Eamonn Sweeney: It's lonely in RTÉ's ivory tower, they should stop lecturing people forced to live in the real world
We need to talk about RTÉ. It teamed up with the GAA to set up an unpopular pay-per-view platform, helping them to ultimately reduce the number of free-to-air big matches, while turning its own Gaelic games punditry into a pale shadow of its former self.
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Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Brian McLoughlin steps off bench to send lacklustre Kildare in Tailteann semi-final
Tailteann Cup semi-final: Kildare 1-13 (1-2-9) Fermanagh 0-9 (0-0-9) A fine display of shooting from Brian McLoughlin illuminated a Tailteann Cup semi-final that otherwise gave the viewing public flashbacks of the old sport of Gaelic football, the one that we all thought had been left behind. For a Kildare side that hadn't won in Croke Park since the 2022 Leinster Championship, recording just three wins in 23 games here since 2014, the underwhelming manner of the victory will be less memorable than the sense of relief at safely negotiating a hurdle that began to look increasingly hazardous as the contest progressed. There was no stage in the game when Fermanagh looked like the better side, but as the misses racked up, a group that have been pigeonholed as talented but unreliable was leaving a plucky underdog in the game. In the first half, it was missed goal chances that were the story. Kevin Feely slipped a pass to Colm Dalton, whose shot was blocked on the line by Ronan McCaffrey, then Feely himself crashed a thunderbolt of a shot off the woodwork, a few minutes before Daniel Flynn clipped a shot over the bar from 20 metres out when it looked like he might be in a position to advance on goal. With the heavens opening and handling increasingly difficult, it's not like Fermanagh were scoring freely either. Conor Love (two), Darragh McGurn and Ryan Lyons all took advantage of the drier ground to leave the game deadlocked at 0-4 each and warming up nicely with 15 minutes played, but as heavy rain drenched the players, the scores dried up. Alex Beirne and Joe McDade got the best of the scores to leave it 0-7 to 0-6 in Kildare's favour at half-time, and a poor game got even more sloppy after half-time, with just another point apiece registered in the next 15 minutes. For Fermanagh, a lack of possession was the issue, while Kildare had plenty of opportunities, but weren't long about adding ten second half wides to the four they shot in the opening 35 minutes. Enter McLoughlin to give an injection of attacking quality to a game where it was sorely lacking otherwise. The eventual man of the match got off the mark with a powerful strike at the end of a slow build up that saw Fermanagh lose their concentration and leave him wide open, then on the next attack he opted to rifle the ball over the bar rather than go for goal after being put through by a slick give and go with David Hyland. McLoughlin's decision to just put something on the board made sense when he followed up with a majestic two-pointer, and now Fermanagh needed a lifeline. Jonathan Cassidy picking up a breaking ball and driving through to set up Josh Largo Ellis was that lifeline, but instead of keeping the ball down along the slick surface, he fired his shot a foot over the crossbar, and that was as good as it got for the Erne men. Kildare continued to control the ball from then on, with McLoughlin adding one more point before James McGrath finished the game with a flourish, firing in his third goal in as many games to send the Lily Whites through to a final clash with Limerick. Scorers for Kildare: B McLoughlin 0-5 (1tp), J McGrath 1-0, K Feely 0-2 (tp), C Dalton 0-2, D Flynn 0-2, A Beirne 0-1, D Kirwan 0-1. Scorers for Fermanagh: C Love 0-2, R Lyons 0-1, D McGurn 0-1, J McDade 0-1, D McCusker 0-1, F O'Brien 0-1f, S Cassidy 0-1, Josh Largo Ellis 0-1. KILDARE: C Burke; D Hyland, M Dempsey, H O'Neill; K Flynn, B Byrne, J McGrath; K Feely, B Gibbons; T Gill, R Sinkey, C Dalton; D Kirwan, A Beirne, D Flynn. Subs: J McKevitt for Flynn (44), B McLoughlin for Sinkey (44), N Kelly for Kirwan (63), A Masterson for Gibbons (66), R Burke for McGrath (69). FERMANAGH: S McNally; L Cullen, J Cassidy, O Smyth; L Flanagan, D McCusker, S McGullion; J McDade, D McGurn; R McCaffrey, R Lyons, F O'Brien; C Love, G Jones, Josh Largo Ellis. Subs: S Cassidy for Jones (half-time), C McGee for McCaffrey (50), A Kelm for McCusker (56), Jack Largo Ellis for O'Brien (66), C Cullen for McGullion (67) Referee: Kieran Eannetta (Tyrone)
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
GAA Championship: All today's Gaelic football action as it happened
