Month: September 2021

HE WAS NOT present to help Dublin to their latest All-Ireland triumph but the door is not closed on a potential return to their senior setup for attacker Diarmuid Connolly.

The mercurial forward last lined out for Dublin in a league game last spring against Mayo but has been absent for their 2018 championship campaign.

He helped Donegal Boston win a senior championship title last Sunday week after spending the summer in the US city. 

Connolly has been a key figure in Dublin’s five All-Ireland triumphs since 2011 that were achieved before Sunday’s win over Tyrone.

And selector Declan Darcy insists they have ‘the highest regard’ for Connolly and it is possible that he could be back in their plans next season.

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“We have the highest regard for Diarmuid and we back him 110%. He’s due back in two weeks. If he’s playing to form, he’s happy, he wants to be part of the group and we feel he can fit into the group then absolutely.

“There are no issues from our end towards Diarmuid. Again, it’s an amateur sport. There are no having to do things, it’s all about choices. He decided this year that he needed to take a little bit if time away, and he should have been allowed that, and we allowed him to do that

“Jack McCaffrey left us, Rory O’Carroll left us, the same rules would apply to those players as Diarmuid. If he comes back, we have an awful lot of loyalty towards him.”

Darcy has seen players like Paul Mannion and Jack McCaffrey both rejoin the squad in recent times with a renewed energy after taking time out to go travelling. 

“I think when they go away the first thing they’ll say is they miss being in the group and when they come back they’re energised by it. It’s good for them I suppose and healthy in their own life cycle to do what they do and then come back.

“If they want to travel they should be allowed travel, do what they have to do and then come back and play football. Again, it’s very hard for them because it is a special group, to leave is a big decision.”

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Updated Sep 4th 2018, 12:01 PM

THEY SAY PERSPECTIVE is everything in life. 

For Tyrone boss Mickey Harte, Sunday’s All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin certainly hurt, but he was able to keep things in context.

Harte has known true loss. 

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Death and illness have been frequent visitors to Harte’s door over the past three decades, most notably the 2011 murder of his daughter Micheala and his 30-month cancer battle from 2015.

Speaking at the team’s Citywest hotel yesterday, Harte spoke philosophically about the six-point reverse to Dublin. 

“Obviously, the different perspective is that I have to think and balance all of these things and how football can become a life and death issue for people who have never experienced life and death issues. 

“I understand that and they’re passionate about the sport and they’re heartbroken about this here and so I would never take away from their sort of sense of hurt or loss. I would perfectly understand it, but I would like them to think outside the box as well and say there are many worse things that you can wake up to on a Monday morning. 

“Just think about that, that people have to think and wake up to those things, things that are more permanent, loss or hurt, involved in. I’ll think about their hurt and loss as football people and fanatics and I appreciate that.

“I empathise with it but I’d ask them to think about how people wake up to something that can never be the same again, and there’s never another chance to get back to where you’d have like to be.

“And then they’ll begin to understand that while it may be life and death in words, in real terms it’s not. There are things that are more important than that. So I have to think carefully about the balance of that and not be taking away from people’s normal day to day sense of loss in terms of sport. So I really have to think about that but I’d like them to think about the other as well. 

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

“That’s maybe what makes this more possible for me today, I would have probably been more heartbroken about this if life had been different in our case. But the fact that I know something that’s much much worse than this and never could be compared to this, then I feel hurt about this but it’s not like the real hurt of loss.”

All-Ireland final defeats have had a major impact on Harte before. As a player he lost the 1972 minor final, something which created a burning desire inside him to scale that mountain. After taking over in ’91, the summit of his ambition was to win an All-Ireland minor title.

“It really stuck with him,” Brian McGuigan recalled recently when speaking about his minor days under Harte. “He always threw it up to us, saying he lost that final in ’72 and this was his chance to redeem himself.”

Tyrone lost to Laois in the All-Ireland final of the ’97 minor campaign, recovering from the tragic death of half-forward Paul McGirr in June to reach the September decider. Harte considered walking away, but the players persuaded him to stay on.

Micheala helped too. She wrote a note predicting this “special” group of players would win the Tom Markham Cup in ’98, the All-Ireland U21 crown in ’00 and the Sam Maguire in ’03. And they did exactly that, before adding further senior titles in ’05 and ’08.

Micheala’s note from Kicking Down Heaven’s Door: The Diary of a Football Manager

As far back as ’93, Harte was confronted with death of a player. Arthur Mallon had been a member of his minor panel that year but withdraw from the squad due to injury. The night before they played Donegal in the Ulster semi-final, word came through that Mallon had been killed in a car accident. 

In ’98, Harte’s minor midfielder Kevin Hughes lost his brother Paul in a car crash. The Omagh bombing the same year deeply affected everyone in the county. In ’01, Hughes was part of Harte’s U21 set-up when his sister Helen was also killed in car accident in between the drawn and replayed All-Ireland semi-finals.

Cormac McAnallen captained Tyrone to All-Ireland senior success in ’03 and died in his sleep of an undetected heart condition the following year.

In recent years, Micheala’s murder while honeymooning in Mauritius and Harte’s 2015 bladder cancer diagnosis further tested his resolve and offered fresh perspective.

“It was difficult, obviously, when you get that news it’s not something you want to hear,” he said of his cancer battle.

“But I was very, very lucky that I got the best possible treatment in Craigavon Hospital. Mark Haynes was the consultant who dealt with me and he was very, very good and the whole staff there and all were more than helpful.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

“It just shows you the quality of the health service that people often speak about how under pressure they are, and they are under pressure, but there’s still really quality people there who care so much about people. I just felt very well looked after.

