Jim McGuinness delivers powerful message at Donegal homecoming
McGuinness was speaking a day after his side's collapse in the All-Ireland final where they were beaten by 10 points and failed to lay a glove on an awesome Kerry side that cruised to victory.
While beaten hurling finalists Cork cancelled their homecoming after defeat to Tipperary, McGuinness and his team took to the stage to speak to the Donegal public - whose support cannot be questioned.
"First of all I want to recognise the players behind me here, the players and the staff but particularly the players," began McGuinness as his players stood behind him on stage.
"There's a lot of hurt, a lot of hurt behind me. There's a lot of pain behind me. There's no doubt about it that these fellas wanted to be standing in front of you and they wanted to have the Sam Maguire and that's not here.
"And there's nobody more disappointed than that group of players.
"I really hope that this can be a moment that they latch onto and can make them stronger, more resilient and bring them to a point when they are in a better position than they were yesterday afternoon in terms of going into a big game and taking on a big team.
"And so, I just want to recognise them and thank them for everything that they have done over the last 24 months or so. Their efforts, their commitment and their sacrifice.
"We're very disappointed we're here and we don't have Sam, and we're very disappointed for you people, particularly all these young children across the front here that are the future of Donegal football on the male and the female side.
"We're really disappointed. But there will be brighter days. The rain will stop and the sun will shine. And I know for a fact that Donegal will be back here someday with the Sam Maguire Cup."
Sunday was Donegal's fourth All-Ireland final in their history, and all four have involved McGuinness. He was a player in 1992 and manager in 2012 when they won, and also managed the side in a losing final in 2014 before stepping down.
He returned a decade later and has led Donegal to back-to-back Ulster titles, an All-Ireland semi-final last year and a final this term.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The 42
27 minutes ago
- The 42
Dublin's first-half storm, Meath regret, and what next after one-sided All-Ireland final?
1. Dublin's first-half storm Niamh Hetherton rifled into the Canal End goal in the 22nd minute to move Dublin 2-8 to 0-2 ahead. They turned over Robyn Bulger's kick out, Éilish O'Dowd carried at pace and Hetherton side-stepped Mary Kate Lynch before sending a rocket into the roof of the net. Two minutes later, Dublin secured their biggest lead of the game, Kate Sullivan's latest effort confirmed by HawkEye and putting them 13 points clear. Dublin targetted a fast start, and executed it to perfection. They had 1-3 on the board before Meath opened their account in the 10th minute, Nicole Owens raising their other green flag. They hit an unanswered 1-5 between Emma Duggan's second free in the 13th minute and her third in the 26th. By the time Hetherton wheeled away after after her goal — almost immediately after seeing one chalked off — all six of Dublin's forwards had scored from play. They were fast, furious and direct, picking Meath off time and time again on the counter and taking 11 of 14 scoring chances in the opening half. Hannah Tyrrell, Carla Rowe and Kate Sullivan finished with a combined 0-13, Sullivan's four points coming from play and some of Rowe's efforts dazzling. The platform for this success was laid in a first-half blitz. 2. Orlagh Nolan brilliance and the last to quit Several times on TG4′s commentary, Brian Tyers referred to Orlagh Nolan having 'saoirse an páirc'. Like Paudie Clifford in Kerry's win over Donegal last week, Nolan got on a world of ball and enjoyed the freedom of the pitch. On her first start since returning from an ACL injury, she finished with the Player of the Match award and a fourth All-Ireland medal. Having impressed through a semi-final cameo, the two-time All-Star got the nod for the injured Caoimhe O'Connor. Nolan was hugely influential again, scoring a point and orchestrating much of Dublin's attacking play from the half-forward line as she hugged the left sideline and made darting runs. Advertisement She was involved in the build-up to both goals; more so defensively for Owens' as she gathered a fisted clearance from goalkeeper Abby Shiels and kick-passed it on, while she fed O'Dowd for Hetherton's. Nolan in action against Marion Farrelly. