Latest news with #EamonnFitzmaurice
RTÉ News
24-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
All-Ireland football final preview: Donegal's Clifford conundrum - the RTÉ GAA Podcast
All-Ireland winning former Kerry player and manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice, ex Donegal star Kevin Cassidy and (mostly) neutral Westmeath man Dessie Dolan join Jacqui Hurley on the RTÉ GAA Podcast to preview Sunday's senior football final between The Kingdom and the Tir Chonaill men. Will Donegal try to double-mark danger man David Clifford? How has their approach evolved in Jim McGuinness' second spell in charge? Can Kerry adapt if they spring a surprise?
Irish Times
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Rory Beggan's Monaghan season ends having scored 26 two-pointers
Beggan tops Monaghan's scoring charts from goalkeeper One of the best online resources for Gaelic football statistics at present is X account @TheNumbersGael, collated by journalist John Hughes. Hughes publishes teams' statistics for the season , unearthing interesting nuggets. For example, Brian Howard, David Byrne and Ciaran Kilkenny were the only three players to start every league and championship match (14 in total) for Dublin this year. Dessie Farrell's win percentage as manager was 69.32 per cent over 88 games; for context, predecessor Jim Gavin's was an astonishing 76.69 per cent over 133 matches. Outgoing Roscommon manager Davy Burke's record, per Hughes' research, was 40.91 per cent over 44 matches. Hughes also totted up the percentage of scores contributed by a single player. Waterford's Jason Curry leads the way with a sensational 39.15 per cent of the Déise's total in 2025, followed by Sam Mulroy of Louth (36.11 per cent), Limerick attacker James Naughton (35.07 per cent), Pat Havern of Down (33.45 per cent) and Westmeath's Luke Loughlin (33.33 per cent). READ MORE What may be the most impressive stat, however, is Rory Beggan contributing 0-59 across 13 Monaghan matches, 0-54 from placed balls. That tally, including 26 two-pointers, makes him the Farney's leading scorer and surely marks the first time a goalkeeper has ever topped a county's scoring charts. Eamonn Fitzmaurice's theory does not hold water 'Galway,' opined co-commentator Eamonn Fitzmaurice 32 minutes into yesterday's clash, 'will be happy enough, they're not playing with much explosiveness yet playing for the third week in a row, it's the second half before you really get going.' That was certainly the case on the previous evening as Donegal, noticeably flat in the first half in what was their third match in two weeks, powered on after the break, winning the second half by 1-15 to 0-5, having trailed by seven. Fitzmaurice's own Kerry also backed it up emphatically afterwards but overall, results do not fully back up his theory. For example, in 2023, just a point separated Dublin and Mayo at half-time in the quarter-final but the Dubs, who'd had two weeks off, won by 12. Also that year, a rested Kerry were three up at half-time and won the second half by nine against Tyrone; Cork vs Dery was a one-point game at the midway point before the Rebels wilted, losing by four. Monaghan were the outliers in 2023 but just about – they trailed by one at half-time against Armagh, were level at full-time and only won on penalties. Last year, of the four quarter-finalists playing three weeks on the bounce, Derry, Louth and Roscommon were all competitive in the first half and lost the second by five, eight and four points respectively, with Galway (against Dublin) the only ones to buck the trend. Seán O'Shea of Kerry kicks a two-pointer. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho Quote 'So there it is. Armagh v David Clifford. The only Kerry footballer worthy of the name ...' Columnist Joe Brolly didn't count on a Man of the Match display from Sean O'Shea ... Improving as they go along is Meath's heritage Meath, it's fair to say, have generally got better and better as this year has gone on, having toiled in Division 2 of the league. Then again, maybe it was always thus. The Royals' last win over Galway at Croke Park was the 1970 All-Ireland semi-final. Writing on these pages that morning, Paddy Downey noted Meath's 'capacity for enormous improvement in each successive game'. 'While hardly a phenomenon, it has confounded the critics many times in the past, most noticeably in 1964 when they also played Galway in a semi-final, in 1966, when the counties met in the final and again in the following year, when the team led by Peter Darby won the Sam Maguire Cup.' Meath's levels have escalated in a similar manner this year. Downey, for the record, was the only journo to tip Meath; Mick Dunne in the Press and the Independent's John D Hickey both plumped for the Tribesmen. Number: 3 Donegal wides against Monaghan; amazingly, Michael Murphy registered them all. Monaghan's Kieran Duffy and Michael Murphy of Donegal. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Jordan Morris leaves Cavan wondering what could have been Meath's Man of the Match, Jordan Morris, was beaming as he accepted his award after the win over Galway, concluding his interview with a rousing – and loud – 'Up the Royallll!' Ironically, the sharpshooter plays his club football just across the county boundary in Cavan. Morris began his career with the Kingscourt Stars club before transferring to Nobber in Meath in his teens. Morris scored 2-6 as the club won a long-awaited Intermediate Championship title in Meath in 2019 but transferred back to the Stars, one of the giants of senior football in Cavan, in early 2022, helping them to the Senior Championship final the following year. Breffni fans had hoped the now 25-year-old would switch county allegiances too but he quickly ruled that out (and more's the pity, says this column).
