Latest news with #NickeyRackardCup
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Dramatic late Mulry point seals Nickey Rackard cup glory for Roscommon
Nickey Rackard Cup final: Roscommon 3-16 Mayo 1-21 Brendan Mulry rode to Rosommon's rescue with a remarkable late winning point to capture the Nickey Rackard Cup title for his county in dramatic circumstances. Trailing by four points in the 68th minute of a rollercoaster game, it looked as if Roscommon were set for another loss to Mayo after National League and Rackard Cup group game defeats. But points from substitute Ben McGahon, joint captain Conor Mulry and Eoin Kiernan tied the game, laying down the platform for Mulry to snatch the winning score with just seconds of stoppage time remaining, clinching their third title. It was a dramatic ending to an exciting game that swung back and forth though Mayo, the Division 3 champions and pre-match favourites, will kick themselves for letting victory slip through their hands. Aside from coughing up that late advantage, they also blasted 20 wides over the 70 or so minutes as they slipped to agonising back-to-back final defeats. Sean Canning, Robbie Fallon and Mulry all finished with 1-02 each for Roscommon who have fought back superbly in the competition after losing their opening game to Mayo and drawing their next match. Roscommon operated in Mayo's slipstream in their previous two meetings, losing that group opener by seven points and conceding 3-25 when they met in the league. Both of those games were in Castlebar admittedly though it looked as if things may go a similar way at neutral Croke Park. Mayo were 0-9 to 0-3 ahead at the end of the opening quarter and dominating proceedings. With a near patent on possession, they racked up point after point and Tooreen's Liam Lavin helped himself to three of the scores. Jason Coyne of Mayo looking dejected after his side's defeat. Picture: Stephen Marken/Sportsfile Eoghan Collins drilled one over too and then set up Eoin Delaney for one of his two scores as Ray Larkin's side turned the screw. The only concern for Mayo was all the wides they were also tallying with far too many chances squandered. They finished the first-half with a whopping 11 wides and another couple of point attempts that dropped short. Roscommon seemed to draw energy from Mayo's difficulties and suddenly came roaring into the contest in the second quarter. They outscored Mayo by 2-5 to 0-2 between the 19th minute and half-time to take an unexpected three-point half-time lead, 2-8 to 0-11. Canning tortured Louth in his previous outing for Roscommon, striking a hat-trick of goals in that final round group game, and blasted 1-2 during the blitz. It was his fourth game in a row to score at least one goal and he posted notice of his blistering pace with an earlier point after a speedy solo run. Canning's 28th minute goal was a trademark powerful strike, coming at the end of a darting run in from the left. Brendan Mulry's goal in stoppage time was more fortunate as he went up to contest Conor Cosgrove's long delivery and smiled as the sliotar deflected in off him. Collins drew a great save from Roscommon goalkeeper Enda Lawless after the restart as Mayo chased scores. Shane Boland, football star Fergal's brother, clipped two points to help reduce the gap to three after 45 minutes, 2-11 to 0-14. Mayo had the deficit down to just one with under 20 minutes to go but were rocked by Roscommon's third goal from full-forward Robbie Fallon. An amazing game still had a couple of crucial turns to take. Mayo once again wrestled control of the game, reeling off 1-5 without response to take that three-point lead, 1-21 to 3-12, thanks in part to Eoin Delaney's 57th minute goal. But just as Mayo seemed certain to get their hands on the silverware, they had it whipped from their grasp in the form of four Roscommon points in a row and that dramatic Mulry winner. Roscommon scorers: S Canning 1-2, R Fallon 1-2 (0-2f), B Mulry 1-2, E Fitzgerald 0-3, B McGahon 0-2 (0-1f), C Mulry 0-2, F Killion 0-1, C Cosgrove 0-1 (0-1f), E Kiernan 0-1. Mayo scorers: E Delaney 1-3, S Boland 0-6 (0-3f), L Lavin 0-4, D Huane 0-2, R Duffy 0-1, E Collins 0-1, K McDermott 0-1, J Coyne 0-1, B Douglas 0-1, S Kenny 0-1 Roscommon: E Lawless; A Donnelly, J Dillon, M Ward; M Hussey, C Cosgrove, D Finn; E Fitzgerald, J Donnelly; F Killion, C Mulry, C Murray; S Canning, B Mulry, R Fallon. Subs: L Óg Coyle for Killion 47, B McGahon for Hussey 50, J Dowling for Murray 54, R Conlon for Fitzgerald 58, E Kiernan for Fallon 62. Mayo: B Douglas; C Murray, O Greally, C Hession; S Thomas, D Kenny, E Collins; D Huane, S Boland; C Phillips, R Duffy, L Lavin; K McDermott, E Delaney, J Burke. Subs: S Kenny for Burke 41, J Coyne for Hession 47, J Heraty for Duffy 62. Referee: C Doyle (Tipperary). Read More GAA previews: Kerry selection shows respect to Cork but Kingdom double forewarned