There was a feast of Gaelic football action today as the championship reaches the business end. Donegal and Galway progressed into tomorrow's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final draw, while the Tailteann Cup semi-finals at Croke Park saw Kildare and Limerick win through to the final on July 12. Here's how the action unfolded. Live scores: All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-finals Galway 2-26 Down 3-21 (full-time) Donegal 2-22 Louth 0-12 (full-time) Tailteann Cup semi-finals Limerick 2-18 Wicklow 1-17 Croke Park (full-time)Kildare 1-13 Fermanagh 0-9 (full-time) All-Ireland MFC semi-finals Tyrone 2-12 Roscommon 1-8 (full-time)Kerry 1-19 Mayo 3-10 (full-time) 6 minutes ago 'Brian McLoughlin makes the difference off the bench as Kildare book Tailteann Cup final date with Limerick' Read More: Brian McLoughlin makes the difference off the bench as Kildare book Tailteann Cup final date with Limerick Brian McLoughlin changed the course of a dire Tailteann Cup semi-final with his impressive 0-4 contribution off the bench booking Kildare's place in the final. 7 minutes ago 'Galway weather Down storm to advance to All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals' Galway weather Down storm to advance to All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals Galway survived so many second-half scares from Down in Newry's Páirc Esler as they put their name in the drum for tomorrow's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final draw. 7 minutes ago 'Late first-half Tyrone goals rock Roscommon in All-Ireland MFC semi-final' Late first-half Tyrone goals rock Roscommon in All-Ireland MFC semi-final Goals from Joel Kerr and Peter Colton just before half time swung this All-Ireland MFC semi-final decisively in Tyrone's favour at Kingspan Breffni on Sunday afternoon. 8 minutes ago 'Tailteann Cup final beckons for Limerick as second-half onslaught puts Wicklow to the sword' Tailteann Cup final beckons for Limerick as second-half onslaught puts Wicklow to the sword A devastating 1-9 without reply in the final 20 minutes saw Limerick overturn a seven-point deficit into a scarcely believable five-point win in their Tailteann Cup semi-final clash at Croke Park. 10 minutes ago Watch Ciaran Thompson's second half goal here. 70'+5 Point Donegal Scorer Hugh McFadden Sub McFadden scores on the hooter, increasing Donegal's lead to sixteen on the hooter. 70'+4 Point Donegal Scorer Caolan McColgan McColgan moves McGuinness' men fifteen points clear. 70'+4 Michael Verney in Croke Park: Brian McLoughlin makes the difference off the bench as Kildare book Tailteann Cup final place Kildare 1-13 Fermanagh 0-9 Brian McLoughlin changed the course of a dire Tailteann Cup semi-final with his impressive 0-4 contribution off the bench booking Kildare's place in the final. Conditions were far from ideal in Croke Park with a couple of torrential downpours throughout the game but the action between the white lines was anything but inspiring in a forgettable encounter. McLoughlin was only on the field for 20 minutes but he still walked away with the man-of-the-match award after a crucial two-pointer helped to turn to the tide with four points scored within a five-minute period while James McGrath put the game to bed with a late goal for the Lilies. Victory for Brian Flanagan's side also helped to bury a Kildare hoodoo at the Jones' Road venue with just their fourth win from 24 games there dating all the way back to 2014. For Fermanagh, Kieran Donnelly's side lacked the necessary punch in attack but they could have left just one point in it with eight minutes to play only for Josh Largo Elis' goal chance to be scrambled out on the line. Kildare will head back to GAA HQ in three weeks where they meet surprise packets Limerick with the Tailteann Cup, and a place in the 2026 All-Ireland SFC, up for grabs. 70'+3 Point Louth Scorer Ciarán Downey Ciaran Downey with another consolation for Louth. 70' Point Scorer Sam Mulroy Mulroy with a consolation score for Louth. 69' Point Donegal Scorer Niall O'Donnell Sub O'Donnell gets in on the scoring act. 68' Point Louth Scorer Peter Lynch Peter Lynch kicks a point not long after returning from his black card. But it will be just a consolation. 64' Point Donegal Scorer Shane O'Donnell Shane O'Donnell with another for Donegal as they make hay against Louth's 14 men. 63' Kildare, meanwhile, look bound for a Tailteann Cup final against Limerick, with a James McGrath goal moving them seven clear with just a minute to play. Second half sub Brian McLoughlin is the MOTM after making a huge impact off the bench for the Lilywhites. 59' Point Donegal Scorer Daire O'Baoil 58' Point Donegal Scorer Oisin Gallen Gallen kicks his fifth of the day.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Relentless Down give Galway huge test but experience sees Pádraic Joyce's contenders through
