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Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Double provincial winner and former captain announces inter-county retirement
Roscommon's Donie Smith has announced his retirement from inter-county football after 14 seasons. Smith's career highlights came with the Connacht title wins of 2017 and '19, while he won four Division Two League titles, one of them as captain in 2022, as well as a Division Three title. In all, the 32-year-old made 133 senior appearances for the county, scoring 8-273. Roscommon chairman Brian Carroll paid tribute to his contribution, saying: 'On behalf of everyone in Roscommon GAA, I want to thank Donie for his dedication and commitment to the Roscommon jersey over the past 13 years. He always wore the primrose and blue with great honesty and pride. 'Donie's scoring tally of 8-273 shows the consistent level of high performance that Donie gave while on the pitch. 'We wish Donie, Laura, and Sadie all the very best for the future and a long, happy, and healthy life.' Roscommon are currently on the lookout for a new manager following the decision of Davy Burke to step down after three years in the aftermath of their All-Ireland group stage exit, despite leading the team back to Division One for the 2026 season.
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Roscommon's Donie Smith retires from intercounty football
Roscommon forward Donie Smith has announced his intercounty retirement. Smith, who won two Connacht senior football titles, made his Roscommon debut in 2012 and brings the curtain down on his career after 133 appearances in the primrose and blue. The Boyle man captained Roscommon in 2022 and scored an impressive 8-273 over the course of his intercounty career. 'On behalf of everyone in Roscommon GAA, I want to thank Donie for his dedication and commitment to the Roscommon jersey over the past 13 years,' said Roscommon GAA chairman Brian Carroll. READ MORE 'He always wore the primrose and blue with great honesty and pride. We wish Donie, Laura, and Sadie all the very best for the future and a long, happy, and healthy life.' Smith also won four National League Division Two titles (2015, 2018, 2020, 2022) and one Division Three crown (2014). However, the highlights of his Roscommon days were the 2017 and 2019 Connacht final victories. He scored 0-2 when introduced off the bench as Roscommon beat Galway in 2017. Smith's last appearance for Roscommon was in their round-three group game in the All-Ireland series in June – a defeat to Cork at O'Moore Park, during which he scored a point.
The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘We air our dirty laundry' – RTE pundit doesn't pull any punches in cutting verdict of Mayo GAA county board
MAYO legend Lee Keegan has slammed the Mayo GAA county board for multiple decisions and actions. The five-time All-Star has vented his frustrations about the many issues within the Advertisement 2 Mayo failed to advance from the group stages of this year's championship 2 Keegan was very disappointed in Mayo GAA's statement when 'relieving' Kevin McStay of his duties at the time Credit: @talksportireland The Green and Red county failed to reach the knockout stages of this year's Championship after a Kevin Keegan has suggested that underlying issues within the county board have more to do with Mayo's lack of success than McStay. The Westport man said: "There's trust and loyalty issues. There's too much talking. The expectation for me is too much. Advertisement Read more on GAA "This is the problem like you know, we sometimes as players we get ridiculed and obviously we didn't get over the All-Ireland stuff but listen that's our fault I take that. "We are the only county I feel anyway that we air all our dirty laundry to everybody for good or bad. Like I mean from the the simplest stuff to the outrageous stuff, everything just gets out." Keegan also feels the expectation put on the current crop of Mayo players is far too high and needs to be more realistic after recent struggles in the All-Ireland series. Since Mayo's All-Ireland final loss to Tyrone in 2021, the Westerners have failed to pass the quarter-final stages of the Championship. Advertisement Most read in GAA Football Comment It was a stark demise for Mayo who suffered a Connacht quarter-final defeat to Galway in 2022, before being knocked out by Kerry at the same stage in the All-Ireland series. The following year brought another Connacht quarter-final exit, this time at the hands of Roscommon. A preliminary quarter-final win against provincial rivals Galway saw them reach the quarters yet again but a rampant Dublin team beat them by 12 points. David Clifford's son adorably hijacks RTE interview after dad dominates All-Ireland final A preliminary quarter-final The seven time Connacht champion added: "We probably