The GAA/GPA Player of the Month is a Gaelic games award that recognises the best hurler each month of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each of the monthly award winners are selected by members of the Gaelic Players' Association from a shortlist nominated by an independent panel, made up of four former players. [1] The awards scheme is officially known as the PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month.
While Vodafone had sponsored the All-Stars monthly awards scheme, the Gaelic Players' Association introduced their own awards in 2006. These were sponsored by Opel. Both the All-Stars and the GPA awards merged in 2011. [2] Mark Foley was the inaugural recipient in April 2006 for his "outstanding corner-back play" during Limerick's unbeaten run to the National Hurling League final.
Tony Kelly has been Player of the Month the most with four awards. Two players have won the award in consecutive months; John Mullane in 2009, and Ger Farragher in 2010. They, along with Patrick Horgan in 2019, are also the only players to have won two awards in a single season.
As of May 2024, the most recent recipient of the award is midfielder Darragh Fitzgibbon who plays for Cork.
The below table lists those who have won on more than one occasion.
* | Indicates current championship player |
County | Wins |
---|---|
Kilkenny | 14 |
Waterford | 14 |
Limerick | 14 |
Clare | 14 |
Tipperary | 12 |
Galway | 10 |
Cork | 9 |
Dublin | 4 |
Laois | 3 |
Wexford | 2 |
Westmeath | 1 |
Antrim | 1 |
County | Wins |
---|---|
Ballyhale Shamrocks | 7 |
Patrickswell | 6 |
De La Salle | 4 |
Ballyea | 4 |
St. Patrick's | 3 |
Portumna | 3 |
Thurles Sarsfield's | 3 |
Glen Rovers | 3 |
Éire Óg | 3 |
Ballyboden St. Enda's | 2 |
Castlegar | 2 |
Tullaroan | 2 |
Lismore | 2 |
Clough/Ballacolla | 2 |
Mount Sion | 2 |
Drom-Inch | 2 |
Loughmore-Castleiney | 2 |
The Nire-Fourmilewater | 2 |
Ballysaggart | 2 |
Cratloe | 2 |
Clonlara | 2 |
The Gaelic Athletic Association-Gaelic Players' Association All Stars Awards are awarded annually to the best player in each of the 15 playing positions in Gaelic football and hurling. Additionally, one player in each code is selected as Player of the Year.
The GAA–GPA All-Star Hurler of the Year is a hurling award presented to the player voted as best in the country by all the players from around Ireland. It began in 1995 and honours the achievements of a hurler of outstanding excellence.
The Gaelic Athletic Association & Gaelic Player's Association All Stars Footballer of the Year — known for sponsorship reasons as the PwC GAA/GPA Footballer of the Year — is a Gaelic football award. It is presented annually to the footballer who performed outstandingly in that year's All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.
The Gaelic Athletic Association/Gaelic Players Association Young Hurler of the Year is an annual award given to the player aged 21 or under at the start of the season who is adjudged to have been the best during the All-Ireland Championship. The award has been presented since the 1996 All-Ireland Championship and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, the Gaelic Players Association (GPA). The first winner of the award was Limerick defender Mark Foley. The current holder is Adrian Mullen, who won the award for Kilkenny GAA in 2019. The only 2 players to ever win the award twice are Eoin Kelly, who won it in both 2001 and 2002 and Eoin Cody, 2020 and 2021.
Patrick Bradley is an Irish sportsman who plays Gaelic football for John Mitchel's Glenullin and the Derry county team. With the county he has won two National League titles, and individually an All Stars Award for his performance in the 2007 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.
Bernard Brogan is a Gaelic footballer from the St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh club who previously played for the Dublin county team. He is originally from the Battery Heights. From a famous footballing family, he is the son of former All-Ireland winning and All Star player Bernard Brogan Snr and is the brother of former Dublin players Alan and Paul. His uncle Jim was also an inter-county footballer for Dublin. Alongside most of his family, Brogan has attended St. Declan's College on Navan Road.
Seán Cavanagh is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for the Moy Tír Na nÓg club and for the Tyrone county team. He is a five-time All Star winner. He won All-Ireland Championships for Tyrone at minor level and three times at senior level, and captained Ireland in the International Rules Series.
Richard Hogan is an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder at senior level for the Kilkenny county team from 2007 until 2023.
The 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 114th staging of Ireland's premier hurling competition since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. A total of thirteen teams competed in the championship, with Tipperary unseating the four-time defending champions Kilkenny by 4-17 to 1-18 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin. The championship began on 22 May 2010 and concluded on 5 September 2010.
The 2011 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final took place in Croke Park, Dublin on Sunday, 4 September 2011. The final was contested by Kilkenny and defending champions, Tipperary. Kilkenny were playing in their sixth final in a row, while the pairing of Kilkenny and Tipperary was the first ever time that the same two teams have played in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final for three years in a row. Kilkenny won their fifth title in six years after a four-point win against Tipperary, avenging their 2010 defeat. The final which was shown live in Ireland on RTÉ2 attracted the second highest ever viewership for an All Ireland Hurling Final, peaking at 1.1 million viewers in the final minutes. An average audience of 971,000 viewers tuned into the game overall.
The 2012 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 125th staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The draw for the 2012 fixtures took place on 6 October 2011. The championship began on 19 May 2012 and ended on 30 September 2012.
The 2012 season was Declan Ryan's second year in charge of the Tipperary team, the second year of his initial two-year term since succeeding Liam Sheedy. In January the management appointed Paul Curran of Mullinahone as new captain and Pádraic Maher of Thurles Sarsfields as vice captain for 2012 season. On 6 February 2012, forward Lar Corbett announced his withdrawal from the Tipperary hurling panel for the 2012 season due to work commitments. On 13 May 2012, it was announced by Tipperary that Corbett had returned to the Tipperary Senior Hurling panel. On 24 June he made his comeback coming on as a substitute in the first half against Cork in the 2012 Munster Hurling Semi-Final as Tipperary won by 1–22 to 0–24.
The 2013 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 126th staging of the All-Ireland championship since its establishment in 1887. The draw for the 2013 fixtures took place on 4 October 2012. The championship began on 5 May 2013 and ended on 28 September 2013 with Clare winning their fourth All Ireland title after a 5–16 to 3–16 win against Cork in the replayed final.
Cillian O'Connor is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Ballintubber and the Mayo county team. O'Connor is the leading all-time top scorer in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Aidan O'Shea (born 29 June 1990) is a Gaelic footballer who plays for Breaffy and the Mayo county team. He is captain of the senior team at Breaffy.
The 2013 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 127th edition of the GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament, played between 31 counties of Ireland, London and New York. The 2013 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was contested by Dublin and Mayo at Croke Park on 22 September 2013, with Dublin winning by 2:12 to Mayo's 1:14.
The 2013 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, the deciding game of the 2013 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, was played on 8 September 2013 at Croke Park, Dublin. For the second straight year, the final ended in a draw, requiring a replay that was held on 28 September 2013 at Croke Park.
Jack McCaffrey is a Gaelic footballer who plays for Clontarf.
Gearóid M. Hegarty is an Irish hurler and Gaelic footballer who plays as a right wing-forward for club side St Patrick's and at inter-county level with the Limerick senior hurling team. He is a former member of the Limerick senior football team.