“Yeah, it was a shock to the system at a time when we weren’t going very well as a team either. We got relegated that year in 2015, and it seemed to be like things were taking a turn for the bad, so to speak. But thank God things came good again. With prayer and medicine and everything it’s possible and I’m back and well again thank God.”

While Harte says there were “moves afoot to try to get me to go” as manager, he never considered stepping down.

“No, I think it was important that I had the football to take your mind to other things and to have something to drive for. It’s one of those things, in the journey of life you meet many things and it’s great to have the power and strength and the grace of God to live with it and deal with it and here we are today.

“For every sort of bad day there’s always a good day and maybe that’s the way of life. Enjoy the times that are good and then manage the times that are not.”

He confirmed he’ll return to the helm in 2019 for his 17th season as senior manager and his 28th consecutive year in the inter-county game, having taken over the minors in ’91.

“I would like to think that alright, I think you might look back and say that I’m on here for three more years and this is just the first of them over, so I have no real desire to walk away from that. No, not at all.

“This to me is just a wonderful opportunity to experience something really new and to bring a new and young set of players to the highest level if we can. I believe it’s possible, they believe it’s possible, we have to go and do what will be required to make it possible.

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“I don’t need anything to make me hungrier to be quite honest with you. I have just got an insatiable appetite for working with quality players, and I feel it as a privilege from the first day I came in with the Tyrone minors in 1991.

“I have seen it as nothing but a privilege to work with the best players at any age level in our county. This to me just gets better and better. The fact that this is a completely new team; none of them up until yesterday had started an All-Ireland final.” 

Mickey addresses the supporters at Healy pic.twitter.com/yto6mKjsN9

— Tyrone GAA (@TyroneGAALive) September 3, 2018

Harte had choice words for Tyrone’s critics who claim they lack the marquee forward to win an All-Ireland, saying some pundits are “living in the distant past” with their analysis of his team.

“I just think it’s a tired sound bite, it really is. This thing called marquee forwards; it’s something of the past. It’s not about being a marquee forward; it’s about the number of quality finishers wherever they come from on the field.

“The marquee has maybe strength, but it’s also going to be a great weakness. If you have a marquee forward and he’s double-teamed and stuffed out of the game, what do the rest of the people do? Do they say, ‘Oh, our marquee forwards are not getting seven or eight points’ when we are beaten?

“I think you need a spread of scorers in the modern game and people capable of taking them. And the fact that a forward is only described as marquee because he gets six, seven or eight points in a match, to me is absolutely childish.

“We have plenty of marquee forwards who are quality players who can do lots of things with the ball, and if somebody wants to give me the definition of a marquee forward, I’ll give them plenty of them, not people who get 0-6 0-7 or 0-8 in a game.

“The game has moved on, and people are living in the distant past. It’s sound bites, it’s just a lack of independent analysis and thinking and it’s actually boring. These sound bites just get rather boring. People never really dig into them and say, ‘Is there substance to this kind of statement or not?’

“Give us something better than that you know? That’s what being an analyst should be about. It should be insightful and trying to come up with new ways of describing things rather than leading on some old clichéd throwaway sound bite. Get better thinking out of it all.”

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THE RACE FOR Sam is over.

The winners have been anointed and the rest of us can just go home and whistle. To be clear, that’s not this year’s All-Ireland final I’m talking about. It’s next year’s.

According to the bookies, as well as pretty much all of Monday’s newspapers, Jim Gavin’s Dublin side are now a lock to clinch five-in-a-row in 2019.

A banner at Monday’s reception in Smithfield.

Dublin were worthy winners of last Sunday’s final. But a football supporter, I have to hope they don’t continue to rule the roost indefinitely. Kilkenny dominated hurling for over a decade and it didn’t do that code any harm. But that was different. Hurling is a religion in Kilkenny. Football barely registers as a passing fad in Dublin.

I live in the capital and it’s galling to see how blasé the natives have become about winning All-Irelands. I watched the game with a good friend of mine who’s about the biggest Dublin fan I know (which, granted, isn’t saying much.) He barely cracked a smile at the full-time whistle and he took off fifteen minutes later when he’d finished his pint.

Granted, he and his partner have a small baby at home. But if Mayo won the All-Ireland, and I had a baby at home, it might be a month before that poor kid got as much as a postcard from me.

Also, not to talk out of school or anything, but when Kieran McGeary was dismissed in the 49th minute, for mowing into Brian Fenton, my supposedly football-loving Dublin supporter friend had to ask me what the difference is between a black card and a yellow.

(He’ll deny this, but it’s true.)  

So no, no, no… All-Ireland success is wasted on these fair weather hobbyists and Sunday drivers.

As a Gaelic football supporter, I need to believe the Jackeens will be knocked off their perch next year. And as a Mayoman, I damn well have to convince myself we’re the county who’ll do it.

Yes, I’m well aware that Mayo crashed and burned so dismally in the 2018  championship, with an aging squad, it seems utterly deranged for me to reckon we’ll do any better in 2019. Well, duh…

Groundless, delusional optimism is pretty much the basic entry requirement for being a Mayo supporter. When it comes to rationalising the irrational, I’m an old hand. I was a kid when Mayo lost the 1989 final narrowly to Cork. Not worry, I told myself. We’ll be back next year and victory will taste all the sweeter at the second crack.