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO The former Women's National League soccer player was a composed, controlled presence on the ball, often using one hand to solo and the other to dictate with her head always up. After registering Dublin's first wide in the 17th minute, she made no mistake with her next effort from a similar position just afterwards. As confirmed to The 42 by the brilliant X account Gaelic Statsman, Nolan had around 26 possessions between kick outs won, scores assisted, turnovers and general ownership of the ball. 'I just wanted to hold wide and hopefully drag people out and create the space in there for the guys,' Nolan told TG4 afterwards. 'I don't know, maybe they gave me a bit too much time on the ball and then I was able to cut in. 'That's the thing about our forwards: if one of us is having a bad day, the next person will step up.' They all did on Sunday, in an ultimate team performance. Defensive stalwarts Sinéad Goldrick, Leah Caffrey and Martha Byrne were others to encapsulate the words printed on a team flag behind the scenes: 'The last to quit. Always.' 3. Meath regret in one-sided contest The lack of a contest and one-sided nature of the game is an obvious talking point. It kept with the trend of this year's All-Ireland finals to date, with Tipperary, Kerry and Dublin all winning easily. It made for another rather disappointing ladies football final too, games generally put to bed at half time in recent years. Dublin's scoreboard dominance doesn't tell the full story of Sunday's first half. Meath were incredibly wasteful, converting just four of 10 scoring opportunities and seeing several other attacks break down. They had more possession in the opening half (56% versus 44%) but were sloppy and made uncharacteristic mistakes. While Dublin were direct and often used width well, Meath were ponderous in possession and repeatedly tried, and failed, to go down the middle. The Dubs were masterfully cynical, Meath were one-dimensional and couldn't get their intensity levels. Emma Duggan dejected. Leah Scholes / INPHO Leah Scholes / INPHO / INPHO Emma Duggan's frees were their only source of scoring in the first half, their first from play not arriving until five minutes after the restart amidst five unanswered points either side of the break. Interestingly, Meath actually outscored Dublin 0-8 to 0-7 from that Hawkeye-confirmed point in the 24th minute. While Duggan and Vikki Wall will rue poor shooting and decision making, they had their moments. Goalkeeper Robyn Murray was a real bright spark, and Aoibhín Cleary and Ciara Smyth grew into the game. The regrets from their first All-Ireland defeat will linger. 4. A festival of football at Croke Park The 42 stumbled across a colourful scene on the way to Croke Park on Sunday afternoon. A group of young Dublin fans – primary school kids, perhaps a team – congregated for a picture at The Five Lamps. As they hung onto the city landmark, they spotted a Meath family, and began booing in unison. 'Up the Dubs, up the Dubs,' they chanted as the Royal kids took shelter behind their parents. They were all part of the 48,089 attendance at HQ, a healthy turnout on a Bank Holiday Sunday amidst a costly condensed season. The crowd fell short of the 2019 record of 56,114, but was a notable increase on last year's 30,340. The proximity of Dublin and Meath helps of course. There was a good atmosphere in the stadium, the sea of blue, green and gold, broken up by flashes of red, yellow, white and blue. In a much more exciting intermediate final, Tyrone beat Laois 2-16 to 1-13 to lift the Mary Quinn Memorial Cup. Goals in either half from Aoife Horisk and Katie Rose Muldoon powered the Red Hand to promotion after a one-point loss to Leitrim last year. Kate Flood in full flow. Leah Scholes / INPHO Leah Scholes / INPHO / INPHO Earlier in the day, Louth defeated Antrim 0-13 to 1-8 to win the All-Ireland junior championship. Kate Flood was the scoring hero with 0-4 before announcing her inter-county retirement, the talismanic forward and one-season AFLW star bringing the curtain down on a 15-year senior career. More would follow her into the sunset. Related Reads 'I was in a really bad way' - Dublin's goalscoring star bows out a five-time All-Ireland winner 'I'm just gutted for the girls. The game was nearly over at half time' - Meath boss McCormack 'She's given everything. This is a cherry on the top' - Dublin's retiring