All-Ireland champions Mayo have been rewarded for their historic season with 11 nominations for the 2026 PwC Football All-Stars, the most of any county on the 45-player shortlist announced this morning.
After ending a 75-year wait to lift the Sam Maguire Cup, Mayo have contenders on every line of the field and also provide two of the three nominees for the PwC GAA GPA Footballer of the Year.
Forward Ryan O’Donoghue and midfielder Jack Carney have been shortlisted for the season’s top individual honour alongside Kerry talisman David Clifford, who won the award for a third time in 2025.
The nominations reflect another highly competitive Championship season, with players from 12 counties represented.
Mayo lead the way with 11 nominations, followed by Kerry with seven and Dublin with five. Westmeath have four, while Monaghan, Armagh and Louth each have three. Roscommon, Cork, Galway and Tyrone have two nominees apiece, with Donegal also represented.
Mayo also has interest in the PwC GAA GPA Young Footballer of the Year category.
Darragh Beirne and Kobe McDonald have both been shortlisted alongside Louth centre-back Dara McDonnell. McDonald will seek to follow in the footsteps of his father, Ciarán, who was selected as an All-Star in 2004.
The Footballer and Young Footballer of the Year awards will be determined by a vote of the players themselves.
GAA President Jarlath Burns congratulated the 45 nominees and pointed to the breadth of counties represented as evidence of the 2026 season’s competitiveness.
“Congratulations to the players who have been chosen on this prestigious list of 45 nominations in the PwC Football All-Stars,” he said.
“The breadth of representation says much about the level of competition that lit up our season, and in turn, made selecting the best performers such a challenge.
“This is an honour I know the players, their families and their clubs value, and I am especially delighted for Ryan, David and Jack on being shortlisted for the Footballer of the Year award – likewise for Darragh, Kobe and Dara on their nominations for the Young Player of the Year award.”
Gaelic Players’ Association CEO Tom Parsons, himself a former Mayo footballer, said it had been a particularly significant year for his home county.
“In a special year for football, and in particular my own county Mayo, I want to congratulate each of the 45 players on their nomination,” he said.
“To be recognised among the outstanding footballers of the season is a fantastic achievement and a real reflection of the commitment, talent and sacrifice of each player.
“It’s also a special day for the families, teammates and clubs of the players, who all contribute to their individual success.”
PwC Partnership Reaches Another Milestone
The All-Stars remain one of the longest-established awards programmes in Irish sport, with the 2026 edition marking the 55th year since the awards were first presented in 1971.
For PwC, the nominations begin the final phase in a season of one of the firm’s most prominent partnerships in Irish sport, bringing together recognition of elite performance with a major national awards event and live television coverage.
Enda McDonagh, Managing Partner, PwC Ireland, said:
“The announcement of the 2026 PwC All-Stars Football nominations marks the beginning of one of the most anticipated celebrations in the GAA calendar. These nominations recognise players who have performed at the highest level, inspired their counties and communities, and demonstrated extraordinary commitment throughout the season. PwC is proud to continue supporting this awards programme that celebrates excellence, leadership and the values that make Gaelic Games so special. We congratulate all nominees on this fantastic achievement and look forward to marking their achievements at the PwC All-Stars in October.”
A panel of Gaelic Games correspondents from print, radio, television and digital media, chaired by GAA President Jarlath Burns, selected the nominations.
The 2026 PwC All-Stars will be presented at a black-tie gala at the RDS in Dublin on Friday, October 30th, with the ceremony broadcast live on RTÉ.
PwC will announce the Hurling All-Star nominations tomorrow morning.
Sport for Business Perspective
The PwC All-Stars continue to demonstrate the value of a sports partnership that owns a distinctive moment in the annual sporting calendar.
The strength of the property lies in its longevity, its connection with individual excellence and its ability to generate repeated moments of attention, from Monthly winners across all four codes to annual nominations, Player of the Year shortlists, the awards night itself and the subsequent debate around the final selections.
The spread of nominees across 12 counties also broadens the programme’s reach. While Mayo’s historic All-Ireland success provides the dominant storyline in 2026, representation stretching from Westmeath and Louth to Cork, Galway, Tyrone and Donegal ensures that the All-Stars retain a genuinely national footprint.
That combination of heritage, player recognition, broadcast exposure and geographic reach has helped make the awards one of the most durable sponsorship properties in Irish sport.
PwC and the GAA are full members of Sport for Business. PwC is our Official Leadership Partner and has supported the annual Sport for Business PwC 30 Under 30 Young Leaders in Sport for ten years.
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Image Credit: PwC
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