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Irish Daily Mirror
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Mayo GAA apology to Kevin McStay as big name rules himself out of race
Mayo GAA inter-county football teams now have four managerial vacancies to fill after the resignations of their under-20 and minor bosses. The news came after James Horan ruled himself out of a third stint as senior boss in the wake of Kevin McStay's departure. Mayo GAA vice chairman, Michael Diskin last night apologised for the wording of the official statement, which confirmed McStay's services were no longer required and said it was never the intention to cause offence. He said: 'The manner and tone of the original communication didn't adequately reflect the deep respect and appreciation we hold for Kevin. For this, we offer our heartfelt apologies.' The County Board went on to describe McStay's leadership as 'nothing short of exemplary', and wished both him and the extended management team "the very best for the future.' The manner and tone of the original statement annoyed many in Mayo GAA and beyond. It stated that at a Mayo GAA meeting a 'decision was made to relieve Kevin McStay and his management team from their roles with the Mayo senior football team with immediate effect." It added: 'We would like to sincerely thank Kevin and his management team for their time, effort, and commitment to the Mayo senior football team during their tenure. 'Their dedication to the players and the jersey has been greatly appreciated by all involved with Mayo GAA. 'We wish Kevin and his management team every success in the future, both on and off the field.' Mayo chiefs are facing a busy few weeks as they set an August target to appoint McStay's successor. McStay's former right hand man, Liam McHale has stepped down as Mayo ladies manager after last weekend's relegation play-off victory over Leitrim, which secured the county's senior championship status for 2026. And Mayo Under-20 football manager Peadar Gardiner has also stepped aside after leading the county to the Connacht title in his second year of a two year term. It was Mayo's first provincial title at this grade since 2018. Gardiner had previously served three years alongside manager Maurice Sheridan, taking his time with the Mayo under-20s to five seasons. Mayo lost out narrowly to Louth in the All-Ireland semi-final. Keith Higgins, Ger Cafferkey and Mark Ryan were all in Gardiner's backroom team. Mayo Chairman Seamus Tuohy said: 'I would like to thank Peader and his backroom team for their work developing these players, many of whom have gone on to make the Mayo GAA senior football team and panel,' And Mayo minor joint managers David Heaney - an All-Ireland finalists with the county - and Tom Reilly have also called it a day The duo had completed a two year term alongside Pat Clarke, Diarmuid Byrne, and Brian Kilkelly as part of their backroom setup with Ciaran McDonald also involved in a coaching capacity in year one. Mayo minors were defeated in the Connacht Final this year by Roscommon but bounced back to reach the All-Ireland semi-final, losing to Kerry by three points. Mayo GAA Chairperson Seamus Tuohy said: 'I want to sincerely thank David and Tom and their entire backroom team for the positive impact they've had on so many young GAA players in the county. 'I have no doubt their coaching influence over the past two years will continue to benefit these young players with their clubs in the months ahead.'
