Clifford and McGrath win Player of the Year awards

Kerry's David Clifford has been named 2025 Footballer of the Year while Tipperary’s John McGrath has collected the Hurler of the Year award at the PwC All-Star Awards ceremony at the RDS tonight.

The Young Hurler of the Year award also headed to the All-Ireland champions as Darragh McCarthy triumphed, while beaten football finalists Donegal had reason to celebrate as Finnbarr Roarty was honoured.

Clifford saw off competition from Kingdom team-mate Joe O’Connor, with Donegal maestro Michael Murphy also missing out, although both were rewarded with All-Star awards.

Clifford previously won the Player of the Year award in 2022 and 2023, and now becomes the first player to win it three times. Dublin's Brian Fenton and Meath’s Trevor Giles are the only other multiple winners.

Under the now defunct Texaco awards scheme (1958-2011), Kerry's Jack O'Shea was the four-time record winner, winning in 1980, 1981, 1984 and 1985.

Meanwhile, it’s the eighth season in a row that the Hurler of the Year award has stayed in Munster after McGrath held off competition from team-mate Jake Morris and Cork’s Brian Hayes.

Now a two-time All-Star, McGrath is the first Tipp player to claim the award since Séamus Callanan in 2019.

Lar Corbett (2010) and Tommy Dunne (2001) are the other Tipperary players that have claimed the prize since its inception in 1995.

It was a double celebration for Liam Cahill's side with McCarthy winning the young player award ahead of team-mate Robert Doyle and Limerick’s Adam English. Doyle was the only one of the three to be named on the All-Star team, which featured seven from the All-Ireland winners.

Roarty, meanwhile, fended off Armagh’s Oisín Conaty, who had been aiming to win the award for the second year in a row, and Galway’s Matthew Thompson to win the Young Footballer of the Year award. Roarty and Conaty earned spots on the All-Star team.

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