A number of players can count themselves unlucky to miss out on this selection but on teams like these, the competition is stiff and there are always going to be hard luck stories. So let’s not beat around the bush.

At the top of the list of notable absentees is Seamus Flanagan. In a toss-up, the Feoghanagh-Castlemahon man just lost out to Patrick Horgan and his team-mate Peter Casey. Likewise, and while he was very impressive in the All-Ireland final, Hegarty, by his standards, didn’t have a show-stopping 2021. So Tony Kelly gets the nod instead.

Seamus Harnedy and Mark Coleman were brilliant, but they were not as good as Declan Hannon and Tom Morrissey. Darragh O’Donovan hardly put a foot wrong, but William O’Donoghue and Jamie Barron, by this writer’s estimation anyway, were marginally more effective. Tony Kelly, Diarmuid Byrnes, Robbie O’Flynn, Jason Forde and Shane Kingston also miss out, but only just.

1 Eoin Murphy (Kilkenny)

2 Sean Finn (Limerick)

3 Dan Morrissey (Limerick)

4 Barry Nash (Limerick)

5 Kyle Hayes (Limerick)

6 Declan Hannon (Limerick)

7 Diarmaid Byrnes (Limerick)

8 Jamie Barron (Waterf0rd)

9 William O’Donoghue (Limerick)

10 Gearoid Hegarty (Limerick)

11 Cian Lynch (Limerick)

He's the Hurler of the Year in waiting because the man is a total magician 🏆 pic.twitter.com/vbMD574O2O

— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) August 22, 2021

12 Tom Morrissey (Limerick)

13 Peter Casey (Limerick)

14 Seamus Flanagan (Limerick)

15 Aaron Gillane (Limerick)

Hurler of the Year

Cian Lynch. No explanation needed.

Young Hurler of the Year

Eoin Cody (Kilkenny)

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