All Star Football awards: All-Ireland champions Kerry lead the way in this year's Vodafone All Stars football selection with six awards.

There won't be too many eyebrows raised at that aspect of this year's team, which was announced at a banquet in Dublin's City West Hotel last night although the omission of defenders Conor Gormley (Tyrone) and Killian Young (Kerry) is sure to be a talking point.

Because of restrictions on the selection process that mean players can only receive awards in the line in which they are nominated there were always going to be difficulties in the full-back line where Marc Ó Sé, announced last night as Footballer of the Year, was an automatic choice and consequently one of Cork's Graham Canty, Derry's Kevin McCloy or Gormley would miss out.

Young's exclusion will also cause surprise given that he had made most championship selections since the All-Ireland after an exceptional year at wing back whereas team-mate Aidan O'Mahony, despite an excellent All-Ireland, didn't reach the standards he set in 2006.

Also announced were the Players of the Year: Dan Shanahan took the hurling award after an eight-goal championship whereas Marc Ó Sé won the football for a year of consistent excellence in the Kerry defence.

Young Players of the Year were Limerick corner back Séamus Hickey in hurling and Kerry wing back and disappointed All Star candidate Killian Young in football.

The All-Ireland champions have six award winners, followed by Dublin with four, Derry with two and Cork, Meath and Monaghan with one each.

The Ó Sé brothers from Kerry become the first set of three brothers to win awards in the same year. In the early 1980s the Spillanes, Pat, Mick and Tom, were all honoured but never more than two at a time.

Kerry pair Darragh Ó Sé and Colm Cooper win their fourth awards, making them the most decorated of this year's team and with Cooper just 24 this year, he may stand a chance of threatening Pat Spillane's record of nine All Stars.

Dublin's Stephen Cluxton gets his third and maintains the remarkable record of the county's goalkeepers. Predecessors John O'Leary and Paddy Cullen were also multiple award winners with five and four respectively.

Five of last year's team retain their places: Cluxton, Marc and Darragh Ó Sé, Aidan O'Mahony and Alan Brogan whereas seven - McCloy, Canty, Cahill, Bray, Kerry's Declan O'Sullivan, Bradley and Freeman - were winning their first award.

The selection is a reasonable reflection of the football season with Kerry clearly the best team and well deserving of the six awards they pick up. If Young was unlucky, his place is taken by O'Mahony and of all the other All-Ireland winning players only Kieran Donaghy can feel in any way aggrieved, having played a fine second season after his explosive debut championship a year ago at the end of which he was named Footballer of the Year.

But the selection of Paddy Bradley at full forward won't excite too much argument, as the Derry forward scored consistently and is generally agreed to be unfortunate not to have won an All Star before now.

There will be disappointment in Cork at the fact that the county has received only one award after reaching the All-Ireland final, an unwanted distinction that last befell a team as long ago as 1983 when Stephen Kinneavey was Galway's only award.

Nicholas Murphy is the most notable casualty of the All-Ireland disaster, as he was regarded as Footballer of the Year material for much of the season. Donncha O'Connor is the other Cork player who might have come into contention after a good season.

Dublin's four awards are, like Waterford's in hurling, a maximum haul with Cahill and Whelan non-contentious selections but Cluxton and Alan Brogan less clearcut if deserving choices.

Derry pick up two places with full back Kevin McCloy joining Bradley. Ulster and Connacht champions Tyrone and Sligo miss out altogether. This isn't the first time two provincial champions have failed to secure awards; two years ago Dublin and Galway both went empty-handed.

Footballer of the Year: Marc Ó Sé (Kerry).

Young footballer of the year: Killian Young (Kerry).

Hurler of the year: Dan Shanahan (Waterford).

Young Hurler of the Year: Séamus Hickey (Limerick).