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Irish Times
15 hours ago
- General
- Irish Times
The Schemozzle: Tiered hurling system sending ill-prepared counties round in circles
'The success of these competitions in providing competitive games and a pathway to progress is a proven concept, so much so that it has inspired football to follow suit.' Those were the words of GAA president Jarlath Burns in the programme for Saturday's triple-header of Christy Ring, Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cup finals . On closer inspection, while there is a pathway, teams often find themselves ill-prepared for progress when they achieve it. The grim reality is that teams who lift silverware in the bottom two tiers usually find themselves out of their depth at the next level up. Relegation often follows, before they win again at the lower level and repeat the process. In recent years, the record of teams at the next grade up, after winning the Rackard or Meagher Cup, has been very poor. The last three champions of both competitions have a combined win rate of 17 per cent in their first season at the higher grades. The upshot is that the same counties tend to dominate the lower tiers. Instances of counties progressing up the ranks and consolidating are very rare. READ MORE Mayo, for example, have played in five of the last 10 Rackard Cup finals, winning it twice and losing Saturday's final by a point against Roscommon. Donegal have won the same competition four times since 2013, while Kildare have won the Christy Ring Cup five times since 2014. Red Hand rising – but how high? While it's happened several times in hurling, 50 years have passed since Kerry managed a unique feat in football, winning the All-Ireland senior, minor and under-21 titles in the same season. Five decades on, could Tyrone repeat it? The Red Hand are on a high at underage level, having claimed three of the last four All-Ireland under-20 titles. Their latest success was highly impressive as they beat Armagh, Derry and Donegal in Ulster. Then they overcame Kerry by six points before beating Louth, 5-16 to 0-17, in last Wednesday's All-Ireland final. Tyrone also claimed the Ulster minor championship and will now face Cork in the All-Ireland quarter-final. Having also won the Ulster minor league, they are favourites to win the All-Ireland minor title. The closest Tyrone came to the unique hat-trick was in 2008 when they won the minor and senior All-Irelands, but their under-21s lost the Ulster semi-final to eventual provincial champions Down. Tyrone seniors are currently joint-fifth favourites for Sam Maguire, but their odds have lengthened since they were unexpectedly turned over at home against Mayo on Saturday. Bragging rights for brave Barry There was a delicious championship moment in the Laois v Offaly Tailteann Cup group game on Saturday. Six minutes into second-half injury-time, with Laois trailing their local rivals by a point, 3-16 to 2-18, Laois were awarded a penalty. Stepping up to take it was Mark Barry, whose home club, O'Dempsey's, straddles the border between the two counties. A draw or victory would have ensured qualification to a preliminary quarter-final for Laois, while there was a slim chance a loss would knock them out. Barry, who hadn't scored in the match, had a decision to make – knock it over the bar and guarantee a preliminary quarter-final or risk it for the same prize by going for goal. Laois were long overdue a win against Offaly. That and local bragging rights may have swayed things. Barry buried it and Laois won by two. Every point counts for Mayo Speaking of Tyrone, there was an unusual incident at the denouement of their loss to Mayo, as noted on social media by journalist Maurice Brosnan. 'Funny moment at the end of yesterday's game,' Brosnan posted. 'Ryan O'Donoghue turns to look at the clock and gets ready to kick it out. Mayo management start roaring to keep playing, score difference could matter. So he takes off and sets up Jack Coyne for his first ever championship point.' As it turned out, it is unlikely that score difference will come into play in that group. All four sides have a win on the board, so unless both of the final-day fixtures (Mayo v Donegal and Cavan v Tyrone) end in draws, there can't be any more than two teams on the same points, meaning the head-to-head rule will apply. Quote 'Over the last few years this particular group have been questioned for our commitment and our drive and I think today we answered a lot of f**king questions.' – Roscommon joint-captain Conor Mulry was a happy man after accepting the Rackard Cup. Number: 7 Two-pointers Monaghan scored in the second half of their win over Clare , who had scored four in the first half. Neither side managed an orange flag against the wind.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
