Tipperary men beat Cork 14-0

While Tipperary were yesterday rewarded for their All-Ireland success with 14 nominations for this year's All-Star hurling team, their Munster counterparts Cork failed to get a single player on the list.

As always, there is plenty of food for thought within the 45 nominations, but the absence of a Cork player is sure to be a sting on the All-Ireland champions of two years ago. The only other time the county lost out on a nomination was in 1996, the summer they suffered a 16-point loss to Limerick.

This summer Cork lost out to Limerick by a single point in the first round of the Munster championship, although it was widely perceived as one of the county's more disappointing afternoons of recent years.

There will be little complaint in Tipperary, however, as all but two of their All-Ireland winning team were nominated. Corner back Thomas Costello and corner forward Eugene O'Neill are the two players to lose out, while Brian O'Meara, who missed the All-Ireland final through suspension, still manages get a place among the forwards.

Eight counties in total were represented on the list, with Galway and Kilkenny the other main benefactors with eight nominations each.

Wexford received five nominations on the back of their spirited run to the semi-final, while Clare and Limerick both received four. Offaly and Waterford have to be satisfied with one nomination each.

This year's list also fails to include a nomination from any of the Ulster counties, or any other Leinster counties outside of Kilkenny, Wexford and Offaly.

Tipperary's nominations start with goalkeeper Brendan Cummins, who actually took the award last year. But he will face tough competition from Wexford's Damien Fitzhenry, as well as James McGarry of Kilkenny.

There are sure to be some fresh faces among the defenders, where Paul Kelly, one of the five Tipperary nominations, is among those in line to pick up his first honour.

Team captain Thomas Dunne is another certainty at midfield, where he has the potential to be partnered by Eddie Enright. There is also a strong chance that another of the Kelly family, Eoin, will get one of the forward awards.

For Galway, the beaten All-Ireland finalists, the eight nominations are evenly spread around the field. Ollie Canning, Cathal Moore and captain Liam Hodgins are the three defenders, while Richie Murray, somewhat surprisingly, got a midfield nomination ahead of David Tierney.

Both of the Kerins brothers Alan and Mark were nominated among the forwards, as was Eugene Cloonan and Kevin Broderick. But there was no place for Joe Rabbitte, an award winner last year, whose game failed to reach its full height this summer.

Wexford are also likely to get some sort of award out the field, especially defender Darragh Ryan and midfielder Larry O'Gorman. The Clare nominations of Brian Lohan, Frank Lohan, Seβn McMahon and James O'Connor are all previous winners, while Limerick's memorable summer is rewarded with nominations for defenders Mark Foley and Brian Geary and forwards Brian Begley and Ollie Moran.

DJ Carey is in line to pick up his ninth award, while Charlie Carter and Henry Shefflin are also in the hunt for another award. Offaly's and Waterford's sole nominations go to Johnny Dooley and Ken McGrath respectively.

Few of the Cork players will feel particularly snubbed by their lack of nomination, the only obvious exception being full back Diarmuid O'Sullivan, who did his best to inspire the team on the day, even contributing a memorable point from about 100 yards out.

The winners will be announced on Thursday, November 29th - the day before the football winners are announced live at the 2001 Awards banquet.

All-Star Hurling Nominations

GOALKEEPERS: Brendan Cummins (Tipperary); Damien Fitzhenry (Wexford); James McGarry (Kilkenny).

DEFENDERS: Philip Maher (Tipperary); Paul Ormond (Tipperary); Eamonn Corcoran (Tipperary); Paul Kelly (Tipperary); David Kennedy (Tipperary); Ollie Canning (Galway); Cathal Moore (Galway); Liam Hodgins (Galway); Seβn McMahon (Clare); Brian Lohan (Clare); Frank Lohan (Clare); Darragh Ryan (Wexford); David O'Connor (Wexford); Michael Kavanagh (Kilkenny); Philip Larkin (Kilkenny); Eamon Kennedy (Kilkenny); Mark Foley (Limerick); Brian Geary (Limerick).

MIDFIELD: Thomas Dunne (Tipperary); Eddie Enright (Tipperary); Larry O'Gorman (Wexford); Adrian Fenton (Wexford); Richie Murray (Galway); Johnny Dooley (Offaly).

FORWARDS: Mark O'Leary (Tipperary); Eoin Kelly (Tipperary); John Carroll (Tipperary); Brian O'Meara (Tipperary); Declan Ryan (Tipperary); Lar Corbett (Tipperary); Charlie Carter (Kilkenny); DJ Carey (Kilkenny); Henry Shefflin (Kilkenny); John Power (Kilkenny); Eugene Cloonan (Galway); Mark Kerins (Galway); Kevin Broderick (Galway); Alan Kerins (Galway); Brian Begley (Limerick); Ollie Moran (Limerick); James O'Connor (Clare); Ken McGrath (Waterford).