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The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Pat Ryan vows redemption as Cork bid to bounce back from Limerick mauling in Munster final rematch
PAT RYAN felt the attitude of his players in their 'embarrassing' defeat to Limerick was unacceptable. And the Advertisement 2 Cork manager Pat Ryan has urged to bounce back in their rematch against Limerick 2 Cork and Limerick face one another in the Munster final on Saturday However, Ryan has vowed that the Rebels will give a much better account of themselves when the teams meet again in Saturday evening's Cork are set to contest their first provincial decider since 2018, despite being blown away during the round-robin phase by a Limerick side chasing a seventh straight Munster title. Reflecting on the 3-26 to 1-16 defeat, Ryan remarked: 'It was a puzzling one and I probably look back on my own role. Maybe I didn't go after them enough. 'Maybe I wasn't driving the standard over the last couple of weeks and maybe a small bit of complacency slipped in as regards we were kind of winning matches and going well enough. Advertisement READ MORE ON GAA 'But obviously Limerick were well prepared. They had a lot of stuff right on the day, as they always do. You could see that was a game they had really targeted since we beat them last year in the All-Ireland semi-final.' Cork, who romped to National League glory in April, were subjected to a sobering loss at the TUS Gaelic Grounds by a Limerick team who showed scant regard for the opposition's then-status as All-Ireland favourites. For John Kiely's men, who the bookies now fancy to reclaim the Liam MacCarthy Cup, it was sweet revenge for the defeat last summer that ruined their bid for an unprecedented five in a row. Acknowledging his team was 'ill-prepared to what we were facing', Ryan — whose side scored Cork's lowest Championship tally since 2016 that day. Advertisement Most read in GAA Football He said: 'Your standard has to be your standard around your attitude and your effort. "That wasn't what our standard has been over the last three years that we've been here. That was the most disappointing thing. 'Like something out of the French Revolution' - RTE GAA pundit Donal Og Cusack slams Dublin star's reckless swipe 'We let down our fans. Losing to Limerick is never embarrassing but losing to any team in that manner is embarrassing.' While a Limerick win was by no means an upset, the resounding manner in which they were beaten was an eye-opener for Cork. The manager is sure they will be far better this weekend. Advertisement Ryan added: 'We felt that we had got out of that situation where we wouldn't be putting in that kind of a bad performance. "Maybe I took my eye off the ball on that, but I can guarantee you we'll be able to perform. 'Complacency is probably the wrong word because there's never complacency against Limerick. 'It was more, 'Yeah, we're going grand' — that kind of attitude. Things are moving along grand and that kind of thing. Advertisement 'You need to be on it. We need to be physical, aggressive and really going at it and, in fairness, we weren't going at it that day.' Cork rebounded to beat Waterford and earn a chance to set the record straight this weekend. But significant improvement will be required if they are to collect their second piece of silverware in 2025. Ryan said: 'When you put on that Cork jersey, it has to mean something to you. We've been saying that all the time. From our point of view, it wasn't acceptable. Advertisement 'We talk about the fans all the time and that's one thing. But at the end of the day, it wasn't acceptable for our group, it wasn't acceptable for their parents, their families, their friends. 'They're the people you're playing for all the time. People are spending big money to get up there and support us and we need to make sure we're honouring that.' In the aftermath of the win over Waterford, Ryan expressed the belief that there were 'twisted' motives behind some of the pre-Championship hype around Cork. A series of impressive displays en route to claiming National League honours prompted some observers to suggest a first All-Ireland title in 20 years was becoming increasingly inevitable for Ryan's side. Advertisement ALL TALK Speaking at a press event arranged by Cork in advance of the Munster final, the gaffer said: 'We weren't talking about it inside here but it's hard because fellas are amateur athletes. "They're going into work, you're hearing it. 'I'm not on social media. Fellas are seeing it on social media. 'There are WhatsApp groups, text messages going around. There was even one that came to my phone about Saving Private Ryan. A fella sent that to me on the Sunday morning before the match. Advertisement 'And I was thinking, 'What the . . . ?' You just get on with that. 'Don't get me wrong, I know that's the game we're in now as well and it's brilliant. 'That's why we had a media night. Some people don't have it but we like to have it. I think we're here to promote the games. 'Fellas want to hear and read about the matches. I loved reading about the matches myself when I wasn't involved. That's why we do it but from my point of view, I thought some of it was rubbish. Advertisement "The really annoying thing was some of our own people writing off Limerick. Are they off their game? That's only setting us up for a fall. 'They're things that fellas pin to dressing rooms and that couldn't be further from the truth. We try to be as humble as we can.' Before Cork began their Championship campaign with a rematch of last year's All-Ireland final against Clare, one bookmaker even paid out on the 2024 runners-up going all the way in 2025. Ryan insisted: 'That was only a gimmick and a stunt and wrong for a betting company to be doing that to amateur athletes, putting them under that pressure.' Advertisement Twenty days removed from their 16-point hammering in Limerick, Cork will return to the same venue to face the only team ever to win six consecutive Munster crowns. When he reminds his players that to be forewarned is to be forearmed, Ryan knows that they cannot afford to allow the advice to fall on deaf ears. He added: 'I had told the lads we were going to get an unbelievable version of Limerick on that day. Maybe they didn't believe us –— but they know now.'
