Latest news with #McDaid
The Courier
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
DCA cinema ticket stub turns 'collector's item' after comic book artist's tribute
Superhero films have divided critics recently, but they're back in a big way this year. Marvel's Thunderbolts*, starring Florence Pugh, was confirmed this week as having made more than 300 million dollars (£222m) at the box office, making it the fourth biggest film of 2025 so far. Thunderbolts is the latest in a long line of superhero cinema smashes from the Marvel comic book universe. Yet when Dundee comic artist Dan McDaid saw Thunderbolts*, it wasn't the action scenes and fighting which connected with him, so much as the film's unexpected focus on mental health issues. It would spoiler the film to go into detail, but more than one character in it has depression. McDaid was so inspired by how Thunderbolts* discussed mental health, that he's drawn the team of anti-heroes on his cinema ticket from Dundee Contemporary Arts and is auctioning it on eBay for the UK mental health charity Mind. 'I feel like the Marvel films had been growing a little uneven and lacklustre over the last few years, and there was too much additional homework needed to understand what was going on,' says McDaid, who has lived in Dundee for twenty years and is originally from Cornwall. 'Thunderbolts* was refreshingly free of that. It's incredibly exciting and very funny, but it also goes out of its way to say something about mental health issues and dealing with trauma.' As one of the leading comic artists in the UK, who has drawn the adventures of such diverse and well-known characters as Superman, Judge Dredd and Doctor Who, as well as previously working with Trainspotting novelist Irvine Welsh, anything McDaid puts his pen to is a collector's item. This auction, then, is a means of drawing attention to mental health issues in a different way. 'The idea just popped into my head,' he says. 'I'd been to see the film once, loved it, went to see it again, loved it even more, and felt very moved by the movie's themes. 'I think everyone has someone in their lives who has been touched by mental health issues, so the theme is universal, and this film tackles it in such an intelligent and accessible way. 'Anyway, I looked at my big DCA ticket stub, thought 'you could probably fit a pretty nice sketch on that' and just went for it. Mind seemed the most obvious beneficiary of the auction.' As well as paying tribute to the film and helping a good cause, McDaid's auction also tips its hat to Dundee Contemporary Arts, which has shared his auction on its social media. 'The DCA is the jewel in Dundee's crown for me, a world class arts cinema with a great restaurant, bar and creative hub for local artistic talent,' he says. 'I'm down there usually a few times a month, either for a drink or to catch a film. It's also one of the few cinemas that still offers a proper ticket stub instead of a simple receipt, and long may it continue.' The auction ends on Saturday May 24.
RTÉ News
04-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Cillian McDaid hails Galway's defensive heroes
Galway's Cillian McDaid praised his side's defensive work, singling out Dylan McHugh and goalkeeper Connor Gleeson as his side's match-winners as they claimed a fourth consecutive Connacht SFC title. The Tribesmen got the better of fierce rivals Mayo, running out 1-17 to 1-15 winners in a pulsating encounter at MacHale Park. The visitors recovered from a bright Mayo start to take control of the game and had amassed and eight-point lead by the halfway mark. However Mayo sprung out of the traps in the second half, eating into the Galway lead and by the 53rd minute the sides were level at 1-13 apiece. Galway edged back in front but with just two minutes to go the game was in the balance as first Gleeson produced a stunning save to deny Enda Hession a certain goal before defender McHugh's incredible diving block prevented Paul Towey from scoring what would have been an equalising point. Speaking to RTÉ Sport afterwards, McDaid pointed to those two moments as the deciding factor in the game. "I know you've probably seen it but Dylan McHugh's block, that's the Connacht Championship," McDaid said. "It's not a score obviously but it was a massive moment and that's the winning and losing of the game I think, that and Conor Gleeson's save obviously too. "Connor Gleeson, for a goalkeeper, last year he kicked the winner for us and between the two lads, that's the winning of the game. "We're always quick to praise the guys who put the ball over the bar, but they were incredible." Victory in MacHale Park further underlines Galway's status as one of the favourites for Sam Maguire as they seek to go one better than last year when they fell at the final hurdle. The Tribesmen are still far from being at full strength, with several key