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The Irish Sun
29-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Aaron Kernan backs Armagh to stun Dublin but he'll need RTÉ radio to hear it
AARON KERNAN was still motoring with Armagh when they last collided with Dublin in the Championship. But with a drive home from Dr Hyde Park to be tackled, the former Orchard ace admits he will be depending on 2 Aaron Kernan reckons Armagh will beat Dublin in this weekend's Championship clash 2 The former Armagh star revealed why he'll have to listen to the clash on the radio As defence coach with Sligo, a showdown with a different Leinster opponent will be Kernan's top priority on Sunday afternoon as the Yeats men face Kildare in a Tailteann Cup tie in Roscommon. Still, the 2005 Young Footballer of the Year hopes to be back in the car in time to follow events from Croke Park over the airwaves. And the journey to Bernard Brogan played a leading role for the Sky Blues in the 2010 All-Ireland third-round qualifier, racking up 0-9 as they ran out 0-14 to 0-11 winners. READ MORE ON GAA There were parallels too with the current campaign as Dublin were still healing from a shock Leinster Kernan recalled: "They were in an unusual place. That was the year they shipped the five goals against Meath. "So they were trying to find their feet between being defensively solid and not taking away from what their strengths were in an attacking sense. 'Looking back now, or even at the time, I'm not sure that we had the genuine confidence or belief within our group that we were capable of going and beating Dublin in Croke Park. Most read in GAA Football 'I think maybe if it had been a home game at that stage in the Athletic Grounds, we might have been the sort of team that could have performed an ambush. But the genuine belief wasn't there within us.' En route to claiming the Sam Maguire for the first time in their history, Armagh were steered to victory over Dublin by Kernan's father Joe in the 2002 All-Ireland semi-finals. RTE pundit Joe Canning urges GAA to make huge change for Leinster hurling final as fans 'totally agree' With the two games drawing a combined attendance of 142,529 to HQ, the Ulster side prevailed again when the teams contested a qualifier the following summer. As Armagh continue their All-Ireland title defence against a Dublin side buoyed by their win over last year's runners-up Galway, Kernan expects a much greater turn-out this weekend than the 25,947 that attended the 2010 clash. He continued: 'I know it certainly wasn't the same spectacle that there was in 2002, 2003 in that qualifier game, or that All-Ireland semi-final where they played Dublin in packed Croke Parks and even league games at that stage. 'The 2003 league game, I think there were 82,000 people at it at the start of January, so they were the good times in Armagh football and good times in Ireland as a whole in terms of crowds that were turning out. 'But you'd have to think, given the Armagh support and how well they travel in numbers, and particularly Dublin, what they've given their fans, you'd hope again that if you had 50,000-plus, it would still be a brilliant spectacle. 'I think the Leinster final with 60,000 there showed that when you have a good contest and you have a crowd there, Croke Park fairly comes alive. Ultimately that's what players want, that's what you thrive on and that's what all the sacrifice is being done for. It's big days like that." Another agonising Ulster final defeat to Donegal was put to one side by Armagh as they made a winning start in the so-called Group of Death by holding off a late comeback from Derry. After their bid for a 15th Leinster title on the bounce was foiled by Meath, Dublin also needed an emphatic response when they went to Salthill. And Kernan admits to being 'very impressed' by the manner in which Dessie Farrell's side eked out a one-point win on a day when leading roles were played by the likes of Con O'Callaghan and Ciarán Kilkenny. He said: 'You were sort of wondering where they were at after going out against Meath. Obviously the key personnel that they would have lost from last year. "You were sort of wondering who was going to pick up the pieces or was there going to be a genuine confidence within the group that they could turn it around themselves. 'To be fair, that was the biggest thing that stood out – the desire to go and do the dirty stuff that they had across the board. But it was led by their key people, particularly the likes of Con and Ciarán Kilkenny. 'So it was very, very impressive for them to go away and absolutely what was a very tough group got a hell of a lot tougher. 'That one is going to go right down to the wire – there's no doubt about that. That'll be the last kick of the game in both of those final days to see who even makes it out for the preliminary quarter-final, never mind going straight to a quarter-final." It was fellow Armagh man Tony McEntee who opened the door for Kernan to get involved in coaching at inter-county level for the first time as he joined the Sligo set-up for 2025. SLIGO ROLE And he is revelling in the role as they prepare for the meeting with Kildare, which is a straight shoot-out for top spot in Group 1 and a direct ticket to a Tailteann quarter-final. The Crossmaglen Rangers man said: 'A super group to be involved in. Mad keen to learn and keen to improve not only themselves. "But the county as a whole, because they've been making great strides, particularly with what they've been doing at underage and club level. 'So it's been brilliant to be part of that in terms of where we are at the moment obviously. "The two wins in the Tailteann Cup sets us off nicely for a table-top clash against Kildare, so after a poor league start, I think we learned – well. "I learned – a huge amount in terms of a coaching point of view, in terms of setbacks, and then really since then the whole group has been in an upward trajectory. 'But across the board, certainly an enjoyable and valuable learning experience personally.' *AARON KERNAN was speaking in his role as a BoyleSports ambassador.
