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Extra.ie
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Extra.ie
Player power could sway Jack O'Connor to stay
Hopes are growing that Jack O'Connor will be persuaded to stay on as Kerry manager for next season, with the county chair believing the veteran will return to defend the Sam Maguire in 2026. O'Connor won his fifth All-Ireland title in Sunday's devastating victory over Donegal, in his third term managing the county's senior team. He was re-appointed to the role for a third time in late 2021 on a four-year arrangement, and that concluded with the stunning victory of two days ago. Jack O'Connor celebrates the final whistle with Cian O' Connor. Pic: Inpho It leaves O'Connor third in the list of All-Ireland-winning managers, behind Mick O'Dwyer on eight and Jim Gavin on six. The opportunity to match Gavin's record could tempt O'Connor, but more persuasive could be the enthusiasm of his players, a young and hugely talented group, the core of whom O'Connor has managed at a minor level, too. 'At the start of the year, Jack was edging that way,' Patrick O'Sullivan, the chair of the Kerry board, said in comments reported by The Examiner, 'but winning yesterday and with the backing of the players, I think Jack will stay on for another year. Kerry manager Jack O'Connor. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile 'That's a discussion we will have over the next couple of weeks. What is best for Kerry will happen. Jack is an honourable man and it's a discussion for us.' The eagerness of Kingdom chiefs to retain O'Connor is understandable, given his enormous experience and how deftly he managed the aftermath of a shock defeat to Meath in the All-Ireland group series. The young age of the squad is a further encouragement to maintain the current arrangement, with Cian O'Neill (above) joining as coach to replace Paddy Tally for this season. It seems clear that, if O'Connor wishes to stay on, he will have the backing of officials and the players, and one of the comments O'Connor made in the aftermath of Sunday's win showed how influential that cohort could be. 'I went on record earlier in the year that it would probably be my last hurrah,' he said. 'I don't want to be telling you lads (the press) before I tell anyone else. There are more important people down the corridor.' While he suggested in January that this would be his final season, that position had softened by the time he was interviewed by RTÉ on Sunday, and he will be under pressure to commit for at least one more season. That would give Kerry certainty at a time when some rival counties have vacancies. That's the case in Dublin and Mayo, with the expected appointments of Ger Brennan and Andy Moran, respectively. Declan Darcy is also in the mix for the former.
The Irish Sun
14 hours ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘I felt like packing it up' – Jack O'Connor reveals he thought about quitting Kerry job last year
FIVE-TIME All-Ireland-winning manager Jack O'Connor came close to quitting last year. The Kerry boss led the Munster giants to their 39th crown with 2 The 64-year-old has had three stints as Kerry manager as well as managing Kildare 2 Kerry were defeated 1-18 to 1-16 by Armagh after extra-time in last year's semi-final But last year's And the Dromid Pearses man admits he thought of stepping away before this Sam Maguire feat alongside new coaches Cian O'Neill and Aodán Mac Gearailt. He said: 'I did. I certainly did. I found the year in general tough because we suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Armagh in a game that we appeared to be in control of. 'Then I had my whole management break up. So I had to try and put the management together while I was dealing with the personal heartbreak of losing an All-Ireland semi-final. Read more on GAA 'That can be a tough, lonely place to be, when you're trying to do that. 'So right from this time last year I found the going tough and there were times when I felt like packing it up. 'I'm glad I stuck with it and saw the year out because, sure, we got the reward on Sunday. But it was a tough year.' Those painful memories are all in the past now as, in their thousands, the Kingdom welcomed home their heroes yesterday following their stunning 1-26 to 0-19 thumping of the Ulster champions. Most read in GAA Football The players were paraded through Tralee on an open-top bus before another welcome home in Killarney. Their philosophical boss though, admits he could not have envisaged last night's joyous scenes in his homeland without some heart-to-hearts with his family, players and coaching staff. David Clifford's son adorably hijacks RTE interview after dad dominates All-Ireland final O'Connor — who also claimed All-Irelands as Kingdom boss in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2022 — added: 'I would be conversing with some of the players and they would have said, 'Hang in there!' 'It's tough going when you lose your management team, lads that you soldier with and that you trust and confide in. 'Then you have to try and gel with a new management team. That can be tough at times. As it turned out the lads have been brilliant. 'Cian O'Neill, James Costello, Aodán Mac Gearailt and Pa McCarthy were absolutely brilliant. 'As it turned out they brought real freshness and real new ideas to the set-up. I think the players relished that.'
