Month: September 2021

THE LIMERICK FOOTBALLERS will have the same manager in charge for the 2019 season but must search for a new coach to lead them.

Limerick football manager Billy Lee with his now former coach Paudie Kissane.

Source: Donall Farmer/INPHO

Paudie Kissane has confirmed his decision to depart from the position he has held in the Limerick senior setup for the 2017 and 2018 campaigns.

Limerick were the third Munster county that Kissane had worked with in a coaching capacity after he started out with Clare in 2014 before going on to work with his native Cork in 2016.

Kissane retired from playing with Cork in 2013 after a career that saw him part of their All-Ireland winning side in 2010 and win an All-Star award at wing-back for his performances that year.

He is stepping away but Lee is set to stay put as manager with The Limerick Leader reporting that he will be at the helm for the final year of his three-year term.

Lee has endured a difficult tenure with championship losses in 2017 in Munster to Clare and in the qualifiers to Wexford, while 2018 saw a defeat in Munster again to Clare and a qualifier reversal at the hands of Mayo. A large turnover in players from season to season has not helped his cause.

Click Here: cheap adidas women shoes

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

CLARE DUAL PLAYER Ailish Considine has signed for Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW) side Adelaide Crows on a professional rookie contract.

Considine flew to Melbourne last week along with 17 other athletes to take part in the CrossCoders International Rookie Camp.

The Kilmihil native adjusted to her first taste of professional Aussie Rules seamlessly and knew early on that an offer was on the table from 2017 league winners, Adelaide Crows.

“I had a fair idea that it was Adelaide I was going to go to, they had made the offer straight away so as soon as I realised I was definitely going to be playing professional sport for the next five or six months, I couldn’t believe it.”

A former vice-captain of the Clare ladies football intermediate squad, Considine also represented Clare camogie for five years. In more recent times, she tried her hand at AFL on home soil with the West Clare Waves.  

Considine’s short stint with the West Clare Waves has served her well as she has adapted to the oval ball very quickly, something Adelaide Crows were quick to spot.

“They are very happy with me skill wise, the kicking and stuff, that was one of the reasons they made an offer so soon,” she said.

“I played two or three tournaments with the West Clare Waves AFL club. It was only a nine-a-side game so it was very different to an actual full size game but still, getting a little bit of a touch of the oval ball was a bit of an advantage to have.”

Considine will follow in the footsteps of ladies football great Cora Stauton who lined out for Great Western Sydney Giants last season and will again do so in 2019, and Mayo’s Sarah Rowe who recently agreed a deal with Women’s AFL side Collingwood.

Since Staunton’s record-breaking move to the AFLW last November, the door has been well and truly blown open for other ladies footballers to weigh up a move.

In action for Clare in 2016.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Scouts have been actively trying to lure ladies footballers to the Australian league and seven of the current CrossCoders on trial in Melbourne are inter-county footballers. Considine believes the recent signings of herself, Staunton and Rowe is only the beginning of such moves.

“The standard of ladies footballers will open the AFL wide open because the talent pool isn’t there standard wise in Australia yet. We (ladies footballers) are ready made athletes, all we need is fine tuning on the basics of the skills and the basics of the game play. Other than that, fitness, speed, agility, coordination, gameplay, movement we have all that already.”

“The ladies footballers have blown it out of the water to be honest. It was actually scary watching how good the girls were on their first time playing, it was just mad.

“We played a team of potential draft players in a friendly game, girls who have been playing Aussie Rules for some time and after just three days playing Aussie Rules, we beat them on a massive score line.

 “It’s going to be huge and I think there is going to be a couple more signings yet.”

Although confident that she has the skill set to adapt to the game, Considine is aware of the challenge ahead.

We have secured our first international women’s player 🇮🇪 Welcome @Duckyc7 https://t.co/L4FxsySsTt #weflyasone pic.twitter.com/N4Gb4uLDjT

— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) September 27, 2018

“It is a different game and it will take time. That will probably be the biggest challenge for me as a player is to actually learn the gameplay, learn the movement, learn the patterns. 

“I know it’s not going to be plain sailing. I’ll have a lot to learn tactically but that’s something I’m really excited for.”

Considine will make the move to Australia in mid-November.

In all, she will spend five months in Australia but aims to be back in Ireland to line out for Clare in the 2019 championship.

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

Click Here: georgia rugby jersey

DONEGAL STAR FORWARD Yvonne Bonner will join Cora Staunton at Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants for the 2019 AFLW season after she became the second Irish player to sign a pro deal Down Under today.

31-year-old Bonner, like Clare’s Ailish Considine who has linked up with Adelaide, penned a rookie contract off the back of the CrossCoders trial camp.

