Month: September 2021

A RANDOM MESSAGE out of the blue is often the starting point for new and exciting opportunities in the world we live in today.

Source: Donall Farmer/INPHO

Before Aisling McCarthy opened her phone that day, she probably didn’t know what CrossCoders was. 

She’s well aware now. 

It’s a global programme that allows top female athletes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a professional in the Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW).

“Basically, a girl wrote to me and she just said that they started off this initiative,” the Tipperary footballer explains to The42.

“It was called CrossCoders, a global programme to try see who’d be interested and get players from not just Ireland — there’s girls from England, Canada, the USA, Fiji even.

“Just to see if anyone’s interested in seeing if their skills in their sport could translate over to the AFL. That you’d have the potential to be offered to play the sport.”

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Scouting out her interest. And it was most definitely there.

“I was obviously intrigued,” she smiles. “Even just hearing from Cora (Staunton) being there.”

From there, there were questions traded back and forth and details exchanged along with video clips and the likes as her application took shape.

Source: Matt Browne/SPORTSFILE

It’s all pretty much a blur now, it happened so fast. Next thing, she got an email saying that she was invited to a week-long trial camp in Melbourne.

McCarthy is one of 11 Irish involved along with two Americans and other athletes from Wales, England, France, Canada and Fiji. 

Before embarking on the venture Down Under — the Irish group flew out on Thursday — McCarthy was ecstatic at the entire situation.

“Even when they wrote to me I was like, ‘This opportunity is mad!’ the 22-year-old continues. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

“I was like, ‘I actually can’t believe they’re flying people out for this.’ They obviously have a massive interest in players going over to play professionally. I couldn’t turn it down when I got the offer.

“It’s going to be a massive challenge. The calibre of players and sportspeople going is big so it’s going to be very competitive out there, I’ve no doubt about that. 

“It’s great that there’s so many Irish girls, ladies footballers especially. It just shows that ladies football is a high enough calibre of sport and (players are) at that level maybe of being a professional athlete.”

That’s the real pull: there’s a chance to secure a contract for the 2019 AFLW season, something Mayo duo Cora Staunton and Sarah Rowe have both done already. 

The Western Bulldogs will be offering one, or maybe more, rookie deals at the end of the camp which runs from 22-30 September. Other clubs will also be able to attend and scout the talent on offer accordingly.

Source: Piaras Ó Mídheach/SPORTSFILE

Of course, it’s down the line at this stage. There’s a lot of ifs, buts and maybes between now and then, but she can’t help but let her mind wander somewhat.

“I’m just really looking forward to the prospect of maybe getting the opportunity to play professionally,” she dreams for a moment.”It’s something that I think all sportspeople would like to experience.

“I just think that playing professionally, you’re going to be getting the best strength and conditioning possible, you’re going to be training day in, day out. You’re going to be in the best shape of your life really and it’s an area that sportspeople can really excel in with the set-up and things like that. 

“If the opportunity comes, you’d have to think about it a good bit with regards to contracts and things. It’s a big move obviously to the other side of the world.”

The ladies football and AFLW seasons compliment each other fairly well in that you can manage both, as many have spoken at length about. So if the dream did come true, she’d be delighted to come back and play for Tipperary next year.

She pulls herself back though: “But look, the camp next week is going to be tough, no doubt.

“There’s going to be a lot of fitness testing, strength testing, looking at our skills and game management, spacial awareness and things like that. I’ve no doubt it’ll be very competitive but I’m looking forward to that as well. It’ll be a great experience.

Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

“I haven’t much experience with playing AFL at all. I’ve touched the ball a few times now. Since I know I’m going I’ve been practicing a bit.”

Growing up in Cahir, McCarthy wasn’t exactly exposed to a whole pile of Aussie Rules. She mixed camogie with Gaelic football, focusing on the latter at inter-county level of late. 

She’s taken more of an interest recently. Understandably.

She’s kept an eye on the men’s game in Oz, however, since fellow Tipperary native Colin O’Riordan made the move to the Sydney Swans in 2015. She’d keep up to date on social media; watching clips, reading and following what she could.

“I suppose then when there was a lot of interest with Cora’s move, I would have seen more clips of the ladies,” she adds.

“I wouldn’t have been a major fan now of any specific club or anything like that. I just think it’s a very interesting game. It was more the men’s aspect just because of the links with Colin.”

