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No birthday surprise for Hallgrímsson against Luxembourg

No birthday surprise for Hallgrímsson against Luxembourg

Irish Times11-06-2025
There was, writes Gavin Cummiskey, no shortage of effort from Heimir Hallgrímsson's players in Luxembourg on Tuesday evening, but
the gift of a goal to celebrate his 58th birthday never came
, the game ending scoreless. The upside from 'this low-key summer camp' is that the manager has unearthed some alternative options, Jason Knight, Kasey McAteer and Killian Phillips among those who have played their way in to contention for the start of World Cup qualifying in September.
One of Galway, Dublin and Derry will play themselves out of championship contention come Saturday night, and, says Darragh Ó Sé,
'they'll only have themselves to blame'
. 'You can cry all you like about being in the Group of Death, but that's only looking for excuses. For one thing, it doesn't seem to have caused Armagh a lot of bother.'
In hurling, Limerick might have lost the battle last weekend, in the shape of that penalty shoot-out defeat by Cork, but
Cian Lynch is still hopeful that they can win the war
by collecting their sixth All-Ireland title in eight years come July 20th. Gordon Manning talks to the Limerick captain.
By 2027,
hurling and football finals could be played in August
, Gordon hearing GAA president Jarlath Burns express his preference for the former to be played on the first weekend of August and the latter on the third Sunday.
READ MORE
And in advance of next year's celebration of the centenary of the National Leagues,
Seán Moran traces the history of the competitions
and all the format-tweaking that has taken place since their birth.
In rugby, Gordon D'Arcy believes 'there are people, plenty of them, who get a bit of joy out of seeing Leinster fall short,' so he is urging them to
turn the resulting 'siege mentality into a fuel source'
in Saturday's URC final against the Bulls.
Dan Sheehan will do his level best to be part of just such a triumph,
Johnny Watterson talking to the Irish hooker
, Johnny also hearing from Bulls' coach Jake White who is hoping his players are
inspired by the memory of the club's former winger Cornal Hendricks
who died suddenly at the age of just 37 last month.
In golf, Philip Reid talked to Shane Lowry over at Oakmont Country Club on the eve of the US Open, the Offaly man left frustrated by a year that, in his view, has seen him play his best ever golf, but has yet to yield a victory. '
Every Sunday I come off the golf course I feel like I'm after getting punched in the gut
,' he says. And Philip also hears from
Rory McIlroy who is hoping to recover from his post-Masters slump
. 'You dream about the final putt going in at the Masters,' he says, 'but you don't think about what comes next.'
TV Watch
: Sky Sports Golf has just the eight hours of coverage of the build-up to the US Open today (from 2pm). Later, if hockey's your thing, Ireland's game against the Netherlands in the men's FIH Pro League will be on the TG4 Player (7pm).
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Kilkenny's 'extreme frustration' as they break silence on Tipp scoreboard fiasco
Kilkenny's 'extreme frustration' as they break silence on Tipp scoreboard fiasco

Irish Daily Mirror

time44 minutes ago

  • Irish Daily Mirror

Kilkenny's 'extreme frustration' as they break silence on Tipp scoreboard fiasco

Kilkenny have broken their silence on the All-Ireland semi-final scoreboard fiasco which they say caused 'extreme frustration'. However, county board chairman PJ Kenny said there was never any question of the game with eventual champions Tipperary being replayed after the Croke Park scoreboard displayed the wrong score after recording a Noel McGrath wide as a point, causing Kilkenny to chase goals late on when points may have salvaged extra time for them. As it was, referee James Owens reported the final score as 4-20 - rather than 4-21 - to 0-30 in favour of Tipperary, meaning that there was no avenue for a replay, not that Kilkenny were pursuing one in any event. Although Kilkenny held their silence, Kenny said that lines of communication between them were open at all times in the aftermath of the game and that they received an apology for the error. He told the KCLR Hurling Podcast: 'There was communication that evening after the match. Obviously there was extreme frustration with the players, management and the county board and all the fans as well who paid to go to the match. There was deep frustration. We were in talks with Croke Park from the very start that evening. We knew and under no rule, it was never going to a replay. 'We didn't want to broadcast it all over the front pages and we did talk to Croke Park regularly on the Sunday and Monday and we looked for an explanation. We were also conscious as well, Tipperary and Cork were in the All-Ireland final. There was no point in taking away from their… there was nothing to be gained that way but we were in talks. 'Croke Park took full responsibility. They wrote a letter which we actually read out at the county board meeting the week after that. They took full responsibility for what happened. They issued an apology, particularly they felt for the players and management and they're probably the people who put in the most effort in it so it wasn't an easy time.' Kenny added that Croke Park pledged to put procedures in place to ensure that there isn't a repeat episode, something that he said Kilkenny will hold them to account on. 'They say they're looking at procedures going forward and we will enquire about them going forward - we won't just let that go. We need to have that it won't happen again because it was a very stressful time and look, when you're playing and you're chasing a lead, the scoreboard, it does affect your decision-making, it does affect your decision-making.'