I was a teenager when we lost to Meath in a reply by a point in 1996. Third time’s a charm, I consoled myself.

The following year, Kerry’s Maurice Fitz defeated us almost single-handedly. But the year after that, in 1998, Galway brought home Sam. This would open the floodgates for Connacht football, I said, the same way Down’s victory in 1991 had done for Ulster.

Well, things didn’t quite work out that way.  

After heavy defeats to Kerry in 2004 and 2006, I still figured our day would soon come. We just needed to make sure Kerry weren’t also there when it did. By the lead-in to our 2012 clash with Donegal, I had to get a little more creative in my thinking process.

This would be my seventh time going to see Mayo contest an All-Ireland final in Croke Park. I remembered a story I learned in school about Robert the Bruce and the spider who fails to jump from one beam to the next six times, but succeeds on the seventh attempt. (The spider’s example inspired Robert to return to Scotland and defeat the English at his seventh attempt.)

Seventh time’s the charm, I told myself. Except it wasn’t. In 2013, I redid my calculations slightly. Excluding replays, this year finally would be the seventh time that was the charm. This would be the year we broke the curse. Events, inevitably, proved otherwise.

As things currently stand, I’ve been to eleven All-Ireland finals without tasting victory. I’ve scoured the annals of Scottish, Lithuanian and Outer Mongolian folklore. Nowhere, but nowhere, unfortunately, does there exist a proverb which claims that the twelfth time’s the charm.

Outgoing Mayo boss Stephen Rochford.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

Stephen Rochford’s resignation as Mayo manager last week came as a surprise. If he’d gone after the Kildare defeat, that would have been one thing. But to wait two months suggested turmoil behind the scenes. I listened to his interview with Miriam O’Callaghan on Sunday and it seemed to confirm the widely held view of Rochford as an extremely decent and modest man.

At face value, you’d have to think our county board have screwed us over once again, ousting one of our most successful ever managers with no backup plan for who is to replace him. But maybe, just maybe, there is method to their madness. At least, that’s what I have to convince myself.

Maybe’s Rochford’s decency and modesty were part of the problem. Maybe we need a manager with a little more guile. Or maybe even, we just needed a change just for its own sake.

Again, I’ll cite a precedent from military history. During the American Civil War, the Union side possessed all the advantages they needed for victory over the South. They had the men. They had the guns. They had the will. All they lacked was a commander who could get them over the line.

So what did Abraham Lincoln do? He had no idea know who was the right man for the job. So he just kept firing commanders until he found the right guy. He chose Winfield Scott. When that didn’t work out, he took personal charge of the army. When that didn’t work out he chose McKellan.

When that didn’t work out, he chose Halleck. When that didn’t work out he chose Ulysses S. Grant. And Grant succeeded.

What did Ulysses S. Grant have that those other men lacked? Who the hell knows, Lincoln certainly didn’t. The point is Grant won him the war. It’s the same with Mayo.

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Our veteran players seem to be hanging in for another year. We still have the 2016 All-Ireland U21 winning players, as well as the 2018 All-Ireland U20 finalists, yet to be integrated into the senior team. All we’re missing now is our Ulysses S. Grant.

In the words of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, mine eyes have seen the glory…

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THE MAYO LADIES football squad have broken their silence for the first time following the high-profile departures which rocked the panel this summer.

The Mayo team before they took on Cavan

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

In a statement issued to The42, the players said “no player welfare issues exist or have ever existed under the current management” led by Peter Leahy, and they “categorically disagree” with that claim which was made when 12 players left the squad.

“We were surprised and disappointed to hear of these issues and if we had witnessed any welfare issues, we would not have hesitated to highlight them to the management,” the players said.

It also claims that the departure of four of the players, along with two of Leahy’s backroom staff, followed “a failed coup” at a players’ meeting in the days following the initial withdrawal of eight Carnacon players in July.

The statement was issued on behalf of the current squad through a player representative on Tuesday.

Eight Carnacon players, including all-time leading scorer Cora Staunton and vice-captain Fiona McHale, left the squad 10 days before they played Cavan in the first round of the All-Ireland qualifier group stage.

Captain Sarah Tierney and three players from other clubs later left the panel for personal reasons. Two members of the backroom team also departed.

The players who left the panel released a statement through the Women’s Gaelic Players Association (WGPA) on 10 July, citing “player welfare issues that are personal and sensitive to the players involved”.

Mayo manager Peter Leahy

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

Two days later, the Mayo Ladies county board publicly backed Leahy and the players who remained part of his panel.

“The board feels it important to state that the senior management team has adhered to all protocols and guidelines set out at the beginning of their tenure,” the county board said.

“The board has made players and management aware that they have our full support going forward.”

A much-changed Mayo side went on to enjoy a 3-23 to 4-13 win over Cavan in Clones to put a week of upheaval behind them. 

Mediation talks took place on 18 July in Castlebar involving representatives of all parties, but they proved inconclusive. A confidentiality agreement was signed afterwards by those involved in a bid to keep a lid on the discussions.

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Mayo went on to reach the All-Ireland quarter-finals, where they lost out to Galway by 5-11 to 0-12.

At a Mayo county board meeting on 21 August, club delegates voted in favour of removing Carnacon from this year’s Mayo league and championship.

The delegates agreed the reigning Mayo, Connacht and All-Ireland champions had brought the Association “into disrepute” for withdrawing their players from the Mayo squad in the summer.

Carnacon confirmed they would appeal the ban to the Appeals Committee of the Connacht LGFA.

