Month: September 2021

DUBLIN ARE CELEBRATING another All-Ireland victory today after they were crowned senior ladies football champions for the second successive year.

A 3-11 to 1-12 victory over Cork in yesterday’s final, before an attendance of 50,141 in Croke Park, ensured Dublin would retain the Brendan Martin Cup.  

After suffering three final losses to Cork between 2014 and 2016, this latest victory was one to savour for Dublin.

And as is the post-final tradition, Dublin’s players headed to Crumlin Children’s Hospital this morning to visit some of the patients and their families.

Members of the victorious Dublin team with Anna May Shields from Portlaoise

Members of the victorious Dublin team with Anna May Shields.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

6-year-old Danny Quinsey from Enniscorthy meets the Dublin players

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

The Dublin team with members of staff outside the hospital

Kate Sullivan with Deividas Kaseta (4) from Louth

Dublin ladies footballers with Martin & Marty O’Gara and Sarah Gibson-O’Gara, from Wicklow

Jamie Kerrigan (10) from Edenderry with the new All-Ireland champions

Dublin’s Noelle Healy with Zach Ring (8) from Swords

Dublin players with 10-year-old Thomas Curran from Terenure

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APPOINTED IN OCTOBER 2017, departed in September 2018.

Pat Gilroy’s first spell as Dublin senior manager may have been a wide-ranging one, overseeing an exhaustive process to overhaul the fortunes of the county’s football side, but his second tenure, at the helm of the county hurling team, ended up being brief as it lasted just a single season.

Cunningham and Kenny are linked with the role that Gilroy has vacated.

He pulled the plug officially last night as he cited work commitments, reasoning that provided a neat symmetry with his previous departure.

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“It has been a challenging four years for me balancing my role with Dublin along with family and work commitments and I have decided not to continue for a further term,” remarked Gilroy back in September 2012, as he relayed the news that he was moving on from the footballers.

In the space of six years, the pace of life off the pitch has not eased off for Gilroy and the demands placed on those directing operations on the sideline has continued to ratchet up.

His hurling spell in charge sparked promise, generated regrets and will likely be reviewed in frustration that he only got a season to place his stamp on proceedings. The bald statistics point to a record of three wins and six losses from the nine games Dublin played between league and championship in 2018.

Source: Donall Farmer/INPHO

They didn’t challenge for promotion from Division 1B in the league, needed to beat Laois on the last day to avoid a relegation play-off and failed to emerge from the Leinster round-robin series as their involvement concluded in Salthill on Saturday 9 June.

But that conceals the true narrative of their campaign. Emphatic losses to Offaly and Limerick, along with a narrow win over Antrim, illustrated their grim start to the spring.

Yet they were highly competitive in championship. The opening matches against Kilkenny and Wexford effectively killed their hopes of pushing into the All-Ireland series but both games saw winning positions slip from their grasp late on. They ran Galway to a point after swatting aside Offaly but it was those early losses, particularly against Kilkenny after they had held the initiative for so long, that hurt them most.

Source: Donall Farmer/INPHO

Gilroy succeeded in coaxing the likes of Alan Nolan, Danny Sutcliffe and Conal Keaney back into the fold to make an impact. He got plenty out of stationing Liam Rushe at full-forward, saw Chris Crummey’s defensive excellence yield an All-Star nomination by the close of the summer and introduce youngsters like Paddy Smyth to senior life. An early June exit masked the strides they had made and the consensus formed that they had the raw materials to build under Gilroy’s watch in 2019.

His departure now breeds uncertainty in the Dublin hurling climate. It means three of the four counties that lost out after the provincial round-robin campaigns are searching for someone to fill their hotseats.

But whereas Derek McGrath left Waterford on 18 June and Michael Ryan bid farewell to Tipperary on 2 August, Dublin have been struck by the requirements to start a managerial hunt in mid-September at a time when those two other counties are closing in on successors and a selection of other rivals have already shifted their minds to 2019.

