Four members of Derry’s Christy Ring Cup-winning team selected for Ulster All-Star Hurling Team

Skipper Cormac O’Doherty, Eamonn Cassidy, Cathair McGilligan and goalkeeper Sean Kelly were each selected on the provincial All-Star team for their performances during the Foylesiders’ maiden Christy Ring Cup triumph.

The quartet are joined by five Antrim players and six from Down on the 15-man team, with the recipients set to receive their awards at the ICC Belfast on October 9, where the Player of the Year will also be announced.

It represents an improvement on the three Derry players who received Irish News All-Star awards in 2025, with Eamonn Conway, Ruairi O’Mianain and Patrick Turner recognised for their roles in Derry’s Christy Ring Cup final heartbreak against London. Derry’s haul of four awards also represents their best return in the history of the Irish News Ulster All-Star awards.

For the first time, Antrim do not dominate the provincial selection, with the Saffron County having endured a difficult campaign under Davy Fitzgerald. They only narrowly retained their Division 1B Allianz Hurling League status before also retaining their place in the Joe McDonagh Cup.

The spread of the awards also highlights the changing face of hurling in Ulster. Down have arguably emerged as the strongest team in the province at present, despite Antrim’s historical dominance, while Derry have made significant strides of their own. Indeed, just six years ago, Antrim claimed all 15 Irish News Ulster All-Star awards, underlining just how dramatically the provincial landscape has shifted in the intervening period.

At the centre of Derry’s historic breakthrough was Cormac O’Doherty, who finished the year with a personal tally of 0-39 despite being primarily deployed in either midfield or the half-back line. The Slaughtneil man became the first Derry player to etch his name onto the Christy Ring Cup after a breathtaking 3-24 to 3-19 victory over Kerry in Croke Park in May.

It is O’Doherty’s first Irish News All-Star award since 2024 and his fourth overall, having previously received the recognition for his performances in the Derry jersey in 2023 and 2021. The Slaughtneil man will now be hoping to replicate that inter-county success at club level for the remainder of the year, with Slaughtneil aiming to compete at the business end of the AIB All-Ireland Club Championship.

O’Doherty is joined by his Slaughtneil clubmate Eamonn Cassidy, with the half-back earning recognition after another influential campaign in which he chipped in with a number of vital scores. Cassidy suffered an injury while on football duty with Slaughtneil and will consequently be unavailable for Robert Emmet’s remarkable pursuit of a fourteenth consecutive Fr Collins Cup.

In the opposing Owenbeg dressing room for the county decider, goalkeeper Sean Kelly received his first-ever individual award for his performances between the posts for Johnny McGarvey’s charges. Banagher’s Cathair McGilligan also received his maiden All-Star award following a series of rock-solid performances in the full-back line.

While 2026 has been a remarkable season for the Foylesiders given the turmoil that surrounded the camp early in the year, 2027 will begin with Division 3 hurling for the first time since 2012, following their relegation from Division 2 of the Allianz Hurling League in March.

The year began with 16 seasoned campaigners stepping aside, including Irish News All-Star Ruairi O'Mianain, resulting in significant turnover within the panel. However, the difficult league campaign afforded manager Johnny McGarvey an opportunity to blood a new generation of emerging talent, with the hard days of spring ultimately reaping dividends in Croke Park last May.

Following a year like no other, Derry hurling now carries significant momentum into 2027.

A Division 3 league campaign will provide McGarvey with another opportunity to introduce more of the county’s undoubted talent to senior inter-county hurling ahead of a first-ever Joe McDonagh Cup campaign, while the emergence of four Irish News Ulster All-Stars represents another significant marker of the progress being made within the county.

For Derry, the hope will be that the breakthrough of 2026 proves not to be an isolated success but the beginning of a new chapter for hurling in the Oakleaf County.