Irish Daily Mirror
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Something ominous' in the way Dublin are grinding out results, says Eamonn Fitzmaurice
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Eamonn Fitzmaurice reckons there is 'something ominous' about the way Dublin are grinding out results as they face into a crunch All-Ireland quarter-final encounter with Tyrone next weekend. And Fitzmaurice says he 'wouldn't be surprised' if there was a shock in either the Meath versus Galway game or Monaghan's encounter with Donegal. The former Kerry All-Ireland winning manager also believes 'team to beat' Armagh is 'the right game' for the Kingdom after last year's All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Kieran McGeeney's side. It was already known that Kerry would face Armagh, but this morning's draw threw up a huge tie in the shape of Dublin against Tyrone. Tyrone comfortably defeated Dublin in the League earlier this year, but Dessie Farrell's side are coming off back to back Championship wins over Cork and Derry, while they also defeated Galway in Salthill with a last gasp Tom Lahiff point. Surprisingly, it's the first time they've won back to back games since February 22, when they followed up a one point Division 1 win against Kerry in Tralee by comfortably disposing of Derry at Croke Park. Dublin also left Con O'Callaghan out of last weekend's victory over Cork, and didn't even call on him when it got tight. O'Callaghan was forced off injured in the win over Galway, missed the Armagh defeat and returned to spark Dublin to victory over Derry. Speaking on RTE radio after the draw, Fitzmaurice said: 'The Tyrone/Dublin game is obviously going to be a massive game. The last league game, Tyrone beat Dublin above in Healy Park and played very well. 'It's kind of a fresh Tyrone team coming in against a Dublin team that had a couple of weeks (of games). 'Dessie took the risk of keeping Con back last weekend, a key player, and it will probably pay off for them now, because the Dubs with him are obviously a different team. 'There is something ominous about the Dubs at the moment. They are grinding it out. They are showing a different side to themselves, but they are getting the job done. 'Tyrone are coming fresh to Croke Park as well and they have forwards that are capable of doing a lot of damage up there.' Speaking about the Kerry/Armagh game, Fitzmaurice continued: 'It's a game that certainly the Kerry players and management would have been waiting for all season. Maybe they wouldn't have expected to have gone through the preliminary quarter-final. 'They have a few injuries and everything else, but there are no excuses from here on in. 'Armagh are obviously the team to beat at the moment, but that opposition is right for Kerry and certainly the way they played (against Armagh) in the league game in the middle of March, it kind of inspired them to go to new levels. 'I'd be hoping from a Kerry perspective that it will be something similar next weekend.' Fitzmaurice says that Donegal could have done with a week off. Jim McGuinness side have played more Championship games that anyone else their year. This weekend's encounter with Monaghan will be their ninth, while their opponents will be playing just their sixth game. Donegal, Kerry, Galway and Dublin are all facing into their third game in two weeks. 'In some circumstances I think it is (a disadvantage), but not for Kerry to be honest,' said Fitzmaurice. "I think they needed the game, particularly with the way they played against Meath the previous weekend. 'They were better off having a game and flushing it out of their systems and getting ready for next weekend. 'Some of the other teams, Donegal in particular, could possibly have done with a weekend off, considering the amount of games that they've played recently. 'I actually think the Cavan game was good for Kerry and hopefully it will have them in a good position.' Donegal defeated Monaghan in the Ulster quarter-final back in April, but there were only two points in it at the end. 'Gabriel Bannigan (Monaghan manager), after that game, he was very disappointed with how Monaghan had played in the first half,' said Fitzmaurice. 'They were six down at half-time, but they played very well in the second half. Again, you have a team coming with energy versus a team that are slightly fatigued, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was a shock somewhere along the line between those two games in particular (Donegal v Monaghan and Meath v Galway).'