The crux of the matter when considering Gilroy’s replacement is whether Dublin will turn to a Galway figure. Mattie Kenny was a big challenger to fill the position last year. He may not be a native of the capital but that belies the level of insight and familiarity he possesses from his work with Cuala.

Seven major championship trophies – three Dublin, two Leinster and two All-Ireland – have been garnered under Kenny’s supervision since October 2015. His prior work in coaching the Galway seniors means he has an inter-county string to his bow.

There is another Galway contender who ticks the boxes in terms of insight and experience. Anthony Cunningham’s work alongside Gilroy this year means he would offer a level of continuity to the current squad. He has an array of previous successful roles in football and hurling with teams like St Brigid’s, Garrycastle and the Galway U21s while he was boss of the Galway senior side for four seasons.

Anthony Cunningham and Mattie Kenny during their time in charge of Galway.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

But irrespective of the strong credentials of prospective replacements, the task of finding someone new is a jolt to the Dublin hurling setup.

The timing is a headache for the Dublin county board, a delay will leave the new boss hamstrung for the early stages of 2019.

Results did not swing Gilroy’s way this year but the brightness of the latter performances pointed to the prospect of better to come in 2019.

His departure leaves everything looking unclear again.

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RETAINING THEIR ALL-Ireland title in front of a record 50,141 crowd was a proud moment for Mick Bohan’s Dublin team. 

1-7 from Sinead Aherne helped the Dubs to a five-point win over Cork, avenging their three previous final defeats to the same opposition between 2014-16.

Dublin defender Sinead Goldrick was thrilled to string together the first back-to-back titles in the county’s history. To do it in front of a massive audience made it all the more special.

“We wanted to do two-in-a-row, I don’t think we would be happy with just the one,” she said after the game. “For years we chased winning that All-Ireland and then we finally had it and we definitely didn’t want to lose it.

“When I saw the top tier full, and a sense of pride hits you with the crowd. But that doesn’t matter unless you have the win. There’s a group of us who have lost quarter-finals by a point over the course of three years and then by two points to Kerry, so we just really wanted to get over the line today and thankfully this group did it together.

“Away from the lights we went on a journey and Mick said in ten year’s time you might see them in a pub or on the street and you just have to give that look, because nobody outside of the team knows what we have been through and how much we push each other.

“Football is about people seeing the best but behind the scenes things happen to players in their lives and everyone just pushes each other up, and this group is so special. Just to win and keep Brendan in Dublin; we have a huge sense of pride in that.

“Today was a good display of football, and that was important to us. You don’t want to just win, you want to win so that 50,000 people have respect for the game and the skill, and hopefully we showed that today.”

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Was the two-in-a-row discussed much within the group this season?

“I think we probably just got asked about it so much,” said Aherne. “That’s there from the outside and that’s what’s looking in.

“We didn’t ignore it, I don’t think we can but we tried to put it into a frame that was about us and how we performed and it was put to the side and just to be able to bring forward all the things that we had and take a step by step approach last year and this year.

“We just wanted to come out and play and show what we can do, and the fact that we were playing Cork; we just knew we had to be at the peak of our game and that was it.”

It won’t be long before the talk turns to 2019 and whether the Girls in Blue can three-peat. 

“It’s been said already!” said Carla Rowe, who bagged two vital goals for the victors.

Goldrick continued: “We’re just so proud to get the two and I suppose any Dublin team wants to keep it in the county, so we’ll definitely try to do that. It was the first time any Dublin team won the League and that’s what we went after. Our second goal was to win Leinster and win the All-Ireland so we’re just really happy that that’s happened.”

“I suppose this year has probably been a bit different,” added captain Aherne. “For the first time in a few years we’ve been looking forwards instead of looking back, so it was about us and what we could do to push our game on to the next level and that was the approach we took.

“For Dublin next year that will be natural again – to constantly improve standards and see what way we go.”