As she mentioned, she’s been playing around with the oval ball. Getting as many touches in as she could before boarding that plane.

“I’ve been practicing but the skills are quite different. The kicking and the tackling, I kind of was like, ‘Ah, how can it be that different?’ When you get the ball in your hand, it really is.

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— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) July 12, 2018

“It’s more of a punt-style kick. My kicking style in Gaelic football would be my around the corner hook kick. It’s more accurate in ladies football but in AFL, they say that the punt kick is a lot more accurate. My kicking style will definitely have to change!

“The handpass as well, you just handpass it with a different aspect of your fist, that’s something that you have to get used to. It’s going to be all little changes.

“There’s a big technical aspect to it as well. You’re going to have to be able to learn plays and things like that, which isn’t really brought into ladies football. Obviously there’s some tactics but it’s still kind of whatever happens, happens.”

Then there’s the physical side of the game.

“Dad was watching the Cora Staunton documentary and he was like, ‘This is frightening, I don’t think I want to let you go!,” the 2017 Intermediate Player of the Year laughs.

But she’s serious at the same time. She’s well aware of what lies ahead.

“The hits people were getting were just nuts. It was kind of scary, but look! There’s some really hard hits, that’s obviously going to be a massive difference. I’d like to think that I’m kind of a strong, physical player anyway so hopefully that might help.

“Look, it could be on another level there. It’s a totally new game, there’s going to be players that are playing this all their lives. You’ll be a small fish in a big pond really going over. But I’m really looking forward to it.”

Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

There’s a nice personal touch to the whole trip too. McCarthy’s mother was born in Melbourne and she has relations over there so she’s excited for that element too.

She’s never been over to visit and she hasn’t seen them in years so that’s an ‘added bonus’, as she puts it. Likewise with the travelling group, she’s looking forward to getting to know them more after inter-county battle after battle on home soil.

And while there’ll be friendships made, there’ll be many more battles down under as they chase those coveted contracts.

She knows how it goes.

“The opportunity has come up so I’m just going to take it head on now,” she concludes. “It’s all happening quite fast but I’m looking forward to it so.

“I’ll take it in my stride anyway and see what happens!”

That she will.

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KIERAN MCGEENEY IS a firm believer in the dark side. 

The former All-Ireland winning captain often says that all elite sportsmen need to have a darkness inside them to compete at the highest level. 

Sean Cavanagh can attest to that.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

The five-time All-Star found himself edging closer and closer to his dark side as his career went on. As he fought the dying of the light at the tail end of his career, Cavanagh became more willing to cross the line and do whatever it took to be successful. 

In his younger days, Cavanagh was often targeted due to the perception he was easy to throw off his game. By the finish, he had succumbed to the dark arts.

“I would stand on the field and encourage team-mates to pull opponents down if they breached our rear-guard at a crucial stage in the game,” he writes in his autobiography.

During one clash against Donegal, Cavanagh recalled screaming into the face of Michael Murphy after he missed a free: “Murphy you fat bollox.”

Then there was a tangle with Lee Keegan in the 2016 All-Ireland quarter-final: “(Keegan) started pulling and dragging out of me. I grabbed his thumb, jerked it back and told him that, next time, I would break it.”

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

“Some of the things I did, particularly in the latter stages of my career, when I became more desperate to try and win it was just born out of pure obsession of trying to win,” he told The42.

“Trying to get that one or two per cent that everyone talks about. I was in that bubble and nothing else really matter but trying to win. With that, I sacrificed an awful lot. I sacrificed friends, family, social occasions.”

It was Cavanagh’s visceral need to win that drove him to actions he would later regret.

‘The Obsession’ is a fitting title for his book, which paints the picture of a serial winner who was always looking ahead to the next challenge. That mentality helped him to become one of the finest footballers of his generation, but it also had its drawbacks.

The relationship between obsessive behaviour and greatness is a fascinating one. There’s a widely held belief in psychology that to reach an elite level in any field, some degree of obsession is necessary. 

Read the autobiography of any high-level athlete and the majority of them describe how they sacrificed other aspects of their lives to achieve their goals. Family, relationships and even their own health are set aside. Cavanagh was no different, particularly in the punishment his body took.

There are numerous examples in his book of the extreme lengths he went to in order to get the most out of himself on the field.

