Latest news with #All-Irelands
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Dublin great Brian Fenton set to make gaelic football return in America
Dublin great Brian Fenton is set to play his summer football in Chicago. The seven-time All-Ireland winner has signed for John McBride's GAA Club in The Windy City, according to Mayo News. And the 32-year-old is expected to line out this weekend in a clash with the Wolfe Tones in the Chicago GAA Championship at Gaelic Park. Fenton retired from inter-county football last year after a trophy-laden career with the Dubs. Widely recognised as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, he was an integral part of a Dublin team that won a historic six All-Irelands in succession between 2015 and 2020. The Raheny man won six All-Star awards and was named Footballer of the Year on two occasions, in 2018 and 2020. There will be many Dublin fans hoping that a summer in Chicago may reignite Fenton's appetite for another stint in blue.
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Meabh Cahalane hoping focus will turn to 'the actual game' after skorts debate
Meabh Cahalane's mother was chatting to an uncle in America at the weekend, filling him in on how Cork had got on against Limerick. Meabh captained the Cork camogie team to a landslide Round 1 win, setting them up nicely for this Saturday's anticipated stiffer test in Tipperary, though the result wasn't the main focus of the conversation. "I have an uncle in America and he was on the phone to my mother wondering if we were wearing shorts or skorts at the weekend," said Cahalane, referencing a debate which gained far more headlines than the opening round of games did. "She was trying to tell him about results and different things! It's one of those things that got huge coverage and hopefully now camogie, the actual game, will get the same coverage." It remains to be seen if that will happen though Cork are doing their damnedest to get people talking about what they're doing on the pitch. Back-to-back Glen Dimplex All-Ireland title winners, National League champions, Munster finalists. Whatever competition you choose to focus on, they're at the top of the tree right now and they gave Limerick a licking last weekend in that All-Ireland group opener, posting 6-25. Cork's appetite for destruction clearly hasn't been sated by success. "It's really hard to get into the starting 15, and into the 20," said defender Cahalane. "For any team that's a huge positive but especially coming in after winning last year, I don't think anyone has taken any sort of backwards step. We seem to be really hungry and really going after it again this year. "I think that was proven in the league. So the hunger is definitely still there and you're seeing that in the competition for places." The funny thing is, it's only two years ago they were talking about Cork camogie going through a famine period of sorts. They'd failed to win any of the four All-Irelands between 2019 and 2022 and had been passed out by Galway and Kilkenny. Cahalane points to the 2022 All-Ireland final loss to Kilkenny as a turning point. "I think losing that game to Kilkenny made us realise that we probably had to find another couple of players and since then we've had Sorcha McCartan come into the panel, Orlaith Cahalane, Aoife Healy and now you have Clodagh Finn, Cliona Healy and girls like Saoirse McCarthy and Laura Hayes who have all got that bit older and stronger and more experienced," said Cahalane. "I suppose that age group are really the driving force behind the team now. They're driving standards and making the older players really work for their positions. You can see it in Ashling Thompson, for example, she's absolutely flying. And that probably comes down to the younger girls pushing her for her place." Even at this early stage of the Championship, Saturday's trip to Tipp and The Ragg could be a shoot-out for top spot in the table, and a semi-final place. It's a meeting of the two teams from the group that competed in the top flight of this year's league. Down native McCartan and Libby Coppinger didn't feature in the Limerick game due to injuries. "There are another few girls in the panel with niggles and stuff too," said Cahalane. "We're not able to play full 15 v 15 games in training at the moment. Hopefully those girls can get those injuries right, without any complications, because the season is so short. "Sorcha is back in training now, she might be touch and go (this weekend) but Libby will probably be another couple of weeks alright." Cahalane said the drive for three All-Ireland titles in a row isn't a topic that's necessarily been placed off limits. "I think it's important that we see it as an opportunity," she said. "We have Gemma O'Connor involved with us this year. She has played the game her whole life and she has encouraged us to see it as an opportunity to go after. "In order to do that it's important to be present and not to let the year pass us by and then be wondering in August, 'Why weren't we able to do it?' I think it's important for us, if we want to get there, to take it game by game because when you're going in as defending champions, there's always going to be a target on your back."