multi-sport star 5. What next? Hannah Tyrrell and Nicole Owens confirmed their retirements on the Croke Park turf after Dublin's win. A fitting stage to call it a day after glittering careers. Tyrrell and Goldrick shared a beer in the middle of the pitch when just the lawn mowers remained, two Irish sporting legends savouring the moment. Goldrick, at 35, is set for another AFLW season with Melbourne, but must be weighing up her inter-county future after winning her fifth All-Ireland title. Byrne, Caffrey, Rowe and Nolan are all over 30: similarly, they are at the peak of the powers, but have serious miles on the clock. Wall is the big name in focus for Meath, the multi-sport star recently signing a new, three-year deal with North Melbourne. Her AFLW commitments could again limit her inter-county involvement going forward. Captain Aoibhín Cleary is also Australia bound. Sub goalkeeper Monica McGuirk and former captains Shauna Ennis and Máire O'Shaughnessy are the only panellists over 30, and Shane McCormack was already looking to a 'positive' future on Sunday. Paul Casey and Derek Murray's side is also littered with young talent. Dublin may not dominate like before in a more open championship, Kerry and Galway among many who will be gunning for glory in 2026. Between now and then, the rules are sure to remain in the spotlight. *****
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Dan Sheehan won't lose sleep over ban as it rules him out of games he was unlikely to play in
Ireland and Lions hooker Dan Sheehan may not agree with the suspension he received following his illegal clearout of Australia's Tom Lynagh during last Saturday's third Test in Sydney. However, the reality is the four-week suspension handed down by World Rugby's independent review committee is unlikely to damage his or Leinster 's start to the new United Rugby Championship (URC) season. If Sheehan attends 'tackle school' and one match is deducted – making it a three-game ban – he will be unavailable for Leinster's pre-season clash with Cardiff on September 13th, as well as away URC fixtures in South Africa against Stormers on September 26th and the Bulls on October 4th. Leinster then play against the Sharks at home on October 11th before meeting Munster in Croke Park on October 18th. The latter match will be new Munster coach Clayton McMillan's first taste of derby rugby in Ireland. The strong likelihood is that Sheehan would not have played the pre-season friendly against the Welsh side or have undertaken another long-haul flight to face the two South African teams given the gruelling Lions tour and physical nature of the Test matches against Australia. READ MORE [ Owen Doyle: Dan Sheehan should have got a red card and a longer ban for dangerous strike Opens in new window ] His suspension calls into question the purpose of sanctions if friendly matches can be included. The 13 Leinster players who were involved in the Lions tour took their holidays after the final Test match last weekend and are unlikely to report back for pre-season training until the end of August or early September. It is the earliest Leinster have ever had to go to South Africa. Last season, coach Jacques Nienaber had to defend the squad-selection policy for the annual tour as Leinster dug deep into their panel of players. How will the 2025 Lions be remembered? Listen | 40:08 The timing of the fixtures came shortly after the 2025 Six Nations had concluded and in Ireland's final match in Rome against Italy, Leinster had 16 players involved. That ensured a travelling squad devoid of the international frontline names, although New Zealand back Jordie Barrett, Springbok secondrow RG Snyman and French prop Rabah Slimani were named. 'Since I've been here, the South African tour has always been in this slot between the Six Nations and the European games and that always makes it a little bit tough, especially since some of the squad played a big chunk of minutes over the Six Nations,' said Nienaber last March. The seasonal launch of the frontline players is likely to be in round three against the Sharks or the following week against Munster. Last season's home derby clash, which was also held at Croke Park, drew a crowd of over 80,000.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Wexford FC Women come from behind to defeat Shamrock Rovers
