KILKENNY'S Eddie Keher has received this year's "Heroes of the Game" award. Instituted by Guinness 12 months ago, the first award went to Tipperary's John Doyle.

One of the most celebrated forwards in the game's history, Keher's senior career lasted nearly 20 years, starting in 1959 when he was brought on as a substitute in the All Ireland final replay in which Waterford beat Kilkenny.

Between 1963 and 75, he won six All Ireland medals and in the 10 finals he contested in his career, he accumulated a total of 7-74, an average of just under 10 points a final. In that last victory in 1975, he scored 2-7 against a Galway team featuring new GAA president Joe McDonagh.

He also won three National Hurling Leagues and nine Railway Cup medals. Individually, he won the Texaco Hurler of the Year in 1972 and having won an All Star in the scheme's inaugural year, went on to win another four in successive years, a record never equalled.