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The Irish Sun
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Kildare icon hopes Lilywhites can win Tailteann Cup – and then follow Meath's example by kicking on
KILDARE legend Johnny Doyle hopes the Lilywhites can follow Meath and Down's lead if they win the Tailteann Cup. Just two years on from winning the second-tier Championship, the Royals 2 Johnny Doyle, pictured for AIB ahead of today's Tailteann Cup final between Kildare and Limerick at 2:30pm Credit: Inpho 2 Captains Kevin Feely and Cillian Fahy during a Tailteann Cup Final media event Meath have beaten Dublin, Kerry and Galway and are in the All-Ireland semi-finals for the first time since 2009. They will face Donegal tomorrow at Croke Park. Down won the 2024 Tailteann Cup to book their place in the race for Sam this summer. And excellent group-stage wins over Clare and Louth were part of a hugely impressive campaign before their gripping 2-26 to 3-21 All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final loss to Galway. Now, Doyle hopes Kildare can benefit from the same lift if they beat Limerick in today's Tailteann showpiece at Croke Park. Read More On GAA He said: 'No 1, we have to go and win it — and maybe to the outside world Kildare should be beating Limerick. They'll beat them when they've beaten them and they won't beat them before that. 'Teams I've been on myself in the past when people say, 'Oh, you should win that', and we don't win. 'That's the consistency we probably lacked over the last few years, it's, 'Yeah, let's go and win and have no doubt', rather than spend another year in the Tailteann Cup thinking, 'Oh, we need to build for the future'. 'The future is now and we have to capitalise on that, but certainly it would be a big plus to win and kick on.' Most read in GAA Football Doyle, 47, is aware that Kildare fans can quickly lose faith. The Allenwood clubman was their coach under Glenn Ryan but a disastrous 2024 saw them fall into Division 3 of the NFL before a shock Tailteann quarter-final loss to Laois. Watch RTE pundits' contrasting reaction to full-time whistle of Tipperary's epic win over Kilkenny They were blasted on social media as things went from bad to worse. Doyle was largely oblivious to it but knew it affected the players. Ryan walked as boss after that defeat. Brian Flanagan took the reins for this year and, slowly but surely as they returned to Division 2 and saw off all challengers in this year's Tailteann to date, the Kildare support have come back onside. But Doyle admits last season was a nightmare. 'CAN BE FICKLE' He said: 'We can be fickle in Kildare. When we're winning the whole place gets behind the team and when you need the support when things aren't going well, that's when you really appreciate it. 'It was tough but to be fair, I mean a lot of people that give out, including myself, I put myself in this bracket and have maybe criticised club managers but when I meet them, I don't . . . 'It's easy to give out but nobody ever came up to me and ate the head off me or gave out to me or anything like that. 'I remember after the Laois game my sister ringing me saying, 'Are you all right?' I said, 'Yeah, I'm OK, just disappointed', and she was like, 'It's just that they're going mad online'. 'But that's part of it, we just have to accept that, but it was tough for everybody. You'd have nothing but the height of respect for those lads that just kept grafting and grafting. 'A lot of them are still there so you'd be so hopeful that they will get over the line because they put in massive work. To a man they stuck at it and hopefully they'll get the rewards.' AIB, proud sponsors of club and county, were joined by Johnny Doyle to look ahead to the Tailteann Cup final — 2025 marks AIB's tenth year as a sponsor of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and fourth year as a sponsor of the Tailteann Cup.
