The All-Ireland junior final between Fossa and Stewartstown Harps ended in a manner that, quite simply, had to be seen to be believed. It looked, for a long time, as if a David Clifford inspired Fossa were about to hold on for a run-of-the-mill-victory until suddenly, out of nowhere, this game turned into something like […]

3 years ago

Fossa 0-19 Stewartstown Harps 1-13 The All-Ireland junior football final between Fossa and Stewartstown Harps turned into something of a farce for a finish In the end, six players were sent off, four Stewartstown men and the two Cliffords for Fossa, as, just like that, tempers flared in a climax that, quite simply, had to […]

3 years ago

Monaleen 1-17 Tooreen 1-15 A Donnacha Ó Dálaigh inspired Monaleen defeated Tooreen to win the All-Ireland intermediate club hurling championship. The 20-year-old was on fire in Croke Park, coming up with improbable points whenever his club needed them and, eventually, despite a valiant effort from Tooreen, that was enough for the Limerick champions. The sharpshooting […]

3 years ago

St Brigid’s club-man Andrew Dunphy is among the new breed of Dublin hurlers who are hoping to turn the tide on their Leinster rivals. At under-age level, he has managed it. At schools level, they have managed it and at senior level, well, he’s hopeful that Dublin’s day is coming. Their defeat of Galway in […]

3 years ago

When Eoghan McLaughlin put his bike in the shed at the start of his Leaving cert year, he did so with the intention that he’d be back on the saddle once the exams were over. In the mean-time, in order to keep fit but with no concrete goals as such, the Westport man decided to […]

3 years ago

#Ad Sponsored by LiveScore Bet Christmas is over. We’re heading into the decisive part of the season. Arsenal still hold the advantage at the top of the table but Manchester City are too close for comfort. To date, both teams have been very consistent which means that, from now on, any slip-ups will prove costly. It’s […]

3 years ago

The integrity of this year’s O’Byrne Cup is in tatters, as far as Offaly manager Liam Kearns is concerned. Pre-season competitions like the O’Byrne Cup and the McKenna Cup have always sparked debate. This year more than ever. The fact that they clash with the college GAA scene is a huge sticking point, as it […]

3 years ago

Absence makes the heart grow fonder and young Rebel Cathail O’Mahony is mad for road. Having exploded onto the scene as a key member of Cork’s All-Ireland under-21 winning football team in 2019, he then settled onto the senior panel in 2020. He started well in 2021, standing out in a tough League campaign for […]

3 years ago

Andrew La Touche Cosgrave finds it hard to pinpoint what exactly it is that has inspired the Monaleen hurlers this year. All he knows is that they are inspired. Things were looking bleak for the city club when they were relegated from the Limerick senior hurling championship last October, but crucially, they didn’t spend long […]

3 years ago

Dermot Clifford was once a referee and, wherever he was reffing, he’d bring his two sons along with him. Growing up, that was the way it was. Dermot is now the chairman of Fossa GAA club, a full-blown Gaelic football fanatic too and it’s said that, for all the successes his sons have had this […]

3 years ago

Fergal Boland will never forget Mayo’s last in-house game before the 2017 All-Ireland final. How could he? In general, when it comes to these A vs B games, it’s fair to say that fringe players are under more pressure to perform than key men. It’s just the way of the world. It’s more important for […]

3 years ago

Kerins O’Rahillys manager William Harmon has encouraged David Moran to play on for one more year with Kerry. Like the rest of us, Harmon had just watched the 34-year-old midfielder put on an exhibition in Croke Park so, in that sense, you’d imagine Jack O’Connor is thinking the exact same way. The Strand Road side […]

3 years ago

After a phenomenal 11 year career, Lee Keegan has announced his retirement from inter-county football. The Westport man will go down as one of Mayo’s greatest ever players, having won five All-Stars, as well as a Footballer of the Year award in 2016. Keegan was a swashbuckling defender. A tigerish tackler and an intense marker […]

3 years ago

Malachy O’Rourke’s right-hand-man Ryan Porter won’t be allowed on the sideline for Glen’s upcoming All-Ireland club final against Kilmacud Crokes. Barring a successful appeal, that is. Referee David Gough confirmed to SportsJOE that the reason Porter was shown a red card in the 25th minute of the semi-final was abusive language. There had been some […]

3 years ago

Kilmacud Crokes 1-14 Kerins O’Rahillys 0-14 If you’d told Kerins O’Rahillys before the game that it would take Shane Walsh 53 minutes to score from open play, then they’d have had high hopes for this All-Ireland semi-final. Very high hopes indeed. But the way it was, when Walsh swung one over with seven minutes left, […]

3 years ago

Some thought it was ‘dull as dishwater.’ Others thought it was ‘engaging, fascinating, intense.’ Journalists Vincent Hogan and Paul Kimmage were both singing off the same hymn sheet on this one, in that Hogan said it was ‘awful’ and Kimmage said it was ‘shite.’ On the other hand, hurling pundit Brian Carroll said it was […]

