By Niall Gartland A FEW minutes before the final whistle blew on Tyrone’s final day league win over Dublin, news of their relegation filtered through. Mayo had overcome Donegal, meaning that the Red Hands will play Division Two football in 2026, and while that’s a source of disappointment, the abiding feeling after the match was a […]
By Niall Gartland RECORDS are there to be broken and all that but Cavan fans may feel squeamish enough about the prospect of facing Tyrone given their miserly record against the Red Hands over the course of the last four decades. You have to spool the tape all the way back to 1983 for the […]
By Niall Gartland FERMANAGH embarked on a memorable run to Ulster final day back in 2018, so in that context it’s hard to believe that they haven’t won a single game in the province in the mean-time. It’s an unwanted losing run they’ll be quietly confident about drawing a line under when they host Down […]
By Shaun Casey VERY few managers come away from a league campaign that saw their team relegated with more positives than negatives, but that’s the position Conor Laverty found himself in. Having just beaten league leaders Monaghan by the minimum of margins, Down still suffered the drop back to Division Three due to their head-to-head […]
By Michael McMullan ANTRIM couldn’t have asked for a much tougher set of questions as they head into the Ulster Championship. They’ve All-Ireland champions Armagh on the horizon, a game that made the headlines for all the wrong seasons. A quick glance. Antrim were pulled out first in the draw. It was mooted for Corrigan […]
By Shaun Casey WHAT a difference a year makes. When these teams paired off in the first round of the Ulster Championship 12 months ago at Celtic Park, Donegal were the plucky underdogs and Derry were the bookies’ favourites. Sure, with Jim McGuinness back in the dugout, Donegal always had that puncher’s chance, but Derry were […]
By Shaun Casey STANDING on the steps of the Hogan Stand last summer, Aidan Forker exclaimed that he and his teammates were living their dreams. Such heights seemed unimaginable for most of the Maghery man’s county career. For Forker, Rory Grugan, Andrew Murnin, Stefan Campbell and the likes, they had given over a decade of […]
By Michael McMullan DONEGAL put the Anglo Celt Cup on the line on Sunday in Ballybofey (2pm) and manager Jim McGuinness has named his side. He hands a championship debut to Naomh Conaill clubmate Finbarr Roarty in defence with Aaron Doherty listed to start for the first time, having came on against Mayo in the […]
By Michael McMullan PADDY Tally has named his Derry team for Sunday’s Ulster Championship clash with Donegal on Sunday in Ballybofey (2pm). Goalkeeper Néill McNicholl, Martin Bradley and Dan Higgins are in line to make their championship debuts against the reigning champions. There are 12 of the team that played against Donegal in the league […]
CONGRATULATIONS to all teams who lifted silverware last weekend as the leagues came to a conclusion with four games across two days in Croke Park. The leagues have been very enjoyable for us as spectators to watch and I’m sure most teams got what they would’ve liked out of those games. Kerry would have been […]
