Patrick Horgan
(23-513: 582 points)

THE current Cork forward has amassed an incredible scoring tally of 23-513 in his career. Making his debut 14 years ago, he’s never got his hands on the Liam McCarthy, but he’s still won a heap of accolades in his career including four All-Stars. Surprisingly, he only finished as the All-Ireland Senior Championship’s top scorer on one occasion (in 2021) but he’s still going strong at the age of 34 and surpassed Joe Canning in the all-time rankings after scoring four points against Waterford back in May. Reflecting on his career, he said it’s all about the love of the game: “So if you don’t enjoy it you’re actually wasting you time, and I love the process of it all, eating properly, showing up for training, loving every minute of training, love striking ball, everything about hurling is what I love.”

Joe Canning
(27-486: 567 points)

EVEN more impressive than the fact he scored a ridiculous 567 points in championship hurling is Joe Canning’s scoring average, a ludicrous 9.3 points per game, the highest on this list. Canning was touted as the next big thing from a young age and coped well with the significant pressure heaped upon his shoulders. It did take him some time to pocket an All-Ireland medal at county level but he played a major part in their 2017 triumph, scoring what was described as a ‘miracle shot’ to win the semi-final for Galway against Tipperary before they got the better of Waterford in the final. He also holds the record for most sideline cuts (28) in championship hurling.

Henry Shefflin
(27-486: 567 points)

THE greatest player of all-time? Some prefer the silky skills of a DJ Carey, to cite one of the contenders, but there’s no doubt that Henry Shefflin was an incredible hurler who ticked every box imaginable. He won 10 All-Ireland Championships, more than any other player in history, and is also the only player to win three Hurler of the Year awards. It’s hard to pick out a single moment to sum up his career, but it was his on-field leadership that stood out and he hit a cracking late goal against Tipperary to help seal the four in-a-row in 2008. Among those who have described him as the greatest ever are Eddie Keher, DJ Carey and Joe Canning – he was even described as Ireland’s greatest ever athlete by Brian O’Driscoll.

TJ Reid
(28-468: 552 points)

ONE of the most dominant players of his generation, TJ was in sensational form as Kilkenny produced a barnstorming performance against Clare in the All-Ireland semi-final. While he’s the only Kilkenny captain to have lost two All-Ireland finals to neighbours Tipperary, he’s won a mountain of medals in his career (five All-Irelands with his club Ballyhale and seven with Kilkenny). His artistry in possession, vision and accuracy combine to make him a deadly prospect for opposition defenders, while he’s also an incredible free-taker. A hall of fame hurler.

Eddie Keher
(35-336: 441 points)

ANOTHER Kilkenny legend, Keher was named on the Hurling Team of the Millennium in 2000 and enjoyed a long and fruitful career in the black and amber. In one of the classic games of the modern era, Keher scored an amazing 2-9 as he collected his fourth All-Ireland medal with victory over Cork in 1972. A year prior, he scored 2-11 in the 1971 decider against Tipperary, albeit they lost by 5-17 to 5-14 in a thunderous match. Despite winning six All-Irelands, he’s always been modest about his exploits in interviews down the years.

Eoin Kelly
(21-369: 432 points)

THE first man from Tipperary to make this list, Eoin Kelly was a revered hurler and pocketed six All-Stars in a stellar intercounty career. Even when Tipperary played second fiddle to Kilkenny during the noughties, he won three All-Stars on the trot between 2004 and 2006. Strangely, he was held scoreless from play in successive All-Ireland finals in 2009 and 2010 (the latter game was the Lar Corbett show, the man who scored a hat-trick to derail Kilkenny’s drive-for-five). When Kelly retired, he was described by Tipperary Brendan Maher as “the best I’ve ever seen and I reckon we’ll be the best we’ll ever see.”

Seamus Callanan
(39-221: 338 points)

THE joint-second highest goal-scorer in championship history, Callanan has won 10 major trophies in his career including three All-Ireland Championships. Has had a long and eventful career since making his debut in February 2008 in the league match against Offaly. Callnanan had to be content with a substitutes role when Tipperary won a famous All-Ireland title against Kilkenny in 2010, but he got better and better and captained Tipperary to the All-Ireland title in 2019. Remarkably he scored a goal in every championship game he played in that year, and it was no major surprise when he was announced as Hurler of the Year.

Christy Ring
(33-208: 307 points)

THE man himself. Rated as the greatest of all time by many, Ring was a Cork hurling legend who was famous for his scoring prowess, physical strength and career longevity (he remains the only player to have competed at intercounty level in four different decades). He won eight All-Irelands with the Rebel County and was the first hurling superstar, celebrated not just in Cork but throughout the whole of Ireland. After Wexford beat Cork in the 1956, he was gallantly carried off the field by his opponents which says it all.