The Mayo men were kept busy. April was a relatively quiet month in the GAA calendar. Club championship games were ran off in a number of counties but only a few rounds were played. Throughout the whole month there was always the sense that this was the calm before the championship storm that would erupt […]

8 years ago

Arsene Wenger is a born winner and when he’s not winning he’s not a happy camper. For the last while, he hasn’t been winning. His Arsenal team have been on a downward spiral all the way to mediocrity for some time now and but for his own unyielding stubbornness he’d have been out the door […]

8 years ago

John Mulhall has one All-Ireland medal, he could just as easily have six or seven but he wouldn’t change a thing. Always one to take the road less travelled, the former Kilkenny forward comes across as a man that never really knew what stress was. We could all learn a thing or two from John […]

8 years ago

About time. The folks at Dungannon Eoghan Ruadh Hurling club brought an added dimension to the 2018 National League when they introduced Fantasy Hurling to the GAA. That was hurling’s equivalent of Fantasy Premier League which has grown and grown over the last few years all over the world. The Tyrone club have now created a Fantasy Hurling […]

8 years ago

A rotten hand. Just imagine for a second that Cian Johnson went ahead and played for the Offaly senior footballers in the Championship this year. The man would be in dream land. Only in his leaving cert year, the 18-year-old Ferbane gem would be the hottest property in the whole county and he’d be the […]

8 years ago

A sad state of affairs. The Cork minor footballers played two championship games in the last month, and now their campaign is over for the year. In their year opener, the Rebel minors gave Waterford a 27 point clipping. Now we’re all well aware that a non-contest like that is absolutely no good for the […]

8 years ago

The All-Ireland football championship has begun. Just like to gave Roscommon their fill of it and they were spirited against Sligo, New York got even closer this year to a first Connacht win after drawing with Leitrim and then leading them with one minute to go in extra time. The American outfit are finally carving out […]

8 years ago

What it’s all about. Leitrim and New York played out an absolute thriller on Sunday evening in front of a packed to the rafters Gaelic Park. In the end, it was a repeat of what happened fifteen years ago, with Leitrim only just shading it in extra-time, as they did in 2003. The atmosphere was […]

8 years ago

What an occasion. New York and Leitrim played out an absolute cracking game of football in their Connacht Championship first round clash on Sunday evening. With nothing between the sides after 70 minutes of action, extra-time was required to settle it where Leitrim would eventually prevail by the bare minimum. The home side got off […]

8 years ago

They’ve travelled in their droves. The Americans take their GAA seriously and so do the folk in Leitrim. The New York footballers were bidding to make history in Gaelic Park on Sunday night as they took on the O’Rourke County with the hope of winning their first ever game in the Connacht Championship. The home […]

8 years ago

The perils of being good at both. Galway are without doubt one of if not the most successful dual county in Ireland. While the common conception is that the majority of hurlers are from the east of the county, and footballers from the west, the reality is that there are a number who excel at […]

8 years ago

Something else. Tipperary and Cavan’s Division Two League final clash in Parnell Park on Sunday was as tight a game as you’ll see. Every time Cavan would score, Tipperary would go down the other end and do the exact same thing. And that pattern continued deep into the game. In the end, Tipperary were deserving […]

8 years ago

It was a deserved victory for Tipperary. The Tipperary Ladies Footballers are a team on the rise. Last year, they won the Division Three Football League and they backed that up with All-Ireland glory in September when they defeated Tyrone in the Intermediate Final. Picking up from exactly where they left off, the Premier County’s […]

8 years ago

This was a big one for the Westmeath hurlers. Under the raging Portlaoise sun, Michael Ryan’s team went out and did something that they hadn’t done in 50 years and that was beat Laois in the championship. 11 times these counties have clashed in the championship since 1968 and not once did the men in […]

8 years ago

The games that many will miss out on. This year’s Championship, in both hurling and football, will be an absolute belter. There are more games taking place than in any championship previous. The only problem is that the GAA agreed on their television plans for the year before they agreed on the championship re-structure, and […]

8 years ago

He makes it look like topping an egg. The best hurlers always look like they have time on the ball and John McGrath is never ever in a hurry. Just like the turtle racing the rabbit, the Loughmore-Castleiney ace will tip along lacksey-daisy and he might just fool you into thinking that he’s going to […]

8 years ago

There will be no fairytale ending for Arsene Wenger. Arsenal were knocked out of the Europa League on Thursday night by Atletico Madrid and their season is now all over bar the shouting. In less than two weeks time, their manager of 22 years will be in the dugout for his final game at the […]