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Updated at 8.00pm

THE TYRONE COUNTY Committee have condemned scenes of violence which marred a championship meeting between Moy and Edendork on Saturday, where Sean Cavanagh suffered concussion and a broken nose.

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The former county captain was taken to hospital at half-time after suffering a brutal knee to the face after 20 minutes of play, with the high number of bookings and sending offs overshadowing the weekend’s game, where Edendork earned a one point victory.

Tyrone have condemned the scenes in a statement released on Monday evening.

It said: “Following on from the Weekend Tyrone Club Championship matches, The Tyrone County Committee wish to state that all or any disciplinary action will be a matter of consideration by the Tyrone CCC.

“Based on the referee’s report, plus examination of the video-recording of the games, the matters arising will be dealt with in an urgent manner & following due process as stipulated in the Rules of the Association and the Official Guide the CCC will determine the relevant penalties.

“We would wish to condemn all of the ugly scenes of unwarranted violence. We wish also to extend good wishes to all players who incurred injuries — whether accidentally or otherwise.”

And so it continues 😨😨@KCsixtyseven Edendork played Moy today in the Tyrone senior championship first round
20 yellows -6 reds-1 Black
And Sean Cavanagh transported away to hospital in an ambulance. The man that inflicted the injury did not receive a card of any description pic.twitter.com/gOWQdhLVoc

— david greene (@buddygreene) September 16, 2018

Moy suffered a one point defeat on Saturday, losing 0-10 to 0-9. Darren McCurry kicked the winning score for the visitors to O’Neill Park in injury time before being given his marching orders for a black card with moments remaining.

Harry Loughran and Colm Cavanagh were both dismissed for Moy for second yellow cards, with none of the game’s sending offs coming as a result of a straight red.

Sean Cavanagh confirmed on Sunday that he has been released from Craigavon Area Hospital, having suffered significant injuries.

“Thanks for all the messages,” the 35-year-old wrote on Twitter. “Released from hospital with a bad concussion, broken nose & extensive facial injuries but could have been much worse. I’m lucky.” 

On Friday night a brawl also broke out during an Intermediate Football Championship game between Stewartstown and Strabane.

Stewartstown came out on top, winning 1-19 to 2-23, however the game saw five red cards and two black cards produced by the referee.

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MICKEY LINDEN ROLLED back the years on Saturday afternoon, as the former Down All-Ireland winner kicked a superb individual score for Mayobridge in the Down Premier Reserve Championship, aged 55.

Linden is considered one of Ulster’s greatest ever footballers, helping Down to All-Ireland titles in 1991 and again three years later in 1994, where he also won an All-Star and was named Texaco Footballer of the Year.

The corner forward made his debut for Mayobridge in 1980 and still represents his local side today, adding a Reserve Championship medal to his collection as they saw off Burren 1-15 to 0-7 at Pairc Esler.

Saturday marked 27 years to the day since he got on the scoresheet to help Down lift the Sam Maguire, with his side seeing off the challenge of Seán Boylan’s Meath 1-16 to 1-14. It was the county’s first senior football title in 23 years.

Proof that age is just a number!
5⃣5⃣ year old Mickey Linden scores a superb point for Mayobridge 2⃣7⃣ years to the day that he helped Down to All-Ireland glory. 👏👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/TtCIhAiR1o

— BBC SPORT NI (@BBCSPORTNI) September 17, 2018

Just witnessed Mickey Linden score an outrageous point from 50 yds in the Reserve Championship Final. Man is 55. #Legend

— Shealan Strain (@shealan_1) September 15, 2018

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Just heard the amazing Mickey Linden @OfficialDownGAA superstar of the early 1990’s played in the Reserve Final for @MayobridgeGAC and scored at 55! Is anyone else from that era in the last century still super fit and playing like Mickey?

