The GPA Hurler of the Year is a hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

 award that honours the achievements of a hurler of outstanding excellence. At the end of every Hurling Championship

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....

 the members of the Gaelic Players Association

Gaelic Players Association

The Gaelic Players Association The GPA was formed in 1999 when former IMG employee Donal O'Neill and a number of high profile inter-county players including Tyrone's Fergal Logan and Peter Canavan, Derry's Fergal McCusker and Dublin's Dessie Farrell were instrumental in the birth of the organisation...

, the players 'union', vote on which of its members has played the best hurling in the previous year. As the award is voted on by the players it is often viewed as one of the greatest individual honours. Unlike other Gaelic Athletic Association

Gaelic Athletic Association

The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...

 awards the GPA Hurler of the Year is presented with a new car.
In September 2011 the GAA and GPA announced that their respective annual player awards schemes were to merge under the sponsorship of Opel

Opel

Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...

.
The first merged awards were given out in 2011.

GPA Hurlers of the Year

2010	Lar Corbett Lar Corbett Lar Corbett is an Irish sportsman. He plays hurling with his local club Thurles Sarsfields and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team since 2001.-Club:...	Tipperary Tipperary GAA The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...
2009	Tommy Walsh Tommy Walsh (hurler) Tommy Walsh is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a right wing-back for the Kilkenny senior team. He joined the team during the 2002 championship and became a regular member of the starting fifteen the following year....	Kilkenny Kilkenny GAA The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
2008	Eoin Larkin Eoin Larkin Eoin Larkin is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club James Stephens and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 2005...	Kilkenny Kilkenny GAA The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
2007	Dan Shanahan Dan Shanahan Dan Shanahan is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Lismore and was a member of the Waterford senior inter-county team from 1998 until 2010. In recent seasons Shanahan has come to be regarded as one of the best players in the game being named undisputed Hurler of the Year...	Waterford Waterford GAA The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county...
2006	Henry Shefflin Henry Shefflin Henry Shefflin is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Ballyhale Shamrocks and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 1999...	Kilkenny Kilkenny GAA The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
2005	John Gardiner John Gardiner (hurler) John Gardiner is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Na Piarsaigh and has been a member of the Cork senior inter-county team since 2002.-Biography:...	Cork
2004	Seán Óg Ó hAilpín Seán Óg Ó hAilpín Seán Óg Ó hAilpín is an iconic Irish-Fijian sportsperson. A former dual player, he currently plays hurling with his local club Na Piarsaigh and is a member of the Cork senior inter-county team. Ó hAilpín captained Cork to the All-Ireland title in 2005...	Cork
2003	J. J. Delaney	Kilkenny Kilkenny GAA The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
2002	Henry Shefflin Henry Shefflin Henry Shefflin is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Ballyhale Shamrocks and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 1999...	Kilkenny Kilkenny GAA The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
2001	Tommy Dunne Tommy Dunne Tomás Dunne is an Irish hurling coach and former player. He is the current coach of the Tipperary senior hurling team....	Tipperary Tipperary GAA The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...