Fitzhenry and Comerford recognised by their peers

GAELIC GAMES/Hurling GPA All Stars:The last thing the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) would want with their Opel Team of the Year announcements is for a quick comparison with the GAA All Stars, but of course that's inevitable.

The GPA's hurling selection, announced yesterday, shows four changes from the GAA selection, though none too surprising.

Given the GPA selection is based on the votes of players, and the All Stars on the votes of the media, there is some argument for it being more representative of the true team of the year.

Anyway, the four players to make the GPA selection and not the All Star selection are goalkeeper Damien Fitzhenry of Wexford, full back Stephen Lucey of Limerick, wing back Mark Foley of Limerick and forward Martin Comerford of Kilkenny. The players who make way are Brian Murray of Limerick, Declan Fanning of Tipperary, Tony Browne of Waterford and Stephen Molumphy of Waterford.

Like the All Stars, just four counties are represented, but with Fitzhenry named in goal, those counties are Kilkenny, Limerick, Waterford and Wexford, while Tipperary were represented on the All Stars.

The GPA selection is also more reflective of the outcome of the championship, with All-Ireland winners Kilkenny leading the way with seven players: Michael Kavanagh, Jackie Tyrell, Tommy Walsh, James "Cha" Fitzpatrick, Eddie Brennan, Henry Shefflin and Comerford.

Beaten All-Ireland finalists Limerick have four players: Stephen Lucey, Mark Foley, Ollie Moran and Andrew O'Shaughnessy. The rest come from beaten semi-finalists Waterford, who have Ken McGrath, Michael Walsh and Dan Shanahan included, and Wexford's Fitzhenry.

Comerford's omission from the All Star selection was one of the more controversial decisions, and his election to GPA team reflects his popularity among the players. Fitzhenry was also known to have come close to the All Star team given his typically reliable goalkeeping.

Waterford had more representatives than Limerick on the All Stars (five against three), while Kilkenny provided one fewer. Once again, however, there is no room for any Cork or Galway player, and there can be no accusations of bias, or lack of it, as the chairman of the hurling selection committee was Donal O'Grady, the former Cork manager.

"As a committee we made sure that the three most deserving nominees were picked for each position on the team," said O'Grady. "I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the recipients on this year's team. To be honoured by your peers is one of the highest accolades available in hurling."

GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell also highlighted the honour of being chosen on a team of the year ultimately decided by the players: "This endorsement from their fellow players, next to an All-Ireland medal, is the most prestigious award for an individual hurler, but while recognising these outstanding achievements we must also acknowledge the contribution of all their team-mates during this year's thrilling championship."

Like the All Stars, the GPA will present their players of the year at the annual players banquet, set for November 2nd, with the football team of the year due to be announced tomorrow.