Clare hurling great Tony Griffin is back in the game with Western Gaels
Wicklow People
Today at 07:30
Former Clare star Tony Griffin has found a new home to play his club hurling after a five-year absence from the game he loves, and it is a somewhat surprising destination for the 2006 All Star!
The Ballyhea legend made his debut in the Wicklow Intermediate hurling championship last weekend, firing home 1-3 from play for his adopted club Western Gaels in a fine victory over Arklow Rock Parnells in Echelon Centre of Excellence in Ballinakill on Saturday evening, his goal an absolute peach.
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The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Paudie Clifford slams ‘one-man team' jibes as Kerry silence doubters to land second Sam Maguire in three years
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Irish Examiner
6 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
All-Ireland SFC player ratings: Captain White and magic Cliffords are the cream of the crop
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Jason Foley Tasked with shadowing Michael Murphy as Aidan O'Mahony was in 2014 and was similarly effective in thwarting and frustrating Donegal's greatest ever. Donegal occasionally sought out a 2012 final-like goal but that was never a runner here between the poor delivery and Foley's presence. Also presented himself well for Ryan's kickouts when required. 8. Dylan Casey Showed what they've known on Rock Street for years; his intelligence and temperament are made for Croke Park. Won several key breaks on kickouts to initiate scores that established Kerry's early dominance, and while he gave away a soft free for over-carrying, more than atoned; bettered a series of men he was assigned to, with the manner in which he consistently forced Paddy McBrearty onto his weaker foot testament to the homework both he and the Kerry backroom clearly did. 7.5. Brian Ó Beaglaoich Another typically steady performance to follow his fellow An Gaeltacht No.5s Tomás and Páidí in having multiple Celtic Crosses instead of just the one. 7. Mike Breen Had a bit of a lapse around the 21st minute when a long-range shot of his drifted well wide and then from the kickout he was caught out of position leading to a Donegal point that initiated a 4-0 spurt from them. More than compensated, though by winning two of the next three kickouts that led to Kerry scores. 7. Gavin White All-Ireland final day has seen some remarkable individual wing-back performances but we can't recall anyone before scoring two points to go with an assist inside the first five minutes from that position. Didn't relent; won the first kickout of the second half to initiate a Seánie O'Shea point while when Donegal got back to within four entering the last quarter, White put on the burners again to cut in and fist over his third point, then followed it up by winning a key kickout that extinguished any hope for Donegal. 9. Seán O'Brien When Jack O'Connor won the first of his five All-Irelands, he got a huge performance from a previous unheralded midfielder in William Kirby. O'Brien was that here. Within the opening 12 minutes he'd scored two points, a reward for how he ventured in around the square to both create and attack space. Unrelenting in his workrate. 8. Mark O'Shea A wrecking ball. 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After Donegal reeled off four points to get it back to 0-13-0-8, it was O'Shea who won the next kickout, slowed the play down with the resultant possession, won a free and then pointed it. Also kicked the opening point of the second half – a tricky one, being on the right side off his right foot – to ensure there'd be no falloff from Kerry the way there was from Cork last week, to go with a late two-pointer free to ensure victory. 8. Graham O'Sullivan Completely selfless in his willingness to recycle the ball, lay off to better-positioned and more skilful players, and get in a big hit which Ryan McHugh was never the same after. Underlined that he's no mean footballer by way of a fantastic left-foot pass inside to David Clifford for an insurance score. 7.5. David Clifford A masterclass in efficiency and patience. For the first nine minutes here he hadn't touched the ball, happy to stay at the top right-hand side of the arc and allow Gavin White to cause wreck on the left. But immediately upon getting his hands on the ball he had the umpire raising the orange flag and the Kerry crowd raising a cheer you'd normally associate with a green one. It was just a taste of what was to come. Finished with nine points, the same as Maurice in '97 – only all of his here were from play. 9. Paudie Clifford If it wasn't for the other this would go down as the Clifford final. But because both of them were as majestic as the other they'll just have to settle for it being the Cliffords final. David might have kicked three two-pointers while Paudie missed three of them, yet Paudie was as pivotal as the brother here for being The Pivot, dismantling the Donegal zone. Ran the game. 9. Paudie Clifford of Kerry in action against Jamie Brennan of Donegal the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Kerry and Donegal at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile Dylan Geaney His best game in Croke Park this year, kicking three points out of an attempted four, including the opening score of the day. 7.5. Subs (7) Didn't quite have to be the game-changing unit they have been in previous games but still ensured there was no