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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Watch: All-Ireland SFC final preview – Kerry and Donegal final clash is one for the ages
Can Jim McGuinness get revenge on the Kingdom after their 2014 All-Ireland final loss? Can they Donegal stop David Clifford and do they have a trick up their sleeves? Can the prodigal son Michael Murphy lift Tír Chonaill up the steps of the Hogan Stand once more time? Jack v Jim, Clifford v Murphy – all the match-ups are analysed by our GAA experts.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
All-Ireland number four is Noel McGrath's sweetest yet, but he may already be plotting the drive for five
Noel McGrath is in the lobby of Malahide's Grand Hotel, patiently posing for photographs and cheerfully signing autographs. The Irish Sea just beyond the double doors is hidden beneath a low grey haze while incessant summer rain continues to soak the shoreline. It has been a dark, heavy morning across much of the country but there is a lightness to the air inside the hotel foyer. McGrath was a kid of just 19 when he won his first All-Ireland senior hurling title in 2010. On Sunday, at 34 years young, he collected his fourth Celtic Cross for Tipperary . Walking up the steps of the Hogan Stand to raise the Liam MacCarthy Cup , he brought his two-year-old son Sam with him to the plinth. READ MORE 'To be able to have my son there yesterday was probably one of the greatest things I could have done. I lifted the Liam MacCarthy with him in my arms,' says McGrath with a smile. 'I never thought in my wildest dreams that I'd be able to bring him to Croke Park [while I'm still playing], so to win an All-Ireland with him is unreal. 'That will be something I will remember forever. In time, I suppose he'll see all the pictures from it. He won't remember it but he'll have those pictures. It's special for me to be able to do that with him.' There is a second child on the way in October. Life is about to get even busier, even better. As he speaks, several of McGrath's team-mates are meandering through the lobby, floating around with expressions of total satisfaction painted across their faces. Tipperary manager Liam Cahill has taken Liam MacCarthy and a group of players to Children's Health Ireland (formerly Crumlin Children's Hospital) while others are standing around in small clusters trying to organise taxis to deliver them to one of the city's early houses. Ronan Maher with Tipperary supporter Oisín Crowe during the All-Ireland champions' visit to Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho Conor Stakelum is one of those ambling around the place. This is his first experience of winning an All-Ireland SHC. 'It's the stuff of dreams really,' he says. 'I was on my phone looking at the messages, soaking it in, then I came down to the lobby here and you see everybody smiling. 'You'd always be watching the news after All-Ireland finals, dreaming about being there some day and seeing the buzz around the day after. Now you're in it.' Dillon Quirke is never far from the thoughts of this Tipperary group. Nearly three years have passed since he collapsed during a club match and was pronounced dead in hospital. For Stakelum, Sunday brought back memories of the 2018 All-Ireland under-21 final between Tipp and Cork. [ Ashamed to be seen in public just one year ago, Tipperary's redemption story defies belief Opens in new window ] 'A couple of us were out with Dan and Hazel Quirke (Dillon's parents) on Friday before training, we had a cup of tea and a scone,' says Stakelum. 'Dillon was playing that day [in 2018] and we were just chatting about that match. When we were on the bus yesterday it started to rain, and it was raining that day too. 'If things were different Dillon would be here today and no better man to enjoy it with us if he was here.' McGrath will turn 35 in December. His story of resilience and defiance has already guaranteed him a place in the pantheon of Tipp greats. In 2015 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and just days later he underwent surgery. But he hasn't let it define him, having now added three further All-Ireland titles. He also claimed this latest one alongside his brothers, John and Brian. 'As I said after the semi-final, it never gets old,' he says of playing for Tipperary. 'As long as you're able to do it and to have days like this, it would keep anyone in good form and looking to do it again. It's great, it's unreal, it's unbelievable.' Tipperary's Conor Stakelum celebrates beating Cork in Sunday's All-Ireland final. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho The retirement question has dangled overhead for a few seasons but the blue and gold has, for now, always enticed him back. 'There's no point in saying over the last number of years that you don't think about it,' says the Loughmore-Castleiney man. 'When you're feeling good about it and when you're enjoying it, it's hard to step away, because when you're gone, you're gone. You're not going to come back at my age. 'Who knows about the future? There's no point in me saying here now what I know I'm going to do. I'd love to stay playing forever but I know that can't happen.' The temptation might be to sign off on his Tipperary career with that final act of striking over the last point of an All-Ireland final victory. It would be quite the way to go. But the lure of a possible fifth medal is real. 'I'd love to be able to give it a go and have a rattle off it next year again, but we'll go back to the club over the next few months and we'll battle it out against each other there and see what happens.' Outside, the rain continues to fall but nothing can dampen the mood of contentment swirling through the hotel. Just over McGrath's shoulder, outside the double doors, is the team bus. It'll be off to Tipperary soon. Taking Liam MacCarthy home. For the fourth time and counting, Noel McGrath will be along for the ride.
