“You can study and you can play. Anyone who says you can’t is lying.”

8 years ago

Sure how do you get the breaks when you’re a small fish? Davy Fitzgerald doesn’t often need much to rile a reaction from his team. He’d scour the back of a cereal box looking for motivation if he thought he could manipulate some of the words. Some managers like to form a siege mentality in […]

8 years ago

Paddy Jackson looks set to restart his career in France. The former Ulster and Ireland fly half is said to be on the brink of a move to Perpignan with RugbyRama reporting that the finalisation of the deal is “only a matter of time”. The 26-year-old hasn’t played for province or country at all in […]

8 years ago

Jack Carty will forever be a source of inspiration for at least one man. The Connacht fly half has carved out a good career for himself in Galway and his right boot has already won him plaudits, honours and it has made memories. Through it all though, Carty is as empathetic as ever. He’s never […]

8 years ago

We all love the idea of playing county. Free tracksuits, free massive GAA kit bag, swapping tops at the end of every game and a 100 per cent increase in your sex appeal. But, whilst the benefits are grand, many have found that the sacrifice just isn’t worth the numbered jersey and they’ve fallen short […]

8 years ago

This is exactly what the best full forward in the country wants to be doing. Conor McManus wants to be rolling around the ground. He wants to be wrestling with monsters. Immediately after he kicks a wide, he wants to goad the defenders and start a shoving match with two of them at the one […]

8 years ago

They love their football and their hurling in Derry. Mary K Burke, a prominent GAA photographer in Ulster, is a treasure in the Oak Leaf county not just because of her skill with the camera or knowledge of the game, but more so because of her commitment to the cause. Local journalism, when done right, […]

8 years ago

This time, it’s definitely different. Look, we know you heard before that they were going to win the Euros and it didn’t pan out and that it might just have been English hype but this is completely different. The impressive 3-2 win over Germany in Berlin in back in March of 2016 was a timely refuel of the […]

8 years ago

Gardaí can confirm that a 50-year-old man has died following a shooting incident. It took place in Bray, Co. Wicklow on Tuesday morning. The body of the deceased remains at the scene pending the arrival of the State Pathologist and a technical examination of the area is being carried out by Garda Crime Scene Examiners. […]

8 years ago

The hurling championship might’ve had all the fun in May, but the football is just getting warmed up. Football might not have the Munster hurling championship but they have the qualifiers. The idea of pitting the best teams against each other so early in the tournament has seen the ash take all the drama, the […]

8 years ago

Alas, a state of forever looking ahead has been reached for England. The beauty of persistently focusing on the future is that you never have to worry about anything really. Short-term goals are abandoned for the greater good – the “bigger picture” – and anything happening here and now doesn’t really matter because it’s about […]

8 years ago

Would you expect any less of the man? Derek McGrath is the personification of dignity. He’s a fine hurling manager, he was a top player but, through it all, he has class to his very core. Time and time again, he produces these acts that really show the mark of him. His response to a […]

8 years ago

Loris Karius. Whatever you thought of his mistakes or his apologies or whatever side of the argument you fell on about whether he was left to walk alone or not, it was hard not to feel a little sympathy for him. A little. We’ve all made mistakes and we’ve all wished the ground would open […]

8 years ago

The Fermanagh team bus is the place to be. Every so often, the Erne county come along and remind the rest of the island that it’s possible to take scalps and it’s possible to rise above yourself. When they do that, they celebrate and those celebrations on the team bus make their way to the […]

8 years ago

First, the penalties in hurling were too hard to score. Now, they’re becoming too easy. In a one-on-one situation from the 21-yard-line, goalkeepers are basically living on a prayer. They have a little bit longer than a blink of an eye to react to a bullet that’s fired at their goals in the form of […]

8 years ago

Gary Brennan can mix it any way you want to. He’ll fetch with the best of them. He’ll collide with the biggest. He’ll run with the tireless. The man is a steam train on ground and a throwback in the air, one of those immovable objects that makes it too awkward for anyone to even […]

8 years ago

James McClean is a Derry man. He’s proud of that, he’s thankful for that and, even though he has made a name for himself in the biggest football league in the world, he’s never forgotten that. He comes back to Derry whenever he can, his family still lives in the heart of Creggan and his […]

