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The Irish Sun
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Are Dublin back? Beating Galway was impressive, but it's too soon to class them as All-Ireland contenders
DUBLIN'S brilliant win in Salthill last Saturday was much more than just the last sting of a dying wasp. Their fans are buzzing again and rightly so. 2 Meath great Graham Geraghty writes for SunSport throughout the Championship season 2 Ciarán Kilkenny rolled back the years in Salthill last week But judgement will have to be reserved before they are tipped to keep flying for the rest of the summer. The Jacks are back? Not quite. Still, as a response to the performance they produced in Being honest, even amid the joy and jubilation, there was a sense coming away from Portlaoise that day that the Royals had caught Dublin on the hop. Read More On GAA The Dubs were clearly off-colour and they had a few injuries which also played into Meath hands. Now, credit should not be taken away from Robbie Brennan's team because they played well and were full value for But the Sky Blues showed what they are still capable of by getting the better of a team of Galway's calibre — and it has really thrown the cat among the pigeons in the group of death. This format has understandably been criticised for affording teams too wide a margin for error. Most read in GAA Football But try telling the All-Ireland champions that there is no jeopardy as they prepare to launch their Sam Maguire defence today against a Derry side who have been waiting in the long grass. As their failure to win a single game attests, the Oak Leafers were really poor throughout the National League. And they could not live with Donegal in the Ulster Championship. Limerick GAA fans troll RTE pundit Donal Og Cusack after win over Cork But Paddy Tally is sure to have used the last seven weeks wisely. Some of their injuries have had time to heal and there are positive sounds coming from Foyleside. Having more time to adapt to the new rules should also stand to Tally's men, who probably found it difficult to alter their previous system of getting everyone behind the ball and hitting the opposition on the counter. Rejuvenated by their break from competitive action, Derry will not make it easy for Armagh today. It would be foolhardy to underestimate the threat posed by a team that can boast talent such as Brendan Rogers, Conor Glass and Shane McGuigan. After Galway came up short against the Dubs, could we end the first round of the All-Ireland series with both of last year's finalists empty-handed? While an Armagh win at the Athletic Grounds is my expectation, no outcome will greatly surprise me. And in Derry's case, the only way is up. Even without their talisman, Rian O'Neill, Armagh were desperately unlucky to He remains absent for today, though There are not many players who possess the type of X-factor that O'Neill does. He is a fantastic footballer with the potential to really excel under the new rules. DONEGAL DOING WELL Today's other all-Ulster clash also has the makings of a tight affair. You would have to give Donegal a tentative nod but Tyrone only lost their Ulster semi-final to Armagh by a point and this one could be equally close. The impact Michael Murphy has had since returning to the Donegal fold following a two-year hiatus has to be admired. The man is a machine. When the chips were down in the Ulster final, he was always ready to step up. He's a generational player. Donegal are blessed to have him. For Louth, their first outing as Leinster champions should be an extremely difficult one when they take on Monaghan. This is technically a home game for the Wee County. But St Conleth's Park in Kildare will not offer them much in the way of an advantage. Even as a Meath man, I can only admit that the images and videos of the celebrations that took place throughout Louth over the past fortnight were fantastic to see and thoroughly deserved. Yet the fear now would be that the festivities carried on for a little too long. On the other hand, Monaghan will be coming in nice and fresh after waiting patiently in the wings since their Ulster quarter-final defeat to Donegal five weeks ago. I am sure that Louth got back down to business in the last week or so. Nevertheless, it is very tough to detach yourself from the type of hysteria going on around you after achieving something that had not been done in 68 years. Ger Brennan would be the type of guy to do a good job of keeping his players grounded. However, Monaghan are a formidable force and I fancy them to prevail. MEATH'S TASK The challenge for Meath in moving on from their experience of the Leinster final will be an altogether different one as they face Cork in the Championship for the first time since the Rebels got the better of a team I was part of in the 2007 All-Ireland semi-finals. A great chance to win a provincial title slipped away last time out so there was huge disappointment throughout the county. Significant improvement will be required in the middle third of the field particularly for Meath. Jordan Morris, who we all feared may be sidelined for the year, now has another couple of weeks under his belt so he could have a big say. While my heart is saying Meath, my head is reminding me that Cork have shown their capability in the past couple of years by beating the likes of Mayo and Donegal. They were also hugely unfortunate not to overcome Kerry in the Munster semi-final. That being said, home advantage in Navan could get Meath off to a winning start before their attention shifts to the trip to Roscommon.