players to return from injury and when they do return, McDaid believes that being able to win without them is a sign of just how strong the squad is. " We're obviously missing a couple of our, our forwards today, like in Damien [Comer], Shane [Walsh] and Johnny Heaney," he said. "We love when they're fit and available, but I suppose the team is changing and no more than myself, we won't all be around forever. "Mattie Thompson was unreal today as a young fella playing is his first really big championship game, so the panel keeps evolving and we just keep blooding new players. "It's tough to see when they keep getting knocks and niggles. But we faith that they will get themselves right and when they're available then hopefully we'll find a place for them again." Galway's Cillian McDaid, fresh from helping his side to victory over Mayo, joins the Sunday Game panel to give his immediate reaction to a fourth consecutive Connacht title. #RTEGAA #TheSundayGame — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 4, 2025
The 42
02-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'The best days of my life so far have been playing for Galway in championship'
CILLIAN MCDAID COULD have travelled down a different sporting path. It is a decade since he won an All-Ireland minor hurling title, numbering future Galway seniors like Brian Concannon, Tom Monaghan, Fintan Burke, and Cianan Fahy amongst his colleagues. In October 2018 he came home after a year in Australia, having taken a punt at Aussie Rules with Carlton. Ultimately he found a natural sporting fit at home. Now he is Galway's football vice-captain, an All-Star in 2022, and a central component to a team that has won the last three Connacht championships, while contesting two of the last three All-Ireland finals. Regrets at other sporting opportunities not realised? 'No, no regrets. No, look, it probably took to go out there (Australia) to realise how much I want to play for Galway. 'When I came back Galway probably weren't competing in the latter stages of the championships. The best days of my life so far have been playing for Galway in championship games. There's not really anything that can replace that at the minute anyway.' Advertisement Resilience has been required to become so pivotal to Galway's aspirations. Injury has repeatedly shunted him towards the sideline. He's had problems with his foot and knee over the years, before a fractured tibia sustained in a club intermediate semi-final in 2023 threatened to derail last year. The injury was slow to heal but he timed his comeback expertly, sweetly striking over three points in his first full game back as Galway dumped Dublin out of the All-Ireland series last June. This season has been refreshing in terms of gametime, straightforward and uninterrupted. 'I was playing catch up last summer definitely but I was happy to kind of get there in the end. 'I never played the last round of the league, I don't think, since I joined. I think we've been in three or four league finals and I never played in any of them either. So, yeah, it's been great to get a full batch of training and games during the league (this year). 'It gives you a bit of confidence that you've done the work. Other years you're kind of trying to come back in the middle of a championship when the pace is quick and there's lads who've trained for six, seven, eight months straight. So, you're just kind of playing catch up.' Fitness has been one challenge, coping with the setback of defeat another. In 2022, Galway were felled by a Kerry team inspired by David Clifford. McDaid and Shane Walsh starred that day with a stunning combined haul of 0-13. Last year's final loss felt different, a tight and tense encounter edged by Armagh, and Galway left with the aching sense of pain that comes with under-performance. 'I suppose it'll be there forever,' says McDaid as he reflects on getting over the 2024 loss. 2It's a tough one to get over and you might never really get over it. It's one of those big games where you didn't get over the line but we reviewed it and we went through it as a team. You kind of have to park it then. 'They (All-Ireland final losses) were both pretty bad, pretty tough, but maybe the second time around, having been there before, maybe the distractions leading up to it that people would say, we didn't really have that and we were very focused on the game. 'But at the end of the day, if you don't take your chances, you won't win the game. That's kind of what happened.' Galway are back now in full focus for what lies ahead. Mayo in Castlebar on Sunday. Last year's meeting featured a dramatic late revival to sweep the Tribesmen to victory. The end target remains the same. 'The writing was on the wall,' recalls McDaid of that day. 'We were going to lose a Connacht final at home to probably our biggest rivals. That day Shane [Walsh], John Maher and Mattie Tierney all came off the bench, so we were getting a few bodies back and starting to really strengthen. 'There's a few lads in our dressing room who have five or six Connacht titles. A good portion have none. 'It's just one game, it's not four-in-a-row. it's just another game we need to win.' ***** * Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
