Offaly players, from left, Jack McEvoy, Jordan Hayes and Dylan Hyland celebrate after Offaly's Division 3 league final win over Kildare in 2025. McEvoy and Hyland have been named on the 2026 Tailteann Cup Team of the Year. Photo: Sportsfile

Offaly duo named on Tailteann Cup Team of the Year

Kieran Galvin

Published: Fri 16 Oct 2026, 10:30 AM

Last updated: Fri 16 Oct 2026, 10:32 AM

Two Offaly players have been selected on the 2026 Tailteann Cup Team of the Year, announced today (Friday).

Raheen's Dylan Hyland and Clonbullogue’s Jack McEvoy are both selected in the half forward line. Hyland is well known for his scoring prowess for both club and county, while McEvoy can operate at midfield or as a wing-forward.

It comes as no surprise that Tailteann Cup champions Wicklow have the most representatives on the team with six, including inspirational team captain Dean Healy.

The Garden County came from behind to overcome Offaly in their semi-final and produced an even more sensational comeback in the final against Down.

The Mourne men have five players on the team, with one each from Wexford and Fermanagh making up the remainder of the selection.

GAA President Jarlath Burns described the Tailteann Cup as “a competition now firmly fixed in our calendar”, stating that the Team of the Year “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,” he added.

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 (Friday) 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)