The week of the All-Ireland, Jim Gavin said to me that I might be overlooking an important factor. “Jack O’Connor has never won back-to-back All-Irelands.” “Is that important?” I said. “Nothing could be more important. If Kerry win on Sunday, the two-in-a-row gives him an opportunity for three-in-a-row. So long as he knows how to […]
MY mother was very annoyed when Paudie Clifford chatted his way through the national anthem. She is a religious woman who keeps large bottles of holy water inside the front door to throw over visitors’ cars when they are leaving. As my brother Proinsias says, “you need to wind the windows up quickly.” “I hope […]
10 years ago 2016 IT was a busy weekend of championship action including a bad day out on home turf for the Derry footballers, who were well-beaten by their old rivals Tyrone. Mickey Harte’s side cruised to a 3-14 to 0-12 victory at Celtic Park, dispelling doubts about Tyrone’s ability to score goals with three-pointers […]
By Michael McMullan ALL-IRELAND champions Kerry will host Donegal in a repeat of last summer’s final later this month. They were draw together in Monday’s draw in what is also a repeat of the recent league final. There is another heavyweight clash with Ulster sides Armagh and Derry locking horns. Advertisement Louth and Dublin will […]
10 years ago 2016 O’Neill finds the net as Tyrone clinch the Division Two title TYRONE were crowned National Football League Division Two champions – and stretched their unbeaten run to 13 games in the process – with a 1-17 to 0-15 win over Cavan at Croke Park. Cavan led 0-2 to 0-1 after four […]
HOW often have I said it? The club championship is the competition that simply just keeps on giving. We all know how lucky we are in terms of the entertainment the inter-county game provides us with. That said, I don’t think that anyone will argue with me when I say that the club championship trumps […]
BEFORE I get stuck into the club championship scene which gets underway in Donegal this weekend, I just want to revert back to last week’s column. I have been in this game long enough to understand how it works. Once you put pen to paper, anyone can pull quotes from here there and everywhere and […]
By Michael McMullan PADDY Tally and Jack O’Connor could’ve been walking out of the same door at Celtic Park on Sunday. The Derry boss coached the Kingdom when they felled the Oaks in the last two championships. Tally could only look on as Cormac Murphy sped through to win a late free Shane McGuigan notched […]
By Michael McMullan NEW Derry manager Paddy Tally’s initial target is to get to know the squad as people. In the long term, the sights are set on success, developing players and he is fully aware of the talent in the group. He recalls how Derry pushed the Kerry team he coached every step of […]
Niall Gartland charts the longest serving managers on the intercounty football scene Kieran McGeeney (10 years) WHAT a way to crown his decade at the helm. Kieran McGeeney was appointed as manager of his native Armagh in August 2014, having served as assistant to Paul Grimley during that year’s campaign. It certainly hasn’t been all […]
