All-Star Gazing

“The GAA All-Stars is the most prestigious sporting awards scheme in Irish society and has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 1971”

Labhrás Mac Cárthaigh, Uachtarán Cumann Lúthchleas Gael

Fifty years on, the story of the All-Stars has been penned by Moira and Eileen Dunne, daughters of Mick Dunne, who along with his fellow journalists, Paddy Downey, John D Hickey and Pádraig Puirséal, got the scheme up and running in 1971.

Using their father’s records as a starting point, the sisters met over 100 All-Stars and other stakeholders, who shared their memories of All-Star banquets, trips and what an All-Star means to players, families and communities.

The book includes the Football and Hurling All-Star teams from 1971 to 2020, and for the first time, a complete list of all players nominated over the past 50 years

Excerpts

Brian Fenton, Dublin Footballer, 5-time All-Star

“Winning an All-Ireland is amazing but to win an All-Star at the end of the year is unreal. It is the perfect year”.

Henry Shefflin, Kilkenny Hurler, 11-time All-Star

“Winning the All-Star meant I was joining the other great players who had won it. I was up there with Anthony Daly, Johnny Dooley thinking, I have arrived

Mickey Quinn, Leitrim Footballer, the county’s first ever All-Star

“An All-Star is something every player wants to win. I was privileged to be the first person in Leitrim to win one.”

Joe Canning, Galway Hurler, 5-Time All-Star

“It was really special to receive an All-Star with Ollie in 2009 and a great night for Mam and Dad.”

Moira & Eileen Dunne, the Authors

“The discovery of a dusty old cardboard box one day in late 2016 led to the writing of this book. Inside the box was a treasure trove of All-Star files that belonged to Mick Dunne, our father, GAA journalist and one of the founders of the long-running scheme.”

Media Reviews

Coming soon

Reviews