Latest news with #DiarmuidO'Connor
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Victorious Kerry footballers bring Sam Maguire to sick kids at Children's Health Ireland in Temple Street
Fresh off their All-Ireland victory, Kerry stars visit CHI at Temple Street to share celebrations, smiles, and the Sam Maguire with delighted young patients Fresh from their impressive All-Ireland victory over Donegal on Sunday, some members of the Kerry senior football team took time out of their celebrations on Monday morning to go and visit young patients and staff at Children's Health Ireland (CHI) at Temple Street in Dublin. It's one of the most wholesome and wonderful traditions after every All Ireland final and despite it undoubtedly having been a late night for them, players Diarmuid O'Connor, Paul Murphy, Killian Spillane, Gavin White and Tadhg Morley were never going to miss the chance to take part were on hand bright and early to bring Sam Maguire with them. As part of their visit, they posed for photos and spent time with children, all of whom (despite many being from staunch hurling counties such as Tipperary and Clare) were delighted to get their hands on Sam, as well as answering any and all questions they had. The event was supported by Children's Health Foundation, which raises essential funds to support sick children and their families across CHI hospitals and urgent care centres. Their work includes funding life-saving equipment, supporting patients and parents, and enabling pioneering paediatric research. Children's Health Foundation was formed in 2019 following the merger of CMRF Crumlin and Temple Street Foundation, uniting under one banner to support all CHI locations in delivering world-class care to every child in need. Whether you're gathered in a packed pub, cheering along at home, or soaking up the atmosphere at Croke Park, we want to see your photos capturing the excitement, the county colours, and the celebrations of this All Ireland showdown *Your photo or video Where was your photo taken? (optional) *Your story *Your first name *Your last name *Your email Your telephone number (optional) By submitting any contribution to Mediahuis, you confirm that Mediahuis (and any of its group publications or syndicated partners) are free to use the uploaded photos, videos, and texts worldwide, without limitation and for the full duration of their copyright protection (including copying, distributing, (re)publishing, (re)broadcasting, exhibiting, exploiting, and otherwise using them through all possible channels, digital or physical). Mediahuis is entirely free to edit, (re)publish, (re)broadcast, and exploit the photos, videos, and texts as it sees fit. You also confirm that no compensation (in any form) is required by you in relation to your contribution. By submitting any contribution to Mediahuis you hereby warrant and confirm that: - your contribution is your own original work and does not infringe the copyright of any other person - your contribution does not contain any statements that are defamatory of any third party nor is it obscene, in breach of privacy, in contempt of court or in breach of any other statutory obligation - all relevant consents and permissions have been obtained from third parties where appropriate You also confirm that you will indemnify Mediahuis, without time limitation, against all possible claims and demands from third parties relating to your contribution including all fees, expenses, costs, and interest, out-of-court settlements and legal judgments, so that all adverse financial consequences will ultimately be borne entirely by you. You give your consent for the personal data provided to be processed for this editorial initiative by Contribly, on behalf of Mediahuis Ireland Limited, in accordance with our Privacy policy.
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Kerry vs Donegal live stream FREE: How to watch GAA All-Ireland Football final without paying
KERRY will chase a record-extending All-Ireland Football final win TODAY in a massive match at Croke Park! Donegal are the team trying to stop the dominant side from a 39th title - and lift the trophy themselves for the first time since 2012. 2 Kerry are looking to win a 39th All-Ireland football final on Sunday 2 Donegal are standing in their way and hoping to win for the first time since 2012 Last week's Fans will be hoping for a similar show on Sunday, with Kerry the heavy favourites to take the crown. There will also be a break from tradition in the match with BOTH sides decked out in the alternate kits for the final. With both sporting green and yellow colours, the GAA have confirmed that the two teams will wear a changed strip. That means Kerry will appear in blue and Donegal in white. Kerry have seen some mixed team news in the build-up to the game, with Tom O'Sullivan ruled out with injury but Diarmuid O'Connor back and available. How can I watch Kerry vs Donegal for FREE and is there a live stream? Kerry vs Donegal will be shown by the BBC and RTE. In the UK and Northern Ireland, it will be show live on BBC2. Fans can also live stream the action via iPlayer and RTE Player. In Ireland it will be shown on RTE One - rather than the usual RTE Two. That's because the broadcaster has made the decision to switch channels and avoid a clash with the Women's Euro 2025 final between England and Spain. Fans in the US can live stream through the GAA+ app or website. Alternatively, SunSport will cover the build-up and all the live action as it happens. When is the GAA All-Ireland Football final between Kerry and Donegal? The match takes place on Saturday, July 27. Throw-in is scheduled for 3.30pm BST / 10.30am ET. It takes place at Croke Park. Most read in GAA Football
