Rathmolyon man in line for All-Star

After a year when he shot to national prominence Rathmolyon native and Waterford hurler Jack Fagan has been nominated for a PwC All-Star Award.

Fagan made a name for himself in an extraordinary hurling year, nailing down a starting place on the Waterford team that made it to last December's All-Ireland SHC final.

Waterford eventually lost out to Limerick in the final but Fagan played a significant role in getting them there from his half-forward position.

He was particularly prominent in Waterford's sensational 2-27 to 2-23 victory over Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final however Fagan, and his colleagues, were unable to push on and claim the big prize before an empty Croke Park.

Fagan is from a Rathmolyon family steeped in hurling and he grew up playing the game in the green of the local club. He also played for Meath before fate intervened.

He studied in Carlow IT and played for the college side before moving on to turn out for Waterford side De La Salle.

He was called into the Waterford senior panel by manager Liam Cahill as the Deise side went about the task of trying to win their first All-Ireland SHC title since 1959.

Fagan was selected to start for Waterford in the Munster SHC against Cork and helped his team to victory however they subsequently lost to Limerick.

Cahill's troops got their campaign up and running again with a win over Clare before they defeated Kilkenny with a powerful second-half display to earn a re-match with Limerick in the All-Ireland final.

However Limerick ran out comfortable 0-30 to 0-19 winners on the big day to claim victory in an extraordinary championship.

Fagan was bitterly disappointed to lose out on an All-Ireland medal but he now has a chance to gain some compensation with an All-Star award.

PwC All-Stars Hurling nominations 2020

Goalkeepers

Stephen O’Keeffe (Waterford), Nickie Quaid (Limerick), Eibhear Quilligan (Clare)

Defenders

Seán Finn, Dan Morrissey, Barry Nash, Diarmuid Byrnes, Declan Hannon, Kyle Hayes (all Limerick)

Conor Prunty, Shane McNulty, Calum Lyons, Tadhg De Burcá (all Waterford)

Daithí Burke, Aidan Harte, Pádraic Mannion (all Galway)

Conor Delaney, Padraig Walsh (Kilkenny)

Rory Hayes (Clare), Mark Coleman (Cork), Ronan Maher (Tipperary)

Midfielders

Will O’Donoghue (Limerick), Cian Lynch (Limerick), Jamie Barron (Waterford), Tony Kelly (Clare), Michael Breen (Tipperary), Conor Browne (Kilkenny).

Forwards

Gearóid Hegarty, Tom Morrissey, Aaron Gillane, Seamus Flanagan, Graeme Mulcahy (all Limerick)

Stephen Bennett, Dessie Hutchinson, Austin Gleeson, Jack Fagan (all Waterford)

Brian Concannon, Joe Canning, Conor Whelan, Cathal Mannion (all Galway)

TJ Reid, John Donnelly (Kilkenny), Donal Burke (Dublin), Cathal Malone (Clare), Shane Kingston (Cork).

PwC GAA/GPA Young Hurler of the Year nominees

Jake Morris (Tipperary), Eoin Cody (Kilkenny), Iarlaith Daly (Waterford)

PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Year nominees

Gearóid Hegarty (Limerick), Tony Kelly (Clare), Stephen Bennett (Waterford).