Latest news with #JarlyÓgBurns
Irish Daily Mirror
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
'And so it begins' - top GAA star and girlfriend get engaged
Top Armagh GAA star Jarly Óg Burns had a big weekend. He started for the Orchard County in their excellent All-Ireland round robin win over Derry. And seemingly, he found time to pop the question and propose to his girlfriend! Tara Donaghy - Burns' partner - took to social media on Sunday to show off some snaps of the happy couple as she posed with her new engagement ring. The couple look elated in the pictures and that sentiment has been echoed in the comments with well wishers sending the very best of luck to the pair. Jarly Óg has been a mainstay in the Armagh defence for a number of seasons now and played a key role last year as Armagh won the All-Ireland championship for the first time since 2002. It was a poignant moment for the entire Burns family as Jarlath, Jarly Óg's father, is the President of the GAA and handed over the trophy to his son in the Hogan Stand at Croke Park last July.
Irish Times
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Scenes in Clones and Croke Park show provincial titles are still worth their weight in gold
Casinos and chicken ranches were filling the Clones air on Saturday evening while an emotional Michael Murphy hugged his Da like he'd never won silverware before. 'This is a man who has captained his county to an All-Ireland,' Joanne Cantwell reminded us, Murphy's reaction to Donegal's triumph somewhat countering the notion that winning provincial titles means nothing any more. Mind you, if Armagh do what they did last year – fail to get their hands on the Anglo Celt Cup, having to settle for the Sam Maguire instead – they probably won't fret too much about their 2025 championship season, but they looked sufficiently gutted come full-time to suggest they were, indeed, rather eager to win this Ulster final. Nobody, though, loves an Ulster final more than BBC Northern Ireland commentator Thomas Niblock. 'Is there a greater day in the calendar than this,' he wondered as the teams took to the field, dismissing anything that might ever happen on any other of the 364 days. And as the second half got under way: 'Is there anywhere you would rather be right now than in Clones?' Some might well have replied, 'eh, the Maldives maybe?', but Thomas would have had none of it. Besides, the Monaghan weather was Maldives-esque, those in the crowd without sunscreen turning the colour of Armagh's shirts as the game progressed. READ MORE Armagh's Jarly Óg Burns competes in the air with Donegal's Jason McGee in front of a packed St Tiernach's Park in Clones. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho A damn mighty game it was too, a marginally bonkers thriller at times, every time it appeared to be settled it sprang in to life again. 'My God almighty,' Thomas hollered when Donegal gave up possession at the death in normal time, Armagh going up the field to equalise and send the game in to extra-time. 'Players are collapsing left, right and centre, supporters are collapsing in the stand, the game is going down to the chokey neck of championship seconds,' said Thomas, who sounded like a man who was about to collapse himself. Extra-time, then. 'I think there might be another wee gear in Donegal,' Conor McManus told Sarah Mulkerrins when she asked for his forecast, and so it proved. A very wee gear, mind, only a point in it in the end. And just to round off the occasion, there was a shemozzle. Hats off to the Tír Chonaill supporter who tried to break it up with his green flare, like he was armed with tear gas. Back on RTÉ, Donegal's Ciarán Moore joined the panel, pointing out that he was 10 when Murphy raised the Sam Maguire. 'We all grew up watching him,' he said, like Murphy wasn't feeling elderly statesman-ish enough. Liam Jackson and Conor Branigan lead the celebrations with the Delaney Cup after Louth's win over Meath. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho While Donegal had to wait a whole 12 months to get their hands on the Anglo Celt Cup again, just the 68 years went by since Louth last laid their paws on the Delaney Cup. And oh my, what an occasion in Croke Park. Divil a sign of blue, the Dubs left watching on telly for the first time since Brian Boru was in short trousers. The game? Another uppy-downy inny-outy contest, to use the technical terms about these things, Louth coming out on top by two points come the final hooter. They'll be dancing in the streets, from Termonfeckin to Tullyallen, for another 68 years. 'On days like this, you're just appreciative of what football can bring to counties,' said Seán Kavanagh on RTÉ as Sam Mulroy thrust the trophy in the direction of the heavens, the red-clad half of Hill 16, most of whom looked around 12, bouncing on the concrete beneath their feet like it was a trampoline. Glorious. The Croke Park neighbouring residents will hope it's another 68 years before they're back, their celebrations breaking the Richter scale. 'Fifty-eight years is a long bloody time not to win silverware,' said Louth manager Ger Brennan, to Damien O'Meara. Famine over. Louth? Not so wee any more. The one disappointment about the weekend's football was that the lads didn't wear skorts in solidarity with their camogie sisters. 'The controversy over the wearing of skorts by camogie players has deepened,' the RTÉ Nine O'Clock newsreader announced gravely, in or around reports on Ukraine and India/Pakistan. If the Camogie Association isn't careful, they'll have Donald Trump intervening soon. Although he might find them somewhat more recalcitrant than the players in those other conflicts. There's no end to this mortification.
The 42
27-04-2025
- Sport
- The 42
It's bananas and bonkers but Gaelic football is back, baby!
