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Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Legacy of John O'Mahony to be remembered at star-studded event in Ballaghaderreen
On Friday, August 8, RTÉ broadcaster Marty Morrisey will host 'A Life Lived On The Line' in the company of Galway senior football manager Pádraic Joyce; Armagh senior football manager Kieran McGeeney; former Roscommon senior football captain and manager, Fergal O'Donnell; former Leitrim footballer Declan Darcy; former Kerry footballer Marc Ó Sé; former Mayo and Donegal footballer Martin Carney; current Galway footballer John Maher; current Mayo and Ballaghaderreen footballer, David McBrien and Newstalk broadcaster Tommy Rooney. The evening will take place in St Nathy's College in Ballaghaderreen, the secondary school where Mr O'Mahony taught for many years and received his secondary education. The Kilmovee native guided Mayo and Leitrim to Connacht titles and Galway to two All-Ireland titles across an illustrious managerial career that spanned several decades. He was mourned across Connacht and further afield when he passed away last year at the age of 71 following an illness. Large crowds gathered in Ballaghaderreen for his funeral, where he was given a guard of honour by the local GAA club. Ballaghaderreen wore special commemorative jerseys in that year's senior football championship in his honour. In recent times, the former Fine Gael TD was featured in RTÉ's 'Hell For Leather', a documentary on the history of Gaelic football which was recorded before his passing. 'A Life Lived On The Line' takes place as part of the Ballaghaderreen Arts Festival, which takes place between August 2 and August 10.
Irish Times
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Darragh Ó Sé: Kerry and Donegal are operating at a level above because everyone knows their role
You think you were disappointed by the All-Ireland semi-finals? Imagine how Pádraic Joyce and Dessie Farrell must feel. I don't think there's any doubt that the two best teams are in the final – Kerry and Donegal have sprinted away from the pack over the past couple of weeks. But Galway and Dublin should be kicking themselves for being beaten by Meath and Tyrone . They both lost fair and square, no question about it. But they both know that they had the winning of those games and made a mess of them. The Dubs did the same against Armagh in the group stages and didn't learn their lesson. These games come down to more than pure footballing ability. They have to be managed properly by the players on the pitch. That's one of the things that really struck me over the weekend. Kerry and Donegal are on a roll and they each have a group of players hitting top form at the right time. But beyond the skills of the game, you're talking about two very mature groups who know what they're trying to achieve at this stage. When I got back from Dublin on Saturday evening, I watched the Kerry game again. And the thing that jumped out at me nearly most of all was Jason Foley's interview with RTÉ at the side of the pitch afterwards. In the space of four or five minutes he talked more sense than the three boys standing next to him had talked in the previous two hours. There was nothing contrived about it, nothing complicated. It was simple, direct and to the point. It told me that there is great clarity in the Kerry dressingroom at the minute, a sense that everybody knows the plan and their role in it. Don't underestimate how important that is. When you're talking about a game that's going a million miles an hour, the messages can't be too complicated. Not everyone in your dressingroom is as quick on the uptake as the others. Every fella can only go at his own pace – a few of us often needed something explained more than once or twice. Tyrone's Eoin McElholm and Kerry's Jason Foley during Saturday's semi-final at Croke Park. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Donegal are very similar in that regard. Watch them on the pitch – for all the talk about Jim McGuinness, the players are nearly self-policing at this stage. You don't often see them take the wrong shot or play the wrong pass. And if you do, it's followed by one of their team-mates giving them an earful for it. They remind me of Jim Gavin's Dublin team that way. Learn the plan, stick to the plan, execute the plan. That's what wins All-Irelands. Look at the Kerry midfield and you can see it in action. They've been without Diarmuid O'Connor, who started the year as their number one midfielder. They've lost Barry Dan O'Sullivan, who everyone assumed would be in the mix as well. Nobody went into the championship thinking Kerry would be comprehensively winning an All-Ireland semi-final with Joe O'Connor, Mark O'Shea and Sean O'Brien out around the middle. But the three of them have settled into their roles. O'Shea and O'Brien are playing their part. Nothing spectacular, nothing