Month: September 2021

ONLY WHEN THE semi-final business was completed, did Declan Browne start to consider the jam-packed county final Sunday that was in store.

In mid October the Graigue-Ballycallan team he coaches surmounted their last four Kilkenny intermediate hurling assignment on a Saturday afternoon.

The following day he was back cheering on his homeplace in Tipperary as the Moyle Rovers footballers caught the reigning champions Clonmel Commercials with a late goal that propelled them into the senior decider.

And so that filled his diary for the Sunday of the Bank Holiday weekend. Managing from the sideline in Kilkenny for a game that started at 1pm with the plan to tear down the road to Thurles afterwards to support from the stands for a match that commenced at 3pm.

He couldn’t have scripted the ensuing events better. The Kilkenny match may have had generated early anxiety when Graigue Ballycallan trailed neighbours Tullaroan by nine points at one first-half juncture but they reeled them in and starting a two-point deficit in the 56th minute, timed their finish to perfection with a string of five unanswered points.

Browne shared briefly in the post-match celebrations and then pointed the car towards Semple Stadium. The completion of that 50km trip saw have the good fortune to discover the curtain-raiser in Tipperary had gone to extra-time.

A delayed senior throw-in meant he was present to take in the action as Moyle Rovers ended their nine-year wait for a senior crown in style.

“I saw the cup lifted in Kilkenny and then straight into the car and up to Thurles. More or less got all that as well after the senior match was delayed. It was an eventful day but it could have been an awful lot worse.”

The hurling success represented quite a turnaround. In late August Tullaroan handed out an 11-point beating but in over two months Graigue-Ballycallan managed to shift the dynamic against the club next door to them on the western border of Kilkenny.

“We were mad underdogs going into the hurling, no point in saying any different,” reflects Browne.

“The way Tullaroan hurled in the first 20 minutes of that game, we should have been well out of sight. They were super but just couldn’t keep the scoreboard ticking over. We hung in there and got the two last points before half-time. It gave us a lift. To win by three points after being nine behind was a massive achievement. People will say we rode our luck and we did, but we still out-hurled Tullaroan for the second half.”

There was an exhiliration to that dramatic triumph and a sense of elation then at seeing Moyle Rovers back at the summit of Tipperary senior football. Browne was the star on a team that swept up five titles in six seasons from 1995 but lean times had occurred of late.

“It was a long time for us, obviously beaten in three finals in the meantime. Luckily this year we got a very, very late goal against Commercials (in the semi-final), a real sucker punch.

“You need a bit of luck to get you over the line and as the years went on with Moyle Rovers, we were kind of wondering would we ever get it again. So thankfully the back is broken on that now and the lads can look forward again.

“It breaks the cycle. I know we’d won a good few of them but it is nice to get a change.”

The 2018 season has rolled on from there. He’ll back on the wings of Nowlan Park this Saturday, this time trying to steer Graigue-Ballycallan to a Leinster title. The union between Tipperary’s most lauded footballer and a Kilkenny hurling club began four years ago.

“They took a punt and I took a punt and we’re still going. I was in college with Conor Power, who is living down there. He rang me to see would I be interested and I said I’d have a go off it.

“Four years ago we wouldn’t have foreseen this happening, there was a bit of transition in the club as well. But thankfully there’s a lot of good young lads after coming through, you need that influx of youth.

“Four good years, enjoyed every one of them. It’s tough going down there, it’s a good championship.”

As a player Browne’s feats in football were what gained him recognition. All-Star awards in 1998 and 2003 illustrated his capacity to get noticed on a lower-tier tea, there were days to cherish like Croke Park glory in the form of the Tommy Murphy Cup in 2005 and a relentless series of scoring bursts in club and county colours.

Declan Browne after the 2005 Tommy Murphy Cup final.

Source: INPHO

Click Here: South Africa Rugby Shop

But the hurling chapter of his career was never hidden from view. It was there to be observed from the All-Ireland medal with Tipperary in minor (1996), the 1999 senior league campaign and Munster U21 success, a couple of Fitzgibbon Cup medals on Waterford IT teams stacked with household names and a 1-6 tally on a 2009 February night as Moyle Rovers lost an All-Ireland junior club decider.

“Football would have been number one but we’d a good bit of success as well in hurling in the junior and intermediate ranks. The way it’s gone with drills and coaching styles, they’re the same for hurling and football, it’s just a different sized ball. That’s the way that I’d look at it.

“If you get players to buy in to what you’re trying to do, whether it’s right or wrong, that’s the whole idea of it. If lads trust what you’re doing, it is half the battle.

“There’s never been much of a divide for me with hurling and football, they always went hand in hand in my eyes. I learned a lot of things from both.”

