Brendan Cummins (Tipperary)

Michael Kavanagh (Kilkenny)

JJ Delaney (Kilkenny)

James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick (Kilkenny)

Ben O’Connor (Cork)

Eddie Brennan (Kilkenny)

Eoin Kelly (Waterford)

2009 All Stars

PJ Ryan (Kilkenny)

Ollie Canning (Galway)

Padraig Maher (Tipperary)

Michael Walsh (Waterford)

Michael Rice (Kilkenny)

Alan McCrabbe (Dublin)

Lar Corbett (Tipperary)

Noel McGrath (Tipperary)

John Mullane (Waterford)

Replacements

Sean Og O’hAilpin (Cork)

Stephen Hiney (Dublin)

Fergal Moore (Galway)

Tony Browne (Waterford)

Mark Foley (Limerick)

Richie Power (Kilkenny)

Brian Carroll (Offaly)

Eoin Kelly (Tipperary)

Eoin McGrath (Waterford)

Martin Comerford (Kilkenny)

Brian Hogan (Kilkenny)

Aidan Fogarty (Kilkenny)

2009/2009 Hurling All Stars not travelling due to family, work and exam commitments Noel Hickey (Kilkenny Conor O’Mahony (Tipperary) Shane McGrath (Tipperary) Henry Shefflin (Kilkenny)

All Stars Managers:

Brian Cody (Kilkenny)

Liam Sheedy (Tipperary)

All Stars referees:

Diarmuid Kirwan (Cork)

Marty Duffy (Sligo)