out of the ordinary. They're in there fighting for kickouts, wrestling with the big fellas in the opposition, doing the dirty work. And by doing that, they're freeing O'Connor up and allowing him to have the summer of his life. Joe is a big strong boy. What has impressed me most about him is that he's not one bit shy about being a big strong boy. He knows he's going to take timber when he's tackled but he's bulling into contact anyway. You can see him saying, 'It's going to be you or me here – and it's not going to be me. So either foul me or get out of the way.' The new rules have moved his game to a whole new level. He was always a decent, consistent player at club level, but in the old game you weren't sure how useful he'd be at intercounty. The simple reason for that is that goalkeepers were going short with most of the kickouts so a big fetching midfielder like Joe O'Connor wasn't going to shine. Donegal goalkeeper Shaun Patton looks on as smoke from a flare billows onto the pitch during Sunday's semi-final against Meath. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho How could he? Winning kickouts is a skill and like any skill it has to be practised. There's two parts of the equation – it's a relationship between the goalkeeper and the midfielder and you have to learn each other's likes and dislikes. What kind of ball to do you prefer? What side? What trajectory? All this stuff has to be worked on to become second nature in the heat of battle. But when 80 per cent of the kickouts were being chipped to the corner-back, who is going to know – or care – if a player like Joe O'Connor is worth having in the team? He might only have three or four sent his way altogether in a game. But now there's more chance for him to practice, more chances for him to shine, more room for him to run into when Kerry have possession. You can see he's loving every minute of it. Donegal are loving the new rules as well. The kickout one is well suited to them with Shaun Patton in goals. I loved what they did for the first kickout of the second half – with the wind behind him, Patton launched a kickout that landed past the Meath 45 and bounced into the arc. Donegal didn't even go and contest it. It was obvious what Patton was doing. He was sending Meath a message. This is how far I can kick the ball with the wind at my back. If you want to press up on me, knock yourself out. But all it will take is one kick over the top and we're in for a goal. Are ye really going to risk it? Donegal have gathered themselves for the run at Sam Maguire and they're operating at a level above. You can say the very same about Kerry. It should make for a hell of a final.
Irish Independent
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘I'm not going to make any rash decisions' – Pádraic Joyce on his managerial future after Galway exit All-Ireland
Pádraic Joyce won't be rushing a decision on his managerial future after Galway were stunned by Meath in an All-Ireland SFC quarter-final that came alive in the final quarter.
RTÉ News
23-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Pádraic Joyce: 'I wouldn't say we were ever off-track'
Pádraic Joyce feels Galway were never "off track" in their All-Ireland SFC quest after seeing his side emerge from a testing preliminary quarter-final against Down with a spot in the last-eight. The Tribesmen held on for a two-point victory in Newry on Sunday, having come through a tough run of games in the round-robin phase. And there will be little time to rest on their laurels with a quarter-final against Meath to come this weekend following Monday's morning draw for the latter stages. So Joyce is putting freshness at the top of the agenda in their preparation. "We'll meet on Tuesday night and Thursday night and we'll play at the weekend but we'll assess what lads need," Galway manager Joyce told RTÉ Sport's Siobhan Madigan as he reflected on getting past Down. "Some lads need a bit of work, some don't, because it's just the recovery and to get them fresh from Croke Park because they'll need every ounce of Croke Park with the size of the pitch and obviously we're going to be playing a team that's been sitting at home for two weeks and fresh and ready to go. "So we've a bit of work to do but the big thing for us is to get everybody as fresh as we can next Saturday or Sunday or whenever we're playing." Joyce added that he never felt his side were "off track" despite a mixed group campaign which saw them lose to Dublin, draw with Derry and edge past Armagh. "I've learned an awful lot about our players' character and their personas in those games so I wouldn't say we were ever off-track. "We are in the last eight, we always wanted to be there and we'll aim to be in the last four for next Sunday as well." As for the game itself, Joyce paid tribute to Down for the way in which they pushed his side throughout the contest. "It was a super game, probably