He started working with a club who had a rich recent tradition. Between 1998 and 2001, they contested four senior finals on the bounce in Kilkenny, winning two titles, reigning in Leinster in the winter of 2000 and only being undone by Galway’s Athenry after extra-time on St Patrick’s Day in 2001.

Then came a lull and then came a fall. A one-point loss to Fenians in 2013 visited relegation upon Graigue-Ballycallan and there was no quick-fix or easy return available in the intermediate ranks in Kilkenny.

Browne soon discovered what an intense club environment they were operating in. St Patrick’s bettered them in last year’s intermediate final, just like they had done in championship openers in 2014 and 2015. They stuck at it though as a crop of youngsters filtered through.

Having a couple of veterans aided their cause as well. After all their exploits with Kilkenny, Eddie Brennan and James Ryall are still flying the flag for their club.

James Ryall in action for Kilkenny in the 2006 All-Ireland senior hurling final.

Source: Donall Farmer/INPHO

“Eddie is super,” says Browne. “In my years involved, it’s just been a pleasure, James Ryall the same way, Dara Walton, Ciaran Hoyne. Even for myself going in the first day, it was a bit daunting because you didn’t know how they’d react to me. But from day one it’s been super, we’ve all got along and that’s everyone.

“For a younger lad at 18 or 19 coming along, being in the same team as Eddie and James is phenomenal. To be still doing it at this stage of their careers is incredible. If you’re able to do it, they’ll do it and that’s the way they look at it. They’re fit and they’re in some shape the two of them. That does make it easier whereas like myself you might put on a few pounds here or there and you’d struggle.

“These lads don’t have that problem, they’re naturally fit but they’re just club men to the core. That’s very important, when the whole inter-county setup goes away from you, it’s very easy to drift away from the sport altogether.

“The lads have dug deep. They haven’t had good years over the last few so to stick at it and get a county medal, that’s the ultimate goal in every club players’ eye. To be top in your own county is massive.”

An emotional @NedzerB13 speaks to #GAABEO after his Graigue – Ballycallan side came back from behind to beat Tullaroan in the Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling Final. #GAA #GAABEO #TG4 @ballsdotie @The42_ie @SportsJOEdotie pic.twitter.com/UmeqQNF8vk

— GAA BEO TG4 (@GAA_BEO) October 30, 2018

They had little time for respite after the Kilkenny success with a Leinster date against Kildare champions Celbridge.

“There’s no point in playing these games if you’re not allowed celebrate. I don’t drink myself but I firmly believe you have to let loose and go. Celbridge was a rocky one because we didn’t know what condition we’d be in six days after winning a county title. That was a tough, tough battle. When you win that game, you realise you’re only another game away from a Leinster final.”

And so they got past Wexford’s St Mogue’s and now take on Portlaoise on Saturday, two decades after losing to the Laois club in a Leinster senior semi-final.

“I think the lads ambition was to hurl senior,” outlines Browne.

“That’s massive to them to call themselves senior hurlers next year. Winning the county was the ultimate goal but Portlaoise like ourselves are going to be all guns blazing for Saturday.

“The support has been fantastic as well and to go out and beat real near neighbours in the county final probably added to that as well. When you get relegated from senior, you might think you’ll never get back. It’s great for them to have this journey before Christmas. No matter what happens Saturday, it’s been a fantastic year.”

Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:

Click:ecolchi haircare

EDDIE BRENNAN ADMITS he’s facing a “huge challenge” as he begins his senior inter-county management career in charge of Joe McDonagh outfit Laois.

Brennan spent much of 2018 working as a pundit with The Sunday Game, and operating as a coach with Killnaule who won the South Tipperary championship in July.

And on the field, he’s been an influential figure in attack during Graigue-Ballycallan’s run to the Kilkenny intermediate title and their subsequent provincial campaign.

Graigue-Ballycallan face Portlaoise on Saturday in the Leinster club IHC final, while Brennan is also preparing his Laois charges for the Walsh Cup campaign which kicks off on 9 December against Offaly.

Brennan says the Laois job remains his priority, even if his club make it to the All-Ireland series next spring. 

“I don’t know what’s going to happen but certainly the (club) campaign and balancing it with the Laois management – I understood from day one once I took that on that it’s your absolute focus,” he says.

It has to be. In a funny way the club thing has tucked in at the back of it all. Hopefully we can get over Saturday. It is what it is and we’ll get a bit of a break after Saturday and you’re getting Laois ready for Walsh Cup matches and for the first round of the league as well.

“So Sunday week we’re over in Tullamore playing Offaly and the following weekend then we’ve Carlow coming over to Portlaoise. It’s one that came a little bit left-field in that this was seen as a logical way of enhancing the Walsh Cup.

“For me, a competition that probably has run its course in way, but it’s an opportunity to give lads a bit of game-time and that’s what we’ll be using it for.”

