Latest news with #PeterQueally
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
‘It is tough, but good tough': John Kiely backs current Munster championship structure
John Kiely has endorsed the current provincial championship format . The Limerick manager, who is preparing for Saturday week's final against Cork , was speaking at an online media briefing, organised by Munster GAA. Asked for his views on his Waterford counterpart, Peter Queally's call for the season to be extended on the lines of the football championship, Kiely sympathised but said that any more permissive a structure would 'diminish the importance' of provincial fixtures. In six years of the format, Waterford have yet to emerge from the round-robin despite having been All-Ireland finalists and semi-finalists during the two years of Covid when the format was suspended. 'It is tough, they haven't come out yet. They've made great progress this year; Peter has done really, really well. I suppose you just have to keep going back and eventually you'll get the breakthrough. READ MORE 'Look at Tipperary last year – where they were at the bottom of the group and this year, they've turned it around and have five points on the board. There were three teams tied with five points and it was only scoring difference that separated them at the top of the group so it can be done. 'Do I think putting four teams out [for the All-Ireland series] is going to improve it? I don't. I think it will actually diminish the importance of the games. There's great jeopardy there. 'It is tough but it's a good tough. When you love sport, you want to be involved in a competition that has incredible standards, incredible competition and real jeopardy. That's what the Munster championship has and that's why it's so special and that's why the crowds are turning out so we have to embrace the jeopardy as well as the desire to get out.' He said that his team, who are chasing an extended record of seven titles in a row, is at full strength but he cautioned on the potential impact of injuries when asked had he any concerns. 'No, not at the minute. We've had a really strong run the last couple of months and everybody's training at the moment. A few knocks after the Cork game, a few fellas had to step out for a week but they're all back since Wednesday night. 'We've got a session tomorrow [Saturday] morning, Tuesday night, Thursday night, so we've a bit of work to get through yet. In 2018 on the Friday night before the All-Ireland, Peter Casey just turned his ankle on a sliotar that was coming out from the goals. 'It was a non-contact session, if you like, for the most part. How could anyone get injured? When you're out in the field, anything can happen and so we have three sessions still to get through. Hopefully we get there with a full complement.' He also called for the Munster GAA to make it 'visibly clear to everybody' where the additional revenue from this year's raised ticket prices had gone. 'Supporters are never going to be happy with a price rise. It's a big commitment to be a supporter in the first place. They're going to league matches; they're going to all the championship matches. There's a lot of those matches in a short period of time. 'People are looking towards summer holidays, kids going away on summer camps, all those types of things. 'If the season were more stretched out, the expense is spread out as well with it, and that's maybe something that needs to be taken into consideration, that it's a big hit for families all at the one time. 'I think people haven't been giving out tickets too much. I think it's more about getting your hands on what is the biggest problem at the moment. I think we're going to have a fantastic occasion here. 'I think the onus really goes back on the Munster council now. Ultimately, they're the ones who are gathering this additional revenue, and I think maybe in the course of the next 12 months, they need to make it visibly clear to everybody what the additional revenues went towards. 'I think that would be something that would be very much appreciated by the paying public, to know that that money is being put to very good use right across the association.'
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Armagh even stronger with the return of Rian O'Neill
Armagh were already a force to be reckoned with, but the return of Rian O'Neill makes them 'even stronger now,' writes Darragh Ó Sé. But what about the fellas whose feathers might have been ruffled by his reappearance? 'Cry me a river, boys,' says Darragh . When this side has the chance to become the first from Armagh to retain Sam Maguire, 'do you want to sing a sad song or do you want to go after back-to-back All-Irelands?' That's them told. There might have been a tear or two shed in the Waterford hurling camp after their defeat by Cork last weekend ended their championship season even before summer arrived. Seán Moran reckons manager Peter Queally's suggestion that hurling follow football's example by having an All-Ireland series after the provincial championships might be worth a look. Gordon Manning, meanwhile, talks to Kerry captain Cáit Lynch about her second coming for the All Ireland football champions, following a spell living in the Netherlands, and Ciarán Kirk hears from Meath captain Aoibhín Cleary who's hoping to lead her county to their third All Ireland in five years before she sets off for Australia to play for Richmond in the AFLW. In rugby, Gordon D'Arcy looks at Leinster's desperate need to finish their season on a high , 'having morphed into the 'nearly men'', by winning the URC. 