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RTÉ News
22-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Monaghan boss slams New York semi-final inclusion as an 'absolute disgrace'
Monaghan hurling manager Arthur Hughes has labelled the decision to hand New York a Lory Meagher semi-final spot without playing a game "an absolute disgrace" ahead of their clash in Mullingar on Saturday. At Congress in February, a proposal from the Central Council and the CCCC passed allowing Richie Hartnett's side into the latter stages of the competition. However, speaking in Gaelic Life, Hughes took aim at officials and felt it was another blow for the five counties, which didn't include Monaghan, who were close to being excluded from the National League following a GAA suggestion two years ago. "I think it's an absolute disgrace. It's not that long ago the GAA were trying to get rid of five counties in Ireland from playing in the National League, and now the next thing they've done is bringing in New York. "It's an absolute joke in my opinion – you don't know what you're coming up against, what level they're at, and it's completely unfair to just fly a team into the semi-finals. If you're going to participate in a competition, you should be there from the start." Monaghan came through the group stages with one loss in five games and a late fightback against Longford last time out securing the draw needed to progress to the semi-finals with Cavan awaiting the winner. New York come into the game with a number of notable names in their panel, not least former Galway player Johnny Glynn, and won the Connacht League for the first time in January 2024 after defeating Mayo in the final. The New York footballers are also once again included in this season's Tailteann Cup where, as has been the case since 2023, they will enter at the preliminary quarter-final stage having been handed a quarter-final spot in the initial knock-out tournament in 2022. In defence, now former Fermanagh manager Joe Baldwin, who won the Lory Meagher Cup last year, expressed sympathy for how the change in format has impacted Monaghan but said it was hard to see how else New York could be accommodated. "New York have a right, Gaels have a right, to play in it," Baldwin told RTÉ Sport. "I suppose it's the only way to do it really. It's an amateur organisation and travelling back and forth to New York, it's not feasible. "From a Monaghan point of view, it, it gets them another game, and maybe the game could be good for them, maybe the rest could be good for them. Only time will tell. "But if New York are as strong as people are saying, it's going to be really disappointing for Monaghan. "We knew about it at the start of the year. So it's one of those things you just have to get on with. "But I'm hoping that Monaghan can get a result this weekend and we get a Cavan-Monaghan final."
The 42
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Start spreading the news: New York hurlers are on their way for the Lory Meagher
LOOK, HE'S NOT blind to all this. New York hurling manager Richie Hartnett is aware of all the chatter. That when they line out on Saturday against Monaghan in the semi-final of the Lory Meagher Cup, the bookmakers are not even offering odds on the eventual winner, given how strong the Exiles are. 'Of course, we don't live under a rock out here. We know what people are saying on social media and whatnot,' he says on a trans-Atlantic phonecall as he is driving his son Dáithí along to U10 football training. Take this example. In November 2023, five Lory Meagher counties at the time: Fermanagh, Cavan, Longford, Leitrim and Louth reacted with anger that there was a proposal to scrap the county teams competing in the national hurling leagues. The rationale of the proposal was that counties with under five clubs playing adult hurling would have funding diverted to juvenile activity. At the time, the five counties had 13 adult clubs between them. New York currently have 14. There is a caveat to that number. New York have six senior teams, five at junior level and three at Junior B. The junior B clubs are made up of New York-born kids who found the going tough to compete for a spot on the established teams rammed with Irish-born players. Junior B was designed to give these players an opportunity to play adult level, while they were also facilitated with an opportunity to be 'drafted up' to play senior hurling to reward their development. All the same, there are levels. And no sport in Ireland exposes levels like hurling. After competing in the Connacht shield in 2023, New York beat Leitrim in the final by 22 points. Last year, they beat Mayo by 13 points in the final proper, played in Bekan. The point needs to be acknowledged: is there any other national competition in Gaelic games in which a team is parachuted in with clearly talented players and bigger numbers, receiving a de-facto bye for the first five rounds? They arrive back to dear old Erin on Wednesday with a tasty team on the flight. Johnny Glynn of Galway All-Ireland winning fame is their captain. They have Sean O'Leary Hayes, the former Cork hurler among their number. Advertisement 'We were lucky to get Johnny back, I'm sure you have seen enough in the news about Johnny travelling back and forth to play with Galway. But he is fully committed this year to New York,' Hartnett said. New York manager Richie Hartnett. Evan Logan / INPHO Evan Logan / INPHO / INPHO 'He's some addition. The man has played at the top level and won an All-Ireland. He's a big leader for us. 'Most of the team would have played county at some level, underage or whatever.' The travelling party number is 40 – 31 are players and then the rest made up of management and tour organisers. Among them, Mick Stones is a Westmeath man who is a mainstay of Westmeath New York GAA club. As a major funder of underage activities back home, he has been sorting out access to local pitches. Mike Hynes has been active in fundraising. They arrive with coaches, selectors, strength and conditioning coaches, goalkeeper coaches. The works. 'We are actually going to be based in Mullingar for the semi-final and for most of the duration after it. Obviously we are going home with the hope of winning a semi-final which is not guaranteed but we plan to travel for ten or 11 days,' Hartnett says. 