8 years ago

As if they needed it. Liverpool will head to Kiev on May 26 as underdogs and rightly so. Real Madrid are in hot pursuit of a third successive Champions League crown and though they will never really get too much credit over here because of their erratic style of play, that achievement takes some doing. […]

8 years ago

This is the future. Goalkeepers have more on their plates now than they ever did before. First it was Steven Cluxton breaking the mould with his laser-like short kick-outs convincing every manager in the country for the first time that possession can actually be a guaranteed thing from their own team’s kick-outs. Another job for […]

8 years ago

People won’t believe the hype unless the hype is there. For God’s sake if Sky Sports can get away with calling a Premier League clash between Stoke City and Watford a ‘Super Sunday,’ well then the GAA have plenty of leeway. The Premier League is the biggest league in the world not because it’s the […]

8 years ago

There are many similarities between Jurgen Klopp and Bill Shankly. Renowned for his charisma, Bill Shankly was adored by the Anfield faithful. A hero of Merseyside, the best thing about the Scot, however, was that his success at the club was not what defined his reign. And that’s saying something when you consider the trophy […]

8 years ago

Job done for now, but May 26 will be a different ball game entirely. In fairness to Liverpool, they can only beat what’s put in front of them and over two legs, that was exactly what they did to Roma. If there was ever a tie to to sum up Jurgen Klopp’s side, this 13 […]

8 years ago

This under-20 championship hasn’t even started yet but it’s not going down too well already. Shane Curran and Billy O’Loughlin, the respective managers of the Roscommon and Laois teams that will take part in the competition over the next few months appeared on Monday’s GAA Hour Show with Colm Parkinson. The pair spoke about their […]

8 years ago

The stars of the weekend. 1 Odhran Lynch (O’Donovan Rossa) The O’Donovan Rossa ‘keeper went from one box to the other to tee up a goal and yet again show the country the consternation that a fly goalie can cause in football. How could he be left out? Odhran Lynch runs from goals from one […]

8 years ago

Everything seems grand until you think about the players who will actually be playing. But the GAA didn’t seem to spend too much time thinking about them. It all seemed to fit in seamlessly with their grand fixture plan for 2018 to have the under-20 championship taking place at the end of May and into […]

8 years ago

Willie Mullins is hiring. Fresh from an outstanding week at the Punchestown Festival and another Irish champion trainer winning season, the most successful handler in horse racing is straight back to work. A new season begins in earnest at Kilbeggan racecourse on Monday evening and Willie Mullins is already rearing for the challenge. It’s far […]

8 years ago

Prepare like a champion, play like a champion. Big game days can be tough for many GAA players. Some lads suffer with pre-game nerves, for others the day just goes so slow because they simply can’t wait any longer to get out onto the pitch to make their presence felt. No matter what grade it […]

8 years ago

Dr. Crokes have now done back to back Kerry club championships. The Killarney club defeated Dingle convincingly in an explosive Austin Stack Park affair on Sunday afternoon in the ‘club’ championship final – the first of the two senior county championships that take place every year in the Kingdom. Sunday’s final was not the main […]

8 years ago

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Decisions were made at GAA congress over the last few years to replace the inter-county under-21 and under-18 competitions with under-20 and under-17 grades. The changes would be felt for the first time this year. The reason the adjustments came into place was to tackle the issue of […]

8 years ago

TJ Reid is the best hurler in the country right now. Simple as. A player who can turn a game on its head in an instant, a player who’s been doing that consistently for a good few years now. Operating at the very peak of his powers at the moment, Reid ran amok in a […]

8 years ago

All part of the learning curve. Declan Rice has enjoyed an excellent breakthrough season with West Ham in this Premier League season. For one so young, the 19-year-old has shown remarkable levels of consistency and plenty of leadership in establishing himself as a mainstay in the Hammers’ defence. The 19-year-old London born defender, who qualifies […]

8 years ago

It was some week for Willie Mullins. The Clonsutton handler was crowned Ireland’s Champion Jumps Trainer for a 12th time in his career after an explosive week for the yard at the Punchestown festival. Mullins went into the week with a deficit of over €500,000 to Meath trainer Gordon Elliott but five days of racing […]

8 years ago

A fine way to bow out. Ten years after joining Norwich City, Wes Hoolahan played his final game at Carrow Road on Saturday. Having announced earlier this week that he will leave the club after 350 appearances, there was a sombre atmosphere at the stadium on the banks of the River Wensum for Wes’ farewell […]