The Slaneysiders came into the game on a high after reaching the All-Island final seven days earlier and while the league title is realistically out of reach, the chance to take a top three finish kept the momentum rolling against the Tallaght side. With Freya De Mange out injured and Becky Cassin returning, Wexford reverted to a more familiar system but did interestingly drop Kylie Murphy deeper, while giving Ellen Molloy the role at the top of the formation. There's not a defence in the country that would prefer to see Molloy in that position rather than deeper and the reason why was obvious, with the Kilkenny native dragging and pulling the two centre-backs all over the place with her elusiveness on the ball, when given decent supply. However, Wexford had the first problem in the fifth minute when Anna Butler got to the byline and crossed to the six-yard box. A rare spill by Maria O'Sullivan saw the ball squirm towards the goal-line but Lauren Dwyer, making her 200th appearance for the club, hooked the ball off the line. Molloy, in her advanced position, took control of the ball near the edge of the area, drove at the Rovers defence and unleashed a powerful strike that Summer Lawless was able to get behind and hold. In the ninth minute Leah McGrath got away on the right-hand side and crossed to the middle where Molloy flicked towards an unmarked Ciara Rossiter. The left-winger controlled and let fly but her effort whizzed past the far post. Molloy continued to cause problems and off-loaded for Aoife Kelly to fire an effort on target as the hosts looked for the breakthrough. After a quiet few minutes, Molloy had another chance, this time forcing Lawless into an excellent save when lashing Rossiter's cross on target. The game continued to settle into a pattern of midfield probing, that was until Shamrock Rovers took the lead when a sliced shot by Jaime Thompson fell at the feet of Ella Kelly at the back post and she fired to the net from an acute angle. Having done very little to deserve a lead in the opening half-hour, Rovers were lifted by the opening goal and went close to a second when Emily Corbet fired in a shot that Maria O'Sullivan parried to safety. The Wexford 'keeper saved from Kelly from the edge of the area in the 37th minute, while Claire O'Reilly flashed over the crossbar from Anna Butler's cross from the right. Scarlett Herron tested O'Sullivan at the end of the half as the interval whistle came at the right time for the hosts. Wexford emerged from the interval with a positive attitude and Cassin sent an effort just wide within two minutes of the restart. Aoife Kelly should have done better when Wicklow native Cassin played her in moments later, but her shot was blocked by Lawless. From the resulting corner Lawless punched towards her own goal but the ball was cleared off the line. Ciara Rossiter sent a left-footed effort that had the visiting 'keeper scrambling as Wexford's intensity continued to trouble Rovers. A Kylie Murphy header from Cassin's corner was deflected over in the 56th minute, but things had settled until Ellen Molloy's ball across the box fell to Becky Cassin on the edge of the area and the midfielder curled a lovely finish into the roof of the net. Wexford went in front in the 72nd minute when a back header in the Rovers defence only picked out Aoife Kelly lurking inside. The Carlow native slotted a composed finish past Lawless with the visitors erroneously looking around for a flag. After a sloppy second-half, the Rovers response was meek. Indeed, Wexford could have added a third in the 89th minute when Molloy cut back inside the box but was unable to beat Lawless with a weak finish. Wexford are back in league action on Saturday when they make the trip to Greenogue to face Peamount United. Then, after a week's break, they will return to Ferrycarrig Park to play their final fixture against Treaty before the All-Island Cup final against Bohemians. Wexford FC: Maria O'Sullivan; Aisling Roche, Lauren Dwyer, Della Doherty, Orlaith Conlon; Becky Cassin; Leah McGrath, Kylie Murphy (capt.), Aoife Kelly, Ciara Rossiter; Ellen Molloy. Subs. - Charlotte Cromack for McGrath (62), Ciara Maher for Roche, inj. (69), Millie Daly for Rossiter (90+1), also Lauren Kelly, Eimear Roche, Jenny Ryan, Niamh Tyrrell, Róisín Joyce. Shamrock Rovers: Summer Lawless, Fiona Owens, Scarlett Herron, Maria Reynolds, Emily Corbet, Ella Kelly, Áine O'Gorman, Anna Butler, Aoife Brophy, Jaime Thompson, Claire O'Reilly. Subs. - Delia Cowper-Gray for Butler (81), also Laura Fanning, Aimee Neal, Mia Dodd, Melissa O'Kane, Keelin Comiskey, Hannah Martin, Taylor White, Ciara Whyte.