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Davy Fitzgerald handed 'misconduct' ban after comments made about officials
Antrim hurling's woes have intensified with an eight-week suspension handed to manager Davy Fitzgerald. After a demoralising loss to Offaly in Tullamore last Saturday, the Saffrons were relegated from Liam MacCarthy Cup contention and are destined for the Joe McDonagh Cup in 2026. Antrim lost all five of their Leinster SHC games in 2025, but Fitzgerald landed himself in hot water with the GAA's disciplinary bodies for remarks made following their round four loss to Galway earlier this month. Antrim felt hard done by due to a red card given to Loughgiel's Declan McCloskey, prompting Fitzgerald to level harsh words at the match officials after the hefty defeat in Pearse Stadium. "It was Johnny Murphy that seen it and Johnny Murphy now wouldn't have any time for me anyway number one - that's out there," the Clare-born mentor exclaimed, reports Belfast Live. "Everybody knows that himself and one or two more of them, they actually despise me and that's fine, I can get over that." Fitzgerald was cited for the lesser-known charge of misconduct considered to have discredited the association and he requested a hearing, which took place on Thursday night. The GAA's Central Hearing Committee (CHC) concluded the offence was valid, subsequently sanctioning the Clare man with an eight-week ban. Fitzgerald retains the right to contest this decision and, if pushed, could take his case to the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA) once he's exhausted all internal GAA appeal options. With Antrim's season wrapped up, the question lingers whether Fitzgerald will return to the fray next year. After the recent defeat to Offaly, he emphasised his need for "a bit of time" before deciding on another term with the Saffrons. He took the helm last year on a two-year contract, with a third year being an option.
The Irish Sun
27-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘That's all we can do' – Ryan Taylor insists Clare will learn from ‘stop-start' All-Ireland defence after early exit
IF there is one positive for Clare to take out of 2025, it is the form and fitness of Ryan Taylor. The Clooney-Quin speedster missed most of last year due to a cruciate injury, but returned in time to clinch the Liam MacCarthy Cup. 2 Clare rounded out their Championship campaign with a win over Limerick Credit: Tom Beary/Sportsfile 2 Ryan Taylor scored two goals against the Treaty Credit: Tom Beary/Sportsfile This season, he started all ten games in an ever-present midfield pairing alongside Cathal Malone. Prior to Sunday, Taylor's only Championship goal arrived on his first start, back in 2020, against Limerick at an empty Semple Stadium. At the Gaelic Grounds, his superb second-half brace ensured Clare It was not the All-Ireland title defence the Banner would have wished for, but Taylor believes they can return stronger next year. Read More on GAA He said: 'It was a really tough year. Some years you win, and some years you build character. You learn from it and that's all we can do.' A collection of injuries was the primary factor in derailing Clare's Munster hopes. Taylor reflected: 'Last year went nearly perfectly to plan. Everything seemed to come quite easily to us. But this year we were stopping and starting, it was just one of those years. We did have a lot of injuries throughout the year, particularly in our back line. 'It was nice to get a lot of lads back on the field. Most read in GAA Hurling 'The Munster Championship is so difficult that if you're a bit off it or you have a couple of injuries, you can get beaten. It is what it is. 'Sometimes you just need a bit of luck to not pick up injuries at the wrong time. 'Like something out of the French Revolution' - RTE GAA pundit Donal Og Cusack slams Dublin star's reckless swipe 'It didn't go our way this year. We weren't good enough to progress and that's it.' It was a strange fortnight for the Banner panel following the defeat to Tipperary. For the first week, they remained alive in the Championship as they hoped for Cork to beat Limerick. But when that result did not materialise, it meant their Shannonside trip was a dead-rubber game. Taylor added: 'It's been a very disappointing year for us, but it's nice to finish on a high and get a win. We played some good stuff, but obviously it's been a disappointing season. 'All we could do was try to put on a performance and I think we did that. 'We owed it to the supporters as well. They've been very, very good to us over the years and we owed them a performance.'