London claim Christy Ring title over Derry; silverware for New York and Roscommon
It will probably go down as some sort of record within hurling's multi-tiered championship structure. Davy Devine, operating in the fifth tier last year with Warwickshire, jumped up two levels this season and inspired London to Christy Ring Cup title success, securing their place in next season's Joe McDonagh Cup. Devine scored 1-12 at Croke Park as London saw off Derry by 1-27 to 1-24, heaping yet more final misery on the Oak Leaf county, who have now lost three finals in a row. Throw in Derry's 2021 final defeat to Offaly and you get a feeling for their torment. READ MORE Presuming Devine sticks around for 2026, he will have climbed three rungs of hurling's championship ladder in double quick time. London manager Neil Rogers was appreciative of Devine's efforts, describing this as his best display yet in a green jersey. 'He's had an unbelievable season for us,' said Rogers. 'I think today was his best performance of all. He was on the frees and I think he only missed one, he was up at 100 per cent other than that. He stuck his goal away well too.' London's Enda Egan with Derry's Patrick Turner. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho It was far from a one-man show though as London turned the tables on a Derry side that had beaten them in the round robin. London also lost the Division 3 league final to a Mayo side that were competing in the earlier Nickey Rackard Cup final. So Derry had plenty of reason for optimism though they operated in London's slipstream for the majority of this game. Thomas Brady's 13th-minute goal for Derry was a beauty, when he struck a bullet from 20 metres out to the corner of the net, and amounted to an immediate response to Devine's goal moments earlier. But London deserved their 1-15 to 1-12 half-time lead and Derry only briefly took the lead after a strong third quarter. Eamon Conway came surging into the game for Derry and scored four second-half points in all, helping them to lead by 1-20 to 1-19 with 15 minutes to go. But they couldn't kick on and were suckered by six London points in a row after that which gave them a vital cushion in the closing minutes. Things got a little chaotic during the finale as Derry cut the deficit to one before wincing as Devine reeled off back-to-back insurance points in stoppage time. That left three in it and Derry did have the opportunity to rescue a draw, and extra-time, when Cormac O'Doherty presided over a 75th minute free but his shot was blocked for a 65 that also came to nothing. New York's Jonathan Glynn and James Breen lift the Lory Meagher Cup. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Like Devine, former Galway star Johnny Glynn displayed his ability to jump between hurling's various grades when he captained New York to the Lory Meagher Cup title. Eight years after lining out for Galway in their 2017 All-Ireland final win, Glynn was back on the front line again and scored two important points in a 4-17 to 2-17 win over Cavan. David Mangan, another Galway man, scored 1-7 in total while Dara Walsh, Tipperary's AJ Willis and Tomas O'Connor weighed in with New York goals too. They entered this year's Lory Meagher Cup competition having been absent from the championship scene since 2006. They came in, controversially, at the semi-final stage, beating Monaghan in Mullingar last week, and capped a profitable 10 days or so in Ireland with promotion to the next level. The Roscommon team and manager Kevin Sammon celebrate with the Nickey Rackard Cup after beating Mayo. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Drawing on players from hurling strongholds like Tipperary, Galway and Cork, they hit the interval with a 3-11 to 0-13 half-time lead. Mangan and midfielder Adam Loughlin Stones caused Cavan all sorts of bother and New York were 11 points up after 40 minutes. Kilkenny man Nicky Kenny, an All-Ireland club SHC winner with Cuala, pulled back a goal for Cavan and free-taker Liam O'Brien hit another from a penalty. But the Breffni couldn't get any closer to New York than five points as they slipped to a second final defeat in five seasons. Brendan Mulry was the Roscommon hero in the day's opening game, the Nickey Rackard Cup final, hitting the 72nd-minute winning point in a 3-16 to 1-21 victory over Mayo. Roscommon were underdogs and trailed by three with 68 minutes on the clock but reeled off points from Ben McGahon, Conor Mulry and Eoin Kiernan to level it, teeing up Brendan Mulry to snipe the dramatic winner. Results: Nickey Rackard Cup Final: Roscommon 3-16 Mayo 1-21 Lory Meagher Cup Final: New York 4-17 Cavan 2-17 Christy Ring Cup Final: London 1-17 Derry 1-24