'There's one caveat. How badly do they want it,' he asks. READ MORE Munster's last URC trip to South Africa wasn't the most fruitful, ending in defeats by the Stormers and Sharks. They are, then, hoping for a happier outcome when they return to Durban to take on the Sharks again in Saturday's quarter-finals. Gerry Thornley talks to interim coach Ian Costello ahead of the game. And just to get you in the mood for this summer's Lions' tour, Luke McLaughlin reminisces about his trip to Australia in 2001 when the hosts recovered from losing the first test to take the series 2-1 against Graham Henry's side. Luke has a warning for Andy Farrell's current crew: 'Be warned: the Aussies still hate losing, and are sure to indulge in a spot of Lions-baiting, too.' In football, Gavin Cummiskey looks back on an English season that had a fair few more lows than highs for Irish players , to the point where there might be as few as seven of them playing in the Premier League next season. Caoimhín Kelleher will, more than likely, leave Liverpool in search of regular game-time, while Evan Ferguson's career is in need of a serous reboot. And in racing, the career of 'arguably the best stayer seen in Europe for decades' came to an end on Tuesday when Kyprios was retired after aggravating an old injury , Brian O'Connor hearing from his trainer Aidan O'Brien. 'He's been the most incredible horse, he had an incredible mind to go with his incredible ability,' he said of the two-time Ascot Gold Cup winner. TV Watch : TNT Sports continues its coverage of the French tennis Open (from 10am) and cycling's Giro d'Italia (from 11.30am) today, and at 7.30 this evening, TG4 has the under-20 All Ireland football final between Louth and Tyrone. Half an hour later, Chelsea and Real Betis kick off in the Conference League Final (TNT Sports 1).
Irish Times
5 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Seán Moran: Losing managers' parting criticisms aren't always just deflection
There is little weight attached to the concerns of beaten managers. This is something Brian Cody well understood and on the odd occasion when Kilkenny's championship ended in defeat, he was generally nothing but respectful of the winners. His strong view that the better team was always ahead on the scoreboard at the final whistle may have suited a county enjoying serial success but for all the lack of nuance, it had an essential truth. Consequently, some of his most volcanic eruptions came after the All-Ireland had been won, as if victory removed any contextualising restraint. It was hardly surprising at the weekend that disappointed hurling managers volunteered criticisms of the system. After losing to Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Waterford's Peter Queally lamented that his team would venture no farther into the summer than the end of May. READ MORE 'I would like to see a change in structure where we're afforded a little bit of a chance to hurl during the summer when everyone wants to hurl and everyone wants to watch hurling, not in December, January and February.' The GAA response would probably be along the lines that the split season is about club players getting to play some summer hurling but the Waterford manager's grievance was understandable, especially when he cited a growing reluctance among players to involve themselves in a season long on rain-lashed and windswept activities and short on summer engagement. Waterford have never progressed out of Munster in the round-robin era. Like football teams, who seldom made the old August bank holiday starting line for the football championship, the county is suffering from the cumulative lack of involvement while their peers regularly extend their season for anything up to eight weeks. Waterford's Stephen Bennett reacts after not being awarded a penalty during the Munster Championship game against Tipperary at Semple Stadium. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho It lends a not always appreciated coherence to the views of then Waterford chair Paddy Joe Ryan, who at the 2017 special congress vehemently opposed the new format as potentially 'the worst decision ever made by the GAA'? For his county, it probably feels that way. It was the same in Leinster where Offaly manager Johnny Kelly aired similar concerns after his team completed their season by staying in the MacCarthy Cup for next year. 'We have the likes of Clare out of the championship; the Leinster championship basically finished for two teams ... and I don't think it's right. It's no harm to see how it works out, but maybe it's time to review it and see is there tweaks to it anyway.' That these views were expressed by managers of losing teams shouldn't be the cause for instant dismissal. Yes, they're disappointed but they may also have a legitimate point. Queally for instance cast an envious glance at football. 