Dublin GAA star's link to RTÉ presenter mum — who admits it's ‘hard to watch' him play
A Dublin GAA star's mum has admitted that it's 'hard to watch' her son play — particularly after she tried her hand as Bainisteóir.
Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne emerged as a rising star in the Dublin senior team, after he won an All-Ireland U20 title with the county, which he captained, in 2019.
Making his senior debut that same year under legendary manager Jim Gavin, Peadar's mum Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh — who took Nobber GFC to the semi-final of Celebrity Bainisteóir 2010 — admitted that while she's proud of her son, it's sometimes hard to watch your son in a game as physical as GAA. Dublin's rising star Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne's mum Bláthnaid has admitted that it's hard watching her son play. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
'I'm very proud,' Bláthnaid told RSVP. 'It is hard to watch as a mother though. If they get a belt, you want to kill the person that hit them, it is human nature. If the referee is talking to him, you are wondering what he said.
'The younger lads are playing together on the club minor team as well, pride is a great thing,' she continued. 'When I think of Peader, I think of all his pals and of course you want them to continue.
'When you are in the thick, everything is important but you take the next thing as it comes because there are injuries… he's very competitive and happy, and he's good at football.' Bláthnaid recently spoke about her son being a senior GAA player, admitting that it is a bit scary at times. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos
Peadar recently spoke about wanting to fill the void left by county captain Brian Fenton, who announced his retirement last November, as well as James McCarthy, who himself retired a few weeks prior.
'They are tough boots to fill. Playing with James and Brian was a pleasure,' Brian said ahead of the All Ireland club final. ' I know there are a lot of lads there. Ethan Dunne is a young fellow coming up, Tom Lahiff and myself.
'There were a lot of lads chomping at the bit and trying to get the jersey off the lads, trying to compete with them and that made us better as a team. That was great but now they're gone.' Peadar admitted that he has some big shoes to fill, particularly following the retirements of James McCarthy and Brian Fenton (pictured). Pic: INPHO/James Crombie
'I have not been involved yet so I don't even know who is even there at the moment … Even with the new rules and stuff, I am sure it will be quite different. I know that it is going to be a massive loss for the team, character-wise.'
Bláthnaid and her husband Ciarán Byrne have four children together — with her previously trying her hand in the GAA as a manager on Celebrity Bainisteóir, managing Nobber. She ultimately lost in the semi-final, with Derek Burke and Castleisland Diamonds beating Mairéad Farrell and Ballymun Kickhams in the final.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
17 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Leinster SHC final: Unflappable Kilkenny can contain the Galway bounce-back
Leinster GAA SHC final Kilkenny v Galway, Croke Park, Sunday 4pm Are Galway becoming a bit like the three-card trick merchants? Every year is the one that's going to be different. Honest. It has been some resurrection for Micheál Donoghue's team to proceed from the vacuous display in Nowlan Park seven weeks ago to being quietly reinstated as contenders for this weekend. Kilkenny in Leinster finals have been a constant source of grief for the westerners since they moved into the province. One win in eight is the running total, allowing that in 2018 the first match was a draw and they eventually won after a replay. Nearly all of those were comprehensive defeats or spectacular self-infliction, like 2020 and 2023. There is, however, some logic to the Galway revisions. They caned a Dublin team that Kilkenny had laboured to put away and even if the Dubs were unfathomably poor two weeks ago, their opponents' vigilant pressing and tactical nous were influential in forcing that. READ MORE Goals are again an issue, in that of the six teams in the Leinster round robin, only Antrim managed fewer green flags than Galway but no side has hit more points. Of course, when Donoghue guided the county to the 2017 All-Ireland, they notably scored no goals in four of their five championship matches. This, predictably, isn't a concern for their opponents, who with 15 have top-scored in championship goals to date. The team hasn't been tweaked much, let