Source: James Crombie

From the age of 18, he was heavily reliant on anti-inflammatories to alleviate pain. It got to the point where he knew which brand worked best for each part of his body.

He made the startling observation in his book of the number of times he sustained concussions during his Tyrone career, even more pertinent given the heavy blow he took during a club game last weekend which left him with a broken nose and “bad concussion”.

“Perhaps the biggest regret I have, medical-wise, is that I have been concussed between four to six times every year and played through games in many of those instances,” he wrote.

“Concussion protocols are thankfully in place now but more than once I was able to convince medics that I was good to go when I was actually all over the shop.”

He goes on to describe a Division 1 league game against Monaghan in 2015 where he took a knee to the side of the head. “I can honestly say that I had no clue where I was during that first-half…I can’t remember one bit of that second-half.”

In his later years, Cavanagh would ice his knee several times a day, first strapping ice packs to it before he purchased a machine he would sit in for 45 minutes at a time. He took “between three and five anti-inflammatory injections every year” of his life for the final decade of his career “to kill the pain in my body.”

He admits now he struggles to walk down the stairs most mornings due to his creaking ankles and knees. “I am worried about my long-term health as a result of what I did,” he says in the book.

“I went deeper into obsession mode. Nothing else mattered bar trying to get the body to maximum efficiency. It was lunacy. It began to impinge on my work as an accountant at Cavanagh Kelly. But worse again, I sacrificed more and more time with Fionnuala (his wife) and the kids.”

Source: Presseye/Russell Pritchard/INPHO

He was so driven to succeed that he often found his mind racing at night before and after games. The image of Cavanagh lying awake in his bed at the Citywest Hotel the night of the 2008 All-Ireland final is a telling one.

Having failed to score in the ’03 and ’05 deciders, he took Tom O’Sullivan for five points from play and was named man-of-the-match. But here he was, wide awake, tormenting himself over a goal opportunity he passed up during the game. 

“Jesus Christ, I could have scored a goal in an All-Ireland final!”

The pain of defeat was more acute than the short moments of elation that came with victory.

“After the All-Ireland wins, they were short-lived,” he explains. “That was probably the pinnacle of my career that All-Ireland final. I was lying there at 2am thinking to myself, ‘Why didn’t I go for goal?’

“I was coming in one time off the Cusack Stand side and I had a great opportunity to come in and ping a shot at goal but I decided to fist over the bar which I did an awful lot of times during my career.

“I’d just won man-of-the-match in an All-Ireland final, scored five points and yet I’m lying there thinking of that. And I’m thinking, ‘Is this rational?’

“My behaviour at times wasn’t rational. Whilst I was able to share my victories with my team-mates and say, ‘Yeah, it’s a team game and we all win together.’ Whenever we lost, I put that on myself and took it very personally.”

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

His struggle to sleep the night before games was even worse. It was an affliction he dealt with throughout his entire career.

“Even as a minor I remember it happening me,” he said. “I’m sure there’s loads of club and county players out there that are similar to me. I’m sure I’ll get to meet some of them probably in the coming months.

“I’ve already had text messages flipped to me in the last few days of people saying, ‘That’s exactly how I feel.’ At times during my career, I felt I was the only one on the planet that felt like this – that couldn’t sleep before games, that took defeats harrowingly. 

“It was only then a couple of years ago I met AP McCoy and I was chatting him up in Armagh City Hotel. He started to say something very similar to me. I watched his documentary ‘Being AP’ and it was brilliant to watch.

“An awful lot of the feelings and emotions I had, I could relate to his. He was something similar where he was happy to sacrifice family, friends and at times his own body and probably his own physical health to try and achieve something. That’s what I felt throughout my career – that need to try and push myself hard and harder.”

The comparison with McCoy is an apt one. Back in 2014, McCoy was on track to reach his holy grail of 300 jump racing winners in a season when he was struck down by a series of devastating injuries. 

“That broke my heart, really,” McCoy said the following year. “It was the first time ever as a jockey that I felt broken. Yeah, I’ve broken every fucking bone in my body but bones heal. This was feeling broken inside. It absolutely broke my heart because, until then, I really thought it was on.

“I was riding out of my skin because I felt the hunger. I felt the need. I felt the obsession.”

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

The toughest setback Cavanagh faced was undoubtedly Tyrone’s quarter-final loss to Mayo in 2016. It was, he says, the worst he’s ever been after a match. The one-point defeat in Croke Park sent the Moy native into a worrying tailspin.

