Latest news with #MunsterChampionship
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Non-committal Jack O'Connor ponders management future after guiding Kerry to another All-Ireland title
Jack O'Connor hinted that he might be bringing his management term to an end after guiding Kerry to a fifth All-Ireland title in three different terms. It's a third treble, following on from successes in 2004 and 2022, after National League and Munster Championship victories earlier in the year. "I'm a long time at it, and I might be passing the baton onto somebody else," he said on RTÉ's Sunday Sport. Pushed as to whether that was the end of his third spell in charge, he added: "That was the plan anyway, so we'll see." Asked again in his post-match press conference, the five-time All-Ireland winner seemed non-committal. "I'm on record as saying it's my last hurrah... But there's no hurry." While O'Connor considers his future, he can reflect on All-Ireland number 39 for the game's most successful county. It's a second in four seasons, and with a cohort of players in their 20s in the panel, there's no reason why the current crop can't add more titles in the years to come. "You can't beat panel spirit. We said what happened to Cork last week wouldn't happen to us." Kerry boss Jack O'Connor looks back on winning the final #sundaygame — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 27, 2025 Kerry burst out of the blocks to take the lead after 13 seconds with a point from Dylan Geaney, with David Clifford's haul of seven points pushing them into a seven-point lead at the break. They always had Donegal at arm's length with Joe O'Connor capping another sensational performance with a goal at the death. And for the manager, it was a performance built on massive spirit within the camp. "If you take the year as a whole, we had a lot of adversity," O'Connor told RTÉ Sport after the game. "We had a lot of injuries, we lost a lot of good men but we had a tremendous panel spirit. "We had men like Mark O'Shea and Seán O'Brien, lads like that that didn't think they'd be near the team, starting midfield in an All-Ireland final for Kerry. "It's the stuff of dreams so I'm delighted for them all. A massive team effort, panel effort, backroom team effort, so I'm thrilled for them all. "We'd two big performances here against Armagh and Tyrone. We felt that we were well tested coming into the game. Maybe the hammering that Donegal gave Meath two weeks ago mightn't have done them the same amount of good that our game with Tyrone did. "We felt we were well tested, we were in great shape leaving the hotel this morning. There was a great atmosphere in the room, just a great anticipation, ready for battle. "The boys fought on their backs out there." Donegal did have periods of momentum in the game but they couldn't get closer than four points in the second half. The gap would have been five at the break only for David Clifford to land a two-pointer with the last kick of the half. "There were times when Donegal looked like they were coming back," O'Connor acknowledged. "I think that two-pointer before half-time was a massive score by David. It was a massive fillip going in at half-time. "We said in the dressing room that what happened Cork last week wasn't going to happen us. We were going to come out and play and we were going to try and win the second half. We did win the second half by three points so overall it was two good halves. "We needed to get our hands on the ball, use up the clock and get a good shot off. Near the end we were able to enjoy the last three or four minutes after Joe got the goal. "I'm thrilled for them all, this was a tough auld year. There were times when we were well tested this year but I'm delighted that it finished like it did."
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
House on fire for Kerry goalkeeper Shane Ryan as titanic battle with Donegal beckons
The nation will be gripped by a "titanic battle" in Sunday's All-Ireland Football Championship final, but Shane Ryan is not about to complain about the problems coming his way. In previous times a clash of the counties could be seen as a war of attrition with Kerry sacrificing some of their ideals to try to break down a defensive Donegal outfit. The new rules in the sport makes any repeat scenario unlikely, which Ryan acknowledges is good for the viewing audience, even if it makes his own 70 minutes much more difficult. Finals by their nature can be cagey, so there is something of unknown in Sunday's showpiece. It may produce fireworks or take time to warm up. All he can reference so far is how he has found championship matches so far this year? "It's kind of like your house on fire," he told RTÉ GAA analyst Tomás Ó Sé in an interview as part of Sunday's live television coverage. "[Your job is to] put out fires everywhere. Then it's 'right, we're attacking now'. "It's hard to sometimes actually read the flow of the game. "At times the game can just turn into madness, you have to toughen in those times. "It's definitely made it tougher because you know there were times last year and the last couple of years where teams dropped off. So you might get 30% of your kickouts uncontested and you kick it to the corner-back and away we go. "There's less controlled plays than there was in previous years, so therefore you actually don't have a chance to get your breath, even as a defensive unit." With the Kingdom usually cruising their way through the Munster Championship, Ryan is rarely tested until the latter stages of the