They come out of the Cork football factory as solo-runners and handpassers. That is the manufacturer’s guarantee. The prevailing mood watching them toiling up and down the field is sadness. None of them can score goals. Instead they kick the ball straight at the goalie, allowing commentators who know nothing about football to shout, “Another brilliant […]
By Niall Gartland IT’S the hope that kills you, it really is. I greeted Tyrone’s championship defeats to Kerry in 2023 and 2025 with a metaphorical shrug of the shoulder. The lads gave it a crack, it wasn’t good enough, C’est la vie. What can ye do, basically. Saturday was a different experience entirely. A […]
By Michael McMullan BOOM, there it was. Armagh and Kerry were the last two names left in Monday’s All-Ireland Round Three draw. It’s destination Killarney on Saturday as the last two winners of the Sam Maguire Cup lock horns. Kerry bounced back last weekend from a second trimming of the season at the hands of Donegal. […]
By Shaun Casey In the past decade, across league and championship, Kerry have hosted an Ulster opponent at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney on 18 occasions. That’ll become 19 on Saturday afternoon when Armagh make the country-long trek. Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan and Tyrone have all made that similar journey from north to south in that period […]
By Michael McMullan THE race for the Sam Maguire will heat up another level this weekend after Monday morning’s draw for Round 3 of the All-Ireland SFC. Reigning champions Kerry will host Armagh. Donegal were last year’s beaten finalists and they’ll travel to Dublin It follows another dramatic weekend that saw Louth snatch victory with […]
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 […]
THE decision to hold the All-Ireland draw last week turned the provincial finals (except Connacht) into the biggest anti-climax since Cork football. During the week, I posed the question in the Trinity Old Boys Group (free staters to a man): What is wrong with Cork football? The answers came flooding in: Hurling. Donal Óg. Frank […]
WHO can win the All-Ireland? Not Derry. We just solo run and handpass. The boys are still Rory Gallagher’s team still playing the old rules. Ciarán Meenagh, our third Tyrone manager in a row, was Rory’s assistant and is therefore acceptable to the group in a way that Mickey Harte and Paddy Tally never were. […]
JACK O’Connor said before the final: “Yerra, we were only aiming to avoid relegation, so we are all a bit surprised to be in a league final. I suppose we got the bit of luck here and there along the way and yerra, we are in Croke Park again and no harm.” He went on […]
By Shaun Casey Donegal 3-20 Kerry 2-10 Donegal are the new Division One league champions following their landslide victory against All-Ireland champions Kerry. In a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland decider, it was Donegal who dominated this time around. Man of the match Michael Langan kicked the first five-points for Jim McGuinness’ men, while Keith […]