Irish Examiner
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Cillian McDaid: 'It's been great to get a full batch of training and games during the league'
An insignificant and unremarkable happening to everyone else. A massively significant milestone for Cillian McDaid. On the second last Sunday of March, McDaid lined out at Pearse Stadium against the green and gold. It was the first time in his eight-season Galway existence that he started the county's final round-robin League outing. It was the first time in eight maroon seasons that his number of League starts climbed as high as five. McDaid's spring has always been one of chasing. Chasing fitness, chasing injury-free status. Even during his AFL stint with Carlton in 2018, he was trapped in the same injury and catch-up cycle. There's been no chasing in 2025. He came into the year nursing no complaints and so he headed into championship with as sizable a body of work under the bonnet as he'd ever put together. We point out to McDaid that he had enjoyed a similar run in the spring of 2022 and how that season finished with him as one of the three nominees for footballer of the year. But McDaid offers the correction that he missed a portion of games in the middle of the 2022 League and so his spring appearance count on that occasion only went as high as four. Even within that All-Star season, there was chasing. 'We've been in three or four league finals, and I never played in any of them. So, yeah, it's been great to get a full batch of training and games during the league,' begins the 27-year-old. 'It gives you a bit of confidence that you've done the work. Other years you're kind of trying to come back in the middle of a championship when the pace is quick and there's lads who've trained for six, seven, eight months straight. So, you're playing catch up. 'But at least when you have that training done and banked early, you kind of know deep down that you can last a full game or you can play two weeks in-a-row, three weeks in-a-row. It's just a bit of confidence it gives you.' His medical history reads busy. Stress fracture in the left foot, groin issues, knee issues. The last significant input was the fractured tibia he endured while lining out for adopted club, Monivea/Abbey, in the 2023 Galway intermediate semi-final. The leg break delayed his 2024 inter-county season until the first round of the Sam Maguire series on May 18. For a good while before that, he wasn't sure if he and the 2024 season would ever cross paths. 'It definitely wasn't clearing up as fast as I'd wanted. Where I broke the leg was just very sore and it was hard to push through it. I was afraid it was going to damage it more. Despite all the reassurances, I still was hesitant. 'The medical team, at the end of the day, got me there. But there was a stage when we kind of thought it was time to just put it on ice and wait for next year. So, it was worth pushing through.' Of course, he'd have preferred a different ending. As did they all in maroon last July. McDaid's 63rd minute wide was among a succession of second-half scoring opportunities Galway left behind in the All-Ireland final. It was he who was turned over in the final play as they chased a levelling score. 'It's a tough one to get over and you might never really get over it,' the Bank of Ireland employee continued. 'I'd say it did,' he added when asked if last year's defeat brought greater pain than the final loss of two years earlier. 'They were both pretty bad, pretty tough, but maybe the second time around, having been there before, maybe the distractions leading up to it that people would say, we didn't really have that, and we were very focused on the game. But at the end of the day, if you don't take your chances, you won't win the game. That's what happened.' The case they're building to get over the line in 2025 is all the time strengthening. Peter Cooke's recent return bolsters a middle-third department the envy of almost every other county. A who's who: Paul Conroy, Cein Darcy, John Maher, Seán Kelly, Matthew Tierney, and McDaid himself. 'Definitely, physically, the strongest [it has been in my time there]. I'm probably one of the smaller lads out there now. So, yeah, it's a lot of height, a lot of strength. Look, it's great. We just have everyone in that area fit and available at the minute. For the last couple of years, players have been there, but, you know, maybe through form and injuries, whereas at the minute, we're very close to full strength out in that area.'