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Roscommon clinch Nickey Rackard Cup glory with a thrilling win at Croke Park
Roscommon produced a stunning comeback in the dying minutes as they edged Mayo by the slimmest of margins in their thrilling Nickey Rackard Cup decider at Croke Park.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Mayo hurler David Kenny happy to focus on first love
It doesn't take a particularly giant leap of the imagination to picture David Kenny heading for Omagh this evening, instead of Croke Park. Well over a decade since he first lined out for the Mayo senior hurlers, he will be a mainstay of Ray Larkin's team again for this afternoon's Nickey Rackard Cup final. Mayo lost to Donegal in last year's decider so are desperate to atone and to secure a win that would return them to Christy Ring Cup activity. That's the level Mayo operated at when Kenny first joined the group, a dozen or so years ago, and the Ring Cup was a tier two competition back then. He went straight into that Mayo senior squad as a minor though was perhaps best known for his football exploits at the time, lining out in All-Ireland minor (2013) and U-21 (2016) wins. Stephen Coen captained both of those successful underage teams but while he'll line out for the Mayo seniors against Tyrone this evening, Kenny will be on small ball duty at GAA HQ. Not that he regrets the road he went down at that stage of his GAA career. "Diarmuid O'Connor, Stephen Coen, Conor Loftus, all of those guys were on the minor and U-20 teams back then with me," said Kenny. "There'd be a lot of other good players that wouldn't necessarily have maybe made the breakthrough as seniors. "But look, coming from Tooreen, definitely hurling was always kind of first for me. It's funny, you might pick football on some occasions and go after it but, in the heart, hurling was always first." Kenny is humble enough to clarify that he didn't necessarily turn his back on Stephen Rochford or James Horan's football panels. "I was in and out of (football) squads but never made the breakthrough," he acknowledged. Again, it isn't any sort of regret because if football was a passion, hurling was a vocation. Other talented dual players went the football route, at hurling's expense. "Shane Boland, our corner-forward, his brother is Fergal, who is with the footballers," said Kenny. "Fergal's a brilliant hurler too. Jack Carney is another man who was a brilliant hurler growing up. Jack Coyne, corner-back with the footballers, he's a very good corner-back, still plays hurling. He'd be extremely sticky. It's hard to see, as a hurling person, that quality and that talent not being available but it happens all the time, not just in Mayo." For all of the difficulties that the Mayo footballers are currently experiencing, it's still an appealing prospect for young dual performers. There are only three senior hurling clubs in Mayo, four if you include the St Ciaran's amalgamation which comprises players from more than half a dozen junior clubs. Kenny is optimistic about the future though. They had a pre-final meet and greet in Tooreen recently and there was a big turnout. He has noticed more younger players getting involved too. If the Mayo seniors could climb the hurling ladder, they would become an even more attractive proposition. And it's not beyond them. When Kenny first joined the seniors, they were a top end tier two team. "We played Kerry in a Christy Ring semi-final (2014), we were leading at half-time, we had home advantage in MacHale Park for whatever reason," he said. "We just lost out on that one in the end." Kildare went on to win the Ring Cup that year and faced Westmeath in a promotion/relegation counter to see who would compete in the 2015 Leinster championship. There's a distance to go now for Mayo to get back to those heights. Getting over Roscommon, whom they've already beaten in Round 1 of the Rackard Cup group, and getting out of the fourth tier would be a solid start. "Roscommon are a great side, physically very strong," said Kenny. "They're also very good in the air. They have lads like Brendan Mulry and Sean Canning inside, speed merchants. They've got a lot of threats but we'll do our best to hold them down."
