Niall McCoy: What was it like for you growing up in Brookeborough, was your family steeped in the GAA? Tommy McElroy: I wouldn’t say we were massively involved; my parents wouldn’t have really played it. I, however, lived right beside the pitch so I would have been there every day of the week. I was […]
No regrets – Mark McHugh looks back on his time with Donegal
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July 16, 2020
By Frank Craig Mark McHugh says he knew his time was up with Donegal for the simple reason he felt he wasn’t at the required level any more. At just 30 years of age, but with 10 gruelling seasons done in the senior ranks, he clocked out. But he says there are no regrets, only […]
‘A Better Life For Livie’: Donegal players get on their bikes
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July 16, 2020
By Frank Craig HUGH McFadden has called on the people of Donegal, and indeed further afield, to get behind their ‘A Better Life for Livie’ charity cycle this coming Sunday. The Donegal GAA team and management are hosting the event with the aim of raising funds for 10-month-old baby Olivia ‘Livie’ Mulhern. Livie was recently […]
Gerard O’Kane: Lockdown has heightened appetite for football
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July 16, 2020
THE ‘new normal’. It’s a term that is very much part of everyday life right now and most likely will be for the foreseeable future. The ‘new normal’ impacts on every aspect of modern day life whether it is work, social, sporting or otherwise. As the GAA has reopened across the country in the last […]
Kevin Cassidy: Your coach should know how far he can push you
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July 16, 2020
WE have another week under our belts training wise and the body is starting to move with purpose again. Although cases have risen slightly and one or two teams have had to call a halt to training due to a positive case in their clubs, overall we seem to be managing okay. The powers that […]
Valuing Volenteers
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July 14, 2020
Volunteers are the life and soul of Every GAA club. Getting the right people (and enough of them!) is one of the basic challenges for GAA clubs across the Province. Ulster GAA must say thanks to all the volunteers During the Covid – 19 Pandemic who assisted those in our communities most vulnerable to the […]
Steven Poacher: The art of man-management
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July 14, 2020
A FEW weeks back I did a podcast for the ‘Coaching Bubble’, a sports coaching podcast exploring all sporting and coaching concepts from participation to performance. The podcast, due to be aired in August or September, focused on all things coaching, but particularly items such as your philosophy and the challenges facing a coach. One […]
Cumann Chat: Size still matters and how new rules will cause early pandemonium
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July 13, 2020
A crazy plan LAST WEEK, Peter Doherty suggested a dramatic plan to bring Derry county football back to glory. It centered around making players happier, and if they were happier they would work harder. And to make them happier managers had to let players work just with their clubs. It’s one of those plans that […]
Premier League and inter-county players: similar but different
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July 13, 2020
By Niall McCoy FROM a Premier League match against Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ to big days at Croke Park, Down physio Francis Quinn has been involved with high-end sport in a number of different disciplines. The Hilltown man offers an interesting insight into the differences – or lack of – between professional soccer players and GAA players. […]
Ask The Referees: Men in the middle have their say on rule changes
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July 12, 2020
NIALL CULLEN (FERMANAGH) FERMANAGH’S Niall Cullen has been on the GAA’s Championship Referees’ Panel since 2017 and he believes that his inter-county experience will give him an advantage when the club game returns later this month. While the tier-two championship was postponed, the new rules are not being delayed as football finally returns. The Erne […]