11 Irish athletes traveled to Melbourne last week as part of a group of 18 vying for coveted deals ahead of the Australian league’s third season — and obviously impressed.

Bonner, this week nominated for a second All-Star award, will become the second Irish woman to don the Giants jersey, following in Staunton’s footsteps.

“For this to actually come true, it’s like a dream, I suppose, to know that I’m the next Irish girl to come out after Cora,” the attacking ace said.

“I play full forward back home for Donegal, so I’ll play quite similar. It’ll just take a while to get used to the different ways of marking and stuff like that.”

Giants head coach Alan McConnell added: “It’s fun, it’s great for our footy club and exciting for our playing list to add more talent like this.

Welcome to @GWSGIANTS Yvonne! #internationalrookie #beGIANT pic.twitter.com/yYv0Upf8I1

— CrossCoders (@CrossCodersCo) September 27, 2018

“In the Gaelic game she plays a similar role to that of a forward, a goal-kicking forward. Because of her endurance she plays a bit higher, (so) she’s probably more of a traditional centre half-forward in that sense.”

Cavan native Laura Corrigan Duryea was the first Irish representative in the AFLW, plying her trade with Melbourne from the inaugural season. 

Staunton joined her last year and in recent weeks, Sarah Rowe has signed for Collingwood with Bonner and Considine sealing moves today.

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

Click Here: Adidas Sale Shoes

2018 WAS THE stuff of dreams for Aaron Gillane.

In his debut season for Limerick he scored 6-94 across league and championship, helping them win promotion back to Division 1A and, more importantly, bridge a 45-year gap without the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

Yesterday, Gillane was named PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Month Award for August while his first All-Star looms in the coming weeks.

Aaron Gillane at the launch of the PwC All-Star App

Source: Piaras Ó Mídheach/SPORTSFILE

But when he’s asked about his most difficult moment of the summer, he references the red card he shipped in the second game of the Munster round-robin campaign against Cork.

Gillane was sent-off for a petulant strike on Sean O’Donoghue right in front of the linesman.  Walking off the field during that first-half in Pairc Ui Chaoimh that day, he was fearful his year was over.

The suspended Gillane was replaced by Shane Dowling for the win over Waterford and the Na Piarsaigh man held his place for the final group game against Clare.

“I thought I was after ending my year and apart from that I was after letting the boys down massively. It was a great result for us to get the draw that day.

“We couldn’t have done it without the work of Seamus (Flanagan) and Graeme (Mulcahy) in the full-forward line. I was kind of disappointed at the end because if we’d lost that match and lost to Clare, I wouldn’t be sitting here today with the Liam MacCarthy. So, thank God, the boys pulled me out of that one.

“Walking off the field, the thing that was going through my head in my head was that I’d worked so hard to actually get onto the team and now I’m after playing myself off the team.

WATCH:

Here's the incident that led to a straight red card for Limerick's Aaron Gillane.

Cork lead by two! #MSHC #GAAClips pic.twitter.com/uiXq338ZJg

Click Here: France football tracksuit— eir Sport (@eirSport) June 2, 2018

“Luckily after the Clare match – we had a bad day at the office – we went back training and no one was promised their position. Everyone went full at it, hammer and thongs.

“I thought I trained well enough for that two or three weeks and I got my chance against Carlow and took it. Then against Kilkenny, it just kicked on from there.”

As a scoring forward, Gillane received special attention from defenders during the summer but it’s something he’s learned to deal with.

“I wouldn’t have noticed it until after the Cork match because they would have been saying to me, ‘They think that you’re a hothead. They’re going to look for a reaction from you.’

“In the matches coming up to that, yeah, there were people digging me off the ball but, you know, that doesn’t just happen to me, it happens to everyone. All you can do is get on with it, there’s no point crying and whinging over it.”

Gillane and Cian Lynch with Mary manager Jamie Wall

Source: Tom Beary/INPHO

Gillane readily admits he’s a confidence player. At the beginning of 2017, his resolve was tested when John Kiely dropped him from the Limerick panel ahead of the league. 

He returned to hurl with Mary I for their Fitzgibbon Cup campaign and their manager Jamie Wall helped build him back up. 

“It was him that gave me my chance. It would have been very easy to throw in someone else, especially with all the star-studded names we had.

“He just threw me onto the field and said, ‘Take the shackles off. Don’t be worrying about who’s around you or who’s marking you. There’s no pressure on you. Everyone’s going to be worrying about the big names.’

“I think that definitely benefited me. As well as being a good coach he’s a very good man manager as well. The time and effort he puts into coaching it’s a testament to the things he’s won.”