The 42
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'If I was in that changing room right now, the blood would be flowing'
SOMEHOW, IT'S BEEN eight years since Sean Cavanagh last kicked a ball for Tyrone. During a 16-season senior career he won three All-Ireland titles, six Ulster titles, two National Leagues. Five All-Stars. A Young Footballer of the Year and a Footballer of the year. Captain of Ireland and winning International Rules series. He's still the holder of the record number of appearances for Tyrone. 239 times, as it happens. 196 in league and championship. 89 in championship. After county retirement, came an All-Ireland intermediate title with The Moy. Then seasons spent as player-manager. Controversy as a pundit with surprising comments about his former manager Mickey Harte. Business interests mushrooming and exploding. Tyrone never really replaced him. Neither have The Moy as he targets another season playing for them at 42. Here, he gets to the very heart of what still drives him. Declan Bogue: I was in Dungannon last year for a club championship match, standing behind the goals. I was watching you play in the intermediate championship game against The Rock and chatting to your former team mate Peter Donnelly. And I just asked him, like, what is that man doing? At his age? What has he left to prove? Sean Cavanagh: Do you know what, like, ironically now, I probably am able to appreciate the game more for the game itself. Through my county career, there's probably something inside me that I don't even understand what it is, but I demented myself through my kind of career. Like, I literally put myself to extremes that I know you'll always hear people say this, and a lot of the top people have it naturally, but if I was to tell you some of the things that I've done . . . if you were to speak to my wife Fionnuala and you were to get a list of some of the extremities that I went to whenever I was playing with county football, you'd say you're either lying or you're mad. I did player-manager for a few years, just as I was wrapping up and I took one year out. Actually, we end up getting relegated the year I took out. I said, 'look I'll just park it. I'm done.' As of right now, I haven't gone back yet this year. I've played a couple of training matches there the last couple of weeks, but I might, probably, will go back. With brother Colm Cavanagh after they won an All-Ireland intermediate title with The Moy in 2018. Ken Sutton / INPHO Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO It's only now I'm able to kind of enjoy the game whereby, for the most part of my career I was either physically torturing myself (or) training to levels that you would never understand. The whole irony is a lot of clients who don't even know the game, they go, 'Oh, you're the man who brought in the black card.' Whenever I was young coming through, I took a lot of abuse myself. I was maybe a marked man, and a lot of games I played probably weren't at times all that enjoyable because of that, you know, because I was getting physically manhandled. So ironically, now, the age of 42, I'll be able to go into the games, not be the main player, but yet enjoy the game for what it is. DB: You've four children now? SC: Two girls; Eva 14, Clara 12, Sean 7, and Lorcan's just turned 5 there, so four, and they're doing a lot of sports and things. I'm able to enjoy it. Every year I started as a Tyrone player, I had only one thing in my mind and that's, I'm being honest with you, it's just 'We're going to win another Ireland and I'm gonna give everything'. I remember the day I retired and I woke up the next morning and I went for a game of golf actually in Armagh. I remember someone saying to me, 'Are you going to miss it?' Not one day have I missed county football because I knew I left everything I could give to that, to that part of my life. I could not give any more. DB: Has the frustration you felt with Mickey Harte dimmed? You had one year under Art McRory and Eugene McKenna and 15 years under Mickey. That's some length of time to sustain a relationship. SC: I only had one year of Big Art and I absolutely adored the man. The impact he had on my career, and like ironically I didn't play all that much. I injured my ankle midsummer in in 2002 and I missed the Sligo game we lost. But some of the things he did for me! Even I was quite overweight and stuff, and I remember he used to very directly, but with like a joke with a jag. I remember one day I was sitting eating a bag of Tayto cheese and onion. I didn't eat