ON Saturday I got a lift to the Mayo game with a lad from Ballina. As we got close to MacHale park, two hours early, there were parking spaces everywhere. “There’s one,” I said. He drove past it. “There’s another one.” He drove past it. “I don’t know how to reverse Joe,” he said. “How did […]
Joe Brolly: DON’T GET SCAMMED
KEVIN McStay told TG4 before the throw-in against Armagh, “We’re going to play the game on its merits and see if we can come up with two points and that sums it up really. Hopefully, the wind stays nice and mild, because we all know about the wind.” I assumed this was some sort of […]
Armagh team named for Saturday’s visit of Mayo
By Michael McMullan KIERAN McGeeney has named his side for the visit of Mayo on Saturday (5pm) as the All-Ireland champions aim to bounce back from their defeat to Donegal. Suspended captain Aidan Forker is missing after his red card against Donegal with Paddy Burns listed in his place. Jason Duffy and Gareth Murphy are […]
NFL feature: The roll of honour
Shaun Casey charts those who have led the way in National Football League Division One titles Kerry (23) LIKE the All-Ireland roll of honour, Kerry also has the most National League titles. The Kingdom have also lost seven league deciders and haven’t claimed the crown since 2022. Then, they lost just once throughout the entire […]
JOE BROLLY: Cora, Cora, Cora – the influence of Cora Staunton
AT the weekend, we brought our 14 day old to Knockmore to meet her people. On Sunday morning, we strapped her into her carrier and walked up to the pitch for the Senior Ladies Championship semi-final against Carnacon. The Knockmore girls are the county champions. They are also the league champions, having won that in […]
JOE BROLLY: The OakLeafers’ reprieve
IT was as if the last eight weeks were a bad dream. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, our boys woke up on sunday morning in their own beds, their mothers waking them up with a cup of tea and buttered toast. There were very few Derry fans at the game in Castlebar. I […]
Derry victory will silence the doubters for now insists Harte
By Michael McMullan DERRY manager Mickey Harte said his players are “in a bubble” and haven’t been affected by the criticism directed at the camp. Speaking after the Oakleafers’ dramatic penalty shootout win over Mayo on Saturday in Castlebar, Harte also accepted their fate of playing three championship games in two weeks after not finishing […]
Armagh host Mayo in All-Ireland quarter final
By Michael McMullan LEAGUE champions Armagh will host Mayo in the All-Ireland quarter-final after this weekend’s championship draw. Gregory McGonigle side have home advantage after topping their group. It will be a repeat of last season’s final group game when Aimee Mackin’s last gasp penalty clinched a 2-10 to 1-11 victory on home soil. Advertisement […]
JOE BROLLY: The precision of winners
MAYO’S efforts against Dublin in the modern era have been as successful as Enoch Burke’s court cases. Another Mayo man who seems to be cursed. Yet, for all those defeats in big games, Mayo remain the most popular and entertaining team in Gaelic football. Like a happy labrador lining up in the traps against a […]
GERARD O’KANE: Short on top
IT was Brian Clough who famously said, ‘We had a good team on paper. Unfortunately, the game was played on grass’. Well the same can be said in a roundabout way for Derry on Saturday this week. Of all the teams Derry could have got in the draw, Mayo were maybe the best team on […]