8 years ago

There’s a burden you endure for being the greatest sportsman on the entire planet. It’s just a sad reality of being a supernatural being in a world of mortals. It’s that everyone else is shite in comparison and that’s something you not only have to live with and accept, you have to somehow depend on […]

8 years ago

There’s no parking space on the road outside of Friel’s Bar. Cars are lined along the ditches for as far as the eye can see, a classic country road bending and winding but not really committed to a full turn. It’s just green all around you in this part of Ireland. Soft, rain-soaked grass rolls […]

8 years ago

The scary thing for the rest of Ireland is the reality that Galway is awake. No longer a sleeping giant, no longer living off glory days or ideas of what might be, the boom is very much back for GAA in the west. Galway are in that verve right now. It’s not that they’ve lost […]

8 years ago

It’s very easy to forget the work that goes into every single player. No-one just makes it to international level by chance. Conor O’Malley doesn’t just wake up one day and he’s the St. Pat’s goalkeeper. He doesn’t play a good game and get signed by Peterborough. The phone call from Martin O’Neill doesn’t come […]

8 years ago

Do or die. As big of a ball ache as the qualifiers are, it simplifies everything now. Survive and advance. That’s the only objective of the championship from now on – it doesn’t matter how you play or who you’re playing. Survive and advance. The backdoor has never looked as tricky for teams to enter […]

8 years ago

Brought to you by Paddy Power Remember the Brazilian Ronaldo? Everyone knew his trick. Step over, step over, step over… burst to the left. Everyone knew Ronaldo was going to his left. Everyone knew it. And yet no-one could stop him. Arjen Robben. How many times do lads scoff and tell you how obvious it […]

8 years ago

Well, no-one’s beaten the record for perfect anyway. Carlow’s rising. If you haven’t heard it this past year, if you haven’t seen it in hashtag form or felt it in your veins, something is stirring in the River Barrow and a population shy of 60,000 has lifted off its knees. Two Leinster championship wins – […]

8 years ago

11 different tips

8 years ago

It really is as simple as just picking up the phone. Just pick up the phone and get one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time on the line. Convince him to move to England and to Liverpool. And then never worry about him being 40 years of age, sure you’ve gone long enough without […]

8 years ago

Another hour of the day, another UFC statement. Having to address Nick Diaz’s arrest and the worrying nature of the allegations against one of the most famous faces in the UFC, Saturday morning didn’t get any better for Dana White and co. Ahead of UFC Liverpool and all the excitement that has built for the main […]

8 years ago

Christ alive. And just like that, Dublin have new leaders. Somewhere along the way, Jim Gavin has bled a new breed and he’s harnessed legends in waiting. Paul Flynn, Bernard Brogan, Diarmuid Connolly and the like will always have their places in the heart of Hill 16 and they will always have their roles on […]

8 years ago

“Due to an emergency, we are allowing Darren Till one extra hour to make weight”. The press at UFC Liverpool assembled for the weigh-ins on Saturday morning but the headliner, the home fighter missed the two-hour window. Shortly after 11am, the deadline, the media were notified of a family emergency and told that Till would […]

8 years ago

Now’s not the time to be sentimental. Liverpool have one game, one chance to win the Champions League and it should be approached with cold blood and a calculated head. Jurgen Klopp seems like a lovable character on the training ground but he hasn’t been afraid to make big calls in the past – he […]

8 years ago

The best way Jose Mourinho buys time is by bemoaning the scraps he was left to pick up and work with. There’s no logical reason why he’d want to let Anthony Martial walk away. The man is 22 years old and one of the best young footballers in the whole world. United should be shit […]

8 years ago

There are 33 teams in the All-Ireland football championship. Split four ways. But not split the way you think it should be. Imagine telling someone from outside of this country that the provincial system leads to the same place – even though some teams have to play four games and others just two. Imagine telling […]

8 years ago

Leinster and Munster have named their teams for the Pro 14 semi-final. The two provinces will lock horns for one last time this season on Saturday in the RDS at 3.15pm. Fresh from the Champions Cup celebrations, Leinster will have a menacing Munster awaiting them to not only try and sober them up but to […]

8 years ago

Of all the questions Colm Parkinson has had to ask on The GAA Hour, this was as strange as they come. Stephen Wallace and the drama surrounding his unceremonious sacking as Offaly senior football manager has garnered plenty of press and he hasn’t been shy in telling the media just what happened. Despite receiving the […]