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Kerry vs Donegal live stream FREE: How to watch GAA All-Ireland Football final without paying
The biggest match on the football calendar has arrived APPOINTMENT VIEWING Kerry vs Donegal live stream FREE: How to watch GAA All-Ireland Football final without paying Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) KERRY will chase a record-extending All-Ireland Football final win TODAY in a massive match at Croke Park! Donegal are the team trying to stop the dominant side from a 39th title - and lift the trophy themselves for the first time since 2012. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Kerry are looking to win a 39th All-Ireland football final on Sunday 2 Donegal are standing in their way and hoping to win for the first time since 2012 Last week's All-Ireland Hurling final drew rave reviews from TV viewers as underdogs Tipperary stunned Cork in an absolute thriller. Fans will be hoping for a similar show on Sunday, with Kerry the heavy favourites to take the crown. There will also be a break from tradition in the match with BOTH sides decked out in the alternate kits for the final. With both sporting green and yellow colours, the GAA have confirmed that the two teams will wear a changed strip. That means Kerry will appear in blue and Donegal in white. Kerry have seen some mixed team news in the build-up to the game, with Tom O'Sullivan ruled out with injury but Diarmuid O'Connor back and available. How can I watch Kerry vs Donegal for FREE and is there a live stream? Kerry vs Donegal will be shown by the BBC and RTE. In the UK and Northern Ireland, it will be show live on BBC2. Fans can also live stream the action via iPlayer and RTE Player. In Ireland it will be shown on RTE One - rather than the usual RTE Two. That's because the broadcaster has made the decision to switch channels and avoid a clash with the Women's Euro 2025 final between England and Spain. Fans in the US can live stream through the GAA+ app or website. Alternatively, SunSport will cover the build-up and all the live action as it happens. When is the GAA All-Ireland Football final between Kerry and Donegal?
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Kerry's summer sensation: 'He's the biggest competitor I ever came across'
He may have only pierced the wider public consciousness this summer, but Joe O'Connor has been hiding in plain sight. After all, he is an All-Ireland winning captain, albeit largely as a bit-part player in 2022 as he came off the bench in four games, including in injury time in the final, but still lifted the Sam Maguire Cup with Seán O'Shea. At that stage, David Moran, Jack Barry, Diarmuid O'Connor, Adrian Spillane and Barry Dan O'Sullivan were all ahead of him in the midfield pecking order, with O'Connor favoured more in a half-back or half-forward role. Last year he started each of seven of Kerry's Championship games alongside his namesake Diarmuid in the middle but was replaced in all bar one of them and appeared very much the junior partner. Midfield was still identified as a problem area for Kerry and, until recent months at least, O'Connor wasn't identified as part of the solution. But his emergence as a Kerry player of real substance has come at a time when the need could hardly have been greater. Diarmuid O'Connor has had ongoing problems with his shoulder and O'Sullivan's season was ended by a cruciate ligament rupture. Amid all of that, their much maligned midfield has emerged as a strength rather than a weakness, and much of that is down to O'Connor, with the 26-year-old a nailed-on All Star. Former Kerry star Marc Ó Sé is on the teaching staff at Tralee CBS, where he first came across O'Connor, who comes from a rugby household. 'He was very much of a rugby background,' says Ó Sé. 'Would have focused on his physical strength, strength and conditioning, and would have worked really hard at that. 'He was in with Munster rugby growing up and then obviously changed, worked really hard with Austin Stacks then and won a county championship and I think since then there's the grá for the football.' His brother, James, was a bright prospect in rugby before a pair of cruciate injuries effectively put paid to his ambitions. Joe was making inroads, however, winning an interprovincial title with Munster's under-18s, though Austin Stacks minor manager Wayne Quillinan was gently keeping communication lines open. 'He had not played football for a couple of years and I just made contact with Joe just to let him know, 'Listen, we'd love to have you back, but we know you have an interest in rugby',' Quillinan explains. 'So those conversations kind of continued for a while and then he came back playing.' Quillinan's brief, as far as he was concerned, was to develop players and people that could come through and contribute to the club at adult level more than stockpiling underage honours. As it was, he managed to achieve both, but there was a moment where he realised that O'Connor was had Kerry potential. 