Month: September 2021

DUBLIN FORWARD LYNDSEY Davey admits she is considering retirement this winter after collecting her third All-Ireland medal with the Sky Blues.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

The three-time All-Star is one of the team’s veterans having first joined the panel as a 14-year-old in 2004. A year later, Davey won her first All-Star and before she could join that year’s tour to Singapore her parents had to sign a consent form so she could travel.

She’s still just 28, but Davey has spent half of her life on the Dublin senior football panel. It’s all she has known since her early teens.

Having found herself on the losing sied of five All-Ireland finals during her career, the temptation is there to walk away on the back of the two-in-a-row.

“It is a lot of commitment,” Davey says. “You do miss out on a lot but I’m very privileged that I’ve been able to play for Dublin for so long and look at what I’ve achieved as well. I think Dublin is going from strength to strength and it’s a fantastic time to be a part of it. 

“There is a point in time when you have to look back and see how long can you keep going for. There is a point when your body starts finding it difficult to recover and things get that little bit harder.

“I’ve been around for a long time but I’m definitely not making any decisions as of yet. It is something that I need to sit down and have a chat about.

“I’m just going to have to see what the winter brings. I’ve been playing for a long time. I have big questions to answer as the winter goes on. After Christmas, you’ll probably start having the conversations with Mick about going back. Hopefully, he will be back as well. 

“The ambition with the team is to drive it on. There’s no point doing so well and just everyone walking away. You want to drive it on and achieve what you can when you can.”

Lyndsey Davey was at AIG Insurance’s head office in Dublin today to mark Dublin’s All-Ireland wins.

Source: Sam Barnes/SPORTSFILE

The Skerries Harp ace was one of Dublin’s most influential players in their final victory over Cork earlier this month, covering an incredible amount of ground in her half-forward role.

“I suppose the half-forward line is definitely our platform of driving the team, there’s a lot of work that goes into it,” she explains.

“It is all down to your work-rate. You’re trying to drop back to help out the defence but you need to get up and support your forwards as well. 

“It is a very demanding role but I think the good thing about our team is that we have so many forwards who are capable of playing in that role so you can constantly rotate it and it has worked out really well for us.”

Davey works as a firefighter with the Dublin Airport fire service, having been the only female recruited in her class of 16. No more than the Dublin set-up, she enjoys the camaraderie that comes with her work. 

Davey during the recent All-Ireland final win over Cork

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

“Being a firefighter there’s so many different attributes like teamwork, leadership, communication skills that fall hand-in-hand with playing football. Being a firefighter, it is a very team-based job as well.

“They’re kind of like your family when you’re in there. I know my crew, they were off for the final and they all came in to watch it. It was fantastic after the game going over to them with the cup and getting the pictures and stuff with them. There’s definitely that support there which is great.

“It’s tough to get used to the shift work and to adjust how your roster works with your football, your timetable, and see where they overlap. And then just making adjustments with your shifts and swapping with people 

“I’m very lucky that I work with such fantastic people who allow me to facilitate those swaps. This year I’m so used to it now that it hasn’t hindered my performance as much as what it probably had in the past. ”

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

Click Here: SL Benfica soccer tracksuit

ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONS Dublin lead the way with 14 players nominated for the 2018 TG4 All-Stars while losing finalists Cork received 12 nominations.

Orla Finn, Sinead Ahearne and Yvonne Bonner

Ulster champions and All-Ireland semi-finalists Donegal had eight players nominated while Galway (3), Kerry (2), Armagh (1), Cavan (1), Mayo (1), Sligo (1), Tipperary (1) and Tyrone (1) were also honoured. 

Seven players from the 2017 All-Star team are nominated for awards once again. Dublin’s Ciara Trant, Leah Caffrey, Nicole Owens, Sinéad Aherne and Noelle Healy were all on last year’s team, in addition to Cork’s Emma Spillane and Donegal’s Ciara Hegarty.

Indeed, Caffrey, Healy and Aherne are seeking their third All-Star in succession.

The winners will be announced on Saturday 1 December at a gala banquet at Dublin’s Citywest Hotel, along with the Junior, Intermediate and Senior Players’ Player of the Year award winners, the Provincial Young Players of the Year and the 2018 inductee into the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) Hall of Fame. 