Still just 40, the eight-time All-Ireland winner has steadily built up his reputation on the sideline in recent years.

Click Here: adidas stan smith

After a disastrous debut campaign over the Kilkenny U21s where they lost to Westmeath in the 2016 Leinster quarter-final, Brennan led the Cats all the way to the All-Ireland final the following year.

They lost to a star-studded Limerick side that included six players who would play in the senior All-Ireland final win over Galway 12 months later.

Graigue Ballycallan’s Eddie Brennan is pictured in Dublin ahead of the AIB GAA Leinster Intermediate Hurling Club Championship Final where they face Portlaoise on Saturday, December 1st at Nowlan Park.

Source: Piaras Ó Mídheach/SPORTSFILE

Brennan, a garda who lives in Portlaoise, knows Laois will have to hit the ground running in his first league campaign over them.

“In the league on 27 January we’re going up to Galway and six days later we’ve Waterford coming to Portlaoise so you’re focused very quickly. You have to be.

“While you’re mindful of the time of year and commitments with players, you have to get a good body of training under your belts to go into those matches and do yourself justice and that’s what it’s about. We have to go into those matches and gain something from them. 

You’re not going to come out and make any stupid statements and say, ‘We’re going out there to beat someone like Galway.’ You’re going in there to those matches to prepare lads to give a good account of themselves, be as good as they can be and be competitive.

“If the fundamentals are right and guys’ heads are in the right place going into matches like that, that’s what it’s about. Obviously the Joe McDonagh is our big competition, that’s our championship, that’s the one that we’re going to be ultimately measured on and you’re gearing towards that.  

“The league, I think it’s an absolute must that we stay in (Division) 1B and I’d love to make a quarter-final as well. So that’s something that’s there, that’s a realistically achievable goal but standing in our way is a couple of right good teams.”

Experienced defender Cahir Healy hinted recently that he might consider a switch to John Sugrue’s footballers next season. Laois are an attractive proposition in football given their run to the Leinster final this year and the positive brand of football they’re employing under Sugrue.

“I’m very split down the middle over what to do,” Healy said earlier this month on SportsJOE’s GAA Hour. “I want to hurl with Laois but I haven’t played with the footballers in six or seven years.

Cahir Healy in action with the Portlaoise footballers last weekend.

Source: Bryan Keane/INPHO

“I kind of have this feeling in my head that I need to go and prove myself. The last game I played with the footballers I was sent off in a league match and that’s kind of gnawing at me. I’m kind of stuck in the middle but it’s not really on my radar at the moment because it’s all about the club now.”

Healy incidentally will go up against Brennan in Saturday’s provincial final, and the Kilkenny legend confirmed no decision has been made yet.

“I would have spoken to a lot of players, Cahir was one of those,” says Brennan. “Again, I left it up to himself, the fact that he was playing hurling and football with his club and, to be honest, I’ve left it with him to come back to me and we can see later on where that’s at. 

He’d be an addition no matter who gets him, it’s maybe a matter for himself, what he has done in the last couple of years, coming over and back and working in London and then coming back on weekends, he’s kept himself as competitive and in as good an order as ever, it’s a testament to the kind of guy you’re dealing with. 

“So, it would of course be useful in the dressing room to help other guys along the way, if you have some young guy in there and he’s playing side by side with Cahir Healy, or someone like that, it’s only going to benefit them. But, we’ll just have to wait and see on that one.”

Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:

Click:bearing supply

New man: Willie Maher.

ALL-IRELAND SENIOR CLUB hurling champions Cuala have announced Tipperary’s Willie Maher as their new manager. 

The successful Premier county underage boss succeeds Mattie Kenny in the role, after he took over the Dublin hurlers earlier this month. 

Kenny guided Cuala to back-to-back All-Ireland senior club titles in 2017 and 2018, but the Dalkey club exited the Dublin championship at the semi-final stage in October.

Maher with the Tipp minors in 2012.

Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO

Maher, who steered the Tipperary minors to All-Ireland glory in 2012 and helped the U21s to glory as a coach in 2010, was announced as Cuala’s new manager last night.

“It was important that we appointed someone of the highest calibre, experience and track record at the top level of both the club and inter-county game,” Cuala wrote in a statement, “and Willie Maher ticks all of those boxes.

Click Here: saracens rugby jersey

Cuala are delighted to announce Willie Maher as our new Senior Hurling Manager.

Press Releasehttps://t.co/y845KDnoHG@HuaweiMobileIE @DavyGroup pic.twitter.com/ij7gUBICn5

— Cuala GAA (@CualaCLG) November 28, 2018

“There are obvious synergies between Willie’s track record and our future ambitions for hurling in Cuala. A manager of his calibre will always be in high demand and we are delighted that he has committed his immediate future to us.”

