Why fix what isn’t broken? Inter-county Under-21 hurling will be a thing of the past after a decision made at GAA congress over the weekend. Hurling is set to follow the lead of football either next year or the year after with the under-21 competition being replaced with an under-20 championship. The motion was proposed […]

8 years ago

They mean well, of course. They always mean well but good intentions don’t always lead to good things and sometimes our parents just don’t help themselves. They don’t help us either. You hear the stories of the parents who can’t even bring themselves to watch games because they’re worried about the uncontrollables. The type of […]

8 years ago

Some of the worst weather conditions in recent history have been forecast to hit parts of the country over the next few days. We were going to say we hadn’t seen anything like it for quite a while, but then we realised this is Ireland and remembered Storm Ophelia was less than a few months […]

8 years ago

You and your mates have no excuse now

8 years ago

The ‘Annie Power’ bet of this year’s festival

8 years ago

Their achilles heel is showing no signs of going away. Kerry were beaten by Mayo in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final because their defence was too open and too loose. Andy Moran and Mayo exploited them and could have hit them for more. Last year was by no means the first time the Kingdom’s defensive frailties […]

8 years ago

A referee is there to apply the rules. The rule is that a gaelic footballer must be wearing a gum shield at all times and the punishment is a yellow card. Meath referee David Gough issued Kildare player Eoin Doyle with a yellow card for breaching that rule on Sunday. It so happened to be […]

8 years ago

Conor Cleary captained the Clare senior hurlers against Wexford the day after winning his first Fitzgibbon Cup. The Kilmaley club man was one of Clare’s best players on Sunday. He held his man, David Dunne, scoreless and turned in a solid overall performance in a defeat that won’t hurt the Division One table toppers too […]

8 years ago

College GAA lives on. The Fitzgibbon Cup isn’t budging from Limerick for a fourth successive year. After two years across the city tucked away in a cabinet in Mary I, the trophy for the highest level of college’s hurling has returned to UL. It was an enthralling year of Fitzgibbon Cup action. Beaten finalists DCU […]

8 years ago

Class will always win these games. The cream always rises to the top. The best forwards will always make the difference. Michael Quinlivan and Conor Sweeney are two of the best forwards in the country. Tipperary’s twin towers have been consistently shooting the lights out for the last few years in the blue and gold. […]

8 years ago

Just Peter Harte stuff. “He definitely is the ginger Messi. He’s amazing, some of the things he pulls out,” said Sean Cavanagh on Peter Harte last March. “He’s a fantastic talent and we’re blessed that we have him,” continued the Moy club man. Peter Harte is a special talent. Sean Cavanagh knows that. The whole […]

8 years ago

That man was the difference. Nemo Rangers corner forward Luke Connolly proved the difference as the Cork champions edged Slaughtneil in a titanic tussle in Portlaoise after extra-time. Connolly’s swagger, pace and verve both on and off the ball caused problems for the Derry side’s rearguard from the first minute of normal to the last […]

8 years ago

In the end, the best team won out. UL lifted their 6th ever Fitzgibbon Cup title after they defeated DCU Dóchas Éireann, 2-21 to 2-15 in Mallow on Saturday afternoon. Gary Kirby’s side were red hot favourites from the word go in this competition. Their star-studded line-up in their first game out against DIT had […]

8 years ago

Fair play. Maynooth University won the Ryan Cup on Saturday afternoon in Mallow. The Kildare college breezed past the UUJ challenge in the final to raise the tier 2 third level college’s hurling championship for the first time since 2014. At the start of the year, Maynooth’s garden wasn’t so rosy. Ken Hogan’s side, down a […]

8 years ago

Think about the players. Don’t think about lining your wallet. Think about the players. At the end of the day, the GAA is a hobby. Players get into the GAA because they love the game, they love playing and they love trying to win. That’s enough for lads at the start. That should always be […]

8 years ago

If they’re using eyesight training to help see a rugby ball, God only knows how much of a help it might be to hurlers. For a man of 5 ft 8 inches, Keith Earls is decent in the air. You can always trust the Limerick man under a dropping ball, under pressure or not. His […]

8 years ago

It’s not about Karl McKaigue. It’s about Slaughtneil. It’s always about Slaughtneil. The small rural community between Maghera and Swatragh suffered a crushing loss at the weekend. Leading by three points and holding a two man advantage over red hot favourites Na Piarsaigh in last Saturday’s All-Ireland senior club hurling semi-final, the Derry club were in […]

