Kerry pushed all the way by Cavan in thrilling All-Ireland MFC quarter-final
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
24 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
GAA player lands jaw-dropping score from close to centre of pitch in club game
The raft of new rules in Gaelic football have transformed the game with 2025 proving to be one of the most entertaining and attacking football Championships in memory. The two point arc has been a key part of that and not without controversy either as the club game takes centre stage. The Fermanagh senior league final ended in controversial circumstances as two 'two-pointers' were incorrectly awarded and that decided the outcome. We had quite the opposite in the Kildare Senior Football Championship which was screened on Clubber TV over the weekend. Moorefield beat Allenwood in the group stages and the game featured one of the longest range scores you are ever likely to see in GAA. Forget about two-point range, this maybe deserved a three point tally on the scoreboard. Aaron Masterson of Moorefield won a free kick just beyond the 65 metre line, some 71 yards from goal. He was struggling for options, so decided to take a few strides forward and thump it long with the outside of the boot with a small wind at his back. Incredibly, the ball sailed comfortable over the crossbar on the way to a 2-16 to 0-15 win for Moorefield. "Masterson has the accuracy, has the distance, a supreme two-pointer," beamed the commentator. It's impossible to tell which direct scores have been from the longest distance in football history but Masterson's effort rivals anything in recent times. It is not unusual to see a long range punt bounce over from way out but Masterson's effort went directly over. Kerry and St Mary's ace Bryan Sheehan was one of the best kickers of a ball in the history of the game and in 2009 he sent over two free kicks off the ground which were measured at 67 yards against Dr Crokes in Killarney for his club. It was thought to be the longest range direct free kick score ever recorded in Gaelic football at that stage. Sean O'Shea may be the best place kicker in the game right now and in 2022 he scored the winner for Kerry against Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final from about 55m out at Croke Park with a free. Masterson's appears to be beyond both Kingdom stars, but it could be surpassed and thankfully in the advent of streaming services, there should be a camera there to capture the magic.
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
David Clifford hoping to see Jack O'Connor back with Kerry in 2026
Kerry star David Clifford is hopeful Jack O'Connor will be in charge of the Kingdom in 2026 for their back-to-back assault on the Sam Maguire. In the aftermath of their All-Ireland final win over Donegal, O'Connor, who has never managed to retain the famed trophy despite his illustrious CV, hinted that his third spell in charge of the county may be coming to an end – but his answer certainly wasn't emphatic and Clifford is hopeful that he'll sign up for another season. "It would be great if we could keep it the same way it was for last year," he told RTÉ Sport as he picked up his latest PwC GAA/GPA Footballer of the Month award following his superb performances in July. "I thought we had a brilliant set-up so hopefully they'll figure things out." Clifford's latest individual award will be followed by more in the coming months with an All-Star locked in while he will be short-listed for the Player of the Year award, having won it in two of the last three seasons already. The Fossa man received an extraordinary amount of media coverage in the build-up to the final, but a nine-point haul pointed to a man unperturbed by what was said beforehand – and he feels that playing in the current era may help with that. "I don't know whether I've been lucky or unlucky in the fact that when I started playing it was the social media age, there's been a lot of hype all the time. "Not that it's always being there, but there's a bit of external noise, you try not to listen to it too much. "I wouldn't have put any major pressure on myself coming into the final, I felt we had a good game-plan, I felt we had a good chance coming into the game, satisfied with how we prepared." When the Allianz League rolls around at the start of next year, Clifford will just have turned 27 and arguably will be entering his prime years. What more can come from a man already considered by many to be the greatest of all time? Offering a note of caution, Clifford pointed out that Michael Owen once said that his prime came when he was 17 and the Kerry attacker said that he by no means feels that he is the finished article. "You have doubts every day, 'am I still good enough?' I think everybody has those. It's natural to have doubts in all walks of life. "We didn't actually put much attention on winning the All-Ireland this year. That was our goal of course, but as boring as it sounds, we actually did take it game by game – we didn't mention the All-Ireland much, we didn't talk about it." Much has been made of Clifford's incredible total of 8-62 in this year's championship, but equally as impressive was the side's ability to crank up their two-point returns. In the first half of the final, they took 11 two-point attempts, Clifford landing three and winning the free for the other successful attempt converted by free-taker Seán O'Shea. On their way to the Division 1 title in the spring, the orange flag barely fluttered with 14 in their eight games. Nine championship games, by contrast, brought 31 with Clifford registering 12 in all. "It evolved as the weather got better, when the air is hotter the ball can travel a bit further," said Clifford, who will be mindful of such dynamics when playing in the Irish Open pro-am next month. "Throughout the league with wet footballs, wet days, it's harder to kick them. "It's (still) day by day, game by game, we put a focus on it like we did all the other aspects that mattered."
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
David Clifford hopes Jack O'Connor 'might reverse his decision' on Kerry future
David Clifford says the Kerry players would love All-Ireland winning manager Jack O'Connor to 'reverse his decision' and to stay on for a shot at back-to-back titles. O'Connor completed his fourth season in his third spell as senior manager when Kerry defeated Donegal in last month's Croke Park decider. In all, the south Kerry man has managed the county senior team for 11 seasons across a 21-year period between 2004 and 2025. Speaking immediately after the most recent All-Ireland win, O'Connor told that he'd 'enjoyed it but I'm a long time at it now so we'll see. We'll leave somebody else at it'. The following morning, whilst speaking to reporters at the Kerry team hotel, O'Connor expanded on his situation and said he was close to quitting after a 'particularly tough' 2024. PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month for July in football, David Clifford of Kerry, with his award at PwC offices in Dublin. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile "I'm not sure I can put myself through that stuff again," he said, promising to make a decision sooner rather than later and not to 'keep people hanging on'. Iconic attacker Clifford, favourite to land a third Footballer of the Year award, said the panel would love the Dromid Pearses man to remain as manager for 2026. "Absolutely, absolutely," said Clifford, who is the PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month in football for July after starring in the semi-final and final wins over Tyrone and Donegal. "I haven't actually been talking to him much in the last few weeks. It's just been kind of busy but look, we'd love for him to stay on. He's the man for the job at the moment. Hopefully he might reverse his decision and stay on." O'Connor overhauled his backroom team ahead of the 2025 season and also had to navigate extensive rule changes this year though still managed to get his hands on the Sam Maguire Cup for the fifth time as manager. "Probably his biggest strength is that he's very honest," said Clifford of the 64-year-old retired schoolteacher. "You kind of always know where you stand with him, whether it's a positive or negative thing, as in that he's going to be telling you how it is. So that's a big positive. And look, he's just very wise, I suppose. "There's not many things that can happen throughout the year that he hasn't experienced before. He seems to know, generally, when to panic or when not to panic, or when to keep it calm. It's just probably his wisdom that is the thing and he's good fun around the place. "He keeps it light-hearted when it needs to be light-hearted and serious when it's serious. That's probably the big thing."