A second yellow card for a high challenge on Aidan O’Shea ended his day in Croke Park prematurely. 

Fast forward three hours and Cavanagh was still in his Tyrone shorts and tracksuit top, wandering around the countryside outside the Moy. His phone, wallet and keys were left in Harry Loughran’s car when Cavanagh was dropped off at Moy Square. 

His mind was racing as he roamed further from home. He had a close call with a boy racer at one stage, jumping into a country lane ditch to avoid being hit by the car. In the darkness, the driver of the red Merc didn’t even know he was there.

Later, a car full of Tyrone supporters stopped to offer a lift, but Cavanagh was intent on continuing. Two more hours passed before he made it to Dungannon when a taxi driver recognised him and insisted on dropping him home.

Cavanagh arrived in the door at 1.40am and the search parties were called off. He hadn’t eaten in 15 hours. He’d gone AWOL before – after Tyrone lost the All-Ireland U21 final in 2003 – but this was far more extreme.

“I blamed myself as captain,” he said. “I blamed myself that I got sent-off. I got caught up in a personal battle with Lee Keegan which he won and I ended up being off the pitch for the last 20 minutes and the fact we lost by a point – no disrespect to Tipperary but we were playing them in the semi-final if we had have won, which probably would have led to a final.

“In my mind, in a perfect world that was the way I was going to sail off into the sunset in an All-Ireland final against the Dubs. 

“Whatever way we did, I was happy to go. Because it didn’t work out it hit me hard. I went into almost a state of shock and a numbness. Walking decided to be the way in which I thought I could clear my head.

“It turned out then a number of hours later I was picked up by a taxi man. I had no idea of time or anything. I was still in control and would never do anything to hurt me or anyone else – it was my way of trying to get away from everything. 

“Equally I’d say, as a county footballer I had to be very resilient. Within 15 hours of that I was probably back in the gym trying to work myself even harder.

“Yet again, that’s the obsession. It’s not rational behaviour but in your mind when you’rein that bubble everyone refers to, it made complete sense to me.

“It’s only now sitting back and after doing a book on it when you think, ‘I would love to share those memories with someone – if there’s a young lad coming through who’s going to have these similar feelings, thoughts and emotions.’ I would love for him to be able to deal with it better than I did.”

Source: The42.ie/YouTube

On the taxi driver who dropped him home that night, Cavanagh wrote: “I don’t know who he is, I never got his name and I haven’t met him since, but I have no doubt I’ll meet this guy along the line again somewhere.”

Sure enough, when he held his book launch last week in the Moy club, who appeared only the taxi driver.

“I’m the taxi man,” he declared.

“You’re the taxi man?” replied Cavanagh. “You’re the man?”

“You weren’t going to get into the car that night.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

Cavanagh was surprised that the story didn’t make its way into the public domain.

“I thought I might meet him at some stage but I wasn’t sure,” he said. “And fair play to him, he was amazingly discreet.

“It probably would have been easy for him in the past few years to tell that story out and he hadn’t. He hadn’t told anyone. He only lived a few miles down the road in Dungannon.

“I remember he pulled up alongside me. I was in a pair of shorts at 1.30am. And he said to me, ‘Jump in the car.’ I was like, ‘No, no, no I’m only out for walk here. I’m grand, thanks a million anyway.’ But he insisted, which I’m glad he did in all fairness. That was probably the low point of my career that night.” 

He wasn’t always built that way. As a youngster, Cavanagh was a carefree footballer that took a more cavalier approach to his diet.

He lived on a diet of beans on toast and boiled rice with curry sauce through 2004, believing it would control his weight and aid his performance. During his college days, he took the novel approach of mixing his protein shakes with WKD to improve the taste.

“It made complete sense as a 19-year-old who was just off the back of winning an All-Ireland minor. I remember ballooning up to about 16 stone as a fresher in Jordanstown in Belfast.

“I remember a moment when I was trying to run after a few average club players when we were up in Mary Peters Track just outside Belfast. Damian Barton, the ex-Derry manager, came up to me and said, ‘Sean, whatever you’re eating could you please half and whatever you’re training could you please double?’

“I just needed to flip the scales and get back in the groove. A few of the Tyrone players back then would have given me a bit of grief and Cormac McAnallen would have been one of those guys that always gave me a bit of a niggle. He was someone who lived his life so perfectly and through to his death so religiously. 

