GAA/GPA Young Hurler of the Year explained

GAA/GPA Young Hurler of the Year
Sport:	Hurling
Competition:	All-Ireland Senior Championship
Country:	Ireland
Presenter:	GAA and GPA
First:	1996
Number:	23
Firstwinner:	Mark Foley
Mostrecent:	Mikey Butler
Most Awards:	Eoin Kelly (2)

The Gaelic Athletic Association/Gaelic Players Association Young Hurler of the Year (known for sponsorship reasons as the PwC GAA/GPA Young Hurler of the Year, or simply the Young Hurler of the Year) is an annual award given to the player aged 21 or under at the start of the season who is adjudged to have been the best during the All-Ireland Championship.^[1] The award has been presented since the 1996 All-Ireland Championship and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, the Gaelic Players Association (GPA).^[2] The first winner of the award was Limerick defender Mark Foley. The current holder is Adrian Mullen, who won the award for Kilkenny GAA in 2019. The only 2 players to ever win the award twice are Eoin Kelly, who won it in both 2001 and 2002 and Eoin Cody, 2020 and 2021.

A shortlist of nominees is published in September and the winner of the award, along with the winners of the GAA/GPA's other annual awards, is announced at a gala event in Dublin in November. The players themselves consider the award to be highly prestigious, because the winner is chosen by his peers.

Winners

The award has been presented on 24 occasions as of 2019, with 23 different winners. The table also indicates where the winning player also won one of the other major "hurler of the year" awards, namely the GAA/GPA Hurler of the Year award (HOTY).

Year	Also won	Notes
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005			-	2006
2007
2008
2009		^[3]
2010		^[4]
2011		^[5]
2012		^[6]
2013	HOTY	^[7]
2014		^[8]
2015		^[9]
2016	HOTY	^[10]
2017		^[11]
2018		^[12]
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023		^[13]

Breakdown of winners

Width=15%	County!	Width=10%	Number of wins!	Width=20%	Winning years
		1997, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2014
		2000, 2006, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
		2005, 2008, 2012, 2017
		1996, 2007, 2018
		1999, 2003, 2004
		2015, 2016
		2013, 2023
		1998
		2011

External links

The official website of the Gaelic Players Association

Notes and References

News: GAA Player of the Year shortlist revealed. 2008-04-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20080331074216/http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2007/1003/allstars.html. 31 March 2008 . live . RTÉ News . 2007-10-03.
Web site: GAA players should pick All-Star award winners. 2008-04-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20071117022508/http://www.roscommonherald.com/news/story/?trs=gbqlqlmh. 2007-11-17. dead.
Web site: From cancer battle to possible Hurler of the Year: Noel McGrath adds another chapter to amazing Tipperary story. Irish Independent. 19 August 2019. 27 September 2019. Will. Slattery.
Web site: Corbett & Brogan named Players of the Year. RTÉ News. 16 October 2010. 27 September 2019.
Web site: Brogan and Fennelly honoured as players of year. Breaking News. 21 October 2011. 27 September 2019.
Web site: Shefflin and Lacey win individual GAA All-Star awards. The 42. 26 October 2012. 27 September 2019. Paul. Fennessy.
Web site: Tony Kelly wins Hurler and Young Hurler of the Year awards. The 42. 8 November 2013. 27 September 2019. Steve. O'Rourke.
Web site: Here’s the GAA GPA hurling All-Star team for 2014. Joe website. 27 September 2019.
Web site: O'Connor and De Búrca claim Young Footballer and Hurler of the Year honours. The 42. 6 November 2015. 27 September 2019. Jackie. Cahill.
Web site: Austin Gleeson wins both Hurler and Young Hurler of the Year Awards. GAA website. 4 November 2016. 27 September 2019.
Web site: Andy Moran is Footballer of the Year, Joe Canning is Hurler of the Year. RTÉ Sport. 4 November 2017. 27 September 2019.
Web site: Limerick sweep the boards with six All Star and both Hurlers of the Year. Irish Times. 2 November 2018. 27 September 2019. Seán. Moran.
Web site: Rodgers named young hurler of the year. Clare Echo. 2 November 2023. 28 November 2023. Páraic. McMahon.