Kerry’s season could be over before they knew it had even started. On the back of their listless loss to Galway last weekend, Kerry’s trip to Clones this Sunday got a whole lot more daunting. When you couple the Kingdom’s inability to cope with the Tribemen’s system in Croker with their historic struggles against these […]

8 years ago

Tá an-áthas orm an corn seo a ghlacadh… A number of Gaels have climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand and accepted the Liam MacCarthy or the Sam Maguire on behalf of their counties with a speech trí Gaeilge. Galway hurling captain Joe Connolly delivered one of the most memorable All-Ireland winning captain’s speeches in […]

8 years ago

That’s what it takes. Cheddar Plunkett is no nutritional expert and he doesn’t claim to be, but the former Laois manager does know a few things about high performance. GAA players have strode into professional levels of high performance in recent years. Training is as intense and refined as it’s ever been while the emphasis […]

8 years ago

Tight as they come. The one thing that struck Ross Munnelly about Monaghan after the Farney Army knocked Laois out of the championship last weekend was the intensity these boys brought to every tackle. “They leave something on you,” said the Laois man on The GAA Hour Show. These tackles aren’t token gestures. They’re tough, […]

8 years ago

You’re only as good as your last game, and Shane O’Donnell arrived in Cork on Saturday like a man that had a point to prove. In truth, the Éire Óg Ennis club man was lucky to keep his place on the Clare team for their All-Ireland quarter-final with Wexford. Speaking on Monday’s GAA Hour Show, […]

8 years ago

Never ever underestimate the value of the goalkeeper. It takes something special for a player to win an All-Star despite without making it to the final, never-mind the semi-final. Kilkenny were knocked out at the quarters this year but it tells you all you need to know about Eoin Murphy’s contribution that he’s already considered […]

8 years ago

A sad, sad day. He never really got the chance.

8 years ago

Our initial thoughts were what the hell those boys at FIFA were smoking, but then we realised this is FIFA we’re dealing with. Images did the rounds on Tuesday afternoon claiming to have been the ‘Official’ FIFA Team of the Tournament. With no confirmation of such on FIFA’s official website or on their Twitter account, […]

8 years ago

Goalkeepers have no limits these days

8 years ago

And that was always going to be enough to kill the Cats. Brian Cody’s men lived with Galway’s giants for 140 minutes over the last two weekends because even though they’re smaller men, they punched above their weight in the air. Like they always do. Padraig Walsh was at one with the sky that first […]

8 years ago

But there is some bad news for Galway

8 years ago

Ridiculous top speed

8 years ago

Aaron Gillane must have wondered what he had to do. First the Limerick man broke straight through early on in the first half in Semple Stadium and after losing his hurl, he improvised well to volley the sliotar with his right foot in the direction of the top corner. He was wheeling away, almost celebrating. […]

8 years ago

There are only three games of hurling left this year. What a championship its been. The GAA have received plenty of criticism about various different things this year but in fairness to them, they got it all right with the hurling championship this year. The round-robin series was introduced to the provincial championships this year […]

8 years ago

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. Richie Hogan made only his second start of the year for Kilkenny in Semple Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Danesfort club man missed out on Kilkenny’s whole League campaign due to a back injury, while his […]

8 years ago

Galway aren’t to blame in this. When the Galway seniors were followed by the county’s under-21s into Leinster this year, you’d think the minors would have completed the clean sweep. It would probably have made a bit of sense. Instead the Tribesmen’s under-17s have remained outside of Leinster, meaning the county are following the same […]

8 years ago

The best GAA weekend of the year. The Super 8s are finally have finally arrived, the hurling is hotting up. This is the GAA bonanza we’ve been waiting all the year for. From Croke Park to Semple Stadium to Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the three best stadiums in the country will host some cracking games. Saturday […]

8 years ago

Roy Keane saw this coming from a mile away. The ITV studio prior to kickoff on Wednesday night was an extremely optimistic place. Ian Wright said England would do it. Gary Neville alongside him agreed and so did Lee Dixon. “Roy Keane is back alongside us to restore some calm,” said host Mark Pougatch on […]

