Not really sure where some of the suggestions from people on here are coming from. As a few of the suggestions have very little skill and were/are more athletes than unbelievable skilful hurlers.

But back to the point It's easy to be biased here, and it can be seen in some of the posters. But it's clear to me that no one I've ever seen has made hurling look as sublime like the man from Lusmagh, John Troy.

His goal against Wexford in the 1999 Leinster semi final stands out among some sublime pieces of skill.

I'm not old enough to remember the likes of JBM in his hay day but from all accounts he was exceptional also.


Others of notable mention who I do have fond memories of would be:
DJ Carey is a way above King Henry for skill level, no question. The best Kilkenny have ever produced. People often talk about his point against Clare where he made Baker look like a barge trying to follow him, but that doesn't do Carey's skill levels justice in my opinion as he scored some much more memorable and skilful scores than that.
Paul Flynn was without doubt the most skilful hurler Waterford have ever produced. In his pomp he would run full backs on a merry dance. Made Brian Lohan look like a pedestrian on a number of occasions with his trickery. One of my favourites.
Kevin Broderick. A superb hurler who nearly won an all Ireland on his own. Very underrated

From a Backs point of view I'm obviously going to say Brian Whelehan. No justification needed.

wing back (Offaly) - Posts: 115 - 20/11/2015 17:14:22    1808748

As I said John Troy. Other contenders over last 30 years since I've been watching hurling are: Paul Flynn, Brian Whelehan, Richie Hogan, Eugene Cloonan, Joe Cooney, Johnny Dooley, Joe Deane, Nicky English, Eoin Kelly, Tommy Dunne, Joe Canning.

From my own county of Wexford, the best hurlers I've seen, skill wise, were Jimmy Holohan, Billy Byrne, Liam Dunne, Declan Ruth and Rory McCarthy for skill and touch. And two jump out from Wexford as absolutely unreal skill and touch hurlers for anyone who has watched them at club level- Tom Dempsey and Damien Fitzhenry. Tom Dempsey was top scorer almost every year in Wexford well into his 40's and Damien Fitzhenry was not only the best goalkeeper in Wexford history, but was an unbelievable outfield player either at centre-back or full-forward.

icehonesty (Wexford) - Posts: 2553 - 20/11/2015 21:15:08    1808792

Yeah Kevin Broderick is a good shout, that point against Kilkenny in 2001 was one of the best ever. Others that come to mind are Nicky English & Pat Fox that destroyed us in 1989! Brian Corcoran probably the obvious one from the rebels and personally DJ from the cats was always the ultimately marquee glamour player .... Offaly were a very slick, smart team for a number of years ...many names to choose from but the Dooley bros always seemed pretty good..problem was I could never remember which was which as they were all so skilfull ,,,Joe and Johnny certainly were pretty good for sure I think!!

delboy1 (Antrim) - Posts: 7 - 20/11/2015 22:02:27    1808798

Fully agree with those saying John Troy. Some of the stuff the man done and on the biggest stage was mesmerising. Beautiful stick man.

Honourable mentions to DJ, Ciaran Carey and Brian Whelehan.

Of those currently playing Tony Kelly looks to have it all, can't deny canning so stick work and of course the great Richie Hogan

Brianmac78 (Dublin) - Posts: 1168 - 21/11/2015 09:15:21    1808802

Tony Kelly is the finest athlete in the country this minute and has an unreal drive of a ball to score long range points, but the most skilful? He looks fairly one sided to me? Not a criticism, just asking the question

icehonesty (Wexford) - Posts: 2553 - 21/11/2015 09:56:54    1808808

Looks like John Troy is walking this and it's hard to disagree.
Here's a few by county that spring to mind:

Antrim - Gregory O'Kane, Liam Watson
Dublin - Danny Sutcliffe, Liam Ryan
Wexford - Dempsey and Adrian Fenlon
Kilkenny - DJ, Richie Hogan, Sheflin, Charlie Carter
Laois - Zane Keenan, Willie Hyland
Offaly - John Troy, Brian Whelehan, anyone with the surname Dooley except the young lad
Galway - Eugene Cloonan, Joe Canning, Damian Hayes, Joe Cooney, Broderick, hopper McGrath, Eanna Ryan
Limerick - none, only joking Kirby, Carey, Ollie Moran (more skilful than he looked),
Clare - Jamesie, Sparrow, Sean Mc, Liam Doyle, Podge Collins, Tony Kelly, Tony Griffin, McGrath
Cork - JBM, Ring, Ben O'Connor (can't understand why he isn't held in higher esteem, would walk onto any team from any era
Waterford - Flynn, Ken McGrath, Tony Browne, Mullane
Tipperary, Jimmy Doyle, Noel O'Dwyer, Nicky English, Liam Devaney, Pat Fox, John the pup Leahy, Babs, Lar, Eoin Kelly, Bubbles, Callanan.

The annoying thing is I know I've left out loads of players.

Killarney.87 (Tipperary) - Posts: 2513 - 21/11/2015 10:27:44    1808811

Can't be believe I forgot Tommy Dunne.

Tony Kelly is a phenomenal hurler and not just an athlete, you pay in to watch him play.

Killarney.87 (Tipperary) - Posts: 2513 - 21/11/2015 10:31:29    1808812

Thanks very much cue and Barnow .

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 21/11/2015 10:59:49    1808816

Thanks very much cue and Barnow .

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 21/11/2015 11:00:06    1808817

One man from my own county I thought I'd mention who hasn't been spoken of yet is CuChulann .

