Have you ever played hurling or camogie?
As they dissected Kildare's rise to compete among Leinster's elite in the Liam McCarthy Cup next year, they asked why hurling is a minority sport and how the GAA is attempting to make it right.
So today we're asking you:
Have you ever played hurling or camogie?
Poll Results:
Yes
(275)
No
(207)
Only in school
(68)
Yes
No
Only in school
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Irish Examiner
6 minutes ago
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Boran and Kildare dreaming of staying afloat in Leinster
Monday evening in Carlow and Rian Boran finds himself on the same pitch facing the combined talents of TJ Reid, Chris Crummey and Lee Chin. It's all fun as the Kildare captain is taking part in the Hurling for Cancer Research charity game but in 2026 he'll lock horns with Leinster's best players for real. Tipperary may go down as the breakthrough hurling team of 2025, given their MacCarthy Cup triumph, but Boran and Kildare can't be far behind given their remarkable progress. It's only 18 months or so since they were navigating the Christy Ring Cup competition but now, after winning that and the Joe McDonagh Cup, they are preparing for life in hurling's fast lane in 2026. They will replace Antrim in the Leinster championship and just one win, as Offaly proved this season, might even be enough to keep them up. Can they do it? "Everyone has hopes and dreams - it would definitely be a dream of mine to stay up in the Leinster championship," said Boran. "But there's a lot of work to be done. I'm already looking forward to getting back in with the lads again. We'll try to drive on with the club first but we'll look forward to the new year with Kildare, absolutely." Kildare were defeated by Down in March's Division 2 league final but both sides were promoted to 1B for 2026. That will be another significant challenge for the Lilywhites, pitching them in alongside Crummey's Dubs and 2024 All-Ireland winners Clare next spring. "It's a huge challenge," acknowledged Boran of the overall test awaiting Kildare next year. "We'll try our best not to underestimate it. We know there's a huge amount of work to do to try to reach that level because it's a really different standard but we're up for trying to reach that level and we'll hopefully give a bit of entertainment to our fans too." And yet Kildare's season was in danger of bottoming out at the beginning of the McDonagh Cup. Fresh off that league final defeat, they lost their Round 1 game against Kerry in Newbridge. At that stage, the county had played nine Joe McDonagh Cup games ever and lost the lot. Remarkably, Kerry ended up getting relegated to the Ring Cup while Kildare redoubled their efforts and reeled off five wins to take the McDonagh Cup, beating favourites Laois by 10 points in the Croke Park final. "It was a lot of the lads' first time up in the Joe McDonagh Cup, it's a young team compared to previous years, so that first game definitely had a huge impact," said full-back Boran. "That was a tough one, we took it pretty hard but in fairness to the lads they showed the right attitude. Kerry are a good team as well. But we took that beating to heart and came back stronger. We had to up the physicality for the next game against Westmeath."
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
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I'm GAA star who worked with Ger Brennan in his first inter-county job – he was destined to be Dublin football manager
'BIG COUP' I'm GAA star who worked with Ger Brennan in his first inter-county job – he was destined to be Dublin football manager AS Dublin look to Ger Brennan to be their messiah, the new Sky Blues boss has already shown that God is in the details. Brennan's first inter-county role was with Carlow, where he served as coach following Niall Carew's appointment as manager in 2020. 2 Ger Brennan's first inter-county job was as a coach with Carlow Credit: Matt Browne/Sportsfile 2 Darragh Foley has fond memories of that time Credit: Matt Browne/Sportsfile Advertisement And Barrowsiders stalwart Darragh Foley has fond memories of working with the man who recently succeeded Dessie Farrell as Dubs gaffer. Foley told SunSport: 'It was very enjoyable with Ger, even though it was only for a year. 'You could tell by the standards he set and the way he went about things that he was always destined for big jobs. 'Ger would never have said it but I'd imagine the Dublin gig is one he had his eyes on from a long time out. He's earned that job and I think he'll be a big success. Advertisement 'He's a fella who does well in anything he turns his hand to.' Brennan was persuaded to get involved with Carlow by Carew, who first encountered the former Dublin defender when he played under the Kildare native at Maynooth University. Foley continued: 'It was a big coup from Niall to get someone like Ger in as a coach. 'You could tell it was something he was really buying into and he was always ultra- professional. He was just very detail-oriented. Advertisement 'Going into every session, you knew what it was going to entail before you got there. 'You were sent the details of it that day and that kind of thing is great for players when you know exactly what you're going to be facing. Henry Shefflin among GAA stars at Oasis gigs where Man City tradition made its Croke Park debut 'That was my first experience of that, where you got that information beforehand. 'He's also hungry to be successful. He's a winner, it's in his character and that rubs off on lads too. I'm delighted he got a big job and I'd say he'll do very well.' Carlow's all-time top scorer first crossed paths with Brennan — who had just won the first of his two All-Ireland SFC medals — in a win for Dublin in the 2012 O'Byrne Cup. Advertisement And Foley, 34, recalled: 'We were actually marking each other, which was an experience in itself! 'Ger was an unbelievable footballer but he was tough as nails as well. To be coached by him then later on in my career was great. 'He was really good at dealing with players especially. He'd always touch base with you during the week just to make sure everything was good. 'Even since Ger stepped away, any time we got a good result with Carlow or if there were personal things, he'd always drop you a text. 'Ger is so busy in his own life but those little touches are a testament to the man he is.' Advertisement 'INTERESTING' Brennan's stock in management rose this summer when he led Louth to a first Leinster SFC title 68 years. But bringing glory to Dublin is his next assignment. Foley added: 'Ger comes from St Vincent's, which is one of the traditionally strongest clubs in Dublin. 'Their ethos is very much about letting the ball do the work and that would have been his message to us in Carlow as well. 'Louth were more of a counter-attacking team but that just shows his strength. He's able to adapt to the players available to him. Advertisement 'I'm sure for Ger, the backroom team he puts together with Dublin and the players he has, their aim will be to get back and win All-Irelands. 'There have probably been at least four or five teams in that mix over the last couple of years. 'It will make for a very interesting 2026, to see how it plays out.'
