Tyrone rounded off the county's greatest football year last night by taking seven places on this year's Vodaphone All Stars selection, announced at the Citywest hotel in Dublin last night.
In a year dominated by Ulster, the province provided 10 of the award winners, with finalists Armagh picking up two and Donegal one. It is a very inexperienced team with only three players - Steven McDonnell, Peter Canavan and Kevin Walsh - previously honoured.
Leinster champions Laois raised a few eyebrows with three awards, despite being beaten in the quarter-final by Armagh, which recalled 1997 when Kildare also won three even though they got no further than an epic, three-match provincial semi-final against Meath.
There shouldn't be too much controversy about the selection, although a few players will consider themselves unlucky to lose out. Kildare goalkeeper Enda Murphy made a number of crucial saves as his team advanced to the Leinster final and played out a thrilling qualifier against Roscommon just a week later. But Laois's Fergal Byron was the choice of the selectors.
Armagh's defence conceded just one goal all championship and corner back Francie Bellew gets recognition there. Cormac McAnallen - redeployed as late as the Ulster final replay - represents the champions' defence - statistically the best over league and championship - along with wing backs Conor Gormley, whose flying block prevented a goal in the dying minutes of the All-Ireland final, and Philip Jordan.
Laois's Joe Higgins is named in the other corner after a classy year in which he had the distinction of doing the best marking job on Armagh's rampant Steven McDonnell.
Higgins's team-mate Tom Kelly rounds off Laois's trio and is named at centre back.
Centrefield sees Young Footballer of the Year Seán Cavanagh partnered by the veteran Kevin Walsh, who captained Galway and led by example in what was a disappointing year for the Connacht champions.
The indefatigable Brian Dooher was presumably unanimous at right wing forward, and his colleague Brian McGuigan's intelligent play at centre forward can't have caused too much debate either.
Tipperary's Declan Browne is named on the wing after an excellent year at full forward, but the selectors' remit is to pick the best defenders, centrefielders and forwards regardless of position and arrange them as best they can.
Donegal's captain, Adrian Sweeney, is also rewarded for a season in which he played a major role in their unexpected progress to an All-Ireland semi-final where they narrowly lost to Armagh.
Tyrone captain Peter Canavan is also included, despite being seriously hampered by injury in the All-Ireland semi-final and final. But such was his form during the league and previous stages of the championship - including a crucial penalty conversion which triggered the team's comeback in the drawn Ulster final against Down - and the importance of his leadership, particularly in the fraught closing stages of the All-Ireland final - that his selection was inevitable.
Completing the forward line-up is Steven McDonnell, who was also named Footballer of the Year after an exceptional championship season during which he improved on last year's fine form before playing a key role for Ireland in the International Rules series in Australia and returning home to make a big contribution to Ulster's Railway Cup win.
McDonnell had already been named as the GPA Footballer of the Year. His hurling counterpart, JJ Delaney, was also honoured again with a second Hurler of the Year award.
The Young Players of the Year were as expected: Tyrone's centrefielder Seán Cavanagh and Cork's rookie corner forward Setanta Ó hÁilpín.
2003 FOOTBALL ALL STARS 1. Fergal Byron (Laois) [1st award] 2. Francie Bellew (Armagh) [1st award] 3. Cormac McAnallen (Tyrone) [1st award] 4. Joe Higgins (Laois) [1st award] 5. Conor Gormley (Tyrone) [1st award] 6. Tom Kelly (Laois) [1st award] 7. Philip Jordan (Tyrone) [1st award] 8. Seán Cavanagh (Tyrone) [1st award] 9. Kevin Walsh (Galway) [3rd award] 10. Brian Dooher (Tyrone) [1st award] 11. Brian McGuigan (Tyrone) [1st award] 12. Declan Browne (Tipperary) [2nd award] 13. Steven McDonnell (Armagh) [2nd award] 14. Peter Canavan (Tyrone) [5th award - including two Players' All Stars] 15. Adrian Sweeney (Donegal) [1st award]. Young Footballer of the Year: Seán Cavanagh (Tyrone). Young Hurler of the Year: Setanta Ó hÁilpín (Cork). Footballer of the Year: Steven McDonnell (Armagh). Hurler of the Year: JJ Delaney (Kilkenny).
2002 All Stars: Stephen Cluxton (Dublin); Enda McNulty (Armagh), Paddy Christie (Dublin), Anthony Lynch (Cork); Aidan O'Rourke (Armagh), Kieran McGeeney (Armagh), Kevin Cassidy (Donegal); Darragh Ó Sé (Kerry), Paul McGrane (Armagh); Steven McDonnell (Armagh), Eamonn O'Hara (Sligo), Oisin McConville (Armagh); Peter Canavan (Tyrone), Ray Cosgrove (Dublin), Colm Cooper (Kerry).
