NEWLY-CROWNED ALL-IRELAND champions Clare lead the way with seven representatives on The Sunday Game’s Hurling Team of the Year, including the RTÉ panel’s Hurler of the Year, Shane O’Donnell.
The Banner edged a Croke Park classic against Cork after extra time on Sunday afternoon, winning their first All-Ireland title in 11 years by 3-29 to 1-34.
Runners-up Cork have six representatives on the team, including brothers Eoin and Robert Downey, while the dethroned four-in-a-row champions Limerick fill the two remaining places through Nickie Quaid and Kyle Hayes.
O’Donnell, who was instrumental in Clare’s opening goal and finished with two points of his own, was named Hurler of the Year.
“Shane O’Donnell, throughout the year, was just phenomenal for Clare,” Galway great Joe Canning said.
“Maybe today wasn’t his best day, I think he was carrying a bit of an injury in the second half with his shoulder and he came off near the end with a bit of cramp.
“But the stuff he was doing throughout the Munster championship, and then the quarter-final and semi-final, and even today, when the need was most in the first half, he was just brilliant.”
Clare's Shane O'Donnell is named Hurler of the Year by The Sunday Game panel
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 21, 2024
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The Sunday Game Hurling Team of the Year 2024
1. Nickie Quaid (Limerick)
2. Adam Hogan (Clare), 3. Eoin Downey (Cork), 4. Conor Leen (Clare)
5. David McInerney (Clare), 6. Robert Downey (Cork), 7. Kyle Hayes (Limerick)
8. Tony Kelly (Clare), 9. Darragh Fitzgibbon (Cork)
10. David Fitzgerald (Clare), 11. Shane Barrett (Cork), 12. Seamus Harnedy (Cork)
13. Mark Rodgers (Clare), 14. Shane O’Donnell (Clare), 15. Brian Hayes (Cork)
Hurler of the Year: Shane O’Donnell
— Updated 00.13: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Cork’s score as 1-24; they scored 1-34.