8 years ago

The most famous hurling nursery in the country were defeated today. St. Kieran’s College are the most successful hurling school this country has ever seen. They’ve 55 Leinster Senior College’s Championships to their name. That’s 48 more than their closest rivals in Kilkenny CBS. They’ve racked up 21 wins on the All-Ireland stage, lifting the […]

8 years ago

Full back is the most specialised position on the hurling field. An oft-used adage by hurling folk is that the game’s finest stick men are born, and not made. That may be true to an extent, through genes and early habits, but no hurler will be born fully made. Development, both in the mind and […]

8 years ago

Sometimes, all a lad wants is a break from the game. And then when we get that small break, we’re rearing to go again. So often as GAA players, we complain about the sacrifices we have to make to survive, the sacrifices we have to make for our teams. Be it the long commute home […]

8 years ago

Hurling is taking over in North Dublin. In 2015, DCU won their first ever Fitzgibbon Cup game. Fast forward three years and they’re preparing for a final against UL, one of the competition’s traditional powerhouses. When Paudie Foley set off on his college journey in Glasnevin in 2014, hurling wasn’t at the forefront of his […]

8 years ago

But not enough of them are taking the chance

8 years ago

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. David Reidy may be small in stature, but by God, the player of the Hurling League so far is big in heart. The Éire Óg Ennis club man has been on top form for the Banner […]

8 years ago

Brendan Bugler knows all about it. The breakthrough performance of the hurling weekend just past was that of Michael O’Malley for Clare. The chance arose for O’Malley after David Fitzgerald picked up an injury in Fitzgibbon Cup action for UL during the week. The Kilmaley man grasped that chance with both hands, putting down a […]

8 years ago

High praise. Forget about 2013 and judge Shane O’Donnell for yourself now. Analysed fairly and the Clare man has to be considered as one of the most effective full forwards in hurling. Shane O’Donnell changed the perception about himself when he was only 19. In his first year on the Banner seniors, the Éire Óg, […]

8 years ago

They’ll have a tough year next year. Thurles Sarsfields won the Junior B All-Ireland hurling title on Sunday. The Tipperary club defeated Galway champions Kilnadeema Leitrim by one point to complete an unheard of, unparalleled achievement. For any club to win an All-Ireland is a magnificent achievement, but what’s unheard of and unparalleled about the […]

8 years ago

The sweeper keeper is back. For large periods of Monaghan’s Allianz League victory over Kerry at the weekend, it looked like the Farney army had an extra man in Inniskeen. That’s because they had. In practice anyway. Their netminder Rory Beggan deserted his nets at every opportunity he saw fit. He’d offer himself up for […]

8 years ago

Who deserves to make this team? Club GAA, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. The season is never really over, is it? Not for the best teams anyway. The All-Ireland finals won’t be complete until March 17 and by that stage, the League stages of next year’s county competition will be taking off. Club […]

8 years ago

“I would have lost my mind”

8 years ago

The good, the bad and the struggling. It’s hard to read too much into the curate’s egg that is the National Leagues. When you’ve counties like Galway – fresh from their first All-Ireland triumph in 29 years and on the back of a winter of celebrations, you never know what shape they’ll be in, both […]

8 years ago

Things haven’t gone well for Pat Gilroy’s Dublin so far. But it’s hard to blame him. The St. Vincent’s manager came in at the start of the year and it was clear that he had a tough job ahead of him. On top of the obvious hindrance of the missing Cuala lads, he was taking […]

8 years ago

Wexford were made to rue their profligacy in Semple Stadium. The Premier County turned on the style in front of their home Thurles crowd on Saturday evening. Their attacking duo of Jason Forde, who hit 2-9 and John McGrath was on fire. Their defence, aided by the powerhouse that is Pádraic Maher, and abetted by […]

8 years ago

That is what colleges’ GAA is all about. Con O’Callaghan has won it all in the last 12 months. All-Ireland club SHC  U21 Leinster football  U21 All-Ireland football  Leinster SFC  All-Ireland SFC  All-Star ⭐ Young Footballer of the Year  Dublin club SHC  Leinster club SHC  Sigerson Cup  He’s won so much in that calendar year. So […]

8 years ago

You’d just have to feel for the NUIG lads. UCD are the Sigerson Cup champions. John Divilly’s side defeated NUIG by one point on a scoreline of 1-13 to 2-9 in Santry on Saturday afternoon to claim the colleges’ 34th ever title. Maurice Sheridan’s Galway college had led for much of the game, with second […]