salad sandwiches and the pre-match meals were salad sandwiches. We had a qualifier match down in Wexford, went to the shop, come back with a Tayto cheese and onion and a Snickers. He's looking at me and he was like, 'You know, big Cavanagh, if you get rid of that shit, you know, you're gonna be one of the best players in Ireland.' But aye, Mickey was, I actually think me and Mickey are very similar, you know. He's an incredibly competitive person and, and someone who came in and give us an incredible sort of winning attitude. But, look, there always was misunderstanding. Books complicate things. I'm sure if he was sitting here he would maybe see it differently than I did, but after the Cork game in 2009 Fionnuala's dad came in one day and he goes, 'do you see what's in the Sunday Times?' It was around the time Mickey was releasing a book and it was the headline was, 'The roof caved in on him,' about me not playing against Cork that day in the semi-final and I suppose that's that. Didn't do our relationship any good. Put it like that. But equally, I'm a great man at being able to put things into compartments in my life, move on very quickly. You'll have seen plenty of footage over the years after that, he'd made me captain in what's it, 2014-odd and I had some amazing times and even I remember after we won the games in 2013, we made the semi-final as well, plenty images where me and Mickey were as close as we ever were. With Mickey Harte in 2016. Lorraine.O'Sullivan Lorraine.O'Sullivan Things get muddied somewhat. Whenever I spent a bit of time then doing The Sunday Game and you have to make a comment. I remember making a comment that maybe, maybe it was coming up to the time that Mickey would look at making a bit of a change. And I think a lot of people saw that as a sort of some sort of a direct dig, but it never was. Like any 16-year relationship, there's always gonna be these wee moments of highs and lows, and I think everyone sometimes only sees the lows. I think if we're both being honest with each other, both of us loved Tyrone so fecking much! We're just very, very competitive as people and it's, it's sort of… I think I'm able to now as a 42 year old and an adult who sees life moving on very quickly . . . DB: Your business is brisk. You have accountancy firms in Dungannon, Omagh, Moy, Armagh, London. That's very busy. SC: I am involved in a London Irish Centre over there. I'm a trustee in at the Camden Centre. I'd had a lot of, a lot of friends and clients that were involved in that and brought me into the Centre a few years ago and I've fairly heavily involved ever since that, but yeah; very real, very real. A lot of people come to London in the '50s and '60s and literally had nothing and there's still the sort of dorms there at that Centre that a lot of people stayed in. DB: The Irish that came at that point, a huge number of them worked in hard jobs and had to keep their foremen sweet with drink, send a lot of money home, they weren't paying their stamp and they kept the Irish economy afloat at home. SC: And equally now, I see it in a business context where a lot of those people have now amazing businesses and you'd go, 'God, fair play, you're now running a business that has like I don't know, 200 million turnover,' and they'll go, 'I came over here and I had nothing. For the first ten years, I slept rough or I went to the Centre. 'I had no money to buy food and went to the Centre and they give me hot meals three times a week or something like and that sort of thing that kept me going.' Advertisement You don't have to look too far anywhere around the world, the Irish communities are still alive and well and people have always been very good to one another. DB: Your autobiography said a great deal about how hard work shaped your whole family. SC: I worked here (the Ryandale Hotel) as a 13 year old. I worked in a bar as a 13 year old. Mum washed the dishes. She was originally a cleaner here, sort of graduated on to be a cook. Dad's a labourer and still is a labourer and still to this day working at 72. He labours to a plasterer and mixes the plaster to put into the buckets. And I never had a minute as a kid in a summer holiday. I was woken up at 6 in the morning and told, 'Come on, you're coming to me on site,' so I went and I laboured with my dad, wheeling wheelbarrows and then worked in the evenings in the bar. Then I worked in a bar in The Four Seasons, Club Mex up in Monaghan. Never stopped. I'd get home probably about 4:15, the music stopped at like 2:30, and you always took about an hour to get red up. And then Tyrone minor training on a Sunday morning. My mum and dad aren't, they're not wealthy people by any means. But they're incredibly hardworking people. Both of them worked two jobs all my life, and they were manual jobs. Mummy was a cleaner and a cook, and Dad, as of right now, still has two jobs, labouring to a plasterer and he still is doing the door in Club Mex, four nights a week. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, he's not home until half four in the morning and then he gets up on the Monday morning and goes labouring. But you know what, that was the best thing that they ever gave me, you know, because it taught me that relationship between work and rewarding. I know sometimes people say this and it makes it sound very glossy and whatever, but it was the best thing ever happened to me because I've now just carried that work ethos. Mummy and dad would have said to me, 'Look, do you wanna go out on site with your dad, or do you want to go and get a career in something?' DB: Now you have a role helping members of the Gaelic Player's Association manage their businesses and finances? SC: It's something that started years ago. Like a business incubator scheme. If you spoke to a lot of the players playing in county football now have really, really, really good businesses, genuinely really good businesses. And with that, the GPA then supports them, so they'll come to us. We get them set up in business. Typically a lot of guys sort of go for coffee shops or saunas and gyms and things like that, but some of them have tech businesses, manufacturing. I saw a lot of people whenever I was playing sacrifice their own personal and business interests. A lot of ones are typically teachers and I'd go, 'Why are you teaching?' - 'Well, it kind of suits, you know, because I'm finished up at 2:30 or 3:30 in a day, and I'll be able to play football during the summer and all that. It was a bit of a bugbear of mine because I was like, 'You're gonna have a life after you finish as a county player.' After the All-Ireland final of 2008, when a switch to full-forward changed everything for Tyrone. Cathal Noonan / INPHO Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO So it's class to be able to see lads now set things up while they're still county players that they'll be able to transfer their energies to them once the county thing comes to an end. I set my business up in the last year that I knew I was finishing with my county. I always had that natural transition in my mind. Whenever I took a defeat bad or I was annoyed about football – and I took it ridiculously seriously – I was able to flick very quickly and then into a very heavy enough sort of accountancy job at that point in time, so I was able to change very quickly and move my mind away from football and bring it somewhere else and then bring it back to football, and I felt the freshness of that, you know, I felt I was able to do that well. DB: That ambition meant you didn't care about being liked, which is very refreshing. SC: I've never been any different. I've always had a thing of saying what's in my mind, you know. I'm acutely aware that sometimes people take that in, in the wrong way. I remember whenever I was starting to play for Tyrone, someone saying to me, 'Just always say what's on your mind, because no one will ever be able to catch you out.' A lot of people sometimes have taken offence at what I've said even in punditry circles over the years. But I don't remember saying one thing that I regret. I don't remember saying anything and thinking to myself afterwards, 'God, you shouldn't have said that.' A lot of people that you would do the punditry with, they'll say something. You'd be sitting watching a game and they'll go, 'Such and such is doing this right or doing that wrong. And then they go on TV and they'll not say that. Meeting former team mates Conor Meyler and Darren McCurry after Tyrone won the 2021 All-Ireland. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO They've got this great filter that they'll block away what they really feel and sugarcoat things and change things. I say exactly the same thing behind the camera as they do in front of the camera. DB: The danger is punditry is oftentimes it is not set in context. You are a man working in accountancy and aware of UK and Republic of Ireland directives and yet during the Covid Lockdowns you did a podcast in which you referred to being 'up here in the UK' and the fallout was ridiculous. SC: That was in an office 100 metres down the road. I did that interview on a Friday morning and in my heart, I'm useless in the morning and usually by Friday I'm wrecked as well after a long week of business. I never thought anything of it. I'm not political at all. I've never been into politics or religion, it's never been my thing. But that really hurt, like. It really hurt me as a person as well, because my proudest moment ever on a sporting field, I remember standing in Perth, 2008, captain of Ireland singing Amhrán na bhFiann, 45,000 people in the Subiaco Oval, hair standing in the back of my neck, feeling 'This is as good as it gets.' I was at a thing last Friday with Ciara Mageean and the Saffron Business Forum in Belfast and they're asking her, 'why did you get into athletics?' And she said, 'I wanted to get into a sport that I could represent Ireland on an international stage. And I felt like I was doing that, that evening in Perth. I felt, 'This is me leading my country tens of thousands of miles away from home.' Leading out Ireland for an International Rules game. Cathal Noonan / INPHO Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO And because I'm not good at the whole language around politics, and because my work… If you went down to my office now and sat with me for an hour, all I ever do, because we have offices in Ireland and the UK and as in England and stuff, I'm always talking about the, the variances, the difference between under UK and Ireland. I'm going, 'Well, under UK legislation, under Irish legislation,' that's just how we speak, because there's two different jurisdictions there. That morning, Pat Spillane was talking about how he couldn't go for a walk on the beach. So in my mind, it was like trying to find a way of showing that difference between the Irish Covid response and the UK Covid response, because, you know every Sunday night I was watching the Boris Johnson announcements because he was telling us, all my staff can't work on the Monday morning. In my mind it was perfectly normal to reference the difference of the jurisdictions, but of course people just see that one clip it and think UK. I've always considered myself a very, very proud Irish person. And people who jumped on that at that time . . . It's very disappointing. A bit of a needless attack on something that in my mind was a simple mistake. DB: What are your impressions of Tyrone? Because there was the All Ireland in '21, but the support and interest, even for the U20 teams who are so successful, has plummeted. SC: It really worried me last year. I was up at the Roscommon game in Omagh, and I met a few guys that are really, really good Tyrone supporters. There was nobody at the game really, and even they were sort of shrugging their shoulders. It's actually sad. I brought my wee kids up to the game in in Clones there, the Tyrone-Armagh game. I was at a Go Games that morning in Derrytresk and I was asking lads were they going to the game that evening? And they're like, 'Nah, nah. Hassle . . . Saturday evening in Clones . . .' I played a lot of basketball, played a lot of soccer as well. One of the reasons I played Gaelic football, I did like the sport, but it was the games. '95 and the 13 men against Derry, Canavan, 11 points, wherever it was, I remember standing on the hill that day. I remember going, 'Wow! Like this is a spectacle, this makes the hair stand the back of my neck.' And now I'm hearing a lot of people in Tyrone going, 'I'm not gonna bother going up.' This is our biggest rivals, all Ireland champions, hot summer's day, Saturday evening. Why is nobody going? I think it's just a bit of a disconnect in the county in the last few years, See that we've had some mediocre enough performances, but I think as a county we need something to ignite us again. DB: A win in Ballybofey this Saturday would surely do that? SC: If we don't get a result in Ballybofey, which everyone knows how tricky it is against a McGuinness team up there and all the psychology that goes with that one. But, if we don't win on Saturday night, essentially it leaves us to a place that it's a must-win against Mayo. But I left Clones that evening of the Armagh game with a friend of mine and turned to him and I just said, 'You know what, Tyrone's in a good place.' I think Malachy has seen a few things. A few players maybe just aren't ready or weren't ready, and I think it'll take those changes, but I think myself, we played at 50 or 60% and we were in a position to win with three minutes to go. To give up so much possession on a dry day and concede that against Armagh, yeah, I