“Mars bars and Tayto cheese and onion sandwiches weren’t really part of the diet. I probably saw it all. I saw the pre-social media zone where there was plenty of craic in a team.

“Every single match you went out after for a night out and boys did things and got away with things and got away with a bit of craic. Obviously now we’re living in a social media world where anything you do is well documented and you’re living under a microscope.

“I’d some really good years at the start of my career and WKD was very welcome as a fresher.”

Cavanagh during the 2001 All-Ireland minor final replay win over Dublin

Source: Andrew Paton/INPHO

He had plenty of high points in the Tyrone jersey and his biggest achievements arrived in the first half of his career. By the age of 25, he was a three-time All-Ireland champion and reigning Footballer of the Year. From there, the incline grew steeper.

“I think I was spoiled in the early part of my career. It was the way it was – we won All-Irelands. That’s what we did. I was part of that really special group that came from the ’98 minor team that had bonded through adversity at times but equally had some brilliant players and I was riding the crest of a wave.

“At that early stage it was about winning team awards, individual awards and the time was good. That flipped then and I almost had a first half and a second half.

“Because in the second half of my career I was chasing success and Donegal were sort of dominating in Ulster. Monaghan rose to prominence and we’d maybe dropped back a peg. Then the great Dublin team arrived. So I found myself trying to push myself harder and harder, whilst in the earlier parts of my career it just worked.”

“Naturally as you get older you have injuries. I was living on anti-inflammatories, to get to know your body. The boundaries in which you push – they become extremist at times.” 

Is he satisfied then, with a career that saw him win five All-Stars and lift the Sam Maguire on three occasions?

“I don’t think you’re ever content. It’s whenever you now realise that a decade has passed since Tyrone won an All-Ireland.

“There potentially could be a whole generation of players that never wins an All-Ireland. You look back and think, ‘There was 100 years before that when no-one from Tyrone won an All-Ireland.’

“At times I wonder whether it was all worth it. It’s only whenever you step out of it, you think whether it was, but obsession was the word anyway.”

Obsession was the word alright.

******

Source: The42.ie/YouTube

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A BID TO keep part of the famous Big Tree GAA haunt near Croke Park open on match days has been blocked by the local council.

Louis Fitzgerald, the former owner of the pub, revealed earlier this year that the north Dublin joint had been sold to the Dublin Loft Company. Since the sale, the new owner has secured planning permission for a six-storey hotel at the site.

Prior to the sale, the Big Tree was part of a wider pub empire controlled by Fitzgerald. The publican still owns several city centre venues, including Kehoe’s on South Anne Street and the Quays Bar in Temple Bar.

At the beginning of this month, the Big Tree opened its doors for the last time during All-Ireland football final day.

However, earlier this summer and after the sale of the pub property, Fitzgerald applied for planning permission to erect a marquee with bar facilities in a courtyard beside the pub on Croke Park match days.

In his application to Dublin council, Fitzgerald’s firm noted it has erected a marquee on the site for the past six years and the venue “has become a major part of the social aspect of the Croke Park experience”.

The proposed site of the marquee

Source: Google Maps

The proposed site for the summer marquee is currently on Dublin council’s vacant sites register, a State scheme that imposes a levy on disused property that could be developed for housing.

According to the register, the owner of the €1.3 million property is the Dublin Loft Company. Fitzgerald previously received permission from the local authority for a marquee development at the site in 2016.

However, local residents lodged complaints against the latest application.

The Mountjoy Square Society said that the pub owner has not used the previous permission to erect a marquee and instead used the area as a “large open-air beer garden”, which included two bars, portaloos and a burger van. 

“The noise of hundreds of people drinking in the beer garden has a serious impact on the amenity of the houses of Belvedere Road and North Circular Road. There are also extreme smells from the burger van,” the group said.

Source: Flickr/Infomatique

The residents group added that the planning permission granting the Big Tree use of the space expired in April and the site had been used on numerous occasions since then a beer garden.

In its decision on the application, Dublin council refused Fitzgerald planning permission due to the disturbance the development would cause the residential area.

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Written by Killian Woods and posted on Fora.ie

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CRATLOE PROVED SUPERIOR to reigning champions Sixmilebridge as they enjoyed 1-19 0-16 win over their neighbours in this afternoon’s quarter-final.