8 years ago

Around ten Mayo ladies dropped themselves off the county senior panel just days before the county would begin their championship campaign. Key players and personnel have left the fold leaving the team in a bad way prior to their first round clash with Cavan on Saturday. Captain Sarah Tierney and Vice Captain Fiona McHale were […]

8 years ago

This one has the potential to be a real clinker. Dublin gave a fancied Tyrone side one hell of a beating in Croker last year. Mickey Harte’s men came into that one quietly confident on the back of a blistering Ulster campaign but the Dubs put the foot down early on and never let up. […]

8 years ago

Roy Keane was like a man waiting for this one. The Cork man stuck to his guns like he always does throughout the course of this World Cup and his weapons were on the English for three full weeks. “England have already won the tournament, according to these lads down here,” he said bluntly in […]

8 years ago

Dejan Lovren has had enough of standing in the shade. This man is sick and tired of being a scapegoat in England. He’s stayed silent under the tanks of abuse being unloaded over his head and he’s not physically able to hold his tongue for any longer. For God’s sake, this is a man who […]

8 years ago

Vedran Corluka may have only made it to the pitch for five minutes but that was enough for him. He’s been around this game for long enough now to have seen it all. He knows what England are like, for God’s sake, this is a man who spent six years of his career in England. Corluka […]

8 years ago

Not one point, ten points. Carlow are a hurling county on the rise, there’s no doubt about that. A hammering at the hands of Limerick last weekend undoubtedly halted their momentum but the Joe McDonagh cup they won the week previous shows the progress these lads are making. With James Doyle and Chris Nolan up […]

8 years ago

Roscommon have a bit of swagger about them. With Armagh on top of the Rossies in the first half of their qualifier clash in Portlaoise last weekend, the commentators on RTÉ questioned why Kevin McStay didn’t pull a sweeper back to stem the tide. That’s not Roscommon’s style. The men of Connacht trust their ability […]

8 years ago

It’s a long year for a GAA player but Laois footballer Gary Walsh thought of a good way to keep himself on the straight and narrow. His year began in November but he was already planning in October. The Ballylinan club man had a decent year for Laois in 2017 but he was adamant to […]

8 years ago

It’s always the clubs who fall on the short straw and Monasterevan have had enough of it at this stage. While the air-time will always go to inter-county players’ mistreatment, it’s the club players who are the worse off at the end of the day. These are the lads who train from January all the […]

8 years ago

The Mayo ladies team were thrown into disarray just three days prior to their first match of this year’s All-Ireland football championship. Up to ten panellists opted out of Peter Leahy’s panel just three days before their first round clash with Cavan which is set to take place on Saturday. Captain Sarah Tierney, vice captain […]

8 years ago

He wore into Daithí Burke. Kilkenny were a completely different animal in the second half on Sunday. In the first, the Galway defenders were on top. Gearóid McInerney and Daithí Burke were lording the skies while John Hanbury and Aidan Harte mopped up. The loss of Walter Walsh was a hammer blow. In fairness to […]

8 years ago

Eoin Murphy has different standards to other goalkeepers. He’s set those standards for himself over the last few years between the Kilkenny posts and he’ll always be judged by those. He hits those standards and raises them with his remarkable consistency in each passing game. Johnny Glynn was the only Galway player to find a […]

8 years ago

Just three days before their first round of the championship

8 years ago

They’re doing it on the other side of the world now. It was a shorter summer than usual for the men of Mayo as their championship interest ended before the dawn of July. Usually, these men are in full swing at this time of the year with Mayo football the only thing crossing their minds […]

8 years ago

It’s the elephant in the GAA rulebook. When the phrase ‘grey area’ was invented it was surely something to do with the attitude to the steps rule in the GAA. They say you’re allowed four maximum, and any more will lead to a free. These days it seems you can take the ball for a […]

8 years ago

When Richie Hogan took to the green fields of Semple Stadium on Sunday, everything in Kilkenny changed. There was a moment in the second half in Thurles when Kilkenny’s James Maher stood in the middle of the field in no-man’s-land. Galway keeper James Skehill had the ball in his hands and his captain David Burke […]