Irish Daily Mirror
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Inspired Kildare running to catch the big boys, says marathon man Johnny Doyle
It was always about getting over the finish line for Johnny Doyle, whether it was for Kildare or Allenwood or even now as a marathon Lilywhites great - he won a Leinster title with his county in 2000 and an All-Star 10 years later before his inter-county retirement in 2014 - took up distance running out of boredom during Covid and, over a few pints with friends on night, they came up with the "mad" idea of doing the Dublin was still playing club football at the time - in fact he still is, he's now lining out for Allenwood's second team after he was central to their jubilant Leinster club IFC title triumph in 2023 - and set an impressive PB of 3:05.18 at the Belfast Marathon in May. With four kilometres to run he believed that he was going to take the tape in under three hours. Then he hit the wall. But Doyle runs the Dublin Marathon in October and will aim to go lower. "Dublin will be a tough place to try to break three (hours), but I'll look at it," said the 44-year-old. "I'll give it a go anyway and see can I take that. It's amazing. You have that competitive streak in you and it doesn't go away just because you finish." He'll be in the capital this afternoon with, he estimates, around 15,000 fellow county men and women for Kildare's Tailteann Cup final clash with Limerick. After a slow build-up to the game he noticed white flags go up around Newbridge this week. Again, it's all about crossing the finish line. If Kildare win they will automatically make the group phase of the All-Ireland championship next year, having had to sit out the action this summer after their Leinster semi-final defeat to eventual champions a big prize and it's one that Meath seized upon two years ago, when they lifted the Tailteann Cup and are now in the All-Ireland semi-finals. "It's a motivation," said Doyle, who was a part of the Glenn Ryan management dream team that failed to engineer a breakthrough. "Over the last number of years, even though anyone that played with Kildare would never have felt, 'what's the point if Dublin are going to win', I think to the outside world that was a narrative that was thrown around 'sure Dublin are winning everything and sure I don't blame young lads for not wanting to commit'. Any of the lads we were involved with were very committed to the cause." Doyle recalls it as a tough time as Kildare struggled, despite the cast of former stars involved in trying to turn the page with the current generation. "Nobody ever came up and ate the head off me or anything like that," he stressed. "I'm sure there was plenty when they turned around the corner, they did, and the social media side of it is there. "You have to accept that, it's not something that would have bothered me too much but it is there. I remember after Laois beat us in the Tailteann Cup, my sister ringing me saying, 'are you all right?' I said 'I'm OK, I'm disappointed,' and she was like, 'it's just they're going mad online'. That's part of it but it was tough for everybody. "I saw the massive effort that the players put in, they just didn't get the results. Being involved in an inter-county team when you're losing is much harder than when you're winning, and you'd have nothing but the height of respect for those lads that just kept grafting and grafting, and a lot of them are still there. "You'd be so hopeful for them that they will get over the line. Sometimes in an environment where you know people were being critical and questioning them, that's the downside of being an inter-county footballer. But to a man they stuck at it and hopefully they'll get the rewards."Doyle points out how Kildare have been competitive with Meath and Louth over the years and notes how things have changed so rapidly for Meath. "Why can't that be Kildare or why can't it be any other county? So I think it is motivation," he insisted. "I think the lads will see that."Dublin have come back into the pack, Leinster has opened up probably for the first time in certainly 12-13 years and I think that will whet the appetite for a lot of counties and it'll be no different in Kildare. "I think that's a good thing. We would have had a chequered enough history - we've been at the top table at times and then at other times we've dropped down - but certainly everyone in the county wants to be back playing the big teams and competing at the highest level."Kildare's defeat of Fermanagh in the semi-final was a rare victory for the Lilywhites at Croke Park but, for Doyle, there can be no excuses about not performing on what he describes as the best ground with the best surface. The biggest challenge facing Brian Flanagan's side could be dealing with the expectations, something that Kildare teams have struggled with in the past. "We've been guilty," Doyle acknowledged. "Teams I've been on myself in the past when people say, 'oh you should win that,' and we don't win and that's the consistency we probably lacked over the last few years. So yeah, let's go and win and have no doubt rather than spend another year in the Tailteann Cup thinking, 'oh, we need to build for the future'. "The future is now, and we have to capitalise on that. Certainly a win would be a big plus - and then kick on. That pathway is there when you see previous Tailteann Cup winners and what they've gone on to do. But that's the challenge for Kildare and hopefully it starts with a win on Saturday."
