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Irish Examiner
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Donegal's Ryan McHugh hoping to christen son with Sam Maguire glory
New father Ryan McHugh is hoping to christen the recent arrival of his son by emulating his father Martin and brother Mark and winning an All-Ireland SFC medal on July 27. Senan arrived safely into his and his wife Bridget's lives three weeks ago and McHugh is leaning on her heavily as preparations now kick in ahead of facing Kerry. 'It changes things, it changes life. But to be fair to my wife Bridget, we've sort of made a wee agreement that until the end of the year, she's doing the night feed, so I'm still getting my sleep. 'He was up at the game (v Meath) with Bridget, it just makes everything that wee bit extra special. I know he'll not remember or anything like that, but you've got a new cause in life and you're doing it for a different thing now.' A minor when Donegal last lifted the Sam Maguire Cup in 2012, McHugh joined the senior panel a year later so is the odd one out. It appears to the source of some ball-hopping among the McHugh men. 'It makes it tough at the breakfast table and dinner table at home, because Dad and Mark have one!' he smiles. 'But listen, it's all part of it.' Believing he didn't well in the 2014 All-Ireland final, McHugh admits that defeat to Kerry stung twice as badly. 'It was very difficult, no point lying. I've actually never watched the game back, to be honest with you. I have watched wee clips but never watched the full game back. 'You thought at that time, you were going to be in semi-finals, finals every year. But I think it was up to last year it took us to get back to an All-Ireland semi-final. So listen, we want to make the most of it; it could be another 11 years until we get back again.' McGuinness has been involved in all four of Donegal's All-Ireland final appearances, this being his third in charge. McHugh marvels at his consistency of his message and the intensity of it. 'The way I like to answer this question is, he brings it every single night. Although, we didn't win it, I've been fortunate enough to be involved with him in an All-Ireland final – and he is on it on the first night we meet in December, or whenever it is, until the last night in an All-Ireland final. And it's the exact same, every single night. Ryan McHugh breaks away with the ball during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final. Pic: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile. 'And I know that sounds easy, but it's actually an extremely difficult thing to do. You could have problems off the pitch, family issues, work issues, different things, but he is on it every single night. And demanding the most of us, and putting in the best. And to be fair, the team he's around him, it's all so professional.' Michael Murphy's impact is that such that McHugh wonders if he would have made a difference had he come out of retirement last season. 'Nobody knows what would have happened if Michael was there last year.' For the way he plays but also the manner in which he carries himself, McHugh can't stress enough the importance of Murphy's presence. 'It's similar to Jim, it's hard to put into words, but his whole leadership qualities, and I think the two of them bounce off each other so well. 'To be fair to Jim, in 2011, he made Michael Murphy his captain – who was 21, 22 years of age. If you think of that now, it'd be like Donegal making Finnbarr Roarty captain. So, the trust that he has in him. 'He's a phenomenal person, so he is, Michael. He's a phenomenal footballer, obviously, everyone sees that. But he's a phenomenal person. The way he lives his life off the field is just unbelievable, and I think it's helped all the younger boys – just watching him. 'If I touch on Finnbarr Roarty, he was probably six when Michael lifted the cup in 2012. He was his role model, he was his hero growing up, and to get to play with these boys. 'I know myself coming in, Karl Lacey was my hero. I just worshipped him, I followed every move he was making. And the younger boys are the exact same with Michael.'