Here’s the list of nominees in full:

Goalkeepers – Ciara Trant (Dublin), Martina O’Brien (Cork), Noelle Gormley (Sligo).

Right corner-back – Treasa Doherty (Donegal), Martha Byrne (Dublin), Eimear Meaney (Cork).

Click Here: Geelong Cats Guernsey

Full-back – Róisín Phelan (Cork), Nicole McLaughlin (Donegal), Aislinn Desmond (Kerry).

Left corner-back – Sinéad Burke (Galway), Leah Caffrey (Dublin), Melissa Duggan (Cork).

Right half-back – Sinéad Goldrick (Dublin), Máire O’Callaghan (Cork), Rachel Kearns (Mayo).

Centre half-back – Ciara Hegarty (Donegal), Nicola Ward (Galway), Siobhán McGrath (Dublin).

Left half-back – Niamh Collins (Dublin), Emma Spillane (Cork), Deirdre Foley (Donegal).

Midfield – Lauren Magee (Dublin), Neamh Woods (Tyrone), Ashling Hutchings (Cork), Olwen Carey (Dublin), Caroline O’Hanlon (Armagh), Katy Herron (Donegal).

Right half-forward – Ciara O’Sullivan (Cork), Karen Guthrie (Donegal), Carla Rowe (Dublin).

Centre half-forward – Tracey Leonard (Galway), Noelle Healy (Dublin), Aisling Maguire (Cavan)

Left half-forward – Lyndsey Davey (Dublin), Eimear Scally (Cork), Aishling Moloney (Tipperary).

Right corner-forward – Geraldine McLaughlin (Donegal), Sinéad Aherne (Dublin), Áine O’Sullivan (Cork).

Full-forward – Doireann O’Sullivan (Cork), Yvonne Bonner (Donegal), Niamh McEvoy (Dublin).

Left corner-forward – Orla Finn (Cork), Nicole Owens (Dublin), Sarah Houlihan (Kerry).

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

LIAM SHEEDY’S RETURN to the Tipperary hurling hotseat was confirmed last night, his second spell in charge is commencing eight years after he walked away from the post.

He’s not the first inter-county hurling boss to come back and have a second go at managing a county. Here’s how a selection of other managers fared.

******************

CORK

Canon Michael O’Brien

Helped Cork win the centenary All-Ireland title, co-manager with Justin McCarthy for that 1984 success against Offaly. Came back to steer Cork to All-Ireland glory in 1990, contest another decider in 1992 before his time at the helm culminated in 1993.

Source: ©INPHO

Jimmy Barry-Murphy

Spent five seasons in charge of Cork initially between 1996 and 2000, the crowning moment arriving with a win in the 1999 All-Ireland final. His second spell saw him in charge of Cork from 2012 to 2015 and he came close to another All-Ireland victory when they lost out to Clare in the replay in 2013. 

Jimmy Barry-Murphy celebrates Cork’s victory in the 1999 All-Ireland final.

Source: Patrick Bolger/INPHO

Johnny Clifford

After coaching the Cork minor side to an All-Ireland crown in 1985, Clifford took over the senior side and engineered a Liam MacCarthy Cup victory in 1986. Departed in 1988 before taking over Cork again for the 1994 and 1995 seasons without enjoying a repeat of previous victories.

Source: © Tom Honan/INPHO

Gerald McCarthy

Was manager in 1982 and after serving as team trainer in 1990, he came back to the position in late 2006. After guiding Cork to the 2007 All-Ireland quarter-final and 2008 All-Ireland semi-final but his tenure ended in controversy in the winter of 2008-9 with dissatisfied players refusing to play under him and he eventually resigned in March 2009.

Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

LIMERICK

Eamonn Cregan

A first stint as Limerick boss occurred between 1986 and 1988 before he took charge of Offaly – famously defeating his native county in the 1994 decider – and returning to take the reins in Limerick once more for the campaigns from 1998 to 2002, steering Limerick to the 2001 Munster final in that time.

Source: INPHO

GALWAY

Cyril Farrell

In total Farrell had three different stints guiding the Galway senior hurlers. His first one yielded a historic breakthrough when they won the All-Ireland title in 1980 after a 57-year wait and then his second term saw Liam MacCarthy Cup glory in 1987 and 1988. He was back for a third era in the 90s but didn’t manage to replicate the previous triumphs.  

Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO

Mattie Murphy

Murphy has remarkably taken Galway to six All-Ireland minor hurling titles and also had a couple of stints as senior manager, firstly for the 1994 and 1995 seasons and then secondly between 1998 and 2000. He didn’t manage to enjoy championship success during that time but did claim two National hurling league titles as Galway boss. 

Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

OFFALY

John McIntyre

Aligned closely with Galway hurling given his work with the county team and at club level, most notably with Clarinbridge, McIntyre also spent plenty time with Offaly. Firstly he lasted just a single season in 1997 before then returning to a post in the Faithful county where he worked for three seasons between 2004 and 2006, at a time when Offaly’s stock had fallen.

Source: INPHO

Michael Bond

Bond famously came into the frame as Offaly boss midway during the 1998 championship campaign after the resignation of Babs Keating. He turned a team in turmoil around and they were remarkably crowned All-Ireland champions by the end of the season.

Bond stayed in charge until the end of the 1999 season before coming back for the 2001 league and championship run, lasting just the one year.

Click Here: cheap wests tigers jersey

Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO

TIPPERARY

Babs Keating

His first spell at the helm of Tipperary between 1987 and 1994 was a major success with All-Ireland final victories arriving in 1989 and 1991. Then Tipperary turned to Keating once more at the close of the 2005 season yet he did not enjoy a successful revival with Tipperary exiting at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage in both 2006 and 2007.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

LOUGHMORE-CASTLEINEY PROGRESSED to the quarter-finals of the Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship on Tuesday night, defeating Killenaule 3-12 to 1-16.

The side trailed 0-10 to 0-6 at the half-time interval. However two quick-fire goals from John McGrath in the latter stages saw Loughmore surge into the lead and snatch a dramatic two point victory.

They will now face Nenagh Éire Óg on Sunday in Dolla, with Toomevara taking on Drom & Inch in Nenagh earlier in the afternoon and Kiladangan taking on Clonoulty-Rossmore on Sunday as the final eight gets underway.

Click Here: Olympique de Marseille soccer tracksuit

Tipperary Water County Senior Hurling Championship Preliminary Quarter Final #TippSHC
Full Time
Killenaule: 1-16(19)
Loughmore Castleiney: 3-12(21)

— Tipperary GAA (@TipperaryGAA) September 25, 2018

2018 Tipperary senior hurling championship

Quarter-finals

Saturday 29 September
Toomevara v Drom & Inch, Nenagh, 2.30pm
Thurles Sarsfields v Kilruane McDonaghs, Nenagh, 4pm

Sunday 30 September
Kiladangan v Clonoulty-Rossmore, Dolla, 2pm
Nenagh Éire Óg v Loughmore-Castleiney, 3.30pm

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

TYRONE SIDE MOY have appealed against the county board’s findings regarding injuries sustained by Sean Cavanagh in their recent championship loss to Edendork.

Officials ruled that the incident which left Cavanagh with a broken nose, concussion and extensive facial injuries merited no on-field sanction and this decision was backed following an investigation by Tyrone’s Competitions Control Committee (CCC).

They ruled that the injuries were accidental and confirmed they would be taking no disciplinary action.

The clash, which took place in Dungannon on Saturday 15 September, was marred by scenes of violence and hit the headlines as a staggering 27 cards were dished out by referee Kieran Eanetta.

And Moy, after watching video of the game, have expressed their ‘disappointment and dismay’ and called on officials to ‘review the footage again to reconsider their opinion.’

Click Here: USA Rugby Shop

A statement, in full, released on the club’s Facebook page reads:

“As a first stage in the appeal process, Moy Tír na nÓg G.A.C has requested to Tyrone County Board that the referee and the linesmen who officiated on 15th September 2018 review the footage again to reconsider their opinion.

“On 24th September 2018, members of the Committee of Moy Tír na nÓg had a first opportunity to view the video footage of the match between Moy and Edendork St. Malachy’s played on 15th September 2018, during which Seán Cavanagh sustained a broken nose and concussion.