The 39-year-old Ballingarry club man was also a contender to take charge of the Tipperary senior hurlers this year, a post that was ultimately filled by Liam Sheedy.

Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:

TWO DEADLY FORWARDS have scooped the October and November Croke Park/LGFA Player of the Month awards.

Doireann O’Sullivan and Amy Ring.

Both preparing for the All-Ireland senior club final in Parnell Park on 8 December, Mourneabbey and Cork star Doireann O’Sullivan was recognised for her efforts this month while Foxrock-Cabinteely captain Amy Ring took October’s honour.

Both players have been extremely consistent through their respective club campaigns in 2018 to date, clocking up devastating individual tallies along the way.

23-year-old O’Sullivan has been key through Mourneabbey’s five in-a-row in Cork and Munster, and their run to a fourth All-Ireland final in five years.

This month, she finished with 0-8 in their All-Ireland semi-final win over Galway’s Kilkerrin-Clonberne in an incredible individual display, while she hit 0-9 in the provincial decider.

Ring meanwhile, was influential in October’s wins over Wexford outfit Shelmalier and Meath’s Simonstown Gaels. In the Leinster final, she notched 2-4 and followed that up with a 1-4 return in the All-Ireland semi-final against Donaghmoyne.

Click Here: Gws Giants Guernsey

Mourneabbey and Fox-Cab are both looking to now put years or hurt and heartbreak behind them, and end their respective long waits to lift the Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup.

The Cork kingpins fell short to Donegal side Termon in the 2014 final, Donaghmoyne in 2015, bowed out to the same side in the semi-final in 2016, and were defeated by Carnacon in last year’s decider.

Fox-Cab were beaten in the decider by Donaghmoyne in 2016, and lost out in the 2015 and 2017 semi-finals — the latter to Mourneabbey in extra-time.

Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:

WORKING IN THE local bar, Teach Mhicí, that’s run by Kevin Cassidy and his family means Daire Ó Baoill doesn’t have to wait long until his “number one critics” assess his latest performance for Gweedore.

Gaoth Dobhair and Donegal’s Daire Ó Baoill is pictured at Clanna Gael Fontenoy GAA in Dublin ahead of the AIB GAA Ulster Football Senior Club Championship Final where they face Scotstown on Sunday.

Source: David Fitzgerald/SPORTSFILE

Fortunately for the 21-year-old midfielder, he scored a hat-trick on his last run out with the Donegal champions in their Ulster semi-final win over Crossmaglen two weeks ago. 

“All the talk is down around the town, I work in Cassidy’s bar myself, so all the aul men in there would be my number one critics,” says Ó Baoill.

“So I’d know all about it then. What I did right and wrong, but it’s all football chat going around, even at mass in the shops, it’s football, football, football.

It’s all a bit of craic with them. They just want the inside gossip. You’d tell one lad one thing and the next something else. Next thing they’re fighting about what’s right and what’s wrong. It’s funny how it works.

“They’d be at all the games, we’d have our buses up and they’d all watch the games, they’d know all of the players for years – most of them would be down watching training. It’s a bit of craic, they know it’s a bit of craic too.

“Like I said, they’re my number one critics, they’d always tell you what you did wrong before what you did right – they wouldn’t give me that sensation. Same with (Gweedore team-mates) Kevin, Niall Friel, Naoise (Ó Baoill) and Dan (McBride).

“Sometimes we just need a break and we’d spend more time out in the pizzeria and the lounge rather than heading back out to the old folks in the bar.”

Dara O Baoill Goal for @gaothdobhairclg pic.twitter.com/hW7l1rLzWj

— The GAA (@officialgaa) November 18, 2018

“I’m prone to scoring maybe a goal or two, but the hat-trick was a bit of a freak game,” he says modestly about the Crossmaglen match. “That could have happened to anyone who saw the space behind.

Dara O Baoill with a second Goal for @gaothdobhairclg pic.twitter.com/W3S29Mmx5P

— The GAA (@officialgaa) November 18, 2018

“It kind of opened up and I was laughing when it was laid out in front of me, nothing but green grass to eat up. Then I just got lucky with the penalty.”

Kevin Cassidy celebrates his goal against Crossmaglen.

Source: Declan Roughan/INPHO

A talented soccer player in his youth, Ó Baoill played in the League of Ireland with Finn Harps U19s for three years and captained a home-based Irish U18s side at youths level. He made the breakthrough with the Finn Harps first team in 2016 before he eventually decided to focus on GAA.

“I finished up in the Airtricity with the first team,” he explains. “For the second half of the season I was down in Maynooth University, so the likes of away games down in Wexford and Cork City it was handy to make up quad numbers toward the end.

I knew at the end of the day it would be GAA, that’s why I played as much soccer as I could. Two years ago I remember going from one game playing from Harps, I think we beat Bohemians 3-1, and then I had to line out in championship for Gaoth Dobhair against Termon.