The Irish Sun
02-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘You might never get over it' – Galway ace Cillian McDaid still haunted by All-Ireland heartbreak but ready to go again
CILLIAN McDAID knows that the wounds inflicted by last year's All-Ireland SFC final defeat may never heal. However, the Advertisement 2 Cillian McDaid says the wounds from last year's All-Ireland final may never heal 2 Galway suffered defeat at the hands of Armagh in last year's showpiece event - but now they are ready to go one better The All-Ireland series will begin for the Tribe on the weekend of May 17-18. Should they successfully defend their The prize will be a place in a daunting group that also contains Derry, Dublin and the losers of the Ulster decider between Donegal and Sam Maguire holders Armagh. McDaid acknowledges Galway's provincial success as a turning point in 2024, as their season was kickstarted by the win over Mayo that was secured by Connor Gleeson's last-gasp free. They will hope for a repeat of that result on Sunday in Castlebar, where Galway can claim a fourth Nestor Cup on the bounce for the first time in 59 years. Advertisement READ MORE ON GAA Still, McDaid said: "It's just one game at the end of the day – it's not four in a row. It doesn't help us get any further in the Championship. 'If you win your first or if you're going for your tenth in a row, you're still going to be in the same position so it's just another game we need to win." McDaid, 27, has started all but two of the competitive games played by Galway so far in 2025. Plagued by injuries in the past, he is not accustomed to racking up so much mileage this early in a season. But it is a welcome change for a man who feared that he might not play at all last season after fracturing his leg while on club duty. Advertisement Most read in GAA Football The 2022 All-Star midfielder said: "It definitely wasn't clearing up as fast as I'd want. Like, the injuries were fine. It was probably more just a bit of pain. 'Where I broke the leg was just very sore and it was hard to push through it. I suppose I was afraid it was going to damage it more. RTE GAA pundit Enda McGinley reacts to Dublin vs Meath on The Sunday Game 'Despite all the reassurances, I still was hesitant but no, in fairness, I just kind of did what I was told. The medical team at the end of the day got me there and so on. 'There was a stage when we kind of thought it was time to just put it on ice and wait for next year, so it was worth pushing through." Advertisement McDaid's long-awaited return was worth the wait for Galway fans. "His first 70-minute outing of the season came in the All-Ireland quarter-final, with the Monivea-Abbey man producing a man-of-the-match performance as his county savoured a first Championship win over Dublin in 90 years. He said: "It's been great to get a full batch of training and games during the league. It gives you a bit of confidence that you've done the work. 'In other years you're kind of trying to come back in the middle of a Championship when the pace is quick and there are lads who've trained for six, seven, eight months straight, so you're just kind of playing catch-up. Advertisement "But at least when you have that training done and banked early. "You kind of know deep down that you can last a full game or you can play two weeks in a row, three weeks in a row, so it's just a bit of confidence it gives you." A fortnight after conquering the Dubs, Galway downed Donegal to book their All-Ireland final spot. McDaid then chipped in with two second-half points on the big day, only for Armagh to prevail by one. When it comes to the agony of losing a second Sam Maguire decider in three years, he said: 'I suppose it'll be there forever. It's a tough one to get over and you might never really get over it. Advertisement 'It's one of those big games where you didn't get over the line but we reviewed it and we went through it as a team. "You kind of have to park it then. Once you're happy and you know where you went wrong and you know where you need to improve, I think that's enough. 'The year before, we were knocked out by Mayo in a preliminary quarter-final. That's a tough one to deal with too, at home in a game like that. 'I suppose every year you don't win it, there's a big game you've lost that's tough to get over and you deal with it at the time. Advertisement "Games come around quickly so there are plenty of other things to be disappointed about this year already.' Asked if it felt like a more painful loss than the one against Kerry in 2022, McDaid replied: "Yeah, I'd say it did. They were both pretty bad, pretty tough. "But maybe the second time around, having been there before, maybe the distractions leading up to it that people would say, we didn't really have that and we were very focused on the game. 'But at the end of the day, if you don't take your chances, you won't win the game. That's kind of what happened." Advertisement The early indications are that Galway have the makings of a team destined for another busy summer. NEW RULES The new rules appear to suit On the possibility of helping Galway go all the way for the first time since 2001, McDaid remarked: 'I think we've bounced back very well. "As players, I think we've stepped up and new leaders have come through and the team has really changed in the last couple of years and the hunger and the drive is still there. Advertisement 'We know it's very difficult to get there, for sure, but we're up for the fight and we want to get back there. "I suppose it's difficult when you lose but you have to be willing to go through that every time to win. We're ready for that again and we'll try our best to get there, no matter what the route." A former AFL hopeful, McDaid's hopes of making the grade with Carlton were hindered by a foot injury and he returned home after a year in Australia. But he insisted: "No regrets. It probably took to go out there to realise how much I want to play for Galway. Advertisement "And when I came back, Galway probably weren't competing in the latter stages of the Championships. 'The best days of my life so far have been playing for Galway in Championship games so there's not really anything that can replace that at the minute anyway.' *CILLIAN McDAID was speaking at the announcement of a five-year extension to SuperValu's sponsorship of the All-Ireland SFC.
