Major boost for The Tribesmen, here. Galway have made just one change to the team that defeated Clare by a point in the All-Ireland semi-final replay, and it is a significant one. Galway manager Micheál Donoghue saw his side battle through against The Banner to reach the final, on Sunday, and to be in a position […]

8 years ago

John Kiely is the first boss to step up and officially announce his team. The All-Ireland Hurling Final is almost upon us and Limerick have named their team to face Galway. After the outstanding performances of the Limerick bench in the semi-final win over Cork, many expected Limerick to tweak their starting XV but Colm […]

8 years ago

For Tadhg Coakley, the hurler, his big day out was at Croke Park in 1979. 39 years on, Tadhg Coakley, the writer, had another day to remember. On Thursday, down in his native Cork, Coakley’s book ‘The First Sunday in September’ was officially launched. Revolving around the All-Ireland hurling final, the Cork native’s fiction offering […]

8 years ago

Shut up and take our money. Des Cahill has an autobiography coming out later this year and it’s sure to be an interesting read. Sports fans all over the country will know Cahill as a fiercely passionate GAA man who was also fronted a host of huge sporting events for RTE, from World Cups and […]

8 years ago

The former Ulster outhalf is settling in nicely at his new club. French rugby players don’t get much of a break at all. Six weeks after the French national side finished up their three-Test tour of New Zealand, the country’s Top 14 and Pro D2 sides were back out in pre-season matches. Forget this 11-month […]

8 years ago

“His opponent from Stra-bain, Ireland, please welcome James ‘The Strabanimal’ Gallagher!” The Bellator 204 weigh-in between James Gallagher and Ricky Bandejas was pretty intense, on Thursday, and has set the tone for a much anticipated fight between two men on upward trajectories in their MMA careers. The pair on Friday night and it will be […]

8 years ago

It is worth noting that QPR are currently serving a transfer ban. Ryan Manning was one of the feel-good stories of the 2016/17 season. The former Galway United midfielder broke through to the QPR team midway through the season and made 18 appearances (one goal, two assists). He made 19 appearances the following season but […]

8 years ago

Get there early as there could be quite the queue. This Sunday, hurling fans from Galway, Limerick and Limerick will converge on Croke Park for the All-Ireland minor and senior hurling finals. Galway and Limerick will do battle for the Liam MacCarthy trophy from 3:30pm but, first up, the minor final. Galway and Kilkenny (1pm […]

8 years ago

Worked out pretty well for them in the end… Thinking back to the 2005 Lions Tour to New Zealand and there are a few stand-outs: Dan Carter, Leon MacDonald and Richie McCaw being immense Brian O’Driscoll getting spear-tackled The Lions line-out falling to crap ‘The Power of Four’ anthem for the Lions A lot of […]

8 years ago

Early tournament exits for Iceland and Costa Rica have seen Ireland benefit. The first Fifa rankings since the World Cup are now out and there have been some major moves. Croatia and France have surged up the rankings while Ireland have also climbed. The points accumulated by sides at the 2014 World Cup are out […]

8 years ago

The Northern Irishman scored a cracker against Celtic last weekend. Their season may only be four games deep but Celtic find themselves out of the Champions League, frustrated in the transfer market and mid-table in the Scottish Premiership. Hearing Kyle Lafferty is set to return to Rangers may not brighten Brendan Rodgers’ mood at all. […]

8 years ago

It would be great if all the major European leagues could just close their transfer windows on the same date. While last Thursday, August 9, was the final day of the Premier League’s transfer window, several other leagues have their windows wide open. Serie A close their window at midnight on Friday but the Bundesliga, […]

8 years ago

Five paragraphs. Six sentences. One storm brewing. In late July, Cliftonville striker Rory Donnelly was suspended for three months by the Irish Football Association for a breach of betting regulations. The 26-year-old had been found to be in breach of the IFA regulations. The sanctions pertained to a WhatsApp message that touched on the Cliftonville line-up […]

8 years ago

“They have nine potential starters.” One of the big takeaways from that breathless weekend of All-Ireland hurling action, a fortnight back, was the sheer strength of the Limerick bench. Out of all four counties that, at the time, were vying for the Liam MacCarthy Cup – and playing out of their skins – The Treaty […]

8 years ago

This is a choice no golfer would look forward to making. First off, the good news for Shane Lowry. The Offaly man’s joint 12th place finish at the USPGA Championship was enough to earn him just shy of $178,000 and significantly boost his chances of retaining his tour card in the United States. Lowry was […]

8 years ago

The Stade Aimé Giral will be the scene for some significant Irish rugby interest near the end of this month. France’s Top 14 league starts on the weekend of August 24-26 and there is a match on the fixture list that will draw a lot of Irish eyes. While Donnacha Ryan and Simon Zebo will […]