8 years ago

Ariel Helwani is joining ESPN. One of the world’s most reputable mixed martial arts journalists is leaving behind The MMA Hour where he built his fame and reputation and he’s linking up with one of the biggest brands in American media. He will form one half of a new weekly show that will be condensed […]

8 years ago

Michael van Gerwen, ladies and gentlemen: 2 x PDC World Championship 2 x World Matchplay 3 x World Grand Prix 3 x Grand Slam 4 x Players Championship Finals 4 x European Championship 4 x The Masters 4 x Premier League And this has all been happening since 2012. You look on in awe and […]

8 years ago

Five-a-side football: The best and worst thing ever. Small-sided footie – be it five, six or seven a side – is the most enjoyable sport on the planet, indoor or out, but they come with some drawbacks and some rules. Each of them classic. Each of them everyone will understand. 1. A goalkeeper is the […]

8 years ago

“You’re on the gravy train if you’re travelling from Dublin”

8 years ago

Whatever side you butter your toast on, you’re still coming out of this thinking, ‘what?’ Whatever way you cut this up and break it down, you’re still left with one big, massive load of what the fuck is happening? If you thought England’s squad announcement video was the strangest thing to happen in the world […]

8 years ago

In the last week, a lot of Irish people have been enjoying the correlation between Stoke City’s journey and Glenn Whelan’s moveent. Having joined them in the January transfer window of 2008 – the stats have been simple. 2007/08 Glenn Whelan joins Stoke. Stoke get promoted to the Premier League. 2017/18 Glenn Whelan leaves Stoke. […]

8 years ago

The future’s bright. The future’s blue. Leinster Rugby have capped off an unbelievable year – one that could yet end with more silverware – by adding 21 new contracts to next season alongside the four stars. Having already secured extensions for Rob Kearney and Tadhg Furlong, the province announced on Wednesday that a further 19 […]

8 years ago

James McClean is probably fed up hearing about his passion now. That’s just baseline James McClean – that’s just what props up everything else in every single game. If he’s not on it like he can be, he’ll still beat anyone for will and desire. As a man once said, the only thing you’re in […]

8 years ago

Cillian O’Connor probably would’ve preferred to be anywhere else there and then. Another defeat to Galway, personal frustration at an injury still holding him back, and the prospect of another eight games (plus imminent replays and extra time) between Mayo and the holy grail. Leaving MacHale Park on Sunday, Cillian O’Connor and his team mates […]

8 years ago

Funnily enough, match suspensions as opposed to time suspensions were ushered in five years ago like Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The need for match suspensions in the GAA makes perfect sense. Too many players were being docked for four weeks and either missing absolutely nothing or potentially missing as many as four or five […]

8 years ago

Every few weeks, we have to take a regrettable journey to the GAA rule book. A place where your tongue could cost you more than your saliva. A place where a Derry club player could miss three years of championship over a two-match match ban. A place where you could tickle the referee and sit […]

8 years ago

As Eamon McGee says, “we only take the big teams into the old pitch”. You could write a whole book on GAA ploys but Gweedore of Donegal pulled a classic bit of devilment on Sunday evening, one of the oldest tricks out of that unwritten book. The west county outfit welcomed Kilcar to town for […]

8 years ago

If you look closely, you can actually pinpoint the exact moment his heart breaks in two. Colm Boyle ran himself to a standstill on Sunday. Up and down MacHale Park he legged himself, crashing into maroon jerseys, charging into the fray time and time again. On The GAA Hour live show last year in Westport, […]

8 years ago

There are 19 games in May of Ireland’s favourite sport. One of them is televised. Galway’s win over Mayo in Castlebar was the football fan’s lot for the entire month of May as they have to wait another three weeks now to see any more of the championship. Let’s honestly get this into some perspective. […]

8 years ago

Galway still have some way to go before they get the respect they surely deserve at this stage. It seems that whatever went before April means nothing in the championship conscience of this island. Galway can top the Division One table if they want. They can beat Kerry, Mayo, Tyrone, Monaghan and they can draw […]

8 years ago

“Sometimes I just like to have fun on TV…” Joe Brolly and Colm Parkinson sitting on a couch having it out over The Sunday Game. About bloody time. You’re not supposed to take football too seriously – that’s Joe Brolly’s thinking. He’ll take you on tactically if you want – he even asked Wooly to […]

8 years ago