“We lost to Termon in the last group stage game. You’re going from game to game and I just knew the legs wouldn’t be able to do that for much longer.

“The manager I had at Finn Harps, Joe Boyle, he was a Gaelic man too at heart and he understood the decision at the end of the day. He’d still be getting onto me and things like that.”

Crossmaglen’s Stephen Morris with Odhran Mac Niallais of Gweedore.

Source: Declan Roughan/INPHO

Ó Baoill was also part of an extremely successful underage crop from the Ghaeltacht club that didn’t lose a game between U16 and U21 level. They quickly made an impact at the senior grade and supplemented a side already featuring household names like Cassidy, Neil and Eamon McGee and Odhran MacNiallais. 

Gweedore have come a long way in a short space of time. As recently as two years ago, Cassidy retired in the dressing room following a heavy 12-point beating they shipped in the semi-final to Naomh Conaill.

He returned the following season when Mervyn O’Donnell was appointed as manager. They lost to the same opponents by a point in the 2017 semi-final, before an injection of youth helped them annex a first Dr Maguire Cup since 2006 this year. 

When you were younger, it was all about Kevin Cassidy, Neil McGee and things like that. You were always looking up watching them on tv. They were the big dogs like. When you were younger you wouldn’t really think you’d get the chance to play with them. It’s brilliant going into games with them.

“When they switch on for games, that’s when you switch on too. Watching how they go about things, big crowds, the media and things like that, they know how to go about things so we look up to them for stuff like that and they guide us through.

“Mervyn O’Donnell came in, he came in and he took a job that was very hard to take with Gaoth Dobhair the way they were. He told us starting off, it was going to be a team of honesty, there was going to be no bullshit, between anyone.

Cass kind of liked the idea of that, it took a while for him to come into it but once he found his bearings, listen, as you’ve all seen the last few weeks, the man is hard to touch at the minute with the two feet on him.

“People out there asking me that, we’ve bets at home if he’s left-footed or right-footed like. I think he’s glad now that he’s back, without him we probably wouldn’t be where we are either.

“It’s mad, it’s just how professional he is. Even his lifestyle at home, he’d have a good routine. He started his own company now, it’s all about the diet for him now at that age group. At training he might not do as much running as us but what he does he’ll do 110% and that’s what all them other boys do.”

Daire Ó Baoill during last summer’s Ulster SFC semi-final.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

There’s an interesting contrast in how the older heads and youngsters approach big games.

“That’s what the older boys say, we only know how to go winning. Maybe going into games with cool heads, the older boys maybe do all the nerves for us, all the shaking and thinking.

They can’t get over how laid back, and kind of the craic going up on the bus, and you look up and maybe Cassidy would be sitting up at the front with the headphones on and maybe Neil sitting quietly at the back with the lads. But that’s just the way it is, it’s a nice blend.”

Ó Baoill featured once in the league for Donegal but went on to appear off the bench in five championship matches during the summer. He’s worked with Declan Bonner since his minor days and is hoping for more minutes with the county in 2019. 

Click Here: london gaa jerseys

“I’ve been with Declan now since minors, (then) U21s and seniors, so he’s been with me the whole time. He’s taken me with him and a few other lads my age too. Every year we go out, we look for bigger and better things. Declan understands how much this club run means to us so he’s kind of letting us play our part in that. 

“I got a lot of game-time (this year), a lot more than I expected for the first season to be in there. When you look at the panel of boys they have there, it’s mad.

It was nice to play with the boys, it was unlucky for Paddy McBrearty, he was injured at half time in the Ulster final. I came on and it was the most time I got. It was a great game to get in to get the nerves settled.”

But Ó Baoill is looking no further than Sunday, where Gweedore are bidding to become the first Donegal side to win the provincial title since St Joseph’s in 1975. 

“It’ll be mad now alright (if we win), but sure otherwise it would be a depression session. But we’re looking forward to it, it would be mad too, Cassidy’s place will be hopping too, half the barmen are footballers. He looks after us alright.

“There was enough pressure put on us in the last 10 or 12 years to get out of the county so once we won the county the burden was lifted off the chest. We’re taking it game by game now, if you talk about the experienced lads, Cassidy and the McGee, it was their first time, so we’re all just taking it game by game and enjoying it as we go on.”

Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:

FORMER YOUNG FOOTBALLER of the Year Tommy Walsh has been included in Peter Keane’s Kerry squad ahead of the 2019 campaign, according to reports in the county. 

Tommy Walsh during his last league campaign with Kerry in 2016.

Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO

Walsh, who won an All-Ireland with the Kingdom in 2009, last featured for the county under Eamonn Fitzmaurice during the 2016 Allianz Football League. Walsh dropped off the panel prior to that year’s championship, citing a lack of game-time as the reason for his departure. 