— Frank Mitchell (@frank_broadcast) September 16, 2018

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WATERFORD GAA HAVE confirmed the appointment of new hurling and football managers for the 2019 campaign.

Pauric Fanning and Benji Whelan have been put in charge of the hurlers and footballers respectively.

Fanning, who succeeds Derek McGrath, is a Mount Sion club man who worked with Davy Fitzgerald during his spells in charge of Wexford and Waterford.

McGrath’s five-year stint at the helm of Waterford came to an end last June, as they were dumped out of the Munster Championship following a defeat by Cork in Thurles.

The coach had previously guided the Déise to the 2017 All-Ireland SHC final, where they were suffered a three-point loss to Galway.

Whelan takes over from Tom McGlinchey, having managed The Nire to win county senior football titles recently and reach Munster club finals.

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IRELAND AND MUNSTER wing Keith Earls said he was delighted to see his native Limerick end their All-Ireland famine, but played down the role he had in the success.

He said his contribution to going in and having a questions and answers talk with the squad earlier this year as they embarked on their quest to bring the Liam MacCarthy Cup back to Limerick for the first time since 1973.

“I just went in for a Q&A,” said the 30-year old from Moyross. “The lads were asking me questions, it wasn’t like I was going through drills or motivating them.

“They were all winners before I went in, between minor and U-21s and they are a team we can look up to now, the way they went about their business.”

The 70-times capped Irish international said he was honoured to be asked to go in to speak to the hurlers.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

“I think it went with the season I had last year. When I started my career it probably started quick and then slumped off a bit and now I suppose it is after taking off again in a second burst and (they) were probably wondering how I was doing it.”
Earls said the win by John Kiely’s men was a huge boost not just for Limerick but for hurling throughout the country.

“It was incredible. I was never huge into hurling. I enjoyed watching it. Going in to visit them for that Q&A at the start of the year got me deep into it. It was phenomenal for the county which was great.

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“I think it was great for hurling in general, through the whole country,” he added.

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LIAM MACCARTHY CUP holders Limerick will take on Cork, the Munster title winners from the last two years, in their opening tie in the 2019 provincial senior hurling championship.

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The schedule of round-robin games have been released with John Kiely’s Limerick team absent from the Round 1 action and instead set to face Cork in the Gaelic Grounds in Round 2.

Cork will open their campaign at home to Tipperary in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on the weekend of 12 May with Waterford facing Clare in the same round. Due to likely reconstruction works at Walsh Park, Waterford will have to find an alternative venue for their ‘home games’ next summer.

An earlier start to this year’s format and the introduction of a break weekend means no team will have to play four weekends in a row next year. Both Tipperary and Waterford, who were knocked out of the round-robin this year, had to face the punishing schedule of playing for four consecutive weekends this season.

The weekend timing of the Round 3 fixtures have still to be finalised, along with the dates and times for each game.

Here’s the full fixture list with the first named team having home advantage.

2019 Munster Senior Hurling Championship

Round 1 – weekend 12 May
Cork v Tipperary
Waterford v Clare

Round 2 – weekend 19 May
Limerick v Cork
Tipperary v Waterford

Round 3 – weekend 26 May/2 June
Waterford v Limerick
Clare v Tipperary

Round 4 – weekend 9 June
Limerick v Clare
Cork v Waterford

Round 5 – weekend 16 June
Clare v Cork
Tipperary v Limerick

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A NEW ERSI study has shed some light on the demands of being an inter-county player, with information on the time commitment involved, compromised sleep and injuries some of its major findings.

The research, which was commissioned by the GAA and GPA, used data from a 2016 survey of players to examine the toll playing inter-county has on their personal and professional lives.

The study found that players can spend up to 31 hours per week on their senior inter-county commitments. They compromised on personal relationships and general downtime to make time to play inter-county hurling or football. 

Another key finding was that players compromise on sleep with almost half of those surveyed not getting the eight to ten hours sleep recommended for athletes.