Championship. That has not been the case this campaign with a tricky test in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh passed with the concession of 1-25. The Rathmore man has yet to concede two goals in a match with his proficiencies when facing a forward in a duel a major asset to Jack O'Connor's side. His impressive performances have been honed over the years in the knowledge he would be needed at times, likely in the latter stages of the season. The goalkeeper admitted he is still more active over the course of the year now, thanks to the FRC implementations. So has training moved to more attention on saving rather than kicking? "[Shot stopping] is definitely something we're focusing on. But would I say it's something we're focusing more than other years? No. "I suppose I'm probably getting more opportunities this year to kind of show off my shot-stopping. "It's 11 v 11, there's more one-on-one battles. Teams are getting opened up and the nature of the game this year is that it's just absolutely chaotic at times. You know there will be a man bearing down on top of you. "From a goalkeeper perspective it's a bit annoying that you're relinquishing control, but if I put my GAA hat on from a supporter's perspective, the entertainment value has gone through the roof because of it. As I said already the games are just, they're chaotic by nature now, but it's proven to give entertainment." The round-robin defeat to Meath was an eye-opener for Kerry. Many had expected them to cruise through their group and the loss in Tullamore led to something of a reflection. Ryan denies it led to totally changed their approach. "I thought we played a lot of good football leading up to Meath, even in the league as well, and we've played a lot of good football since. "There was definitely areas in the Meath game we were very disappointed with. I think it was more a case of trying to get back to basics a small bit. We are a united group and there's a lot of us on the road now for seven or eight years. "We've had a good few tests down through the years, plenty of success, plenty of disappointments, and all that stuff comes together, and it gels you together as a team. You don't want to let the man beside you down and that's something that we're going to try to harness again this weekend." After progressing against Cavan and Tyrone, one more Ulster county stands in the way of a 39th All-Ireland. The Tir Conaill men are looking to repeat Jim McGuinness's memorable success of 2012 and the Kerry goalkeeper feels it's going to be the hardest challenge of all. "Certainly. I think Donegal have so many threats from all over the field, and they're obviously hugely usually athletic. They were probably one of the favourites from the outset of the league this year. "We played them below in Killarney and they obviously beat us in our own backyard there in the first game. "We are just trying to back ourselves while knowing that Donegal have a lot of threats and you were just trying to get the balance there between playing your game and stopping them playing their game. "I think it's going to make for a titanic battle, and it's something that I'm looking forward to and the whole country is looking forward to as well."
Sunday World
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Sharlene Mawdsley zooms past ex-hurler in hilarious All-Ireland celebration race
The Irish sprinter got her running shoes on as she soared past a former Tipperary hurler. Irish sprinter Sharlene Mawdsley has dipped into her day job as part of Tipperary's celebrations following their All-Ireland hurling triumph over Cork on Sunday. The Olympian, who hails from Newport, was in attendance at Croke Park to cheer on both her native county as well as her boyfriend Michael Breen. Her partner was part of a sturdy Tipp defence that held the Rebels to a paltry two points as part of a second-half demolition job at GAA HQ. Around the county, the newly-crowned champions have been soaking in the celebrations after lifting the Liam MacCarthy for the 29th time. Irish Olympian Sharlene Mawdsley and hurler Michael Breen. Photo: Instagram/Sharlene Mawdsley Sharlene appeared to get herself in on the action as the festivities roared on with a road race alongside former hurler Bryan 'Buggy' O'Meara. In a video that has surfaced on social media, the former Tipp star was given a sizeable head start but the 400m speedster absolutely soared past him to take the undisputed victory. Her lightning-fast speed down the unnamed housing estate was met with an uproar of laughter from those watching on and filming the one-on-one showdown. The 26-year-old was full of praise for her other half in the wake of the Croker triumph as she posted a picture of the happy couple on social media. "Proud of you every day, but that little bit prouder today', she posted alongside a pic of the two embracing and holding the iconic trophy. The pair 'hard launched' their romance on May 18 following Tipperary's win against Waterford in the Munster Championship. The Olympian athlete shared a photo of herself and Breen from the pitch in their matching county colours, captioning it 'Tippin' on'. The Tipperary woman enjoyed a sensational 2024 on the track as part of the mixed relay team that claimed gold at the European Championships last May. Her year ended on a low note as she was part of the 4x400 team that finished fourth at the Paris Olympics. Sharlene suffered heartache just last month following the sudden death of her father, Thomas 'Tucker' Mawdsley, at the age of 67.