alone overhauled, but Derek Lyng continues to get the most out of them. Injuries have stalked selections and Eoin Cody is missing again with hamstring trouble but TJ Reid perseveres and has bagged 4-22 in the last three matches, 3-2 from play. There was the now traditional reverse against Wexford on the last day but that was a dead rubber from Kilkenny's perspective. For that match, Lyng ran an experiment of Adrian Mullen at centre back. It may have been whimsy but presumably there was some level of curiosity as to how the unusual placing of an All Star front eight player would fare and how sustainable the attack might be in his absence. The challenge for Galway is how dependable their opponents are. Kilkenny are on a six-in-a-row in Leinster despite having hardly impacted on the All-Ireland championship during that time. They will turn up and play to a guaranteed level. [ Galway's Cathal Mannion only too aware of Kilkenny's extra-time threat Opens in new window ] They will be more attentive in marking Galway's players and not leaving the gaps that Dublin did nor yielding the same stream of turnovers. David Burke had an excellent match in Parnell Park and his distribution will be a key factor for them. Donoghue has a good record in Leinster finals, having won two titles in three years during his first tenure. They will press hard and in the repurposed Conor Whelan and the prolific Cathal Mannion they have All Star quality forwards in form. Kilkenny's consistency and application, however, look more persuasive. Verdict : Kilkenny Kilkenny : E. Murphy; M Butler, H Lawlor, T Walsh; M Carey, R Reid, P Deegan; C Kenny, J Molloy; J Donnelly, A Mullen, B Ryan; S Donnelly, TJ Reid, M Keoghan. Subs : A Tallis, P Moylan, D Blanchfield, S Murphy, K Doyle, Z Bay Hammond, F Mackessy, H Shine, L Hogan, L Connellan, M Murphy. Galway : E Murphy; P Mannion, Daithí Burke, F Burke; C Fahy, G Lee, TJ Brennan; S Linnane, David Burke; J Fleming, C Mannion, T Monaghan; C Whelan, B Concannon, K Cooney. Subs : D Walsh, D Morrissey, J Grealish, J Ryan, D Loftus, R Glennon, C Cooney, T Killeen, A Burns, C Molloy, J Flynn.
Irish Times
18 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Comedian Emma Doran on her Leaving Cert: ‘I had just given birth to my daughter 13 days before'
When and where did you sit the Leaving Cert exams? 2003. I went to school at Sancta Maria College in Dublin. I had just given birth to my daughter 13 days before, so I was in a room alone with a supervisor. What is your most vivid Leaving Cert memory? Opening English Paper 1 on the first day, and panic setting in that I wouldn't be able to do it. I was reading it, but nothing was sinking in. I took a deep breath and had a talk to myself. Who was your most influential teacher and why? My drama teacher, Ms Martin, told me I'd be good on television and I never forgot it. I had loads of really kind teachers in sixth year. Another teacher, Ms Hiney, even offered me childcare if I needed it, so that I could do my exams. What was your most difficult subject? Probably honours Irish. I learned an essay that I was doing regardless of what title came up. If it wasn't past tense, I knew I was pretty much lost. READ MORE And your favourite? I loved art, and the fact that you could be tipping away at it all year, and it didn't all come down to one exam. Can you recall what grades or points you received? I forget my PIN for my bank card most days, but I know I got 335 points. How important were the results for you ultimately? At the time, they were very important. I didn't want to repeat the Leaving and put myself under huge pressure to make sure I got into a degree course. In my mind, I had to get a degree and get a good job. I started at the school as a teenager and finished it as a single mother. Getting 'enough' points was a huge personal focus. If I got what I needed, then in my mind, it meant I wasn't a complete failure. What did you go on to do after secondary school? I went to IADT [Institute of Art, Design and Technology] and did a degree in business and arts management. What would you change about the Leaving Cert? Ask me in six years when my son is doing it! What advice would you give to your Leaving Cert self? I don't think 18-year-old me would listen to 40-year-old me, and she'd start asking me what questions came up. I could tell my 18-year-old self that the Leaving Cert doesn't matter, but I feel that would be unfair. In the context of my life [back then], it felt very important. You can't teach hindsight. In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea. Emma Doran's UK and Ireland tour, Emmaculate , begins next September.
