It was a fairytale back then. Éire Óg are looking to create another fairytale now. Before 1992, a Carlow club had never once won the Leinster senior football championship. In the 70s and 80s, it was the Dublin clubs that dominated. Offaly, Laois and Meath weren’t far behind, but never Carlow. Éire Óg, having won […]

6 years ago

The 2020 National League will be a fresh start for camogie. It will be a new one for camogie players all over. After what seems like years of debate, pleas and advice, the long-awaited and eagerly anticipated camogie rule changes are finally on the way. The is have been dotted and the ts have been […]

6 years ago

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So says Oscar Wilde. And Jim Gavin was flattered to the last. In every walk of life, there are begrudgers. No matter who you are, there will be critics. Yet in his seven years as Dublin manager, Jim Gavin was immune to it all. He was too doing […]

6 years ago

Four years. For Tullaroan, it felt like a decade. Traditionally you see, they’re Kilkenny’s most successful club. 20 senior titles. In the 1900s, they were an unstoppable force. But intermediate dragged them down in 2014, and it sucked them in. Kilkenny is a real quagmire when it comes to club hurling and if you sink […]

6 years ago

Provincial final weekend. Some magnificent wins for Munster and Ulster clubs. In Ulster, Kilcoo got the headlines, but Monaghan’s Magheracloone Mitchells were arguably the story of the round. Two years after losing the county senior final, the Mitchells bounced back with a convincing triumph at the intermediate grade. Here’s where the story gets miraculous though. […]

6 years ago

With Munster, Ulster, Connacht and Galway all ran off, this was a Leinster weekend. And Kilkenny as is traditionally the case, took centre stage. Ballyhale Shamrocks lifted the senior crown for a tenth time. Tullaroan obliged at the intermediate grade and Conahy won the junior. As if this wasn’t enough, St Kieran’s College added another […]

6 years ago

It takes a special type of player to whip a penalty into the top corner with the whole of Hill 16 jeering. Luke Connolly did that this summer, and then he turned around to tell them to quieten down. It's all about Luke Connolly telling the Hill to shut up afterwards 🤣pic.twitter.com/8E8BUk5Nsy — GAA JOE […]

6 years ago

Kilcoo is a GAA romanticists dream. There’ll be songs written about the place yet. After their Ulster semi-final win over Derrygonnelly Harps, wing back Aaron Branagan endeared the little county Down parish to the whole country. “There’s nothing else to do in Kilcoo except for the football… “You go to Mass, have a few sheep […]

6 years ago

Kilcoo 2-11 Naomh Conaill 2-9 There are no half-measures in Kilcoo. And when the mountain men of county Down go, they go unbelievably hard. Mickey Moran’s side displayed levels of fitness rarely, if ever before seen on a club GAA pitch in Sunday’s Ulster final and this non-stop energy, combined with an impressive clinical edge, […]

6 years ago

Brought to you by NOW TV. It’s quiz time. It’s Friday. It’s SportsJOE Pub Quiz time. There are four rounds, starting with TV before your geography, records and general knowledge will be tested. From Leicester’s famous Premier League winning team to Tipperary club hurling, it’s an all-round test and it will only suit the versatile, […]

6 years ago

Through Inistioge and you see the signs for Thomastown. Bennetsbridge isn’t too far away either. Ballyhale is only a half an hour drive. This is Kilkenny’s hurling heartland. You can almost smell it around the place. Another blink and you’re in Gowran, home to one of the greatest hurlers ever. Culture and tradition line the […]

6 years ago

No better men. Hear Chrissy McKaigue and you think tough, hard and uncompromising. They don’t make them any other way in Slaughtneil. The same goes for Cushendall. Neil McManus is one of the finest, most tenacious specimen in the Glens of Antrim and he’s bracing himself for another challenge here. December 7. Outside Trinity College […]

6 years ago

Gone at 40. Garrycastle would gladly hold onto him a while longer. 22 years is a lifetime of service though, and Dessie Dolan owes that club nothing. It all started in 1997. Dolan was 18 and around Westmeath he was the hottest ticket. They’d heard the tales and fantasised at the predictions. This lad could […]

6 years ago

4/1. Johnny Kelly mentioned it. Jerry Kelly said it. And Brendan Maher talked about it too. Borris-Ileigh had just defied the odds to beat Ballygunner in the Munster senior hurling final. Heart, guts and courage defined their approach. These lads were jumping out of their skins. And three of the club’s biggest heroes left no […]

6 years ago

“He was a nine out of ten in soccer because no-one’s perfect, but in GAA, he was a 20/10. He was unbelievable…” Brian Cuthbert still remembers the first time he watched John Egan play. He’d heard the talk around Bishopstown. Knew all about the famous Kerry genes. But nothing prepares you for a moment of […]

6 years ago

As a youngster, Liam Brady didn’t dream about winning All-Irelands in Abbotstown. Croke Park was the field of dreams. Offaly were the team and hurling was the game. Growing up in the little parish of Coolderry between Birr and Roscrea, hurling was like a religion and for Brady it was no different. His older brother […]

