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Irish Times
14 hours ago
- General
- Irish Times
Seán Moran: Leinster hurling final and the battle for relevance
There was a picture that prompted much agonising after the 1998 Leinster hurling final. It was of Kilkenny 's corner back and captain, Tom Hickey, trudging across an empty Croke Park pitch, the Bob O'Keeffe Cup dangling from his arm like a bag of groceries. The photograph was widely used to intuit Kilkenny's sense of the underwhelmed despite having just beaten Offaly to win their first provincial title in five years. In the perennial comparison between the provinces, Munster hurling finals always come with the blessings of posterity and tradition, whereas Leinster bear the burdens of pale comparison and, at times, faint praise. Back in 1998, this eternal truth was further endorsed by news that then president of Ireland, Mary McAleese, (currently wrangling the three associations as chairwoman of the integration group), would attend her first GAA match of the year, the following weekend in Thurles for the Clare-Waterford Munster final. It felt as if the bar for her presence had been appropriately raised. READ MORE For context, this was the second year of the new championship structure – in the vernacular, the back door – which notionally rendered the provincial finals less important. That was unlikely to be the reason for Kilkenny's lack of excitement, though. A year previously, when the back door was first put on the latch, Clare regained Munster and triggered Anthony Daly 's famous speech about his county's mission to show 'that we are no longer the whipping boys of Munster' before a capacity crowd in Páirc Uí Chaoimh . Closer to home, the 1997 Leinster finals had attracted record attendances for both the semi-finals and final. Wexford beat Kilkenny a week after the Munster final, encouraging Rod Guiney to deliver a swift homage to Daly by declaring his team to be no longer the whipping boys of Leinster – a curious reflection for the captain of the All-Ireland champions. The contrast between the provincial finals has been heightened in recent years for two reasons: Kilkenny's domination of Leinster; and the big box-office success of the Munster round robin and particularly its finals, although they are not linked into the rest of the championship. At the same time, Limerick have been equally dominant in Munster, but their provincial finals have produced some fascinating matches. Unlike Leinster, where Galway are the only team playing in the province to have won the All-Ireland since 2015, Munster have produced three different champions even during Limerick 's six-year reign in the province. Galway's migration eastwards in 2009 has become routine and, in a way, anti-anticlimacticught in to intensify competition by providing a foil for Kilkenny, they have won three provincial titles in that time, 2012, '17 and '18. Galway's distance from Dublin hasn't helped attendances in recent years, as crowds of only 25,951 and 24,483 turned up to the last two finals to feature Kilkenny and the Connacht county. Yet Galway 's clash with Wexford eight years ago created a new record for a provincial hurling final and broke the 60,000 barrier for the first time. Galway's arrival has not transformed the provincial championship. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho The missing ingredient is Wexford, whose last two appearances in the final in 2017 and '19 have attracted the century's highest attendances for Leinster hurling's biggest day. For all that Galway's arrival hasn't transformed the provincial championship, it's as well to ask where would it have been without them? They have provided opposition for Kilkenny in nine of the 11 finals they have contested since they crossed the Shannon. The move has certainly added depth to the championship and helped to position Galway to contest three All-Ireland finals, winning one, and seven semi-finals. Another factor in Leinster's labouring box office is that it fulfils a role as a development competition, which features two of six teams every year earmarked for a relegation clash and in general not carrying much jeopardy for the other counties. In six years, the bottom teams have recorded two wins and three draws against established opponents. Since Kilkenny's last success 10 years ago, they have lost four finals. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho The main drag on the province's status, however, is its lack of All-Ireland relevance. Since Kilkenny's last success 10 years ago, they have lost four finals whereas Galway have won one and lost one. The record unbroken sequence for counties from the same province winning Liam MacCarthy is seven. It was set in the 1940s by Limerick, Cork's four-in-a-row team, Tipperary and Cork coming back for another in 1946. After Kilkenny broke that sequence in 1947, the next seven also went to Munster, from Waterford's first in 1948 and sequential three-in-a-rows for Tipp and Cork. Wexford stopped the run in 1955. This year Munster have again won the last seven, mostly Limerick but with help from Tipperary and Clare, and it looks certain that a new record will be set in July. Kilkenny and Galway will attempt to dispute that and next Sunday, one of them will qualify for the All-Ireland semi-finals. Back in that year of 1998, Offaly created history by becoming the first All-Ireland champions to have lost a match en route to winning the All-Ireland. That alternative approach has rarely been exploited in Leinster. Kilkenny walked that path in 2012, having avenged a provincial final defeat by Galway, but hardly any counties in the province could aspire to a national target if beaten in Leinster. Last year, Clare were just the latest side to avail of a route to the All-Ireland after losing in Munster. They joined Cork (2004), Tipperary (2010) and Limerick (2018). Even after defeat, counties in the south can see the bigger picture. It is fair to suggest that whoever loses next Sunday in Croke Park is unlikely to have a realistically similar view.