Extra.ie
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Extra.ie
Why multiple Sam Maguires now look inevitable for Tyrone
Whatever the outcome in Croke Park tomorrow evening, be certain that Tyrone are going nowhere. The profile of the senior squad is encouraging and it is in the care of a smart manager. But the real reason for optimism among Tyrone supporters relates to their underage success. It has been so consistently bountiful that multiple Sam Maguires look inevitable — and that's allowing for the notoriously tenuous connections between underage talent and senior delivery. Last week's minor final win over Kerry confirmed Tyrone as champions in the two prestige underage competitions this season, following their Under 20 triumph over Louth in May (they beat Kerry in the semi-final en route to that title, after defeating them in last year's decider at the same grade. Tyrone stalk the Kingdom far beyond the senior grade). The Tyrone team celebrate with the cup after the Electric Ireland GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship final match between Kerry and Tyrone at Cedral St Conleth's Park in Newbridge, Kildare. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile It was their fourth minor title in 15 years and their sixth since 2001. They have won three of the last four U20 titles as well, while also winning it in 2001, making them only the second county to do the underage double twice. And that matters because history shows us that the years immediately after these doubles invariably bring senior success. The first county to do it was Kerry in 1975, and thereafter dawned the Golden Years. Cork did it in 1981, and by the end of that decade, they were on their way to winning back-to-back All-Irelands. Then came Tyrone's double in 2001, before Dublin did it in 2012 — a year before Jim Gavin started building the greatest team of all time. Tyrone's Eoin McElholm celebrates scoring a late point. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie The one exception is, fittingly, Cork: they did it in 2019 but never got the dividend at senior level. That's as much about coaching and development structures within a county currently trying to correct generations of drift when it comes to football. But where the proper support is in place, prepared counties reap the bounty from a gush of success like the one the Red Hand County have enjoyed this season. Jack O'Connor, steeped in the schools and underage game himself, was aware of what Tyrone are building when he spoke before tomorrow's game. 'They have really good structures and really good people involved in coaching in the schools,' he said. David Clifford of Kerry celebrates with manager Jack O'Connor after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Armagh and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile 'I'm not saying there are not good people involved in the schools down here but that's what it comes down to, it comes down to the quality of the people involved in coaching.' Mention of schools is pertinent, too: Omagh CBS have won two of the last three Hogan Cups, the prestigious senior schools competition. Tyrone also won last week's minor decider without the prodigious Joel Kerr, who signed for West Ham United on a contract that began on July 1. Negotiations to release him didn't get anywhere, but he wasn't required in the end, as they held out in a gripping finale. There was an expectation at the start of that season that Malachy O'Rourke, in his first season in charge, would feed through the produce of some of recent U20 triumphs, but the age-old mistake of throwing young players in en masse has been avoided. Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke after his side's victory in the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Dublin and Tyrone at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile There's a long and inglorious history of counties trying to fasttrack underage winners into senior football in bulk, and the challenge is simply too great. Eoin McElholm, Shea O'Hare and Seánie McDonnell, the latter with two goals in the win against Donegal in Ballybofey, have been the stand- out graduates. McElholm is a tremendous talent who is being used with deliberate care. The way he blitzed Ciarán Kilkenny to score a late point in Tyrone's quarter-final win was heralded as generational change in real time, with one of the true modern greats beaten by a coming talent. Kilkenny (a star on the All-Ireland-winning 2012 U21 team) has nothing left to prove in the game, but that cameo did vividly illustrate the potency of youth. Tyrone have already had a micro-taste of the effects of underage success recently. Joel Kerr of Tyrone during the Electric Ireland GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship semi-final match between Tyrone and Roscommon at Kingspan Breffni in Cavan. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile They won an U20 title in 2015, and Kieran McGeary, Pádraig Hampsey, Rory Brennan, Conor Meyler, Frank Burns and Mark Bradley all enjoyed senior success in 2021. That final was against the head, coming in the second Covid season and in a knock-out championship. In keeping with the spectral feel of those years, that Tyrone side dissolved. Key components of it remain, not least many of the names mentioned above, as well as an imposing midfield, but there was no sense at the time that this was a generational force emerging. Subsequent events proved that instinct correct. The rise of Derry and the enduring competitiveness of Armagh meant Ulster remained fraught for them in the years after the 2021 win, while the stroke suffered by joint manager Fergal Logan in early 2024 was another serious complication. If there was enough residual talent left in that group to convince O'Rourke of the potential for success, the other clear calculation was around what is coming through from the minor and U20 ranks. Pádraig Hampsey of Tyrone during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Dublin and Tyrone at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile Yet the manager has, in public at least, been keen to set that talent against the greater need for application. Some might suggest that's in keeping with O'Rourke's tradition of well-drilled teams, but it's also likely to be about tempering expectations around what remains, at senior level, mostly potential. 'There's no doubt there's a lot of talent there because they obviously had great underage success, but I suppose I've said to them and everyone else that talent only gets you so far,' he said earlier this season. 'It's about working really hard, it's about maximising what you have and it's about learning to work really hard as a team. Shea O'Hare of Tyrone during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 2 match between Tyrone and Mayo at O'Neills Healy Park in Omagh, Tyrone. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile 'I think that's the process we're going through and trying to make sure that we do that. 'There's no doubt there is a lot of really good players there. There's good experience there as well, there are lads who have been there a number of years who have had success at the top level, and then there are lads in between as well. 'But we're just concentrating very much in the short term.' That has been his challenge this year. Tyrone were flagged from his appointment as contenders for the All-Ireland, and have duly arrived in Croke Park in mid-July. Tyrone supporters are used to success and want more of it. Sporting wisdom has it that the only competition to target is the next one, so potential won't figure much in Red Hand discussions on the way to Dublin tomorrow. But Tyrone are coming down with it. No county looks better equipped to compete in the coming seasons — and some of their promising youths could yet tilt tomorrow their way.
Extra.ie
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Extra.ie
The two key figures as Donegal and Meath set to show down
At some point on Sunday afternoon at Croke Park, between playing bumper cars around the middle of the field and crashing and banging and bouncing off each other around that middle third, it would be understandable if Michael Murphy and Bryan Menton exchanged a knowing glance with each other. The boys are back in town. It's all a bit mad and unlikely how two players — both in their 30s — are back on such familiar stomping ground considering they both retired. Considering both were gone from the game for two years. Both after a decade and more of inter-county service. For so many seasons, Murphy was the figurehead for a county. Team captain and talisman. Michael Murphy of Donegal walks the pitch before the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Monaghan and Donegal at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Piaras í' Mídheach/Sportsfile He saw good days and bad. Menton was cut from a similar cloth, a physical, athletic ball-winner and fielder who was the touchstone for a county's ambitions. The DonaghmoreAshbourne player gave 12 years to the cause before slipping into a low-key retirement when Meath's summer ended in 2022 with a round-one qualifier defeat to Clare. That 1-11 to 1-9 result in Cusack Park in Ennis was enough to prompt the end of Andy McEntee's time in charge. In the car travelling home, Menton knew that was him done. It's why the tears flowed. THAT was a Saturday evening at the start of June. The following weekend, Armagh did a job on Donegal in round two. The 3-17 to 0-16 wasn't exactly how Michael Murphy envisaged his football career ending. Paul Conroy of Galway and Bryan Menton of Meath after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Meath and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile That day he kicked six of those 16 points, five from placed balls and a signature score from play followed by a clenched fist. In the dressing room, he knew as well that was it. So he lingered and lingered until he was the last one left, a part of him wanting to prolong the inevitable sadness that comes with walking out of a Donegal dressing room for the last time as a player. And close the door on a chapter in his life that was defining in so many ways, the Glenswilly player being the only other Donegal captain along with Anthony Molloy to lift the Sam Maguire Cup. As a kid, he had travelled so many times to Clones in the family car to big games. Usually, he'd hand the gear bag to his father Mick and join the rest of the players on the bus. After sharing his first trip to St Tiernach's Park with his dad, he decided that he'd share his last. Michael Murphy of Donegal during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship preliminary quarter-final match between Donegal and Louth at MacCumhaill Park in Ballybofey, Donegal. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile Stuck the gear bag in the boot and off they headed home together. When his retirement became official, it made national headlines. No wonder he was overcome with emotion at the final whistle of this year's drama-packed Ulster football decider which needed extra time to find a winner between Donegal and Armagh. His tear-filled embrace with his father as the same Clones pitch was taken over by supporters rounded off one of the great comeback stories. From being adamant that his time was done to moving on to being a match analyst with streaming service GAAGO to being co-opted on to Jim Gavin's Football Review Committee — and then Donegal manager Jim McGuinness finding a way to turn his head and convince him to go again. Being awarded the official Man of the Match award in that Ulster final aged 35 just captured the full range of his talent and leadership abilities under pressure. Joe O'Connor of Kerry is tackled by Bryan Menton of Meath during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 3 match between Kerry and Meath at Glenisk O'Connor Park in Tullamore, Offaly. Pic: Tom Beary/Sportsfile Very quickly, he has become a main kick-out option for goalkeeper Shaun Patton. There's a wonderful photo of him sitting on the bench in the dressing room, the Anglo Celt Cup beside him. His face alight with joy. From the moment he first returned to action in February, it's like he has never been away. Armagh's All-Ireland winning captain Aidan Forker losing it at his introduction and picking up a straight red for dropping his head into Murphy's chest. Murphy seizing on a misplaced kickout and swinging the ball over the bar within a minute. Meath manager Colm O'Rourke during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 3 match between Monaghan and Meath at Kingspan Breffni in Cavan. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile Finishing the game with the match ball in his hands after coming down from a height with it onehanded at one stage. Menton is back after taking a call from Meath selector Conor Gillespie who is part of the management team Robbie Brennan put together since taking over for 2025 from Colm O'Rourke. He thought his old teammate was just looking for advice on the next wave of talent coming through. Not coming with an invite to put on the jersey again. On All-Ireland quarter-final weekend, both were back in the middle third in the thick of the action. Murphy was a calming presence as Donegal weathered the storm against Monaghan and kicked on in the second half. Menton produced some of his own big plays when it mattered too as Meath upset strong favourites and Connacht champions Galway. Meath coach Conor Gillespie during the Allianz Football League Division 2 match between Cork and Meath at Páirc Ui Chaoimh in Cork. Pic: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile Winning the throw-up set the tone for the second half. One important block led to a momentum-changing turnover and when Galway came surging back, it was Menton who rose highest to win a Meath kick-out after Matthew Thomspon had levelled up the match. When I interviewed Menton back in March about what prompted his retirement u-turn, the subject of Michael Murphy, naturally, came up. 'Well, I suppose with Michael Murphy, I'd say it's probably a case of, he's excited by what they're doing at the minute too. The team there, they seem to be progressing well. So again, he could have the same kind of sense of me that, you know, he'll never be asked again. So why not give it another go?' It would have been easy to stay retired. Legacy secure. Croke Park especially plays fast and open and is the kind of pitch that isn't exactly custom built for a player embracing their mid-30s. But Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final is about something bigger. A love for the game. A bond to a county jersey and all that flows from it. If it ends in tears on one side, no matter. As the much-quoted sports maxim goes, it's not so much the critic that counts but those who spend themselves in a worthy cause. The Men in the Arena.
The Irish Sun
11-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Jack O'Connor reveals ‘practical reason' behind Kerry's Portugal training camp that helped take advantage of new rule
TWO-POINTERS were a moot point for Kerry on their march to this year's National League title. And boss Jack O'Connor says their dearth of orange flags was down to a lack of scope to work on one of the key changes introduced by the Football Review Committee. Advertisement En route to being crowned Division 1 champions, But two-pointers have been prominent throughout their journey to tomorrow's Sam Maguire semi-final against Seán O'Shea has been Kerry's most prolific shooter from outside the 40-metre arc, with the three he scored in the quarter-final win over Armagh taking his season's tally to 11. According to O'Connor, his team finally got a chance to sharpen their ability to avail of the bonus points now on offer during a pre-Championship training camp in Advertisement Read More on GAA He said: 'The league was so frenetic, we got very little time to actually work on stuff. We played eight games in nine weeks or something like that. 'We played five in a row and in between those games, you're basically recovering. You just have one decent session so you can't work on everything. 