The 30-year-old enjoyed his best run of form this year since his return from the AFL in 2015, scoring two goals for Kerins O’Rahilly’s in the championship against reigning champions Dr Crokes. 

GAANOW looks to @Kerry_Official Club SFC as Kerins O'Rahillys overcame Dr. Crokes 3-18 to 2-17 at Fitzgerald Stadium! @drcrokesgaa were ahead by nine points with ten minutes to go, but two Tommy Walsh goals and another by Karl Mullins in stoppage-time saw @korgaa take the win! pic.twitter.com/dM0BGmqMPB

— The GAA (@officialgaa) September 11, 2018

O’Rahilly’s made it to the last four of the Kerry SFC, where they lost to the Killarney outfit by nine points. 

Walsh’s club manager Mike Quirke confirmed to Radio Kerry that the ex-Sydney Swan is part of Keane’s plans at this time.

“To be honest, I’m not 100% sure what the situation is there with Tommy,” Quirke said.

I know he’s gone in and he’s done some of the conditioning stuff. I assume he’s on the panel or whatever. I honestly don’t know exactly what his current status is with all that.

“Tommy is above in Cork. To protect him as much as anything else, we don’t bring him down during the week for training.

“If his body is able, and I think it would be able once he’d be managed correctly, I think the guy has definitely got stuff that he can contribute to Kerry.

“So if he is in there, it’s something that he’ll be well able for.”

Click Here: St George illawarra Dragons Jersey

With the offensive mark part of the experimental rules which will be trialled during the pre-season competitions and potentially the 2019 league, Walsh’s AFL experience means he could be a key weapon for Keane in the spring and beyond.

Michael Walsh leaving the field against Cork last summer.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Meanwhile, the Irish Examiner is reporting that Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh will throw his lot in with Waterford for another year. 

Walsh broke the record for senior inter-county appearances last summer with 74, but he look set to extend that run in 2019. 

New Waterford manager Padraic Fanning confirmed the news yesterday and added that Shane Bennett – who opted out of the squad last year – will also return to the fold.

Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:

THE LONGLIST FOR the 2018 RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year award has been revealed, with Johnny Sexton, Katie Taylor and Dublin footballer Brian Fenton among the 23 nominees.

The final shortlist will be announced on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 on Sunday 9 December and the awards will be presented on 15 December.

2018 was an exceptional year for Irish sport as Joe Schmidt’s side secured Grand Slam success in the Six Nations, while the women’s hockey team enjoyed an incredible campaign at the World Cup.

Graham Shaw’s charges defied the odds to claim a silver medal after reaching the final against the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, it was also an exceptional year for the Dublin footballers as Jim Gavin’s side collected the Sam Maguire for a fourth consecutive year while the ladies team completed back-to-back All-Ireland success in Croke Park.

The Limerick hurlers ended a 45-year wait for the Liam MacCarthy Cup, Cork retained their All-Ireland camogie title and Dundalk secured a League and FAI Cup double.

Katie Taylor continued to dominate in professional boxing, while Kellie Harrington won a gold medal in the lightweight division at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships.

Cork sprinter Phil Healy enjoyed an incredible season on the track as she set a new national record over 100m and 200m, and Sanita Puspure won a gold medal in the women’s single sculls at the World Rowing Championships.

The RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year longlist:

• Sinéad Aherne — Dublin Ladies captain
• Thomas Barr — Athletics 
• TJ Doheny — Boxing 
• Katie-George Dunlevy & Eve McCrystal — Para-Cycling
• Brian Fenton — Dublin footballer
• Kellie Harrington — Boxing
• Phil Healy — Athletics 
• Patrick Hoban — Dundalk striker
• Ellen Keane — Para-Swimming
• Cian Lynch — Limerick hurler
• Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe — Pentathlon
• Dan Martin — Cycling
• Padraig McCarthy — Eventing
• Rhys McClenaghan — Gymnastics 
• Ayeisha McFerran — Hockey
• Sanita Puspure — Rowing
• Jonathan Rea — Motor Cycling
• Davy Russell — Jockey
• Shane Ryan — Swimming 
• Johnny Sexton — Rugby
• Chloe Sigerson — Cork camogie 
• Jason Smyth — Para-Athletics
• Katie Taylor — Boxing

Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:

Click Here: cheap nike men shoes

THE PROSPECT OF the GAA’s new rule changes for Gaelic football being potentially scrapped before the league, if they are to found cause major problems in the pre-season competitions, has been raised.

Colm Begley, the experienced Laois footballer and a new programme co-ordinator with the GPA, is adamant that the GPA are in support of new rules being trialled.

Click Here: south sydney rabbitohs rugby store

But he has shared the concern of players that the rules would come into operation before the league without any review.

