For 2020, the football League has added spice and some extra significance. The tier two championship is in for this summer but its participating teams haven’t yet been decided. That final call rests with the upcoming Allianz League competition, where every county in Division 2 and Division 3 can have a say on their summer’s […]

6 years ago

2017 and William O’Donoghue was on the fringes. A good club hurler with a few decent seasons behind him for Na Piarsaigh, with Limerick, he was yet to make an impression. O’Donoghue was in and out of the panel and hadn’t made a breakthrough at 23, and while you wouldn’t say the clock was ticking […]

6 years ago

Corofin can’t be stopped. For the third successive year, the Galway side were crowned All-Ireland club football champions after a hard-fought win over gritty Down side Kilcoo on Sunday. While their last two wins came comfortably, with convincing final victories over Dr Crokes and Nemo Rangers, this was less total football and more steely resolve. […]

6 years ago

What a season of club hurling. If it wasn’t Brendan Maher scoring with a broken hurl, it was Tommy Walsh lighting up the nation with his passion. The club is where it’s at, and the journeys of Tullaroan, Borris-Ileigh, Ballyhale and Slaughtneil showed the game’s grass-roots off best. It’s not about the resources or even […]

6 years ago

Winter 2012 and Seamus Callanan was at a career cross-roads. Having exploded onto the inter-county scene as a precariously talented youngster in 2008, the Drom and Inch forward’s progress had stagnated by 2012 and in that year’s All-Ireland final semi-final, he was an unused substitute in a heavy defeat to Kilkenny. At 23, Callanan was […]

6 years ago

Get out of Kilkenny and you’ll go a long way. Kilkenny clubs won the All-Ireland junior, intermediate and senior hurling championships at the weekend as Conahy Shamrocks, Tullaroan and Ballyhale Shamrocks completed a clean sweep. Conahy hadn’t even won the Kilkenny junior championship, having been beaten by O’Loughlin Gaels second team in the final but […]

6 years ago

Corofin 1-12 Kilcoo 0-7  Corofin are club football immortals. After one hell of a scrap with Down champions Kilcoo, Corofin eventually found their groove in extra-time to make history by winning their third All-Ireland club football title in a row. For an hour, they were curtailed and limited by a plucky Kilcoo side but eventually, […]

6 years ago

Ballyhale 0-18 Borris-Ileigh 0-15 All through the winter, Jerry Kelly, the 21-year-old from Tipperary had been making a name for himself. The scores were one thing, the skills were another but it was the slogging, the spirit and the fire that set him apart. In the rain against Ballygunner, Kelly’s desire and power knocked numerous […]

6 years ago

“I know for a fact I won’t have to put hand in pocket for a pint in the next year, because the people of Tullaroan will buy them…” You could travel the length and breadth of the country, you could go to games every Saturday and Sunday in the next year, but you will struggle […]

6 years ago

Take the hurling out of Tullaroan and you take everything. A tiny parish on the Tipperary border, they are the most successful club in Kilkenny hurling history. They had a presence when the GAA was founded in Hayes’ Hotel in 1884 and as club chairman of 20 years Dick Walshe tells, “they organised themselves better […]

6 years ago

“No matter where you go, shop, butcher, post office, all anybody is talking about is the big game on Sunday, there’s huge excitement around the village…” Borris0-Ileigh is on a high. Ever since they won their first Tipperary championship since 1986 just a couple of months ago, the team and parish have been on a […]

6 years ago

Liam Silke has scored 5-5 for Corofin this year. Liam Silke wears number 4 on his back. It’s the type of return that would be unheard of from an inside back-man in years gone by, but with football changing and with the Corofin man well able to take his chances, he’s become one of the […]

6 years ago

The Sigerson Cup is back. This time, there are no second chances. This it’s straight knock-out. Eight first round games took place over the weekend and after it all, the reigning champs and the favourites are still standing but already, there are some big guns out. Ulster University were beaten by an impressive UCD outfit […]

6 years ago

It’s just not meant to be for Corofin’s Kieran Molloy. In his first year playing in the Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup for NUIG, a Garda escort was required to take him from the All-Ireland club semi-final in Tullamore, to Santry Avenue for the College’s final against UCD. Just so he could come on as a […]

6 years ago

It would be very easy for Magheracloone Mitchells to feel sorry for themselves. But the Monaghan club wouldn’t know how to. They lost their pitch, clubhouse, community centre and handball alleys last September in a devastating and unthinkable blow, but they haven’t let it define them. Immediately, the community rowed in together in the face […]

6 years ago

It was just another Monday morning in Magheracloone. The Carrickmacross-Kingscourt road was busy, as is always the way on the route that links the four counties, Monaghan, Meath, Cavan and Louth. The Fás workers went about their business. Opened the gates and up the hill, strimmers and lawnmowers in the back, there were a few […]

