GAA Top 20: King Henry, DJ or Keher - who is the greatest Kilkenny hurler of the last 50 years?

FIRST challenge in Kilkenny? Decide on Shefflin or Carey for the No 1 slot. And how far behind, if at all, was Eddie Keher? That’s three forwards hogging the top slots so what about defenders? Didn’t they contribute too?

Indeed they did, but in what order? Tommy Walsh or JJ Delaney? Ger Henderson? Midfielders? Frank Cummins – still winning All-Irelands and a Hurler of the Year award at the age of 35 in 1983. Michael Fennelly their powerhouse for so long and becoming the first Kilkenny midfielder since Cummins to win the Hurler of the Year award in 2011.

Goalkeepers? None better than Noel Skehan, nine times an All-Ireland SHC winner, seven times an All Star and Hurler of the Year at the age of 37.

Kilkenny have so many contenders than even a top 40 wouldn’t come close to accommodating all the talent that emerged from the Nowlan Park academy over the past 50 years, a period in which they have won the All-Ireland senior titles 19 times, two more than the combined haul of great rivals Cork and Tipperary.

The Shefflin versus Carey debate has raged for years, with the case for each sounding so convincing until a counter-argument is raised. Shefflin has the advantage that his entire career coincided with the most successful period in the county’s history, whereas Carey departed in 2005. Also, there was a period in the 1990s when Carey’s exposure was limited by being aboard teams that weren’t All-Ireland standard.

Deciding between Carey and Shefflin is the ultimate close call and ours went Ballyhale’s way. There are those who will make a case for Keher too, pointing out that forwards received a lot less protection during his time. The basis of their argument is: “put Carey and Shefflin back in those days, switch Keher to the modern game and see how they compare” runs their argument. It’s valid too.

KILKENNY

1. Henry Shefflin

2. DJ Carey

3. Eddie Keher

4. Tommy Walsh

5. JJ Delaney

6. Noel Skehan

7. TJ Reid

8. Ger Henderson

9. Frank Cummins

10. Richie Hogan

11. Jackie Tyrrell

12. Liam O’Brien

13. Liam Fennelly

14. Eddie Brennan

15. Joe Hennessy

16. Michael Fennelly

17. Noel Hickey

18. Eoin Larkin

19. Michael Kavanagh

20. Paul Murphy

See Tuesday's Irish Independent and Independent.ie to find out who has made the grade for each team in Munster and have your say on each county's poll below