don't think they'll do that again. Brian Kennedy and Ben McDonnell on that day was very good, Conn Kilpatrick, we do have a lot of size, and Hampsey will come back into that mix and Kieran McGeary's a strong lad. I think Malachy recognised that was something that he will change. Ironically, I left thinking to myself, 'God, we're better off going this route.' We're better off because it keeps us out of the limelight. Cavan put their head down there for a few weeks, went down to Castlebar and get away and that's why you're sort of thinking: Tyrone have always been good in the long grass. The team who wins All Ireland are the team that that has the most momentum coming into June, July, that's what Armagh did last year. I'm not saying Tyrone's in a position by any means to win an All Ireland, but I think we're in a good position to take a couple of scalps and be very hard to beat. DB: Why is Ballybofey such a graveyard? SC: I think Jim McGuinness is a genius at putting out all these subliminal hints. They're not the team I played against, you know, where the two McGees were pulling the head off you, and Lacey, real tough tough cornerbacks and defensive players. Against Neil McGee. Presseye / Andrew Paton/INPHO Presseye / Andrew Paton/INPHO / Andrew Paton/INPHO For me anyway, it was always about the psychology. I remember the bus pulling up one year and it being soaking wet and we just got these new white shirts and being told we had to get off the bus and walk in. And then I remember we went to try to get into the changing rooms and they said, 'No. Changing rooms are closed.' And we had to change in a squash court. It was like the New York Yankees stripes, like you were beaten before the ball was thrown in. And the toilet, I remember one of the toilets we went to try we were told, 'No, the toilet's closed, it's blocked or whatever.' DB: This sounds more than unusual! SC: Well, here, it can't all be coincidence that we couldn't get the bus couldn't through the gate, and the toilet was closed when we went up to play them in Ballybofey. And then the sidelines used to always be brought in as well. So in my mind, I'm a very analytical person, so those wee things always played in my mind. I was going, 'Why is the lines taken in three metres from when we play here in the league? Why is that toilet locked? So all of a sudden, you're getting angry. Your fire has been stoked and all the while you're thinking to yourself, 'This an ambush. We're in trouble here. So they have you on the back foot'. And I don't know whether it's because the record and the McGuinness factor and the crowd's so close and everything, but you just always feel, 'we're up against it here today.' But look, Tyrone went and won there in 2018. It's a new team. Donegal is not the same team. They haven't got that same physical prowess and power and defence that they always had. If anything, the tight pitch might go against them. So, you could turn a lot of the factors around now to say Tyrone might have the edge in certain areas that they didn't previous. I think Malachy's a brilliant manager, and I think he has a good group of players there right now. I think there is going to be a moment and hopefully it's the next few weeks that arrives. They were good against Cavan. They don't get that much credit because it was Cavan. Tyrone were expected to beat Cavan and always have beaten Cavan, but, I do feel that this Tyrone team does need a big scalp and a big statement. That's what we are as a county, I think that's who we are. As people as well. I always loved being in that changing room where we felt we were chasing something. That people wrote us off and I think Tyrone people rise to that narrative. I think if I was in that changing room right now, the blood would be flowing and I'd be thinking, 'what a chance we have here.' Seán Cavanagh was speaking to mark the launch of a new partnership between the Gaelic Players Association and LIA, the leading organisation in the education and development of financial advice and planning professionals. This new collaboration will see the 'Smart Money Habits' financial wellbeing programme made available to 4,000 GPA members, enhancing financial literacy across multiple key areas. Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
The Irish Sun
12-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Jim McGuinness ‘delighted' Donegal ‘stepped up' in Ulster final as Kieran McGeeney challenges Armagh to ‘start again'