Riain Considine, a Dr Harty Cup winner with Ard Scoil Rís, fired home the all-important goal in the 37th minute. His initial shot was saved by Derek Fahy but Considine made no mistake with the rebound.

Jamie Shanahan was on the losing side today with Sixmilebridge (file pic).

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Coached by Mike Deegan, Cratloe won the majority of battles all over the field and had a variety of players inflicting damage on their opponents, Billy Connors (0-7), Diarmuid Ryan (0-3), Enda Boyce and Padraic Collins (0-3) chief among them.

Sixmilebridge’s exit comes as no major surprise as their form heading into this game was far from their previous levels. They scored just nine points from play and struggled when ran at in defence.

Last year’s beaten finalists Clooney/Quin were also dumped out of the championship by a more cohesive O’Callaghan’s Mills outfit, who were still on a high from their Round Three victory over Wolfe Tones.

Level on six occasions, these two evenly-matched sides were only separated by the greater collective scoring threat of the O’Callaghan’s Mills attack as it finished 0-17 0-14 in their favour.

It was a very stop-start affair, with the free-takers — Peter Duggan and Jacob Loughnane — accounting for eight and nine points respectively. Duggan, who was the top scorer in this year’s All-Ireland championship, uncharacteristically missed five scoreable placed-balls for Clooney/Quin.

It was a disappointing afternoon for Peter Duggan and Clooney/Quin (file pic).

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Gary Cooney, a member of the Clare extended panel this year and a county minor in 2017, was lively throughout for the Mills, putting three points on the board.

He was assisted by his brother Ciaran at centre-back and All-Ireland winning captain Patrick Donnellan in driving them into their first semi-final since 1997.

Inagh/Kilnamona, Ballyea, Kilmaley and Éire Óg will compete in the remaining two quarter-finals, with two precious semi-final spots on the line.

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Updated at 7.45pm

TYRONE GAA HAS this evening said it will be taking no disciplinary action against any Edendork player after Sean Cavanagh sustained horrific injuries during a club match last weekend. 

The former Tyrone senior football captain suffered a broken nose and concussion after an incident during the championship clash between Edendork and Moy at O’Neill Park in Dungannon.

In the aftermath of the game which produced a staggering 27 cards — 20 yellow, one black and six red — the Tyrone Competitions Control Committee requested the referee’s report and video footage of the incident in which Cavanagh was injured.

After completing its investigation, Tyrone GAA released a statement on Saturday evening saying the referee, Kieran Eanetta, was ‘well-positioned’ and adjudicated on the matter ‘appropriately.’

“Tyrone GAA has now completed its investigation into the incident during the course of the senior football championship fixture — Edendork vs Moy — in which Sean Cavanagh incurred a serious head injury,” the statement read. 

“The Tyrone Competitions Control Committee (CCC), on request, considered the referee’s report of the game and viewed a video-recording of the incident in which Sean was injured.

“The CCC was satisfied that the referee was well-positioned, in clear view of the incident, and adjudicated on the matter, appropriately.

“Tyrone GAA takes the opportunity, again, to wish its former senior football team captain, Sean Cavanagh, captain a speedy recovery from the injury that he sustained.”

On Friday evening Edendork released a statement stating their disappointment at the coverage of the incident. It said: 

Edendork St Malachy’s GAC would firstly like to take this opportunity to wish Sean Cavanagh a speedy recovery following a very unfortunate incident that occurred during Saturday’s Championship Match.

“We as a club would like to advise that we have been deeply disappointed by the aspersions cast upon our players and club in respect of this incident. It is quite clear that a blind trial by media has occurred in relation to this matter, causing the individual player and the Club a great deal of vexation. It should be noted that this was a collision that occurred during the course of play and in plain view of the referee and match officials whilst the ball was in play. No sanction or disciplinary action ensued at that time.

“Edendork GAC would like to state firmly that it is the opinion of the Club and individual player that this was an accidental and unfortunate collision and we hold any suggestion to the contrary as being defamatory.”

*************EDENDORK GAC STATEMENT**************

Edendork St Malachy’s GAC would firstly like to take this opportunity to wish Sean Cavanagh a speedy recovery following a very unfortunate incident that occurred during… https://t.co/NC1QKQj9Bs

— Edendork GAC (@EdendorkGAC) September 21, 2018

The statement added: “The Club wishes to add that they are gravely disappointed by any media publication linking this incident to an overarching suggestion of an endemic problem of violence in Tyrone football.

