JOE BROLLY: Saving Gaelic Football


By Joe Brolly MODERN Gaelic football is a masterpiece, a complex symphony that can only be understood by people of great intellect. Our eyes are lying to us. Our boredom is a source of hilarity for the experts. We are watching something epic and extraordinary. We are just too stupid to understand it. Too ignorant to […]


SHANE RICE: Mayo show that pressing isn’t always positive


By Shane Rice LAST Saturday, Mayo stunned Kerry with an impressive win on a scoreline of 0-17 to 1-19, marking Kerry’s first loss in Killarney in 28 years. Mayo, known for thriving as underdogs, strategically positioned themselves exactly where they wanted to be. With six weeks of intense preparation, Mayo grew hungrier with each passing […]


The leading contenders


1 Dublin Right, they played in Division Two and haven’t been as formidable looking since Jim Gavin set sail a few years ago, but I’m still tipping Dublin to take home the big one at the end of the season. You get the sense that the old heads on the Dublin team are determined to […]


A league of their own


2022: Kerry 3-19 Mayo 0-13 A SIGN of things to come, you might say. Kerry completed the league and championship double last season, and while they were pushed all the way by Galway in the All-Ireland final, they had a much easier time of it at Croke Park against Mayo. David Clifford led the rout […]


McDaid: Donegal have survival instincts 


By Ryan Ferry FORMER Donegal selector Gary McDaid feels that Donegal’s Division One fate may come down to the final match against Roscommon but he’s backing Paddy Carr’s side to retain their top flight status. It will be a new-look Donegal side in this year’s league campaign but staying in Division One will remain a priority, especially […]


JOE BROLLY: Junior jinks


THIS week’s Policing Board report shows ahow extraordinarily peaceful the North has become. PSNI officers have only discharged a shot five times in the last ten years, the most recent being an unintentional discharge in June 2022. The other four shots were fired into the air outside Omagh police station after Tyrone won Sam in 2021. The […]


Evergreen Devlin living the dream


By Barry O’Donnell AS he approaches the twilight of his playing career, Gareth Devlin could have been forgiven for thinking that another crack at Croke Park may have passed him by. The 35 year old enjoyed a couple of memorable appearances there as a minor back in 2004 when he starred in the forward line […]


Joe Brolly: Maradona and Clifford


JORGE Valdano, the Argentinian striker who scored the winning goal in the 1986 World cup final (needless to say, from a classic Maradona pass), was interviewed in the Guardian a fortnight ago. The chat turned to the little man. He said “How could you not look at Maradona? When he walks into the dining room everyone […]