IT looks like Donegal are finding the missing pieces after they bagged back-to-back Ulster titles. Jim McGuinness' men Advertisement 3 Jim McGuinness has found a good mix of youth and experience in his Donegal team Credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile 3 Patrick McBrearty and Michael Murphy are elder statesmen in the team Credit: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile 3 Ciaran Moore was nominated for Young Player of the Year Credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile Legend Michael Murphy, 35, was The Glenswilly man hounded Armagh on Saturday, scoring 0-3. Fellow stalwart Hugh McFadden, 31, netted in the second half while the young guns fired too. Eoin McHugh and Odhran McFadden-Ferry also returned to the camp after missing out last year to deepen the resources on hand — and all of them played their part. Advertisement Read More on GAA As for the next generation, Ciarán Moore, 22, had a dream debut season last year and was nominated for Young Footballer of the Year. On Saturday, he was taken off 20 minutes into the second half and probably felt his day was done. But he was sprung from the bench for extra-time — where his goal was pivotal before St Eunan's clubmate Niall O'Donnell sealed it with a point at the death. Finbarr Roarty, 19, is having a perfect maiden campaign too, and held his own at corner-back as Ryan McHugh nullified key Armagh hitman Rory Grugan in Clones. McGuinness knew what he needed to solve the puzzle after that defeat to Galway last July, and could feel it coming together in Saturday's epic as they held on to the Anglo-Celt Cup. Advertisement Most read in GAA Football Comment He said: 'That's what your squad is for. That's what we spoke about last year when Galway beat us. 'We needed to provide more depth within the squad. RTÉ GAA pundits Paul Flynn and Lee Keegan slam All-Ireland draw 'And so, yeah, so delighted that those fellas found a way to step up. 'Just everything with Michael that he brings to the table and in the meetings and in the prep — and obviously a cool head at half-time. And just his quality on the ball as well. Advertisement 'Ciarán Moore is a serious athlete. He didn't get going here the way he would normally get going from an athletic point of view. 'But when he came back on, he had that energy and vigour back. 'Conor O'Donnell didn't start because we went with bigger men because it was Armagh. But Conor's played nearly every game for us. 'Niall O'Donnell won the Ulster Championship for us last year. And he's kicked two massive points there when it really, really mattered. For me, that's where your training comes in. Advertisement 'All of those moments are going to come to the surface at some stage. 'And that's what we were talking about in our huddle at half-time in extra-time.' SEVENTH HEAVEN Donegal had led by seven twice in the game. They stormed 0-14 to 0-7 in front thanks to a dazzling spell led by Murphy, Oisín Gallen and Ciarán Thompson's two-point double. Advertisement But the All-Ireland champions refused to roll over and die — and Oisín O'Neill raised an orange flag of his own to get them back within three. McFadden's second-half goal put Donegal in the driving seat but again Armagh rallied. Darragh McMullan somehow fired wide in front of goal before Ben Crealey hit the post. But they never gave in. Advertisement Kieran McGeeney's men won a sensational final 20 minutes 0-8 to 0-1 to force extra-time in the Ulster showpiece for the fourth year in a row. Stefan Campbell made another huge impact off the bench with 0-3, as Oisín Conaty starred with 0-6. His last score forced overtime when Donegal failed to run down the clock. The high drama peaked from here. Advertisement Armagh surged ahead for the first time thanks to Jarly Óg Burns and Jason Duffy. But Niall O'Donnell was on the field with fresh legs, and Moore had returned for extra-time after being replaced by comeback kid Eoin McHugh. A gassed Murphy was running on fumes, but the rest stood up. Moore lashed into the top corner when Michael Langan played him through. Orchard stopper Ethan Rafferty sailed over a free on the double as penalties loomed for the third year running. Advertisement But O'Donnell let fly two minutes before the buzzer to kill it and book All-Ireland group-stage meetings with Tyrone, Cavan and Mayo. Both camps clashed at the final whistle as tensions and emotion spilled over, but it failed to spoil the party. 