Irish Examiner
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Brian Cody set to miss jubilee celebration of his first All-Ireland win as manager
There are doubts Brian Cody will be in attendance at the celebration of Kilkenny's silver jubilee All-Ireland SHC winning team of 2000 in Croke Park on Sunday. The 11-time All-Ireland winning manager has been invited along with his panel, captained by Willie O'Connor, to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of their success against Offaly, the first time Cody guided Kilkenny to the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Since last year, managers have been introduced to the crowd along with their teams. The All-Ireland-winning bosses of 1999, Jimmy Barry-Murphy and Seán Boylan, received great acclaim at the 2024 games. However, sources close to those organising the gathering have said Cody is expected to be out of the country and therefore unable to attend. Apart from DJ Carey, who was man of the match in the victory over Offaly when he scored 1-4, at least one other 2000 All-Ireland winner is not expected to be able to be in attendance. Earlier this month, Carey pleaded guilty to 10 counts of deception between 2014 and 2022 and he will be sentenced in October. It is understood Carey's name will be read out but it is unlikely he will be represented by a family member as that practice of allowing a proxy when a former player is not in a position to take his place in the line-up in front of the Hogan Stand has been discontinued. In 2017, Jim McGuinness's young son Mark Anthony took his place in the county's jubilee ceremony as the current Donegal manager was working in China with soccer club Beijing Sinobo Guoan. However, there were no representatives of 1999 All-Ireland winners Pat Ryan and his selectors Wayne Sherlock and Brendan Coleman in last year's event when they were busy preparing the Cork team for the final against Clare later that afternoon. Led by captain O'Connor, the Kilkenny players of 2000 are organising a golf event in Callan Golf Club on Monday to raise funds for the costs associated with the event. This is the first of 11 jubilee events over the next 15 years.
Irish Examiner
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Maurice Brosnan: McCole's masterclass sets up a heavyweight showdown with Clifford
At the final whistle, Brendan McCole let it all go. There was no longer a need for his unwavering focus. Arms up, head to the sky, rejoice right in front of the Hogan Stand. They are through. His reward is the ultimate test. Jordan Morris came into this semi-final with 2-12 to his name. The Meath forward scorched Croke Park in the quarter-final with 1-6 against Galway from 11 shots. On Sunday, he fired at the posts five times for one point. That raging fire met a cold unforgiving tide. The tide won out. From the moment they lined out for the throw-in, Donegal having opted to play against the wind into the Hill, McCole made his way out of his full-back refuge and over to the foreign wing. This new era of Gaelic football has made it almost impossible for defenders to thrive. Almost. The Ulster champions have a set structure that sees defenders switch and pass over freely. McCole exists outside of that. He is consistently given the task of tackling the opposition's biggest threat. He is consistently delivering. Morris joined the hitlist along with Sam Mulroy, Ryan O'Donoghue, Conor Turbitt and Darragh Canavan. In this championship, McCole has bested every one of them. 'The first thing to say about Brendan is that he has climbed the ladder,' said Jim McGuinness afterwards as he reflected on a 20-point mauling. They kept what was an immense attacking unit to 13 scores from 31 shots. 'For any young defender out there, he has climbed the ladder. I remember when he made his debut he got a very rough introduction to intercounty football.' The boy who was born in New York and didn't play Gaelic football until he was nine years old and back in St Naul's endured a testing debut campaign in 2019. The same ground. The same opposition. McCole lasted 14 minutes in the Division 2 league final against Meath before Neil McGee replaced him. He is now the spit of the current Donegal selector. As McGuinness hails his proficiency, captain Patrick McBrearty sits by his side, nodding knowingly. The sort of gesture that comes with steady reminders during internal games. 'To answer your question, he is very conscientious,' said McGuinness. 'He works very hard at his game. He wants to know as much as he can about opposition forwards. He trains really well. He is focused in his own training and he wants to defend. That is the bottom line. 