As the side’s free-taker and main forward, Gillane thrived. He posted 6-47 as Mary I romped to Fitzgibbon glory and a recall to the Limerick squad arrived from Kiely afterwards.

“I was on the panel last year at the start of the year and I got dropped after Christmas. Then I played the Fitzgibbon campaign and I got brought back in after that. I was a bit hit and miss. This was my first full year properly. 

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

“Obviously, it was disappointing. it would be disappointing for anyone no matter who it is. But there’s no point sulking and whinging over it. I was very lucky to be able to fall back into that Fitzgibbon team.

“It’s so competitive and I was playing a really good standard of hurling so it was nearly as good as being on the county. What benefited me as well as I didn’t have to juggle the county and Fitzgibbon Cup. I got to focus just on the Fitzgibbon Cup and that definitely worked in my favour I think.

“You want to go and prove a point. I got my chance with Jamie and got a bit of confidence in the Fitzgibbon Cup. My confidence is a big thing and I played that year U21 with a bit of confidence. We won that U21 as well but the players I had around me, it was easy to play with them.

“I’d say everyone is the same. If you’re playing within your shell, you’re not going to get the best out of yourself. You do need that confidence to express yourself on the field. That’s when you’re going to get the best out of yourself.” 

Cian Lynch and Aaron Gillane lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup for the crowd in Limerick

Source: TommyDickson/INPHO

The Patrickswell man didn’t stand-out as an underage hurler and found himself on the Limerick ‘B’ teams coming up underage. But he scored 0-44 as Limerick enjoyed All-Ireland U21 glory 12 months ago and while he didn’t feature for Kiely’s seniors in 2017, it propelled him onto that stage this year. He hasn’t looked back.

“Up along I would have been on the U14s, U15s and U16s ‘B’ teams. I was just there, I wasn’t really enjoying it as much as I’m enjoying it these days. Getting that good run of form in the Fitzgibbon Cup, it certainly gives you a bit of confidence.

“When you’re winning a big competition like that you don’t want to stop. I kept working hard and the same to John (Kiely), he gave me my chance with Limerick this year. I can’t thank him enough for that.

“It all boils down to hard work, if you want to be playing you’ll be playing.”

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

THE RETURN OF Munster title winners Stephen McDonnell and Aidan Walsh to the Cork hurling squad is a prospect when their management assemble their squad for the 2019 season.

Cork coach Kieran Murphy confirmed today that the duo ‘have put their hands up’ to be available for selection for next season.

McDonnell and Walsh both started in Cork’s 2014 Munster final victory over Limerick with McDonnell captaining the side to success against Clare last summer.

Click Here: meath gaa jerseys

28-year-old Walsh hasn’t featured for Cork in the 2017 and 2018 championship campaigns as he lined out for the county football side while 29-year-old McDonnell opted out last season.

“We haven’t finalised our panel at the moment but certainly they are in the discussions,” revealed Murphy in Croke Park today at the launch of the Fenway Hurling Classic 2018.

“Stephen opted out this year because he was doing a bit of travelling and a bit of work commitments. Obviously Aidan was tied up with the footballers, so look as far as I’m aware these lads have put their hands up to say that they’re available.

“We’ll be sitting down over the next few weeks after the club championship and obviously with the pedigree that these guys have, they’re certainly going to be in our thoughts.

“You’re always looking to add value. You need to kind of determine what are their characteristics? If you were to bring them back, what are they actually bringing to the table?

“Obviously these guys have a lot of experience, they’re still in good shape, they both look after themselves very well, so I suppose that would be kind of a key thing that they need to bring. They have that experience. When we do sit down for discussions, that will certainly be a help.”

Aidan Walsh celebrating Kanturk’s All-Ireland club victory earlier this year with Anthony Nash.

Source: Gary Carr/INPHO

Murphy does not envisage any player retirements from the Cork setup before next season commences.

“You’d always kind of gauge it from the mood in the camp. Certainly there’d be nobody walk away before Boston anyway! We don’t expect anybody to kind of walk away to be honest so unless something out of the blue now in terms of work or anything like that comes up.

“Every fella has indicated they’re fresh and they’re hungry and the atmosphere is good so fellas are willing to go again. You’re going into a tough Munster championship again next year but I actually think that excites these players. These games week on, week off suits them. They just want to play games.”

The Cork management are currently monitoring the form of players in club games and considering what underage hurlers to draft into their senior squad yet Murphy feels it is a natural policy rather than a reaction to concerns over their squad depth in the All-Ireland semi-final loss to Limerick.