GAA President John Horan and his GPA counterpart Paul Flynn met on Wednesday to discuss the rules. It was announced afterwards that a Central Council meeting on 19 January will undertake a review of the rules, a week before the 2019 Allianz football league commences.

A Central Council meeting last Saturday had sanctioned the trial of the new rules which involve kickouts, handpassing, a sin-bin, an attacking mark and sideline kicks.

Source: David Fitzgerald/SPORTSFILE

“If they’re reviewed and they go well, then players will probably adapt to them pretty well in decent competitions,” said Begley, before he headed to Philadelphia as part of the travelling party for the 2018 PWC All-Stars tour.

“Not ideal, but it would happen. We can’t just say, ‘throw them out’. Maybe ideally next year they would have been put in place in the League if they went well. 

“If they review it and some of them don’t go well, then they’ll be pulled out or they’ll be tweaked. I think they’ll look at them, and if they’re not working or effective they won’t be involved in the League. That’s my understanding of it.”
Begley was keen to stress the importance that players place on the league and the worry that trying to adjust to new rules would impact on their individual performances.

“Paul and John met and just had a meeting about the new rules. I think the main points that Paul raised were that the GPA
are totally behind the new rules being implemented and tried out to try to help and change the game.

“The players are behind that. But I think the major concern for us and the members of the GPA was that these rules would be put into the league without review. 

“Obviously the league is a massive competition. Probably the primary competition for a lot of players. So the concern for our members was that these rules were going to be put into the league no matter what happened in pre-season. 

“Our viewpoint with that was that after the pre-season competition was that they would be reviewed and looked at. We have around 50 games in the pre-season competitions overall and that they’d be looked at individually to see whether they worked to improve the game. 

“And the GAA told us that on 19 January there will be a review for it. We’re happy enough with that, that’s all we can ask for. 

“The players aren’t against the new rules being put in place. These rules could be fantastic and if they are, then brilliant. 

“But it’s only a month and a half to the league, and they’re only being introduced now. It’s very hard for players to these new rules and implement them properly and change tactics if needs be. 

“That was our primary concern, and, in fairness to John and the GAA, they told us they’ll review it on the 19th which is good.”

Begley commenced a new role last week that wsee him working with the GPA.

“I was working with Laois GAA and the Leinster Council combined. Down there doing a GDA role. I started doing a job with the GPA last week, a new role, programme co-ordinator. 

“I started the role there last Monday. It’s a new full-time job, they employed two people. I’m working with the player welfare and player development and overseeing their projects and starting new projects as well. 

“A newly created job. Paul (Flynn) is trying to get a few new faces in, and, so far so good.” 

Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:

A LEAGUE TITLE, a Leinster final appearance and a challenge in the qualifiers against eventual All-Ireland semi-finalists.

Other teams may have resided more in the spotlight in the 2018 but the Laois footballers ticked a few boxes and made noticeable strides.

It was an impressive start to life under the stewardship of John Sugrue. The Kerry native was not an unfamiliar outsider to the squad.

Laois football manager John Sugrue.

Source: Patrick O’Connor/INPHO

Life and work has based him in the county for a while, he did a stint previously as physio with the side before taking the managerial reins at the outset this year.

And soon he began to make his mark, showcasing why he had been highly regarded from his spells coaching the Kerry senior side in 2007-08 in assistance to Pat O’Shea and guiding his native South Kerry team to county glory in 2015.

The progress is incremental given Laois began in the basement tier of the league but they had silverware to their name in Croke Park in April. Then they got the chance to sample a Leinster final against an all-conquering Dublin team in late June before their summer adventure was ended by Monaghan, a game marked by a shot-stopping masterclass from Graham Brody.

“We had him before with (Justin) McNulty, he came in as a physio,” recalls Colm Begley, speaking before the departure to Philadelphia for the 2018 PWC All-Stars tour.

“Straight away, without blowing him up now, he has a good footballing brain. He’s been involved with good players, he’ll talk to players quite easily, he’s confident in regards to dealing with groups. He just came in and set down structures, brought in some good lads, the S&C was very good.”

A defensive anchor in the Laois team, Begley recognised a shift in their squad this season.

Source: David Fitzgerald/SPORTSFILE

“Last year was probably the first year we actually had proper competition for a while. Myself or some of the more senior players could have played bad games, or average games, and probably would have started the week after.

“It was no one’s fault, we just didn’t have lads coming through or they weren’t confident enough yet. I could have had bad games, not that I was feeling comfortable, I was just having bad games.

“But I think last year, when you have a bad game, someone else will be brought in to have a crack at it. So he brought in some lads, he got a larger panel at the start, he brought in some fresh faces – and that brings a bit of energy.

“And then we had a game plan of sorts, he put a bit of structure into our play, and I suppose when a lads speaks with a bit of confidence and paints a clear picture for you, you get buy-in. He obviously had the previously respect from his coaching with us, with Justin.”

