Oisin McConville's mother Margaret 'couldn't fathom' Armagh/Derry wasn't on TV
Oisin McConville says his mother Margaret 'couldn't fathom' that the Armagh/Derry All-Ireland series opener at the weeknd wasn't on TV or available online.
Crossmaglen club legend and former secretary Margaret was one of many left wondering how the All-Ireland champions' opening defence of their crown wasn't accessible for GAA fans to watch at home.
The Athletic Grounds was packed to the rafters with a crowd of just under 15,000 there to see Derry come from 13 points behind, only to end up losing by 2-21 to 2-17 at the Armagh City venue, with Rian O'Neill making his return to the Armagh starting line-up.
But the game wasn't available on RTE or GAA+, with minimal highlights on the Saturday Game.
RTE's picks for the weekend were the do or die Munster Hurling Championship game between Waterford and Cork, and the Galway/Dublin Leinster hurling tie, which determined who would be in the provincial final against Kilkenny.
On the Saturday, GAA+ had their pick of four games and went for Tyrone's trip to Ballybofey to face Donegal, and Louth versus Monaghan from Newbridge.
The games not screened were Derry versus Armagh and Meath's home tie with Cork.
In previous year's the GAA have stated that were it not for GAA+ (previously GAA+) games like Donegal/Tyrone and Monaghan/Louth would not have been screened at all.
And while this is true, the broadcast rights landscape has changed this year, with the GAA buying out RTE's 50percent stake in GAAGO and rebranding it as GAA+.
While RTE still pay for their package of games, GAA+ are at liberty to live stream as many of the other games as they please.
To add to the confusion, Clubber and TG4 have been live streaming games from hurling's lower tiers, proving that it is possible to make more games available with alternative scheduling.
Hurling fans have complained for a number of years that high profile Munster games haven't been available to watch anywhere.
Part of the reason is that gate receipts still form a huge percentage of the GAA's annual income, far more than in sports like soccer and rugby, where TV rights command more money as they have an international audience and more bidders.
There is also the cost of outside broadcasts for GAA+, but they may be able to recoup this with fans paying to watch the live streams.
With attendances appearing to go through the roof for games this year, more ties may well be televised on GAA+ next year.
The BBC also have rights to screen Ulster Championship games.
But none of this was any good to Margaret McConville and rafts of other fans, hoping to watch the Armagh/Derry game.
Speaking on the BBC GAA Social podcast with Thomas Niblock, Oisin McConville, with his tongue in his cheek, said: 'Mags is not happy. She's in a fit of rage because there was no coverage of that game anywhere.
'She just can't fathom that that would happen, as she said, 'In this day and age. I had to leave the house. She couldn't understand it. I have never seen here quite as disconsolate as she was.
'Everybody got a touch. Sky, BBC, RTE, GAA+ - they all got it. She doesn't miss you when there's an issue. Let's just say, she's disapppionted.'
Podcast host Niblock said: 'It's a very serious point. I know we are having a bit of fun about it.
'It's incredible that last year's All-Ireland champions playing last year's Division 1 champions wasn't televised. People were crying out for coverage of it. It seemed a strange one. There's no doubt about it.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
15 minutes ago
- The Journal
Ireland to face Belgium in Nations League promotion-relegation play-off
THE IRELAND WOMEN'S team will play Belgium at the play-off stage of the Uefa Nations League. The two-legged promotion-relegation clash will take place in October after today's draw with a place in League A on the line. Irealnd will be at home for the first leg and travel to Belgium for the second leg, with venue and ticket details yet to be announced. Tuesday's 1-0 win over Slovenia, thanks to a Saoirse Noonan header, saw Ireland progress to the play-offs as they fell short of the four-goal victory needed to seal to spot and secure automatic promotion. Ireland have played Belgium six times – winning their first ever meeting in 1980 – and they last came up against each other in an international friendly in April 2021 in Brussels. Advertisement 'We now know our opponents for this play-offand our preparation for those two games starts now,' said head coach Carla Ward. Ireland head coach Carla Ward Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO 'We know that Belgium are a very good team with a strong history in women's football, so this will be a difficult challenge for us but one that we are excited to take on. 'Having won five of our six group games in the Nations League and ended with a very good performance against Slovenia, we are building day by day, game by game. We have a fantastic team spirit, a brilliant support staff and a group of players who are ready to take that next step in their progression. 'Next up are two games against the United States, which will help as part of our preparation but the Play-Off is our next target. We want to reach League A to play against top-ranked teams and be in the best position possible going into the 2027 FIFA World Cup qualifiers next year.' Written by Fintan O'Toole and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won't find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women's sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here .