BreakingNews.ie
11-07-2025
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Johnny Doyle defends former Kildare manager Glenn Ryan
Former Kildare footballer Johnny Doyle defends former manager Glenn Ryan for his time in charge of the Lilywhites. After some difficult years, Kildare are prearing for the Tailteann Cup final against Limerick. Advertisement Croke Park will not only provide the opportunity for silverware, but also the chance to return to the All-Ireland championship. Under the three years of Ryan, Kildare dropped down to Division Three, and last season saw them compete in the Tailteann Cup, in what was final year in charge. For Doyle, he has nothing but respect for Ryan, and says he built the platform for Saturday. "I have nothing but admiration and respect for Glenn Ryan as a player and as a person and as a manager. Advertisement "If I heard in the morning that Glenn Ryan was taking over at Allenwood, I would be excited and I would nearly polish up the boots. Because he is a really good manager, a good people person, very organised and again, just things did not work out. 'The world we live in now is an online one and people can say what they want. That's nearly a world that's there in the background. 'But the genuine Kildare supporters, when we were at games or at club matches, random people would come up to you and say, 'Listen, keep at it. Youse are doing good work and it will come." A county who have always had quality players, it has been a long time since Kildare have been able to compete at the very top Advertisement For Doyle, consistency has been the biggest issue for Kildare, and called for patience to let the team develop. "The quality of a player to a point is there, but the biggest issue over the last number of years is being able to back up a performance with another performance. "If they do that, it builds confidence into players. We would have lost a couple of players over the last couple of years through travel and injury. Slowly and surley we are bridging that gap. "There is a lot of good talent coming through, and it is being able to harness that, and the players themselves understanding that. We live in a world where people want things to happen straight away. "It could take two or three years to break into a team. I do think there is green shoots there, a big part of that would be winning on Sunday."
Irish Times
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
‘They're going mad online': Kildare's Johnny Doyle on dealing with social media abuse
Kildare great Johnny Doyle says that he would be happy to see his county win the Tailteann Cup final by the bare minimum against Limerick (Saturday, 2.30pm). Speaking at an AIB event, the 2010 All-Star admitted that despite the Lilywhites' status as favourites, he has concerns that there could be an upset if they put in a similar performance to their semi-final against Fermanagh. 'I'd say one point to spare will do me and we'll all go home happy then. I think they're capable of it, but I'd be worried if they produce the first 50 minutes or maybe 55 minutes that they did against Fermanagh. 'If they produce that we're going to be in trouble, but the lads know that and hopefully they can build on it because there was a bit of pressure going into that game that, you know, we have to win in Croke Park.' Kildare had lost five in a row at Croker until that Tailteann semi, with substitute Brian McLoughlin kicking five points off the bench to inspire his side to victory in a dour affair in terrible conditions. Doyle, who was part of previous manager Glenn Ryan's backroom team, says that he knows personally how good a footballer McLoughlin is and said that the forward should probably start to reward that performance. 'I know Brian very well, when I was involved in Maynooth he was involved and he's a seriously good striker of the ball and I would be critical of him at times that he doesn't shoot enough. Brian is a fantastic player and he was the reason Kildare are in the final be fair to him. 'I would think he'd be very close to starting and if not it won't be too long before he sees action, because even through his underage career Brian, the bigger the stadium Brian just excels. He loves the pressure of it all.' Relegation to Division Three last year and a loss to Laois in the Tailteann quarter-finals saw Ryan and his team step down following the 2024 season, replaced by Brian Flanagan for this season. Kildare's Daniel Flynn against Fermanagh. Photograph: Tom O'Hanlon/Inpho Doyle says Kildare have got a chance to rebuild now and lay the foundations for a return to the top competitions. 'Sometimes you do have to go back to consolidate. Division Three has given an opportunity for Brian to bring in players not into high pressure games. 'Playing in Division Three gave the lads a bit of chance and I suppose that helps players to get into the intercounty scene. We definitely want to be back in that All-Ireland series and playing the big teams and I think you get more players in that environment too.' The poor results last year were heavily criticised, but Doyle notes that harsh criticism tended only to surface on social media and not in day-to-day life. 'A lot of people, including myself, maybe criticise club managers but when I meet them, I don't. It's easy to give out about them. But nobody ever came up to me and ate the head off me or anything like that. I'm sure there was plenty when they turned around the corner and the social media side of it is there.' 'It's not something that would have bothered me too much. After the Laois game when they beat us in the Tailteann Cup, I remember my sister ringing me saying 'are you all right?' And I said 'yeah no I'm okay I'm disappointed,' and she was like, 'it's just they're going mad online.'' Their opponents this Saturday, Limerick, are big underdogs, but will bring plenty of confidence, having beaten both Wicklow in the semi-finals and Wexford in the Division Four final in GAA HQ so far this year. Wicklow could well have won that match, with the lead changing hands down the stretch, but Limerick's running game was particularly dangerous according to Doyle. 'I suppose it looked like for long periods that Wicklow would have enough. But the one thing that Limerick have is they run at teams and they ran at Wicklow. They have the forwards. I think Kildare are going to have to produce a big performance.'