The Irish Sun
11-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
I was flown from wedding to Meath vs Louth by helicopter – Micheal O Mhuircheartaigh called me the best dressed GAA star
HELICOPTERS, tuxedos, wild celebrations. Ghost goals, ugly scenes and injustice — strap yourself in for Meath against Louth. 2 Graham Geraghty before the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Armagh and Galway Credit: Ben McShane/Sportsfile Over 50,000 will flock to Championship reborn thanks to Dublin's shock exit at the hands of my county in Portlaoise a fortnight ago. None of us saw it coming, but it has resurrected a province that was dying on its feet. The saga of 2010 has dominated the pre-match build-up. Referee Martin Sludden didn't see Joe Sheridan throwing the ball into the net . . . and neither did I. Read More on GAA Seámie Kenny got the ball and it was blocked on the line by Paddy Keenan. I had a programme in my hand and I threw it on the ground out of pure thickness. When I went to pick it up, the ball was in the net and I'd missed the whole lot! No one knew what was going on, and I didn't actually see it properly until Most read in GAA Football Obviously what happened was wrong, and the scenes at the end said it all when Sludden had to be escorted from the pitch. But they were all to blame really. If the two umpires had more backbone they would have stood up and called for the goal to be disallowed. RTÉ GAA pundits Paul Flynn and Lee Keegan slam All-Ireland draw It was badly handled by Croke Park and the GAA too, by putting the onus on Meath to give Louth a replay, which was unfair as well. If you go down that route where you have a replay for every point or goal that was allowed and should have been disallowed, we'd probably never finish a game. In most games you have some kind of contention over a point or whatever. In hindsight, I think the result probably stood because it was on the field of play and that was it really. There's been plenty of banter around it this week and it might be some ammunition that Louth can use to gee the players up. But I don't think Ger Brennan will go there. NAVAN MEMORIES My flying visit to Navan in 2002 has cropped up a bit this week too. Times were good back then when Kepak sponsored the team. summer to set up a round-two qualifier against Louth in Navan. But the game was fixed for the same day I was groomsman at my close pal Richard Lynch's It was an awful predicament, but Seán Boylan had the solution as usual. He told me to go to the church , and I'd be brought to and from the game by helicopter. Bingo ! The happy couple said, 'I do' and before I knew it, the chopper was touching down at Bellinter House on the outskirts of Navan. We had a pre-match chat as I sat there in my tuxedo but there was drama before we even got to the ground. Paddy Carr was Louth manager at the time and he knew all the back roads into Páirc Tailteann. We came into the town around Balreask and as we were waiting to cross the road , there was Carr — stopping all the traffic to let his Louth team walk in before us. Michéal Ó Mhuircheartaigh, God rest him, was just inside the gate, smiling away and said, 'You're the best-dressed man I've ever seen at a game' as we made our way to the changing room. Boylan's big gamble paid off. Carr's head was in his hands at the end. I scored a goal and lost the run of myself when I swung my jersey around above my head as I raced towards the stand. That jersey wouldn't even fit me now! Back at the wedding, some of the guests picked up the game on LMFM. The signal was coming and going but they were able to make out that I scored the winning goal. Quick shower, tux on and back to the chopper towards the Riverside Park Hotel in Enniscorthy. 2 Graham Geraghty of Meath celebrates following the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Qualifying Round 2 win over Louth Credit: Damien Eagers/Sportsfile Straight out of a It was a great way to finish off the day, relax and toast the happy couple. Meath don't need helicopters today but the county is back in love with the team again since beating Dublin. Thinking back to 1996, we had a very bad league and spirits were low going into our Leinster quarter-final against Carlow — and some even said we'd lose. Leaving that morning, I said to Amanda, 'We'll win the All-Ireland this year'. She was laughing at me, but I had the last laugh that September. I'm not saying that we're going to win Sam this year but you can see the similarities between then and now — because we have gained a lot of momentum from the end of the league to where we are today. MASSIVE STEP This is a massive step for Meath and there's so much on the line. I didn't think I'd ever say this but Louth are probably that little bit ahead of us at the minute. They had their first Championship win over Meath since 1975 last year and are into their third Leinster final in a row. But our lads are really up for it and they mean business . They've been priming themselves over the last couple of weeks and we've Jack Flynn back in midfield now after a hamstring injury, and all set for a pivotal aerial battle with Louth's Tommy Durnin. Obviously, Meath will have their work done on that and will try to nullify the dominance that Durnin has had in the last few games. If Louth win, there will be fantastic scenes throughout the county and Croke Park. Obviously, as a Meath man, I don't want to see that but you wouldn't begrudge them one either after 68 years. But 15 years is a long time in the wilderness for us too. This bunch of lads seem to have really come together and gelled. They have great camaraderie between them all. I suppose that's what it takes — it's not just good players. You need to be able to play as a team and die for each other. We're under no illusion we're up against it. We need our sharpshooters like we had against Dublin and Eoghan Frayne needs to score every free he gets. Croke Park is a big place when you're out there, and it's very lonesome when you're standing over a free-kick. Louth are a fantastic side and have proven that, but beating Dublin will count for nothing if Meath don't back it up. Listening to my heart, Meath will win by two. That's what I'm saying to Amanda anyway.
The Irish Sun
04-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
All-Ireland football group stage draw proves format is a failure – it's unnecessary distraction for provincial finalists
THE only good thing about the draw for the All-Ireland SFC group stages being made this week was it served as a reminder that this is the final edition of this failure of a format. While there are logistical reasons for having the Championship mapped out this far in advance, the draw is an unnecessary distraction for the provincial finalists. 1 Graham Geraghty slammed the current All-Ireland SFC format Credit: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile A revamped system will be in place in 2026, yet the method of separating the Sam Maguire counties from their Tailteann Cup counterparts is to remain the same. And the flaws of linking it to the provincial competitions have been exposed again this year. This should not be interpreted as any form of criticism of Clare, for they merely capitalised on the opportunity presented to them like any other team would be happy to do. But the fact that a win against Tipperary, a Division 4 outfit, was all the Banner needed to secure their place in the All-Ireland series is a joke. Read More on GAA Antrim got the better of Clare when the teams met in Division 3 of the National League earlier this season. But for Andy McEntee's side to compete in the Sam Maguire, victories over Tyrone and All-Ireland champions Armagh would have been required, as well as beating Cavan. To reach the same destination, Antrim were tasked with surviving shark-infested waters but Clare barely got their feet wet crossing a stream. As long as they persist with a two-tier Championship, the GAA have to find a way of levelling the playing field for teams with ambitions of being in with the big boys Most read in Sport