'Originally the semi-final was meant to be in Parnell Park and then we got lucky and it got switched to Mullingar during the week. It's handy for us that way, we don't have to travel to Dublin for the game. But then we will, if we get to the final, we will find a base in Dublin.' Hartnett's exile tale is a thoroughly modern one. From the north Kerry hurling heartland of Ballyheigue, he graduated with an engineering degree from Tralee IT in 2008 and rewarded himself by applying for a year's visa and a summer playing hurling in the States. He secured work with a glazing firm and as the year was drawing to a close, told them of his impending departure. They made him an offer he couldn't refuse and sorted a three-year visa. Plans to get an honours degree in Napier University in Edinburgh were put on hold. 'My own outlook on it changed then. I would do the three years and see what it was like after that. I eventually got the Green Card and citizenship,' he says. 'So it was never really planned, but that's the way it fell.' In time, he met and married Aine Dempsey of Athenry, Galway and they have Dáithí and Aoife now. Hartnett's son Dáithí celebrates with the New York hurlers. Evan Logan / INPHO Evan Logan / INPHO / INPHO Three years ago, he struck out on his own, working at glazing, curtain walling and that line of work. From the 23-year-old seeking adventure, to the 40-year-old now, he has served as the New York hurling board chairman, manager of Waterford NY seniors and New York hurlers as well as coaching multiple underage teams. In short, he gets it. He knows the importance attached to playing for a county team. New York's attempts at playing in competitions before have brought headaches. In 2006, they were in the Ulster championship and put a major spanner in the works by beating Derry in a semi-final. That year's final against Antrim was put on ice. Originally scheduled for 4 June, New York could not travel due to visa concerns around some of their players. The New York manager Monty Moloney called the Antrim players 'cowards' in an interview that raised eyebrows. That score was settled on 22 October. Antrim flew out to Boston and paraded behind the Boston Police Gaelic Column Pipes and Drums Band before beating New York 2-20 to 1-14 at Canton Field. The controversy continued however as Malachy Molloy took a belt to the head with a hurl and suffered a broken jaw and extensive dental damage. By the time Hartnett arrived, representative hurling was patchy. In 2013, they sent a team over to play in a tournament in Galway to celebrate 'The Gathering'. Three years ago, with a different profile of players working in secure employment and visa-d up, they dipped their toes back in with appearances at the World Games and then the Connacht hurling league. The elevation of New York's Larry McCarthy to GAA President hastened their increased participation. It went to another level in February in Donegal town at GAA Congress when the vote was taken to include them in the Lory Meagher Cup. Some voiced opposition to the move, including Cavan, who await the winners of Saturday's game in the final. Cavan and Monaghan have already played five games in the tournament to top the group. Offaly chairman Michael Duignan spoke in favour of the move and it was carried with a 76.8% vote. At the other side of the Atlantic, Hartnett was buzzing with anticipation. Michael Duignan speaking at Congress in favour of New York's inclusion. Leah Scholes / INPHO Leah Scholes / INPHO / INPHO 'I was refreshing Twitter every 30 seconds! I was getting text messages and updates and stuff,' he says. 'I guess the main feeling was relief. Because we had started at training in the middle of December with the understanding that we were in the competition. The fixture had been put up in the GAA calendar and we got notified as a team management that, 'hold on a second, this has to be passed at Congress!' 'So we tried to keep it from the players a bit so that they were focussed fully on preparing and getting ready.' Related Reads Here's this week's GAA inter-county schedule and TV coverage John Kiely: 'We got beaten by Cork twice last year. You have to deliver' The Dropzone: How will Limerick and Cork wage the puckout wars? He adds, 'I get the side of those who are objecting to it. These teams are playing a round robin and they have put in a lot of work as well. And to see us coming in at semi-final stage, having not played a round robin is tough on them.' After meeting up in December and laying out a six-week gym programme, they got onto the pitch in mid-February. Soon after, they had a challenge match against Limerick's South Liberties club, over on a trip. The only other game they had was against the Boston club, Father Tom's. 'But I guess that's the main thing that lets us down. We have no competitive games here whereas Monaghan will have the ten or 12 games played outside of challenge games under their belt and they will be used to conditions,' says Hartnett. 'We train in Gaelic Park and it's astroturf. Going home playing on a heavy, wet day wouldn't be something we would be used to here. 'We got back into the gym in the second week in December and we gave them a six-week programme in the gym and then went back out on the field in the middle of February and had that challenge game soon after. It gave us an idea of where we are at. 'After that, it's just been A v B games and working entirely with the players we have.' As widespread as the internet is, they haven't been able to track down any footage of Monaghan. The local media strangely do not devote huge swathes of space to dissecting their puckout strategy. New York have to refer back to the famous Lieutenant Frank Drebin line: like the blind man at the orgy, they will have to feel their way. 'We honestly don't know,' says Hartnett. 'We are going home to do what we can and try to win. Whether we go and win by ten points or lose by ten points, we don't know. 'We are starting from the bottom and whether we are good enough to get to the Nickey Rackard in one year or two years, we will be there and keep going.' **** Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