'And during the league we were getting goals so there wasn't really that much of a need to go after two-pointers. But since the league, we've worked a bit on it and it is a skill. 'It's a skill getting the right kickers on it and creating the space , so we had a bit more time starting with the training camp to work on stuff like that. That was the real practical reason.' Advertisement Most read in GAA Football At the other end of the pitch, O'Connor knows limiting Tyrone's two-point opportunities could be crucial to Kerry's chances of advancing to a third All-Ireland final in four seasons. The Red Hands aced five outside-the-arc efforts in their quarter-final victory against shooting . Watch RTE pundits' contrasting reaction to full-time whistle of Tipperary's epic win over Kilkenny Kerry led 1-12 to 0-3 at half-time in Tralee back in February, only for the visitors to emerge victorious after kicking four two-pointers. O'Connor said: 'It's a big weapon for Tyrone. Their first three scores against Dublin were two-pointers. Advertisement 'We saw it against Dublin in the league when we were 12 or 13 points up at half-time and that can disappear very quickly with those two-pointers. 'That opens up a bit more space inside when you have to come out on the kicker so it's a pretty potent combination.' 1 Kerry manager Jack O'Connor with Evan Looney after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final against Armagh Credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Irish Examiner
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
'Meath are ahead of expectations' says Trevor Giles as All-Ireland semi looms
Trevor Giles, part of the Meath management team last year, reckons the All-Ireland semi-finalists are 'ahead of expectations' in terms of the progress they've made. Royal County great Giles was a key figure in Colm O'Rourke's backroom in 2024 though O'Rourke stepped down in disgust, believing he didn't have the support of the county board. Meath lost four of their five Championship games in 2024 and O'Rourke felt he wasn't given adequate time afterwards to lock down a new coaching setup for 2025. In a lengthy interview with the Meath Chronicle at the time, O'Rourke suggested there would be a 'lot of bad days in the next few years' as young players bedded in and, speaking specifically about 2025, said that 'I don't think we will win the All-Ireland next year'. His replacement, Robbie Brennan, has masterminded Championship wins over Kerry, Dublin, Cork and Galway so far this summer and guided the county to Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final against Donegal. AIB ambassador Giles praised Brennan for the strong impact and said the big results are ahead of schedule. "It's a little bit ahead of expectations," said Giles. "Last year, my team from 1999, we were the jubilee team in Croke Park, 25 years since we'd won the All-Ireland. It was a great day but it was a little bit sad leaving that day because it was so long since we'd won the All-Ireland. "At that time, it looked like it was going to be a while before we'd be even competing for it. So a little bit ahead of expectation. But I think, and the Meath lads would know this, it's a massive opportunity on Sunday. There are no guarantees you'll get back there next year. Former inter-county footballers Kevin Cassidy (Donegal) and Trevor Giles (Meath), pictured for AIB ahead of GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final between Donegal and Meath this Sunday. Pic: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne "The Championship this year, the games have been so close. Really good teams haven't got this far because they've lost narrowly. I think the next few years the Championship is going to be equally competitive and tight. "So you have to make the most of your opportunity when you're there and that goes for the older lads who have been starved of success and the younger lads who are just new to this. They have to make the most of this opportunity on Sunday." New manager Brennan pulled Bryan Menton out of retirement and has started him at midfield in all 15 of their League and Championship games. It's the same story for Seamus Lavin who hadn't played for Meath since 2021. Jack Flynn has been brought back too and has made 11 starts though is currently injured. Meanwhile, at full-back, Sean Rafferty is in All-Star form having not previously played for Meath. "I didn't think we'd be as good as we have turned out to be but that's sport," said Giles. "Robbie has come in as the new manager and great credit to him. The new rules have helped. Ciaran Caulfield was the captain of DCU and won a Sigerson, that makes a difference to you. "Then Dunshaughlin won the championship in Meath, so those players become different players when they do that. "Sean Coffey is finished his studies, he was studying physio in UCD, he's now in a job as a physio, little things like that make a difference. "Jordan Morris wasn't really available last year, having him back gives everyone massive confidence. Bryan Menton is back and has helped in midfield and is giving a little bit more leadership. "So credit to everyone, it's been a number of different things. With the lean years we've had, and the next thing you get a bit of success, it just gives you huge, huge momentum."
