Though All-Ireland glory is obviously what any inter-county GAA player dreams of achieving, winning out at the end-of-season PwC All-Stars is a more personal dream for anyone who pulls on the county jersey.
Last year's awards were understandably dominated by the All-Ireland finalists, with five Dublin and four Kerry players in the final fifteen chosen as the finest team in Ireland in 2023.
The 2024 inter-county season is just days away from starting and the long road to Sam Maguire begins with the league. Throw-in in the Allianz Football League is this Saturday, so what better time to look at some players who could make an impact this year?
Ahead of the league getting underway, we've picked out five footballers who could win at the All-Stars for the first time in 2024.
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GAA: The five footballers most likely to win their first All-Star this season
Cormac Costello (Dublin)
One of the most surprising names on this list, Cormac Costello has been part of the Dublin panel for the best part of a decade now, growing into a more influential presence in recent years.
30 July 2023; Cormac Costello of Dublin during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Though the wealth of forward talent at Jim Gavin's disposal during the march to five-in-a-row meant starting opportunities were at a premium for Costello for much of that time, he has established himself as a nailed-down starter since Dessie Farrell took over as manager in 2020.
Perhaps the unluckiest of any Dublin player to miss out on an All-Star in 2023, Costello finished the inter-county season with 0-26 scores. If he continues as a regular starter for the Dubs in 2024, he may break through into the All-Stars.
Diarmuid O'Connor (Mayo)
Another whose lack of an All-Star thus far is surprising, Diarmuid O'Connor is one of the few stalwarts of Mayo's great team of the 2010s still standing.
O'Connor was GAA/GPA Young Footballer of the Year in successive years in 2015 and '16 - yet has not been awarded an All-Star once in his senior career.
25 June 2023; Mayo players Diarmuid O'Connor and Stephen Coen during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Preliminary Quarter Final match between Galway and Mayo at Pearse Stadium in Galway. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Despite another disappointing quarter-final exit for Mayo in 2023, O'Connor was again excellent in a midfield role for Mayo. It was perhaps the fact that he was nominated in midfield which led to him missing out on an All-Star - it was going to be hard for anyone to topple two of 2023's outstanding players, Brian Fenton and Conor Glass.
Should Mayo progress deeper into this year's championship, there is every chance O'Connor will finally be recognised with an All-Star.
READ HERE: Cillian O'Connor Says London Defeat Part Of "Learning Curve" For Mayo Youngsters
Seán Kelly (Galway)
An outstanding full-back with back-to-back All-Star nominations already to his name, Seán Kelly feels like the most likely on this list to break into the selection in 2024.
7 May 2023; Seán Kelly of Galway in action against Sean Carrabine of Sligo during the Connacht GAA Football Senior Championship Final match between Sligo and Galway at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park in Castlebar, Mayo. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
That will only become even more likely if Galway manage to return to the heights they scaled in 2022 in reaching the All-Ireland final. By all accounts, defeat in the league final and elimination in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final (both at the hands of Mayo, no less) was a bitterly disappointing record to come away from 2023 with.
Galway will hope to be right in the mix come the business end of July and it is unlikely they will do so without Kelly operating at the level he has proven himself capable of in the past two seasons.
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Paddy McBrearty (Donegal)
Paddy McBrearty is the unluckiest of any man on this list - he has been nominated for an All-Star on four separate occasions, coming away empty-handed each time.
He spent much of the 2023 season sidelined with a hamstring injury and it is perhaps no surprise that Donegal struggled in his absence.
8 May 2022; Patrick McBrearty of Donegal shoots to score his side's second goal, under pressure from Killian Clarke of Cavan, during the Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship Semi-Final match between Cavan and Donegal at St Tiernach's Park in Clones, Monaghan. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
McBrearty is one of the most experienced forwards in the game, starting the 2012 All-Ireland final at the age of just 19 under the guidance of Jim McGuinness.
With McGuinness returning to take charge of Donegal in 2012, and McBrearty returning from injury to captain his county again, this may be the year we see things turn around for Donegal. In such an eventuality, maybe we might finally see their most influential forward McBrearty selected for the All-Stars.
Darragh Canavan (Tyrone)
Though they may not be "overdue" in the same manner as the other four names on this list, you could conceivably pick both men with the same surname from the Tyrone team as contenders to break their All-Star duck in 2024.
Both Darragh and Ruairi Canavan proved themselves indispensable in the Red Hand attack in 2023, with Darragh nominated for an All-Star at the end of the season.
3 June 2023; Darragh Canavan of Tyrone in action against Conor O'Neill of Armagh during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 2 match between Tyrone and Armagh at O'Neill's Healy Park in Omagh, Tyrone. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Darragh Canavan broke through into the Tyrone team in the year of their All-Ireland triumph of 2021 and was nominated for Young Footballer of the Year.
It seems only a matter of time until he follows in the footsteps of his legendary father Peter but much will depend on how Tyrone fare in what is set to once again be a fiercely contested Ulster championship. If Tyrone survive Ulster and progress to the All-Ireland series, expect Canavan to be right in the mix for his first All-Star.
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