'START AGAIN' Armagh's 17-year wait for Ulster glory goes on, but McGeeney's men had the last laugh when they lifted Sam Maguire back in July. A group of death with Dublin, Galway and Derry now awaits — but the race for the big one is wide open. Advertisement Boss McGeeney has no time for hard-luck stories, and just hopes they can lift themselves all over again in their bid to retain their crown. He said: 'You just have to start again. 'Some things are harder to take than others. We'll just sit down over the next 24 hours and look at the game and see what we can control and what we can't, and sort of try and push on. 'We had some outstanding players. Oisín Conaty was exceptional, six points from play. Advertisement 'He was probably the best player on the pitch by a mile there. 'The less said about the rub of the green in our sport, the better. 'It's always tough when you get beat, so what do you do? 'That's part and parcel of sport, you just have to keep going.' Advertisement DONEGAL : S Patton, F Roarty, B McCole, P Mogan 0-1; R McHugh, C McGonagle, C Moore 1-1; H McFadden 1-0, M Langan 0-2, D Ó Baoill 0-1, C Thompson 0-4, 2tp, S O'Donnell; P McBrearty 3f, M Murphy 0-3, O Gallen 0-4. Subs : C O'Donnell 0-1 for McBrearty 43mins; J McGee 0-1 for McFadden 50, J Brennan for Ó Baoill 52, E McHugh for Moore 55, A Doherty for Gallen 65, O McFadden-Ferry for McGee 71, N O'Donnell 0-2 for Brennan 71, Moore for Doherty 71, McBrearty for Murphy 77, Ó Baoill for R McHugh 79, S McMenamin for McCole 83. ARMAGH : E Rafferty 0-3, 1tpf, 1 45; P Burns, B McCambridge, A Forker; R McQuillan 0-3, G McCabe, J Óg Burns 0-1; C O'Neill 0-1, B Crealey; D McMullan, R Grugan, O Conaty 0-6; T Kelly, A Murnin 0-1, O O'Neill 0-7, 1tp, 1tpf. Subs : C Turbitt for Kelly 42mins; S Campbell 0-3 for C O'Neill 50, P McGrane for McCabe 55, J Duffy 0-2 for O O'Neill 60, N Grimley for Forker 61, C Mackin for Murnin 71, J Hall for McQuillan (blood) 77, C McConville for Conaty 80, S McPartlan for Grugan 83, T McCormack for McQuillan 88. REFEREE : B Cawley (Kildare).
The Irish Sun
29-04-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Barry McCambridge hails Armagh's new killer instinct after epic Ulster semi-final win over Tyrone
ARMAGH defender Barry McCambridge hailed their new resolve after Saturday's e[ic Ulster semi-final against Tyrone. The Orchard edged their ancient rivals 2 Armagh saw off Tyrone in an Ulster semi-final classic last weekend 2 Barry McCambridge hailed his team-mates for their newly found killer instinct The Clann Éireann man, 25, made his SFC debut in 2021 and losing tight games haunted They lost back to back provincial deciders against Donegal last summer on penalties, but went on to win the All-Ireland last July. McCambridge admits they have a new belief, as they stood firm against Tyrone and Rory Grugan's free won it at the death. And he hopes it can spark their first Ulster title since 2008 when they return to the home of Monaghan football for the showpiece next month. read more on gaa He said: 'In years gone by people would have said that 'Armagh probably wouldn't have won them games, they wouldn't have finished them out.' 'But recently we have been really calm on the ball, we have been able to get help, get ourselves over the line, get the right men on the ball, while in the past we might have rushed things. 'You want to win every game, and if you win every game, then you're going to win Ulster, so you never want to go out and lose.' Young Footballer of the Year picked up where he left off last year and fired 0-4, but new boy Callum O'Neill starred in Saturday's win. Most read in GAA Football He scored 0-3 from midfield after making his SFC debut against Antrim earlier this month, and is a late bloomer at 25. Shoulder injuries hampered his progress before he finally got his chance, and McCambridge hailed his impact along with supersubs Stefan Campbell, Conor Turbitt and Jemar Hall. Oisin McConville urges GAA to ditch big rule change mid-season after controversial ending to Championship clash He said: 'Callum O'Neill was excellent in midfield. He won so many kick outs, got onto scores. 'Then we had the likes of Turbo (Conor Turbitt), Soupy (Stefan Campbell), Jemar (Hal) came off the bench, and brought a big impact and helped us over the line. 'Any Ulster championship game is going to be a battle, and with Tyrone, it was always going to happen. 'There's always a great rivalry there, we knew at half time when we were only a couple of points up, they had the wind, and they were going to have a big impact on the game, and they really pushed on, and went two points up. 'But it is a long game, and all that matters is that we managed to get over the line at the end, we kept a calm head, and got the right scores.'
