A team made up of the finest hurlers never to win an All-Ireland (we ...

SHOULD a sporting career be defined by the number of accolades that came a person’s way?

The answer, of course, to that poser is an emphatic no.

Winning an All-Ireland senior hurling or football medal is the ultimate goal for any player across the GAA landscape.

Of course, it’s only the minority who are fortunate enough to reach the podium in the Hogan Stand in Croke Park on the biggest day of all.

In fact, some of the greatest players who have graced the game through the corridors of time never got on that podium, but did that diminish the vast contribution that they gave to their counties?

Some of those players had only a very slim chance of taking possession of the coveted Celtic Cross because the counties that they played for did not reside in the higher echelons of the game, or their county might have gone through a very lean period.

Only a select number of county teams get the opportunity each year to get their hands on the Liam MacCarthy or Sam Maguire cups.

Here on Leeside, some of the greatest exponents of the game of hurling ended their careers - many of them performing for a lengthy span of time - without getting their hands on the medal that they would dearly love to have secured.

That applies in all counties, great players retiring with an empty plate as far as winning an All-Ireland medal is concerned.

One of the great hurlers of the modern era - or any era for that matter - Galway’s Joe Canning looked like he was going to finish without a Celtic Cross, as, year in, year out, the Tribesmen came up short.

But that all changed in 2017, when the men from the West defeated Waterford in the final to end a 29-year sojourn in the wilderness.

All genuine hurling supporters were happy that the great man from Portumna had finally got his hands on the biggest prize.

After the 2023 season, Cork were in a rather similar situation, and it will be 19 years in 2024 since the MacCarthy Cup last found a home on Leeside.

And in that period one of the great Cork forwards of all time, Patrick Horgan of Glen Rovers, has been one of the star acts without the reward of the medal.

He played in two finals, the 2013 decider against Clare, which was lost after a replay, and the 2021 final when Limerick were far too strong. In that 2013 decider, it was a case of being so near and yet so far, Cork being denied by a last-gasp point from the Bannermen in the drawn encounter.

Horgan, 35, is now in the autumn of his wonderful career but the cause will endure for another year at least after he, quite rightly, committed for the 2024 campaign - and all Cork supporters should be delighted with that decision.

More than likely, it will be his final opportunity to secure the medal that his glittering career so richly deserves. And, to do so, he and Cork will likely have to find a way to stop a Limerick team for the ages.

Of course, in life you don’t always get what you deserve, that’s the way it is.

On the evidence of this year’s campaign, Cork are not that far away from ending the county’s lengthy famine without an All-Ireland title, and might well be the county that halts Limerick’s drive for a record five titles.

And if that came to pass, it is a near certainty that Horgan would play a major role despite his advancing years. As they say, class is permanent.

He has won everything else the game has to offer, been selected on four All-Star teams down the years and, of course, played a starring role in Glen Rovers’ terrific county title wins in 2015 and 2016.

As I write this in late 2023, Horgan is second on the list of all time leading championship scorers, just behind TJ Reid of Kilkenny. His dedication to the game knows no bounds, he is one of the game’s great stickmen, and on a skill level he has few equals.

Yes, it would be a shame if his career ended without the medal he surely craves, but with or without it, his place as one of the great Cork forwards is secure. If it’s the latter, his contribution will never be diminished.

There is a lengthy list of players, here at home and in other hurling strongholds, who have no Celtic Crosses on their mantlepiece, and you could select 15 All-Stars and substitutes among them. So, let’s try our hand in selecting a team of players in that category.

A difficult enough task, my selection won’t gain approval in all quarters, but it should make an interesting debate!

Seamus Harnedy of Cork in action against Sean Finn of Limerick during the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-finalat Croke Park in Dublin. Picture: John Sheridan/Sportsfile

So, here goes...

There are genuine contenders for all the positions.

Wearing the No.1 jersey would be our own Anthony Nash, who performed with distinction at all times in his tenure between the sticks. He, alongside Horgan, was on that 2013 team that lost so agonisingly to Clare.

Honourable mention must be given to Blackrock’s Mick Cashman, a runner-up in the 1956 loss to Wexford and a wonderful Cork servant for so long. The Glen’s Finbarr O’Neill was another fine netminder in the ’60s.

Outside the county, you would have Clare’s Seamus Durack and Limerick’s Tommy Quaid in strong contention.

In the full-back line, we have selected Blackrock’s Jimmy Brohan who, alongside his great friend Cashman, had a very long and fine career in the red jersey at a time when the county came up against a great Tipperary side.

The No.2 jersey goes to Leonard Enright of Limerick, a truly great full-back who had some fine jousts with Ray Cummins.

In the other corner, we went for The Glen’s Denis O’Riordan, a teak-tough defender who lost out in that great year of 1966 because of injury for the final win over Kilkenny.

In the half-back sector, there are no shortage of contenders who never won an All-Ireland medal.

Tony Browne, of Waterford, and Galway’s Iggy Clarke would pip Clare’s Ger Loughnane here, while Clare’s Sean Stack is our choice for centre-back.

On the left, Timmy Kelleher from Erin’s Own was a fine player and Limerick’s Mark Foley, and Loughnane too.

In midfield, current Cork boss, Pat Ryan, Danny Kearney and Lorcan Mcloughlin gave sterling service but Ciarán Carey from Limerick has to get one of the two spots.

The other goes to Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh, from Waterford, one of the great hurlers. Very versatile, he could defend, be a midfield general or attack, and his efforts deserved an All-Ireland medal, but his county came up short on a few occasions.

On to the six forwards.

Clare’s John Callinan gets my nod for the No.10 jersey ahead of Waterford’s Dan Shanahan and Paul Flynn, and Cork’s Patrick Cronin, while at centre-forward our choice is Seamus Harnedy who, alongside Horgan, may yet come up trumps.

I put Limerick’s Gary Kirby at half-forward, with stiff competition from Galway’s Joe Rabbitte, and Wexford’s Martin Quigley, and the other Horgan from the Glen, Patrick, has to be in the equation as well.

On to the list for the three inside spots. John Mullane of Waterford and Clare’s Jimmy Smyth are in my team, with Cork’s Barry Egan, Ger Manley, and Patsy Harte, and of course Setanta Ó hAilpín, deserving very honourable mentions here.

And, without fear of being contradicted, Patrick Horgan is an automatic choice, but, hopefully, that will change in 2024 and he’ll get that All-Ireland medal he deserves so much.

All-Ireland medals don’t fall off trees, they are hard-earned over the years, and he surely, alongside Harnedy, has earned that honour.