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Christy Ring, Nickey Rackard, Lory Meagher Cup finals: All you need to know
SATURDAY 31 MAY Christy Ring Cup final Derry v London, Croke Park, 5pm Nickey Rackard Cup final Mayo v Roscommon, Croke Park, 1pm Lory Meagher Cup final Cavan v New York, Croke Park, 3pm ONLINE Live scores and reports from all three games on and the RTÉ News app. TV All three finals will be broadcast on the Spórt TG4 Youtube channel. Highlights on The Saturday Game from 10.50pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. RADIO Live updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 and Spórt an tSathairn Lae ar RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. WEATHER Saturday will start off mainly dry. Rain will spread eastwards across the country through the morning and early afternoon. The rain will clear during the afternoon with sunshine and showers following for the rest of the day, some heavy in the northwest. Highest temperatures of 15 to 19 degrees. For more, visit The championship comes to an end in three of the five tiers in hurling with the Christy Ring, Nickey Rackard and Lory Meagher finals all taking place at Croke Park on Saturday. Derry out to end losing run In the Christy Ring final appearance list, Kildare sit top of the pile having played in the decider six times. In joint second before this weekend's action, along with Westmeath and Carlow, are Derry on four. The big difference is that while the other three sides now have multiple titles to their name and have moved onto bigger and better things, the Ulster side have a 100% losing record in the final. Four games, four losses. Even Saturday's opponents London have one win from two appearances. Three of those Derry losses have come in the last four seasons with Kildare (4-21) and Offaly (0-41) making light work of them while there was a narrow loss to Meath in there too. While they came into some of those finals as big underdogs, there is no doubting that this is a golden chance for Derry to end their wait. Team captain Cormac O'Doherty is averaging nine points a game, attacking half-back Ruairí Ó Mianáin is an incredibly exciting talent while corner-back Patrick Turner is having an excellent season for Johnny McGarvey's team. The Exiles, who are coached by former Cork goalkeeper Anthony Nash, bring a real danger to Croke Park with goal-scoring their main currency. Five group games produced 14 in all with only Kilkenny in the Leinster SHC having a better goals per game rate across all 2025 group stage championships. Jack Morrissey and Conor O'Carroll lead the way with four goals apiece. Derry have proven a bit of a fly in the ointment for the Exiles having won the last four clashes between the sides, but London's narrow loss earlier in the competition owed plenty to O'Carroll's dismissal heading down the stretch. Neil Rogers' side have reached the final despite the loss of last year's joint-captains Jack Goulding, who was also named 2024 Christy Ring Hurler of the Year, and Kevin Reid. Clare's Sean Glynn will lead them out at HQ. Connacht derby in Rackard decider Roscommon enter their fifth Nickey Rackard final on Saturday and strangely for them, Ulster opposition won't be awaiting. Their four previous finals have brought a pair of wins against Armagh and defeats to Donegal and Tyrone, but it's fellow Connacht side Mayo squaring up to them this time around. Maybe not such a good thing given Mayo's aggregate advantage over the Rossies this season stands at 26 points after their league and round-robin clashes. Kevin Sammon's side do bring momentum to Croke Park though as while the opening two rounds brought just a single point, they have been followed by wins over Armagh, Fermanagh and Louth to book a final spot. Séán Canning has been key to that revival with a hat-trick against the Wee County making it five goals over those three wins. In-form goalkeeper Enda Lawless took a blow to the head and had to be removed early in the second half against Louth, but Sammon is hopeful he will have recovered in time for this. With the Mayo men's and ladies' footballers struggling this season and their camogs disbanding in February, the hurlers have