The main reason for players retiring was to focus on their professional careers. The second biggest reason for walking away from inter-county was because of injury. Interestingly, less than 5% of players reported stepping away because they were not enjoying the game while even fewer did so because it was too demanding.

40% of players admitted to not getting any time off from Gaelic games in 2016.

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THE DIFFERENCE TWO years makes.

On the double: Dublin star Carla Rowe.

Source: Sam Barnes/SPORTSFILE

Carla Rowe grabbed the majority of the headlines after Dublin’s immense All-Ireland senior final win on Sunday as they beat the old enemy Cork and made it back-to-back titles for the first time in the county’s history. For all the right reasons this time.

The Clann Mhuire forward rattled the net twice at crucial, crucial times in a Player of the Match-winning performance as the Sky Blues ran out 3-11 to 1-12 champions.

In doing so, they exacted sweet revenge on the Rebels following narrow decider defeats in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Perhaps, the most heartbreaking of the three was in 2016. Well, most definitely for 24-year old Rowe.

She saw a first-half point incorrectly waved wide by the Hill 16 end umpires. The final score was 1-7 to 1-6. Understandably, at full-time Dublin were left understandably aggrieved as they hit out at the action of Hawk-Eye.

Looking back two years ago, what a difference.

“It’s amazing for all of us to be able to stand here today,” Rowe beamed in the post-match press conference.

“It’s something we’ve dreamed of and we’re just so happy to have achieved it.”

Dejected after the 2016 final.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Obviously, there was a personal edge in 2016 after the Hawk-Eye debacle, but that’s all put to rest now, the childcare assistant is reminded.

“Ah yeah, we don’t think of that!,” she grins.

“I saw it (Hawk-Eye) used in the intermediate game. It’s great. The LGFA are just constantly pushing and going forward. The attendance today showed that. It’s just amazing for us and the sport.”

It was one of the first things put to manager Mick Bohan as he settled into his seat for media duties.

“It’s amazing the way the game goes,” he said in response to a question referencing back to the 2016 point being waved wide.

“We didn’t think Carla was in the game and all of a sudden she pops up and scores a brilliant goal to buy herself a bit of time. She was struggling again and all of a sudden she pops up and gets another goal.

“It just shows you and those were stages of the game where we had lost a little bit of control so to get that momentum back was huge.”

After slotting home.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

“That’s nice to know!” Rowe then jokes about the buying time comment as she joins the press conference in Bohan’s absence.

Did she feel she was under pressure or that she needed to act fast to stay on the pitch though?

“No, you’re never thinking that. Sometimes that’s how games go and all you’re thinking is you can always work hard. That’s what I was trying to do. Get back and get forward and get up and support.

“If a scoring opportunity comes, you can take it. Otherwise, it’s about being there even if it means just getting tackles. That’s all you can do on the day.”

Well, one thing’s for sure. She treated the record-breaking crowd of 50,141 watching on to a masterclass in goal-taking.

The strikes were extremely similar. One in the 28th minute, the other as the clock struck 50 coming as the killer blow. She fired both home leaving Cork goalkeeper Martina O’Brien with little to no chance after expertly sending defenders on their way with superb dummies.

Celebrations in full flow.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

“I suppose it was just to calm down in front of goal,” she tells when she’s asked what was running through her mind as she pulled the trigger.

“Just to have a relaxed head, just take a step. It was actually on my left foot so I was happy enough with them.

“I suppose the girls made it easy for me, I was one-on-one. That’s all you can do for each other.”

The scenes at the final whistle said it all. They showed exactly how much this win meant to this incredible group of players. As did the reaction of family and friends in the stands.

“It’s amazing,” Rowe concluded, noting just how special sharing the victory is.

“My Dad and Maria are always there behind me and backing every step. Today they just said, ‘All you can do is work hard and if you do that, the game will come for you and come for the team.’

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“That was all I was thinking about today, just going out and working hard for the team.”

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