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BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Cáit Lynch thought Kerry days were over before return to panel after Covid-19
Leaving for work in 2016, the dream for Kerry's Cáit Lynch to lift the Brendan Maher cup in Croke Park looked like it was gone, but her dream came true last August. The 32-year-old moved to the Netherlands in 2016 for work, having been captain of Kerry in 2015, the last time Lynch was captain before this season. Advertisement As the years went by, the Kerry woman's changes of returning for the kingdom were fading, as she was reduced to playing recreational Gaelic football in Amsterdam. However, after the Covid-19 pandemic, Lynch found herself back in Ireland, and soon back in a Kerry jersey. "I thought the county days had passed me until Covid happened. "'I had to make the decision to leave for work (in 2016) so it was a very big decision at the time. They put down a good few tough years as well when I was away, so I was lucky enough to come back when I did." Advertisement Lynch was key for Kerry last season as they won their first All-Ireland title since 1993 when they defeated Galway last August. Before August, there was final defeats to Dublin and Meath, as they had to dig deep to overcome heartbreak. "Every year, you have to believe that you can win. "The bigger the belief and the bigger the loss, the bigger the hurt as well. It was very tough to come back, but I suppose the motivation nearly grew every year as well. Especially in the two previous years where we'd gotten to finals, we knew we were so close. Advertisement "There were just a few little changes or small things that could be changed that we think, right, maybe this could be the year then. I do think, as tough as it is, the motivation does actually grow. "That's what kept us going for so long as well." Two competitions down so far this season, and Kerry have two pieces of silverware. The Kingdom defeated Armagh in the Division One final, and followed it up with another Munster championship with a victory over Waterford in the final last weekend. Advertisement Following the the retirement of Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh, Lynch is now Kerry's longest serving player, as they search for back-to-back All-Ireland's for the first time since the 1980s. For the two-time all-star, Lynch is pleased Kerry have continued their success under new management and the loss of experienced players. "I suppose at the start of the year we had a lot of changes with players leaving, retiring or taking a year out, and we had a complete change to the management as well, so it's hard to know how the year will pan out. 'But we were lucky that a really strong core of the team had stayed and I think that really helped with the transition from last year. 'You just never know how a season is going to go. We were hoping that we'd do well in the league, I think initially we were trying not to get relegated and then anything after that is nearly a bonus. 'We were hoping to do well in the Munster championship as well. We've been delighted with how the season has gone so far.'
BBC News
2 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
'No excuses' for Tyrone in Mayo loss - O'Rourke
Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke felt his side did not "get to the pitch of the game" in their 2-17 to 1-13 defeat by into the All-Ireland round-robin contest off an impressive win over Ulster champions Donegal seven days prior, the Red Hands found themselves 1-9 to 0-4 down at they would cut the deficit to a point in the second half, Mayo, under the charge of Stephen Rochford after Kevin McStay stepped away for health reasons, pulled away to bounce back from their opening-round loss to Cavan."We'd a great win last week and we came here knowing, after the disappointment of the Cavan game, Mayo would be coming here with real hunger," said O'Rourke."We knew we'd have to meet that head on and I suppose that's the most disappointing thing, we felt in the first half we didn't get to the pitch of the game. "We were a bit flat and left ourselves with a lot to do. In fairness to the boys, we dug in well, we got it back to a point but we made too many mistakes, we weren't playing well enough and Mayo deserved the victory. We've no excuses."While Tyrone were in action on consecutive weekends, Mayo had a week's break from their last outing, although O'Rourke did not feel that was the telling reason for his side's flat performance."There's no doubt that the week turnaround is very small and it could have some effect, but we're not using that as an excuse either," he added."We knew what the story was, we knew exactly what Mayo would bring and we were hoping we'd be able to meet that and get another really good performance."For all of us in the changing room, we didn't get to the level that we need to get to and the level we expect of ourselves."Tyrone will conclude their round-robin action against Cavan at a neutral venue during the weekend of 14/15 June.
