Seán Moran
Hurler of the year: Tipperary have a couple of candidates in the nuclear winter of Cork’s All-Ireland fallout. Ronan Maher gets it here for leadership and his defensive performances, taking on and dismantling key opposition threats, in the team’s gravity-defying phase, culminating in Sunday’s final.
Match of the year: Tipperary 3-27 Cork 1-18. More recency bias but this was the most extraordinary All-Ireland final. An underdog has never reared up with such ferocity, driven by such an abundance of outstanding performances. Devastatingly perfect timing.
Memorable moment: The neutrino of 2025’s universe, Croke Park on May 21st: The 34 seconds in which 14-man Dublin beat Limerick with goals by John Hetherton and Cian O’Sullivan. “What is happening here?” cried Darragh Moloney. Answer: the reshaping of the whole championship.
Biggest disappointment: The disparity between the provinces and not just in terms of All-Ireland domination. Leinster needs less predictability and better atmosphere. This year, even the reliable Wexford-Kilkenny fixture turned into a dead rubber. Despite a sixth title, Kilkenny ended the year in gloomy introspection.
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In 2026 I would like to see... The end of the McDonagh Cup anomaly, which sees preliminary quarter-finals needlessly extending the season. Promotion should mean for the following year. Jarlath Burns is pushing the idea and the hope is that it will be implemented in time for next summer.
Denis Walsh
Hurler of the year: Ronan Maher’s performance in the final on Brian Hayes may have tilted it in his favour ahead of Jake Morris, who was good in the final without reaching the heights of other performances this season.
Best game: Unlike recent seasons there were no stone cold classics but the Munster final was compelling and dramatic with a heady mix of brilliance and mistakes and razor like tension.
Memorable moment: Sean Brennan’s point blank save from Aaron Gillane was the pivotal moment in Dublin’s sensational victory over Limerick. A goal for Limerick then and the jig was up.
Biggest disappointment: The Leinster championship, with its glut of Saturday afternoon/teatime fixtures, its small crowds and predictable results was downbeat from start to finish.
In 2026 I would like to see… Just an extra week in the schedule to give the provincial championships more room to breathe and to avoid attractive fixtures crawling all over each other.
Malachy Clerkin
Hurler of the year: John McGrath. Scored 7-16 from play and did it in the biggest games – two goals against Limerick on the opening day, two against Clare in Munster, one in the All-Ireland semi-final, two in the final. Without his class, composure and deadly finishing, Tipp wouldn’t be champions.
Best game: Dublin v Limerick, All-Ireland quarter-final. Even now, a month later, it still seems so improbable. Dublin putting it up to Limerick wasn’t on anyone’s radar. Dublin doing so with such a key figure as Chris Crummey sent off in the first half is an outlandish notion. Yet they did it, in the shock of the summer.
Memorable Moment: Darragh McCarthy standing his ground as Damien Cahalane bullocked towards him in the final, getting poleaxed by a frontal charge before bouncing to his feet and giving a double fist-pump when he knew he’d won his free. And then slotting said free. Summed up his defiance on the biggest day of his young life.
Biggest disappointment: Clare’s defence of the All-Ireland never got going. Unable to shake off a bad league, their only win came in the final game of Munster against a weakened Limerick team. It was all too late by then.
In 2026 I would like to see... Dublin win Leinster. They have the players, they have the manager, the Limerick win shows they can keep pace with the big boys. So why should they have anything to fear from Kilkenny and Galway?
Gordon Manning
Hurler of the year: Cork would have had more leading contenders for this award ahead of the final but Ronan Maher’s display of leadership in the decider capped off what had been a brilliant season by the Thurles man. His versatility to move between the full and half-back lines was key to keeping Tipp’s defence organised, with the team captain providing a solid platform from which the Premier embarked on a six-game winning streak.
Best game: The Munster final was a madcap, epic game of hurling at the Gaelic Grounds. Finishing level after extra time before Cork won out on penalties, it started in sunlight and it ended in twilight. As a sporting spectacle this contest had everything – skill, drama, excitement, controversy. Both teams were out on their feet at the end, but they had truly hoisted the game of hurling upon their shoulders that day.
Memorable moment: It will be a long time before any poll of the top five hurling shocks doesn’t include Dublin’s 2025 All-Ireland quarter-final victory over Limerick. Dublin were reduced to 14 men when Chris Crummey was sent off after quarter of an hour but the Dubs still somehow managed to produce a stunning performance to beat one of the greatest hurling teams of all time. In terms of memorable moments, Kildare’s Joe McDonagh Cup final win over Laois is a close second to Dublin’s triumph over Limerick.
Biggest disappointment: The All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals have become a needless blight on the championship. Kildare’s season was so positive but nobody benefited from the Lilywhites losing to Dublin by 21 points. Tipp beat Laois 3-32 to 0-18 in the other prelim. It was, predictably, a wasted weekend for hurling. And only a tad more disappointing than Galway’s lacklustre season.
In 2026 I would like to see... TJ Reid in black and amber, Noel McGrath in blue and gold, Patrick Horgan in the blood and bandages. To paraphrase a popular advertisement phrase – when they’re gone, they’re gone. We have all been fortunate to watch three of the greats display their talents for well over a decade now but there are doubts as to whether any of the trio will remain intercounty hurlers in 2026. For all fans of hurling, let’s hope they give it one more year.
Ian O’Riordan
Hurler of the year: The seismic shift of second-half momentum in Sunday’s final showdown had the last word on this, when Ronan Maher spear-headed Tipperary’s ruthless surge for glory. At the same time as the Cork contenders dropped off, Maher’s leadership only added to his already all-round superb season.
Best game: For all the unease about the Munster hurling final being decided on penalties, who could forget the longest game of the summer as it seemed to stretch forever into the first Saturday evening in June? Countless times, both teams had their opportunity to win, but Cork held their nerve when it mattered most – in the penalty shoot-out.
Memorable moment: Any one of John McGrath’s goals for Tipperary over the course of the summer could lay claim on this one, but there was something about his movement on Sunday which will live long in the memory. The way he read the ball for his second goal was pure magic.
Biggest disappointment: More of the colour and competitiveness appears to be going out of the Leinster hurling championship, and there is no quick or easy solution. Dublin’s quarter-final revolution against Limerick offers some hope for next year, but the province needs Wexford to be shining more consistently again, and for Galway to start standing up again for real.
In 2026 I would like to see... There has been mention (whisper it Jarlath Burns) of getting rid of the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals, which have become something of an annual mismatch. Either way, there is unquestionably a need and want to stretch out the championship summer by at least another week or two, to give us all more time to breathe.
And finally
At the start of the year, we asked a selection of pundits and writers to gaze into their crystal balls for the year ahead. Suffice to say, given the season they had endured in 2024 no one plumped for Tipperary getting their hands on the Liam MacCarthy, with Cork being tipped to finally end their drought while Limerick and Clare also featured prominently. What do we know, eh…