A dejected Cork hurling manager John Meyler after their loss to Limerick.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

“There was a lot made of that after the semi-final. The one thing that happened us in the semi-final is the three lads in the half-forward line all picked up injuries. Seamus (Harnedy) picked up an injury in the first half, Danny (Kearney) and Luke (Meade) picked up injuries at the same time in the semi-final.

“Robbie (O’Flynn) came on and probably had more of an impact than what people were saying because of the end result. Certainly we need to get a few of the U21s and just kind of integrate them into the panel. We were fortunate this year that Tim O’Mahony, Robbie Flynn, we’ve Jack O’Connor, just a couple other guys that are putting their hands up in the U21 setup.

“We’re looking at these guys now to see what’s their next step, do they have the ability to come into the ranks and challenge for a senior spot. The clubs take priority now and the main emphasis from a management point of view now is just going to club games, watching fellas.

“You’re trying to find a few players to bring on to the panel and challenge some of the lads in the panel. Talking to John, it’s just a natural thing at the end of every year, you’re probably going to freshen things up and bring a couple more in so that’s the main focus at the moment.”

A two-time All-Ireland senior winner as a player, Murphy believes the underage outlook for Cork is brighter now in comparison to the struggles experienced a few years ago but the challenge in converting that at senior level remains.

“There was a lot of doom and gloom a good few years ago. In fairness you have to give credit to the Rebel Óg that’s been set up, I know they’re looking at that at the moment just in terms of the structure of it and stuff. It has kind of come to fruition.

“The 17s win last year was great, the 21s getting to the All-Ireland final this year, disappointing not to win it but again it’s another Munster title, it’s another bit of confidence for the lads. There is young players coming, it’s all about getting them into the framework of inter-county training and inter-county mindset. That’s probably the challenge now for Cork as a whole.”

Wexford’s Lee Chin, Peter Duggan of Clare, Sean Finn of Limerick and Patrick Horgan of Cork at today’s 2018 Fenway Hurling Classic Launch.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Before they begin their preparations for 2019, Cork will be one of four county teams travelling to Boston for the Fenway Hurling Classic that takes place on 18 November.

“Fellas are absolutely thrilled with it, it’s the first kind of trip these lads would have had in a good few years,” says Murphy.

“You look at someone like Patrick (Horgan) who’s given so much time and commitment to Cork, for him to go over to Fenway Park and play over there, especially when he’s great contacts and great friends over in Boston, that’s what it’s about.

“To go over and play in Fenway, such an iconic stadium, to be able to say I was on the field there, it’s brilliant. The concept is excellent, they’re refining it all the time, it needs constant refinement.

“I think as Davy (Fitzgerald) said there, there is definitely a need for the game to be played over there and developed over there. I think what’s coming back is they want it as well too, the community over there, not only the Irish but also the American people who go and watch the games. They love it and the more exposure we can give people to it, I think it has to be good for hurling and the GAA and the GPA.”

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

THE ARRIVAL OF a group of Wexford players to his home in Clare did surprise Davy Fitzgerald as he was deliberating over his future with the county senior hurling side but he’s ‘delighted’ to be remaining in the post for 2019.

Wexford hurling boss Davy Fitzgerald.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Fitzgerald was mulling over whether to commit again to the Wexford cause for a third campaign with the extensive travel required from his Clare home an obvious consideration to weigh up.

“I was wondering. 120 trips up and down to Wexford is a lot of trips. I was saying to the lads back there, there was one or two times last year, when the weather was really bad and I met four crashes on one day there, going up the dual carriageway, it was carnage.

“You do wonder at times, you’re not getting back to 1 o’clock at night. You can get tired. But I really enjoy it. I love going down to Ferns, I love meeting the caretaker Seamus, sit down and have a cup of tea.

“Then do my stuff. It feels good. You get over the driving. There’s nothing like being involved in the middle of it.”

The delegation of Wexford players gave Fitzgerald notice that they were travelling to meet him.

“They let me know. They gave me 24 hours’ notice, fair play to them. So I couldn’t go any place! They knew that there was something else that I could have done besides managing the team. They just wanted to let me know how they felt.

“They’re a great bunch of guys. Absolutely delighted to stay on with them. When you’ve a good few of them arrive down to your house, mad for the road, it was an easy enough decision at the end of the day.

“Listen, I’m not going to keep all of them, there’s no way a manager can keep 36 guys happy. But in fairness, we get on very well. I was surprised to see them all come down. The lads that couldn’t come down texted me. 99.9% of the lads were in touch with me, so it was nice to see. I suppose I’m going into nearly year 30 at the top level. It’s a lot of stuff, it’s a lot of years.”