been a rare chink of light for the county's long-suffering supporters. Last year's final loss to Donegal will undoubtedly provide the motivation to make amends, especially as they threw away a six-point second-half lead. Mayo have certainly been hurling a team on a mission and claimed the Division 3 title back in March, beating a London side that will play in the main event this weekend. In Shane Boland, Eoin Delaney and Liam Lavin they have three reliable score-getters as they aim to return to their more familiar terrain, the Christy Ring Cup. New York and Cavan chase maiden title This year's Lory Meagher campaign has not been without controversy but when all is said and done, New York will be hoping to claim their first national silverware since 1996 when they come up against Cavan, or are they? In the blazing heat of Gaelic Park 29 years ago, the American side took Derry apart to win what was seen as an All-Ireland B final by some, while others claim it was an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final. Whatever it was, Galway hammered them the next day a few hours before Michelle Smith's first Olympic gold in Atlanta with then New York boss Monty Maloney angrily revealing that his team had enjoyed a night on the town prior to the fixture. Such shenanigans simply wouldn't be expected these days with volunteers like current manager Richie Hartnett fighting hard to find New York a spot in the Irish calendar. After last year's Connacht league triumph they were granted a spot in this year's Lory Meagher Cup, joining at the semi-final stage. That brought ire, most notably from Arthur Hughes, manager of semi-final opponents Monaghan, who labelled it "an absolute disgrace" prior to their 1-29 to 2-13 loss. Aidan James Willis scored the goal and David Mangan hit 10 points, but they can expect a trickier challenge from the Breffni County. Ollie Bellew's Cavan side have made amazing progress since ending a six-year absence from inter-county hurling by competing in the 2017 Lory Meagher Cup. They reached the final in 2021 and have since won the Division 3B title. Cuala's Colum Sheanon is part of the current squad and they warmed up for the final with a challenge match against the former All-Ireland kingpins. Breffni captain Enda Shalvey is expected to overcome a hamstring issue to line out.
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Mayo make one change for All-Ireland SFC clash with Tyrone
Stephen Rochford, who will take charge of Mayo while manager Kevin McStay takes time away after a medical episode, has announced the Mayo side to face Tyrone in their All-Ireland SFC Group one clash on Saturday in O'Neills Healy Park in Omagh (7pm). Rochford has made one change to the starting XV that lost to Cavan in their round one game two weeks ago. Rory Brickenden comes in to replace Sam Callinan. Stephen Coen continues to captain the side. Colm Reape remains in goals with Jack Coyne and Donnacha McHugh joining Brickenden in the full back line. Coen is joined by David McBrien and Enda Hession in the half back line. Dylan Thornton partners with Matthew Ruane in midfield. Darren McHale moves out to the half forward line to join Jack Carney and Jordan Flynn while Davitt Neary moves into the full forward line alongside Aidan O'Shea and Ryan O'Donoghue. Mayo have met Tyrone on six previous occasion in the championship with Mayo winning on four occasions and Tyrone took two victories with all the games played in Croke Park. Meanwhile, Mayo hurling manager Ray Larkin has named their side for their Nickey Rackard Cup final against Roscommon on Saturday in Croke Park (1pm). MAYO (SFC v Tyrone): C Reape; J Coyne, D McHugh, R Brickenden; S Coen (c), David McBrien, E Hession; D Thornton, M Ruane; J Carney, D McHale, J Flynn; A O'Shea, D Neary, R O'Donoghue Subs: A Phillips, B Tuohy, C Dawson, E O'Donoghue, F Kelly, F Boland, F Irwin, P Durcan, P Towey, S Callinan, S Morahan. MAYO (v Roscommon): B Douglas; C Hession, O Greally, C Murray; E Collins, K McDermott, D Kenny; D Huane, S Thomas; L Lavin, C Phillips, R Duffy; S Boland, E Delaney, J Burke. Subs: K Duffy, M Phillips, L Connor, J Trench, E Ryan, M Connor, J Heraty, J Coyne, S Kenny, M Farrell, C Schaill.
