No surprises as Tyrone dominate All-Stars
The 2005 Vodafone GAA All-Star Gaelic football team, announced tonight, contains representatives from just three different counties with All-Ireland champions Tyrone topping the list with eight players included.
It was Tyrone's biggest ever All-Star haul - 2003, the year of the county's first All-Ireland SFC win, saw seven Red Hands make the All-Star fifteen.
Tonight's All-Stars Gala banquet, held at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin, saw the lowest spread of counties in the football team since the awards' inception in 1971.
The selection was bossed by Tyrone, with retired centre forward Peter Canavan leading their eight award winners from 11 nominations. Beaten All-Ireland finalists Kerry, whose four representatives also made the 2004 team, and National League and Ulster champions Armagh, with three players included, completed the 15.
Predictably, Tyrone dominated the attacking sector, scooping four of the six forward positions on the team. The 34-year-old Canavan, winning his sixth All-Star since 1994, this year's captain Brian Dooher, All-Ireland final man-of-the-match Eoin Mulligan and Stephen O'Neill, the ‘05 championship's top scorer with 5-49, were all included up front.
International Rules players Ryan McMenamin (right full-back), Philip Jordan (left half-back) and Sean Cavanagh (midfielder) also claimed gongs for Tyrone, while Conor Gormley was the winner at centre half-back.
Cavanagh was Tyrone's only representative on last year's team. Indeed, only five players were winning successive awards. The Kerry quartet of goalkeeper Diarmuid Murphy, full-back Mike McCarthy, Tomás O'Sé, at right half-back, and right corner forward Colm Cooper also remain from 2004.
Andy Mallon (left corner back), Paul McGrane (midfield) and Steven McDonnell (left corner forward) were the Armagh players honoured.
Disappointed footballers dotted around the country are likely to include Derry's Paddy Bradley, who kicked 2-29 to finish as the 2005 championship's second highest scorer and was on the look-out for a first All-Star - so too young Laois attacker Ross Munnelly.
Dublin duo Stephen O'Shaughnessy and Bryan Cullen, Armagh 'keeper Paul Hearty and Cork midfielder Nicholas Murphy were also nominated, but overlooked.
2005 VODAFONE GAA FOOTBALL ALL-STARS:
Goalkeeper: Diarmuid Murphy (Kerry)
Right Corner-Back: Ryan McMenamin (Tyrone)
Full-Back: Mike McCarthy (Kerry)
Left Corner-Back: Andy Mallon (Armagh)
Right Half-Back: Tomás O'Sé (Kerry)
Centre Half-Back: Conor Gormley (Tyrone)
Left Half-Back: Philip Jordan (Tyrone)
Midfield: Sean Cavanagh (Tyrone)
Midfield: Paul McGrane (Armagh)
Right Half-Forward: Brian Dooher (Tyrone)
Centre Half-Forward: Peter Canavan (Tyrone)
Left Half-Forward: Eoin Mulligan (Tyrone)
Right Corner-Forward: Colm Cooper (Kerry)
Full-Forward: Stephen O'Neill (Tyrone)
Left Corner-Forward: Steven McDonnell (Armagh).
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