8 years ago

John Muldoon would always come back for more. You could knock him to the ground and you could kick him and punch him but he’d always bounce straight back up. On Saturday, the most capped player in Connacht history played his last game in green. In a send off fitting of a legendary career, the […]

8 years ago

327 games and out. John Muldoon will forever be a Connacht legend. The most capped player in his province’s history, the current captain, leader and legend John Muldoon played his final game of professional rugby in the Sports Grounds on Saturday afternoon. It was a send off fitting of the Portumna man’s legendary career as […]

8 years ago

Two of the best female jockeys horse racing has ever had have hung up their whips this week. On Friday afternoon, Katie Walsh called time on her riding career after she steered Antey to glory in a Novice Hurdle on the penultimate day of the Kildare festival. “I wanted to go out on a winner,” […]

8 years ago

A master of the art. There’s method in Sergio Ramos’ madness. The Spaniard, once referred to by Eamon Dunphy as ‘Paul McShane on steroids’ has more of a reputation for his madness, which is fairly understandable given that he’s received a total of 24 red cards in his career, but maybe it’s time he got the […]

8 years ago

Always back Willie Mullins and then you’ll never go too far wrong. It’s the most foolproof piece of advice any horse racing punter could ever be given. The problem with that nowadays, is that the Clonsutton saddler’s dominance has gone so far now that he’s now often competing against himself in these big races. On […]

8 years ago

A great initiative by the Leitrim club. When you meet another Irish person on holidays, the first thing you’ll ask them is where they’re from. Then suddenly, you get to know them a little better. The conversation develops, and one of the most common follow-up questions will be whether they play a bit of GAA […]

8 years ago

Just what was needed

8 years ago

Mistakes happen. Horse racing comes down to split second decisions. The jockeys are the men who make these decisions. Make the right one and they will be heralded to the heavens, make the wrong one and they will be slated. All you have to do is look at the case of the best jockey this […]

8 years ago

And then suddenly it all becomes clear. 22 Croke Cups, 55 Leinster Senior College’s Championships, countless junior and underage titles, breeding ground of numerous past, present and future All-Ireland winners. This is St. Kieran’s College. There is a Pakistani student in St. Kieran’s College, Kilkenny. When he first came over to the school from Dubai, cricket […]

8 years ago

Amazing stuff. Shane Duffy is just messing around now. Brighton and Hove Albion have enjoyed a solid Premier League campaign and, sitting in 13th position, they look fairly safe to survive for another season in the English top flight. No matter what Brighton’s aims were at the start of the season, and no matter what […]

8 years ago

As cool as a cucumber. It is often said that GAA players are born not made. That’s certainly not the case with Kildare’s Daniel Flynn who is only playing gaelic football for one reason and one reason only, because he enjoys it. Flynn wasn’t born into gaelic football. He didn’t start taking it seriously until […]

8 years ago

There’s loads left in the tank, so why wouldn’t Wes Hoolahan stay playing at the highest standard of football that he possibly can? He may be 35 but he’s a young 35-year-old. Hoolahan will be ever-young to Irish eyes anyway, with his wistful smile after that famous goal against Sweeden in the Euro’s the first […]

8 years ago

Serious going. Zach Tuohy has had a bit of luck but fortune favours the brave and the Portlaoise man has always shown a rare capacity to make the absolute most of it. Lucky because he’s rarely if ever injured, but maybe that’s just a testament to his own dedication to ensuring that his body is […]

8 years ago

He’s not the only one using it. When Donnacha Ryan walked into the Stade Marcel Michelin dressing rooms prior to Racing 92’s Champions Cup quarter final clash against Clermont Auvergne with a sliotar in hand a couple of weeks ago, there’s no doubting that a couple of mystified gazes were sent in the Nenagh man’s direction, […]

8 years ago

The umpire was ducking for cover. Na Piarsaigh goalkeeper Podge Kennedy would have made a decent high jumper in another life. But for now, he’s the goalkeeper for his club and he’s doing a good job there. Less than three weeks after that crushing All-Ireland final replay loss to Cuala, the Treaty county kingpins were […]

8 years ago

It was only a matter of time. The role of the goalkeeper has changed and changed over the years. Their range of responsibilities have widened to the extent that now shot-stopping only just another link on the chain, and it’s not even the link that stops the rest. Steven Cluxton changed the game forever and […]

8 years ago

Munster went down on Sunday. While the action didn’t make for attractive viewing for Munster supporters who made the journey to Bordeaux for Sunday’s Champions Cup semi-final against Racing 92, that didn’t dampen their spirits, it didn’t quieten their voices. If we know anything about Munster’s following based on the evidence of the last few […]

8 years ago