Carnacon celebrate their 2017 All-Ireland victory

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Speaking at an Off The Ball event in Croke Park last Thursday, Staunton said: “The right story will eventually come out. You know, I think we’ve been very dignified over the last number of months.”

Carnacon’s appeal was successful and they were reinstated to all competitions. The Mayo county board are set to meet tonight to discuss whether they will appeal that decision to the Connacht LGFA. 

Now, the Mayo players have decided to speak out for the first time. 

The Mayo Senior Ladies Team Players Statement

“We, the Mayo senior ladies panel, believe the time is now right to make a statement regarding events in June and July 2018. On 6 July, eight players were withdrawn by their club without consultation or discussion with their Mayo team colleagues.

“Understandably, we as players were left shocked and saddened by this decision which was taken 10 days before our championship match with Cavan. Another four players, one selector and one backroom staff left following a failed coup which took place at a players meeting two days later.

“To date, we have not been given any reasoning or clarity as to why this course of action was taken. We feel deeply let down and hurt by the actions of those who left our panel.

“We believe that no player welfare issues exist or have ever existed under the current management and categorically disagree with the statement issued in July by the individuals that departed the Mayo senior ladies panel regarding the welfare issues raised.

“We were surprised and disappointed to hear of these issues and if we had witnessed any welfare issues, we would not have hesitated to highlight them to the management.

“It is fair to say that there was considerable upheaval in advance of the Cavan game. This was the biggest game of the year for us and our preparation was distracted.

“We take offence to some of the comments that have been made by certain players over the last few weeks in the media.

“We fully support our management team and as a team believe that all of their decisions and selections were made fairly after careful consideration. We had a fantastic league campaign culminating in a league final appearance in Parnell Park and while the last few months were difficult and disappointing; many new players were given an opportunity to perform at county level.

“Our manager Peter Leahy has shown integrity and honour under tremendous pressure and he has always treated us as elite athletes, has supported and stood strong for us allowing us to play football without fear or intimidation.

“The management set up has been top class with no stone left unturned to make sure we can avail of top level coaching and facilities. The management ethos is focused on teamwork and also on how we as individuals can perform to the highest standard.

“All players are treated with honesty and respect in an environment where generosity and passion for the county are to the fore.

“Ultimately, we want to play football and honour our county jersey and we trust and support our manager, Peter Leahy, and his management team to take the county forward. We always have and always will welcome any player to the panel to help us achieve our goals.

“Mayo Ladies senior football panel would like to thank our management, county board, families, friends, supporters, general public and ultimately our clubs for supporting and trusting us during this difficult time as we strive to bring honour to our county.

“Go raibh míle maith agaibh.”

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FORMER KERRY BOSS Jack O’Connor has distanced himself from the vacant senior manager position in the county, saying that he is content to continue working with the U20s team.

Kerry are on the hunt for a new manager after Éamonn Fitzmaurice stepped down from the role following their championship exit at the end of the inaugural Super 8s competition, and O’Connor is among the names linked with the job.

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O’Connor had two previous stints in charge of the Kerry senior team which delivered All-Ireland success for the Kingdom in 2004, 2006 and 2009.

Speaking on Radio Kerry’s Terrace Talk on Monday night, O’Connor was initially reluctant to discuss the vacancy, preferring to speak about the Kerry minors and their historic five-in-a-row success.

But when pressed on the matter by presenter Tim Moynihan, he said his work as manager of the Kerry U20s is his priority at the moment:

I had two goes at it and that might be enough for me. I’m enjoying what I’m doing with the U20s at the moment.

“The Kerry senior manager is a very tough assignment in the sense that it’s a huge commitment. People don’t realise that you basically wouldn’t want to be working and you’d want an awful lot of energy.

“It’s a huge commitment, there’s no question about it. The level of professionalism that’s in the game now basically demands your full attention. That’s not a job to be taken lightly, there’s no question about that.”

Interesting comment from Jack O Connor tonight on Terrace Talk where he revealed to me that he is content at the moment to remain involved with the u20 side and looks forward to working with the younger players next season. Be sure to catch the podcast tomorrow if you missed it! pic.twitter.com/KrDboSzE1g

— Tim Moynihan (@moynihan_tim) September 3, 2018

Moynihan then asked O’Connor what he would do if he was hypothetically invited to meet Kerry county board chairman Tim Murphy to discuss the possibility of returning to the helm once more.

O’Connor laughed off the question and said, ‘that’s not a question for me to answer.’

“Look I’m getting a great kick out of being involved with the U20s. We were a bit disappointed this year but we were close.

We were probably missing a bit of class up front but there’s a right good group at U20 level again next year and that’s where my intention lies to be honest with you.”

Other names which have been mentioned as potential candidates to become the next Kerry manager include Maurice Fitzgerald, former Kerry goalkeeper Diarmuid Murphy and Peter Keane, who guided the Kerry minors to that fifth consecutive All-Ireland at the weekend.

You can listen to a podcast of the full show here.

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THERE IS NO doubt following this game that this Dublin side is a machine that does not look like it will relent any time soon.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Last Sunday, Jim Gavin’s side joined only three other teams by achieving four All-Irelands in a row and it is hard to see how they will be beaten in 2019. Credit must go to Tyrone who did so much right in this game but fell short to a higher quality team.

Dublin players’ in-game awareness

One of the outstanding characteristics of this Dublin team is their ability to adjust in-game to what the opposition are doing. This is one of the biggest strengths these guys have.