8 years ago

That backline are on fire. The Fantasy Football is one week old and some of you are probably thinking of packing it all in already. Others, though, will be smugly thinking 2018/19 is definitely your year. Manchester United kicked off the Premier League season, on Friday, with a win over Leicester and we marvelled at […]

8 years ago

Following his third Major win in 14 months, Brooks Koepka was asked if he ever felt ‘rattled or intimidated’.  “I honestly can’t,” Koepka responded. “I have a lot of self belief. I knew, even today, when everybody was making that charge, if I just hung in there, made one more shot, one good shot at […]

8 years ago

Say it ain’t so Rory. Rory McIlroy carded four birdies and four bogeys in his final round of 70 at the USPGA Championship at Bellerive, St Louis. It was that kind of day. It was that kind of tournament. While we all marvelled at Tiger Woods’ manic ability to produce recovery shots out of the […]

8 years ago

This was out of line. Lowry knew every shot counted. The excitement levels were off the charts as the PGA Championship came to a dramatic conclusion on Sunday. The leaderboard was a who’s who of golf’s greatest talents and over 20 players must have felt they were in with a shout of claiming the year’s […]

8 years ago

This was really great to see. In the early hours of Monday morning (our time), Brooks Koepka joined an elite group of men to have won the US Open and PGA Championship in the same year. Gene Sarazen Ben Hogan Jack Nicklaus Tiger Woods The Florida native closed out with a final round of 66 […]

8 years ago

Defeat will sting for every single one of the Monaghan panel but it was heart-breaking to see Wylie slumped on the pitch after the final whistle. There are times, and it happens to most of us, when you play one of the games of your life and still end up a loser. You know you […]

8 years ago

“If Dublin get those chances in the final, they’re going to score heavily.” Lee Keegan knows all about what Dublin can do to teams so it was no surprise to see him towing the line and backing Jim Gavin’s men to claim their fourth All-Ireland in a row. The Mayo half-back was back on The […]

8 years ago

TYRONE 1-13 MONAGHAN 0-15 Peter Harte and Colm Cavanagh were pure class for Tyrone but goalscorer Niall Sludden will get most of the credit as Monaghan were pipped by a point. Sludden’s goal gave Tyrone renewed belief after a storming second half spell from Monaghan in the All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park. Malachy O’Rourke’s men […]

8 years ago

This definitely came out wrong. Paul O’Shea will get some slagging for this from his victorious Kerry teammates. The Kingdom’s Minor stars were pushed to the very brink by Monaghan in the All-Ireland semi-final but two points in injury time gave them a 1-16 to 2-11 victory. Dylan Geaney, David Mangan and O’Shea were all […]

8 years ago

Ryan Farrelly did not shirk on the biggest GAA stage of them all. Monaghan were severely tested by a flying Kingdom side in the All-Ireland Minor semi-final, but Farrelly was doing his damnedest to keep his county in it. The Farney’s goalkeeper was not only sparking up-field drives, he was picking up teammates’ runs with […]

8 years ago

One of the country’s finest forwards will make a guest appearance on the show. Michael Murphy would have desperately loved to be involved in this weekend’s All-Ireland football semi finals but the consolation prize is an interesting foray into punditry. The Donegal forward, who has been excellent for his county this championship summer, will join […]

8 years ago

The Joey Barton managerial train is now rolling… Following an opening day draw in League Two, Barton’s Fleetwood Town picked up their first win of the season when they defeated Oxford 2-0. The victory, Barton’s first league success as a manager, was sealed when Irish forward Paddy Madden came off the bench in the closing […]

8 years ago

“This is one tough Irish kid.” Aaron McKenna stormed to his fifth straight win in professional boxing after securing a unanimous points victory over Rolando Mendivil in Hollywood last night. The 19-year-old from Monaghan controlled the tempo through-out and landed right hands at will. His only frustration was not being able to secure a knock-out […]

8 years ago

The 19-year-old improved his unbeaten record with a dominant display. By the time of his 21st birthday, Aaron McKenna told us, he wants to be the 147 lb champion of the world. On Saturday night, the Monaghan teenager took another step towards that goal with an impressive, comfortable win that takes his professional record to […]

8 years ago

The Dublin star was pure class as Galway were blown away in the second half. Second gear. Third gear. Fourth gear. The RTE panel of Sean Cavanagh, Colm O’Rourke and Pat Spillane couldn’t quite agree but they had no doubt that Dublin were far too good for a spirited Galway side at Croke Park. You […]