8 years ago

This is what these Kilkenny lads do and they’ll back themselves every single time. Last weekend, Kilkenny’s backs completed the impossible and cleaned the Galway forwards out. Niall Burke was the only Galway forward to play to his potential as the Cats’ defenders showed that there is in fact a way to tame six of […]

8 years ago

There are only five games of hurling left this year. Hurling has ruled the roost up to now and although football has a strong hand this weekend with the Super 8s kicking off, hurling will still be number one. That’s because there are two absolutely mouthwatering quarter finals taking place on Saturday and Sunday where […]

8 years ago

Wexford and Limerick did as was expected of them in Cullen Park and in Mullingar. The Treaty County destroyed Limerick in Carlow on Saturday evening and though Wexford were made earn their quarter final spot after a gallant Westmeath effort, they too booked their place in the last eight. John Kiely’s Shannonsiders will have been […]

8 years ago

What a championships it’s been for Ireland. From Sarah Healy winning gold in the 3000m to Rhasidat Adeleke doing likewise in the 200m, these are golden times for Ireland athletics. After a few barren years on the running track, the goings on in Gyor this week are extremely welcome and the sight of Irish athletes on […]

8 years ago

Kildare didn’t give a damn about the Fermanagh blanket. They cut straight through it, they ripped it up and now they’re coasting towards the Super 8s. Oh how things have changed for Kildare football. Less than one month ago, Cian O’Neill was skating on thin ice after his side had been trounced out of Leinster […]

8 years ago

What a win for Ireland. Tallaght athlete Rhasidat Adeleke sprinted all the way to a gold medal in European U18 Championships 200m final on Saturday afternoon, winning in a personal best time of 23.53. The teenager has been steadily improving throughout this whole competition, winning her semi-final in 23.77 but she saved her best run for the […]

8 years ago

And the Super 8s are only one weekend away now. The Super 8s were brought in so that the best teams would play each other more often. The Super 8s were brought in so that the best teams would travel the length and breadth of the country for games rather than having them in Croke […]

8 years ago

Compression socks. Compression socks are worn to improve the blood flow in an individual’s calves. From the moment Cork took to O’Moore Park on Saturday afternoon, heads were turned in the direction of Luke Connolly’s socks. GAA folk are mad into their traditions and every team member wearing the same togs and socks is one […]

8 years ago

This was their moment in the sun and they weren’t content to take it sitting in the shade. Roscommon are headed for the Super 8s and they’re not looking back. They may have lost the Connacht final but they didn’t let that narrow defeat define their season and they’re back on track and exactly where […]

8 years ago

So much closer to home too. There were long range scores aplenty, there was some superb high-fielding, there were two teams trying to score more than each other and it all made for a belter of a game. Roscommon eventually came out on top and now they’re headed for the Super 8s. Kevin McStay’s men […]

8 years ago

He’s some man for one man. One undeniable fact about Eamon Dunphy is that, love him or loathe him, you’re always entertained by him. If you take the 72-year-old too seriously you’re probably only going to get annoyed by him so you’d probably be better off just sitting back and enjoying the show. There’s always […]

8 years ago

That’s a front three straight out of heaven. Preston North End seem to be the next step for a player who has outgrown the League of Ireland. In January 2017, Daryl Horgan made the trip across the water to the Lancashire club.  After he had ripped it up for Dundalk in the Irish League for […]

8 years ago

Some difference a week makes. Semple Stadium wasn’t in great nick for the Munster final last weekend. The recent heatwave combined with a lack of rainfall had seen the Thurles pitch scorched for the provincial decider. “I’ve been in Thurles a huge number of times in my life, and it was the first time I’d […]

8 years ago

Like mother like daughter. Sonia O’Sullivan was always a fast finisher. Renowned for her powerful kick at the closing stages of races, the Cork native was at the top of women’s track and field for more than 10 years between the early 1990s and the early 2000s. The apple never falls too far from the […]

8 years ago

Oh the irony

8 years ago

Mark Coleman is the very best in the business. The Blarney boy is already being tipped as the leading candidate for Hurler of the Year. He’s done his claims for the highest gong in hurling no harm over the last four days, winning two Munster titles and one man-of-the-match award in half a week’s work. […]

8 years ago