6 years ago

This time of year, a lot of GAA players are on the back-foot. Fitness takes a hit over the Christmas and by the time pre-season training rolls around in January, some lads are setting off from a standing start. Laps and sprints are in vogue these days, as the fitness coaches earn their corn but […]

6 years ago

Borris-Ileigh 1-21 1-14 St Thomas’ That man should be canonised. He should be held aloft as an example for the whole country to follow. He should be granted the freedom not just of Borris-Ileigh or of Tipperary, but of this island from tip to toe. Brendan Maher is a one-man phenomenon, and he’s having the […]

6 years ago

Ballyhale Shamrocks 2-24 Slaughtneil 2-19 What a game of hurling. It had it all, the All-Ireland senior club semi-final between Ballyhale Shamrocks and Slaughtneil in Newry, and by the end of it, there were so many heroes to look up to and so many amazing moments to look back on. This was club hurling at […]

6 years ago

What a day for Adam Idah. What a charm for Republic of Ireland followers, that manager Mick McCarthy was in the BT Sport studios all day to be quizzed and questioned about one of Ireland’s brightest up and coming talents. The Cork teenager took English senior football by storm on Saturday afternoon, single-handedly taking his […]

6 years ago

Conor Laverty was the smallest man in Breffni Park. His steps are short and his legs and arms are skinny but there’s one thing that beats brawn every time and that’s a brain. Conor Laverty thinks his way around the pitch and whenever he’s near the ball, everybody in Kilcoo must know that the thing […]

6 years ago

Corofin 1-10 0-7 Nemo Rangers Corofin are chasing down history, and they’re leaving a glistening trail in their wake. No club team has ever won three All-Ireland club titles in a row but the Galway men are on schedule. Cruise control was the name of the game on Saturday afternoon, when they breezed past a […]

6 years ago

When Ballygunner were down and out, Philip Mahony was the man to revive them. He wasn’t the type of wing back who’d roam up the field and pick off points for fun, not to mind a goalscorer, but when his club were three points down and facing Munster club elimination for a fifth successive year, […]

6 years ago

1/33. These are unheard of odds for an All-Ireland club hurling semi-final, but that’s Ballyhale Shamrocks for you. The Kilkenny giants are one of the most successful and traditional club hurling teams of all, and they have a brilliant young team on the job now. Stalwarts Eoin and TJ Reid, Michael and Colin Fennelly are […]

6 years ago

Brought to you by eir Sport Connacht shouldn’t really have much of a chance here. Players are thin on the ground out west at this stage, with no fewer than 17 of Andy Friend’s squad ruled out of Saturday’s PRO 14 clash against Leinster, key men Jack Carty and Bundee Aki among them. Even their […]

6 years ago

Brought to you by Ladbrokes Matt Doherty took down Manchester City, and now the Wolves full back has Manchester United in his sights. For the Dubliner, it’s been some journey. Born in Swords and learning his trade with Swords Celtic, Home Farm and Belvedere, a talented Doherty earned a move to Bohemians as a 16-year-old […]

6 years ago

Peter Wright 7-3 Michael van Gerwen ‘Snakebite’ Peter Wright has done it. The Scotsman started like a scalded cat in the Alexandra Palace in London, haring into a 2-0 lead in the World Darts Championship final against Michael Van Gerwen, and he barely stopped for breath over the course of ten enthralling sets. Wright was […]

6 years ago

The Irish international had let the referee know that he had received abuse from the crowd during Stoke City’s clash with Huddersfield Town at the John Smith Stadium. Stoke City and Huddersfield town were tied at 2-2 after 64 minutes of their Championship clash on Wednesday evening, when match referee James Leighton called a halt […]

6 years ago

It’s the debate that questions a club’s pride and a county’s pride. From Tipperary to Antrim, they’ll all tell you that no hurling championship is harder won than their own one. From Kilkenny, they’ll hit you with facts that they’ve more strength in depth in theirs’ than any other county. “You might have won over […]

6 years ago

There’s bound to be a fall-out from this. 1 Eoin Murphy (Kilkenny) The best in the business, one of the best ever. A mainstay since 2013, a mainstay for years to come. 2 Ronan Maher (Tipperary) His distribution is imperious, ball-winning incredible. Scores points, stops points. Can play anywhere from 2-9, Maher is the complete […]

6 years ago

Just two days of pleasantries to get through. Just two days of pretending that these are the festivities you’ve been waiting all year for. ‘Happy Christmas, many happy re…la de da de da’ It’s not going to be easy and nobody said it would be. Find yourself drifting in and out of conversation after conversation, […]

6 years ago

Legends of Irish racing. Horse racing and Ireland goes hand in hand with another. This country has produced some of the real greats and hosted some of the finest moments in the sport’s history. Horse racing, the jockeys, the trainers, the stables, the owners, the breeders, the fans, it’s part of the fabric of Ireland. […]