3 years ago

When Ursula Jacob was first asked to do the hurling on The Sunday Game, she had to do a double-take. Jacob had been working as a camogie pundit for four years at that stage but until then, she hadn’t considered the prospect of working on the men’s game. But along with Anna Geary, she was […]

3 years ago

“We’ll have plenty of Christmases, these chances don’t come around too often.” Sometimes, we’re guilty of pitying GAA players who ‘have to’ train over Christmas and throughout the winter but, make no mistake about it, Andrew McGowan doesn’t want your pity. The Kilmacud Crokes player thinks that his own club, Glen, Moycullen, Kerins O’Rahillys and […]

3 years ago

Tommy Walsh says that the long-ball-in will be one of Kerins O’Rahilly’s tactics as they take on Kilmacud Crokes this Sunday in the All-Ireland semi-final. Why wouldn’t it be? Why change a winning formula? The Munster semi-final and final were both tight encounters for the Tralee side, against Éire Óg Ennis and Newcastle West respectively, […]

3 years ago

Michael Smith 7-4 Michael van Gerwen Michael Smith is the World Champion, he’s the world number one but he’s still as modest as any old mucker. The St Helens player was reluctant to praise himself in his post-match interview as world champion, and that was when his opponent Michael van Gerwen came over to do […]

3 years ago

In a brief moment of confusion, Michael van Gerwen went to walk off the stage during the seventh set of this World championship final, thinking that the set was over. But there were still darts to throw and, at that point of the match, Michael Smith was throwing the best of them. Van Gerwen had […]

3 years ago

There can be no question. That is the greatest leg the sport has ever seen. Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen went dart for dart in the third leg of the second set of this World Championship final as, for one of the first time in darts history, less than 20 darts were thrown by […]

3 years ago

You come at the king, you’d better not miss. Dimitri Van den Bergh had a quiet word with Michael van Gerwen in the second set of their World Darts Championship semi-final on Monday night. The Belgian appeared to be telling his opponent to stand back, and to give him a bit more space at the […]

3 years ago

After ten years, seven All-Irelands and two All-Stars, Jonny Cooper has retired from inter-county football. The 33-year-old made his championship debut in 2012, and has been a mainstay for the Sky Blues ever since. Renowned as a tight and tigerish defender, Cooper was an ever-present stalwart of the Dubs defence. He played his final game […]

3 years ago

When he stepped down as Kilcoo boss at the beginning of the year, Mickey Moran left as one of the longest serving managers in the GAA. Having had a successful playing career, the Derry man began his managerial career in the 1980s, when he became one of his own county’s youngest ever managers. In 1993, […]

3 years ago

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s darts time. The World Darts Championship is in full swing, but how well do you know your darts players?

3 years ago

Best of luck. You’d have to be some sort of human GAA encyclopedia to get more than 60/65. A passionate GAA fan will get more than 55. You’re a casual fan if you fail to beat 45. Sorry but you’re just a sunshine supporter if you get under 35. And what are you even doing […]

3 years ago

#Ad Sponsored by LiveScore Bet The Premier League is back! It’s back with a bang. November and much of December were taken up with World Cup action so when the tournament finally ended on Sunday December 18, it was hard to get used to life without it. Thankfully, the Premier League stepped up, just in time, […]

3 years ago

What do we do now? Cry? Now that the World Cup’s over, it feels like there’s nothing else we can do. The last two days have been a slog, what with no shoot-outs, no drama and no games, so let’s go back and re-live it. This quiz is infuriatingly difficult and for that we make […]

3 years ago

England didn’t leave the Qatar World Cup empty-handed, they left it with the FIFA Fair Play award. The Three Lions were the tournament’s most disciplined team, having picked up just one booking in their five games but, whatever way you look at it, it’s fair to say that it’s not the award they were looking […]

3 years ago

After 20 years as a professional jockey, Davy Russell has retired from race-riding. A jockey who has won it all, Gold Cups, Grand Nationals, you name it, his last winner came in Thurles on Sunday, aboard Liberty Dance in a novice’s handicap hurdle. At 43, the Youghal native has experienced it all, highs, lows, wins, […]

3 years ago

The sliotar travels so fast in hurling that if a player gets a clear-cut chance then, for the most part, you expect him to score. But when it comes to Stephen O’Keeffe, it’s the other way around. He’s done it so many times before that, when a player gets clean through, you almost expect him […]

3 years ago

Ballyhale Shamrocks 1-16 Ballygunner 0-16 The kings are still the kings. Ballygunner had their year, they had their moment but, for now anyway, until next time, it’s exactly as it was. Ballyhale Shamrocks remain untouched. Pat Hoban told us afterwards that this was just another game, he told us that this was the same as […]