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Derry suffer third successive Christy Ring Final defeat
Derry suffered a third successive Christy Ring Cup Final defeat as they were beaten 1-27 to 1-24 by London at Croke Park. The Oak Leafers lost their previous two deciders against Kildare and Meath, and this year's three-point loss means their painful wait for a first Christy Ring Cup goes on. Advertisement London's narrow victory helped them to end their 13-year wait to lift the trophy and promotion to the Joe McDonagh Cup next year. The two sides had traded five points each before David Devine fired home a goal for London on 11 minutes. Derry responded through Thomas Brady's fantastic long-range strike which drew them level once again. London kept tagging on points and lead 1-15 to 1-12 at half-time courtesy of a few late points from Devine and Dylan Dawson. Derry rallied and managed to close the gap by the 51st minute, but Neil Rogers' men re-established their advantage through Conor O'Carroll, Dawson and Jack Morrisey as London saw out the victory. New York claim maiden Lory Meagher Cup In the Lory Meagher Cup, three first half goals proved decisive as New York beat 4-14 to 2-17 to win the competition for the first time. Advertisement New York were playing at Croke Park for the first time since 2006 after returning to the fifth tier of the hurling championship last weekend. Cavan, meanwhile, were back in the final for the first time since losing the decider against Fermanagh in 2021 but struggled and they trailed 3-11 to 0-13 at half-time against a ruthless New York side. Tomas O'Connor, AJ Willis and Dara Walsh all found the net whilst Adam Loughlin Stones and David Mangan racked up eight points between them to give the Exiles a comfortable lead at the break. Mangan scored their fourth goal after the break from the penalty spot and they continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over, leading 4-14 to 0-15 at one stage in the second half. Advertisement Cavan rallied and netted two goals in the last quarter of the game to threaten a comeback. Nicky Kenny pulled one back before Liam O'Brien scored a penalty for their second, but New York held on for the historic victory.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Derry suffer third successive Christy Ring Final defeat
Derry suffered a third successive Christy Ring Cup Final defeat as they were beaten 1-27 to 1-24 by London at Croke Oak Leafers lost their previous two deciders against Kildare and Meath, and this year's three-point loss means their painful wait for a first Christy Ring Cup goes narrow victory helped them to end their 13-year wait to lift the trophy and promotion to the Joe McDonagh Cup next two sides had traded five points each before David Devine fired home a goal for London on 11 responded through Thomas Brady's fantastic long-range strike which drew them level once kept tagging on points and lead 1-15 to 1-12 at half-time courtesy of a few late points from Devine and Dylan rallied and managed to close the gap by the 51st minute, but Neil Rogers' men re-established their advantage through Conor O'Carroll, Dawson and Jack Morrisey as London saw out the victory. New York claim maiden Lory Meagher Cup In the Lory Meagher Cup, three first half goals proved decisive as New York beat 4-14 to 2-17 to win the competition for the first York were playing at Croke Park for the first time since 2006 after returning to the fifth tier of the hurling championship last meanwhile, were back in the final for the first time since losing the decider against Fermanagh in 2021 but struggled and they trailed 3-11 to 0-13 at half-time against a ruthless New York O'Connor, AJ Willis and Dara Walsh all found the net whilst Adam Loughlin Stones and David Mangan racked up eight points between them to give the Exiles a comfortable lead at the scored their fourth goal after the break from the penalty spot and they continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over, leading 4-14 to 0-15 at one stage in the second rallied and netted two goals in the last quarter of the game to threaten a Kenny pulled one back before Liam O'Brien scored a penalty for their second, but New York held on for the historic victory.
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.'
