JACK MADDEN: The terms of engagement


By Jack Madden THE small goals are wheeled out. Forget about turnovers won, shooting efficiency, distance covered. Just make sure that the laces are tied. Coaching is normally kept to a minimum. Parents aside, the disinterested crowd care for little other than an unsuccessful scramble for mobile phone coverage. Still, even for Wi-Fi whizzkids and […]


JACK MADDEN: Here comes the sun


By Jack Madden THE draw – it’s a funny one. The immediate aftermath provides an array of semi-emotive nothingness. The silence says it all really. In today’s game, it requires even more reflection. Gone are the days of the replay, where American football brings All-Ireland semi-finals to Limerick, and where Mayo prolong their barren spell of […]


JACK MADDEN: Crisis? What crisis?


A STEADY flow of people forever trickle down Shop Street in Galway town. From the inside looking out, it is perhaps one of the finest viewing points in the country for a wannabe people watcher. Most people wander in without any prior intention, walking at the most nonchalant pace, in a state of semi-focus. The […]


JACK MADDEN: Out with the old, in with the new


“He’s the most driven man and footballer in Monaghan.” THE above sentence jotted down by Brendan Crossan in May 2018 was quite the compliment from Séamus McEnaney. It’s the kind of thing that Vinny Corey probably appreciates deep down, not that he’d tell you that. You don’t become the most driven man in Monaghan if […]


JACK MADDEN: The rocky road to Dublin


IS Shane Walsh’s move to Dublin giants Kilmacud Crokes just a small indicator of a more widespread evolution? Every journey has a beginning and an end. In the sporting world, a journey could take you from Carraroe to Qatar. A successful career is one that navigates the road from starlet to superstar. The winding, pothole-laden […]