The favourite 15

The university teams that I featured on would have played in their respective county club championships back then; NUI Galway in the Galway Senior championship and UCD in the Dublin Senior championship.

After completing an arts degree in Galway in 2000, I spent that summer in Boston and a year out working before returning to complete my HDip in Dublin in St. David's Artane and UCD.

College and work kept me in the east of the country where I played Sigerson Cup and club championship football for UCD, then club championship for St. Vincent's and later moving to live in Greystones and line out for Éire Óg in Co. Wicklow.

I played one final year back down in Mayo with my home club Hollymount-Carramore to wrap it all up. As they say - 'Father time waits for no man'.

In selecting this particular team and panel, I have stuck to choosing from club and college teams that I played on and opted not to include any players from my home club in Co. Mayo or players I lined out with in a Mayo jersey at any grade. This made the task a little easier.

I was also thinking about some of the wonderful players that I have been privileged to coach and manage over the years and about sitting down to pick a team from that group but that is for another day.

Gerry McGill

UCD: A great shot-stopper and brilliant in the one-on-one situations. Gerry was an excellent communicator on the field and always kept his defence on their toes.

Had a long booming kickout also that he used to pick out primary ball winners out the field.

This often lifted the pressure off our team and was able to give us good field position in the other half of the pitch.

Worked incredibly hard on goalkeeping drills, reaction speed and positioning in training to hone his craft. Went on to have an excellent career in management.

Conor Evans

UCD: A real tough-teak, no-nonsense defender that always drove his team mates on.

Extremely committed, dedicated player that loved the physical stakes.

He had fantastic anticipation and a great turn of pace as well to get out first to the ball.

Always stuck to his task. A top-class man-marker. Always trained very hard and displayed that true Offaly grit in many contests.

Liam Moffatt

NUI Galway: Full-back on the NUIG Sigerson team in 2000 that beat a star-studded Jordanstown team in the quarter-final that year that included Jimmy McGuinness, Paddy Bradley and Sean Marty Lockhart before losing out by a point to UCD in the semi-final.

Enjoyed a very successful club career with Crossmolina Deel Rovers in Mayo and is the current Mayo GAA County Board Chairman. Big powerful presence, great leader, intelligent and demanded very high standards from his team-mates. Went on to win a Sigerson Cup with DCU.

Stephen 'Chester' Kelly

Éire Óg Greystones: A defender with great positional sense, pace in abundance, brilliant hands and was an excellent tackler.

A good man to pull off a block to lift the team and was very comfortable and assured in possession.

His versatility was a big plus also as 'Chester' could play anywhere in the team.

After losing to Annacurra by a point in the Intermediate final of 2010, Chester played a key part the following year in Éire Óg's Wicklow and Leinster Intermediate winning team. A dual player with Wicklow for many years. Consistently left it all out on the field.

Pat Kelly

St. Vincent's, Dublin: An extremely athletic player who could get up and down the field all day long. Well able to kick a score too.

Very good on the ball, agile and a great man to carry the ball at pace. Versatile, with a good all-round game.

Added real value to St. Vincent's when he arrived there. Pat was a reliable and dependable footballer and played at every level for Mayo. Another great leader.

Ger Brennan

St. Vincent's, Dublin: Pound for pound, the strongest player, physically, that I have played with.

Had a school's rugby background in Belvedere College, Dublin. A great motivator and always led from the front.

He was a solid defender and marshalled his defence very well. He went on to captain St. Vincent's and Dublin.

One of the big character's in the team. Ger is head of GAA in UCD and is the current manager of the Bray Emmet's Senior Gaelic football team.

Peadar Gardiner

NUI Galway: A dashing half back. Extremely quick with incredible fitness levels. Very intelligent and unselfish player. Always team-first in his approach. A really hard-working solid player. Went on to have a great career with Crossmolina Deel Rovers and Mayo, winning a huge number of accolades along the way.

Nigel Crawford

UCD: All-Ireland winner in 1999 with Meath. Big, strong, primary ball-winner. Very good on kick outs and helped to get the team going forward and on the front foot. He had a lot of experience at county level which served the UCD team well. Kept it simple and always played to his strengths.

Cormac McAnallen

UCD: Strong, athletic player with great awareness of team-mates around him.

His all-round game was absolutely brilliant, ball winning, link play, distribution. He had a way of influencing the game.

If the team needed a platform, he would always provide it. A gentleman through and through. It was a great honour to play with him.

He was in my HDip class in UCD. A wonderful guy. A huge loss to us all.