8 years ago

He shouldn’t have to do this. But he’s doing it anyway. Kieran Molloy played a key role in Corofin’s All-Ireland semi-final victory over Moorefield in O’Connor Park, Tullamore on Saturday. That game began at 2.00. Throughout this week, the whole of the GAA world felt sorry for both Molloy, and his club mate Liam Silke, […]

8 years ago

A classic, classic Corofin performance. Bouncebackability is a hallmark of every good team. Corofin have it in spades. That’s why these lads have three Connacht Championships won in the last five years. That’s why they’ve been one of the most consistent club teams in the country over the last five years. That’s why they’re now […]

8 years ago

When you think about it, it makes sense

8 years ago

Solo rower Damian Browne has completed the Atlantic Challenge rowing race. The former Leinster and Connacht lock came through the strong winds and strong currents in English Harbour to finish his row after 63 days, six hours and 25 minutes at sea. He finished the incredible journey at 9.30pm Irish time on Wednesday. Over two months […]

8 years ago

Fair plé díobh, a Loch Garman. The GAA and An Ghaeilge go hand in hand. The Cumann Lúthchleas Gael was established in 1884 with the intention of promoting Irish culture, Irish traditions and to bring pride of place and identity to our great country. Back then, Gaeilge was the first language of a greater percentage […]

8 years ago

“If a guy is good enough, he’s old enough.” Cian Johnson is good enough. That much we know. The main doubt surrounding the great white hope of Offaly football, however, has come about from the scarce amount of years he’s spent on this earth. The Faithful football manager Stephen Wallace has been keen to downplay […]

8 years ago

This will be a cracker. UCD will go into Saturday’s Sigerson Cup final as favourites, but the Santry showpiece will be tighter than the bookmakers’ odds suggest. NUIG have been faultless to date. With a slick, explosive but undoubtedly hard-working forward line led by Galway giant Damien Comer, they’re primed up front. Their defence is […]

8 years ago

That man again. On Saturday, NUIG will contest their first Sigerson Cup final since 2003. At the start of the competition, the Galway college wouldn’t have been among the favourites, but there’s nobody writing them off now. They’re hungry, they want this one and they’ve improved with each passing game. They’ll be underdogs again at […]

8 years ago

This one went all the way down to the wire. UCD and UUJ couldn’t be separated after 60 minutes in Inniskeen in Monaghan on Wednesday evening. They couldn’t be separated after 80 minutes of football so then the game went to extra-time in extra-time. Twice it looked like the Dublin college had this game won, […]

8 years ago

NUIG have made it to their first Sigerson Cup final since 2003. NUIG and DIT met halfway for their Sigerson Cup semi-final on Wednesday evening in St. Loman’s GAA pitch in Mullingar. Though it would feel like more of a home game for the Dublin college. Their manager, Billy O’Loughlin is a Loman’s club man […]

8 years ago

Welcome to the big time, buddy. It’s just the way it is in the GAA. There’s so much at stake. Nobody wants to lose. For the 70+ minutes that you’re out on the pitch, your opponent is your enemy. They’re the only lads that can take the sweet scent of victory from you. They’re the […]

8 years ago

It all boils down to this one. DCU’s rise to the peak of college hurling has been meteoric. The Glasnevin University won their first ever Fitzgibbon Cup game in February 2015. Fast forward three productive, explosive years and they’re preparing for the final. Hard work, ambition, a dream. Those over DCU GAA saw an opportunity […]

8 years ago

Damien Comer is one of the best footballers in the country right now. He has been playing to them standards for quite a while. Comer is explosive. He’s an animal, and he just wants to get on the ball. He wants to take lads on, to stick it to lads, he wants to throw himself […]

8 years ago

Carlow are a county on the rise. The green, yellow and red sea in the heart of Leinster is beating. The team is hungry, the supporters are starving and they’re rowing in the one direction. The momentum is with the county, the results are coming and the tide is only going one way. Last year […]

8 years ago

“I’d say he really pisses Mickey Harte off”

8 years ago

Micheal Lundy left for America in 2015. It was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down. Travelling to New York on a Grad Visa, the Corofin club man was eager to explore the city that never sleeps. He had been in Boston twice when he was younger on J1 Visas in his formative years, and the […]

8 years ago