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The Irish Sun
11-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Jim McGuinness slams brawl that required Gardai intervention following Donegal's win over Armagh in Ulster SFC final
DONEGAL boss Jim McGuinness was savouring another 'special' Ulster title last night. The Glenties man Advertisement 1 Armagh captain Aidan Forker confronts Donegal manager Jim McGuinness as a tussle breaks out after the Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship final Credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile And he was happy to let captain Paddy McBrearty, prodigal son Michael Murphy and the rest of the squad enjoy the moment after an extra-time thriller against Armagh in Clones. McGuinness said: 'Yeah, they're all very unique. They're all as special as the next one. And you're in a packed house out there and the sun's shining. And, you know, we all travelled to Ulster finals as children. And that's the moment. 'The house is full and the sun is shining. Somebody's going to win and somebody, unfortunately, is not going to win. 'We had a lot of days against Armagh, in many respects, where we were out the wrong side of it. A lot of days I played in Ulster finals. So they're very special.' Advertisement Read More on GAA Donegal go into an All-Ireland SFC series group with Tyrone, Cavan and Mayo. And McGuinness continued: 'We will enjoy tonight, enjoy that with our families — and refocus then as quickly as we can because another competition is going to start now. 'But we're not talking much about that tonight. I'm just proud of them, proud of the way they went about it and kept going to the very end. And they're entitled to celebrate.' McGuinness condemned the ugly scenes that marred the end of their victory. Advertisement Most read in Sport Exclusive A scuffle broke out in Clones as members of both camps clashed and Gardaí intervened. The situation was defused before Donegal skipper McBrearty lifted the Anglo-Celt Cup. McGuinness did not see what caused the ruckus. RTÉ GAA pundits Paul Flynn and Lee Keegan slam All-Ireland draw He said: 'I don't have a perspective on that. It's not nice to see. It shouldn't happen. I was giving my daughter a hug at the time. I didn't see what happened, but it shouldn't be in the game.' His Armagh counterpart Kieran McGeeney has to lift his players for a group of death with Dublin, Galway and Derry but hopes they can bounce back after raising Sam Maguire last July. Advertisement He said: 'We've been in the group of death for the last three years, so what's new? 'It's a tough one. Derry are playing well. Dublin are Dublin, and Galway are probably one of the best teams in the country. There's no easy ones left.'
The Irish Sun
04-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Dublin's reign of terror in Leinster SFC is finally over – but Meath will need to find another gear in final vs Louth
LAST weekend's Royal flush in Portlaoise showed that the days of Dublin holding all the aces in Leinster are finally over. After a 14-year reign of terror, the Dubs have come back to the pack. Advertisement 2 Meath manager Robbie Brennan after the Leinster GAA Football Senior Championship semi-final win over Dublin Credit: Ray McManus/Sportsfile 2 Graham Geraghty of the 1999 All-Ireland winning Meath football jubilee team before the All-Ireland Final between Armagh and Galway Credit: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile The prospect of winning a provincial title suddenly seems attainable for several counties. And that could revitalise the Leinster Championship just a year after it was labelled 'a shambles' by Colm O'Rourke after Meath suffered another hammering at the hands of their old rivals. But the Royals' wait for a Championship triumph over the Sky Blues Even with such a commanding lead at half-time, the Meath supporters in my vicinity were somewhat hesitant to even dare to dream. Advertisement Read More on GAA With Dublin set to be backed by the wind in the second half, the hope was that 12 points would be enough. It was only when I was out on the pitch afterwards that I got a proper appreciation of the strength of the breeze that was there. Nobody thought we would find ourselves that far ahead anyway, particularly when you consider how the Offaly game went. Ultimately Meath fared better against the wind than Dublin did, so they were able to keep the scoreboard ticking over by just enough. Advertisement Most read in GAA Football As the second half progressed, it became increasingly clear as they grew in confidence that this team was capable of hanging on. There can be no taking away from the magnitude of the victory and what it could lead to. Tipperary GAA legend reveals surprising difference between 'pressure' of playing for club vs county But my sense is that Meath may need to find another gear for the Leinster final. Overall it was a positive performance from Robbie Brennan's side, yet plenty of mistakes were made too. Advertisement And in the context of where they once were, Dublin are obviously a team in decline. BOUNCING BACK It has been said over the last week that the Dubs would have mounted a better comeback if the game had been in Croke Park. That is obviously hypothetical and I am not inclined to agree, simply because their display was just so poor. While they may no longer be living up to the standards they set while racking up All-Ireland