drop-off. Diarmuid O'Connor (6) and his persistence was rewarded with his introduction here whereby he broke several tackles. Evan Looney (7) made a great blockdown and though Killian Spillane (6) didn't get his customary point, he's kicked enough earlier this year and over the years to justify a second senior All-Ireland medal after the minor one he won here 11 years ago. By Kieran Shannon DONEGAL Shaun Patton Patton's kickouts have been pivotal to Donegal but Kerry targeted the St Eunan's keeper's restarts and had huge return on that investment, especially in the opening third of the game when this final was broken open. Conceded the goal to Joe O'Connor late on when the game was over and done. 6. Finnbarr Roarty Part of a defence that just couldn't solve the conundrum Kerry posed. Had a shot blocked when Donegal needed early momentum, harshly penalised for a challenge on Dylan Geaney late in the first-half when the Ulster side were straining to remake a game of it. Just one of those days at the end of such a brilliant breakthrough season. 5. Brendan McCole One of the best man-markers in the business, McCole stuck to David Clifford like Superglue and still coughed up nine points to the Fossa genius, six from two-pointers. Now ask yourself this: what did he do wrong? Clifford's two-pointer on the half-time hooter typified what was the impossible job. 6. Peadar Mogan Mogan has been a huge threat for Donegal going forward despite the number on his back but Jack O'Connor named him and McHugh afterwards in the context of how little a mark they made going forward, and that Kerry's own attack had been the reason behind it. Hammers being hammered. 5. Ryan McHugh Such a source of strength and momentum for Donegal, McHugh struggled to make a mark early doors but his dog work had helped create two scores from turnovers in the second quarter even as he seemed to be suffering with injury. Started the second-half but came off soon after with injury. 5. Eoghan Bán Gallagher The Killybegs man never got to put his stamp on the game with Kerry dominating the skies and pouring through the middle third on the ground. Death by a thousand small battles lost for him and for Donegal as a whole. 5. Caolan McColgan Part of such a testing, intense Donegal defence, McColgan only lasted until half-time when he was replaced by Hugh McFadden. 5. Caolan McGonagle Brought in to the named 15 as a more defensive option, obviously with the David Clifford threat in mind. You would have to wonder if the choice of that extra security blanket fed subconsciously into the collective's minds. Either way, it didn't work. 5. Michael Langan Had 1-23 to his name from play up to this decider but this wasn't Langan's day. Made some brilliant high catches but his failure to get on the scoreboard was symbolic of Donegal's day with only six doing so when 10 or 12 is their norm. 5. Shane O'Donnell Worked his socks off all day. Covered a huge amount of ground and was one of those whose dirty work gave Donegal something of a foothold after their slow start. The St Eunan's man also claimed two points. No regrets. 7. Ciarán Thompson You work and you work and you work for years on end through the dirty days and dirtier nights and then you come off injured on All-Ireland final day after just 23 minutes. Had struggled to get to grips with the game like everyone else on his side up to that. 5. Ciarán Moore Man-of-the-match in the All-Ireland semi-final stroll against Meath, this was a very different proposition. Found himself on a bit more ball after the interval but, all told, left little enough imprint on the game over the 70 minutes. 5. Conor O'Donnell Donegal's top scorer from play with four points on the day, O'Donnell made sure to bring a season of fine form into the biggest of days. Add his work rate into the bargain and he was superb. He even cleared a shot off his own line. Ends the championship with 3-24 from play. 8. Michael Murphy Some big moments from the big man: a huge catch here, a dispossession for one of his own two points from play there. Kicked his dead balls with a minimum of fuss aside from one bad miss off the post but gave away one bad turnover and was quiet in the second-half. 7. Oisín Gallen Looked Donegal's most dangerous attacker early on. Scored their first point that looked at the time to be a settler. Added two more before being called ashore with 20 minutes to go. Strange. May be that he was done after a huge amount of work off the ball. 7. Subs (7) me very positive input off the bench, even if the cavalry arrived too late. Jason McGee roared into the game. Daire O Baoill made key interventions as he found the pace of the game and Hugh McFadden, like McGee, evened things out in the air when he came on. Captain Patrick McBrearty couldn't match those impacts and the dye was set by the time Jamie Brennan made it inside the white lines. By Brendan O'Brien
Irish Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Jack O'Connor has 'no idea' how David Clifford deals with weight of expectation