BBC News
16 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Mayo bounce back to beat Tyrone in All-Ireland group stage
Mayo bounced back from an opening day defeat to shock Tyrone 2-17 to 1-13 in their All-Ireland round-robin meeting in O'Donaghue top scored for the visitors with 1-6 including a second-half penalty while Darren McHale grabbed the other Mayo goal after the first-half hooter had blown. Stephen Rochford took charge of Mayo for the game after manager Kevin McStay confirmed earlier in the week that he was stepping back from his role for the immediate future to deal with some personal health came into this one as favourites after their victory over Ulster champions Donegal in Ballybofey seven days ago while Mayo had opened with a home defeat to Cavan a fortnight ago. The difference in turnaround times for both sides may have been a factor as the visitors dominated the hosts, who looked flat throughout and struggled on their own restarts. Mayo blow Group One wide open Mayo led 0-6 to 0-2 midway through the first half with Rory Brickenden and Ryan O'Donaghue amongst the scorers, but their lead could have been greater as the cut the Tyrone defence open on multiple occasions with O'Donaghue and Aidan O'Shea coming close to Red Hands would go 13 and then 12 minutes without registering a score during the first half with efforts from Ben McDonnell and Darragh Canavan stopping the rot. But it was Mayo who would lead by eight at the break (1-9 to 0-4), after scoring a late held possession for over three minutes before the hooter sounded and Bob Tuohy then had a shot on goal which was spilled by Niall Morgan in the Tyrone goal, allowing McHale to shoot into the empty net. Malachy O'Rourke's side needed a response in the second half and got just that with a quickfire 1-2, Darragh Canavan finishing off a fine individual goal before O'Donaghue and Darren McCurry, who took 49 minutes to register a score, exchanged efforts. Morgan came forward and nailed a long range free from two-point range to cut the gap to just a single point and when it looked Tyrone had the upper hand, Mayo replied with an unanswered 1-4. Their second goal came from the penalty spot after referee David Coldrick adjudged that Ciaran Quinn had pushed Davitt Neary inside the box. O'Donaghue stepped up and sent Morgan the wrong way, atoning for his penalty miss in the 2021 All-Ireland decider between the sides to seal victory for the Connacht men. That result blows Group One wide open, with Mayo taking on Donegal in a fortnight's time while Tyrone face Cavan with all-four counties having a real chance of advancing beyond the group stage. Tyrone: N Morgan (0-4 2 2ptf); C Quinn, P Teague, N Devlin; M McKernan (0-1), R Brennan, K McGeary (0-1); B McDonnell (0-1), C Kilpatrick; S O'Donnell, M Donnelly (0-1), C Daly; D McCurry (0-2 1f), M Bradley, D Canavan (1-3 2f). Subs: Liam Gray for S O'Donnell (HT), Shea O'Hare for R Brennan (HT), Peter Harte for M Bradley (48), Ruairi Canavan for C Daly (48), Aodhan Donaghy for B McDonnell (62)Mayo: C Reape (0-1 1f); J Coyne (0-1), S Morahan, R Brickenden 0-2); S Coen, D McBrien, E Hession; P Durcan (0-3), M Ruane; J Carney (0-1), D McHale (1-0), B Tuohy; A O'Shea (0-1), C Dawson (0-2), R O'Donaghue (1-6 5f, 1 pen). Subs: Jordan Flynn for B Tuohy (52), Davitt Neary for D McHale (52), Fenton Kelly for C Dawson (57), Fergal Boland for M Ruane (65), Sam Callinan for P Durcan (67).
BBC News
18 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Down edge Louth for second All-Ireland group stage win
Down made it two wins from two in the group stage of the All-Ireland series as they survived a late Louth fightback to win 0-25 to 0-24 at Pairc a delayed start to the game in Newry, Odhran Murdock kicked a fine two pointer a minute into the game to set Conor Laverty's men on their added two more points before a free from Sam Mulroy got Louth on the board after eight two-pointers from Danny Magill and Murdock further stretched Down's lead and they eventually moved nine clear before Niall McDonnell was thwarted by Ryan McEvoy in front of rattled off four points in a row to cut the gap, but a late scoring blitz helped Down to lead 0-16 to 0-7 at two-pointer and another effort from Mulroy helped the Leinster champions to chip away at Down's lead, reducing it to six points, but three in a row from the hosts helped them to re-establish their McKenny hit the post for Louth with Mulroy, Craig Lennon and Tommy Durnin scoring three straight two-pointers for the visitors as they moved to within three points of the had the momentum and got back to within one, before Mulroy's attempt after the hooter was blocked as Down held on for a narrow comfortably dispatched Clare in their first game, the Mournemen are in a commanding position ahead of facing Monaghan at a neutral venue in the final round of group games in a fortnight.
BBC News
21 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
'No excuses' as Derry face crucial Galway test
Derry boss Paddy Tally has urged his players to rise to the challenge of facing a fired-up Galway in Sunday's crucial All-Ireland Group Four game at Celtic Park (14:00 BST). With Dublin to come in a fortnight, the Oak Leafers must beat last year's All-Ireland finalists to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stages. Derry are winless in 2025, having struggled to cope with injuries to key players, but Tally says there will be no excuses when they host a Tribesmen outfit who lost to Dublin last time out. "Galway are one of the top teams in the country," Tally told BBC Sport NI after his side's defeat by Armagh in round one. "They got their shock against Dublin. You'll not see that Galway team again. You'll see a much more motivated and focused Galway. "But we have them at home. It's on us to make sure we perform. There is no other way of looking at it. There will be no excuses so the performance is key and let's hope we can get a result."Tally insisted Derry must improve their kick-outs after being dominated by Armagh in the middle third at the Athletic Grounds. His hand may be strengthened, however, by the return of goalkeeper Odhran Lynch, who has been named on the bench for the Galway game. "Armagh looked good, at times they were cutting us open and getting scores," added former Tyrone and Kerry coach Tally. "We were loose defensively at times, which wasn't good enough. We struggled on kick-outs. Armagh are strong around the middle and it's something we have to work on. "You can see at times where our players were coming into it. I do think it comes down to not playing for a while but that will not be an excuse against Galway."Derry rallied from nine points to draw against Galway at Celtic Park in Division One earlier this year, but lost 2-14 to 0-15 in last year's All-Ireland round-robin tie.