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 21/11/2015 11:02:03    1808818

You are welcome Greengrass, tip on one to watch in the future, young Niland from this years Galway minors, unreal skill the lad has.

Barnowl94 (Galway) - Posts: 3150 - 21/11/2015 13:10:04    1808840

I'll keep an eye out Barnow. I'll be keeping a bigger eye out for Sarsfields tomorrow.

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6031 - 21/11/2015 13:30:31    1808844

Damothedub, we will be wax lyrical about our era when we hit 80, of that I have no doubt.

So for each decade:

Tenzies : Tony Kelly, TJ Reid and Noel McGrath
Noughties: Eoin Kelly (Tipp), Kevin Broderick, Tony Browne.
Nineties: Liam Dunne, Tommy Dunne, Nickey English, Seanie McMahon, Ken McGrath, Jamesie O'C, Sid, DJ.
Eighties: Tony Keady, JBM spring to mind.

Pinkie (Wexford) - Posts: 4100 - 21/11/2015 13:47:15    1808852

Skill can be shown n many ways but I've always said the only 2 hurlers I'd pay in to see (and have done!) for what they could do are/were DJ Carey and Joe Canning, Tony Kelly is heading that way too. Carey's goal against Antrim was incredible and a personal favourite was a pass he made to E Morrissey where he just doubled on the ball, handball style, to give a perfect 20m pass. Canning could do anything - his goal in the 2012 final lit up Crone Park unlike anything I'd witnessed before - I didn't realise how brilliant it was until I saw it in slow motion!

Doesn't make either the greatest hurler but it's the thrill of being witness to a moment of brilliance that makes them stand out.

When Tony Kelly is in full flow he looks like he's reading a different script to the others. Not a career-defining game I know, but he was surreal in Nowlan Park vs Kk this year (a game where S O'Donnell finished the Paul Murphy for full back idea! Just a pity the team didn't match the heroics of the 2 Clare lads!).

I think R Hogan and J O'Dwyer also stand out for skill - some poster mentioned S Callinan, if he had O'Dwyer's skill he'd be unplayable (how often does he get blocked down or hooked because his wrist work is a fraction slow?).

A couple of honourable mentions....First award goes to Billy Byrne, who wins the award for Most Ridiculous Entry on this thread....second award goes to Brendan Murtagh who is possibly the cleanest striker of a ball I've seen.

1914 (Clare) - Posts: 92 - 21/11/2015 13:56:12    1808856

1914 Have you ever seen Billy Byrne play club hurling?

icehonesty (Wexford) - Posts: 2553 - 21/11/2015 18:36:29    1808898

The shinty game tonight was interesting enough in terms of watching the skills of players. As there is no catching, it was all stick work. Zane Keenan was really outstanding. He was the pick. Eoin Price of Westmeath as also impressive. Though TJ Reid didn't have a massive influence on the game you could see that when he was on the ball his touch was immense and was measured in delivering the ball to others.

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 21/11/2015 21:36:09    1808928

No, but I've seen him play plenty of county hurling! Good player and all but most skilful?

1914 (Clare) - Posts: 92 - 22/11/2015 14:36:06    1808988

1914 You'd have seen him mainly I expect in 1996 when he was an impact sub at full-forward for Wexford. When he was very effective but looked cumbersome and was just there to win high ball. At club level he hurled wing forward into his 40's and was just a pleasure to watch. Unreal touch

icehonesty (Wexford) - Posts: 2553 - 22/11/2015 16:12:55    1809012

Having started the thread & suggesting John Troy, I am delighted so many people agree and remember his skill which was fantastic.

I've seen one or two posts suggesting Ciaran Carey didn't have skill. The bloke rarely had two hands on the hurley. He used to bat that ball down to himself one handed if he had a second to spare under a high ball. He was weak off his right hand side in comparison to his left. I'm sure he would drive the modern day coaches mad. But he was gifted. He exhibited almost every aspect of the game (apart from placed balls) to great effect. Strong under a high ball, tenacious, but the arts of hooking, blocking, hand passing, picking out team mates, soloing, hitting the ball long - he had all this in abundance.

In the game v Clare in 1996, I thought he would try to bat Davy's puck out down to himself. Instead he caught it. His movement made him lost 4 Clare players as he got towards goal and I was hoping he'd hit it off his left side for the winner, but his jinking took him onto his weaker side and he nailed it. Carey was an exceptionally skilful hurler - way different as a centre back than Sean McMahon for example, but he played win forward, midfield & centre back for our Seniors and full back for the Intermediates in the 2008 All Ireland final v Kilkenny.

I'd also agree DJ Carey was a lot more skilful than Henry for example, but nobody could ever match what Henry gave all round to a team which is why Henry is the greatest (in my opinion). But I'd say John Try could have trapped a bear with one touch of his hurley. The patron saint of hurling skills.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6480 - 23/11/2015 08:17:49    1809114

Thats a fair assessment of Ciaran Carey slayer.A great player no doubt.Warrior spirit.
In regards John Troy,and i have seen him play numerous times,i think some of the praise he is getting is a little over the top.As i said already,he was a lovely skillfull hurler.No arguments there.But,for a lot of posters to have him as their "most"skillfull hurler is baffling.He played centre forward on that great Offaly team,and as far as i can remember,he rarely scored much in any game.Certainly wasn't free-scoring like some of the other players mentioned here like J Canning,E Kelly,DJ Carey,P Flynn etc.Yes,he scored a memerable goal v Antrim ,and he had lovely wrists,but he was never really dominant in a game.Fleeting moments of artistry,but all to infrequent.I wouldn't have in my top 20.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 23/11/2015 11:11:18    1809179