The Club warns that the individual player and club are taking legal advice in respect of comments published on social media inferring and expressly stating that this was a deliberate act. The Club and individual player will meet any inferred or express statement with the robustness required to ensure that the Club and player’s reputations are protected.

“The player involved states resolutely that this was not an intentional or malicious act but an accident. We as a Club support this position and ask that people take a few moments to think before casting any insult or contempt towards the individual player or the Club.

“We hope this draws a line under what was a competitive encounter on Saturday against Moy GFC and emphasise that we hope to see Sean back playing for his club as soon as possible.”

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Abbeyside 0-14
De La Salle 0-13

Tomás McCarthy reports from Fraher Field

JUBILANT SCENES GREETED Tommy O’Sullivan’s final whistle in Fraher Field this evening as Abbeyside squeezed through to their first Waterford senior hurling final in 10 years.

Top scorer Mark Ferncombe hit the winner five minutes from the end for Peter Queally’s charges after the teams were deadlocked on nine occasions.

The Villagers trailed 0-13 to 0-12 with 12 minutes left but a wasteful De La Salle didn’t score again. The Gracedieu outfit finished with 15 wides on a blustery evening, 12 in the second period.

James Beresford, Conor Prunty, Sean Whelan-Barrett and Ferncombe propelled an aggressive Abbeyside to victory. They can look forward to a county final against either Ballygunner or Passage at the same venue in a fortnight’s time.

The underdogs registered the last five points of the opening half to earn a 0-10 to 0-7 half-time cushion. Four Shane Ryan points (three frees) and one apiece by Adam Farrell, Eddie Meaney and Cormac McCann left Salle 0-7 to 0-5 ahead after a lively opening quarter.

Wind-assisted Abbeyside responded with the next five. Dangerman Ferncombe struck five in total, including two from play. A long-distance strike from David Collins snuck them in front.

Conor Prunty tracked Waterford team-mate Kevin Moran and charged forward for a point. Wing-back Darragh McGrath added another in injury time.

Salle levelled the contest again within eight minutes of the restart via McCann, Paidi Nevin and Ryan (free). A brilliant block from Jake Dillon denied Ferncombe a certain goal.

The full-forward nailed the resultant 65 (0-12 to 0-11). Nevin tied the match again at the end of the third quarter. Stephen Enright thwarted Eddie Meaney before Ryan’s seventh point of the evening gave Salle a slender advantage.

Ferncombe, who has scored 2-37 so far this season, equalised from a free and then sent Abbeyside into the lead with a super point from the stand sideline.

Neil Montgomery spurned a goal chance but they hung on. Ryan missed the opportunity to force a replay and Abbeyside jumped for joy when O’Sullivan blew the whistle.

Scorers for Abbeyside: Mark Ferncombe 0-8 (4fs, 1 65’), Sean Whelan-Barrett 0-2, Conor Prunty, David Collins, Darragh McGrath, Patrick Hurney 0-1 each.

Scorers for De La Salle: Shane Ryan 0-7 (4fs, 1 65’), Paidi Nevin, Cormac McCann 0-2 each, Adam Farrell, Eddie Meaney 0-1 each.

Abbeyside

1. Stephen Enright

2. Brian Looby
3. Sean O’Hare
4. John Elstead

8. James Beresford
6. David Collins
7. Darragh McGrath

9. Maurice Power
5. Conor Prunty

13. Patrick Hurney
15. Tiernan Murray
25. John Hurney

12. Sean Whelan-Barrett
14. Mark Ferncombe
10. Neil Montgomery

Subs

29. Richie Foley for Murray (44)
18. Tom Looby for Power (49)
22. Eoin Kiely for Patrick Hurney (58)
19. Sean Daly for John Hurney (62)

De La Salle

1. Shaun O’Brien

2. Conor Giles Doran
17. Ian Flynn
4. Michael Doherty

5. Shane McNulty
6. Jake Dillon
7. Tom Moran

8. Eddie Barrett
11. Adam Farrell

10. Kevin Moran
14. Thomas Douglas
9. Paidi Nevin

13. Eddie Meaney
12. Cormac McCann
15. Shane Ryan

Subs

22. Eoin Madigan for Douglas (HT)
20. Sean Carton for McCann (60)

Referee: Tommy O’Sullivan

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Ballintubber 2-17
Moy Davitts 0-11

BALLINTUBBER BOOKED THEIR spot in the final four of the Mayo GAA Senior Football Championship with a comprehensive win over last years intermediate champions Moy Davitts. 