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Kerry quest for back-to-back begins as Galway eye All-Ireland title
The 2025 TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Championships kicks into action this weekend with 33 counties aiming to get to Croke Park for finals day on Sunday, 3 August. The senior championship will commence on Saturday, 7 June with three fixtures, as Galway take on Tipperary, Kerry meet Mayo, and Meath face Armagh, with Waterford's clash against Dublin taking place on the Sunday. Defending champions Kerry, aiming for back-to-back titles and fresh from retaining their Munster title at the weekend, are in Group 2 alongside Mayo and Cork. Group 1 features Connacht champions and 2024 All-Ireland finalists Galway, Donegal and Tipperary, with Ulster champions Armagh, Meath and Kildare in Group 3. Group 4 contains Leinster champions Dublin, Waterford and Leitrim. . @MartyMOfficial heard from defending champions Kerry and some of the teams looking to take their title at today's launch of the All-Ireland Ladies Football Championships #LGFA — RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) May 27, 2025 Speaking at the launch of this year's championship, Kerry captain Cáit Lynch reflected on the joy of winning in 2024 having already lost on two occasions, and she believes that her side should be able to play with a bit more freedom as a result. "It was just a wonderful, wonderful day for us to finally get over the line after 31 years of trying and knocking at the door," Lynch told RTÉ Sport. "I suppose after losing two All-Irelands we started to wonder would it over happen for us. "This year there is a little bit less pressure but obviously the goal and the hope for us is to win another All-Ireland. "I can't wait for it to start, the championship has gone from strength to strength over the last couple of years and there is nothing between the top teams at the moment. " There was a massive turnaround at the start of the year and 12 players left the panel, either retiring or taking a year out," she added, when asked about this year's panel. "But it's testament to the strength of the panel that we've been building over the last few years. "A lot of players have now come back in after taking a year or two out, the likes of Rachel Dwyer is flying at the moment, also Caoimhe Evans, Niamh Broderick. It's great to have players back that were team-mates a couple of years ago." Galway captain Kate Geraghty believes that her team are well-placed going into the competition, buoyed by the success of winning the provincial championship. " Everyone's aim is to get to the All-Ireland final. We have Tipp and Donegal in the first two rounds and hopefully get good performances there. I think after winning Connacht and then the league final everyone is buzzing," said Geraghty. " We have a lot of depth in the panel. From last year the Noones (Lynsey and Eva), Siobhán Divilly, Kate Slevin and Kate Thompson are back and a few younger girls are coming through." Dublin and Waterford find themselves in the same group this year and both sides are looking to improve on last year's performance in the championship. The Dubs won the Leinster and topped the group, however, they were knocked out at the quarter-final stage, losing by a point to Galway after extra time. "We weren't happy with our performance last year, so I think it's about redemption and just doing ourselves and the county proud," said Dublin captain Niamh Donlon. "Waterford put in a really tough fight against Kerry in the Munster final and Leitrim are intermediate winners, so there is no backing off, and while it's going to be tough, we're looking forward to the challenge." The Déise also made their exit in the last-eight stage, losing to Cork, and captain Emma Murray believes that her side have the momentum behind them to go further in the competition this year. "We had a fairly successful league campaign, and a fairly successful Munster campaign, so there is a bit of momentum there," said Murray. "A lot of us have been there for about ten years so we have a lot of experience at this level and we have a good group of younger girls who are getting used to the flow of things. "We'll take it game by game, and if you get top of the group, you're getting a home quarter-final, and if you're second you still get into the quarter-finals, which we got to last year, so this year we'll be hoping to go a step further, at least."
RTÉ News
26-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Kilkenny camogie are fuelled by disappointment says captain Katie Power
Kilkenny camogie captain Katie Power says his her side will be fuelled by disappointment as they aim to reach a semi-final for the first time since their last All-Ireland title in 2022. The Cats, third in the roll of honour, contested six finals in the 2010s and won the O'Duffy Cup in 2020 and '22 but have made quarter-final exits in the last two seasons, to Dublin last year and champions Cork before that. "The semi-finals were in Nowlan Park as well, so for Kilkenny not to be in it was very disappointing," Power told RTÉ Sport at the launch of the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Camogie Championship. "So the aim this year is to try get out of the group and get back to a semi-final. "But we're in a very difficult group and there are probably four teams, realistically, that can come out with the three [qualifying] spots. "Dublin beat us in the quarter-final last year. Waterford were in an All-Ireland two years ago. Galway were in the league final and have been in the last couple of All-Irelands. Derry as well. "So we're under no illusions at all about what faces us." The Cats made a 26-point winning start against Derry last weekend as group rivals Galway beat Dublin by six. "We're playing Waterford and Dublin the next two weekends, so obviously they're two crunch games for us," said Power. . @MartyMOfficial heard from some of the contending counties ahead of the opening weekend of the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship #Camogie — RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) May 26, 2025 All-Ireland champions Cork are going for three in a row and began their campaign with a 38-point demolition of Limerick last weekend. With such success comes great pressure says the Rebels' new skipper Meabh Cahalane, who is following in her father Niall's footsteps as he captained the Cork football team in 1985. "There's a target on our back any day that we'll go out," Cahalane told RTÉ Sport. Cork will face Tipperary on 31 May in their second group game, which Cahalane admits will be a "battle", but all eyes are on getting back to the big venue in Dublin. "We've one win under our belt now and Tipp going into this weekend, it's going to be a huge battle. "That's just what we're focused on for this weekend to get out of our group is our goal at the moment and ultimately to try and get back to Croke Park." The quarter-finals will take place in Croke Park, on Sunday, 6 July but should they make it, there will be a few changes from the team that last togged out there in last year's final. "There's been a bit of a turnover. There's been a couple of players introduced and a couple of players have left the panel. But I suppose that adds freshness to the panel." Net-minder and last season's captain Molly Lynch is among the higher profile players to step away, but Cahalane insists the younger plays are stepping up. "No one feels that they're guaranteed their place at the moment. "There's been a couple of girls who've gone from the panel. Molly Lynch and Haley Ryan, they were great players for us. "We're just delighted that there's another few girls that have been introduced to the panel... So they really putting their hands up." Some of the younger players introduced include Ava Fitzgerald and Millie Condon, who have been on the fringes of the panel, but are now ready to make major contributions says Cahalane. "Ava Fitzgerald, even Millie Condon, she was on the panel the last couple years... It's great for those girls to be getting games under their belt.