The Irish Sun
26-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Cork do enough to secure Munster Championship final berth as Waterford rue pivotal black card call
A SEVEN-YEAR itch was scratched as Cork secured their place in a first Munster SHC final since 2018. With Brian Hayes and Patrick Horgan bagging second-half goals, the Rebels responded to their heavy defeat to Limerick by setting up another showdown with the Treaty. For Waterford, another season has failed to make it beyond May after they were unable to make the most of the ferociously strong wind that favoured them in the first half. Stephen Bennett netted in the 58th minute to help the visitors cut the gap to three points, which made for a nervy finale for the vast majority of the 42,181 in attendance. Yet the Déise, whose campaign began with a win over Liam MacCarthy Cup holders Clare, will have to wait until 2026 for another shot at qualifying for the All-Ireland series via the round-robin format for the first time. Having suffered a 16-point hammering at the hands of Limerick seven days earlier, Cork found themselves in choppy waters. Read More On GAA And while this performance was sufficient in steadying the ship, it was far from plain sailing as they booked a provincial decider against the seven-in-a-row-chasing champions at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday week. Victorious manager Pat Ryan said: 'We left an awful lot of chances behind us. But it's knockout Championship, there's going to be a bit more trepidation in it, a bit more nervousness in it. 'Both ourselves and Waterford knew that if we didn't win, we'd be out of the Championship. We played a small bit like that, with a bit of nerves.' Ryan's side finished the game with their wides tally at 17. Most read in GAA Hurling One of those was a glorious goal opportunity for Shane Barrett. Ryan added: 'That's something we'll work on, the efficiency side of it, but I thought our work-rate, our hitting the breaks, our hunger to get on the ball was an awful lot better than it was last week and that's the way it should be. That's the standard. RTE pundit Joe Canning urges GAA to make huge change for Leinster hurling final as fans 'totally agree' 'You're not always going to play as well or have great hurling at times and things might not come off in your game-plan. "But your work-rate, your attitude and your character has to be the standard. 'From our point of view, the attitude last week wasn't good enough. The effort wasn't good enough. I don't think we played brilliant hurling today but today was about attitude and character.' Waterford, having won the toss, were sure to have been conscious of the importance of harnessing the breeze to build a buffer capable of withstanding a second-half onslaught. Seán Walsh and Patrick Fitzgerald looked sharp as they raced into a 0-5 to 0-1 lead after ten minutes. And the advantage would have been even greater, only for Ger Millerick blocking a Bennett goal attempt from a 20-metre free. Still, it was Cork who held the upper hand at the interval. With Alan Connolly back on form and Horgan unerring from five placed balls, the home side were effective in curtailing the influence of the elements. 1 The Rebels sent the home crowd happy after the 2-25 to 1-22 win The first half concluded with a pair of points from Connolly that left Cork ahead by 0-13 to 0-12. Waterford boss Peter Queally declared himself 'very proud' of his players for delivering what he felt was a much-improved performance from their defeat to Tipperary last time out. He said: 'I thought they left everything out there today. People were coming in here wondering about Cork's credentials. I'd like to think that we tested Cork's credentials today and we gave everything we had.' But Queally was frustrated by several calls from referee Johnny Murphy. Most notably, he felt a black-card penalty should have been awarded instead of a 20-metre free when Bennett was pulled down by Mark Coleman and Seán O'Donoghue. QUEALLY MIFFED The Déise chief added: 'There were a number of decisions that would have really irritated us. 'I know the way Johnny refs the game. He likes to let it go but at the end of the day, in my opinion, a foul is still a foul. "Whether you want it to be a man's game or not, there were times when I thought our lads were fouled. We didn't get the frees and we wouldn't be happy with that.' Things looked ominous for Waterford when Hayes had the ball in their net just 17 seconds after the change of ends. After Paddy Leavey was blocked down by Tim O'Mahony, Darragh Fitzgibbon teed up Hayes to collect his eighth goal of the year with a neat one-handed finish. However, having the wind behind them also brought no guarantees for the men in red as they kept the door open for Waterford by hitting 11 second-half wides. Cork went 2-16 to 0-16 ahead on 49 minutes when Conor Prunty failed to deal with a delivery from Millerick — who was later withdrawn due to a dislocated finger. The break was pounced on by Hayes, who released Horgan to emphatically finish to the net. The gap was then pushed out to eight points by Hayes and Barrett. But sub Dessie Hutchinson responded with a Waterford point and Bennett gave them a lifeline with a 58th-minute goal. The Ballysaggart marksman got out in front of Eoin Downey to win the ball and fire home. And Bennett was a whisker away from bagging a second goal a minute later when his delicate effort from a narrow angle struck the post. Still, Jack Prendergast followed up with a point to leave just a goal between the teams. With Cork living dangerously, there was still only a puck of a ball separating them in the penultimate minute of normal time after Bennett aced back-to-back frees. REBEL CAVALRY But a positive impact from their bench — with Shane Kingston, Diarmuid Healy and Conor Lehane all chipping in with scores late on — helped to see the Rebels home. CORK: P Collins; S O'Donoghue, E Downey, G Millerick; M Coleman 0-2 1f, C Joyce, C O'Brien 0-1; T O'Mahony, D Fitzgibbon 0-1; B Roche, S Barrett 0-3, S Harnedy 0-3; P Horgan 1-8 8f, A Connolly 0-3, B Hayes 1-1. Subs: D Healy 0-1 for Roche 48 mins; L Meade for O'Mahony 60; S Kingston 0-1 for Connolly 62; D Cahalane for Millerick 63; C Lehane 0-1 for Horgan 73; T O'Connell for O'Brien 75. WATERFORD: B Nolan 0-1f; C Prunty, I Kenny, G Fives; T de Búrca, M Fitzgerald 0-1, K Bennett 0-1; P Leavey, D Lyons; M Kiely 0-2, J Barron 0-1, J Prendergast 0-2; Stephen Bennett 1-7, 7f, S Walsh 0-3, P Fitzgerald 0-3. Subs: D Hutchinson 0-1 for Leavey 41 mins; K Mahony for P Fitzgerald 51; Shane Bennett for Lyons 52; A Gleeson for Walsh 61. REFEREE: J Murphy (Limerick).