RTÉ News
a day ago
- General
- RTÉ News
Dublin city museum to reopen after two year refurbishment
The thumb of a statue in O'Connell Street that was a casualty of the Italia 90 homecoming, bottles from Dublin's original craft beer producers and swearing Podge and Rodge toys are among the artefacts that can be seen as the Little Museum of Dublin reopens its doors on St Stephen's Green on Wednesday after a two year makeover. The re-imagined attraction tells the social and cultural hsitory of Dublin through everyday items donated by members of the public. Since it opened its doors in 2011, the museum has accumulated more than 6,000 objects which it has curated to tell an offbeat and often humorous history of the capital. The eclectic collection, which began with a millennium milk bottle, now includes everything from Mary McAleese's communion rosary beads to medicines owned by Marty Whelan's mother. A class picture from Mount Temple Secondary School featuring the future members of U2 are among the new additions to the collection in the now expanded and accessible space, which included a dedicated U2 and Irish music room. The museum's deputy curator, Dr Daryl Hendley Rooney highlighted some of the more curious parts of the collection, including a marble thumb that tells the story of Italia 90. "The heroes of Italy had come back. They were paraded through town on an open top bus and a little boy had climbed up a statue, and he accidentally pulled off the thumb, which hit the ground beside this woman. "She picked it up and had intended on giving it back to the Office of Public Works or the National Monument Service, but like every good Irish procrastinator it has been in our house for the last few decades," Dr Rooney said As part of their most recent appeal the museum also received a donation of a set of three boxing gloves from the Ó Colmáin family who live in a former forge just off Camden Street, where a blacksmith made his mark on Irish sporting history. "Gerry Ó Colmáin was a boxer. He was the first and he's the hitherto last Irish European boxing heavyweight champion. "In 1947, he won in that final and it was actually the unusual thing it was here in Dublin, so he won on home soil," Dr Rooney said. He added: "In the final, he was boxing an English guy, and he hit him so hard that he burst his glove, and that was the glove that he burst. So, he ended up boxing with three gloves in that final." A row of bottles also tells the recent history of Guinness in Dublin and sheds light on the original makers of craft beer in the capital. "Dublin Pale Ale, Mountjoy's Nourishing Stout and Findlaters Invalid Stout. "The idea that they were given to people to basically replenish their stores and it wasn't uncommon for pregnant women to be given a bottle of Guinness or stout to basically replenish their energy levels and make them hardy again," he said. "Most people don't realise that Guinness didn't actually bottle their own brew until the 60s. "This bottle here was bottled by Lawson Wilson and Co in Dublin. Nearys and McDaids, they would have had all their own licensing bottling labels and at one time, in the 1930s Guinness were producing over 1.5 million labels a day." The museum's CEO, Sarah Clancy, said the reimagined space gives people of all generations an opportunity to experience the history of the city. "As a storytelling museum, we managed to create these really magical moments. "We'd have locals coming in on family day out, or whatever it might be, and one of our tour guides might tell a story. "And there's that lovely moment where somewhere, someone interjects and goes, 'oh, actually, I was there. That's not quite what happened'." The expanded museum will have new features that are targeted at educating younger children about the history of Dublin. It will also include a unique doll's house and an animal exhibition that will tell stories about a much-loved elephant in Dublin Zoo and the lion that once escaped onto Fairview Strand. The renovation work at the not-for-profit museum in a former Georgian townhouse cost €4.3m was funded by donations from Dublin City Council, Fáilte Ireland, the Departments of Tourism and a number of other benefactors. But old favourites remain, including one of the most popular exhibits, a leather-bound copy of the 1988 telephone book, which almost every Dubliner who visits will leaf through to see if they can locate their family name and relatives. Donated artefacts like these have been the lifeblood of this museum and the Little Museum of Dublin will continue to welcome more into the future.
