Latest news with #NiallÓCeallacháin
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Hurling previews: Dublin and Galway bid for Leinster final spot, Clare take final bow
Sunday Leinster SHC Wexford v Kilkenny, Wexford Park, 2pm – Unlike the terrific contests of recent years between these two when no perceived gap, however large, appeared unbridgeable for Wexford and their spiritual leader Lee Chin, this is a dead rubber with all that implies for match excitement and crowd engagement. Keith Rossiter's team were very unlucky to concede a phantom goal to Dublin at a critical stage but overall, it's been a dull year between relegation in the league and the faltering championship. Kilkenny name a shadow team, giving reserves a run and indulging in a bit of experimentation by naming Ballyhale's front eight All Star, Adrian Mullen, at centre back. If there were high stakes and an excitable crowd, you'd have to go with Wexford, given the opposition line-up. But there's unlikely to be either. Verdict: Kilkenny Dublin v Galway, Parnell Park, 2pm (Live, RTÉ2) – This is an effective semi-final with the winners advancing to play Kilkenny in the Leinster final – Galway have the scoring edge if it's a draw. Both teams have improved as the championship has unfolded and come into this in relatively buoyant form. Dublin's progress has been well calibrated by Niall Ó Ceallacháin and they are guaranteed All-Ireland hurling regardless of the result. They were a little unfortunate against Kilkenny, as the defence sprang leaks faster than the forwards could find scores, even allowing for some bright and intelligent play. READ MORE Certainly, on a line drawn through Kilkenny, Dublin look better but Galway have improved on that dire first outing and have named a strong team for this, not their favourite hunting ground. Yet to win this championship fixture in the city, Galway are nonetheless odds-on for this. They certainly have a higher ceiling but how close are they to reaching it? Dublin can be depended on to bring energy and cussedness against their former manager Micheál Donoghue but he brings a depth of knowledge and acuity to planning for his former charges. There's a momentum to the home team, though, that can make a marginal difference. Verdict: Dublin Offaly v Antrim, O'Connor Park, 2pm (Live, GAA+) – The McDonagh play-off pairing that most foresaw has materialised but in a slightly different way. Offaly came up short in Parnell Park having looked at one stage like beating Dublin but they fell away and haven't managed to land a punch yet. Antrim conversely haven't been hugely competitive and there were rumblings of discontent during the week after a campaign where not even Fortress Corrigan appeared to be helping. This is away and the scale of the opportunity is likely to bring out the best in Offaly. Verdict: Offaly Mark Rodgers after Clare's third round loss to Tipperary. Photograph: Natasha Barton/Inpho Munster SHC Limerick v Clare, Gaelic Grounds, 4pm – A sad reduction of the Munster championship's big fixture of the past three seasons to irrelevance, as it's only denied dead rubber status by the potential for Limerick to miss out on the Munster final should Clare win by 26 points. The All-Ireland champions have never been in a position to mount a full-throated defence because of injuries and even the heroic recovery against Cork has been contextualised. John Kiely rests a number of front liners but retains a bit of oomph off the bench. Verdict: Limerick Cork v Waterford, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 4pm (Live, RTÉ2) – How straightforward all of this looked a week ago. The extent to which it still maintains some of that characteristic is Waterford's sense of running a bit on empty. But Cork's humiliating reversion to the whipping boys of four years ago may have been partly contrived – or not but it's impossible to view their campaign in the same light and a massive statement, not really possible in this match, will be required if they reach the Munster final. Waterford had their own travails, effectively losing to Tipperary despite a handicap in the shape of a burst of early scores. Second only to Limerick in terms of scores conceded, Peter Queally's team also are the province's least productive attackers. In their favour is that for the first time in this format they go into the last day with a chance of reaching the All-Ireland stages. Assuming that Cork are appropriately stung by last week, they should bring more dynamism to this task. With the atmosphere of a full and urgent venue, the league winners are likely to exert enough pressure to outscore the visitors, ideally by rediscovering their goal touch. Any misfiring will be an invitation to further disaster. Verdict: Cork
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Dublin hurler Seán Currie: ‘We have no interest in coming second or third'
It has already been quite the year for Seán Currie but the club All-Ireland winner hopes there will be even more hurling silverware brought back to the capital before the end of the 2025 season. Currie was a key player for Na Fianna last January when they made history by winning the All-Ireland club senior hurling title for the first time. Niall Ó Ceallacháin was the Na Fianna manager during that incredible journey and six days later he was back in Croke Park wearing the Dublin bainisteoir's bib at the outset of his new role with the capital's hurlers. Five months on and while Dublin missed out on promotion in the league, they are now just one win away from booking a place in this year's Leinster final. They face Galway on Sunday in what is effectively a playoff to meet Kilkenny in the provincial decider. READ MORE Ó Ceallacháin is joined in the Dublin dressingroom by several of Na Fianna's All-Ireland winning players – including brothers Seán Currie (25) and older brother Colin (27), Conor McHugh, AJ Murphy and Dónal Burke. 'It was definitely the best moment of my career winning that All-Ireland,' recalls Seán Currie. He is Dublin's top scorer in this year's championship and in all four of their games so far Currie has been the team's leading marksman. He has registered a tally of 3-38 and is the second-highest scorer in the Leinster SHC after Lee Chin. Currie's average of just under 12 points per game has been a key factor in Dublin's push for a Leinster final spot. Sean Currie of Na Fianna celebrates scoring a goal against Kilcormac-Killoughey in Croke Park in November 2024. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho Dublin lost last year's provincial final badly to Kilkenny, ending up 16 points adrift of the Cats at the final whistle. Dublin's most recent Leinster triumph was in 2013. Before that you have to go back to 1961, but Currie insists the current crop believe they can lift the Bob O'Keeffe Cup. 'Yes, 100 per cent, that's why we are here,' adds Currie. 'We have no interest in coming second or third, we definitely have that belief we can go further than we did last year. 'We were disappointed with the performance when we did get to the final last year so we are focused on making amends for that and improving as we go on.' [ Billy Ryan goal saves Kilkenny from Dublin second-half resurgence Opens in new window ] But there is no getting away from a perception Dublin have failed to deliver on their potential for much of the last decade. 'Definitely we have underperformed. I think where we want to be is competing for Leinster championships, competing for All-Ireland championships and I guess the reality is we haven't been doing that over the last few years,' says Currie. 'But when you look at the group of players we have, I definitely think we are capable of going to that next level and that's our aim.' Ó Ceallacháin is Dublin's first home-grown manager since Pat Gilroy, who had a one-year stint in 2018. In between there have been two Galway men at the helm: Mattie Kenny from 2019-22 and Micheál Donoghue from 2023-24. Dublin's Chris Crummey attempts to block a shot from Luke Hogan of Kilkenny at Nowlan Park last Sunday. Photograph: Leah Scholes/Inpho However, Currie feels it is up to the hurlers on the field more than the coaches on the sideline to drive the team forward. 'It really comes down to the players, 95 to 99 per cent of our performance comes down to players; there is only that small extra couple of per cent that managers add. 'But do I think Niall has probably added that couple of per cent this year, small tactical tweaks that make a difference. The players enjoy playing for him. 'He is a really good manager – obviously, I had him for five years with Na Fianna. He definitely took Na Fianna to the next level from where we were, he brought us on year on year.' Last week's loss to Kilkenny was Dublin's first in this year's championship – following wins over Offaly, Wexford and Antrim. No matter how Sunday's game in Parnell Park goes, Dublin are guaranteed a place in the knockout stages of the All-Ireland but a Leinster final is the target right now. 'We probably weren't playing at the right level in the early stages of the league,' says Currie. 'But we have continued to make a lot of improvements as the year has gone on.' Sunday will tell if those improvements have been enough.
Irish Times
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Billy Ryan goal saves Kilkenny from Dublin second-half resurgence
Leinster SHC Round 4: Kilkenny 5-19 Dublin 3-21 Kilkenny coughing up a 16-point lead against Dublin before eventually coming good to secure their Leinster SHC final place. Now where have we heard that one before? Rewind to Halloween night, 2020, and the circumstances were pretty much the same as the Cats ran up a huge lead before promptly handing it all back. They eventually prevailed on a narrow margin that evening to reach the provincial final, and it was the same outcome here as Billy Ryan capped a terrific game with a 69th-minute goal to win it for Kilkenny. With four wins from four, Derek Lyng's side are assured of a place in the Leinster final on June 8th despite still having a group game to go against Wexford next Sunday. READ MORE Whilst this game was a glimpse into the past on one hand, it could also be a peak into the future as Dublin will play Kilkenny again in the final if they beat Galway next weekend. Dublin will be at home to the Tribesmen at Parnell Park in what is now an effective Leinster semi-final. Dublin manager Niall Ó Ceallacháin wasn't so sure if they will approach that game with momentum, given their excellent second-half performance against Kilkenny, or disappointment. Dublin's Conor McHugh tackles Kilkenny's TJ Reid. Photograph: Leah Scholes/Inpho 'It's a fair question,' he reasoned. 'I think there's definitely disappointment there. If you walk in there to our dressing-room, there's absolutely disappointment there. We felt it was there for us and that we should have seen it out.' If someone told you at half-time that Ó Ceallacháin would be expressing disappointment afterwards about not winning, you'd have sent them on their way. Kilkenny led 4-12 to 0-10 at that stage. Ó Ceallacháin argued Dublin weren't actually playing that bad and any 'independent observer' would agree. But the goals were killer concessions with Adrian Mullen's, Kilkenny's first in the 16th minute, and Martin Keoghan's in the 32nd both the products of long deliveries to the danger area that broke kindly. Ryan and TJ Reid also struck first-half goals, though those two were more about two in-form players displaying their individual ability as they soloed in from either wing before netting. Dublin's Conor McHugh tackles Kilkenny's Martin Keoghan. Photograph: Leah Scholes/Inpho Ryan finished with 2-3, all from play, and displayed a razor-sharp edge whenever a scoring opportunity arose, like when Reid tossed him a pass in the 65th minute and he found space with a neat pirouette before pointing. Reid finished with 1-9, the points all from frees, though before any of Kilkenny's eight different scorers could celebrate their day's work, they had to endure a horror final 20 minutes or so. John Hetherton displayed the value of a big man on the edge of the square when he helped set up Dublin's first goal in the 39th minute, finished off by Sean Currie. Conor Donohoe came strongly into the game in midfield too, drilling back-to-back points and generally helping the Dubs gain a vital foothold in the middle third. But it wasn't until their second and third goals, scored in the 53rd and 54th minutes, by Currie again and Cian O'Sullivan as part of a 2-4 scoring siege, that a comeback seemed genuinely possible. Dublin's Chris Crummey attempts to block shot from Kilkenny's Luke Hogan. Photograph: Leah Scholes/Inpho Kilkenny went 13 minutes without scoring and winced as AJ Murphy, a star man in Na Fianna's All-Ireland club success under Ó Ceallacháin last winter, came off the bench and scored two points. Dublin trailed by just two in the 69th minute and eyed a most remarkable win before having the rug pulled from beneath them in the form of Ryan's late goal. Jordan Molloy took off through the centre and could have tapped over a point but showed both his ruthless streak and his confidence in Ryan by offloading to his right. 'We were playing a top-class team, we're not going to have it all our own way for 75 minutes,' said Lyng. 'But I think for a chunk of the second-half we'd be disappointed surely that their purple patch lasted as long as it did.' KILKENNY: E Murphy; M Butler, H Lawlor, P Deegan; D Blanchfield, R Reid, M Carey; C Kenny, J Molloy (0-1); A Mullen (1-0), J Donnelly, B Ryan (2-3); M Keoghan (1-3), TJ Reid (1-9, 9f), S Donnelly (0-1). Subs: K Doyle (0-1) for Blanchfield (24-25 mins, blood), L Hogan (0-1) for Mullen (45), Doyle for Kenny (48), F Mackessy for Hogan (59), L Connellan for S Donnelly (71), T Walsh for Blanchfield (72). DUBLIN: E Gibbons; C McHugh, P Smyth, J Bellew; P Doyle, C Crummey (0-1), P Dunleavy; C Burke, C Donohoe (0-4); C O'Sullivan (1-5), B Hayes, D Power (0-1); S Currie (2-6, 1-4f, 0-1 65), J Hetherton, C Currie. Subs: F Whitely (0-1) for Dunleavy, R Hayes for C Currie (both h-t), R McBride (0-1) for Burke (49 mins), A Jamieson-Murphy (0-2) for Power (65). Ref: M Kennedy (Tipperary).