'He wants to defend. He wants to really, really defend. Jordan Morris is a brilliant player and a brilliant talent. A player that can do serious damage and play off the cuff, they are the hardest players to mark. No doubt. I thought he did a brilliant, brilliant job today.' It was evident with Meath's first sustained attack. Michael Murphy kicked a boomer for Donegal's first point, Donal Keogan won a short kickout. The Ulster champions were set by time the ball was carried into their half, Morris got his first touch outside the 45. McCole stayed eyeballing him, even as attackers gained possession right behind his back. Morris' next touch was way out at the halfway line. Left foot solo, right foot, goose step and rapid break onto the left, McCole matching him stride for stride. The ball was recycled back out, Eoghan Freyne tried to pick a pass inside and it bounced harmlessly over the endline. Sharp cuts and side steps are effective because they leave defenders legless. They twist and compromise, ultimately turning their back. For any attacker with pace, that is an invitation. McCole does not do that. Midway through the first half he sized up his marker and showed him down the right. Morris has only scored once on that side in the championship. As the number 13 jinked back onto his left to attempt a two, McCole drop-stepped, never losing sight of his target and maintaining pressure throughout. The shot was forced and dropped at the near post. Pressure is the most defining component in the cauldron that is Gaelic football. Fundamental skills look simple until that game-changing squeeze is applied. It makes a hurried handpass miss and a Mathew Costello goal chance slips away. A short kick to Bryan Menton drops too short with the resulting collision ultimately forcing his withdrawal. In the decider, Donegal will be the first team ever to play 11 championship games. 720 competitive minutes. McCole has played in 713 of them. But he hasn't faced a weapon like the one he will face in two weeks' time. David Clifford is an animal of epic proportions. THE FINAL TEST: Kerry's David Clifford celebrates scoring the first goal against Tyrone. Pic: Ryan Byrne/Inpho The Kerry star has hit over 50 shots in this championship. McCole hasn't attempted one. Unstoppable force meets immovable object. The introduction of the two-pointer has brought a new equation and scoring system into the sport. Now, players can complete a special kind of hat-trick. A one, a two, a three. Outside of Kerry, three players have done this since the Sam Maguire series began with the group stages. Saturday was the third time Clifford has done it, having hit similar hat-tricks against Cork and Cavan. Croke Park has proved to be a fitting stage for his repertoire to unfold. That sweeping stride, speed of execution and force of strike will test the nerve of most defenders. Not this one. Two sides of a heavyweight bout that will relish the clash. The satisfaction that will come from this victory for either of them will be immeasurable. Donegal and McCole have come through a gruelling route. Should they triumph, Kerry and Clifford will have overcome the neighbours twice, Armagh, Tyrone, Donegal and a stint on McCole island. What a decider we have in store. Two awesome teams, a rejuvenated game and one glorious matchup. The Ali and Frazier of our times.
Irish Daily Mirror
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
How it felt to play at Croke Park to over 70k and give band scene shot in arm
The routine is so ingrained by now as to be done on auto-pilot. Try and get to Croke Park as early as you can on big matchdays, dump the car somewhere around the North Circular Road, stroll down Jones's Road and in through the media entrance in the Hogan Stand. Your name will be ticked off and an 'event staff' wrist band issued, bag checked and tagged. Take the lift up to Level 7, your match programme is issued by Padraic and Éamonn, find a seat in Row C of the press area and while the time away until throw-in. But, today, bar the fact that you are issued with the same wrist band, it's different. I've played pipes since I was 10 years of age and St Joseph's Pipe Band, Clondalkin, of which I am a member, has been afforded the opportunity to play at the Meath-Galway and Kerry-Armagh All-Ireland football quarter-final double header. My first exposure to playing at a game was as a 12-year-old for the 1994 All-Ireland under-21 hurling final in Tullamore. All was going well until a fracas broke out among the Kilkenny and Galway players during the parade, with some of them piling into the middle of the band. But there are no pre-match parades for quarter-finals, so at least there's no fear of having to meet a shoulder from Rian O'Neill or David Clifford. I played in Croke Park for the 2003 Special Olympics opening ceremony, which was amazing, but it was an enormous event. This time, a more niche element of our musical culture is being given a sizeable platform to itself. It sometimes feels as though the pipe band scene exists in a parallel universe. Not all bands play competitively but next month, for example, we will travel to the World Championships in Glasgow. Some 30,000 will attend. The commitment required to compete at this level is commensurate to that of, say, senior club level in GAA terms, so it's certainly not insignificant. Irish bands, including St Joseph's, have won big in Scotland in the past, but it just doesn't tend to resonate over here. Our pipe major, Tim Farrelly, produced a research paper last year entitled 'The Decline of Bagpiping and Pipe Bands in Post-Colonial Ireland'. He found that in the period