Begley has signed up again for more county service in 2019.

Colm Begley and Ross Munnelly celebrate after Laois claimed the Division 4 football league title.

“I’ve started to go. I’m committed to it. I think every year when you get to an older age you have a little bit of a discussion about it.

“We had an alright year last year, which for me is a positive thing, and if management want you – you have a chat with him (John Sugrue), we had a discussion and he’s happy to keep me on.

“I think it would have been a different conversation if it wasn’t as strong. A lot of people might say that’s probably a bit short-sighted, but when you’re giving the commitment and you’re not getting the results or some form of progression, it’s very hard to stay involved, I think anyway.

“But when you see improvement, you kind of go there’s a benefit to it. So the atmosphere is good in there, John has brought a nice energy to it and it’s a good place to be around and a good place to train.”

Laois will start out life next spring in Division 3 and get set for a Leinster championship campaign later. They would be a county affected if a proposed second-tier structure was introduced and Begley finds himself in favour of such a concept.

“There’s definitely more positivity towards looking at it and I just don’t think we’re there yet
in terms of how it’s going to be formatted. We’re still trying to change it, I know the GAA are looking at different ways as well and proposals.

“In fairness to them they’ve realised that it’s not something we can fast-track through. I would be in favour of it, I think down the line that’s the way it’s going. It’s all about trying to get the same respect for whatever competition it is as what we get for the main one. I think that’s the concern among players.

“It has to be thought about, how you’d market it, how you’d push it, what incentives would be for it. But I think players realise that we’re not all on the same level. We all want to go for the Sam Maguire, that’s great, but sometimes we’re not there yet. The League, I think, is a great competition because for certain teams, for us last year, Division Four, our goal was to get to Division Three, that was probably our main goal of the year. You realise you’re at the level there and if you’re progressing, you’re progressing on your ability. It’s as simple as that.

“I don’t see an issue in trying things out or at least putting proposals forward that might incentivise teams to do it and give Division Three and Division teams the same viewing and promotion that the top teams are getting. 

“And giving them the chance to win a huge competition, and it would be a huge competition. It should be.” 

Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:

Click Here: France Rugby Jersey

TWENTY YOUNG GAA stars were put through their paces at the eighth annual AFL Europe Combine as they bid to impress watching scouts and earn a trial Down Under.

Sean Walsh during the warm-up.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

12 counties were represented as the youngsters took part in the two-day fitness and skills testing event in UCD. It was conducted by former Down and Collingwood player Marty Clarke and various AFL Europe officials.

Down's Marty Clarke puts the lads through their paces at the @AFL Irish Combine in UCD. pic.twitter.com/gC4nZDghn9

Click Here: Roma soccer tracksuit— UCD GAA (@UCDGAA) November 30, 2018

Crossmaglen prospect Rian O’Neill, brother of Armagh forward Oisin O’Neill and nephew of Orchard legend Oisin McConville, was in attendance alongside recent All-Ireland minor winners Paul O’Shea and Colm Moriarty from Kerry.

Rian O’Neill during the speed test.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

Dublin’s James Madden (Brisbane Lions), Cork’s Mark Keane and Derry native Anton Tohill (both Collingwood) and were among those who impressed at last year’s event and earned rookie contracts in the AFL.

There will be a record 14 Irish players on the books of Aussie Rules clubs next year after the recent signings of Kerry’s Stefan Okunbor (Geelong), Derry’s Callum Brown (Greater Western Sydney) and Sligo youngster Red Óg Murphy (North Melbourne).

That figure could rise even further in 2019 if the recruiters were impressed by the prospects on show in Dublin this week.

Cathal Horan during the vertical jump test.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

Ross McQuillan during the speed test.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

Jason Scully during the agility run.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

A view of the agility run.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

A view of participants during the warm-up.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

Sean O’Donoghue during the speed test.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

A view of the agility run.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

Rory Egan during the agility run.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

Colm Moriarty during the agility run.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

The 20 players who took part in UCD were:

• Rian O’Neill (Armagh)
• Ross McQuillan (Armagh)
• Cillian Rouine (Clare)
• Seán O’Donoghue (Clare)
• Seán Walsh (Cork)
• Peadar Mogan (Donegal)
• Paul O’Shea (Kerry)
• Colm Moriarty (Kerry)
• Mark Barrett (Kildare)
• Pearce Dolan (Leitrim)
• Josh Ryan (Limerick)
• Cathal Horan (Mayo)
• Liam Byrne (Meath)
• Jason Scully (Meath)
• Rory Egan (Offaly)
• Luke Towey (Sligo)
• Conal Kennedy (Tipperary)
• Jack Kennedy (Tipperary)
• Barry O’Connor (Wexford)
• Ronan Devereaux (Wexford)

Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here: