HAPPY New Year to you all. Normally at this time of year we are going out to see McKenna Cup games and a lot of the talk this week has been around why those competitions have been shelved. I understand the logic behind the thought, and we will get into that a little later, but […]
By Katrina Brennan FERMANAGH manager Kieran Donnelly has said they were “blindsided” by the decision to suspend the Dr McKenna Cup next year. The decision comes following a campaign over a number of years by the GPA (Gaelic Players’ Association) to abolish the pre-season inter-county competitions and at the weekend, the GAA Central Council voted to […]
CONSIDERING that the 2024 inter-county season only fully kicks off next weekend there’s so much happening this week with the GAA. Let me begin with the decision to overturn the eight week suspension handed down to Jim McGuinness last week. I wrote here last week I thought the decision was farcical from the beginning. I […]
Dr McKenna Cup Round Three ARMAGH 1-14 TYRONE 2-10 By Barry O’Donnell THE margins were wafer-thin come the final whistle last night but when the various permutations were untangled it was Armagh who booked their passage into the last four of the McKenna Cup by virtue of this narrow victory over old adversaries Tyrone at […]
DOWN manager Conor Laverty feels his side can still qualify for the semi-finals of the McKenna Cup and playing against Derry will have benefited his side. With Odhrán Murdock to the fore, Down were twice seven points ahead during the first half of Saturday’s clash in Celtic Park. It was very much a game of […]
I SPENT Christmas Day like everyone does, eating way too much, sipping on wine and beers and spending quality time with the family. On St Stephen’s day, I went for a brisk walk in the fresh air to clear the head after my overindulgence of the previous day. I stopped off at the Gaoth Dobhair […]
Micheál Bannigan (Monaghan) “PERSONALLY, I definitely always look forward to the McKenna Cup. I think it’s very important at this time of the year and it’s very useful to get those couple of competitive games in before the National League. “You get them under you belt and it lets you know where you’re at. From […]
BY RYAN FERRY JIM McGuinness stated that he was ‘very happy’ as his second tenure got off to a good start against Roscommon in a challenge match in Ballyshannon on Sunday. It wasn’t a competitive fixture and teams aren’t always on the same level in terms of preparation at this time of the year. But […]
By Shaun Casey CAOLAN Mooney is back training with Down ahead of the upcoming season following a year on the sidelines through injury. The versatile RGU Downpatrick star tore his ACL at the end of the 2022 season and didn’t feature in the red and black at all last season. The former county captain, who […]
By Barry O’Donnell A PROLONGED spell of introspection over the off-season among the Tyrone players was necessary to try and avoid a repeat of 2022, Matthew Donnelly believes. With Tyrone set to meet Derry yet again in the final of the Dr McKenna Cup this Saturday evening in the Athletic Grounds, the match will provide […]