another close one for Galway to watch. It finished up a huge high-scoring game but delighted to get out the right side of it because Down were fantastic," he said, adding that the Mournemen would be "a force to be reckoned with in the future" under Conor Laverty's stewardship. "They had brilliant support here, great crowd here, great atmsophere, pitch is in brilliant condition and refereed really, really well I thought. So we're happy out to get out of here with a two-point victory. We would take it all day long, so we're happy." One area of concern during periods of the match were their own kickouts, Joyce admitted. "We looked at probably maybe putting in another keeper in as well, Connor (Gleeson), he has a bit more distance," he said. "But look, in fairness to Conor Flaherty, he gathered himself up there really well and we got control of it near the end again but we were under a bit of pressure in fairness." Meanwhile, Galway forward Shane Walsh contributed a haul of 1-07 and like his manager, he felt that their difficult run of games in the All-Ireland series to date have been proving beneficial. "We're edging up as time goes on. I think the three games in the group have stood to us. They were three really tough games," he said. "Derry are probably the most unlucky team in the country, not to be still in the competition given the games they put up. That was the most ferocious game I think I've ever played in, up there. "Obviously, you're probably delighted in a way because you don't have to see them again. But at the same time, you'd hate to be in their position because they were so unfortunate to go out." Walsh was also pleased that he and his team-mates were ultimately able to withstand Down's stirring comeback in the latter period of the game. "No lead really is safe in football these days," he said. "Every team, when you get momentum, it's about trying to kill that momentum. It's so hard, the game has gotten so quick. "It's so dictated on the kickout. If you get on top of a kickout for a couple of minutes, you can make hay." The praise was not just one-way with Down manager Conor Laverty tipping Galway to be conteders once again as the championship enters its most intense period on the road towards Sam Maguire. "Galway have been knocking on the door for a number of years, have a lot of experience in their team. They've got a brilliant management team and I think that once they get out of this now and once they get to Croke Park, I think you'll see an even different side of them," he said. As for his own team, Laverty expressed mixed emotions but pride in his players was right towards the top of the concoction. "We did not want today to be our last day, that's the truth. We talked all week about that," he said. "But I'm massively proud of the group of players, where they've come from to put that level of performance in, to never say die, to keep going. You couldn't be anything but proud of them. "And even in that, I still think there's more levels in this team as well, even for key learnings at different times as well but listen, we're gutted now.
Irish Examiner
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
'A lot of aspects we wouldn't be happy with' says Pádraic Joyce as Galway edge thriller with Down
DOWN 3-21 (3-4-13) GALWAY 2-26 (2-5-16) In this great football championship, there is no time to cherish just how brilliant these games have been. Galway will move on quickly because they have to. Down will be thanked for playing their part in the second gem in the space of seven days but they will be soon forgotten and this will simply be filed on the growing pile of thrillers this competition has produced. The intense schedule of the championship gives us such small periods to anticipate but reflect too. We are being spoiled and we probably don't even know it because the frequency, not the amount of matches means this scintillating action is merely content. Perhaps later in the year Down's contribution to this fete of football will be acknowledged with an All Star for Odhrán Murdock. He was again immense here. His 64th minute goal brought Down within two points and threatened to spook Galway. After Tomo Culhane's goal and a follow-up point from another substitute Daniel O'Flaherty four minutes later, Pádraic Joyce's side were able to absorb another body blow when Ryan Magill found the net. Céin D'Arcy took plenty out of the sting out of that setback with a point to push Galway four up in the final minute. Ryan McEvoy's two-pointer after the buzzer was mere consolation. 'In fairness to our experienced lads, Peter Cooke made a massive difference when he came on the pitch,' said Pádraic Joyce. 'Tomo got a great goal, Daniel O'Flaherty got two points. 'Our bench has made a massive impact in the last couple of games, as it did today. Johnny Heaney came on after a head injury for Cillian [McDaid], he handled the ball three or four times and minded the ball really, really well. 'A lot of aspects we'd be really happy with, obviously a lot of aspects we wouldn't be happy with and the amount of scores we conceded. But it was that kind of game anyways, it was going to be open. We couldn't have it every way. Happy to get out of here with the win, to be honest.' The 14,435 crowd in Newry's Páirc Esler were genuinely treated to a spectacle and Galway were too good a team to depart at this relatively early juncture but just how many more of these close shaves they can keep enduring in such quick succession is questionable. All the same, they are demonstrating resolve and reserve by the bucketload. If the 1-8 from play return of the Cork inside line on Saturday evening was impressive, Galway's total of 1-13 was wonderful. In light of him turning on the charm once more with a total personal tally of 1-7, the extent of Shane Walsh's shoulder setback will exercise most supporters's minds ahead of their All-Ireland quarter-final. Assisted in no small part by the breeze, Galway's 10-point half-time lead (1-16 to 1-6) was sliced in half in less than four second-half minutes, The margin returned to eight in the 42nd minute but was whittled down to two by the 58th as Conor Flaherty couldn't find white shirts. Daniel Guinness sent over his second two-pointer and substitute Caolan Mooney added back-to-back points and Joyce twice summoned for Connor Gleeson to be ready to come on. However, the change never came. Substitute Cooke was becoming a presence. A Walsh two-point free despite him being clearly lame put Galway five ahead prior to Cooke having a shot kept out by Burns. The finale, the three goals, was popcorn-worthy. There had to be a tragic hero and Murdock made the role his own with his 64th minute goal. In the first quarter between woodwork and parts of Ronan Burns's anatomy, Galway left 2-3 on the pitch. Robert Finnerty was first to be denied by the young Down goalkeeper in the 15th minute and Cillian McDaid was stopped by Burns less than three minutes. Those openings had come after a 14th minute goal by John McGeough that was a casebook example of the lightning dash to Down's football in this championship. The home side had been under immense pressure on their kick-out and conceded five points in a row including a Finnerty two-pointer when a long boot from Burns landed over the Galway cover and Murdock drove forward and supplied McGeough for a tidy finish. At the third time of asking, Galway raised a green flag in the 22nd minute as Walsh took receipt of a Matthew Thompson pass and tucked the ball. However, it was not without controversy as Down's Patrick McCarthy was on the ground with a head injury when Galway turned over the ball in their own half. The Down management were apoplectic on the sideline and made their case to referee Derek O'Mahoney again at half-time. Yet their team's reaction to the setback was strong: Danny Magill sent over a quick brace of points and McCarthy's temporary replacement Eugene Branagan completed a hat-trick of unanswered scores. That 26th minute score, however, was Down's last of the half as Walsh made the game his own for the remainder. He sailed over the first of two-pointers in the 28th minute and caught the next kick-out ball that put in train the attack for a Finnerty point. Walsh brought his personal total to 1-3 with a point on the half-hour mark and then hurt his shoulder when winning a two-point free, which he converted a minute later. Thompson ended the half with three points himself, the second a two-pointer, to give Galway that handsome 10-point lead. In keeping with a championship where no advantage feels secure, it ended up being just about enough. Scorers for Down: O. Murdock (1-2); J. McGeough (1-1); D. Guinness (0-4, 2tps); R. McGill (1-0); D. Magill, M. Rooney (tp), P. Havern (frees), C. Mooney, R. McEvoy (tp) (0-2 each): E. Branagan, A. Crimmins (free), C. Doherty, J. Guinness (0-1 each). Scorers for Galway: S. Walsh (1-7, 2tpfs, 1 tp); R. Finnerty (0-6, 1tp, 1 free); M. Thompson (0-5, 1tp); T. Culhane (1-0); C. McDaid, M. Tierney, D. O'Flaherty (0-2 each); P. Cooke, C. Darcy (0-1 each). DOWN: R. Burns; C. Doherty, P. Fegan, P. Laverty; D. Magill, R. Magill, M. Rooney; D. Guinness, O. Murdock (c); J. Guinness, P. Havern, P. McCarthy; J. McGeough, R. McEvoy, A. Crimmins. Subs: E. Branagan for P. McCarthy (temp 22-26); E. Branagan for P. McCarthy (h-t); C. Mooney for J. McGeough (53); O. Savage for C. Doherty (58); C. McCrickard for A. Crimmins (62); F. Murdock for M. Rooney (66). GALWAY: C. Flaherty; J. McGrath, S. Fitzgerald, L. Silke; D. McHugh, S. Kelly (c), C. Hernon; P. Conroy, J. Maher; C. D'Arcy, M. Tierney, C. McDaid; R. Finnerty, M. Thompson, S. Walsh. Subs: P. Cooke for P. Conroy (48); D. O'Flaherty for C. Hernon (57); J. Heaney for C. McDaid (temp 61-69); T. Culhane for S. Walsh (62); J. Daly for J. Maher (67). Referee: D. O'Mahoney (Tipperary).
