By Shaun Casey KERRY legend Tomás Ó Sé believes the competitiveness and the cut-throat nature of the Ulster Championship could hinder the impact that Ulster counties can make on the All-Ireland scene. Derry and Monaghan reached the last four of the race to Sam Maguire last season but lost out to Kerry and Dublin respectively […]
Barry O’Hagan – The Road to Recovery
December 14, 2023
By Shaun Casey THE pitch-black evenings and the swamp-like football fields all around the country can only mean one thing. Pre-season. Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year but December, and the few months after, are certainly the most dreaded time of the year for club and county footballers alike. Racing around the […]
DECLAN McCOY: Still an imperfect system
May 20, 2023
AS I write this I have a sense of déjà vu. Another big game for Armagh and another heart-breaking penalty shoot-out defeat. I’m just back from a coffee with Aaron McKay and he was so disappointed he let me pay (again!). I would suggest the next time instead of penalties we should have a supporter […]
Ulster says go
May 10, 2023
Does the Ulster Championship still matter?Three leading lights in Ulster football certainly think so. By Shaun Casey WHAT does the Ulster Championship mean? Does it still carry as much weight as it used to? A lot of talk has surrounded the provincial championships over the past number seasons, due to the new restructuring of the […]
Clarke hoping home comforts will count against Donegal
April 20, 2023
THERE’S a feel-good factor around the Mourne County in the build up to their Ulster Championship opener this weekend. Conor Laverty’s Down host Donegal on Sunday afternoon, a side they haven’t beaten in the championship since 2010. Donegal have dominated the recent history between the two teams, winning the last four meetings, including the opening […]
Cutting out mistakes is key says Fermanagh boss Kieran Donnelly
April 13, 2023
By Mark McGoldrick BEING confident and composed on the ball is one of Erne boss Kieran Donnelly’s key messages to his players this week as they prepare for a crunch Ulster Championship opener against champions Derry on Saturday. Having reviewed the video of the Division Three final defeat to Cavan, the Fermanagh manager said that the most disappointing aspect […]
Armagh aiming to play the right way says Forker
April 13, 2023
By Shaun Casey ARMAGH were routine winners over Antrim in the preliminary round of the Ulster Championship, sending them through to a mouth-watering quarter-final encounter with Cavan in two weeks’ time. From start to finish, Kieran McGeeney’s side dominated the tussle, bursting out of the traps to strike the first five scores of the game […]
Nugent finding his feet after injury
April 6, 2023
By Shaun Casey THE last time Armagh faced Antrim in the Ulster Championship, Aidan Nugent missed out through injury. That was back in 2021 and Nugent, now Armagh’s joint-captain along with Rian O’Neill, was sidelined for the entire year having suffered the dreaded ACL tear. Two years on and the lively Cullyhanna sharpshooter is making […]
Healy aiming to take Armagh a step further down the stretch
April 6, 2023
PETER Healy isn’t talking too long before you get the sense of why Andy McEntee left the captaincy Enda McGinley had in place for the previous two seasons. Healy speaks clearly, with both thought and positivity. The glass is half full. He played every game last season and after sitting out the McKenna Cup earlier […]
Galligan calling for more work ahead of Ulster opener
April 6, 2023
THERE was a wide smile across the face of Cavan goalkeeper Raymond Galligan as he swapped the league cup for his newborn son Rian after Saturday’s league final win over Fermanagh. The Breffni blues needed an impact from the bench and an increased determination to see off Fermanagh and seal promotion with silverware. “It was […]