8 years ago

DUBLIN 1-24 GALWAY 2-12 The hunt for Dublin’s four-in-a-row is very much on after Jim Gavin’s men savaged Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park. Con O’Callaghan scored 1-3 and both Jack McCaffrey and Brian Fenton were ruthless and relentless. Galway made a decent fist of it but, as so many sides have done, […]

8 years ago

The Offaly man was out on course early this morning and clearly in the zone. Shane Lowry was one of a multitude of golfers up at the crack of dawn in St Louis to finish out his second round in the USPGA Championships. Heavy rains and thunder forced rounds to be halted on Friday and […]

8 years ago

Jose Mourinho drafted the French midfielder into action just 26 days after he helped his country to win the World Cup. Paul Pogba was Manchester United’s best player in their opening night Premier League victory over Leicester City but he would not begrudge Luke Shaw the man-of-the-match accolade. In the final days of a relatively […]

8 years ago

Would you like to be called this?

8 years ago

“They didn’t even look at my goalkeeping skills.” Roy Keane was always pretty handy at whatever he was tasked to do on the football pitch. He started off as a box-to-box midfielder, became the centre-piece of Manchester United’s greatest ever side, popped up with big goals, covered in the centre of defence and was one […]

8 years ago

This is not what Ulster need heading into a season of huge challenges. The late acquisitions of Billy Burns and short-term signing Henry Speight have added some pep into Ulster Rugby’s pre-season. Simon Easterby has been seconded, away from his Ireland duties, up to Ravenhill to help the province to prepare for 2018/19 and lay […]

8 years ago

It’s finally, very nearly here! The 2018 All-Ireland Hurling Final is upon us and it’s earlier than usual. For those of you who can’t even wait for throw-in Wooly and The GAA Hour crew are here to sort you out. We have a host of big names with big game experience. Anthony Cunningham won two […]

8 years ago

The defender was signed by the Scottish side from Liverpool this summer. One of the main things Steven Gerrard wants to bring to his Rangers side is some defensive steel. The former Liverpool captain is two months into his first managerial gig and doing a decent job so far. Rangers may have started the Scottish […]

8 years ago

New season, new number for Marcos Rojo. Manchester United have had a couple of fantastic No.16s since Premier League squad numbers were brought in – Roy Keane and Michael Carrick. Keane had it from 1993 until his 2005 departure from the club. Carrick was offered the jersey by Alex Ferguson in 2006. As the now […]

8 years ago

Two of Manchester United’s greatest midfielders, together again! It’s fair to say that Paul Scholes is one of the best players to have ever worn the famous red, white and black of Manchester United. The Salford native scored 155 goals in 718 United appearances and won 25 major trophies with the club, including 11 Premier […]

8 years ago

“Punditry should be about tension.” Gary Neville did not get as much time to do his deep dives into match analysis, during ITV’s World Cup coverage, but he looked to be having the time of his life in Russia. The former Manchester United and England defender had an absolute ball sitting alongside the likes of […]

8 years ago

“One lie repeated 1,000 times is still a lie.” Manchester United boss José Mourinho has argued that Anthony Martial must start pre-season from scratch after he missed nine days of duty after the birth of his second child. The French forward was on tour with United, in America, last month but headed back for the […]

8 years ago

Alexis Sanchez got himself one hell of a deal when he arrived at Old Trafford. For all the negativity surrounding Manchester United heading into the 2018/19 Premier League season, they still have one of the best squads out there. Looking at the year as a whole, the club has brought in Alexis Sanchez, Brazilian midfielder […]

8 years ago

United were linked with approximately 350 central defenders this summer but ended up signing none as the club vetoed Mourinho’s requests

8 years ago

This is some going

8 years ago

One man is leading by two, while the other is delighted to be in the hunt. Rickie Fowler is well poised to end his Major drought after a superb start in St Louis. The American golfer is one of the world’s best players not to have finished in the winners’ circle in one of golf’s […]

8 years ago

Injuries haunted him at Anfield but there could be a fresh start in the South of England. When word came through, just after 3pm, on the final day of the summer transfer window that Liverpool had rejected a bid for Ragnar Klavan, many joked that Manchester United were getting desperate. The Premier League kicks off […]

8 years ago

A bet is a bet, and Peter Collins never welches on a bet. This has been a summer to remember for so many Irish runners, swimmers, hockey players, jockeys, hurlers and more. Thomas Barr came to the medal party that was kicked off, on Sunday, by Ireland’s women’s hockey team and preceded by the achievements […]

8 years ago

“I knew I could pick him off!” Thomas Barr is a European Championships silver medallist after a superb, season’s best run in Berlin. The Waterford native finished superbly in the 400-metres men’s hurdles final to get home in third and claim Ireland’s first sprint medal in the competition in 84 years. Barr narrowly missed out […]

8 years ago