ADVERTORIAL: Bainisteoir  The New Irish Gaelic Games Board Game


A NEW Gaelic Games Board Game, Bainisteoir, has made waves in the toy market since being released last November. Bainisteoir is the idea of James Fallon and Éanna Byrne, two primary school teachers who noticed an absence of sporting board games for students to play on rainy days at lunchtime. On a cold night in […]


PATRICK MORRISON: The fountain of youth


By Patrick Morrison CHILDREN are curious and insightful individuals who explore and learn through the process of trial and error just as nature intended. Their world is loaded with all kinds of imaginary games and toys. All a child wants to do is explore their world through the medium of play. And what child has […]


PAURIC GRIMES: Part Two – Tips to help better yourself


FOLLOWING on from last week’s 15 thoughts worth exploring I’ve got part two for you. Wrap your head around these. 16. The Two-Minute Rule – If it takes you less than two minutes to perform any given task, do it there and then. Close any open loops instead of letting them take up mental bandwidth […]


STEVEN POACHER: Scanning for small improvements


AS we enter the off season for coaches, I suppose it is important we all critically reflect on the past year and what we did well as coaches, what things didn’t go so well and how can we improve both individually and collectively within a group environment. This is a time of year for coaches […]


PAURIC GRIMES: Deadlines drive decisions


AS you may have caught in last week’s column, we had the second Reignite Challenge Day on Saturday past. I’m chalking it down as a massive success. Twelve men, four teams of three. Four blocks of eight minutes of hellish work, and huge sense of achievement at the end of the session. Achievement combined with […]


GARETH FOX: The importance of feedback


THERE is nothing more important in performance and learning than feedback loops. A two-way dialogue between coach and player (or player and player), with the joint objective of getting better. All my clients give me performance and mindset feedback after every game – it’s mandatory. Why? Because it creates improvement; it creates growth. Highlighting gaps […]


Poacher joins Fermanagh hurlers


FORMER Roscommon and Carlow coach Steven Poacher has been added to the Fermanagh hurling management team for the 2023 season. Erne boss Joe Baldwin had intended to add a strong presence to his coaching team for the season ahead and has landed on the Newry native. Poacher had been linked to the Fermanagh football job […]


PATRICK MORRISON: Bringing in the stormbreaker


THE English word ‘storm’ comes from the Proto-Germanic ‘sturmaz’ which means noise or tumult (chaos). Whenever we understand the origins of the word we can fully relate to the significance of its meaning. Being true to its name, storms are of course chaotic in nature while also having the ability to create mayhem and devastation […]


PATRICK MORRISON: Self taught is best taught


HELPING Kilcoo win their 20th Down senior football title at the weekend was something extra special for me. This is because Saturday, October 15 arked the fifth anniversary of my own sole senior championship medal with Armagh Harps back in 2017. This was also my club’s 21st title so the similarities were there. All weekend […]


PAURIC GRIMES: What do you want to be known for?


I WAS over in Glasgow at the weekend attending a coaching conference. For the most part, these weekends are business development mixed with a little personal development. There are young coaches who barely look like they’re out of nappies then there are guys like myself who are 15 years plus in the game, but we all […]