RTÉ News
24-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Cian Lynch's decade of Limerick artistry
Ten years ago today, 'Ciarán Carey's nephew' was handed a Limerick championship jersey for the first time. Five All-Irelands, six Munsters, two Player of the Year awards and three All-Stars later, Cian Lynch is very much his own man. It was Clare then – producing a Player of the Match award on debut – and it's Clare now with John Kiely's side welcoming the current Liam MacCarthy holders to the Gaelic Grounds tomorrow. That was the case all the way back in 1996 too when the Banner arrived in Limerick as All-Ireland champions but were knocked out as Carey scored one of hurling's most iconic points when he ran three-quarters of the pitch and fired over. Like 1996, Clare will pull away on the team bus tomorrow knowing their All-Ireland dreams are over, but this season the coup de grâce was delivered before even coming up against the Treaty County. With Limerick's final spot confirmed, Lynch has been given his tenth anniversary weekend off to celebrate - one of eight changes from the side that dismantled Cork. Such is Kiely's embarrassment of riches, he can afford to rest his most important players for bigger challenges ahead. The Limerick squad Lynch entered under TJ Ryan was a lot different to the beast we know today – the one that ruthlessly reminded the country of its scary possibilities last weekend against Cork with the Patrickswell man's deft flick for Adam English's goal a reminder that for all the brawn there's an equal amount of artistry. No All-Ireland since 1973, the year prior to Lynch's inclusion had yielded an unexpected run to the semi-final where they were pipped by eventual champions Kilkenny. That journey felt like it was almost fuelled by pure ignorance from the fall-out of Donal O'Grady's decision to step down as joint-manager just prior to the championship as he, and Ryan, contested comments in the press from Limerick officials that they had "apologised for the abysmal displays" during the league. Given many Limerick players had been on strike just a few years earlier, it was not a county noted for its stability. The seeds were being sown though to grow more solid roots. Two Munster minor titles and two further final appearances between 2013 and '16 - Lynch helping the side to a first title in 29 years in '13 before captaining them as they retained the crown the following season. Weeks after his senior championship debut, he helped Kiely's Under-21 side win the All-Ireland with a sensational performance in a roving role against Wexford. While Lynch was getting ready to make his bow against Clare, the undercard that day featured an IHC clash between the counties with recent Munster minor winners like Richie English, Daragh O'Donovan, Sean Finn and Mike Casey included in Don Flynn's squad. The talent was there, the consistency was not with Lynch's first three seasons resulting in two Round 2 qualifier defeats and a Round 1 qualifier loss. Then the breakthrough year, 2018. Lynch's magic dust finally gaining national recognition with a Celtic Cross and the Hurler of the Year gong. Bigger, faster, stronger but still playing the game differently to the rest. He has the commodity that only the very best sporting stars are able to afford – the ability to seemingly slow play down when in possession. Lynch is the provider of so many showreel moments: the 2022 point against Cork off his knees, his panache for blind handpasses and his repertoire of chopping the ball off the deck in the silkiest manner thinkable. If there is one surprising stat it's that he has only three goals to his name – Galway (2017) and Offaly (2022) in the league and a crucial strike in the 2018 All-Ireland semi-final epic with Cork. The one player than can elevate this Limerick team from excellent to extraordinary. So often leading by example, now tasked to simply lead having replaced Declan Hannon as captain for the 2025 season. Prior to last weekend's demolition of the Rebels, Lynch was 11/1 to be named Hurler of the Year for a third time. He is now favourite at 4/1. Only one player has ever won the award three times – Kilkenny's Henry Shefflin. Whatever the rest of the season may hold for Lynch and Limerick, the last decade has ensured his status as a hurling legend has been secured.