6 years ago

61 minutes. Borris-Ileigh are up by a point and nobody in Páirc Uí Rinn really knows how. Guts. Shoulders. Kicks. Late tackles. Heavy touches. Golden touches. Throws. Over-hit passes. Ballygunner look to have more in them. But we’re not seeing it. What we’re seeing is Borris-Ileigh. Mistakes, lots of them. Fumbled balls, there were a […]

6 years ago

Good. But not quite good enough. Ireland did loads of good things in the Aviva Stadium on Monday night. Enda Stevens was brilliant. So was Matt Doherty. Shane Duffy hit everything that moved. McGoldrick is as clever a player as you’ll find. But it just wasn’t enough. The good play didn’t lead to enough chances. […]

6 years ago

Kilcoo sounds like the place to be. “There’s nothing else to do in Kilcoo except for the football,” said centre back Aaron Branagan after the Down club made it to another Ulster senior football final. “You go to Mass, have a few sheep and that’s really it…” Mass, sheep and football. What more could a […]

6 years ago

St Mullins 2-17 Rathdowney Errill 1-19 It was the James Doyle show. The sun hangs over Netwatch Cullen Park but it’s a bit of a false dawn. There’s a bite in the air. It’s chilly and these are far from ideal conditions for hurling. It’s club season, and this is what club hurling is all […]

6 years ago

Honest to good God, what more can a woman do? February 2019. Tipperary are up with the big dogs now. Having won Division Three in 2017, and followed it up with the Division Two title in 2018, this is where they want to be. Division One. The top table. Up against your Dublins, Mayos, Galways […]

6 years ago

Christ the night Naomh Conaill. Defending will only get you so far. These lads are a one trick pony. If they’re not found out in Donegal, they’ll get a rude awakening in Ulster. Naomh Conaill are still alive. Naomh Conaill are alive and well. Throughout the Donegal championship and not just this year, ‘Glenties’ have […]

6 years ago

Unbelievable stuff, in so many different ways. Ulster led, but Bath were hunting them down and they were on the charge. From the moment John Cooney kicked Ulster into a 17-16 lead with 71 minutes on the clock at the Rec, you just knew it was going to be the longest nine minutes of the […]

6 years ago

Ballyhale Shamrocks 5-18 St Martin’s 1-16 When the Shamrocks are in the mood, the opposition don’t have a prayer. All the best, give it a go but no matter how well you think you’ve prepared, there’s always the danger they’ll turn it on and leave you for dead in an instant. And there’s little you […]

6 years ago

As a youngster, John Egan had it all. Soccer, Gaelic football, hurling, golf. You name the sport and the kid from Cork with the famous Kerry father could turn his hand to it in an instant. Ger McGreevy was his soccer coach with Greenwood FC and though Egan was one of the best young players […]

6 years ago

Two weeks to prepare. For the footballers of Naomh Conaill, it feels like a year. Never mind the freshness the break should bring, the worry up in west Donegal is that the fortnight lay-off before their Ulster semi-final against Clontibret might leave them stale. These lads are used to it hot and heavy you see. […]

6 years ago

Let’s not kid ourselves. Let’s not get carried away here. Mick McCarthy is stubborn as a held-up boulder. Plans are plans and formulas are formulas. He has his and he won’t be budging soon, certainly not by Monday. Three days to go until Denmark, the Republic of Ireland manager will have had his mind made […]

6 years ago

Ireland 3-1 New Zealand Jack Byrne wants the ball. He’s mad for the ball. He stretches the arms wide and lets out a roar. You don’t have an option really. You just have to give it to him because he’s already sizing you up. He’s already angling towards the goals. They say the best players […]

6 years ago

Dessie Hutchinson was sitting in the stands for last year’s Munster club hurling semi-final between Ballyea and Ballygunner. Not long after packing in the soccer dream that had brought him to Brighton and further afield, he was getting the taste for the small ball again. Philip Mahony’s last minute winner for the Waterford men had […]

6 years ago

Everyone in JK Brackens knew there was a good crew coming. They’d heard tales about the underage sensations, seen it with their own eyes as soon as the late 90s lads hit minor. Football or hurling, it didn’t really matter. Templemore is traditionally more of a football area and Killea formed their own hurling club […]

6 years ago

The heavens have opened. The pitches are soggy and the goalmouths are bogs. Training is a slog. But you must count your lucky stars. Teams still standing are thin on the ground at this stage and believe it or not, every fallen group would love to be on their feet still. It’s been one of […]

6 years ago

Brendan Murtagh was only 15 and they were already counting down the days in Clonkill. This fella was good enough for their senior team already. It was only a matter of time before they let him loose. At 16, they bit the bullet. So young, too young but Murtagh was that good and in his […]

6 years ago

You wouldn’t think Eoghan O’Gara has won seven All-Irelands. You wouldn’t think he has played in four All-Ireland finals. You probably never thought he was Dublin’s most clinical or dangerous forward. But you can’t argue with the facts. Pillar Caffrey. Pat Gilroy. Jim Gavin. Three of the most powerful and influential men in Dublin football […]