“Having considered this video, Moy Tír na nÓg G.A.C expresses its disappointment and dismay with the outcome of the investigation by the Competitions Control Committee of the Tyrone County Board, issued on Saturday 22nd September 2018, that the referee “…adjudicated on the matter appropriately”.

“The cause of the clash that led to the injuries could and should have been avoided. The mark had been taken by Seán Cavanagh and signalled (sic) by the referee directly before the incident.

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

“Rule 7.2 Category 3 (iv) ‘Behaving in a way that is dangerous to an opponent’ is a red card offence.

“As a first stage in the appeal process, Moy Tír na nÓg G.A.C has requested to Tyrone County Board that the referee and the linesmen who officiated on 15th September 2018 review the footage again to reconsider their opinion.

“Moy Tír na nÓg G.A.C expresses its disapproval of the derogatory online comments made against both clubs and the players involved, and appeals for restraint and moderation in the expression of legitimate views and opinions.

“The health, safety and well-being of all our playing members is of the utmost importance to our club.

“We wish Edendork St. Malachy’s G.A.C. well in their Championship match this Friday, 28th September 2018.”

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

DONEGAL AND KILCAR footballer Ryan McHugh will play no part in the remainder of the 2018 Donegal senior football championship due to a concussion injury.

McHugh suffered concussion in a challenge game against Dublin champions St Vincent’s in Cavan last month.

The reigning club champions had hoped the 2016 All-Star winner would be given the go-ahead for Sunday’s quarter-final meeting with Naomh Conaill in Tir Chonaill Park in Donegal town.

However McHugh has been ruled out of not just Sunday’s game but the remainder of the club championship.

It’s a major setback for Kilcar, who ended a 24-year wait for county senior glory last year, as they are already without star forward Patrick McBrearty due to a cruciate injury.

“Ryan won’t make this year, regardless of how far we get,” stated Kilcar manager Barry Doherty.

“It’s a huge blow, yeah, of course it is. We’ve only had him for one league game all year and other lads will have to step up and we’ll need to get more out of them.”

Sunday’s game is a repeat of last year’s final which Kilcar won by 0-7 to 0-4 against the Glenties outfit.

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

THE POST-WEEKEND conversation in Magheracloone on Monday morning was expected to revolve around their contesting of a Monaghan county senior football semi-final.

But their three-point defeat in Clones on Sunday afternoon against Scotstown paled in comparison to the setback the club suffered that night when a sinkhole opened up on their GAA grounds causing major damage.

Source: TheJournal.ie/YouTube

It now appears that the collapsing of pillars in an old gypsum mine caused the the sinkhole in the club, which is based the south of Monaghan close to Cavan, Meath and Louth.

Source: Google Maps

The upshot is the club have been left with no access to their facilities or GAA equipment which is stored in their grounds and have embarked on a fundraising drive to finance the purchase of new equipment.

Niamh Kindlon was a decorated ladies footballer during her playing days, winning an All-Ireland medal and All-Star awards during her career with Monaghan.

She is now chairperson of the ladies football section of her home club and admits it was ‘a miracle’ that the accident didn’t occur at another stage over the weekend when the pitch and club grounds were in use.

“On Friday evening our U12 girls were playing on that same pitch.

“On Saturday there was a boys blitz all day with nine or ten travelling teams involved. On Sunday morning the U17 boys team played at 11 o’clock and that was early because the senior men’s team were playing later.

“It’s just a miracle it didn’t happen any other evening. It’s the hub of activity as you could imagine between all underage teams playing.

“It’s really devastating. It was hard to believe until the pictures came out that it actually happened and it’s as bad as it is. It’s very sad. 

“I’m chairperson of the ladies club and my two brothers are on the executive of the men’s club. My older brother rang me at about half 9, quarter to 10 on Monday morning. The chairperson of the club had contacted him, put a message on the executive What’s App.

“My brother was afraid we had something with the ladies club organised and maybe we would be in the pitch that evening and that we mightn’t have heard. He just wanted to make sure to let us know straight off how bad it was and stay away basically.”

Niamh Kindlon (right) in action for Monaghan against Cork in the 2013 All-Ireland ladies football final.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Kindlon revealed that they had never any previous problems when doing upgrading works on their club pitches.