get talked about more than most. We were in the conversation for the quarter-finals this year when we shouldn't have. Advertisement "I think in Mayo sometimes the expectation is way too high. I think we need to.. not lower, I mean you obviously want to win the big ones and stuff. "We haven't won a Connacht medal in a few years now, we won a league and got to a league final. That doesn't cut it. We need to win provincials, like Galway have won four-in-a-row. "That needs to be a realistic expectation, we are on about All-Irelands for the last few years. MCSTAY SYMPATHY Keegan also felt former Mayo manager Kevin McStay - who had to temporarily step away from the role due to health reasons - was hard done by by the Mayo GAA county board. Advertisement The RTÉ pundit sympatised: "I've felt really sorry for Kevin in particular. "We lost a lot of big figureheads of that group that didn't get over the line (2021), we went very close. It's very unfair to ask the same of the group that's in there now "I felt sorry for Kevin at times, I think his writing was on the wall this year because he didn't win the provincial. "Kevin is a great football man and a very proud Mayo man I thought it was really handled badly." Advertisement With the poor treatment of McStay and previous Mayo managers, Keegan has issued a warning to anyone thinking of taking up the vacant role. "I think whoever is going to go in there is going to have a tough job. That's just being straight up with you. And I wish them the best because they are going to be working with tough people. "They need to be given time to integrate as well, I think this whole thing about All-Irelands needs to be cut for now and start working on the short term and see where that brings us."
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Former Sligo players confirmed as joint-managers as Eamonn McGee joins all-star backroom team
FORMER Sligo players Eamonn O'Hara and Dessie Sloyan have been confirmed as joint-managers of the county's senior footballers. And their backroom ticket will include ex- 2 Former Mohill manager Eamonn O'Hara is one-half on the new management team at Sligo 2 He'll be joined by Dessie Sloyan at the helm of the county - with ex-Donegal defender Eamonn McGee joining the backroom staff O'Hara and Sloyan have been handed a three-year term, subject to an annual review. The duo will succeed Tony McEntee, who stepped down last month after five years at the helm. An All-Star in 2002, O'Hara was also the hero when he scored the decisive goal against Galway as As a manager, he steered his own club Tourlestrane to five straight Sligo SFC crowns. O'Hara, who is now in charge of Roscommon outfit Boyle, also oversaw back-to-back Leitrim triumphs for Mohill in 2023 and '24. Under Sloyan, Sligo won their first Connacht Under-20 title in 2022. He was also part of the Longford management during Paddy Christie's reign. read more on gaa McGee will serve as a selector and coach. The head coach role will be filled by Con O'Meara, who helped Coolera-Strandhill to cause a seismic upset as they were crowned Connacht senior club champions last year. In a statement, Sligo GAA added: "Further additions to the core team are planned before the commencement of the inter-county season." Armagh man McEntee departed when Sligo reached the last eight of the Tailteann Cup, only to lose to Fermanagh. The Division 3 outfit suffered a three-point loss to Mayo in the Connacht quarter-finals back in April. Most read in GAA Football Meanwhile, Limerick native Tom Hennessy has been appointed to succeed Stephen Sheil as Sligo senior hurling manager. 'Sad to see him go' - GAA fans emotional seeing Michael D Higgins attend last men's All-Ireland final as President
BreakingNews.ie
a day ago
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Eamonn O'Hara and Dessie Sloyan named as joint managers of Sligo
Sligo GAA have confirmed former Sligo footballers Eamonn O'Hara and Dessie Sloyan will take over as joint managers of the county on a three-year term. The duo will take over from Tony McEntee, who stepped down as manager following their Tailteann Cup quarter-final defeat to Fermanagh after five years in charge. Advertisement O'Hara has guided his native Tourlestrane to five consecutive county titles before overseeing back-to-back titles in Leitrim with Mohill. Sloyan managed the Sligo U20 team to Connacht success in 2022 and was part of the Longford senior set-up under Paddy Christie. He also managed his own club Easkey and is currently part of the Knockmore coaching ticket in Mayo. Con O'Meara will be head coach with former Donegal star Eamon McGee also involved as a coach and selector. Sean Boyle will continue as strength and conditioning coach with Dr Stephen Gilmartin continuing as team doctor, Alan Dunne leading physio and rehabilitation and Aidan Carty continuing as kit man.