Irish Examiner
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Kerry's James Costello: It's all about the big mo now - and how to milk it
Having coffee in Ballyseedy Garden Centre in April, we happened upon new Kerry selector, James Costello. It was shortly after the Munster Championship win over Cork, I indicated Kerry had got lucky and in return got a withering look that approximated to a backhand slap for intemperance and stupidity. Costello, from Blennerville, was one of Jack O'Connor's new recruits to a management ticket that was in danger of collapsing around the manager's heels in the winter recess. He said that football's new direction had brought primacy to the whole phenomenon of momentum. I wondered what he meant, and asked him again in the last few days. 'You can see it now, after Kerry's last few games. If you can get a run on a team and get three or four kickouts in a row and do real damage, it has a big bearing in the game,' Costello said. 'So your ability to milk momentum and get your hands on ball and break the other team's momentum is absolutely crucial because when the tide starts turning against you, it's a lot more difficult now to turn it around than it used to be. 'In the old days, you'd clip a ball to a corner back to get a kickout away and hang on to the ball and bring it up the field slowly. So that's proving a lot more difficult now.' Priorities have changed, in that regard, with the seasons. 'In the league the kickouts all had to go long, because of wind, conditions and the greasy ball. It was a lot riskier to try and get kickouts away short, but teams have developed that. And you know, Croke Park on a dry day, the kickout percentages are definitely going up. It does seem to be two very distinct games where the league football tends to be quite agricultural, I suppose, for want of a better word. Whether it's the real quality of the summer football is definitely a lot better.' Costello took a winter call from Jack O'Connor, and welcomed the approach wholeheartedly. Having brought the Kerry minors to an All-Ireland final in 2021, the year spent in 2024 with Mark Fitzgerald and the Clare seniors bridged the gap nicely to the senior cycle. With the FRC's intervention creating fresh debate and opinion, those spring Kerry management meetings must have been interesting. 'I wouldn't call it arguing (over how to implement the rules), it was more learning as we went. In the Dublin (league) game in Tralee, we sat in too deeply against the wind in the second half and didn't push out. We allowed Dublin to get a run on us. That gave Dublin a lot of the ball and they caused us a lot of trouble. So that was one learning about how to manage the wind and all that goes with playing with and without the wind. The kickouts are an ongoing thing, so we were really learning game to game as we were going along and trying to put fixes in and get plans in place for all the different aspects of the game.' A different Jack O'Connor Costello is working with a very different Jack O'Connor to the one who first piloted Kerry to an All-Ireland twenty one years ago. Then the Dromid man micro-managed. Now, he's a delegator. 'He's very good like that. Jack he says himself a lot more hands off than he was in the early days. He likes to let people add their tuppence worth in, and we have good debates and good ideas. And as I said, this year has been a great opportunity for that, for fermenting ideas. And we never got too carried away with two pointers early in the league, or we never got too hung up on different things. We kind of let it come to us in a lot of situations. "There was no major structural things, apart from after the Meath game obviously, which we did a fairly hefty review of that in terms of things that were going wrong for us. But apart from that, we've been tipping along nicely and quite happy.' Word on the streets in Tralee is that Kerry could soon be facing another tug of love with the AFL around one of their burgeoning under age talents. Costello, as Kerry minor manager for four campaigns, has seen them leave, not least Cillian Burke last year. He coached the Milltown-Castlemaine powerhouse at minor level. 'It's a very, attractive card for a young fella to go down and try it. I think all we can do in Kerry is have good systems, good structures in place here, and get into All-Ireland finals. Winning big games is as good a carrot as any. 'The best thing we can do in Kerry is keep having good systems, good structures, keep the Kerry team up near in and around the top table, and, hopefully it's an attractive proposition for them to stay at home and wear the green and gold. So, hopefully, our lads can get the job done at the weekend.' Read More Moment Jack O'Connor knew something was stirring with Kerry
The Irish Sun
21-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Watch RTE GAA pundit embrace Ronan Maher after captain's epic display toppled Cork in All-Ireland final
UNDERSTANDABLY, Liam Sheedy wasn't the most neutral observer down the home straight as Tipp eased to All-Ireland final victory. He was their manager the last time the Premier had lifted Liam MacCarthy as they did on Sunday after a 2 It was Tipp's first All-Ireland title since 2019 2 Sheedy managed many of their more senior players such as Ronan Maher Credit: @RTE2 So it wasn't much of a surprise to see him get caught up in the emotion of it all as many of his former players celebrated wildly at the full-time whistle. While none of that was a surprising sight, there was a surprising sound as the match commentary team threw back to host Joanne Cantwell and her pitchside pundits. Cahill could be heard joining in with the Tipp section of the Read More On GAA Later on in the broadcast he The three-time All-Ireland winner with "But in that second half once the momentum swung it just felt as if there was nothing that Cork could do to get back into the game." Sheedy butted in ahead of Og Cusack to give his blunt view on the Cork collapse. Most read in GAA Hurling He countered: "But say what you like Donal Og, that was a massive under-performance from that Cork team in the last 35 minutes. "That level of performance is not something you'd expect from that Cork team from what we witnessed all year. Liam Cahill speaks to RTE after Tipperary GAA win All-Ireland final "So whether it was the pressure of the All-Ireland final or what, they were a shell of themselves." The former Rebels goalkeeper tried to get back to his reasoning of the scalping saying: "I don't think it was the pressure like we said the points it was 2/15." But the Portroe man wasn't finished making his point. He fired back: "Can you remember a performance that was as bad over a 35 minute period over the last two years?" Og Cusack answered no to the question, before adding: "Cork have been consistent over the last few years, they've won the league, they've won the Munster Championship. "The whole view was being obscured by Dublin were so bad. Limerick were so bad they gave the opportunity to Dublin. "We all want Dublin to be back, I don't want to take anything from them. But it was like as if everyone's views were obscured. "And I said it Friday morning, that was the lens that we were viewing Cork on. "There was a huge difference between what Cork faced a couple weeks ago and here and it definitely didn't do Cork any value now looking back at it."