Last Sunday, Tyrone went four points ahead with 15 minutes on the clock. On the next Tyrone attack, Dublin dropped all 15 men behind the ball, ensuring that Tyrone would not go further ahead and forced Cathal McShane into poor shot location and sent the ball wide.

From the kickout, Stephen Cluxton sent a ball over the top to the arriving Jack McCaffery who bombed up the Cusack Stand side and slipped a pass to Ciaran Kilkenny who split the posts.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

On Niall Morgan’s restart, they went man for man and the Tyrone stopper hit a poor kick to Ciaran Kilkenny. He offloaded to Paul Mannion who was brought down for a penalty which he converted.

The next two plays, Dublin again pushed up on Tyrone’s kickouts and were rewarded with two more points directly from it. They were then sitting two points ahead of Tyrone. The change in approach came directly from the players on the pitch.

Another example of this was as they approached half-time, they wanted to kill the game and waste time and ensure they went in with a strong lead. Their ever-present leader Jonny Cooper went down injured on a Tyrone restart and killed any momentum that Tyrone were trying to build.

As the game looked to be slipping away from Tyrone, they decided to put Colm Cavanagh in to full forward in an attempt to salvage something. In Dublin’s semi-final against Galway, a target man in Damien Comer caused them serious problems early.

When Tyrone did this, Brian Howard dropped directly in front of him showing that they once again had learnt from previous experiences.

Tyrone’s negative – early sweeper

While it is very hard to be too hard on Tyrone’s efforts last Sunday as they did an awful lot of things right, one area I felt that went wrong for them was the deployment of Colm Cavanagh, and how they transitioned him.

As Dublin gained possession be it from a kickout or a turnover won, Colm Cavanagh immediately went straight back to cover the “D” area and ensure Dublin would not run through the middle and score an easy goal.

The logic of this is very easy to understand, however at times, Colm Cavanagh was back in his position up to 30 seconds before Dublin crossed the 45-metre line making him  ineffective for this time and meaning that Dublin always had a plus-one in attack as they went forward.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

This made it incredibly hard for Tyrone to get direct contact on their opposition higher up the pitch. Dublin are incredibly fluent and smart in their play when coming up against an approach, they will not bring down the middle but will instead travel down the wings with angled runners coming off the shoulder.

They continue to run at these angles making the sweeper redundant in his job. Dublin on the other hand transition the sweeper more effectively by a player dropping; off Cian O Sullivan early on and Jonny Cooper later when the opposition cross the 45. This allows them to go man for man early on in a Tyrone attack.

If a team are to beat Jim Gavin’s men in 2019, there is no question that they will have to be able to go man for man at times in defence. Dublin cannot be allowed to continue to gain momentum as they bring the ball up the pitch.

The kickout battle

Stephen Cluxton delivered probably his finest display in a final on Sunday. The Parnells man finished with a kickout retention of 94%. This was partly down to Tyrone having their press not right, but the Dublin keeper must be commended for his pinpoint accuracy. He did not lose one kickout in the second half of this game.

Amazingly in last year’s final versus Mayo, he did not lose one kickout in the second half either! Tyrone from Niall Morgan’s kicks retained 71%, winning 17 out of 24. The overall kickouts ended 65% to 35% in Dublin’s favour.

The major difference between the sides however comes from how many scores that both teams got directly from the winning of the kickout.

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Dublin scored 1-2 directly from the winning of seven of Tyrone’s kickouts while Tyrone scored 0-2 directly from Dublin’s kickouts. The difference on their own kickout was substantial also with Dublin having a direct return of 1-7 compared to Tyrone’s 0-4.

Teams going forward will have to get a press on Stephen Cluxton’s kickouts. He cannot be allowed to keep going short. It is acting as a launchpad for Dublin’s attacks as they are so comfortable on the ball.

Attack efficiency

Along with not losing one kickout in the second half, Dublin unbelievably did not hit one wide in the second half. Dublin’s six wides all came in the opening half. They finished with a scoring efficiency of 61%.

Tyrone on the other hand hit 16 wides and had a shooting efficiency of 47%. For an underdog like Tyrone to have any chance at conquering a team like Dublin, then their shooting must be over the 60% mark.

Mickey Harte will be very unhappy with some of the shooting choices that his team took, rushing the shot at times from outside their scoring zone instead of working the ball around and waiting on an opening to take the shot on.

Dublin showed how to do this to perfection with Brian Fenton’s point in the 52nd minute where Dublin had held on to possession for over two minutes until the opportunity presented itself.

Can anyone stop the Dubs in 2019?

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

For Tyrone, 2018 will be looked at as a year that brought about some progress. They lost their Ulster crown which will have disappointed them. They did however avenge their defeat from Monaghan in the All Ireland semi final.

Defeating Dublin has once again proved a bridge too far. Will they conquer them in 2019? Now it would seem they lack the quality up front to beat a side like Dublin.

Dublin now look nearly a guarantee to become the first team to win five All-Irelands in a row. Jim Gavin has continued to strengthen his squad year on year and added a new gem each year – Brian Howard in 2018.

In relation to anyone being able to stop them, Tyrone look like they may lack the quality forwards needed to beat them.

Mayo showed in the past two years that going man to man and really going for the game is the best way possible to have a chance of beating them, whether this Mayo team can go to the well again remains to be seen.

Galway have the best forwards to go toe to toe with Dublin but will need to change tact slightly in their approach from 2018. Monaghan are in a similar boat to Tyrone and may lack forwards when Conor McManus is tied up.