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Ciarán Murphy: Scrolling my brain into obsolescence in pursuit of GAA nirvana
I decided last week that it would be a good idea to follow Clubber , one of the online streaming services that allows us to watch so much club GAA weekend after weekend, on Instagram . I spend hours on the infernal app any way, and get fed seemingly endless GAA-related videos while I'm there, so I thought I may as well put my relationship with this stuff on an official footing. I did not reckon, however, with the sheer avalanche of scores, stripped of all context and meaning, that came my way. Clonguish have scored a goal! Rhode have scored five goals in a half! Aaron Masterson has hit a two-pointer from 60 yards out for Moorefield! I didn't necessarily know what any of that meant, but I found myself scrolling along regardless. Do Clonguish need a win in their group? Are they in a group? Clonguish is in Longford, right? READ MORE I found all of a sudden that the Clubber Instagram account was a thrilling metaphor for my use of the internet more generally. It is a 30-second dopamine hit, which you ingest, blank-eyed, before the algorithm throws up its next offering. No real information is offered, beyond the minimum. It doesn't matter. The only important thing is that you keep watching. This is the internet now. Faced with the prospect of having all of humanity's accumulated wisdom at my fingertips at every waking moment of every day, I choose instead to rewatch a TJ Reid assist for a Ballyhale goal 20 times in a row. If you haven't seen it, by the way, it was genuinely beautiful. Reid moves out from the full forward position to collect a long delivery, stuns the ball on his hurley and then plays a pass to Brian Cody without taking the ball into his hand at all. Cody gave the move the finish it deserved, but it was an absolutely mesmeric piece of skill from Reid, and without Clubber and its ilk, we just wouldn't have ever seen it. So there's no doubt that having cameras at all these games is a gift. But last Monday, it had become overwhelming. I found myself thinking that what I need is for someone to explain all this to me, as slowly as they could manage it. Never mind the endless stream of scores; give me some of the backstory. How many times can Tipperary's prolific John McGrath find the back of the net before christmas. Photograph: Inpho Would Celbridge be expected to beat Johnstownbridge? How many more goals can John McGrath be expected to score between here and Christmas? Is it wrong that I don't know how the Longford senior football championship is set up? Surely an hour-long television show, dedicated solely to explaining county boards and how they run off their senior championships, has broad crossover appeal? Right? And as I asked myself that final question, I realised that I had become just another old white dude radicalised online. The people watching Clonguish are those who don't need to have the Longford senior football championship explained. They've probably been watching it their whole lives. Stream Sport got my money this week to watch my home club Milltown draw with Corofin in a thrilling group game in the Galway senior football championship. I didn't need to be told what that meant. The club GAA season is more than just a 30-second clip of a ridiculous point kicked by a player you barely recognise, but that's how many of us now consume it. The economics of the GAA club coverage ecosystem might seem precarious, but the success of Stream Sport, who have deals with the county boards of Mayo, Galway, Donegal, Limerick and others, or Clubber, suggests otherwise. Two separate Mayo football podcasts tweeted about experiencing unprecedented listenership and uptake on the back of their coverage of the county's club championships last week. Maybe the key defining characteristic of the internet as it has been structured over the last 25 years is the realisation that no matter how weird or perverted your taste is in anything, there is someone out there thinking the exact same thing (which has not been a net benefit to humanity, to put it mildly.) This is what club games being streamed on the internet screams to me. I know I'm a Grade 7 GAA nutjob. I don't need to be told it was weird how invested I got in Fourmilewater's thrilling late comeback against Abbeyside in the Waterford senior hurling championship last Saturday. But I also know that there are more severe cases than me out there – I'm related to at least one Grade 9, and that number might be conservative. Maybe, instead of belittling the idea of an hour of television, even if it's internet television, dedicated to the group stages of the Offaly senior football championship and other like-minded sporting competitions, I should lean in. Sure, I'm a weirdo, but I know I'm hardly lacking for company. Show me some goals, and then tell me what it all means. Tell me what the hell Graigue Ballycallan need to do from here to get into the Kilkenny senior hurling final. Get Neil deGrasse Tyson on a Zoom call to explain the more complicated competition structures. Maybe I've opened up a whole new vista of broadcasting opportunity for these companies, or maybe it sounds like a lot of work when they know I'll be staring at my phone regardless, scrolling my brain into obsolescence.