Irish Daily Mirror
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ruthless Joyce not afraid of making big calls as he plots ultimate success
No-one is safe and reputations count for very little in the inner circle of Padraic Joyce's Galway school of hard knocks. Exhibits A, B, C, D, E, F, G and more exist to prove it. From the outside, it appears a cut throat environment, where you underperform at your peril. If there were big egos there, they've long since been bruised or downsized. And if anyone believed they were indispensable, they were wrong. There's a hard nosed feel, and a refusal to be beaten in their performances that's reflected in how they continue to be managed. Maybe it's a symptom of being on the road for so long - this is Joyce's sixth season - and Galway having to suck up heartbreaking All-Ireland final defeats in 2022 and 2024. It certainly looks like they won't stop at anything to get over the line - and if there are casualties along the way, then so be it. There already have been. From Footballers of the Year, to generational forward talents, to first choice goalkeepers, Joyce and his management team have dropped or pulled them all - and more. If their straight talking manager feels like someone has underperformed, he has no problem saying it publicly either. It almost feels like the Galway players are getting used to it. Shane Walsh - one of those to get the curly finger and bit of a tongue lashing earlier this year - shrugged it off at a press conference last week, saying: 'We could nearly be laughing and joking about some of the things he'd (Joyce) say about us in the media.' In last weekend's All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final encounter with Down at Newry, reigning Footballer of the Year, Paul Conroy was whipped after 47 minutes and no-one batted an eyelid. Joyce wasn't even asked about it afterwards as this type of move, which most other managers wouldn't even dream of, has become such a regular occurrence. Some would be aghast at the notion of taking off one of the best two point shooters in the game with a knockout championship game hanging in the balance. But the Galway players appear to have grown comfortable in such scenarios. By that stage of the season, Conroy had also been hauled ashore against Dublin (53 minutes) and Derry (49 minutes) and was only a sub against Armagh, albeit one that made enough of an impact to earn a recall for last weekend. In Derry, Cillian McDaid, one of the most powerful engines in the team and a proven big game player, left the field at the same time as Conroy with Galway's season hanging in the balance. At the time, it was one hell of a statement that left many aghast, as Matthew Tierney's fortunate enough late goal saw a hard finishing Galway side survive an almighty scare. Against Mayo in the Connacht Final, Cathal Sweeney was brought on and taken off after 26 minutes. But he offered a massive response against Armagh, intercepting a kickout to create Finnerty's vital goal in another squeaky bum moment. The flip side of all this flux is that Galway trust their bench, are prepared to use it, and what this does for the quality of their training when everyone feels they have a chance of playing and no-one is guaranteed anything. Conroy's replacement against Down, Peter Cooke, came in and won three vital kickouts at a time when Galway were struggling to get Conor Flaherty's restarts. Cooke also kicked a score. Point proven and job done. One of the Galway management's most stunning decisions though was to move away from regular goalkeeper Connor Gleeson before their recent do-or-die encounter with Armagh. Gleeson has been Joyce's number one for the vast majority of his six years in charge - and he's regularly defended him publicly amid bouts of criticism over the years. To drop your goalie six years in, with your season hanging in the balance, was a huge call. And while Flaherty struggled against Armagh, with too many kickouts dribbling over the sideline, Galway got enough from other areas to get the job done. Last Sunday in Newry, Flaherty started again and had a ropey spell in the second half with Gleeson warming up - changing goalie midstream is a move you rarely see but no-one would have been shocked in Galway's case. Then Flaherty nailed a brilliant kickout to his left - hitting Cooke. He was back in business again and the change wasn't made. God knows which goalie will start at Croke Park this weekend, with Meath's highly effective kickout press. We won't hear until 45 minutes before throw-in. It's not only goalies in the firing line. The defenders - bar Johnny McGrath and Sean Kelly - aren't safe either, although Dylan McHugh and Liam Silke have money in the bank. The other two defensive positions could be anyone from Sean Fitzgerald and Cian Hernon - who both started against Down - to Sean Mulkerrin, Daniel O'Flaherty and Jack Glynn, who've all started regularly this year. Two from five for next weekend's encounter with Meath. Glynn and Mulkerrin didn't get in against Down, but O'Flaherty hit two points off the bench. We don't know fully about injury profiles and players' ability to last the pace, but the way John Daly fell out of favour last year was scarcely believable to most. Daly won an All Star as a brilliant kicking number six in 2022 and Galway's fulcrum, but as they moved towards a running game and favouring man markers, he lost out to players like Fitzgerald and Mulkerrin. Even this year, many would have assumed with the new rules that Galway would look for the kicking dimension Daly provides, but this hasn't happened. Johnny Heaney looked like one of their non-negotiables two years ago, but he fell out of favour around the same time as Daly. Heaney got eight minutes as a temporary sub at the weekend and has seen little game time this year, while Daly came on for the last four minutes. Kieran Molloy was one who got a shot in public after a game last year. He's seen bits and pieces of game time since, but spent a long time on the bench without any. Earlier this year, against Dublin at Croke Park in the League, both Walsh and Finnerty were gone by half-time, Finnerty three minutes before it, following a series of misses from routine chances. It later emerged Walsh had an injury and he didn't play again until the round robin encounter with Dublin. But, the duo weren't spared when the inevitable post match press conference questions that come with such big moves duly arrived. It was a taster of what was to come. If All-Irelands were handed out for big calls and ballsy moves, then one would be on the way to Galway.