Irish Times
21 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Joyce on Trial - Frank McNally on a landmark libel case of 1954
When Gerry Adams took his successful libel action against the BBC in a Dublin court recently, reader Ronan Dodd reminds me, he was following a path that had been trod as far back as the 1950s, in a landmark case involving James Joyce. Joyce was dead by then, but his writings lived on. And when BBC radio's Third Programme marked the 50th anniversary of Bloomsday with a dramatisation of Paddy Dignam's funeral, it was sued by one Reuben J Dodd Jnr, from whom Ronan is laterally descended. Reuben J Jnr had been a classmate of Joyce in Belvedere College. Unfortunately, the two did not get on, continuing a feud that originated with their fathers, Reuben J Dodd Snr and John Joyce respectively. The older Joyce borrowed money from the older Dodd in the 1890s and seems to have been quite resentful that Dodd expected it to be paid back. The younger Joyce inherited the grudge. And when writing Ulysses, one of the great literary masterpieces of 20th century, he managed to include this personal vendetta, using the protagonists' real names. READ MORE Hence he has the Dignam funeral cortege pass Dodd Snr on what is now O'Connell Street, teeing up some casual anti-semitism from the mourners (even though Dodd was a Christian). 'Of the tribe of Reuben,' says Martin Cunningham, nodding towards the footpath. His gaze is followed there by Simon Dedalus, Joyce's fictionalised father, who speaks in the direction of the 'stumping' figure: 'The devil break the hasp of your back!' A conversation on money-lending ensues. The Joyces, senior and junior, were regularly in debt. In the earlier Nestor episode of Ulysses, where the author's alter ego Stephen collects his wages as a teacher from the bigoted northern schoolmaster Mr Deasy, the theme of insolvency also features. Deasy argues that the proudest boast of any Englishman is 'I paid my way', and challenges his young teacher: 'Can you feel that? I owe nothing . Can you?' Whereupon Stephen does a quick mental reckoning: Mulligan, nine pounds, three pairs of socks, one pair brogues, ties. Curran, ten guineas. McCann, one guinea. Fred Ryan, two shillings. Temple, two lunches. Russell, one guinea. Cousins, ten shillings, Bob Reynolds, half a guinea, Kohler, three guineas, five weeks' board… For the moment, no, Stephen answered. But the immediate source of the eventual libel case was not the debt. It was a story recalled by Leopold Bloom, who is also in the funeral carriage, and who himself will later be the subject of anti-semitism (although technically not Jewish either). It was based on real events too, although they hadn't happened yet then. In most ways meticulously faithful to the Dublin of 1904, Joyce in this case backdated an incident from 1911 for the purposes of his family feud. What is beyond dispute about the events in question is that on 26th August 1911, Reuben J Dodd jumped into the River Liffey. In Ulysses, this is presented as a suicide attempt. In the 1954 case (for which the plaintiff's lawyer was a young Ulick O'Connor) Dodd argued that, on the contrary, he was just trying to save his hat, which had been blown into the river. His father, with whom he had been in conversation or argument beforehand, was nearby on the quays. But it fell to a heroic docker, Moses Goldin (an ironic name in the circumstances, since it suggests he was Jewish, although I can't find that confirmed anywhere), to drag Dood Jnr to safety. Goldin was a serial saver of lives, apparently. According to the Daily Worker, which wrote an editorial about the incident, he had rescued 'some twenty' people from similar situations. Suffering from heart problems by the time he fetched Dodd Jnr out of the water, he lived in a slum with his wife and four children, and ended up in hospital from exposure after his latest heroics. But the main point of the Daily Worker's write-up, gleefully amplified by Joyce via Bloom – wad Dodd Snr's alleged meanness. When prompted to reward the docker, he settled on a sum of two shillings and sixpence. 'Mr Dodd thinks his son is worth half-a -crown,' sneered the DW editorial. In Ulysses, this is downgraded to a 'florin' (two shillings). 'One and eightpence too much,' quips Simon Dedalus, provoking laughter in the carriage until they all remember they're at a funeral and decorum is resumed. The 1954/5 libel suit did not trouble a judge, eventually. As Joycean scholar Pat Callan writes in a paper on the subject: 'The BBC settled as it did not wish to have an Irish court determine if a potential libel was committed at the point of reception or the point of transmission.' Dodd Jnr thereby became the only character in Ulysses to win a case for defamation arising from the novel. Joyce had died 13 years earlier. But while alive, he knew that in Ulysses he had given certain hostages to fortune. That may be one of the reasons why, after leaving Dublin in 1912, he never again came home.