'We all want the cut and thrust of the Munster Championship. We don't want to take from that. Maybe it's following our football counterparts where you have your provincial championship and then you have your All-Ireland series.' Might that work? It may appear counter-intuitive after a season that saw yet further record gate receipts for the Munster Championship group stages, but as may become apparent, round-robin is not a great format if it loses a critical mass of competitiveness. It is also only part of the picture. Munster may have thrived but Leinster hasn't to the same extent. Kilkenny have dominated in a low-key fashion. There was novelty when Galway were on top and big crowds when Wexford made their move but the burden of carrying six teams, two of whom are predestined to tussle over relegation, has relaxed the competitive tautness that Munster at its best enjoys. Offaly manager Johnny Kelly ahead of the Leinster Championship fourth round game against Wexford. Photograph: Leah Scholes/Inpho Where the football format works is in its extension of the season for all counties. As Queally said, at present with hurling teams dropping out of action, the Sam Maguire counties will still be going until mid-June at the earliest with half of them still around by the end of the month. It is likely that Waterford, Clare, Wexford and Offaly would be happy were the hurling championship format to take them up to midsummer. This radical rewiring would be possible by simply adopting the football format and running the provincial hurling championships as straight knockout. All-Ireland groups of five teams could be constituted, as in the Sam Maguire, on the basis of provincial finals and league standing, in this case all of Division 1A and the top three in 1B. The McDonagh Cup winners would be accommodated the following season but the Tier 2 finalists could no longer slot into the same year's championship. This could give notional groups of: 1 – Kilkenny, Cork, Tipperary, Wexford and Offaly, and 2 – Limerick, Galway, Clare, Waterford and Dublin. Taking this year's starting point of the weekend of April 20th, such a schedule would fit into the calendar footprint and deliver All-Ireland semi-finals between the top two in each group. The big issue of course is the success of Munster. The idea of going back to sudden death would give poor Kieran Leddy the vapours. As Munster CEO he has rightly rhapsodised about the value of the provincial hurling championship. On course for a record total of nearly 330,000 spectators when the final on Saturday week is added, those numbers are roughly two-and-a-half times the figure for the last traditionally formatted championship, eight years ago. The issue may be that this is not guaranteed in the future, particularly if counties begin to slip out of sight, which is plainly the concern for Waterford. It would enhance the development of counties to be able to play for most of June. There would be a danger of dead rubbers with only two advancing, but if it extended a fairer, more sustainable structure to all counties, might it be worth a look?
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Summer brings different vibes for Waterford and Tyrone
'This year,' Denis Walsh reminds us, 'the group stages of the hurling championship started before the end of Lent and finished before Gary Lineker'. For those, like Waterford, who didn't make it through, it's brutal . Their manager Peter Queally 'had conversations with players who couldn't face a winter of training and meaningless league matches, only for their year to be over in the last month of spring'. He's pining for a format change that would at least send their season in to summer. Tyrone's footballers are heading for summer with a pep in their step after beating Donegal in Ballybofey last Saturday, Conor McManus reckoning that, once again, you could see the impact of the new rules . And after turning out for his club side, he got 'a bit of hands-on experience' with them himself. Next up for Tyrone is Mayo in Omagh on Saturday, but the latter, reports Seán Moran, will be without Kevin McStay at the helm after he stepped back from his managerial role due to 'some personal health issues'. In camogie, Gordon Manning talks to Katie Power about the two-week protest against skorts that, for the Kilkenny captain, 'felt like two months'. She and her Dublin counterpart Aisling Maher 'emerged as the embodiment of the campaign' after they were photographed wearing shorts prior to their Leinster semi-final. READ MORE In rugby, we have, writes Gerry Thornley, arrived at 'the era of the French' , Bordeaux Bègles' Champions Cup triumph the fifth in a row for a country this is now 'the heartbeat' of the European game. Who can challenge them? Leinster, with their financial might, 'remain the most viable contender by a distance'. Gerry also hears from Leinster old-boy Ross Molony who collected a Challenge Cup winner's medal after Bath's victory over Lyon. 'It's done wonders for my career,' he says of his move to the English club. His old chums face Scarlets in the quarter-finals of the URC on Saturday, but John O'Sullivan brings news that they will do so without the injured Tadhg Furlong and Robbie Henshaw . Jordan Larmour is, though, closing in on a return. And in his Whistleblower column, Owen Doyle is not impressed by news from World Rugby that the 20-minute red card , long in place in southern hemisphere rugby, will now be trialled globally - including during this summer's Lions tour. In football, we hear from the-soon-to-retire Louise Quinn and new recruit Erin Healy in the build-up to Ireland's Nations League meetings with Turkey and Slovenia, and in athletics, Ian O'Riordan talks to Sarah Healy about her improving her 3,000m best by almost four seconds at the Diamond League in Morocco. In his Different Strokes column, Philip Reid rounds up the golf news, including a frustrated Pádraig Harrington's reflections on tying for second at the US Senior PGA Championship, having led by two strokes in the final round. And in racing, Brian O'Connor has word on Ted Walsh's successful appeal against a €3,000 fine imposed on him under 'Non-Trier' rules earlier this month. The alleged non-trying horse, Ta Na La, remains banned for 60 days, though. TV Watch: There's more coverage from the French tennis Open through the day on TNT Sports (from 10am), and TNT Sports 3 has the 16th stage of cycling's Giro d'Italia, Mexico's Isaac del Toro leading the overall standings.