All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final: Down 3-21 Galway 2-26 Another Sunday, another stone-cold thriller. Down gave Galway their bellyful it here, chasing Padraic Joyce's side manfully and relentlessly right to the very last drop. They came up short, mostly because they'll be playing Division 3 football next year while Galway are a top table side and have been for a while. On the evidence of this summer, it won't be too long before Down grab themselves a seat too. Conor Laverty's team are a world removed from where they were when he took over in late 2002. Back then, they hadn't won a game for a year and the traffic at the dressingroom door was flowing out rather than in. A world where they would run a credible All-Ireland contender like Galway to two points must have seemed beyond fanciful back then. 'I wasn't coming here hoping that Down would play well,' Laverty said afterwards. 'I came here with a massive belief that these players could perform at this level and that this is the standard we want to be playing at. But what we did talk to the players about was, do you want to be coming here to Páirc Esler to be playing a preliminary quarter-final in front of 14,000 people? 'Or would you rather be playing ... I came to a league match here against Clare one year and there wasn't 150 people at it. Or Tailteann Cup games where there were only a couple of hundred people there. This is where players want to be. We would have felt that in games this year, it's been experience that has held us back slightly in key moments.' READ MORE Down's Pierce Laverty in action against Galway's John Maher. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho Ultimately, that was probably Galway's thumb on the scale here. When the stadium was bubbling midway through the second half as Down dominated midfield, Joyce was able to bring Peter Cooke in off the bench. Cooke has been a here-again-gone-again presence for Galway down the years but he made his debut in 2016 so he knows the road. He was able to steer Galway home. Cooke caught a world of ball, scored a point and laid on the sealing goal for Tomo Culhane. All of which meant that brave and all as Down had been, the home side were never able to cut the margin below two points. 'We were battle-hardened before today but we're battle-hardened again,' was Joyce's take on it all. And so they were. Though Cooke saw them through the endgame, Galway were in position thanks in the main to a couple of effervescent displays from Matthew Thompson and Shane Walsh. Thompson in particular looks like a nailed-on Young Footballer of the Year, pulling the strings out the pitch year like someone with a decade under his belt rather than just a few months. Walsh popped up with 1-7 in the first half, including three two-pointers and a goal that oozed class. In the space of two minutes just before half-time, he landed a two-pointer from play, laid on a goal for Rob Finnerty, skinned Ceilum Doherty for a one-pointer, then caught the kickout and drove on to draw a foul outside the arc, which he duly converted. Seán Fitzgerald in action for Galway. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho He got injured in the process, landing on his shoulder, and barely had a kick after half-time before being taken off. 'He got a nasty injury,' Joyce said. 'He fell forward and the Down player followed through with the knee on the shoulder so he's in a bit of a bother there with the shoulder.' That burst just before half-time looked like it had put the game out of reach for Down. They went from being just a point behind in the 28th minute to going in at the break on the thick end of a 1-16 to 1-6 scoreline. Even though there was a stiff breeze blowing straight down the ground, it still looked fairly insurmountable for Laverty's side. But Down didn't take a backward step. They had a couple of two-pointers on the board within 69 seconds of the restart. Odhran Murdock was phenomenal, the 22-year-old Down captain running in 1-2 from midfield and pushing his side forward at every opportunity. Caolan Mooney rolled back the years off the bench, whistling through for back-to-back points to make it 1-20 to 1-18 with a quarter-hour to go. Galway were rocking now, their kickout in such peril that Joyce had replacement goalkeeper Connor Gleeson warming up a couple of times. But gradually they got a foothold around the middle again, with Cooke and Cian Darcy settling them. When Cooke put Culhane away in the 65th minute, the Galway sub iced the game. It was tough on Down goalkeeper Ronan Burns who had made a string of brilliant saves but wasn't quite up to this one. Down's day in microcosm. They gave Galway a huge test here. Expect it to stand to both of them. DOWN: R Burns; P McCarthy, P Fegan, C Doherty (0-0-1); R Magill (1-0-0), P Laverty, M Rooney (0-1-0); D Guinness (0-2-0), R McEvoy (0-1-0); D Magill (0-0-2), O Murdock (1-0-2), A Crimmins (0-0-1, 1f); J Guinness (0-0-1), P Havern (0-0-2, 2f), J McGeough (1-0-1). Subs: E Branagan (0-0-1) for McCarthy (21-26 mins, blood); Branagan for McCarthy (h-t); C Mooney (0-0-2) for McGeough (55); O Savage for Doherty (57); C McCrickard for Crimmins (62); F Murdock for Rooney (66). GALWAY: C Flaherty; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, L Silke; D McHugh, S Kelly, C Hernon; P Conroy, J Maher; C Darcy (0-0-1), M Tierney (0-0-2), C McDaid (0-0-2); R Finnerty (0-1-4, 1f), S Walsh (1-3-1, 2tpf), M Thompson (0-1-3). Subs: P Cooke (0-0-1) for Conroy (48 mins); D O'Flaherty (0-0-2) for Hernon (57); J Heaney for McDaid (61-69, temp); T Culhane (1-0-0) for Walsh (62); J Daly for Maher (67). Referee: D O'Mahoney (Tipperary).
