Champion 15 Awards

The official Champion 15 Awards are presented annually to players in the sport of hurling. The awards were instituted in 2005. They have been presented in various guises since then. Below is a partial list of past winners.

2005–2017

The Christy Ring Cup Champion 15 Awards were presented between 2005 and 2017, during the period when the Christy Ring Cup allowed competitors direct entry to the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Unlike the All Star Awards, the 15 players selected were not chosen by position and players received nominations at the end of each game from opposing team managers. Under the selection format, the competition winner had three players honoured, while two players from each of the two semi-finalists and two players the other finalist were also recognised, in addition to one player from each of the other participating county teams. Champion 15 Awards for the Nicky Rackard Cup and Lory Meagher Cup were also awarded at various times during this period, such as in 2010, shortly after the latter's establishment.

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Separate teams for the Ring, Rackard and Meagher Cups were announced in December 2010.[1]

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Since 2018

The Joe McDonagh Cup began in 2018, replacing the Christy Ring Cup in allowing competitors direct entry to the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. The team selected was initially referred to as "Champion 15", but later became "Team of the Year". However, that selection is also still referred to as a "Champion 15" by official sources.[5]

Champion 15 Awards continued to be given after the intent of the original was subsumed by the Joe McDonagh Cup Team of the Year. They have been presented to the players at the main Hurling All Stars event, held at the Convention Centre Dublin (such as in 2019),[6] or, separately, at their own event (as in 2024 and 2025).[7][8]

2018

The 2018 Champion 15 selection excluded the Christy Ring Cup, which continued to receive its own selection for that year only. This meant it was possible to include for the first time on the main Champion 15 selection a player each from lesser teams like Cavan and Fermanagh, who were involved in the 2018 Lory Meagher Cup, and were the only two teams not to make it to the final. Fermanagh's Ryan Bogue was selected, as was Kevin Connelly for Cavan. The 2018 selection was not assigned numbers and was presented similarly to the original Christy Ring Cup Champion 15 Awards.

2019

In a change from previous years, the Champion 15 players were selected from 45 nominations, with journalists and referees also involved in a committee to choose the team.[9]

No team was selected from those competing in the Joe McDonagh Cup in 2019, although Paddy Purcell was named as that competition's Hurler of the Year.[10] Instead, Enda Rowland and Jack Kelly of Laois received All Star nominations.[11]

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

References

  1. ^ "Champion 15 teams announced". Breaking News. 7 December 2010. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012.
  2. ^ "Christy Ring, Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Champion 15 Awards | Daily News | GAA News | GAA.ie". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Champions 15 winners announced for Ring, Rackard and Meagher Cups". Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Champions 15 award winners named | Daily News | GAA News | GAA.ie". Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  5. ^ For example: "Joe McDonagh Cup Team of the Year announced". 19 October 2022. The Antrim hurlers are the dominant presence in the Joe McDonagh Team of the Year with the reigning champions claiming seven slots in this Champion 15.
  6. ^ "Ring, Rackard and Meagher Champion 15 nominees announced". 21 October 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d e Moran, Seán (11 October 2024). "Down forward Pat Havern named Tailteann Footballer of the Year: Offaly's Charlie Mitchell wins equivalent hurling award after been[sic] selected as Man of the Match in the McDonagh Cup final". The Irish Times.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Kildare pair Alex Beirne and Cian Boran land player of year awards". RTÉ. 17 October 2025.
  9. ^ See reference beneath team.
  10. ^ "Champion 15 team and Player of the Year winners revealed". Hogan Stand. 1 November 2019. Hurlers from the McDonagh Cup were considered alongside players from the GAA All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships with two of them making the list of All-Stars nominations.
  11. ^ O'Riordan, Ian (26 September 2019). "Champions Tipperary have 11 names on All-Star shortlist: Beaten finalists Kilkenny are next best represented with nine players nominated for an award". The Irish Times. Laois are also duly rewarded for their Joe McDonagh Cup winning season with two nominations, both goalkeeper Enda Rowland and defender Jack Kelly making the 45-man cut after a campaign that also included a championship win over provincial rivals Dublin.
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