With limited resources, it is a source of pride in Offaly that All-Ireland and Leinster titles have been achieved in both codes and many players who will be remembered as among the greatest ever to play the sports represented ‘The Faithful County’. Of great importance down through the years has been the dedication of numerous players to Gaelic football and hurling, and although ‘dual stars’ are becoming rarer as the commitment required at inter-county level increases, after Sunday a total of 29 players have featured in senior championship action for Offaly in both codes.

Two other players deserve special mention, namely Sean Robbins and Dinny Walsh, who played inter-county senior hurling and junior football in the 1920s, when Offaly did not have a senior football squad.

And it’s worth remembering that many more players have represented ‘The Faithful County’ at senior level in the National Leagues.

The first man to play senior hurling and football for Offaly was Tullamore club man, Ned Holland, in the early years of the last century, and for most of the first half of the 1900s, it was predominantly Tullamore men who emulated his feat.

Of course, the most famous dual player in Offaly’s history is Liam Currams, one of a select band of players to have been part of both Liam McCarthy and Sam Maguire winning teams. The Kilcormac/ Killoughey legend also won an All-Star in each code.

Other dual stars from Offaly with an All-Ireland medal are Michael Duignan (a star on the hurling teams of 1994 and ’98), Ollie Minnock (a member of the football panel in 1982), John Ryan, Paudie Mulhare and Cillian Farrell (each of whom won hurling medals in 1998).

Since the turn of the millennium, the number of players nationwide committing to both codes continued to dwindle, but Neville Coughlan, Sean Ryan and Conor Mahon achieved selection for Offaly in the senior football and hurling championships (including qualifiers) in recent years, though not necessarily in the same season. Daniel Currams will be the 29th dual in the crown.

The full list of players is as follows:

Ned Holland (Tullamore)

Sean Robbins (Birr)

Dinny Walsh (Tullamore)

Rody O’Brien (Tullamore)

Ned Nolan (Tullamore)

Jimmy Henry (Daingean & Tullamore)

Jimmy Coughlan (Tullamore)

Jack Gibney (Tullamore)

Dermot Dunne (Tullamore)

Paddy McIntyre (Cloghan)

Jim Kelly (Tullamore)

Mickey Flynn (Tullamore)

Tom Sheeran (Killeigh)

Stephen Gavin (Birr)

Mick Furlong (Tullamore)

Noel McGee (Tullamore)

Dick Conroy (Tullamore)

Eamon Fox (Tullamore)

Joe Bracken (Tullamore)

Peter Daly (Tullamore)

Paudge Mulhare (St Rynagh’s)

Liam Currams (Kilcormac/Killoughey)

Ollie Minnock (Clara)

Michael Duignan (St Rynagh’s)

John Ryan (Shannonbridge)

Paudie Mulhare (St Rynagh’s)

Cillian Farrell (Edenderry)

Neville Coughlan (Shamrocks)

Conor Mahon (Kilcormac/Killoughey)

Sean Ryan (Birr)

Daniel Currams (Kilcormac/Killoughey) on Sunday June 17th 2012