3 years ago

Dunloy Cúchullains 1-14 St Thomas 0-13 A Keelan Molloy inspired Dunloy have qualified for their first All-Ireland club hurling final in 17 years. They said that Croke Park wouldn’t do these club games justice but the atmosphere was something special when John Keenan blew that full-time whistle. It was an explosion of green and yellow […]

3 years ago

Ballygunner’s second half performance against Na Piarsaigh told Eddie Brennan all he needed to know. “If ever a challenge was thrown down to a team to say ‘are we still as hungry,’” says Brennan, ” that was it.” TJ Reid’s interview after Ballyhale’s victory over Kilmacud Crokes told him all he needed to know about […]

3 years ago

Shane O’Sullivan retired from Waterford in 2017 knowing that, as far as Ballygunner were concerned, he still had a lot of hurling to do. “Ballygunner is such a part of me that it was like, you don’t ever retire from your club,” O’Sullivan says now, six years on. Six years on and, at 37, he’s […]

3 years ago

GAA GO will broadcast 38 exclusive Championship games in 2023 with the online streaming platform boasting a star-studded team of pundits across both codes. Former Sky Sports GAA presenter Gráinne McElwain will host GAA GO’s coverage, with the Monaghan anchor being joined by Michael Murphy, Marc Ó Sé and Paddy Andrews for their football coverage. […]

3 years ago

Right about now, Joey Holden was supposed to be travelling central and south America but instead, as has been the case so many times before, the only destination on his mind is Jones’ Road. Ballyhale Shamrocks take on Ballygunner this Sunday in one of the most eagerly anticipated club games in years and even though […]

3 years ago

#ad Sponsored by LiveScore Bet. France are the red-hot favourites and with good reason, but Morocco are in the habit of ripping up scripts right now… Regardless of what happens on Wednesday night, it already feels like the 2022 World Cup has been a barnstorming success for Morocco. After all, with their shock win over […]

3 years ago

It was Duffer this and Shayzer that. They were like two boys in the pub, sparking off each other, ribbing into each other and, at half-time, full time and all the way around this World Cup semi-final, they were just having a good time. It was, by this writer’s estimation, the best night of RTE’s […]

3 years ago

Paul Shiels was only 13, back in 2004, when he watched Dunloy take on Birr in the All-Ireland club final. Five years later, as an 18-year-old, he was midfield against them in the All-Ireland semi-final. It’s no wonder he has great admiration for the Offaly kingpins, mentioning the Whelahans and Hanniffys as players he’s always […]

3 years ago

Ross Munnelly did his talking on the pitch. For Laois, Ross Munnelly has been on the pitch since 2003, when he was first brought into the panel by Mick O’Dwyer as a 20-year-old. He’s almost twice that age now but, whatever it is, he still looks the same and right up until this year, he […]

3 years ago

Glen 1-12 Kilcoo 1-6 Glen are kings of Ulster. “For years, people said Glen had no character, we’re underachievers, were mentally weak, had no leaders. But today, we’re kings of Ulster.” So said captain Connor Carville in his speech and, there and then, it was the signal for the people of Glen, county Derry, finally, […]

3 years ago

Nick Griggs was nabbed on the line in the Euro U20 Cross Country championships. The Tyrone athlete looked destined for the gold medal, having streaked away from the field in the closing stages, but his legs gave up on him in the last 60mts of the 6000m race and, in heartbreaking circumstances, he was passed […]

3 years ago

When Argentina and the Netherlands are involved, there’s always tension and there’s often trouble. The football can be brilliant, and a row is never too far away. What more could you want? And that’s exactly how it was this Friday, in what was one of the most absorbing World Cup games there’s ever been. In […]

3 years ago

It looked for a long time as if it was going to be Neymar’s day. Ironic that, seeing as the 30-year-old had one of the worst games he’ll ever have in a Brazil shirt. His performance was one full of petulance – twice he kicked out at Croatian players – and wastefulness – you’d need […]

3 years ago

Talksport ventured into a Jack Grealish, Declan Rice discussion on Wednesday and Martin O’Neill was put to the pin of his collar. Talksport is a sports radio station in the UK that regularly airs and discusses the views of fans with their pundits and guests and on this occasion, a texter called Dermot sent in […]

3 years ago

A cruciate knee ligament injury is every sportsperson’s nightmare. First of all, between the initial pain and the after-effects of the operation, you’re talking two months of hobbling.  You’re looking at, at the very least, nine months on the sideline. And to ensure your recovery takes nine months, and not any longer, you’re going to […]

3 years ago

David Moran is preparing for his second Munster club final with Kerins O’Rahillys. He’s hoping for a different result this time around. It was back in 2009 when he made his bow at this stage and, all these years on, it’s a game he still remembers with no great fondness. He returned from Australia the […]

3 years ago

As far as Cristiano Ronaldo’s concerned, the whole thing’s gone a little bit crazy. Need proof? What about the birds-eye picture taken before Portugal’s clash with Switzerland when, in a landslide of about 50 photographers, almost every single one of them is focusing not on the pitch, but on the man on the bench? He […]

3 years ago