Tailteann Cup 2026 Team of the Year named
The Wicklow players celebrate with the Tailteann Cup at Croke Park ©INPHO/James Crombie
It’s a case of six of the best for Wicklow as their history-making champions headline the 2026 Tailteann Cup team of the year, announced today.
The Garden County’s epic run to the Croke Park final and their sensational second-half comeback to stun a fancied Down is heavily reflected in a high calibre team of the season, that is spread across five counties.
Wicklow’s first-ever Tailteann Cup triumph sees rock solid Malachy Stone and the anchor man that is Eoin Murtagh named in defence, with their inspirational captain Dean Healy named in midfield.
Up front, Pádraig O’Toole’s influence sees him selected at centre-forward while the workload and reliability over the course of the whole campaign merits inclusions for Oisín McGraynor and Kevin Quinn.
The increase in competitiveness brought by the new format made the selection all the more difficult. Beaten finalists Down were at times, unstoppable, and they have five men on the final 15 with goalkeeper Ronan Burns seeing off stiff competition to be named and joined by Pierce Laverty and Shane Annett in defence after their major contributions.
In midfield, Odhran Murdock was a pivotal figure for the Mourne men, while Eamon Brown’s attacking instincts are also recognised.
Offaly used the Tailteann Cup to revive their season and there are richly deserved places for hard working forwards Dylan Hyland and Jack McEvoy. Eoin Porter won rave reviews for his displays, and the Wexford defender is a worthy winner, so too Fermanagh’s Ronan McCaffrey with the Teemore man named wing back for his action-packed displays.
The Tailteann Cup Team of the Year was chosen by a panel of Gaelic games correspondents, with nominations supplied by GPA player representatives from the competing counties. The team will be honoured tonight at Croke Park along with the Joe McDonagh and Champion 15 teams of the year announced earlier this week. The black-tie celebration will also reveal the overall Players of the Year in the Tailteann Cup and McDonagh, Ring, Rackard and Meagher Cups. The awards can be watched live on the GAA’s Youtube channel from 7pm.
Tailteann Cup 2026 Team of the Year
1 Ronan Burns, Down
2 Malachy Stone, Wicklow
3 Pierce Laverty, Down
4 Eoin Porter, Wexford
5 Ronan McCaffrey, Fermanagh
6 Eoin Murtagh, Wicklow
7 Shane Annett, Down
8 Dean Healy, Wicklow
9 Odhran Murdock, Down
10 Dylan Hyland, Offaly
11 Padraig O'Toole, Wicklow
12 Jack McEvoy, Offaly
13 Oisin McGraynor, Wicklow
14 Kevin Quinn, Wicklow
15 Eamon Brown, Down