Kerry have now won five minor titles in a row and will challenge in years to come but 2019 may be too soon.

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MAYO CLUBS HAVE voted overwhelmingly in favour of appealing the decision to reinstate Carnacon into the senior league and championship for the 2018 season.

The decision was taken at a county board meeting on Tuesday night after the reigning Mayo, Connacht and All-Ireland club champions won their appeal to the Connacht LGFA last week.

The42 understands that club delegates voted 30-3 in favour of taking the appeal forward to the Connacht Council proper.

Carnacon were previously thrown out of the 2018 competitions on the back of a vote taken by Mayo clubs at a county board meeting in August, with delegates voting 26-2 in favour of removing Carnacon on that occasion.

The decision was made under rule 288 of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association which relates to bringing the game into disrepute. The rule states that “any member of the Association found guilty of conduct calculated to bring the Association into disrepute shall be liable to expulsion or suspension by the committee, board or council concerned.”

The situation stems from a fall-out during the summer where the club withdrew all eight of their players from Peter Leahy’s Mayo inter-county panel in July, citing “player welfare issues”.

Mayo’s all-time leading scorer and Carnacon stalwart Cora Staunton was the highest profile player involved in the walk-out.

Carnacon subsequently presented their case to the Connacht Council appeals sub-committee and it was struck out on a technicality. 

Carnacon released a statement last week following the decision to have the controversial ban overturned, in which they said they were ‘satisfied with this outcome and feel it reflects the impulsive, heavy handed approach initially taken by the Mayo Ladies County Board.’

Mayo LGFA will now appeal that decision to the Connacht Council proper, with further appeals available to both parties if a satisfactory outcome is not reached.

The Mayo Ladies football squad released a statement to The42 on Tuesday saying that “no player welfare issues exist or have ever existed under the current management” led by Leahy, and they “categorically disagree” with that claim which was made when the 12 players left the squad.

“We were surprised and disappointed to hear of these issues and if we had witnessed any welfare issues, we would not have hesitated to highlight them to the management,” the statement read.

Speaking on OTBAM this morning, Staunton said the “contents of the statement was very disappointing” and denied claims there had been a “failed coup” in the camp.

“We acknowledge that none of them girls that were in the panel at the time – maybe 20 other girls – have witnessed anything of concern,” she said. 

“But that doesn’t say that nothing has existed. They may not have witnessed it but that’s not to say it didn’t exist. There’s issues there, they’re very sensitive and personal to the people involved.

“We have been very dignified and we’re not using the media or places like that as a platform to air our problems. We want these problems sorted and investigated. None of that has happened

“There are 14 people here who have walked away, eight of those from one club,” Staunton continued.

“We had certain reasons for walking away and because of this we’re being punished because eight girls from one club decided to walk away.

“The 14 people that left the senior team in July all left for the same reason. I think that’s been lost out there.

“We feel it’s nearly a witch-hunt on the club at this stage. From off of this, the way to go was punish Carnacon. The standard bearers in Ladies football for the last 20 years in the county. It’s hugely disappointing that we’re being treated this way. 

“These issues are not to be dragged through the public and for the public to be saying, ‘This is right, this is wrong.’”

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THE PROSPECT OF Cian O’Neill staying on in charge of the Kildare footballers in 2019 has strengthened after it was revealed at a county board meeting last night that he and his management team are interested in another term.

KFM Radio Sport has reported that county board chairman Ger Donnelly told a meeting last night of the desire of the management trio of O’Neill, Ronan Sweeney and Enda Murphy to stay on.

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It is intended that ‘talks will be held between the parties’ over the next while, which would lead to an extension being proposed, if they conclude successfully.

O’Neill has been in charge for the past three seasons. In 2016 they exited at the hands of Mayo in the qualifiers before last year saw promotion clinched from Division 2, a Leinster final appearance against Dublin and a Round 4 qualifier defeat to Armagh.

This season Kildare got off to a dreadful start when they were relegated from the top tier of the league and suffered a shock loss in their Leinster opener to Carlow.

However they recovered in the qualifiers with victories over Derry, Longford, most notably at home in Newbridge to Mayo and against Fermanagh to clinch a place in the Super 8s.

The round-robin quarter-final series saw Kildare lose out to Monaghan, Galway and Kerry to bring their 2018 campaign to a close.

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CHAMPIONS DUBLIN LOOK set to be on the road to face Monaghan in their opening league tie next spring.

Dublin and Monaghan players in action in Croke Park in the league this year.

Source: Bryan Keane/INPHO

The reigning league, Leinster and All-Ireland winners are set for an away tie against Monaghan with the list of provisional football league fixtures that have been released.

The Irish Independent has reported that the fixtures were released to counties yesterday and while they are not finalised, there are generally few alterations to the original list.

The other league openers in the top tier are set to see Mayo take on Roscommon in all-Connacht clash with Kerry entertaining Tyrone and Galway taking on Cavan.

Here’s the proposed Division 1 fixtures list – first named side has home advantage.

Division 1

Saturday 26 January
Mayo v Roscommon, 7pm

Roscommon’s Enda Smith and Mayo’s Stephen Coen.

Source: Tommy Grealy/INPHO

Sunday 27 January
Kerry v Tyrone, 2pm
Galway v Cavan, TBC
Monaghan v Dublin, TBC

Saturday 2 February
Dublin v Galway, 7pm

Sunday 3 February
Cavan v Kerry, 2pm
Roscommon v Monaghan, TBC
Tyrone v Mayo, TBC

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Kerry’s Tadgh Morley and Dara McVeety of Cavan .