titles over the last decade and a half, this is still a good Dublin team. When their injuries clear up, it will be interesting to see how Dessie Farrell's side navigate a difficult group in the All-Ireland SFC series. Advertisement But let it not be forgotten that the opposition were also dealing with injuries as Jack Flynn and Jordan Morris are important players for Meath too. The first Leinster final meeting of Meath and Louth since that controversial decider in 2010 — when Meath should have been beaten — promises to be something special. It is a game to be discussed in greater detail next weekend. What I will say now is that the significance of beating Dublin will be diluted if Meath do not become Leinster champions. Advertisement The players are well aware of that too. I congratulated Donal Keogan on the pitch after the game last Sunday and he said to me, 'The job is not done yet, Graham'. GOIN GAL THE WAY For today, Castlebar will be the centre of attention as Galway aim to win their fourth consecutive Connacht SFC crown. But after squandering it last year, this is a Advertisement While Galway's overall arsenal is formidable, losing weapons as powerful as Shane Walsh and Damien Comer would hurt any team's chances. The fear factor alone is considerably lessened by their absences. Walsh might not be in a game at all for 40 minutes but he has the talent to win it on his own with just a couple of moments of magic. Despite all of his injury problems, Comer issued a reminder of what he can do with a man-of-the-match display as he tormented Mayo in last year's final. Advertisement The bizarre decision to hold the draw for the All-Ireland group stages earlier this week has thrust both Galway and Mayo into something of a Catch-22 situation. The consolation prize for the runners-up will be a more favourable set of opponents in the Sam Maguire series, as the winners will have to face Dublin, Derry and the beaten team in the Ulster final between Donegal and Armagh. You would like to think that this has not presented any dilemma to either camp as the value of a provincial title should not be cheapened by the possibility of an easier route thereafter. My expectation is that both teams will go all out to put a marker down and land a blow to a rival by winning the game and getting the confidence boost that silverware invariably brings. Advertisement PROBLEM TEAM As for Clare's latest attempt to cause a shock in a Munster final, I certainly feel Peter Keane's men have the ability to pose problems for Kerry. The Banner will obviously be heartened by how close Cork ran the Kingdom. And However, when you can replace Clifford with a player of Seán O'Shea's ability, it outlines the size of the mountain that the visitors will have to climb in Killarney. Clare were within seven points at the final whistle in last year's decider in Ennis. Advertisement I will be extremely surprised if Kerry's margin of victory is narrower than that this afternoon.
The Irish Sun
27-04-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Kerry have not embraced the benefits of the new gaelic football rules – it could cost them in the All-Ireland race
IF Kerry continue to turn their noses up at the new double-or-nothing opportunities presented by the new rules, it could prove costly when the stakes get higher. A preference to feed inside forwards of the quality of David Clifford and Paul Geaney is understandable. 2 David Clifford of Kerry reacts after his point, after the hooter, wasn't allowed during the Munster GAA Football Senior Championship semi-final against Cork Credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile 2 Captain Graham Geraghty of the 1999 All-Ireland winning Meath football jubilee team at the All-Ireland Senior Championship Final Credit: Ben McShane/Sportsfile And they reaped the rewards by racking up 0-11 after just 23 minutes of last weekend's Munster semi-final against Cork. But Jack O'Connor's side have yet to fully embrace the possibilities on offer outside the 40-metre arc. Until Clifford kicked their only one of the night in the sixth minute of extra-time at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Kerry were on course to go without scoring a single two-pointer for the fourth game in succession. By contrast, Cork stayed in the game because of their willingness to shoot from long range. Six two-pointers helped the Rebels get so close to pulling off a major upset. Read More on GAA We have already seen countless examples of teams looking dead and buried, only to mount big comebacks with the aid of the extra points on offer by shooting from what would previously have been regarded as low-percentage zones. In the long run, getting such an almighty scare at this early stage in the season might be the best thing that could have happened to Kerry, on the back of their National League success. Having tipped them as my All-Ireland winners before the Championship began, events on Leeside did not quite cause me to regret that prediction. But it certainly exposed a few chinks in their armour. Most read in Sport One of the positives for Kerry was that they scored all but 0-1 of their 3-21 tally from play. They are being rewarded for supplying their inside forwards and having the ambition to take the opposition on, which is something that you can only applaud. Oisin McConville urges GAA to ditch big rule change mid-season after controversial ending to Championship clash