“We put a new prunty pitch in, started working on it in 2013 and it was opened in 2014. There would have been a lot digging and testing done before we went ahead with that project.

“We opened the pitch and there was no issues then and that’s not too long ago. We’ve had different work done on our juvenile field as well.

“At the moment we’re not getting near it and we might never get back up to get that stuff. It was good the senior men’s team were away on Sunday as their footballs for training for this week are actually with the kitman because he had them at the game and he hadn’t dropped them back to the pitch.

“Little things like that, it’s just thankful for them but for any other juvenile team, all their gear is in store.”

The incident has occurred at a stage in the season when the majority of Magheracloone’s teams have finished their campaign. Their senior men’s team may bowed out of the championship last Sunday but do still have league fixtures to fulfil and were scheduled to have a home fixture against Scotstown this Saturday evening.

The support of neighbouring clubs has been gratefully received.

Former Monaghan footballer Tommy Freeman in action for Magheracloone in last year’s county senior football final.

Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

“Our senior team have four league games to play, there’s only one of them fixed to be a home game, that was due to be Saturday,” said Kindlon.

“Local clubs in Monaghan, Cavan, Meath and Louth have been brilliant in offering their pitches and support in any way they can. Meath Hill in county Meath have offered their grounds, so that match is actually there on Saturday evening. We’re lucky in that sense that it’s towards the end of the year when most clubs actually are finished.

Click Here: Warriors rugby store

“The real trouble is going to come next spring when all teams are back playing and we’ve no facilities to go to. Probably realistically whatever reports comes back, the chances of ever getting back up to those pitches again is probably (slim).

“I know Francie (Jones, club chairman) said the foreseeable future but it’s probably forever. I think that’s the word that’s going around but we don’t know anything yet.”

– Details about the fundraising efforts for Magheracloone GAA club can be found here.

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

TWO-TIME ALL-Ireland medal winner Maurice Fitzgerald appears to the preferred choice to succeed Eamonn Fitzmaurice as the manager of the Kerry senior football team, with former Mayo team coach and selector Donie Buckley lined up to be part of the new management team.

Kerry football great Maurice Fitzgerald.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

With less than a fortnight to go to the 8 October to have a management ticket to go before club delegates for ratification, it’s believed the job is Fitzgerald’s to refuse, and that the St Mary’s club man is seriously considering making the step up from selector to manager.

It’s believed that the four-man selection committee, headed up by county board chairman Tim Murphy and secretary Peter Twiss, met earlier this week to advance the process, and the only barrier to Fitzgerald taking the job is his recent appointment as principal of Coláiste na Sceilge in Cahersiveen and the extra workload that will go with that new job.

Kerry’s selector Maurice Fitzgerald and chairman Tim Murphy.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

It’s understood that the selection committee are keen to have Buckley on board in a coaching/selector role, and that Fitzgerald will happily work with the Castleisland native as part of a management team.

Donie Buckley (centre) is a former coach of the Mayo footballers.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

It’s also speculated that Fitzgerald’s former Kerry team mate Stephen Stack, who managed Austin Stacks to the Munster Club title in 2014, is being lined up to come on board as well, although it’s not clear if direct contact has been made with the Listowel native, who, it’s understood, is willing to get involved with the Kerry team.

Fitzgerald was a selector for the last two years under Fitzmaurice and it seems there is a desire on the part of the selection committee to maintain a link between the previous management team and the new one.

Click Here: cheap converse shoes

Should Fitzgerald take the managerial reins it’s possible he would add another name to the management team, with names such as Diarmuid Murphy, Seamus Moynihan, Declan O’Sullivan, Tommy Griffin and Johnny Crowley mentioned.

Three-time All-Ireland winning minor team manager Peter Keane has been interviewed about the position, as has Jack O’Connor, and both men are still under consideration for the position.

O’Connor previously managed the Kerry seniors for two separate terms, winning three All-Ireland titles in his time in charge.

Peter Keane celebrates Kerry’s All-Ireland minor final victory in 2018.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Jack O’Connor savours Kerry’s All-Ireland minor triumph in 2015.

Source: Donall Farmer/INPHO

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

THE NEWS THAT billionaire JP McManus donated €100,000 to each county board in the country came as a surprise to many, but not to Limerick centre-forward Kyle Hayes.