Irish Daily Mirror
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Fine and cranky' Kerry camp on Armagh All-Ireland quarter-final collison course
Eamonn Fitzmaurice is expecting 'a fine and cranky' Kerry camp this week as they look to bounce back from their shock All-Ireland round robin defeat by Meath. If they turn over Cavan at Killarney next weekend as expected - and provided there are no shocks in the other preliminary All-Ireland quarter-final ties - Jack O'Connor's side are on a collision course with Armagh. Due to the avoidance of repeat pairings from provincial finals and the group stages, Armagh can't face Donegal, Galway or Dublin in a potential All-Irealnd quarter-final, which leaves Kerry as their only opponents in this scenario. That one, if it happens, would be a mouthwatering prospect and a repeat of last year's All-Ireland semi-final, which Armagh won after extra-time before going on to defeat Galway in the final and land their second Sam Maguire. Kerry are reeling after a surprise 1-22 to 0-16 defeat by Meath at O'Connor Park, Tullamore on Saturday in Round 3 of the All-Ireland series. This meant that rather than topping the group, as they were widely expected to do, and securing a two week break to prepare for the All-Ireland quarter-finals, they found themselves in this morning's preliminary quarter-final draw. Jack O'Connor's side got a break in the draw as they could have pulled Galway in a repeat of the 2022 All-Ireland final, but they avoided them with Cavan coming to Fitzgerald Stadium next weekend. The draw was set to throw up Kerry v Cork, but due to repeat pairings from provincial finals and the group stages not being allowed the Rebels now go to Croke Park to face Dublin with Cavan making the long trip south. Cavan have taken back to back beatings from Donegal and Tyrone, and only qualified for the last 12 thanks to Ciaran Moore's last gasp winner for Donegal against Mayo at the weekend. Raymond Galligan's side finished with a -29 scoring average, while Mayo finished on +3 and were knocked out due to their Round 1 head to head defeat by Cavan. Kerry will be expected to take care of business in that one with their formidable record in Killarney. They've only lost once there in Championship football across 31 seasons - the 2023 Round 1 All-Ireland group stage defeat by Mayo. Kerry were missing three of their four main forwards in the Meath defeat: playmaker Paudie Clifford, dead ball expert Sean O'Shea and the wily Paul Geaney. They were also without midfielder Diarmuid O'Connor and defender Brian O Beaglaoich. Jack O'Connor will be hoping to have some of them back for next weekend, with one eye on the following weekend and the quarter-finals at Croke Park. 'They (Kerry) have to bounce back at this stage now,' said former Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice, speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland after the draw. 'Look, Kerry are always hard beaten in Killarney and I imagine it will be a fine and cranky camp this week as they try to right the ship. 'They will be very disappointed with the way they performed at the weekend and it's do or die now. They have an opportunity to get their season back on track against Cavan at home. 'Regardless of who is coming to Killarney, Kerry have a great record there. It's a big ask for Cavan to try to come down there and win. I'd be hoping that Kerry will react positively and they can get their season back on track.' Speaking about the other four preliminary quarter-final ties, Fitzmaurice said: 'I suppose wherever Galway were going was probably the biggest game of the lot and obviously Down are welcoming them to Newry. 'While straight away it might appear that that's an easier draw for Galway, the way Down are playing at the moment, and the way they played yesterday (against Monaghan), that is going to be a tough battle up there again. 'To be fair to Conor Laverty and the Down lads, they have really adapted to the new rules very well. We saw they had a great game with Monaghan yesterday. It's going to be a very interesting game. 'For the teams that were defeated this weekend they are going to have to respond next weekend. 'Dublin are back into Croke Park and they'll feel that they've turned a corner with that win against Derry. They'll be well road tested for Cork. '(For Cork) it was about surviving that battle with Roscommon and getting back to this level again for this year. You'd have to fancy Dublin in that situation but Cork will fancy a shot to nothing at the same time.' On the Donegal, Louth encounter and Jim McGuinness' complaints about the weekend win over Mayo taking place at Hyde Park, Roscommon, Fitzmaurice said: 'He (McGuinness) was understandably I suppose a bit disappointed yesterday. 'But I'd say he forgot how far some of the Kerry and Galway supporters had to travel as well. 'Look, they played in the All-Ireland quarter-final last year where Donegal kind of kept Louth at arm's length. 'But to be fair to Louth, they've developed in the meantime. They've won the Leinster Championship. 'They'll feel, similar to the likes of Cork, that they have a shot to nothing. It is obviously going to be a big task going up to Ballybofey and winning.' If Dublin defeat Cork, and the other preliminary quarter-finals go as expected, Dessie Farrell's side will face either Meath, Monaghan or Tyrone in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. They can't meet Armagh due to their group stage encounter. Monaghan, already in the quarter-finals, could face preliminary quarter-final big guns Dublin, Galway or Donegal (Kerry would be ruled out as they'd have to play Armagh). Quarter-finalists Meath would play Dublin, Galway or Donegal in the last eight, but they'd hardly relish a rematch with Dublin at Croke Park if it came to it. The final quarter-finalist, Tyrone, can play big guns Dublin and Galway, but can't face Donegal or Kerry (who'd have to play Armagh).