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Book review: IWU members' essays offer first-hand accounts of activists on the Contraception Train
The vast accomplishments of modern Irish feminism would look very different without the courageous, yet often overlooked, efforts of Irishwomen United (IWU) activists in the years following the Contraceptive Train. This phenomenal collection of 20 essays offers first-hand, historical accounts of on-the-ground activities during this period, shining a light of neglected truth on the history of how Ireland was changed. In this book, writer and IWU member Evelyn Conlon together with academic Rebecca Pelan, ensure the impact of the organisation will no longer be forgotten. The collective memories of these women describe everything from pickets to sit-ins, self-questioning to dancing, the development of feminist ideas and publishing despite the restrictive laws and attitudes surrounding them. Through relentless, difficult discussions, publications, marches, and allyship with the global feminist and civil rights movement, the ideas of IWU were transformed into action for the sake of reproductive rights, sexuality, representation, and rape crisis work. The foreword from former Irish president Mary McAleese contextualises the collective labour of IWU within a not-so-distant past in Ireland This book also features an archive of original art, flyers, photographs, and memorabilia of the movement. A glimpse at the long-winding track of history behind us reminds us how far we've come. Irishwomen United and its allies set the precedent for change for the next generation. The stories of these women campaigners are not only representative of past movements, they also a call to action for future social justice activists in the fight for liberation and equality for all. Foreword by Mary McAleese The position of women in Irish society in 2025 bears little resemblance to that which existed in 1975, the year Irishwomen United came into existence, though what is clear from these essays is that the changes and improvements gained did not come about without a great deal of effort on the part of women themselves. This collection attests to what can be achieved when goals and pathways to essential egalitarian reforms are collectively prioritised, regardless of political and ideological differences. Irishwomen United drew on successes from the recent and distant past, by bringing together women from vastly different backgrounds in education, class, sexual orientation, and politics. Irishwomen United picketed at Dublin Airport picket over the X Case. Picture: Evelyn Conlon Extraordinarily, their mission thrived on allowing space for these differences to be expressed whilst, at the same time, retaining a clear focus on what needed to be done to improve the lives of Irish women. There was a lot of apathy to be overcome, resistance to be faced down, doubters to be persuaded, and time to be invested over and above the demands of busy everyday lives. That time had to be reinvested over and over again, for this was the work of decades not days. That such a representative group from the 1970s and 1980s has contributed to this collection 50 years after the events is testimony to their commitment to a cause that changed the country in significant ways. For some, the commitment continued as a life-long passion and a central part of who they are. For others, Irishwomen United was a moment in time — an exciting, stimulating, even dangerous one — that set them on a path of personal discovery about themselves and the world around them. The recurring description by contributors of the anticipation, excitement, joy, and satisfaction felt around 4pm on Sunday afternoons in a run-down flat on Pembroke St, Dublin, is palpable and shines bright in memories captured here. Make no mistake, though these meetings were stimulating and enjoyable, they were primarily about planning and strategising on how to change Ireland, in whatever ways were necessary. The equally strong, determined voices from organisations that were part of that change — from Cherish to women's publishing — is fascinating to read. In 1976, I became legal advisor to and co-founder with David Norris of the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform. The battle then was for decriminalisation, and it was fought tooth and claw with meagre resources, but fierce moral integrity, through the courts of this land and Europe When the fledgling Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (RCC) was being set-up, they requested advice as to the legal issues involved, and I was privileged to be able to give that. A great deal of thought and research went into the establishment of the RCC, with initial meetings taking place from 1977 until the official opening in 1979 and thereafter. The RCC remains one of many enduring success stories from that period. Along with other service agencies from the period — such as Cherish, The Well Woman Centre, and the Irish Pregnancy Counselling Centre, the development of women's publishing and women's studies, the creation of space for the development of lesbian and gay rights, as well as Irish reproductive rights — Irishwomen United and the network of women and groups who changed this country in so many ways, did so from the ground up, building on what had gone before, and changing course only when enough had been achieved to ensure that there would be no going back. 'After the Train: Irishwomen United and a Network of Change' also features an archive of original art, flyers, photographs, and memorabilia of the movement. There were minds to be changed, attitudes to be challenged and, in fairness to the Irish people, the evidence is in that a profound change of hearts and minds is now embedded in civic society. Séamus Heaney wrote perceptively that: "What looks the strongest has outlived its term. The future lies with what is affirmed from under." (From the Canton of Expectation III) From under the centuries-old layers of sexism, misogyny, patriarchy, exclusion, dismissal, and condescension, a new future has emerged and not by accident or coincidence! The 'how' of it you will read here. I heartily commend the contributors to this collection, all of whom have so generously shared their first-hand experience of Irishwomen United and the times of change, and I congratulate the editors on putting together such a fine example of Irish women's voices and history, and in creating a body of work that will continue to be relevant and exist as documentary evidence of just what can be achieved, what grace can fill the voids, when women gather to change their world.