Irish Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Waterford find that rough winds and championship structures do shake the darling buds of May
Peter Queally walked into the press conference room in Páirc Uí Chaoimh with his hands buried deep in his pockets. The blank look on his face was just a front. Eight months of training and more than 10 months of planning since his appointment last August had just gone up in smoke. He spoke about refereeing decisions that reared up in their face and how proud he was of his players, but he didn't become animated until the conversation turned to the championship structure. At one time or another since its introduction in 2018, the provincial round-robin system has been good for every other county in hurling's established top nine, except Waterford . Waterford selector Dan Shanahan and manager Peter Queally saw long months of efforts come to naught against Cork. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho For the GAA, for hurling, for the coffers of the Munster Council, for TV viewing figures, for attendances, for lovers of the game and rubber-neckers alike, for excitement that doesn't need to be spun, for shocks and other stuff that defy explanation, it has been good for everyone. Except Waterford. In six seasons of the format, they have yet to emerge from the maze. In the two years of the pandemic, when that system was in cold storage, Waterford reached an All-Ireland final, a Munster final and an All-Ireland semi-final. In the year before the system was introduced, they also reached an All-Ireland final. All of that might be coincidental. READ MORE Queally's core point was about being habitually eliminated in May and how lunatic it was for intercounty teams to be finished before the summer has started. Long before now, he was familiar with that feeling: much of Queally's career as a Waterford player was in the era of straight knock-out when May was a lethal month all over the country, in football and hurling. In Queally's 14 years in a Waterford jersey he made just 20 appearances in the championship. That was a different kind of brutality. It is a much-changed environment now. Because the demands are heavier, players who commit to intercounty teams are taking a far greater risk with their time. Queally said that he had conversations with players who couldn't face a winter of training and meaningless league matches, only for their year to be over in the last month of spring. There was little consolation for Waterford and Shane Bennett after their defeat by Cork. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho He also made the point, which others have made before, that every football team is still alive in the championship. None of the teams that qualified for the Sam Maguire can be eliminated before the middle of June. The stragglers in the Tailteann Cup will be gone next weekend, but the rest will soldier on. Queally's complaint is the function of an unresolved calendar. This year, the group stages of the hurling championship started before the end of Lent and finished before Gary Lineker. The general kindness of the weather was a miracle. Consider this ridiculous anomaly. The Derry footballers played their first championship match in 48 days at the weekend. Yet the group stages of the provincial hurling championships were rattled off in 36 days: all 25 matches. It's like slugging a pint of stout in one swallow. Don't stop at the G. Queally's suggestion for a change in the format, though, went beyond reservations about the calendar. He proposed that the provincial hurling championships should be run off on the same footing as the provincial football championships, followed by a round-robin phase in which – just like football – counties from different provinces would be grouped together. 'Imagine the crowds that would go to a Waterford-Wexford game,' he said, 'or a Waterford-Kilkenny game.' Since the GAA started changing championship formats around the turn of the century, nothing has been off the table and maybe Queally's proposal will eventually get an airing. This year's Leinster hurling championship lacked zest because the usual shock results were absent. The Munster hurling championship was deflated by a couple of blowouts and Clare's weary implosion. It was the first year in six when both round-robin championships failed to meet feverish expectations. Looking into the future, a five-out-of-six strike rate is unsustainable. Is that a cause for worry? The Leinster football championship has survived, unaltered, on strike rate of about three or four out of 15 since 2010. Maybe that's being generous. I lost count. The Munster football championship has continued at a similar basement level of punter/player/pundit satisfaction over the same period. That's evidently safe from reform too. Cork's Brian Hayes goes past Gavin Fives and goalkeeper Billy Nolan of Waterford to score his side's opening goal on Sunday. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho It is tough for Waterford to peer into Leinster where the scrap for third place is typically between Dublin and Wexford, both of whom operate around Waterford's level. In the round-robin format, Galway have not always been formidable either. Waterford would flourish among that set of teams. But the attractiveness of the Munster championship is precisely that it is so cut-throat. Queally made that point too. 'We know how unforgiving the Munster championship is,' he said. 'That's the beauty of it.' In a later answer he said, 'We all want the cut and thrust of the Munster championship. We don't want to take from that.' In that case, two teams must suffer every year. It is heartbreaking that Waterford have suffered so much, but there is no way of softening it. The current format has broken attendance records in Munster for the third year in a row. It is the suspense and the smell of blood that brings the crowds back, year after year. But Queally is right about May. That is a scandal.