from 1907-79, there were 551 known pipe bands in Ireland. Last year, there were just 26 bands registered with the Irish Pipe Band Association, which governs the 26 counties. Pipe bands are rare in Croke Park these days and St Joseph's hadn't played there since the 1940s. So, exposure like this, in front of more than 70,000 in the stadium and some 500,000 watching on television, is an enormous, and badly-needed, promotional opportunity, not just for our band but for the pipe band scene in general. We take a coach from Clondalkin to Croke Park. We've been told we can park behind the Cusack Stand. Rookie error straight away: we try to enter via St Joseph's Avenue, off Clonliffe Road, as I would when attending a press event on that side of the stadium on a weekday morning. But it's blocked off on matchdays. So we have to swing back and enter via St James's Avenue instead - with a Garda escorting us in on his push bike! Once we disembark, we're met by Robert Smith, who essentially makes matchdays tick at Croke Park. He takes us inside the ground and gives a pep talk just beyond the Ali Tunnel on the dos and don'ts. Unlike brass instruments, pipes require much fine-tuning but they make a lot of noise so we have to be careful about where we do this. Can't go near the TV trucks, so it's under the Davin/Hogan Stand corner in the bowels of the stadium that we start. Tom Ryan, the GAA director general, squeezes past us in his car. Then the Kerry team bus snakes along. Jack O'Connor gives us a wave. The players are bemused by the sight of 30-odd people in kilts. All the while, the Meath-Galway game is underway since 1.45pm. We have no idea how it's going. On occasions in the past, I have doubled up on a county final day - play with the band and scamper up and down the steps to the press box. But it's just not feasible in a stadium like Croke Park on a matchday like this. At 2pm there is more tuning, this time by tunnel in the Hogan Stand/Nally Terrace corner, from where we enter the field. Come 2.10pm we're in situ and ready to go on, once the first half comes to an end. And it does with John Maher fisting a point to put Galway one up. So, we march onto the pitch though there is a certain cut of grass on which we can set foot, so our ranks are narrower than would normally be the case. We turn and face the Hogan Stand and are granted a warm reception. Five minutes is all that's required of us. Armagh players come past to get a feel for the pitch as we play. One of them even takes a video of us. We play two quick sets and off we go. There's a bit of time to kill before we play again so some of us get the lift to Level 3 and take our seats at the back of the lower deck of the Hogan. Meath are going well but Galway hit them for two goals to go three up as we have to go back down. More tuning. But by the time the lift hits Level 1, Meath are one up again and they kick on for a momentous victory. Ten minutes before Kerry-Armagh gets underway, we're back on the pitch and must countermarch to face the national flag, ahead of playing Amhrán na bhFiann, at the Hogan Stand tunnel, through which we have to make a speedy exit this time rather than the far corner so as not to delay the throw-in unduly. The Kerry management is pensive alongside us. Jerry Grogan, the voice of Croke Park, appeals to the crowd to respect the anthem until its conclusion before introducing the band. Playing the Soldier's Song backed by a 70,000-strong choir is quite the experience and phones buzz in our sporrans as we shuttle down the tunnel and the ball is thrown in. It's not worth returning to our seats for the first half as we are required to play again at half-time, but we catch some of the action from the Nally/Hogan tunnel by looking up at the big screen on Hill 16. Clifford kicks a nice one off his right. Robert tells us that some of the Ulster delegation in the Ard Comhairle have been in touch already, expressing their delight at a pipe band being back in Croke Park. Back on the pitch at half-time, Aisling O'Reilly gives us a generous introduction as we round off a set with a tune called Ivernia, which was composed by our pipe major, Tim. And that concluded our duties for the day, so back up to Level 3 to take in the second half in comfort as Kerry produce a storming quarter, hitting 0-14 in a 15-minute period, to bury the reigning champions. It's refreshing to be able to walk out the gate once the game is over rather than trudge down for post-match quotes though Jack, to be fair to him, is value for money today as I read later that he has a cut at Kerry's critics within the county. 'Great sound today, lads, well done,' says a Kerry supporter on the way out. The response to a video of the anthem posted on social media is extraordinary, with it registering hundreds of thousands of views. Well-known referee David Gough was the sideline official and so he was right alongside us as we played. 'This was simply sensational,' he posts. Tipperary All-Ireland winner Shane McGrath expresses what appears to be a widespread sentiment in calling for a more regular slot for the band at Croke Park. Maybe they'll have us back some time.