Irish Examiner
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Quillinan thrilled with Kingdom resilience
All-Ireland MFC semi-final: Kerry 1-19 ( 1–4-11) Mayo 3-10 (3-0-10) Kerry manager Wayne Quillinan praised his side's resilience after they kicked four of the final five scores to defeat Mayo in a dramatic contest in Ennis, sealing a place in the All-Ireland Final for the first time since 2020. 'They did put us under the cosh, and that's again credit to Mayo. They are a really good footballing side, and we didn't expect them to lie down, they haven't in any game. We watched them in the Connacht Final, and they never lie down at all, we expected that.' Kerry trailed by a point at half-time after an end-to-end opening half to proceedings. The Kingdom started the better and Mayo, despite a sluggish start, found their rhythm after Ben Holmes opened their account. Cian May struck for a goal shortly after, capitalising on a poor Kerry kickout to give Mayo a 1-1 to 0-2 lead. The contest ebbed and flowed and Kerry hit back through Maidhc Ó Sé, who netted after a superb David Sargent pass. Kerry manager Wayne Quillinan celebrates. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile But just before the break, Mayo won a penalty when Tony Carey was pulled down by Kerry keeper Ruairí Kennedy, who received a black card. Dara Flanagan slotted home, and the Connacht side held a 2-5 to 1-7 lead at the break. Despite conceding two goals, Quillinan was satisfied at the break. 'To be expected, and there was a nice breeze there as well. We kinda just said we're playing against the breeze. Let's be controlled, let's be measured, let's make the decisions on the ball really, really well. And after conceding two goals, I was happy going in a point behind.' With the wind at their backs in the second half, Kerry seized control. Ben Kelliher and Kevin Griffin combined for a flurry of two-point efforts, flipping the game on its head. Mayo battled back once more, with Holmes finding the net for a crucial goal to level the tie entering the final stretch. But Kerry showed maturity in a dramatic conclusion. Late points from Gearóid White, Nick Lacey, and Kelliher's stunning two-point free in the 66th minute sealed a dramatic late win. Tyrone are on the horizon and Quillinan is not looking ahead to that tie just yet. 'Not tonight. I'm gonna absolutely put the legs up when I get home and not even think about it. I know Tyrone are gonna be a huge challenge, but you know what, we'll relax tonight and think about that tomorrow morning.' Scorers for Kerry: B Kelliher (0-9, 2f, 1 2p, 1 2pf), K Griffin (0-4, 1 2pf, 1 2p) M Ó Sé (1-0), G White (0-3, 1f), J Curtin, D Murphy, N Lacey (0-1 each) Scorers for Mayo: B Holmes (1–3), D Flanagan (1-3, 1-0 pen), C May (1-0), C Hession (0-3, 1f), T Carey (0-1 each) KERRY: R Kennedy; R Sheridan, E Joy, T Ó Slatara; D Murphy, D Sargent, M Clifford; M Ó Sé, J Curtin; M O'Carroll, G White, A Tuohy; B Kelliher, K Griffin, T O'Connell. Subs: N Lacey for T O'Connell (Blood 27-29), S Sargent for T O'Connell (29), T O'Connell for R Kennedy (38), D McCarthy for E Joy (50), L O'Brien for T O'Connell (51), N Lacey for M O'Carroll (57) MAYO: T Williams; C Coghill, B Langan, C Tighe; R O'Donnell, D Duffy, E Dever; A Kelly, C May; R Neary, D Flanagan, C Jordan; B Holmes, C Hession, T Carey. Subs: P Quinn for C Coghill (Temp 20-23), B Joyce for R Neary (43), O Murphy for T Carey (43), Hoban for C Jordan (48), F Ó Cinnseala for C Hession (60) Referee: C Dourneen (Cavan)
Irish Daily Mirror
30-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
'After Armagh, I couldn't hack a Tyrone All-Ireland, I'm sticking with Galway.'
