My Top 10 Hurlers of all Time

My Top 10 Hurlers of all Time

1. Christy Ring

Still the face of hurling and the epitome of all that is great about this game. The myths about this man are still as relevant today as ever, with the most famous one being that he put lead in his hurl to strengthen his wrists. Christy Ring hailed from the Glen Rovers club in Cork and continued playing hurling up until he was 46 years old. He won 8 All Ireland medals and was the first person to captain a team to 3 All Ireland wins in a row.  Ring who was naturally a shy character liked to do his talking on the pitch. He was named 'Hurler of the Year' at the age of 38, which in todays terms is unheard off. Rings scoring record speaks for itself, scoring 33-208 in his 23 years of playing intercountry.  People from all over Ireland came to watch Christy Ring play because he could do things on the field which no one else could do. Although Henry Shefflin ended up with more silverware in terms of medals than Ring, for me he is still the best regarded hurler of  all time.

2. Henry Shefflin 

10 All Ireland medals, 11 All stars and a career championship total of 27-483 speaks for itself. It wasn't just his scoring attributes that made Shefflin the stand out player that he became but his willingness and determination to win which was highlighted in 2010 when he played with cruciate knee ligament damage. Some would rate Henry Shefflin the best hurler of all time but playing in the greatest hurling team with Kilkenny certainly helped make him shine. In saying that some of his performances, dazzling runs tricks etc showed the character of the man. However he wasn't always rated as an exemplary player in his early days as at underage level he actually struggled to break on to his club team Ballyhale Shamrocks at u16 level. 

3. Joe Canning

Joe Canning retired this year and is undoubtedly one of the top 10 hurlers of all time with some of the displays that he has showed on the hurling pitches throughout Ireland over his 14 seasons with Galway. The man who hails from Portumna was destined to be a star when he emerged as the key player after Galway won 2 under 21 All Irelands. The year after that double win, he made his senior debut and finished the season with an All Star medal and was voted 'Young Hurler of the Year,. Canning who broke Henry Shefflin's scoring record before he retired, would have been seen as the best hurler of all time if he had played in a better team. Canning won 4 All Ireland  medals with his club team,  1 All Ireland with Galway and 5 All Stars, showing the calibre of player that he was. He  will also be remembered for his ability to score side line cuts which is a very hard skill to master in hurling. 

4. DJ Carey 

DJ Carey a former Kilkenny hurler is with no doubt one of the best ever hurlers to play the game and his accolades back it up winning hurler of the year twice. Carey was part of a another great Kilkenny team winning 5 All Ireland medals and inspiring the likes of Henry Shefflin. DJ Carey played handball and he believed it to be a major factor in him becoming the player that he did. It helped his eye to ball coordination and gave him the slight edge over his marker. Carey scored 34-195 in 57 games for Kilkenny which shows how much of an influence he was. Hurlers that played with and against him said his best attribute was that he might not have got a touch of the ball for a long period of time, then in the space of 5 minutes he could change a game on his own. 

5. Patrick Horgan

Many say Patrick Horgan is the greatest ever hurler never to win an All Ireland medal. The man who plays for Glen Rovers in county Cork is soon to take over from the great Joe Canning for the highest scorer in championship history. He is well known for his free taking ability and hitting points over his shoulder.  Viewers eyes are always transfixed on him when Horgan gets the ball because they know he is more than likely to do something out of the ordinary. He has 4 All Star medals and doesn't look like slowing down. Horgan worked very hard to become the player he is today an he has come a long way from failing to start with the Cork minor team.

6. Eoin Kelly 

Eoin Kelly was another once in a generation player. Even though he was from Tipperary he went to St Kieran's college in Kilkenny, the most successful school in terms of hurling. Although he may not have won the amount of medals that the Kilkenny team won, he is as well known as them all for the quality of play that he brought to the game. He spent a bit of his underage career in nets with Tipperary and everyone got to experience his outfield abilities. His best performance came in 2004 when he scored 2-8 against Waterford in the Munster championships.

7. TJ Reid 

Reid has grown into an unstoppable force with Kilkenny and has definitely got better with age. For the last few years he has been Kilkenny's main threat to opponents. He also plays at club level for the very successful Ballyhale shamrocks team,  where he has had a very successful career. He would have aspired to be as successful as the likes of Henry Shefflin who hails from the same club and Reid got to play the early part of his career with Shefflin. Reid accolades include 7 All Ireland medals, 5 All Stars with Kilkenny and 5 All Ireland club medals.

8. Tony Kelly

If you ask most hurlers who they would want in their midfield, a fair amount of them would say Tony Kelly. The hurler from Ballyea is still only 26 but will undoubtedly go down as one of the top hurlers. He plays the game with his own style and finesse. He is well known for tricks and sidesteps and has been Clare's key player for the last 7 years. To date he has won 1 All Ireland senior medal, 1 under 21 All Ireland medal and has 2 All Stars. That's exceptional for a hurler who is only in the middle part of his career and some would say he hasn't even hit his peek yet.

9. Lar Corbett

Lar Corbett from the Thurles Sarsfield's in Tipperary will go down as one of the top 10 hurlers ever to play the game of Hurling given some of the performances that he displayed over the course of his career. If Tipperary was ever in need to score a goal, he was the man they would look to and he often provided for them. His most famous performance was in 2010 when he scored a hat trick against Kilkenny to stop their quest for 5 All Irelands, what a  masterclass Lar put on that day. The 2 time All Ireland winner could have achieved even more in his career if it wasn't for the hamstring injuries that he picked up. He still ended his career with 3 All Star medals and was 'Hurler of the Year' in 2010 which is a tribute to the highly successful career he had.

10. Tommy Walsh 

Tommy Walsh was one of the most, if not the most unique hurlers of all time, due to the fact that he could play any position on the field and was successful in every position he played. His passion and desire to win definitely matched his skillset which was unbelievable. Notching up 9 All Ireland winning  medals  and 9 All Stars, this shows the quality of the man. Walsh was as brave as they come and although he might have been small in stature, he was seen as a giant in terms of skill and technique and could easily win the ball from his often taller opponents. What a legend!