Dual player

Dual player^[1] or dual star^[2] is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling.^[3] The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays both Gaelic football and hurling or, if a female player, a player of ladies' Gaelic football and camogie. The player does not necessarily have to play at the same standard in both sports. The number of dual stars at county level has decreased recently due to the increasing demands placed upon the best players of both sports.

List of dual players with All-Ireland titles

Name	Team(s)	All-Ireland SHC titles	All-Ireland SFC titles
Kerins, Alan	Galway	—	2001
Barry-Murphy, Jimmy^[4]	Cork	1976, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1986	1973
Beckett, Derry	Cork	1942	1945
Blaney, Greg	Down	—	1991, 1994
Burke, Frank	Dublin	1917, 1920	1921, 1922, 1923
Cadogan, Eoin	Cork	—	2010
Collins, Podge	Clare	2013	—
Collins, Seán	Clare	2013	—
Coughlan, Denis	Cork	1976, 1977, 1978	1973
Cregan, Éamonn	Limerick	1973	—
Cummins, Brendan	Tipperary	2001, 2010	—
Cummins, Ray^[5]	Cork	1970, 1976, 1977, 1978	1973
Currams, Liam	Offaly	1981	1982
Ferguson, Des	Dublin	—	1958, 1963
Foley, Lar	Dublin	—	1958, 1963
Grace, Pierce	Dublin Kilkenny	1911, 1912, 1913	1906, 1907
Lynch, Jack	Cork	1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946	1945
Mackessy, Billy	Cork	1903	1911
McCarthy, Teddy	Cork	1986, 1990	1989, 1990
Mackey, Paddy	Wexford	1910	1915, 1916, 1917, 1918
Markham, Liam	Clare	2013	—
McGrath, Leonard	Galway	1923	1925
McInerney, Cathal	Clare	2013	—
Murphy, Brian	Cork	1976, 1977, 1978	1973
Ó hAilpín, Seán Óg^[6]	Cork	1999, 2004, 2005	—
O'Halloran, Davy	Clare	2013	—
O'Kennedy, Seán	Wexford	1910	1915, 1916, 1917
O'Neill, Alan	Clare	2013	—
Spain, W. J.	Dublin Limerick	1887	1889
Walsh, Aidan	Cork	—	2010
Walsh, Denis	Cork	1986, 1990	1989, 1990
Wilson, Marcus	Dublin	—	1958

In 1990, Teddy McCarthy of Cork became the first player to win both a football and a hurling All-Ireland in the same year. This unique achievement remains intact as of 2025.

Ex-Taoiseach Jack Lynch won one football and five hurling All-Irelands with Cork during the 1940s.

List of dual players with All Stars in both codes

A few players have won All Star Awards in both codes. These include:

Ray Cummins has uniquely won an All Star Award in both hurling and Gaelic football in the same year, 1971.

Ladies' Gaelic football/camogie

Player	Gaelic football	Camogie	Football All Stars	Camogie All Stars
Rena Buckley ^{(Note 1)}	Cork	Cork	6	5
Naomi Carroll ^{(Note 2)}	Clare	Limerick/Clare	0	0
Briege Corkery	Cork	Cork	10	6
Mary Geaney ^{(Note 2)} ^{(Note 3)}	Kerry	Cork	0	0
Michelle Magee ^{(Note 4)}	Antrim	Antrim	0	0
Aisling McCarthy	Tipperary	Cahir GAA	0	0
Mary O'Connor	Cork	Cork	1	3
Fiona O'Driscoll	Cork	Cork	1	1
Rachel Ruddy	Dublin	Dublin	2	0
Angela Walsh	Cork	Cork	6	0

Notes

^1 Rena Buckley, was the first player to captain Cork teams to both the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship and the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship. In 2012 she captained the Cork senior ladies' football team and in 2017 she captained the Cork senior camogie team.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]
^2 Naomi Carroll and Mary Geaney were also Ireland women's field hockey internationals
^3 Mary Geaney became the first player to captain a team to both the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship and the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship. In 1976 she captained Kerry when they won the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship. In 1980 she captained the Cork senior camogie team.^[11]^[12]^[13]
^4 Michelle Magee is also a Northern Ireland netball international. She played camogie at under-14 level for Antrim.

Dual county

Dual county is a similar term for counties that have teams that play at the same level in both football and hurling.