6 years ago

This was so tough to whittle down, and that’s why some great men miss out. Club hurling 15 since 2000 1 Brian Mullins (Birr) Safe as a house between the sticks for Birr’s two in a row All-Ireland club triumphs in the early 2000s. 2 Ollie Canning (Portumna, Galway) The perfect corner back. Fast, sticky […]

6 years ago

The glass ceiling has been broken, but Fallon Sherrock wants to go even higher. Before the inspirational English woman toed the Alexandra Palace oche earlier this week, no female had ever defeated a male at the World Darts Championships. Considered a faraway fantasy, an improbable impossibility, it was tipped to happen some time down the […]

6 years ago

Keane Barry has gotten the taste for it. Now, the Meath youngster is hungrier than ever before. His 17th year was a memorable one, winning the Tom Kirby Irish Matchplay championship, the Junior International Open, the BDO World Youth Masters and on Saturday afternoon, he rounded it all off with the big one. The World Junior […]

6 years ago

Some lads could really do with these

6 years ago

With a watching world jaws agape, it appears that William O’Connor was unaware of his miscount. Instead, it looks like he was frustrated by missed darts. Limerick darter William O’Connor had the game of his life in his round two World Championship clash vs pre-tournament favourite Gerwyn Price on Thursday night, before effectively beating himself […]

6 years ago

Your heart would go out to William O’Connor. The Limerick man had one of the games of his life in his World darts Championship round two clash against World number three Gerwyn Price, but his brave bid ended in heartbreak as an inexplicable miscount at game-deciding time cost him, and opened the door for the […]

6 years ago

Keane Barry throws every dart like he means it. Conviction tears after his every arrow. The camera struggles to keep up with the speed of him, and at 17 years of age, he’s not one bit afraid of playing in front of a global audience. This was the Duleek youngster’s first ever trip to Alexander […]

6 years ago

Willie O’Connor has high expectations. He knows how good he is, he knows how good he should be. Marko Kantele, on the other hand, is nothing special. The Finnish thrower has been knocking around the world darting scene for a number of years now and despite the experience, is yet to make it past the […]

6 years ago

Connacht 27-24 Gloucster Connacht aren’t like the others. They’ll rarely win a game comfortably but they never go down easy either. It’s usually in the melting pot, whenever the men from the west of Ireland are involved and when they have you in the Sports Grounds, you always must be wary of pulse-quickening magic. There’s […]

6 years ago

“I almost felt like I lost two years really…” Cathal Barrett was only 23, but he’d already achieved a fair amount with the Tipperary senior hurling team. First called up to the panel two years earlier in 2014, he ended a stellar debut season as the Young Hurler of the Year. He’d played in two […]

6 years ago

The ideal stocking filler for the sports nut in your life. Sportsfile are Ireland’s most distinguished sports photography agency and their coverage of sporting events, both on a national and an international scale, is second to none. And while they will cover all sports, from canoeing to table tennis to soccer, the GAA is their […]

6 years ago

Every man has a tipping point. And between work, study and training, Daniel Flynn’s arrived in the winter of 2018. With commitments calling from every direction, the Johnstownbridge man decided around this time last year, that he needed a timeout. So to the horror of his county, the Lilywhites’ star player called a year out […]

6 years ago

You know a player is class…when they don’t even need to hop the ball. 15 years. That’s how long Cian Doe has had to learn, and perfect the skills of Gaelic football but even at such a young age, it’s already just a little bit too easy for the young cub from Firies. He’s already […]

6 years ago

Brought to you by Ladbrokes Life comes at you fast. If it wasn’t David Luiz forgetting he was a defender it was Mesut Ozil forgetting the ball. Shrugged shoulders, outstretched arms and feint, non-committal fits of frustration. Arsenal didn’t deserve a break and Angelo Ogbonna, with the aid of a power-hour shoulder and a deflection […]

6 years ago

Brought to you by NOW TV Christmas is nearing, December is here, it can only mean one thing. Darts season is nigh. The best throwers in the game are sharpening their blades. The eye is in, the oche is ready for road and the board is waiting to be peppered. Sporting fans all over are counting […]

6 years ago

Not many gave Mullinavat a chance. Before the Leinster intermediate football final, they were the unfancied, 4/1 outsiders who carried the asterisk of being a football team from a notoriously anti-football land. Kilkenny aren’t known for it and in much of the county they turn a blind eye to it, but they’re not allergic and […]

6 years ago

For 50-odd minutes, Éire Óg almost deserved it. Working like trojans, playing like their lives depended on it. Watching the Carlow side in Sunday’s Leinster club football final was an inspirational fare. Joe Murphy’s team ruled the early exchanges through sheer fire and effort. By the 11th minute, they’d reeled off three without reply and […]

6 years ago

There will be no inquests if Mullinavat lose on Saturday. There will be two bus-loads glad of the day out. There will be a lively night in the Rising Sun or Jim Ja’s, and there’ll be tales and stories galore. Unfamiliar stories. Football stories. Stories that will live long into the winter and way beyond […]

6 years ago