AIB Club Hurling Team: Sarsfields trio make the cut

Sarsfields players Cathal McCarthy, Daniel Kearney and Jack O’Connor have been chosen on the AIB GAA Club Hurling Team of The Year for the 2024-25 season.

Unsurprisingly, Dublin’s Na Fianna, who were so impressive in beating Sars in January’s All-Ireland final at Croke Park, have eight representatives on the team, while the Riverstown outfit and the Derry and Ulster champions Slaughtneil – whom they squeezed past in the semi-final – have three each.

That leaves one remaining spot but, rather than that going to the Galway and Connacht standard-bearers Loughrea, instead Ballygunner goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe is chosen, after his heroics helped the Waterford side past Doon in the Munster semi-final before their reign as provincial kingpins was ended so emphatically by Sarsfields.

McCarthy had been chosen on the Cork panel at the beginning of 2024 but was unable to make an impact due to a shoulder injury. That prevented him from featuring for Sars until a couple of substitute appearances in the latter stages of the Co-op SuperStores Premier SHC as they reached the county final only to lose to Imokilly.

Freshness was certainly on his side as he formed a dynamic midfield partnership with his cousin Colm as Sars saw off Feakle of Clare and then Ballygunner to claim the club’s first Munster title at the sixth time of asking.

He partners Brian Ryan of Na Fianna at midfield on the team while Daniel Kearney is chosen at right half-forward. While he is 35 since December, Kearney shows few if any signs of age and he was just as influential during Sars’ run as he was in any of the five county championship-winning seasons since the club ended a 51-year wait in 2008, when he was just a teenager.

Four points from play against Ballygunner were of huge importance to Sars, while he acquitted himself better than most in the All-Ireland final, despite Na Fianna’s supremacy almost throughout, scoring three points including a 65.

The final score that day was 2-23 to 0-20 and five of the Sars points came courtesy of O’Connor, all from open play. That followed 0-4 against Slaughtneil, 1-2 against Ballygunner and 0-4 against Feakle, a total of 1-15 across four games after notching 0-18 in the five county championship matches that Sars played.

O’Connor has also been nominated for club hurler of the year, along with the Na Fianna pair of midfielder Brian Ryan and full-forward AJ Murphy.

AIB GAA CLUB HURLING TEAM OF THE YEAR 2024-25: Stephen O’Keeffe (Ballygunner); Fionn McEldowney (Slaughtneil), Conor McHugh (Na Fianna), Kevin Burke (Na Fianna); Paul O’Dea (Na Fianna), Liam Rushe (Na Fianna), Shane McGuigan (Slaughtneil); Brian Ryan (Na Fianna), Cathal McCarthy (Sarsfields); Daniel Kearney (Sarsfields), Brendan Rogers (Slaughtneil), Ciarán Stacey (Na Fianna); Colin Currie (Na Fianna), AJ Murphy (Na Fianna), Jack O’Connor (Sarsfields).