
All-Ireland winner slams Joe Brolly for claiming Donegal GAA star ‘got what he deserved' in post-Ulster final brawl
EAMON McGEE clapped back at Joe Brolly after he suggested the Donegal player who appeared to set off the brawl after the Ulster final "got what he deserved".
There were ugly scenes after the
2
Eamon McGee hit back at Joe Brolly's assessment of the brawl that took place after the Ulster final
Credit: Sportsfile
2
Joe Brolly suggested the player that set off the fight got what he deserved
Credit: Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile
Video circulated on social media
which some claim shows
a Donegal player celebrating in the direction of the Orchard sideline, which led to an
.
Former Derry GAA star and RTE pundit Joe Brolly gave his take on the controversial incident on his
Free State
podcast, and suggested the player got what he deserved.
He said: "He got really what he deserved, the kid.
"He shouldn't be at it. I appreciate that it is beyond the boundaries to go knocking the head off him.
Read More on GAA
He continued: "You would think if that happened in a big rugby game that there would be any other outcome than that?
"It was way outside what was acceptable and I will happily defend the Armagh subs if it ever came to it."
The take drew plenty of reaction, including from All-Ireland winner McGee, who insisted more should be made of the Armagh reaction.
He tweeted: "Should be less talk about what the Donegal player said or did and more talk about the mob that descended on him."
Most read in GAA Football
Saturday was Jim McGuinness' fifth provincial title as manager, having lost five finals as a player.
And he was
Gardai investigating as GAA fans engage in brawl in shop
McGuinness said: 'Yeah, they're all very unique. They're all as special as the next one. And you're in a packed house out there and the sun's shining. And, you know, we all travelled to Ulster finals as children. And that's the moment.
'The house is full and the sun is shining. Somebody's going to win and somebody, unfortunately, is not going to win.
'We had a lot of days against Armagh, in many respects, where we were out the wrong side of it.
"A lot of days I played in Ulster finals. So they're very special.'
Donegal go into an All-Ireland SFC series group with Tyrone, Cavan and Mayo.
And McGuinness continued: 'We will enjoy tonight, enjoy that with our families — and refocus then as quickly as we can because another competition is going to start now.
'But we're not talking much about that tonight. I'm just proud of them, proud of the way they went about it and kept going to the very end. And they're entitled to celebrate.'
McGuinness condemned the ugly scenes that marred the end of their victory.
He said: 'I don't have a perspective on that. It's not nice to see. It shouldn't happen.
"I was giving my daughter a hug at the time. I didn't see what happened, but it shouldn't be in the game.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Kilkenny dominate Leinster but questions remain about readiness for All-Ireland semi-final
Kilkenny would have you believe this championship is more three-legged stool than two-pony field. We know the sturdiness of the Cork and Limerick legs. Their robustness was reexamined and reaffirmed on Saturday night. The third leg, though, remains without weight pressed down upon it. Kilkenny bookended another Cup-on-the-bus Leinster campaign with another comfortable victory over Galway. An aggregate 20-point winning margin against their supposed closest challenger. Cork and Limerick players watched Saturday's penalty shootout sitting on their backsides such was the collective exhaustion from 90 minutes of on-the-edge and over-the-edge combat. Kilkenny, a day later, skipped out of Leinster with an average winning margin of eight points. Aside from 20 second-half minutes against Dublin in Round 4 and 11 minutes from Galway yesterday, Kilkenny had no honours level Leaving Cert paper put in front of them. They've not been extended or exhausted by anyone. Limerick, barring an upset, will be their All-Ireland semi-final opponents in four weeks' time. Right now, Kilkenny, through no fault of their own, are thoroughly unprepared for that exam. Derek Lyng, as you'd expect, took a different view. 'I think we have,' he replied when asked if Kilkenny have been sufficiently road tested in reaching the second last weekend of the championship. 'From the start of the Leinster campaign, we're always spoken about as being favourites. But we put a huge amount of work into each game, and we prepare for each game like any other. It doesn't matter who you're playing. 'It's probably taken for granted that we're going to go out and win these games, but a huge amount of work goes into it, particularly from the players. We've been tested in different games, at different stages. 'We lost to Wexford, and Dublin we would have been disappointed with a spell in that game as well, and likewise today, so, regardless of who we are playing, we know we're going to have to find another gear or two for the next day. We go into a knockout phase. Everything ramps up. 'We're Leinster champions, and that was the objective, but at the same time, we know we've a lot of work to do.' Lyng is excited to roll up the sleeves and commence that work. Kilkenny's League concluded on March 9. They had six weeks to themselves before the championship threw in. They threw in with a 12-point hammering of Galway. Lyng will hope this second block of training will have at the end a performance to surpass that of Nowlan Park on the championship's opening weekend. It will need to if they are to be involved in the championship's closing weekend. 'This year we've had a very competitive squad and training has been really good, so we just need to probably pick it up again. During the campaign, you don't really get a chance for lots of games [in-house]. You're going week to week, it's nearly about recovery more than anything else. 'But in the run-up to the Leinster campaign, we had a good run at it, and coming into the first game against Galway, we had a lot of work done. We hit the ground running, and we need to get back to that now, use the next couple of weeks to build that momentum again and raise the standard. 'It's a great place to be. The alternative was you'd be out in two weeks and it would be do-or-die.' They were never in danger of being back out in two weeks. Fintan Burke batted away the first three balls that rained down on top of him and TJ Reid. But Reid's 33rd minute catch drew a game-ending save from Éanna Murphy and rebound finish from Martin Keoghan. After Galway's 1-6 burst to bring the margin to four, it was TJ who caught Eoin Murphy's puckout and offloaded to Adrian Mullen for the score to break Galway's streak. It was Martin Keoghan who again followed in for his second and the game's decisive goal. At the far end, there was a fielding exhibition from Huw Lawlor. Brian Concannon, in the process, was reduced to anonymity. 'They were massive catches. It's a brilliant skill to have, somebody that can attack the ball and just pluck it from the sky like that. 'I do remember one in particular, he came up the field and Billy Ryan finished off a super score. For any full-back coming out, it's important that he gets it to a teammate because if you're turned over, you have to be careful of that, but it was a great score. 'It's about the team all the time, defending together and attacking together, so Huw was well able to travel up when he needs to. 'I thought the bit of resilience there to take back the game under our control near the end was very positive as well.'


RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
The Sunday Game panel: Kilkenny in the mix to 'go all the way'
It's ten years since Kilkenny last brought home the Liam MacCarthy and while much of the narrative has been about Munster's hegemony since, the panel on The Sunday Game feel that Derek Lyng's side have a great chance to reign supreme come the third weekend in July. On Sunday, the Cats completed a Leinster six-timer when accounting for Galway at Croke Park. They now have four weeks to prepare for an All-Ireland semi-final. But for now, Anthony Daly was quick to credit them for standing tall in the province again. "It's incredible going," he said. "We all mention the era of the round-robin in how you could slip up and get caught but they're the dominant force in the province, great achievement. "I'm delighted for Derek, taking over from Brian (Cody), that was always going to be tough going. I think he's doing a really good job and I think they have a chance of going all the way. I'd be a small bit worried that they lull a bit in a lot of games and they'll have to iron that out. "They have a few weeks off now and we're looking at the potential of a few big clashes down the line. We won't get ahead of ourselves but congrats to them today." Also on the programme, Ursula Jacob spoke about them having to now step it up in a month's time and the strength they have down the spine of their team. "They have obviously been very dominant in Leinster and the challenge is can they drive on from that?," said the former Wexford camogie star. "To win today without Eoin Cody, who is one of their star players, was really impressive. "Their back line looked very comfortable, maybe part of that was down to Galway not applying a whole lot of pressure. They looked very impressive down the spine; Huw Lawlor was immense, Richie Reid was dominant and then you have TJ (Reid) and Mossy Keoghan scoring goals for fun. The Sunday Game panel believe that this Kilkenny team have played themselves into the contenders conversation for the All-Ireland title. Galway perhaps a touch defensive in their set-up, says Anthony Daly. #rtegaa #TheSundayGame — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 8, 2025 "You have to say that Kilkenny thrive off the space and the pitch at Croke Park. When they get to an All-Ireland semi-final in Croke Park, they are a dangerous animal, and they'll also be hurting from last year's loss to Clare. They will want to show the Munster teams that they are there or thereabouts." Brendan Cummins, who was between the posts for a number of All-Ireland final clashes with Kilkenny, is in no doubt where they stand in the pecking order, when saying: "Kilkenny are definitely in the top three teams in the country". And the prospect of likely facing Munster opposition in the semis will motivate them even more in the view of Cummins. "Last year, Clare had everything to do to beat them. I think they like that fact that everyone talks about Munster hurling. If they end up playing Limerick further down the road, they will be licking their lips at that. Eoin Cody will be back and the narrative will be that you keep the score down as best you can, but Kilkenny are a very proud county. "I don't know the last time someone hammered Kilkenny. There is something inside Kilkenny and it's a long time since they won an All-Ireland and let us be the ones to do that. They have a great chance."


Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Anthony Daly: Cork top my ranking of eight remaining Liam MacCarthy contenders
NO 1. CORK. No matter what happened on Saturday evening, Cork were in the top two for me anyway, but they deserve to occupy top spot, albeit marginally, after the manner of Saturday's win. We all saw afterwards how much the hype train has been cranked into gear and, while Cork will be carried along in that fervour and passion of that hysteria over the next four weeks ahead of an All-Ireland semi-final, it will also be a challenge for Pat Ryan to make sure that the hype train doesn't derail them. This is exclusive subscriber content. Already a subscriber? Sign in Subscribe to access all of the Irish Examiner. Annual €120€60 Best value Monthly €10€4 / month Unlimited access. Subscriber content. Daily ePaper. Additional benefits.