Wexford’s Lee Chin, Peter Duggan of Clare, Sean Finn of Limerick and Patrick Horgan of Cork at today’s 2018 Fenway Hurling Classic Launch.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Lee Chin explained the decision to travel from the viewpoint of the Wexford players.

“We gathered as many as we could. It was pretty much a spur of the moment kind of thing. Unfortunately, a couple of lads couldn’t come down but we got the majority of the panel down to him. The rest of the guys did their bit by giving him a call or sending him a message to show their appreciation.

“We took it upon ourselves as players to really show him what he means to us. We really appreciate him in Wexford and we love working with him. We thought it’s the least that we could have done it get down to see him and in some ways we wanted to sympathise with him.

“We understand his situation with travel and his other commitments and his own personal life. Obviously, we were being somewhat selfish in saying that, ‘Look, we want you back.’

“I think Davy is the kind of man who would never commit to something that his heart is not in. This is why he’s there. I don’t think it’s just for us going down to him. It probably pushed him towards that decision a little bit more and we’re just grateful that he did.”

Davy Fitzgerald celebrates after Wexford’s Leinster championship win over Dublin last May.

Source: Tommy Greally/INPHO

Wexford’s performance in their All-Ireland quarter-final exit to Clare disappointed Fitzgerald and he felt their ‘edge was kind of gone’ at the close of the season.

“I was disappointed because we didn’t play like we can play. I would be the first [to admit] Clare were better than us on the day.

“If you had seen Wexford during the year, we were putting in hits, we were playing serious ball, that same intent wasn’t there. I’m not making excuses but I’ll give you a fact, Wexford for the last ten years would have played on average two big games, played a quarter-final, played two or three championship games, an average of six games a year and win probably two of them.

“We played 15 this year. So you go from six to 15 this year, and we won nine. I kind of went to the well a bit too much at times, maybe I just need to time it a bit different.

“Maybe not put out the team in the Walsh Cup all the time, I just have to look at what I do a bit more smartly. It just looks like our edge was kind of gone at the end.”

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

Click Here: sligo gaa jerseys

THE EIGHT CARNACON players who left the Mayo panel have had their suspensions reduced to two weeks after an appeal to the National Appeals Committee last night, The42 understands.

The players in question –  Cora Staunton, Fiona McHale, Martha Carter, Marie Corbett, Amy Dowling, Doireann Hughes, Sadhbh Larkin and Saoirse Walsh – were still found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute but their four-week bans were halved.

Click Here: edinburgh rugby jersey

At an appeal hearing in Tullamore last night, Carnacon also withdrew their appeal of the €500 fine that was handed out 10 days ago.

The All-Ireland club champions now have five days if they wish to lodge an appeal with the LGFA Central Council in the hope of further reducing the suspensions.

But with the Mayo ladies senior football championship due to resume this weekend, the upcoming round of fixtures will go ahead as scheduled — without the eight suspended players — unless Carnacon’s appeal is lodged by 5pm this evening.

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

TODAY HAS SEEN Mayo GAA unveil their new jersey for next year.

In their traditional colours of green and red, the county shirt has been upgraded with a white collar and a variation of the ringed design around the torso area. 

Made by O’Neill’s and sponsored by Eleverys once again, the shirt will be available to buy from next Friday, 5 October, but you can pre-order it now online. 

Mayo fans have reacted positively to its release, but what do you think? 

Click Here: new zealand rugby team jerseys

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

MIKE SOLAN HAS withdrawn his name from the race to replace Stephen Rochford as Mayo senior football manager, paving the way for James Horan to take charge. 

Solan and Horan were the only two names put forward by the clubs in the nomination process, but the former All-Ireland winning U21 boss has decided to drop out of the race.

The Mayo county board confirmed they will now meet Horan “to discuss his management team and plans for 2019.”

“Today, I have informed the Mayo County Board that I am withdrawing my name from the nomination process for the Mayo senior football team manager,” Solan said in a statement on the Mayo GAA website.

“I would like to thank everyone who helped me in this process and I would like to wish the Mayo Senior team every success in 2019 and beyond.”

The Mayo county board added: “Mayo GAA have been informed by Mike Solan that he is withdrawing his name from the role as Mayo senior football team manager.

“We would like to thank Mike for putting his name forward for the role & look forward to seeing him involved with Mayo GAA in the future. The officers of Mayo GAA will now meet with James Horan to discuss his management team & plans for 2019.”

Horan previously managed Mayo between 2010 and 2014, guiding them to All-Ireland finals in 2012 and 2013. He was recently in charge of Lee Keegan’s Westport, who exited the Mayo SFC at the quarter-final stage last weekend.

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

Click Here: vans shop

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

Click Here: United Kingdom Rugby Jersey