Ciaran McManus

UCD: Bags of experience having played for Offaly, Leinster and Ireland. Very good man to carry the ball and kick long-range scores. Very good on placed balls off the deck as well.

He had a lot of very good attributes and he was a leader within the team as well. Had a very strong winning mentality.

Diarmuid Connolly

St. Vincent's: Diarmuid Connolly was an immense player. Two footed, perfect balance, extremely talented. Always seemed to have a huge amount of time on the ball which is the hallmark of a truly great player.

His vision, accuracy and distribution were outstanding. He developed as a young player in Vincent's and excelled under Micky Whelan, Pat Gilroy and Jim Gavin. Has had an incredible career with Dublin. Six All-Ireland Senior titles, four National League titles, 11 Leinster titles, three All-Ireland club titles, four Leinster club titles, five Dublin SFC titles, two All-Stars.

Darren Hayden

Éire Óg Greystones: Great ball-carrier. Quick, brave and excellent on breaks with a big engine.

Very good trainer with a real competitive streak. Always a scoring threat and would always go looking for work around the field.

Has been a great servant to the Wicklow Senior team for many years now.

Has achieved a great deal of success with Éire Óg Greystones over the years as a player and captain.

Tomas Quinn

St. Vincent's: Mossy's free taking during my time with Vincent's always a big part of his game.

He improved his all-round game and always delivered when it mattered most.

Even when he was double-marked he would still contribute hugely and execute. He was a very confident player, never doubted himself.

If he missed an opportunity, it never affected him he would focus on the next one.

Great leader for Vincent's and blossomed into a fine captain. Made his mark with Dublin too.

Brian 'Beano' McDonald

UCD: Had balance,an awareness of space and a great eye for goal.

Oozed class. Could kick well off both feet and was very good with his back to goal in bringing other teammates into the play. A really nice fella.

An All-Ireland double Minor winner with Laois and played Senior for many years winning a Leinster championship under Mick O' Dwyer. Played a pivotal role in the defeat of our Mayo Minor team in the 1997 All-Ireland semi-final in Croke Park bagging two goals in that game.

Played Minor for three years in a row with Laois, 96, 97 and 98. A rare achievement. Went on to play compromise rules for Ireland.

Dessie Dolan

NUI Galway: Dessie was a super player technically with a fantastic kicking style. Physically very strong and could win his own ball. Had a great understanding with midfielder David Shaughnessy at club level with Garrycastle, college and county. A very confident player. A great awareness of space.

He was a clever player and would always find room to pull the trigger. A top-class finisher also. Played for Westmeath, Leinster and Ireland.

Won an All-Ireland U21 championship with his county in and a Leinster Senior championship title with Paidi O' Sé's famous Westmeath team.

Alan Costello is a school Principal in Cólaiste Eoin, Hacketstown, Co. Carlow. He is married to Michelle and they have a five-year-old daughter Sophie. He is the current manager of the Tinahely Senior Gaelic football team.

The full list: 1. Gerry McGill - UCD - (Donegal); 2. Conor Evans - UCD - (Offaly); 3. Liam Moffatt - NUIG - (Mayo); 4. Stephen 'Chester' Kelly - Éire Óg Greystones - (Wicklow);  5. Peader Gardiner - NUIG - (Mayo); 6. Ger Brennan - St. Vincents (Dublin); 7. Pat Kelly - St. Vincents (Mayo); 8. Cormac McAnallen - UCD - (Tyrone); 9. Nigel Crawford - UCD - (Meath); 10. Ciaran McManus - UCD - (Offaly); 11. Diarmuid Connolly - St. Vincent's (Dublin); 12. Darren Hayden - Éire Óg Greystones (Wicklow); 13. Thomas 'Mossie' Quinn - St. Vincent's - (Dublin); 14. Brian 'Beano' McDonald - UCD - (Laois); 15. Dessie Dolan - NUIG - (Westmeath); 16. Michael Savage (GK) - St. Vincent's (Dublin); 17. Kieran Collins - NUIG - (Galway); 18. Brian Maloney - St. Vincents - (Mayo); 19. Maurice Sheridan - NUIG - (Mayo); 20. Michael O'Shea - St. Vincent's - (Kerry); 21. Stephen Lucey - UCD - (Limerick); 22. Kevin Golden - St. Vincent's (Dublin); 23. Darragh O hÁnnaidh - UCD (Wicklow); 24. David Shaughnessy - NUIG - (Westmeath); 25. Darren Rooney - NUIG - (Laois); 26. James Leonard - Éire Óg Greystones (Wicklow); 27. Noel Maguire - UCD - (Sligo); 28. Brian Considine - NUIG - (Clare).