This time last year we all told you that Armagh wouldn't win an All-Ireland. We said it with real conviction too. Six weeks ago if anyone had asked, 'Where are Tyrone?,' you'd probably have said, 'It'll take a good team to beat them but ultimately they won't win an All-Ireland.' I'm not so committed to that viewpoint now though. I've said it before. Tyrone have a lovely balance to their team that compliments these new rules. And while we won't read too much into the result against Donegal last Saturday night, and the performance from either side, what I'd read a lot into is that at the final whistle Darren McCurry just turned to the Donegal sideline, strutted into a swagger and stared them down. It annoyed me in the extreme and that was the brilliant part of it. I haven't looked on at a Tyrone team and felt that emotion in a few years. They're also coming off the back of a brilliant Under-20 All-Ireland win. After an Armagh All Ireland last year, I couldn't hack a Tyrone All-Ireland this year. But I went with Galway at the start of the year so I'm still sticking with them Looking around at the football landscape after the first round of the All-Ireland series, three of the provincial winners lost their first game and have probably resigned themselves to the extra game in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final. Take Donegal's case. They'll have played from Ulster's preliminary round - and won back to back provincial titles, which is notoriously difficult to do - but now they've to do the same if they want to win an All-Ireland As Jim alluded to, Donegal seemed off it on Saturday night. Louth looked the same against Monaghan and Galway looked a shadow of the side they've shown us so far in their loss to Dublin. Each of these teams had to dip deep into the reservoirs in their respective provincial finals and each of them were caught by good teams with a few weeks to prepare. An age old argument in the GAA was, and still is, are multiple games the best prep or is the team that lies in wait, training away, better placed going into a match. I haven't worked out the answer to it yet. On Galway, yes Dublin brought an edge to things that probably rattled them, but in the first half I'm looking at Galway and thinking to myself how is there such a difference here from the Mayo game? A few weeks ago I watched the Connacht Final and said to myself that bar Connor Gleeson in the goals, that's an All-Ireland winning team that Padraic Joyce has put together. Every line just looked solid. In the Dublin game their form dipped massively. The way they defended. Paul Conroy's form dipped. Shane Walsh wasn't at the level. Last year all four provincials winners won their first games in the All-Ireland, and bar Galway everyone topped their group so it's hard to know if it's the schedule, or should Joyce be genuinely worried at such a drop in form. Derry's final 10 minutes against Armagh means they're probably in decent shape mentally as the players and management do their best to convince themselves that they're still in the hunt. I've been there too and its nearly a form of torture - wee glimpses of a performance to keep your hopes up. They'll go at Galway with hope again. In my opinion, two pointers will determine who wins the All-Ireland - the ability to score them and the team that can defend them best. If you forced me to pick just two Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), I'd pick two pointers scored and opposition shots as the figures to chase. I've no doubt Galway have the best array of two point kickers in their arsenal and potentially the best way of defending and stopping that shot. Just to note, Damien Comer needs to be on the field to maximize those two pointers, because teams can't have it both ways. They can't go out hard after the two point shooters while keeping coverage inside - and if you've Comer inside then most teams are going to drop a man back in front of him. For all the talk about the new rules and how it promotes attacking football, how teams defend and shut down the opposition attack will have a massive say in where Sam Maguire heads. The new rules have definitely forced the issue though and made the game more in favor of