Dual manager

The definition of a dual manager is Anthony Cunningham.^[14]

References

^ The History of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Canada John O'Flynn, Ainsley Baldwin - 2008 "Mike's hurling was Frank Rafter and a notable member, Liam Cotter, a dual player, who helped to write the constitution for the Toronto GAA."
^ "Seán Óg to be given freedom of Cork city". JOE.ie. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2016. The 33-year old dual star, who won three All-Ireland hurling titles and ... Taoiseach and fellow dual star Jack Lynch, athlete Sonia O'Sullivan
^ Sport and society in Victorian Ireland: the case of Westmeath Page 157 Tom Hunt - 2007 "The dual player was also common in Kilkenny cricket and hurling circles. ... In 1887 the Kells GAA club played a cricket match against Gaulstown of Tullaroan"
^ Irish Almanac and Yearbook of Facts 1997 Page 298 Pat McArt, Donal Campbell - 1997 "GAA Barry-Murphy, Jimmy: (born Cork, 1954). Outstanding dual player who won six All-Ireland medals, one in football (1973) and five in hurling (between 1976 and 1986). His other achievements are almost as breathtaking, two All-Ireland.."
^ Declan Hassett Passing through Page 148 2004 "I saw Jack Lynch play at the very end of his career but cannot now recall those games too clearly. For many, Jack would be the greatest dual player of all time. For me, the greatest dualist remains Ray Cummins."
^ Irish Examiner -2 nov. 2012 "O hAilpin retires from inter-county hurling - "O hAilpin was a talismanic player for Cork throughout his 16-year career, starting-out as a dual player before focusing on his hurling career"
^ "Buckley award to mark 18th All-Ireland medal". www.independent.ie. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
^ "Rena Buckley and Sinead Aherne joint winners of sportswoman award". www.irishtimes.com. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
^ "Murray hails Cork's cool heads after last-gasp win". www.rte.ie. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
^ "'I wouldn't go back on my word': Buckley's childhood pledge to make her acceptance speech in Irish". www.the42.ie. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
^ "Multi-talented Mary Geaney made her own All-Ireland history". www.irishexaminer.com. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
^ "Meet the remarkable sporting history-maker Mary Geaney". www.offtheball.com. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
^ "Kerry Lady Reminisces On Historic Football-Camogie Captaincy Double". www.radiokerry.ie. 17 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
^ Breheny, Martin (20 July 2019). "'Cunningham leaves Cody frying pan only to land into Gavin fire'". Irish Independent. Perhaps, but Cunningham has already achieved more as a dual manager than anyone else, having steered the Galway hurlers to a Leinster title and Roscommon's footballers to Connacht success.

[1] The History of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Canada John O'Flynn, Ainsley Baldwin - 2008 "Mike's hurling was Frank Rafter and a notable member, Liam Cotter, a dual player, who helped to write the constitution for the Toronto GAA."

[2] "Seán Óg to be given freedom of Cork city". JOE.ie. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2016. The 33-year old dual star, who won three All-Ireland hurling titles and ... Taoiseach and fellow dual star Jack Lynch, athlete Sonia O'Sullivan

[3] Sport and society in Victorian Ireland: the case of Westmeath Page 157 Tom Hunt - 2007 "The dual player was also common in Kilkenny cricket and hurling circles. ... In 1887 the Kells GAA club played a cricket match against Gaulstown of Tullaroan"

[4] Irish Almanac and Yearbook of Facts 1997 Page 298 Pat McArt, Donal Campbell - 1997 "GAA Barry-Murphy, Jimmy: (born Cork, 1954). Outstanding dual player who won six All-Ireland medals, one in football (1973) and five in hurling (between 1976 and 1986). His other achievements are almost as breathtaking, two All-Ireland.."

[5] Declan Hassett Passing through Page 148 2004 "I saw Jack Lynch play at the very end of his career but cannot now recall those games too clearly. For many, Jack would be the greatest dual player of all time. For me, the greatest dualist remains Ray Cummins."

[6] Irish Examiner -2 nov. 2012 "O hAilpin retires from inter-county hurling - "O hAilpin was a talismanic player for Cork throughout his 16-year career, starting-out as a dual player before focusing on his hurling career"

[List_of_Ladies'_Gaelic_footballers_independent310318-7] "Buckley award to mark 18th All-Ireland medal". www.independent.ie. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2019.

[List_of_Ladies'_Gaelic_footballers_irishtimes121017-8] "Rena Buckley and Sinead Aherne joint winners of sportswoman award". www.irishtimes.com. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.

[List_of_Ladies'_Gaelic_footballers_rte100917-9] "Murray hails Cork's cool heads after last-gasp win". www.rte.ie. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.

[List_of_Ladies'_Gaelic_footballers_42ie110917-10] "'I wouldn't go back on my word': Buckley's childhood pledge to make her acceptance speech in Irish". www.the42.ie. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.

[List_of_Ladies'_Gaelic_footballers_irishexaminer120917-11] "Multi-talented Mary Geaney made her own All-Ireland history". www.irishexaminer.com. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.

[List_of_Ladies'_Gaelic_footballers_offtheball270917-12] "Meet the remarkable sporting history-maker Mary Geaney". www.offtheball.com. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.

[List_of_Ladies'_Gaelic_footballers_radiokerry170917-13] "Kerry Lady Reminisces On Historic Football-Camogie Captaincy Double". www.radiokerry.ie. 17 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.

[14] Breheny, Martin (20 July 2019). "'Cunningham leaves Cody frying pan only to land into Gavin fire'". Irish Independent. Perhaps, but Cunningham has already achieved more as a dual manager than anyone else, having steered the Galway hurlers to a Leinster title and Roscommon's footballers to Connacht success.

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