RTÉ News
22 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Ireland to face Belgium in Nations League play-off
The Republic of Ireland will play Belgium in their UEFA Women's Nations League promotion/relegation play-off. Carla Ward's side will be at home in the first leg, with the ties to be played on 24 & 28 October. Belgium are currently 20th in the FIFA world rankings, six places ahead of Ireland, and mixed the good and bad in their League A campaign. They defeated England but lost to bottom side Portugal. On Tuesday, Ireland wrapped up their League B, Group 2 programme with a 1-0 win over Slovenia at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, a result that wasn't enough to seal an immediate promotion to League A. They were guaranteed a play-off in advance of the game, with Ward now able to focus on the Belgians in the autumn. "We now know our opponents for this play-off and our preparation for those two games starts now," she said. "We know that Belgium are a very good team with a strong history in women's football, so this will be a difficult challenge for us but one that we are excited to take on. "Having won five of our six group games in the Nations League and ended with a very good performance against Slovenia, we are building day by day, game by game. We have a fantastic team spirit, a brilliant support staff and a group of players who are ready to take that next step in their progression. "Next up are two games against the United States, which will help as part of our preparation but the play-off is our next target. We want to reach League A to play against top-ranked teams and be in the best position possible going into the 2027 World Cup qualifiers next year." Ireland have played Belgium six times – winning their first ever meeting in 1980 – and they last faced each other in an international friendly in April 2021 in Brussels.
Irish Times
33 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Nicky English: Opportunity for redemption smaller for Cork than Galway
One of the trickiest challenges a team can face is having to play opponents whom you beat comprehensively just a few weeks previously. That is the task for both provincial champions going into this year's Munster and Leinster finals. Galway and Cork are in the other boat, having had their heads handed to them by Kilkenny and Limerick only a few weeks ago. The imperative for both if they are to have any chance going forward is to close the gap and, with that improvement, gather some momentum. It is obviously more acute for Cork, who, unlike Galway don't look to me as if they're picking up form. They couldn't really have been happy with the mixed performance against Waterford, which provided little reassurance after the mauling in Limerick. Cork have gone from being favourites for the championship to nearly an unknown package in terms of their real worth. READ MORE To re-establish themselves as realistic contenders after losing by 15 points, they need to compete and knock about 10 off that deficit. That's not going to be easy. Limerick were outstanding the last day and although they fell back against Clare, I'm inclined to discount that result. They made plenty of changes but the key men will all be back on Saturday. They blew Cork out the last day, in all areas of the field from Nickie Quaid's puck-outs up to the full forward line. In the end, Cork were looking for the final whistle, just to get out of there. How much weight should be attached to the incentive to do better and potential complacency in the champions' camp? Probably not enough to overturn all known form. Leaving aside the Limerick match, which was a disaster, Cork have been inconsistent, looking very good at times but then in the same games, ineffective. There have been poor second-halves against Clare and Tipperary – twice – and a very mixed bag against Waterford. Defence has been an issue and they are badly hit by injury. Ger Millerick was one of the better performers the last day and he's out but the man he replaced, Niall O'Leary, who had been playing quite well at corner back, is back. Rob Downey has been played when he didn't look fit and didn't line out against Waterford but is named this weekend. On the last trip to the Gaelic Grounds, he was switched with Ciarán Joyce, who was detailed to pick up Cian Lynch – except he didn't. Playing loose at centre back allowed Lynch to pull the strings, which he did to mesmerising effect. Opponents, like fans, are often mesmerised by Limerick's Cian Lynch. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho What happens this time? I said from the start that John Kiely's biggest concern would be to get all his players fit and on the field and that's what has happened. Lynch is a barometer of their wellbeing and his form has been back to its best. In general, they look better than last year. Adam English has become an exceptional midfielder. Cathal O'Neill, one of their best players a year ago, is coming back. Kyle Hayes has strengthened centre back and Barry Nash, who didn't play in last year's semi-final, has slotted in outstandingly well on the left wing. Cork's main platform in the wins over Limerick last year was quick puck-outs and getting the half backs turned. Séamus Harnedy and Declan Dalton caused huge disruption but the last day, Dalton had to go off injured and there's still no sign of him. Harnedy came on and improved things a bit but in the first half against the elements, the likes of Hayes were just unmanageable with the ball in the air, held up in a gusting wind. It really is hard to see anything apart from a Limerick win. Galway also have ground to make up at Croke Park but they certainly have improved since losing in Kilkenny and have found more of a team dynamic. They've become more balanced. There was a lot of experimentation during the league but Micheál Donoghue has put together a team with a lot of the experienced players slotted into place. Their half-back line has become pretty solid. Cianan Fahey, Gavin Lee and TJ Brennan have become quite forceful in that zone. Cathal Mannion has been scoring freely and Conor Whelan, playing a deeper role, and Brian Concannon are picking up form nicely. I felt Dublin would beat them but they were comfortable, scored fluently and never looked in trouble. Kilkenny have been playing quietly off-Broadway, as I've said before. They lost to Wexford in what has nearly become an annual event but they were safely in the final by then. I don't really subscribe to the idea that they are dark horses for the All-Ireland but we'll learn more about them this weekend because it won't surprise me if Galway bring their best display of the year to date. If they do, it will be a significant test. The easy call is Kilkenny but they're still depending on TJ Reid, and Eoin Cody is out with a hamstring injury. Martin Keoghan and John Donnelly have stepped up in recent times and, under Derek Lyng, they always add up to the sum of their parts and often exceed it, but I'm still not convinced. On a final point, we have just had the June bank holiday but there are only seven matches left in the entire championship for the rest of the summer. I know the die has been cast on this but to me, it makes no sense whatsoever.