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Saturday 9 February
Kerry v Dublin, 7pm
Mayo v Cavan, 7pm
Monaghan v Galway, 7pm

Sunday 10 February
Roscommon v Tyrone, 2pm

Saturday 23 February
Dublin v Mayo, 7pm
Tyrone v Monaghan, 7pm

Sunday 24 February
Galway v Kerry, 2pm
Cavan v Roscommon, TBC

Saturday 2 March
Mayo v Galway, 7pm
Tyrone v Cavan, 7pm

Sunday 3 March
Roscommon v Dublin, 2pm
Kerry v Monaghan, TBC

Saturday 16 March
Galway v Roscommon, 2pm
Dublin v Tyrone, 7pm
Kerry v Mayo, 7pm
Monaghan v Cavan, 7pm

Sunday 24 March
Cavan v Dublin, 2pm
Mayo v Monaghan, 2pm
Roscommon v Kerry, 2pm
Tyrone v Galway, 2pm

Source: Bryan Keane/INPHO

In Division 2, the fixture list sees opening ties with Clare at home to Donegal, Cork travelling to Fermanagh, Kildare facing Armagh and a clash of Meath and Tipperary.

Division 2

Sunday 27 January
Clare v Donegal, 2pm
Fermanagh v Cork, 2pm
Kildare v Armagh, 2pm
Meath v Tipperary, 2pm

Saturday 2 February
Cork v Kildare, 7pm
Donegal v Meath, 7pm

Sunday 3 February
Tipperary v Fermanagh, 2pm
Armagh v Clare, TBC

Saturday 9 February
Fermanagh v Kildare, 7pm

Sunday 10 February
Clare v Cork, 2pm
Meath v Armagh, 2pm
Tipperary v Donegal, 2pm

Sunday 24 February
Armagh v Tipperary, 2pm
Cork v Meath, 2pm
Donegal v Fermanagh, 2pm
Kildare v Clare, 2pm

Saturday 2 March
Donegal v Armagh, 7pm
Tipperary v Cork, 7pm

Tipperary’s Liam Casey with Mark Collins of Cork.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Sunday 3 March
Meath v Kildare, 2pm
Fermanagh v Clare, TBC

Saturday 16 March
Clare v Meath, 2pm
Cork v Donegal, 2pm
Kildare v Tipperary, 2pm
Armagh v Fermanagh, 7pm

Sunday 24 March
Armagh v Cork, 2pm
Donegal v Kildare, 2pm
Meath v Fermanagh, 2pm
Tipperary v Clare, 2pm

Donegal’s Michael Murphy and Peter Kelly of Kildare.

Source: Evan Logan/INPHO

In Division 3, the clash of Down against Westmeath will be the Saturday night opener.

Division 3

Saturday 26 January
Down v Westmeath, 7pm

Sunday 27 January
Carlow v Sligo, 2pm
Offaly v Laois, 2pm
Louth v Longford, TBC

Saturday 2 February
Laois v Carlow, 7pm

Laois goalkeeper Graham Brody with Darragh Foley and Brendan Kavanagh of Carlow.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Sunday 3 February
Longford v Offaly, 2pm
Sligo v Down, 2pm
Westmeath v Louth, 2pm

Saturday 9 February
Down v Laois, 7pm

Sunday 10 February
Carlow v Longford, 2pm
Offaly v Louth, 2pm
Westmeath v Sligo, 2pm

Saturday 23 February
Laois v Westmeath, 7pm

Sunday 24 February
Longford v Down, 2pm
Louth v Sligo, TBC
Offaly v Carlow, TBC

Saturday 2 March
Carlow v Louth, 7pm
Down v Offaly, 7pm

Sunday 3 March
Sligo v Laois, 2pm
Westmeath v Longford, TBC

Saturday 16 March
Carlow v Down, 2pm
Longford v Sligo, 2pm
Louth v Laois, 2pm
Offaly v Westmeath, 2pm

Sunday 24 March
Down v Louth, 2pm
Laois v Longford, 2pm
Sligo v Offaly, 2pm
Westmeath v Carlow, 2pm

Offaly’s Peter Cunningham and Adrian McIntyre of Sligo.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

Finally in Division 4, it is the footballers of Waterford and Wicklow that will get the ball rolling.

Division 4

Saturday 26 January
Waterford v Wicklow, 7pm

Sunday 27 January
Leitrim v Wexford, 2pm
London v Limerick, 2pm
Antrim v Derry, TBC

Sunday 3 February
Limerick v Waterford, 2pm
Wexford v Antrim, 2pm
Derry v London, TBC
Wicklow v Leitrim, TBC

Sunday 10 February
Leitrim v Antrim, 2pm
London v Wexford, 2pm
Waterford v Derry, 2pm
Wicklow v Limerick, 2pm

Sunday 24 February
Antrim v London, 2pm
Derry v Wicklow, 2pm
Wexford v Waterford, 2pm
Limerick v Leitrim, TBC

Wexford’s Michael Furlong and JJ Hutchinson of Waterford.

