Following on from yesterdays discussion and how Tom Kenny was underrated when it came to accolades considering his contribution to the Cork team that competed in 4 A/I finals I have put together a list of players from pretty much every all ireland winning team this century. The main criteria being that they either never won an all star or won only 1 all star and were a relatively key figure in their team when they won the A/I. I have excluded the likes of Kyle Hayes and Conor Whelan due to the fact that they both won YHOTY in the season their team won the A/I.
Which player deserved more fanfare for their contribution to their side?
- John Hoyne - Kilkenny early 2000s
- James Ryall - Kilkenny mid 2000s
- Aidan Fogarty - Kilkenny Late 2000s
- Conor Fogarty mid 2010s
- Tom Kenny - Cork 2004 & 2005
- Timmy McCarthy - Cork 2004 & 2005
- Eamon Corcoran - Tipp 2001
- Declan Fanning - Tipperary 2010
- Dan McCormack - late 2010s
- Patrick O’Connor - Clare 2013
- Aidan Harte - Galway 2017
- Nickey Quaid - Limerick 2018
Eamonn Corcoran was a fine player but he won his All Star in the same year he won the All Ireland so not sure he should count
I went for Declan Fanning - he was excellent in the 2010 final but lost out to Tommy Walsh, Brick and JJ Delaney for an all star. A real no nonsense stopper of a hurler. Won his all star at full back in 2007.
Not a stylish hurler but a great bit of stuff than every side could do with. Kenny and Conor Fogarty probably next on the list, Fogarty’s willingness to go do the dirty work and cover ground was central to that Kilkenny side which made three finals in a row winning two.
Great to see how forum heavyweights @Halfpipe and myself votes hold more influence other such ne’er do wells
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Went for Conor Fogarty, excellent since getting into the team in the mid 10s I think
Think it was @Bandage put up the video of the goals from 2004 yesterday, Timmy McCarthy had a goal at the end of it, I’d nearly forgotten all about him, he was almost a proto-Bonner Maher for Cork as I remember it - an ugly player but important.
Was Niall McCarthy underrated?
I think if Timmy Mac had a better helmet people might have taken him more seriously
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You could make a case for Niall as well, he was a pure workhorse but i went for Timmy as he was there in 1999 as well and never won an All Star while Niall did.
Timmy was a serious athlete and he was a decent striker of a ball with a great attitude/workrate. He could be awfully braindead at times though
Corcoran surely had plenty of recognition, he was excellent. Tom Kenny for his contribution over a sustained period and lack of all stars fits this bill perfectly.
My auld lad was always absolutely mystified that Timmy McCarthy not only managed to make it as an inter county hurler but thereafter continued to get his place.
From memory he was subbed off a lot (probably because he’d been working like a dog) and the father would always say “about fucking time”. A lot of it was probably unseen work, but he did seem to be fairly useless at times
Tom Kenny was never underrated, he just played in position which made it difficult to win All Stars.
From what i recall he was occasionally dropped, normally after a flat team performance or defeat and the lad replacing him - normally a Kieran Fraggy or Hero Murphy, Niall Ronan or a Cian O’Connor type would come in and the game would completely pass them by and the bold Timmy would be back in the side half way through the second half and starting the next day again
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One of the key differences between 2009 and 10 was that Fanning was out on his feet for the last ten minutes in 09. I think twas him who fell for the second Kilkenny goal. The selectors remarked privately afterwards that they should have taken him off. They didn’t make the same mistake the following year. I think twas Davy Young who came in for him to see it out that day, although the game was nearly done at that stage
We found it hard to replace him for a few years. A few considered Seamus Hennessy as someone who could have slotted into half back line but injuries put an end to that
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A bit of the Glenn Whelans about him.
As Tony Pullis said the greatest compliment I could pay him was I kept trying to replace him and never could
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Did Youngs lower the blade when he came on in the 2010 final or is that another game I am thinking of when he came on as a late sub
That was the game. He said afterwards he saw a glimpse of the red card as the ref took out the book and nearly shit his togs 