'We need to make sure it won't happen again, it was a very stressful time': Kilkenny chairman PJ Kenny
'We need to make sure it won't happen again, it was a very stressful time': Kilkenny chairman PJ Kenny

Irish Examiner

time2 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

'We need to make sure it won't happen again, it was a very stressful time': Kilkenny chairman PJ Kenny

Kilkenny GAA chairman PJ Kenny has described the "extreme frustration" felt in the county after the scoreboard error in their All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Tipperary. Having already received an apology from Croke Park for the error that impacted the closing stages of the fixture — which eventual All-Ireland champions Tipp won by two-points — Kenny has detailed the thinking in Kilkenny, insisting that despite knowing a replay would not occur, they were in contact with GAA authorities during a period he described as "very stressful". On the day, both teams would have been of the understanding, via the scoreboard, that Noel McGrath's point attempt in the 70th minute had put the Tipp four points ahead. Following his attempt, McGrath's shot was waved wide but the scoreboard counted it as a score. After a Jordan Molloy point in the second minute of additional time, Derek Lyng's men — thinking they required a goal — went looking for exactly that to force extra-time when they were in fact only two points behind. "There was communication that evening after the match," Kilkenny chairman PJ Kenny told KCLR Hurling Podcast. "There was extreme frustration from the players, management, and county board, and all the fans, as well, who paid to go to the match. "There was deep frustration, we were in talks with Croke Park from the very start of that evening. We knew it was never going to a replay; there's no rule that allows for that, and we were told that fairly straightaway. "We talked to them, but we didn't want it broadcast all over the front pages. We did talk to Croke Park regularly on the Sunday and Monday and we looked for an explanation." Kenny noted that the Kilkenny county board was conscious that there was nothing to be gained by taking away from then finalists — Tipperary and Cork. "We were also conscious as well that Tipperary and Cork were in the All-Ireland final and there was no point in taking away from their day," Kenny said. "There was nothing to be gained from it that way, but we were in talks, Croke Park took full responsibility, they wrote a letter which we actually read out at the county board meeting the Monday after (a week later). "They took full responsibility and issued an apology, particularly they felt for the players and management. They are the people who put in the most effort, so it wasn't an easy time. There's nothing we could do. They said they are putting procedures in place. "All I can say is Tipperary won the All-Ireland and they were well worthy. Congratulations to them. It was disappointing for us, but there's nothing much we can do now." The chairman added that despite Croke Park's plan to insert procedures, Kilkenny will be keeping a close eye on the action the GAA takes so that there are no further instances of the situation. "In Croke Park, there is about six people on the sideline there, the referee's report had the score in at 4-20 to 0-30 and we were sent on a copy of that, so immediately that's the score you go by. Just human error was basically the cause; whoever was on the scoreboard put up that extra point. "Maybe I think when you have HawkEye you should be able to link it all in and be able to check for scores, I don't know how they can't stop play. "They say they're looking at procedures and we will enquire about them going forward, we won't just let that go, we need to make sure it won't happen again, because it is was very stressful time." Kenny also credited the Kilkenny players' — who were kept up-to-date with the talks — decision not to speak out in the media. "When you're a player and you're chasing a lead, it does affect your decision-making," Kenny said. "Credit to the players, they didn't go out in the media either, looking to make a story either. They are the most important people in this."

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