attacking play. And the new kickout rule means that, at the minimum if you get a shot off then the attacking team can set up their press. How many times have we seen the momentum of a game turn purely because of a team's inability to get out with the ball. Shot off, set up in your press, keep them penned in. Repeat ad nauseum. It's incredibly important for teams to get their hands on the ball in a phase like that, or at the very minimum stop the shot. You'd imagine we will see teams in the future going all out to stop that ball going out for a kickout. The ability to mix up the way a team defends is so important too. Because of that long association over the years, teams immediately associate defending in Gaelic football with men dropping back. Galway can do that but they can also do it well. Some teams are struggling to manage that zonal press with the extra space around them. I watched some highlights of the Armagh/Derry game (for some reason the GAA in their wisdom decided not to televise it so highlights was the best we could get) and some of the defending by Derry was absolutely farcical. I'd be running them clips on loop in the analysis session and just asking men, 'Do you think that's good enough?' You'll still have men dropping back and setting up but I also believe there is serious joy to be had from a team pressing high from play. Galway have the right tools to do that. I've seen clips of them where they are incredibly smart at how they press high. You'd think the high press isn't the right option for a team with big, robust men like John Maher and Conroy but they've tweaked it so they can go after the ball if needs be. Galway have the tools to go on and win that All-Ireland but what happened against Dublin can't happen again. They looked porous and when a Galway player had to individually defend, he struggled. They'll be hoping it was an off day and Derry at Celtic Park tomorrow is a good way to get the show back on the road again - to becoming the stingy type of team that wins an All-Ireland. I'm still sticking with Galway for an All-Ireland but we'll see over the next two games if they can get their defense to where it needs to be.
Irish Daily Mirror
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Mayo v Cavan live score updates from the All-Ireland Football Championship clash
Mayo host Cavan as both these counties get their All-Ireland campaigns under way this afternoon in Castlebar. The match has a throw-in time of 2.30pm, but unfortunately for fans who can't make the game, it is not being shown on TV or streamed live online. However, you can follow live updates right here throughout the afternoon. Here are the teams: Mayo: Colm Reape; Jack Coyne, Donnacha McHugh, Rory Brickenden; Sam Callinan, David McBrien, Enda Hession; Stephen Coen, Matthew Ruane; Davitt Neary, Jack Carney, Jordan Flynn; Aidan O'Shea, Darren McHale, Ryan O'Donoghue. Subs: Adrian Phillips, Bob Tuohy, Conal Dawson, Conor Reid, Dylan Thortnon, Fenton Kelly, Fergal Boland, Frank Irwin, Kevin Quinn, Paddy Durcan, Paul Towey. Cavan: Gary O'Rourke; Cian Reilly, Brian O'Connell, Niall Carolan; Jason McLoughlin, Ciaran Brady, Padraig Faulkner; Killian Clarke, Evan Crowe; Gerard Smith, Dara McVeety, Oisin Kiernan; Cormac O'Reilly, Ryan Donohoe, Cian Madden. Subs: Liam Brady, Luke Fortune, Killian Brady, Barry Donnelly, Luke Molloy, Ruairi Curran, Thomas Edward Donohoe, Ryan O'Neill, Sean McEvoy, Oisin Brady, Paddy Lynch. Good afternoon and welcome to our live blog for this All-Ireland Senior Football Championship clash between Mayo and Cavan. This is a tough group with Tyrone and Donegal also in it and Mayo come into this game as the long odds-on favourites to win as they look to get a victory on board before Tyrone and Donegal play a game. This could be a long afternoon for Cavan, but Mayo aren't renowned for their ruthlessness. There could be a hangover from a Connacht Final that they should have won where they had miss after miss in the last 20 minutes. The lack of two point shooters and a clinical edge up front in general are issues, but Cavan have had injury issues to contend with after their Ulster Championship defeat by Tyrone. There's just over an hour to go until throw-in.