The Irish Sun
7 days ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
GAA, LGFA and Camogie urged to deliver long-awaited merger by 2027
THE Steering Group on Integration insists unification can happen by 2027. Time is ticking for the 2 Steering Committee Chairperson Mary McAleese says GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association must unite under the one umbrella in 2027 2 The Steering Committee Chairperson Mary McAleese gave the update on the integration process A new Central Fixtures Oversight Committee was formed last month, headed up by former Munster GAA chair Ger Ryan. The GPA have raised concerns over the lack of consultation with the players' representative body in the process, as doubts hang over the plan to make it happen by 2027. Chaired by former President of Ireland Mary McAleese, the SGI remains confident that joining forces will be a reality in two years. A statement said: 'Integration is a complex mission but the sentiment remains the same. There is a clear commitment to deliver an integrated association by 2027. Most read on GAA 'The integration of three separate associations, who have spent decades building their own identity, structures and ways of doing things, is an extraordinary undertaking. 'This is a complex piece of work involving experts across the three associations. 'The goal is to have one single membership for all in 2027.' McAleese added: 'I urge all stakeholders to do everything they can to make an integrated mindset a reality in their sphere of influence. "It is our future and making it happen is the responsibility of all.' Most read in GAA Football 'Like something out of the French Revolution' - RTE GAA pundit Donal Og Cusack slams Dublin star's reckless swipe
RTÉ News
7 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
No short-term appetite to fix dual clashes
The issue regarding dual players being forced to chose between camogie and ladies football teams is unlikely to be fully resolved before any potential integration, according to former Donegal football captain Nadine Doherty. The deadline for amalgamation of the GAA, Camogie Association and Ladies Gaelic Football Association had been pencilled in for 2027, though the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) has voiced its concerns that there has been little concrete progress. The Steering Group on Integration, chaired by former president Mary McAleese, today insisted that "complex process" remains on track, with one of the issues that it is hoped can be tackled properly the demands on dual players. Cork dual players Libby Coppinger, Hannah Looney and Aoife Healy will have to choose between codes on Saturday, 21 June as both the Cork camogie and ladies football teams are in All-Ireland championship action that afternoon. It is an annual issue for a certain cohort of dual players, though that Saturday is the sole weekend when the two Cork teams are in All-Ireland group stage action on the same weekend. The Cork footballers take on Mayo in what is likely to be a knockout fixture for the second and final qualifying spot in Group 2 of the All-Ireland SFC, while the camogie team are at home to Clare in Round 4 of the All-Ireland series. Former Donegal footballer Doherty is sceptical that any meaningful change will occur before any integration. "I don't think it's viewed as important, by either the Camogie Association or the LGFA," she told listeners on RTÉ's Game On. "One of the reasons I think that is because of the view it only affects a few. "I don't think there is any appetite whatsoever to fix this in the short term. That's why I was so glad to read in the statement that there will be a centralised fixtures committee. "The LGFA and Camogie Association come out every year and say they have tried to avoid this (situation), that they sit down together, but due to pitch availability, television schedules… I'm not going to say excuses, they are valid reasons, but it's just been put on the long finger.