Jack O'Connor says he doesn't know how David Clifford deals with the pressure as he hailed the Kerry super stars 'unique temperament' following yesterday's stunning All-Ireland final triumph. Clifford spent long spells out of the game, being man marked by Donegal's Brendan McCole, but he still finished with nine points from play. The Fossa man's haul included three two pointers from play - and from a total of seven shots he hit the target six times. Already a double Footballer of the Year, the 26 year old looks nailed on to land the biggest gong in Gaelic football for a third time. O'Connor (64) also spoke about the aftermath of Kerry's All-Ireland round robin defeat by Meath, a time when 'life wasn't pleasant for me,' and addressed his own future, saying it could be his 'last hurrah.' But, he was fulsome in his praise for Clifford, who was winning a second Celtic Cross. The five-time All Star, who has a sixth in the bag, was criticised in some quarters for his display in the 2023 All-Ireland Final defeat by Dublin - unfairly in a lot of eyes. That added to the pressure on him coming into his first final since then, but he fairly came up with the goods when it mattered most. And now it seems certain he will go on to win more All-Irelands under the new rules. 'David has a unique temperament,' said O'Connor. 'He just takes it all in his stride. Of course he must have felt pressure and he knew he was going to get a lot of heat. 'But we spoke about it during the week and he said, look, if I'm double-marked and triple-marked, I'll just win it and slip it. 'He's humble enough to create scores for other people and he was a massive part of our win out there because he kicked two two-pointers. 'Particularly the one on the stroke of half-time was just inspirational for us going in. Just gave an extra pep in our step. 'But how he deals with the weight of expectation, I have no idea. He's a unique temperament.' Despite Clifford's nine points from play the general consensus was that Kerry skipper Gavin White was man of the match with three points from the half back line and a series of assists and kickout wins, as well as setting up scores from both throw-ups. A close second was Paudie Clifford, who the stats said afterwards handled the ball a remarkable 76 times, and orchestrated everything good about Kerry's clinical attacking play. 'Paudie is just coming back to himself after a long oul injury and we felt that he was coming good,' said O'Connor. 'He handled some amount of ball out there and he just calmed things down. 'A big part of playing Donegal is get value out of your attacks and don't turn it over. I think Meath found that out when they didn't work the Donegal defence. They just took pot shots from outside the arc, just looking for two-pointers. 'Now you take the two-pointers when they're on but you don't force them and you work their defenders. 'I thought we worked the Donegal defenders. That in turn takes away a bit of their legs for going the other way. I thought that was a big factor. 'I didn't think that the likes of Roarty, Mogan and McHugh had a big influence in that game - attacking-wise. I think a lot of that has to do with the patience we showed in the attack and keeping them occupied.' O'Connor also spoke about the period after the shock All-Ireland round robin defeat by Meath at Tullamore, which meant Kerry didn't top their group and had to play a preliminary quarter-final. At the time many locals were restless and some of the band of Kerry pundits not too happy either. 'The part that got brushed under the carpet was that we were down a pile of men going to Tullamore,' said O'Connor. 'I know I'm like a broken record, but I keep saying that Seán O'Shea was missing that day. He's a massive part of that unit out there because he just knits everything together. He does a bit of everything. 'He wins kick-outs. He tackles. He links the play. He sets up scores and he kicks scores and he organises for us. I know that's a lot of stuff for one man to do. So he's like the conductor of the orchestra on the field. 'That was the one week where I was really down before the game because I knew he was missing. So I wasn't overly surprised that we didn't play well up there. 'There was a lot of fall-out from the Meath game and life wasn't pleasant for me for a couple of weeks there. And maybe that was behind the bit of steam I left off here a month ago.' Kerry went from barely shooting a two pointer in the League to racking them up when it mattered. Yesterday they hit five, three from David Clifford and two from Sean O'Shea (both frees) and missed four more - from Paudie Clifford, Dylan Geaney, Mike Breen and O'Shea. Donegal didn't manage any two pointers in the game, or any real goal chances, and had just three shots for two pointers in total. So what turned it around on two pointers? 'There was a simple enough reason,' said O'Connor. 'Now, I'll tell you the truth. We played eight games in nine weeks in the League in bad conditions. 'There wasn't much time now to be working on two-pointers. You're basically recovering and doing a bit of fitness work and basic stuff. 'As soon as the League was over we went into a training camp and started working on the thing. 'Because there's a bit of an art in getting the right shooters on the ball at the right angles and coming on the right cuts and stuff. 'We didn't see a big need to work on it in the League because first of all we didn't have time to do it. 'Second of all, we were scoring goals which were camouflaging the fact that we weren't getting two-pointers. Simple as that.' O'Connor quickly dismissed mention of previous All-Irelands being soft compared to this one, referring to the decider hammerings over Mayo in 2004 and 2006 on his watch for his first two Sam Maguires. This time around Kerry defeated Armagh, Tyrone and Donegal en route to the biggest prize in the game. 'I'll tell you now, when we're looking back on the All-Ireland, there won't be any asterisks beside any of them,' he said. 'They're all of the same value, in my eyes anyway.'
