Magic Wicklow Half Dozen Win Tailteann Team Of The Year Places After Summer Glory

From a thirteen-point hole at half-time in July, to having six platers named on the Team of the Year, to the Sam Maguire next summer.......... the Garden County is blooming !!!!!!!!

Wicklow have six players on the Tailteann Cup Team of the Year.

The Garden County’s Tailteann Cup heroes fill nearly half of the starting fifteen.

Malachy Stone, Eoin Murtagh, Dean Healy, Padraig O’Toole, Oisin McGraynor and Kevin Quinn are all included after their exceptional performance in the Blue & Gold this tear.

Defenders Stone and Murtagh join midfield captain Healy, along with forwards O’Toole, McGraynor and Quinn.

It’s the perfect reward for a summer the county will never forget.

In July, Wicklow trailed Down by thirteen points in the second half of the final at Croke Park, but they simply refused to lie down.

They hauled themselves back from the brink and won it by two, 1-21 to 2-16 .

A comeback for the ages, and Wicklow’s finest hour.

They became the first Division 4 team to win the Tailteann Cup since it began in 2022. It was also only the second major honour in the county’s senior football history, after 2007's Tommy Murphy Cup.

Every man in the panel played his part, but captain Dean Healy lit the fuse, with a huge individual goal that sparked the great escape for Oisin McConville’s side.

Centre-back Eoin Murtagh has had a year to remember.

He also helped Dunlavin win the Wicklow Intermediate title, beating Laragh by thirteen points in the county final. He said the win “topped off” a dream year.

The good news keeps coming.

Wicklow will test themselves against the big guns in the Sam Maguire next year, and manager Oisin McConville has committed to the Garden County for 2027. Garry Duffy is confirmed in his backroom team, while Frankie Dolan will not be involved.

A couple of other Wicklow men will feel a bit unlucky to miss out. Forwards Eoin D’Arcy and Chris O’Brien both hit big scores through the campaign.

An Tóchar’s Conor Fee hit ten points from play in Roundwood’s Miley Cup final win over Blessington. 

The fightback began in the dressing room. Captain Dean Healy says there were no big speeches. The message was that they had to make Down do the chasing. "This is not us, lads."

That was captain Dean Healy on the half-time message. Healy's fifty-sixth minute goal was the turning point, and he lifted the cup with his daughter Fiadh in his arms.

Manager Oisin McConville was straight about the first half. He said the occasion got to his players early on. But he felt the result could have been even more comfortable.

"We had enough chances to win two games there." Oisin McConville to BBC Sport NI. He also believes the win should lift the whole county. "An unbelievably special group of players."

That's how McConville described his squad. And Healy's words to the young supporters at the cup presentation stuck with everyone in Croke Park. "If I can get up these steps, anyone can." Dean Healy, with the Tailteann Cup in his hands.

Uachtarán CLG Jarlath Burns said:

“A competition now firmly fixed in our calendar, this Tailteann Cup Team of the Year is equally well-established and recognises those players who went above and beyond to leave a lasting impression on the season. It was an unforgettable year for Wicklow, winning a final that will go down as one of the very best ever witnessed at Croke Park. The increase in games makes the job of naming an overall team much more difficult and I congratulate all of those chosen, and thank them for all they have done to make this competition a success.”

Tom Parsons, CEO of the GPA, added:

“Congratulations to the 15 players named on the Tailteann Cup Team of the Year. Your performances stood out in a competitive championship, and this recognition is well earned.

“To trail by 12 points at half-time in a Croke Park final and come back to win says a lot about the character in that Wicklow group, and their six selections are well deserved. Their first Tailteann Cup title also brings a place in the Sam Maguire Cup in 2027. Down played their full part in a memorable final, and their five selections follow the two Down hurlers named on the Joe McDonagh Team of the Year earlier this week. Congratulations also to the Offaly, Wexford and Fermanagh men who complete the team. The Tailteann Cup continues to grow in stature, and that is down to the commitment of the players, managers, county boards and supporters who have backed it.

“Thank you to all involved and to the selection committee who deliberated on this final 15.”

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, Rachard and Meagher Cups.

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 Pádraig O'Toole - Wicklow

12 Jack McEvoy - Offaly

13 Oisín McGraynor - Wicklow

14 Kevin Quinn - Wicklow

15 Eamon Brown - Down