'I remember we played Na Gaeil, their our local, local rivals, I think it was a county semi-final or something like that, and we were being beaten by five or six points and Joe was just coming back, so we hadn't started him. 'Diarmuid O'Connor was midfield for Na Gaeil and was running the show and we put Joe on at half-time and he turned the whole game around. I think we ended up winning the game by four or five points and, particularly against such a quality player like Diarmuid, you just kind of said to yourself, 'Jesus Christ, there's a lot here in this fella'.' Within a couple of years, rugby was parked and he was playing for Kerry under-20s while he made two League appearances for the seniors of the 2021 Allianz League. That same year, with Quillinan having taken charge of the senior side by then, Stacks won the county title, which effectively granted O'Connor the senior captaincy in 2022, but injury prevented him from building up a head of steam. Kerry's Joe O'Connor celebrates at the final whistle of the quarter-final win over Armagh. (Image: Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/James Crombie) 'We won the county championship in '21, and we played the Barrs in the Munster final, and he got injured in that game. So he was out for a lot of the year in '22 when Kerry won it. So it was very hard to play catch-up there and that following September, we played championship again, and he did his cruciate, so that put him out for the whole 12 months so I think what we're seeing now is actually Joe O'Connor, the one that we knew was developing in this direction, but it's just the consistency now.' This year's Championship opener against Cork was essentially the making of him. He scored a magnificent winning goal, firing to the roof of Micheál Aodh Martin's net in extra time, but his performance also included a point, directly assisting 1-1, winning clean possession on four kickouts, breaking four more to teammates and winning a break from another himself that set in train a move that finished with Kerry's first goal. There were a handful of turnovers too and, of course, the hard running that is arguably the standout feature of his game. 'That's what I think just that he missed in the last two years,' says Quillinan of that Cork game. 'Obviously with the injury, he couldn't get those moments because he wasn't on the pitch. But the more moments you get like that, obviously the more confidence and belief that you're going to say to yourself, 'You know what, I belong here'. I think that's what Joe has done this year, and shown us all that it's absolutely true.' Further man of the match awards have come in his last two games against Armagh and Tyrone. 'Technically he's become a vital cog in this Kerry team,' says Ó Sé. 'You cast your mind back to 2022 when he was only coming in as a cameo role, but you see the way he goes at the opposition now. He's been outstanding.' And the new rules have contributed to his rise, Quillinan believes. 'Hugely so, because of the fact there's obviously so much more space and I think the big thing that Joe would have taken from rugby was actually the ability to come off the shoulder, the support play and I think that's a huge factor in transition in the game these days and that's one of his huge attributes. He's the biggest competitor I ever came across. Even when he was 16-years-old, you could see that competitive edge about him and then he developed his skills, then along the way.' Wayne Quillinan when managing Austin Stacks back in 2022. (Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne) Much of the pre-match debate has centered around the degree to which Donegal can negate David Clifford's influence, yet O'Connor is in the Footballer of the Year conversation with the Fossa great. 'If we get a big game out of Joe it'll be huge for Kerry getting over the line,' Ó Sé insists. 'I have nothing but great things to say about that man. He's a lovely man off the field, an absolute gentleman, and he's doing his stuff on the field and he's making what was a needy area for Kerry in the middle of the park seem as though it was a distant memory.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kerry name unchanged team for All-Ireland final
Kerry have named an unchanged starting team for Sunday's All-Ireland Football final against Donegal at Croke Park (15:30 BST). A 28-player panel named by the Kingdom on Thursday evening will be cut to 26 for matchday. Diarmuid O'Connor has been deemed fit enough to be included in the extended squad, having not featured since the quarter-final stage of the competition. Tom O'Sullivan is absent because of injury. Kerry team: Shane Ryan; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Brian O Beaglaoich, Mike Breen, Gavin White, Sean O'Brien, Mark O'Shea; Joe O'Connor, Sean O'Shea , Graham O'Sullivan; David Clifford, Paudie Clifford, Dylan Geaney. Additional players: Shane Murphy, Killian Spillane, Evan Looney, Tom Leo O'Sullivan, Tadhg Morley, Paul Geaney, Micheál Burns, Tony Brosnan, Armin Heinrich, Tomás Kennedy, Diarmuid O'Connor, Conor Geaney, Dara Moynihan.