The Irish Sun
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Joe McDonagh and Lory Meagher Cup match-ups lead crammed schedule of decisive hurling action for this weekend
WITH provincial finals and All-Ireland SHC places up for grabs, this weekend is set to be a pivotal one for hurling's top counties. We will also be a step closer to knowing who will be promoted to the Liam MacCarthy Cup for 2026 as the pairing for the Joe McDonagh Cup showpiece is decided. 2 Cork are suddenly in danger of having their season ended on Sunday 2 2017 All-Ireland winner Johnny Glynn has represented New York in football as well as hurling down through the years At both levels, the threat of relegation looms too for several counties aiming to capitalise on one last chance to preserve their current status. Ahead of a crucial series of fixtures, here is what is at stake for each of the teams involved . . . LEINSTER SHC Kilkenny With a flawless record from their four games to date, the five-in-a-row Leinster champions are already safely through to another final irrespective of the outcome of Sunday's trip to Wexford. Read More On GAA Galway Micheál Donoghue's men will join the Cats in the June 8 decider should they avoid defeat to Dublin at Parnell Park. Dublin Like Galway, the Dubs are already assured of a place in the All-Ireland series. But victory against the Tribe will also set them up for a rematch of last year's Leinster final. Most read in GAA Hurling Wexford Despite edging past Offaly last weekend, even another victory over Kilkenny will not be enough to extend Wexford's season. Limerick GAA fans troll RTE pundit Donal Og Cusack after win over Cork Offaly and Antrim Their meeting in Tullamore is essentially a relegation play-off, though a draw will also keep Offaly in the top tier due to their superior scoring difference. MUNSTER SHC Limerick With John Kiely's side chasing a seventh Munster title in a row, only a highly improbable 26-point defeat to Clare on Sunday — coupled with a Cork win over Waterford — would stop them from contesting the June 7 final. Tipperary Having concluded their round-robin campaign, Tipp are already guaranteed to join Limerick in the All-Ireland series. They will also meet the Treaty in the provincial showpiece if Cork fail to beat Waterford. Cork A first Munster final since 2018 will be the Rebels' reward for a home win against the Déise. A draw will be enough to send them through in third place, while a defeat will end their season. Waterford A Munster final is out of reach for Peter Queally's men. However, a win at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh will see them qualify via the round-robin format for the first time. Clare The clash with Limerick is essentially a dead-rubber for the All-Ireland champions, whose hopes of retaining the Liam MacCarthy Cup ended with last weekend's wins for Limerick and Tipp. JOE McDONAGH CUP Only a draw between Carlow and Laois has the potential to deny Kildare a place in the Croke Park decider on June 8. Regardless of what happens at Netwatch Cullen Park, Brian Dowling's side are guaranteed to advance if they win at home to a Down side who are staring relegation in the face. Laois will contest the final as long as they avoid defeat to Carlow. If Kildare beat Down, nothing less than victory will keep Carlow in contention for an immediate return to the Liam MacCarthy Cup. At the other end of the table, relegation still lingers for Kerry, Westmeath and Down as all three teams are level on two points each. The Mourne men are bottom due to their scoring difference. The Kingdom and the Lake County square off tomorrow in Tralee, while Down will look to avoid a return to the Christy Ring by scuppering Kildare's dreams of playing in the Leinster SHC next year. LORY MEAGHER CUP New York, led by Galway's 2017 All-Ireland SHC winner Johnny Glynn and former Cork defender Seán O'Leary Hayes, have made the trip to TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar for tomorrow's semi-final against Monaghan. The winners face Cavan at Croker tomorrow week.