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Why Steubenville, Ohio, Might Be the Best School District in America
There's no more fundamental task for a school than teaching kids to read. But what about kids living in poverty? Don't schools need more money, and more staff, to be able to get good results? Well, yes and no. Poverty is certainly correlated to reading scores, and the best evidence suggests money helps boost a range of student outcomes. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter But that doesn't mean the best school district in the country is the most well-resourced or the one with the fanciest buildings or most prestigious alumni. In fact, based on how much students learn — which, in my opinion, is how schools should be evaluated — there's perhaps no better district in the country than Steubenville, Ohio. Last fall, I worked with The 74's Art & Technology Director Eamonn Fitzmaurice to find districts where students had high reading scores despite serving large concentrations of low-income students. We highlighted Steubenville, a high-poverty district in Ohio's Rust Belt, as a true outlier. (In a follow-up piece, we showed that Steubenville was also exceptional at teaching kids math.) But I wanted to revisit the case of Steubenville after it was spotlighted recently on Emily Hanford's award-winning 'Sold a Story' podcast. Are its results just a one-time fluke? And if not — if the results are real — what can other districts learn from Steubenville's success? First, it's quickly apparent that Steubenville is not a flash in the pan. A 2012 Hechinger Report story noted that its success traces back to the early 2000s. Related It's also incredibly consistent over time. I used the Zelma tool from the Education Data Center to look at its recent results. The graph below compares Steubenville's third-grade reading proficiency rates (in blue) to the statewide average (in gray). As the graph shows, Steubenville consistently gets 95% to 99% of its third graders over the proficiency bar. In 2018, it had a bad year, and 'only' 93% of third graders scored proficient. But the district did not suffer much of a drop-off in the wake of the pandemic, hitting 97% in spring 2022. Steubenville's results are also remarkably strong across student groups. Last year, for example, 100% of its Black students, 99% of its low-income students and 92% of its students with disabilities scored proficient in third grade reading. How does Steubenville get such remarkable results? What can other districts learn from its success? It's not that the district has extra money or more staff. Steubenville spent $10,718 per student last year, which was about $1,500 less than the average Ohio district and well below many other districts in America. It also had slightly more students per teacher than other comparable districts. Related Some things Steubenville does have are not easily replicable. As Robert Pondiscio pointed out in a recent column, the district can boast incredible continuity: It has been following the same reading program, called Success for All, for the last 25 years. Teacher turnover is low, and the same superintendent has been in place for a decade. But Hanford found a few things that Steubenville did differently that other schools can learn from. Steubenville, for example, offers subsidized preschool beginning at age 3. And in those early years, teachers regularly remind students to speak in complete sentences as language practice for later, when those kids will start learning to read and write. The district also deploys staff differently than most do. Every elementary teacher, even the phys ed instructor, leads a reading class. And during that reading block — which all students have at the same time — children are grouped with peers performing at the same level, regardless of age. Related Steubenville kids are also practicing constantly, either as part of the whole class or in small groups, where kids work on their fluency skills by reading aloud to each other. That stands in contrast to schools that prefer to give kids silent reading or 'Drop Everything and Read' time, which can be great for kids who already read well but wasteful or even harmful for children who aren't ready for long blocks of independent free reading. Now, it's worth noting that Steubenville's robust education results have not guaranteed kids a path to economic security. Despite its near-perfect early reading scores, strong middle and high school achievement and a 96% graduation rate, the district's post-high school results are only slightly above statewide averages in terms of college-going and completion rates and the percentage of graduates who find 'gainful employment.' But those early adulthood outcomes are at least partly tied to the economic climate in a given community, and it's hard to find fault with anything that the school district itself directly controls. Most districts would envy Steubenville's impressive results.
