Ulster players honoured in official hurling team of the year

THE late, great Damian Casey has been named on an official GAA hurling selection alongside with two of his colleagues who featured in Tyrone’s Nickey Rackard Cup triumph this season.

Casey, who died tragically in June, has been selected alongside Dermot Begley and Chris Kearns on a 15-man line-up which honours players across the Christy Ring, Nickey Rackard and Lory Meagher competitions. Derry hurler Mark Craig has also been selected following a stand-out season in defence.

It’s the fourth year in a row that Casey, who scored a remarkable 14 points in Tyrone’s Nickey Rackard Cup final win over Roscommon, has made the team. Eire Og hurler Dermot Begley also won a previous award in 2018.

Tom Parsons, CEO of the Gaelic Players Association, paid special tribute to Casey following the announcement: “I want to celebrate the life and hurling talents of the late, great Damian Casey. He again showed in 2022 that he was a hurler that would grace any team or competition. But more than that, he was a son and a brother, a teammate and a friend, a leader and a role model. Awards seem insignificant given the loss his parents Seán and Susan and his sisters Louise and Catherine are faced with, but I hope this award will act as a reminder to them of the esteem Damian was held in by the Gaelic games family. He will never be forgotten by his fellow players.”