Source: Bryan Keane/INPHO

Saturday 2 March
Wicklow v Wexford, 2pm

Sunday 3 March
Leitrim v London, 2pm
Limerick v Derry, 2pm
Waterford v Antrim, TBC

Saturday 16 March
Antrim v Wicklow, 2pm
London v Waterford, 2pm
Wexford v Limerick, 2pm
Derry v Leitrim, 7pm

Sunday 24 March
Derry v Wexford, 1pm
Leitrim v Waterford, 1pm
Limerick v Antrim, 1pm
Wicklow v London, 1pm

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ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONS Limerick will begin their 2019 league campaign with a trip to Wexford in their Division 1A opener.

John Kiely’s side are back in the top flight for the first time in eight years and they’re set to take on Wexford according to the list of provisional hurling league fixtures that have been released today. 

The Irish Independent reports that counties were informed of the fixtures yesterday, with league champions Kilkenny hosting Cork, while Clare will travel to face Tipperary on the opening weekend in Division 1A.

Check out the proposed fixtures below – the first teams named have home advantage.

Division 1A

Saturday 26 January
Tipperary v Clare, 7pm

Sunday 27 January
Kilkenny v Cork, 2pm
Wexford v Limerick, 2pm

Saturday 2 February
Limerick v Tipperary, 7pm

Sunday 3 February
Clare v Kilkenny, 2pm
Cork v Wexford, 2pm

Saturday 16 February
Cork v Clare, 7pm

Sunday 17 February
Kilkenny v Limerick, 2pm
Wexford v Tipperary, 2pm

Sunday 24 February
Clare v Wexford, 2pm
Tipperary v Kilkenny, 2pm
Limerick v Cork, TBC

Sunday 3 March
Clare v Limerick, 2pm
Cork v Tipperary, 2pm
Wexford v Kilkenny, 2pm

The Division 1B fixtures have also been released. Relegated Waterford host Offaly, newly promoted Carlow travel to take on Dublin, while Galway will host Laois in the opening round.

Division 1B

Saturday 26 January
Dublin v Carlow, 7pm

Sunday 27 January
Waterford v Offaly, 2pm
Galway v Laois, TBC

Sunday 3 February
Carlow v Galway, 2pm
Laois v Waterford, 2pm
Offaly v Dublin, 2pm

Saturday 16 February
Laois v Offaly, 7pm
Waterford v Carlow, 7pm

Sunday 17 February
Galway v Dublin, 2pm

Sunday 24 February
Carlow v Laois, 2pm
Dublin v Waterford, 2pm
Offaly v Galway, TBC

Sunday 3 March
Carlow v Offaly, 2pm
Dublin v Laois, 2pm
Waterford v Galway, 2pm

In Division 2A, Mayo clash with Meath, Westmeath host London and Antrim face Kerry on the first Sunday of the campaign.

Division 2A

Sunday 27 January
Mayo v Meath, 2pm
Westmeath v London, 2pm
Antrim v Kerry, TBC

Sunday 3 February
Kerry v Westmeath, 2pm
London v Mayo, 2pm
Meath v Antrim, 2pm

Sunday 17 February
Antrim v Westmeath, 2pm
Kerry v Mayo, 2pm
Meath v London, 2pm

Sunday 24 February
London v Kerry, 2pm
Mayo v Antrim, 2pm
Westmeath v Meath, 2pm

Sunday 3 March
Antrim v London, 1pm
Kerry v Meath, 1pm
Westmeath v Mayo, 1pm 

In the fourth tier, Wicklow travel to Warwickshire in the Saturday night opener.

Division 2B

Saturday 26 January
Warwickshire v Wicklow, 2pm

Sunday 27 January
Donegal v Kildare, 2pm
Down v Derry, 2pm

Sunday 3 February
Derry v Donegal, TBC
Kildare v Warwickshire, 2pm
Wicklow v Down, TBC

Sunday 17 February
Donegal v Wicklow, 2pm
Kildare v Derry, 2pm
Warwickshire v Down, 2pm

Sunday 24 February
Down v Donegal, 2pm
Warwickshire v Derry, 2pm
Wicklow v Kildare, 2pm

Sunday 3 March
Derry v Wicklow, 1pm
Donegal v Warwickshire, 1pm
Kildare v Down, 1pm

Division 3A kicks off on the Sunday with Lancashire at home against Tyrone, Roscommon travelling to Louth and Armagh heading to face Monaghan.

Division 3A

Sunday 27 January
Lancashire v Tyrone, 2pm
Louth v Roscommon, TBC
Monaghan v Armagh, TBC

Sunday 3 February
Armagh v Lancashire, TBC
Roscommon v Monaghan, TBC
Tyrone v Louth, TBC

Sunday 17 February
Armagh v Roscommon, 2pm
Lancashire v Louth, 2pm
Tyrone v Monaghan, 2pm

Sunday 24 February
Monaghan v Lancashire, 2pm
Roscommon v Tyrone, 2pm
Louth v Armagh, TBC

Sunday 3 March
Lancashire v Roscommon, 1pm
Louth v Monaghan, 1pm
Tyrone v Armagh, 1pm

Finally, in Division 3B there are two games on the opening weekend. Cavan host Leitrim at home and Fermanagh head to Sligo. 

Division 3B

Sunday 27 January
Cavan v Leitrim, 2pm
Sligo v Fermanagh, 2pm

Sunday 3 February
Fermanagh v Longford, 2pm
Leitrim v Sligo, 2pm

Sunday 17 February
Longford v Leitrim, 2pm
Sligo v Cavan, 2pm

Sunday 24 February
Leitrim v Fermanagh, 2pm
Cavan v Longford, TBC

Sunday 3 March
Fermanagh v Cavan,1 pm
Longford v Sligo, 1pm

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