Limerick star Kyle Hayes

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

Click Here: factory direct men products

McManus made the gesture in honour of Limerick’s All-Ireland hurling final triumph and Hayes, one of the stars of that victory over Galway, paid tribute to the contribution he’s made to the county.

“I’ve met him a few times, JP is the most down to earth man ever,” Hayes says. “If you didn’t know his face he wouldn’t stand out or anything. 

“It doesn’t really surprise me to be honest because he’s very, very generous. He has nearly a hand in everything in Limerick that’s being built and he’s always donating money. So it didn’t actually surprise me. 

“He’s a sound man, to be fair to him.”

JP McManus

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Hayes doesn’t turn 21 until next year but he’s already an All-Ireland champion and looks set to claim his first All-Star later this winter. Despite the whirlwind 12 months he’s enjoyed, he says life hasn’t changed too much.

“Same old me, anyway. It’s crazy, the reaction we’re getting in Limerick, people are still coming up and congratulating you and it’s four or five weeks on since the final. 

“You’re meeting men in their 50s just after the match or the week of it and they’re nearly breaking down crying to you. It shows you how much it means to everyone in Limerick. It’s such a major thing and something I want more often. 

“The 10 minutes after the match it was fairly special. Just chilling out and sitting down on the field and taking it all in. It was crazy, they’re brilliant memories. In the dressing room as well was very good. 

“The reaction over it has been good, it’s nice, but we’re back now with the club and back to reality,” added Hayes, the winner of the PwC GAA/GPA Player of the All-Ireland hurling final.

Limerick’s entire starting 15 from the decider were nominated for a 2018 All-Star, meaning the group will have another outing together in Dublin before the year is out. 

“It’ll be a nice social occasion. To be fair, every one of the lads, not just the 15, put in a serious shift all year. I think that’s why we were successful this year, because of the squad we have. 

“If someone got injured there then someone would come in off the bench and you weren’t batting an eye-lid. We just had that trust between all of us.”

PwC GAA/GPA Player of the All-Ireland Hurling Final Kyle Hayes speaking at the launch of the PwC All-Stars App

Source: Piaras Ó Mídheach/SPORTSFILE

Has he his tuxedo sorted for the big night yet?

“No, I actually haven’t. I must look into it now and we’ll go in shopping together some day. Sure there’s 15 of us going to it, someone will organise it. I won’t be the one doing it anyway!”

Hayes accepts Limerick will have a target on their backs when they enter next season as the defending champions, but he’s confident this young team will only get better over the coming years.

“We’ll welcome on that challenge. We’re going to defend it with everything we have. We want to improve more, we’re not just content with staying where we are at the moment. 

“We want to push on and win another few anyway, definitely. We’ll take it match by match, hopefully. 

“Everyone is the same, that’s why we did well this year. We weren’t getting carried away. There’s no point listening to stories outside of the camp. You’ll only get your head blown up. 

“Everyone is fairly grounded to be fair. And as long as we keep that way it should be alright. We’ll always dig deep to get something more out of us. Speaking on behalf of all of us, we haven’t reached our full potential yet. 

Source: TommyDickson/INPHO

“We’re a young team and we’ll relish that challenge now for, first of all, next year when we defend it first. We just want to grow and get closer as a team and we’ll mature and get a bit more experienced and we should improve anyway.

“While you’re here now really make the most of it. I think all the rest of the boys are all the same. They have that in their head. We just want to put the jersey in a better place, really.”

As well as the All-Stars banquet, they’ve got the Super 11s trip to Boston and a team holiday to Mexico to look forward to in the coming months. 

“We’re going to Fenway Park in November so we’ll probably have to do a few training sessions before that anyway. I don’t know if they’ll be too hectic. 

“Probably when you get back from there you’ll be looking even doing a bit in the gym and doing your pre-season gym. By the time we come back out on the pitch we’ll be absolutely bulling to get out on it. You need a bit of a break as well, you can’t stay going all year round.

“You just build up that hunger again once you get a bit of a break.”

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

AS THE DEMANDS of the inter-county game continues to increase, it’s the clubs who inevitably suffer and see little of their star players during the season.