Irish Times
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Dublin overpower Antrim to continue Leinster charge
Leinster SHC: Antrim 0-19 Dublin 3-25 Dublin cantered to a third-straight win in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship as they took care of business against Antrim at a sunny Corrigan Park on Saturday. Niall Ó Ceallacháin's men took a grip early and didn't let go as they were virtually out of sight by the break as wind-assisted they opened a 12-point gap and extended that by three before the final whistle. Antrim were without the services of Keelan Molloy and Conor Johnston to add to their injury woes in attack and that told as there was a blunt edge to what they did as they just couldn't get anything going for a sustained period and there was a sense of inevitability about this game from early on. Centre backs Chris Crummey and Conor Boyd swapped early scores before points from Sean Currie and John Heatherton gave the Dubs a lead they would hold until the end. READ MORE James McNaughton pointed a free in reply, but the Dubs rattled off the next three through Currie and Cian O'Sullivan. A McNaughton free would prove to be Antrim's last score for 14 minutes, by which time the Dubs had rattled off 2-3, the first of those goals coming as goalkeeper Eddie Gibbons picked out O'Sullivan to fetch and bury. The second goal was not disimmilar as another long ball was grabbed by Ronan Hayed, who gave Ryan Elliott no chance. Dublin's Fergal Whitely. Photograph: John McVitty/Inpho Antrim rallied briefly with two McNaughton frees after Ryan McCambridge ended their dry spell, but they couldn't sustain it with Currie extending his first-half tally to eight and O'Sullivan knocking over another score with a sole Joseph McLaughlin point in response as Dublin headed into the break with a 2-14 to 0-7 advantage, which could have been greater but for a fine save by Elliott on Paddy Doyle. A hat-trick of McNaughton points straight after the restart gave the hosts some hope, but Dublin replied through Brian Hayes and O'Sullivan. After McNaughton and Currie swapped frees, Crummey landed a beauty from deep and then former Dublin footballer Conor McHugh thumped over after another McNaughton free. It was clear the Dubs were managing their lead as Antrim just didn't have enough support for McNaughton in attack, as the goal they required to get back into contention wasn't looking likely. The gap was at 11 points going into the final quarter but that was pushed out thanks to Currie and Crummey before Dublin grabbed a third goal in the 64th minute as substitute Fergal Whitely showed fantastic control to get away and blast home. It would go from bad to worse for Antrim with McNaughton shown a straight red late on for lashing out on McHugh as Dublin coasted home to maintain their perfect start to the campaign. ANTRIM: R Elliott; S Rooney, N O'Connor, P Burke; J Maskey, C Boyd (0-1), C Bohill; E Campbell (0-1), G Walsh (0-1f); J McLaughlin (0-2 1f), R McCambridge (0-2), S Walsh; E O'Neill, J McNaughton (0-10, 8f, 1′65), N Elliott (0-1). Subs: S McKay for S Walsh (HT), C McKeown (0-1) for E O'Neill (51 mins). DUBLIN: E Gibbons; J Bellew, P Smyth, C McHugh (0-1); P Doyle (0-1), C Crummey (0-3), A Dunphy; C Burke (0-1), C Donohue; B Hayes (0-1), C O'Sullivan (1-3), D Power; S Currie (0-12, 7f, 2′65), J Hetherton (0-1), R Hayes (1-0). Subs: P Dunleavy for A Dunphy (26 mins), D Burke for J Hetherton (49), C Currie (0-1) for C Burke (53), F Whitely (1-1) for R Hayes (59), J Madden for C Crummey (66). Referee: L Gordon (Galway).
