Eoin Cody is to captain Kilkenny this year after earning the nomination from his club, Ballyhale Shamrocks.
Kilkenny are one of only two counties, along with Kerry, who maintain the tradition of allowing county champions to nominate the skipper of the county team and Cody joins a long list of Ballyhale players who have had the honour bestowed on them after they completed a historic five-in-a-row last autumn.
They added the Leinster title before Christmas and last Sunday collected a record-extending ninth All-Ireland and third in four seasons after seeing off Dunloy, with Cody in sparkling form as he hit 1-5 in a seven-point victory.
READ MORE: Mayo's Padraig O'Hora taking a prevention rather than cure approach to his mental health
Another Ballyhale star, TJ Reid, who has twice been Kilkenny captain in the past, will be vice-captain for the coming season.
Cody will be hoping to become Kilkenny’s first All-Ireland winning captain since Joey Holden, another clubmate, in 2015. In all, Ballyhale have had six All-Ireland winning captains with Kilkenny, with Ger Fennelly (1979), Liam Fennelly (1983 and ‘92), Henry Shefflin (2007), James Fitzpatrick (2008) and Michael Fennelly (2009) all having lifted the Liam MacCarthy Cup in addition to Holden.
Given that the Ballyhale contingent have yet to rejoin the county fold, it will likely be well into the League before Cody gets to lead the team out for the first time.
Kilkenny start their League campaign, new manager Derek Lyng’s first at the helm, away to Antrim on Saturday week.
READ NEXT:
Rory McIlroy speaks out on Patrick Reed tee-throwing incident
Marty Morrissey weighs in on All-Ireland final fallout as he says 'this isn't over yet'
Tyrone GAA hero Kevin Hughes opens up on devastating impact of siblings' road deaths
Cheltenham Festival hero Altior fighting for his life in hospital after severe bout of colic
Henry de Bromhead says Honeysuckle 'seems really good' ahead of Irish Champion Hurdle defence
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