6 years ago

Tom Kelly. Bryan Cullen. Henry Downey. Seamus Moynihan. Iconic centre half backs. Legendary number sixes. You’d think of them as soon as you’d hear five and you’d bank on them to thrill. Men who made that very number their own, and inspired others to follow in their assured footsteps. They’d hold the centre, they’d arrange […]

6 years ago

It would have been very easy for the Trillick boys to curse their luck. To throw their hands up to heaven and to feel sorry for themselves. This, a game they probably should have had wrapped up long ago, was a bitter pill to swallow and the blame game would have been an easy game […]

6 years ago

It couldn’t possibly have been any more dramatic. Excitement. Anticipation. Nerves. Fear and worry. Pick any emotion in the world and the Irish women’s hockey team went through it on an extraordinary night in Donnybrook where their dream flashed before their eyes, before eventually becoming a reality. It never happens easy. With the stakes at […]

6 years ago

Honestly, what is a defender supposed to do? There is nothing. No way. It’s like trying to finish a bowl of soup with a fork. Conor McManus will leave you for dead. Monaghan champs Clontibret O’Neill’s went into Saturday night’s Ulster club first round against Crossmaglen as live underdogs. 3/1 outsiders and written off by […]

6 years ago

James JD Devaney. It’s a distinctive name, and hurling followers would want to get used to it. 18 years of age. Still in school. Playing against one of his teachers. Devaney scored 1-4 from play in a low-scoring county final to help Borrisoleigh to their first county championship in over 33 years. And he scored […]

6 years ago

More than a club. More than a game. For St Mullin’s of Carlow, Sunday afternoon brought with it a whirlwind of emotions. First, it was anticipation and excitement. Those turned to hope and edginess. Edginess turned to elation until they were suddenly brought crashing down to a horrible place right at the final whistle. Right […]

6 years ago

The minute we got up to the Crossmaglen Rangers clubhouse, Margaret McConville had a cup of tea in front of us. And Margaret McShane brought the homemade buns. Joe and Aaron Kernan were soon to arrive and it wasn’t long before the chat was flowing. Crossmaglen Rangers is a football club, but it’s the life […]

6 years ago

For Siya Kolisi, this was once an outlandish dream. Growing up in the impoverished town of Zwide, life wasn’t about living, it was about surviving. But as he practiced his skills with a brick that would become his favourite toy, at least he could imagine. Now, his faraway dreams have become a reality. He’s the unexpected […]

6 years ago

Like a young Michael Murphy. Handre Pollard booted one up into the sky and by his body language alone, you could tell that there was something on. The follow through was graceful. His sprightly step took him immediately forward as the swerving ball arrowed into the Yokohama night sky. The camera couldn’t keep up to […]

6 years ago

A pain still echoes through Stephen Cluxton’s voice. He still thinks about it, you know. “I knew at the time, with a man down – I knew Kerry needed a major to get back into it or to pip us,” he says matter of factly. His face drops. He’s carried this cross a long time. […]

6 years ago

Shane McGrath said it as it is. An All-Star award isn’t a token gesture at the end of a season. It’s a phenomenal achievement, that brings pride to communities and recognises the trojan efforts our great Gaels put in from one end of the year to the next. “It’s something you’ll take to your grave […]

6 years ago

There’s no harm in the odd word. That’s a part of the game. Emotions are running high and wild and players will lose the run of themselves on occasion. A fistpump in front of an opponent, a wink or a nod at the scoreboard. A bark or a tap on the shoulder after a wide […]

6 years ago

From Donegal to Kerry. We’ll start at the top of the country. In Donegal, Michael Carroll was a powerhouse for Gaoth Dobhair in midfield and his second half point was worthy of winning any game. In Meath, there was a famous first win for Ratoath and Conor McGill minded the house while Eamonn Wallace did […]

6 years ago

Club hurling is hotting up. It was county final day in Kilkenny and in Wexford and there were star performances all over. In Ulster, it was the provincial first round while the Munster club camogie championship kicked off in some style. In Kilkennny, it was the intermediate final that really caught the eye. Tommy Walsh […]

6 years ago

Tullaroan had been in this position before. You’d struggle to count on one hand the number of times Tullaroan had been in this position before. Up by four points at half-time of the Kilkenny intermediate final against Thomastown, they should have been up by more. If this was another team, you’d say they were sure […]

6 years ago

Lives of preparation down the drain. Dreams of four years taken away from them. The worst part about it is that the Irish men’s hockey team thought they were home and dry. After a battle in Vancouver, they’d held their nerve and they’d held out the Canadians to secure a 6-5 win on aggregate with […]

6 years ago

Ballybofey is the Colosseum. And the giants of Gaoth Dobhair and Naomh Conaill are the gladiators. For the second weekend in a row, not even a rabbit hair could separate these two juggernauts of Donegal football and they will meet again on Wednesday night, for the third time in just two and a half weeks. […]

6 years ago