NOBODY QUITE KNOWS where this thing is going and where it might all end up. But Gaelic football is a far easier watch all the same right now. A personal anecdote. My own Saturday was pretty uneventful. Up early-ish and a half hour on the treadmill to open the pores. Home to sort the various offspring with breakfast and underage coaching, milling about the shop reading the papers off the shelves, home for a relaxed couple of hours before heading to Clones. And yet after the game, the tracking device that is my watch warned me that my 'recovery', which was fixed at 41 hours at 8pm Saturday night, was 'delayed by high stress.' I've had this yoke a while now. It didn't give me that kind of feedback over any of the last decade of 'grimly compelling' cowpat-fest. Nostalgia is a bluffer and a cantankerous liar. Every summer of my boyhood took in a few visits to Clones and every game ended in wild abandon. Just like this conclusion. I mean, take how the game finished, and how lots of games are now going to finish. Armagh drew level. Tyrone had to kick the ball out. And they had to do it within the 20 allotted seconds. Niall Morgan didn't connect right with it at all and it went low enough for Jarly Óg Burns to turn it over. Once in Armagh hands, the result came down to their composure. There are few as composed as Rory Grugan. He made half a dozen assists in this game and it was he that played a risky ball to Conor Turbitt. But it played Turbitt through, Peter Harte was adjudged to have fouled him and Armagh got the free that Grugan stroked over. It was the sort of win that Armagh just didn't get in the past. Back when us laptop warriors called them chokers. But they are winning them now. Surely the mark of champions, we asked manager Kieran McGeeney? 'It's hard to tell, I don't think it should have been as tight,' he said. 'You just have to react to whatever punches are thrown. I thought the boys did really well under the circumstances. Stayed really calm, I thought we played well and controlled most of the game.' Advertisement John McVitty / INPHO John McVitty / INPHO / INPHO Talking of control, there was a moment, when, well, as far as anyone can make out, McGeeney kicked over a sideline flag in frustration and might have passed a remark to referee David Gough. The Meathman jogged out to McGeeney and raised a yellow card with a flourish before giving Darren McCurry a free that he nailed for a two pointer. If you can keep your head when all around are losing theirs. Surely you owe your boys an apology, Kieran? 'I'll get fined for it, don't worry about that, they'll put me on the spot. But considering, I thought my temper was pretty good on the line,' he said with that half-smile. And here's another thing. Remember that last play and how it started with Jarly Óg Burns turning over the kickout? Well, now only did he hurt his AC joint, but momentum took him into the Tyrone half of the field. That meant Ethan Rafferty couldn't get up the pitch to join the attack. The Armagh medic found a cure for that, and dragged Burns into his own half to make his prone body the fourth player back. Rafferty then sallied forth, picked up a possession and passed to Grugan on the loop who delivered the hanging ball to Turbitt. And there's more about the rules. 21 games had already been played in the provincial championships before the Football Review Committee sent an email midweek offering some clarity around the rules. The one that drew instant attention was how they reiterated that the ball must be played every four steps. This rule has been ridiculously abused over the past decade. To see it actually applied by Gough here almost felt an affront. But it makes for a better game of football. The only thing is you wonder how the association neglected enforcing it for so long? 'But referees don't call the rules, let's be honest,' said McGeeney. He's a contrarian. It makes him compelling. 'Four steps? If we counted out four steps every time, if we counted an open hand tackle, this is what happens in these exchanges. Everybody goes back and says, 'well they were technically right.' 'Everything is a foul in Gaelic football, everything we do is a foul so the referees will always be right. You just have to take that on the chin and accept it and move on.' John McVitty / INPHO John McVitty / INPHO / INPHO As for Tyrone. It was a wonder they made this game so close. From the kicking tee, Niall Morgan was completely off-colour. So much of kickout success depends on what is happening in front of the goalkeeper but Tyrone only retained 16 of their 27 kickouts. Armagh fouled up just one all day; retaining 23 out of 24. Tyrone's ability to collect two pointers made their scoring more economical, having 26 shots to Armagh's 35. They have materials to work with and in Eoin McElholm had a player who scared the life out of Armagh when introduced. 'The most pleasing thing about it, was that at the time when we went five or six down, we didn't throw in the towel, but there was a good fight there. There was good character shown and that's what our number one aim, is to have that, first of all – that we'll fight right to the final whistle,' said Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke. 'We got that but we're just obviously disappointed the quality of our play wasn't what we would have liked. We struggled on both kick-outs a lot of times. So, there's a lot of things that we need to get much better but at the same time, we got ourselves into a great position to win the game. We're just disappointed we didn't quite end it.' There's more to say about them on down the line. How they would relish another meeting, but you also feel that they don't have the backing of their own countypeople either. A rough guesstimate would have the Armagh support in Clones outnumbering those from Tyrone to the tune of 2 to 1. They will be around for a while yet. And finally, for added value or whatever you might call this snippet. At the Ulster Council CCC meeting that granted Antrim the home venue of Corrigan Park for their meeting with Armagh, a footnote of that meeting was that they agreed in principle to a request from the Ulster Ladies Gaelic Football Association to host a double header for the Ulster final. With Armagh and Donegal the only teams operating at senior level, then Saturday May 10 is the only date suitable, as the Sunday May 11 time slot already agreed with the broadcast companies is a 1.45pm throw-in, which would mean the ladies' final would have to start at 11.30am. They could manage the double header on the Saturday, but if the broadcast companies won't budge on a 6pm throw-in time with the North West 200 affecting BBC and Leinster rugby affecting RTÉ, then the game could be moved to Croke Park if Donegal win later today. Our hunch around here though is that the Ulster final will remain in Clones on Saturday May 10. Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
