Kerry's Clifford and Tipperary's McGrath win GAA Player of the Year awards

DAVID CLIFFORD AND John McGrath have claimed the 2025 GAA player of the year awards for their inter-county displays.

Clifford and McGrath were honoured at tonight’s PwC GAA-GPA All-Star awards ceremony at the RDS in Dublin.

Donegal’s Finbarr Roarty (football) and Tipperary’s Darragh McCarthy (hurling) secured their respective young player of the year awards.

Kerry midfielder Joe O’Connor and Donegal forward Michael Murphy were the other footballer of the year nominees, while Cork’s Brian Hayes and Tipperary’s Jake Morris were the other hurler of the year nominees.

Tipperary’s Robert Doyle and Limerick’s Adam English were also in the running for the young hurler honour, while Armagh’s Oisin Conaty and Galway’s Matthew Thompson were also shortlisted for the young footballer accolade.

It is the third time that Clifford has won the Footballer of the Year honour after previously being recognised in 2022 and 2023. He is the first footballer since the current GAA award system started in 1995 to win it three times (Brian Fenton and Trevor Giles both won it twice), while Kerry legend Jack O’Shea is a four-time winner of the Texaco Footballer of the Year award.

It is the tenth time that a Kerry player has won this award.

McGrath has won the Hurler of the Year honour for the first time, joining previous Tipperary winners Tommy Dunne (2001), Lar Corbett (2010), and Seamus Callanan (2019).

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Kerry have eight players honoured in the All-Star football side in total.

Beaten finalists Donegal have four players included, while Armagh’s Oisín Conaty, Meath’s Sean Rafferty, and Louth’s Sam Mulroy complete the selection.

There are seven first-time winners in Kerry’s Brian Ó Beaglaoich and Joe O’Connor, Donegal’s Brendan McCole, Finbarr Roarty, and Michael Langan, along with Rafferty and Mulroy.

Kerry star forwards David Clifford (sixth), Paudie Clifford (fourth), and Sean O’Shea (fourth) collect their latest accolades, while Donegal’s Michael Murphy also becomes a four-time All-Star.

The Kingdom trio of Shane Ryan, Jason Foley, and Gavin White have all secured their second awards, with all previously picked in 2022.

Armagh’s Conaty wins his second All-Star and is the only player from the 2024 selection again honoured this year.

Defender Rafferty is the first Meath player selected since Stephen Bray in 2007.

Mulroy becomes the third Louth player ever to win an All-Star after Paddy Keenan (2010) and Craig Lennon (2024).

Here’s a full breakdown of the 2025 All-Star Football Team.

Goalkeeper

• 1. Shane Ryan (Kerry – Rathmore) – 2nd award (2022).

Defenders

• 2. Brendan McCole (Donegal – St Naul’s) – 1st award.
• 3. Jason Foley (Kerry – Ballydonoghue) – 2nd award (2022).
• 4. Sean Rafferty (Meath – Na Fianna) – 1st award.
• 5. Brian Ó Beaglaoich (Kerry – An Ghaeltacht) – 1st award.
• 6. Gavin White (Kerry – Dr Crokes) – 2nd award (2022).
• 7. Finbarr Roarty (Donegal – Naomh Conaill) – 1st award.

Midfielders

• 8. Joe O’Connor (Kerry – Austin Stacks) – 1st award.
• 9. Michael Langan (Donegal – St Michael’s) – 1st award.

Forwards

• 10. Paudie Clifford (Kerry – Fossa) – 4th award (2021, 2022, 2023).
• 11. Sean O’Shea (Kerry – Kenmare Shamrocks) – 4th award (2019, 2022, 2023).
• 12. Oisin Conaty (Armagh – Tír na nÓg) – 2nd award (2024).
• 13. David Clifford (Kerry – Fossa) – 6th award (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023).
• 14. Michael Murphy (Donegal – Glenswilly) – 4th award (2012, 2014 and 2019).
• 15. Sam Mulroy (Louth – Naomh Mairtín) – 1st award.

Written by Fintan O’Toole and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.