Apart from a round or two of club championship in April and the odd league game during the year, most players are not released to the clubs until their county’s interest in the All-Ireland is over. 

In an era where Dublin cast a long shadow over the football championship, it’s generally September before the clubs in the capital are granted exclusive access to their players. 

Jack McCaffrey says he’d like to spend more time with Clontarf, but acknowledges there’s not much that can be done unless there’s an improvement to the overall fixtures calendar.

“I’m always embarrassed going back to Clontarf about how rarely I’m there and how little I give back to a club that has given me so much,” he says.

“I think there’s still a bit of work to be done on the fixtures side of things, being fair to everybody. The club is the real strong point of the GAA. I think there is a bit more we can do for it. Definitely.” 

Jack McCaffrey, the PwC GAA / GPA Player of the Month, at the launch of the PwC All-Star App

Source: Piaras Ó Mídheach/SPORTSFILE

McCaffrey’s Clontarf face St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh in the Dublin SFC relegation semi-final this weekend, a game that will pit him against county team-mate Bernard Brogan. 

Click Here: cheap converse men high top shoes

Despite the trophies they’ve lifted together with the Sky Blues, friendships go out the window once they cross the white lines. 

“There’s a lot of lads from (Kilmacud) Crokes, Ballymun (Kickhams), trying to win the championship – that’s an entirely different end of the spectrum. Plunkett’s have Bernard, Alan (Brogan), Niall Walsh and Ross McConnell who have played for Dublin.

“You don’t go out there and chat to lads, your friends, when you’re playing against them. Equally at county level, I’d be friends with a lot of lads from other counties but once you cross the white lines to play against each other, it’s no-holes-barred.”

Both McCaffrey and Brogan make successful returns from ACL surgery this season. The wing-back suffered his injury last September and made his comeback during the Leinster championship, while Brogan had surgery on his cruciate in February and returned to competitive action in August. 

“He (Brogan) had a couple of issues to bounce towards me at the start, but the thing about cruciates, no more than any other injury, there’s some things that would work for me and wouldn’t work for him and vice versa,” explains McCaffrey.

“He sought advice from many other people and he was leaving no stone unturned, but it’s not the kind of thing you want to be constantly looking at someone else.”

Jack McCaffrey goes down with a torn ACL in the 2017 All-Ireland final

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

A torn ACL has become common in all levels of sport and is usually a non-contact injury.

Has McCaffrey, who currently works as part of the pediatric team in Drogheda hospital Lady of Lourdes, any theory as to why it occurs?

“It’s one of those things. The way it was described to me is that your ACL is like an air-bag and you hope you never have to use it, and if you do, it just ruptures and protects everything else around it.

“You see some lads, like myself, I went down, close to tears, couldn’t run, and you see other lads who stay playing for a number of weeks without knowing it’s ruptured.”

His recovery was a major success and in addition to winning a fourth All-Ireland medal and man-of-the-match in both the semi-final and final, the wing-back was nominated for Footballer of the Year alongside team-mates Ciaran Kilkenny and Brian Fenton.  

Such an accolade was the furthest thing from his thoughts on those long nights rehabbing his injury last winter.

“It didn’t even enter my mind. These kind of nominations aren’t something you ever think about. 

“You don’t go out thinking, if I play well here this might happen. You go out trying to do your best for the team, and anything that comes after that, it’s a bonus.

“It’s a massive compliment to be paid, but at the end of the day it’s way, way behind winning an All-Ireland in terms of a priority.

“There’s a lot of hard work that goes into getting onto the Dublin team, onto the starting 15 and then performing. I’d never want to give the impression that anyone just turns up and just turns it on, because that doesn’t happen.

“There were very few fun moments coming back from the cruciate injury. It was a slog. But what I always refer to like that, is when you’re out playing football with your friends, it’s the definition of fun.

“It’s literally what you would have done as a kid, hanging out. You go out and just kick a ball around. I think that’s something that we as a group have never really lost sight of, and are conscious of enjoying our time in Dublin jerseys.

The 24-year-old scooped the big award in 2015 but feels this time it’s between Kilkenny and Fenton.

“I don’t think I’m in the running. It’s a massive honour to be nominated, but I think that award is between the two lads, and fairly justifiably so. May the best man win.”

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!