The 42
a day ago
- Sport
- The 42
In pics: Kerry footballers and fans rejoice at All-Ireland homecoming
THERE WERE SCENES of celebration this evening in Kerry as fans turned out to welcome home their All-Ireland-winning heroes. Kerry captured their 39th All-Ireland SFC title after an impressive display against Donegal yesterday in Croke Park. Leading by seven points at half-time, they maintained their control of the game in the second half as Joe O'Connor provided the final flourish with a late goal to deliver a 1-26 to 0-19 victory. Jack O'Connor's side brought the Sam Maguire back to the Kingdom today where a huge crowd turned out to greet them. **** Advertisement Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
All-Ireland champs Kerry enjoy cross-county support from young GAA fans during hospital visit before heroes' homecoming
SWASHBUCKLING All-Ireland champions Kerry got their celebration party off to an early start this morning ahead of lining out for a heroes' homecoming - as it was revealed a MILLION people watched the climax of the final. Advertisement 9 Kerry players kicked off their celebrations by bringing Sam Maguire to sick kids Credit: Andres Poveda 9 Members of the panel showed off Sam to those at Temple Street Children's Hospital Credit: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile 9 They also took Sam to The Boar's Head on Capel Street Credit: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile Triumphant Members of the panel also showed off Sam to sick kids at Temple Street Children's The All-Ireland-winning team then jumped on a train to make their way home to Kerry. Amid their train trip south, their first stop was in Rathmore, home of goalkeeper Shane Ryan and corner-back Paul Murphy. Advertisement Read more in GAA And following the pitstop, the train travelled directly to Casement Station in Tralee. Tens of thousands of fans are set to turn out at special homecoming events in Tralee and Killarney tonight. The team and management will be paraded through Tralee town in an open-top bus to an outdoor reception at the Ashe Memorial Hall in Denny Street. The team and management will then hot-foot it to Killarney, for another bash there. Advertisement Most read in GAA Football An open-top bus will take them on a parade through Killarney town to a reception in the Glebe car park. With green and yellow nuts in party mode, Kerry comedian Bernard Casey today described it as one of the 'sweetest All-Ireland triumphs in a long time'. Kerry star Paudie Clifford slates critics after Kingdom win 39th Funnyman Casey, of Portmagee village in Co Kerry, beamed: 'Kerry 'People said they Advertisement 'And the fact that we were able to beat three extremely strong teams from Ulster to win the 'Especially from the history of Kerry, through the noughties, the hardship we had with Tyrone. And Armagh catching us last year. Donegal as well caught us badly in 2012, they gave us a bit of a beating that day. So it was a great one at the weekend.' 9 The Kingdom scooped their 39th All-Ireland title on Sunday Credit: Andres Poveda 9 Kerry swept past Donegal 1-26 to 0-19 at Croke Park Credit: Andres Poveda Advertisement 9 Thousands of fans are set to turn out at special homecoming events tonight Credit: Andres Poveda Casey says Kerry fans are He said: 'If you actually look at the pundits, there were seven pundits, six of them from the north, and they all gave Donegal the tip. 'There were a few non-Nordies that also gave it to them. Advertisement 'Donegal were justified in thinking they could win they game, they've played some fabulous stuff leading it up to it. 'MASSIVE SENSE OF PRIDE' 'It was brilliant being around the fans. 'The atmosphere was absolutely fantastic. There's a massive sense of pride.' As the party continues, Advertisement The broadcaster revealed Kerry's win over Donegal in yesterday's All-Ireland Football Final drew an average audience of 933,000 viewers to RTE One's coverage on The Sunday Game Live. David Clifford's son adorably hijacks RTE interview after dad dominates All-Ireland final Some 79 per cent of the available audience tuned-in, with viewership peaking at 1,033,000 towards the end of the game. TUNED IN RTE said: 'Kerry's win over Donegal in yesterday's All Ireland Football Final drew an average audience of 933,000 viewers to RTE One's coverage on The Sunday Game Live, with 79 per cent of the available audience tuning-in as Joanne Cantwell presented live coverage of the Kingdom's record-extending 39th All Ireland title. Viewership peaked at 1,033,000 towards the end of the game (17.17). 'The Sunday Game Live (including Sunday Game Beo) had 378,000 streams on RTE Player yesterday. Sunday Game Beo on RTE News channel and RTE Player, presented by Gráinne McElwain, had Irish language commentary of the final while Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 brought listeners all the action from the final as did Raidió na Gaeltachta's Spórt an Lae. Advertisement 'On Sunday night, Jacqui Hurley and the Sunday Game pundits picked the Football team of the year, while 'HEAVILY ENGAGED' 'The craic began on Saturday night on RTÉ One as an average audience of 309,000 watched Up For The Match on RTÉ One as Jacqui Hurley and Des Cahill were joined live in studio by 'Fans were heavily engaged with The Sunday Game across RTÉ's social media platforms with video views reaching 6.73 million with over 705,000 engagements. President 9 RTE's Marty Morrissey also made the trip to the hospital Credit: Andres Poveda Advertisement 9 The final drew an average audience of 933,000 television viewers to RTE Credit: Andres Poveda 9 The All-Ireland-winning team jumped on a train to make their way home to Kerry Credit: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Kerry prepares to welcome home All-Ireland winners
The All-Ireland-winning Kerry team and management will make their way home this afternoon by train. Tens of thousands of people are expected at the homecoming celebrations in Tralee and Killarney. Their first stop will be in Rathmore, home of goalkeeper Shane Ryan and corner-back Paul Murphy. There will be a 20-minute stop in Rathmore before the train travels directly to Casement Station in Tralee. The team and management will be paraded through the town in an open-top bus to an outdoor reception at the Ashe Memorial Hall in Denny Street at 6.30pm. The team and management will then travel to Killarney, arriving at Fitzgerald Stadium at around 8.30pm. An open-top bus will take them on a parade through the town to a reception in the Glebe car park.