Cillian O’Connor led the way on the scroeboard with seven points over the hour and the impressive Alan Plunkett keeping up his good form bagging 1-3.

Goals from Plunkett and veteran Alan Dillon late in the first half set last years beaten finalists on their way to victory.

Up to that point the outsiders had gone toe-toe with the West Mayo men with Brian Reape kicking four points for his side, while Cillian O’Connor chipped in with four points and Jason Gibbons three points in the first half for Ballintubber to sent them in leading 2-10 to 0-8.

Alan Dillon.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

The second half failed to catch fire the same way the first had with both sides splitting six points between them over the first 25 minutes of the half and any chance Moy Davitts had of getting back into it was gone when Conall Quinn was shown a second yellow card eight minutes from time. 

Breaffy 0-11
Westport 0-10

Aidan O’Shea’s Breaffy saw off Lee Keegan’s Westport by a single point to book their place in the final four.

Despite only scoring two points in the second half Breaffy were just about able to hold off the challenge of a Westport side under the guidance of James Horan who is in the race to become the new Mayo senior manager.

Breaffy led by four at the break on a score of 0-9 to 0-5 with Conor O’Shea kicking four points and Robert Hennelly three for Peter Forde’s side.

Westport kept themselves in tough through scores from the impressive Colm Moran and Fionn McDonagh – with Lee Keegan pulling the strings in the middle of the park for them.

Mayo Breaffy’s Aidan O’Shea.

Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO

The second half saw Westport take control of the game and with a 15 minutes left they were level at nine points each and a man up after Matthew Ruane was shown a yellow and black card within minutes of each other.

Both sides swapped points over the final ten minutes to have it level at 0-10 each, but the winning score came from some smarts from Aidan O’Shea who looked to take a quick free in with Lee Keegan retreating in front of him and the ball was brought in 10 yards further and Hennelly converted to seal a 0-11 to 0-10 win.

Breaffy did have to survive a late goal chance from Westport – but Seamus O’Shea got his body in the way to block the ball and it was cleared to safety. 

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“Let’s face it, it’s a rare sport that hasn’t been through an existential crisis in recent years. From athletics to cycling and tennis to Formula One, we’ve seen almost every major sport display some pretty ugly cracks as the direct and indirect result of the massive financial pressures that now dominate the global games. Corruption, doping, match-fixing, exploitation: these are what happens when everyone wants a piece of the action, when victory is so rewarding yet increasingly costly to achieve.”

– If modern sport is educating its followers in anything, it’s how to manage resources and interpret a balance sheet, writes Emma John for The Guardian.

The Mayo team pictured before the 2003 All-Ireland senior ladies’ football championship final.

Source: INPHO

“In the summer of 2003, an area which knew well the face of tragedy was haunted by it once again. While travelling from her home in Kinuary outside Westport to see two of her sisters play for Mayo against Galway in a Connacht Championship game, Aisling McGing was involved in a fatal car crash. She was just 18.”

– PJ Browne of Balls.ie tells the story of unimaginable tragedy surrounding Mayo’s triumph in the All-Ireland senior ladies’ football championship in 2003.

“The players are faster and bigger than they’ve ever been before and with the amount of ball-in-play time increasing in the northern hemisphere, particularly in the Gallagher Premiership and Guinness Pro14, the amount of high-impact collisions taking place has been increasing for years. There are regular impacts occurring now that rarely occurred in the amateur era. Combine that with an increase in high tackles that the professional era and the adoption of rugby league-style defences has brought, and you have a powder keg of player safety issues.”

– Rugby’s damaging ‘us’ and ‘them’ culture on player welfare must end, writes Alex Shaw of Rugby Pass.

“The Olympic movement in Canada is one party pushing a potential bid for the 2026 Olympics in Calgary; there will be a non-binding plebiscite in November to determine if there is popular support for a bid. Canada has been a strong voice for anti-doping, but if the IOC is pushing the reinstatement of the Russian Federation, how can you speak out too strongly without wrecking your chances?”

– Going soft on Russia cripples the fight for clean sport, writes the Toronto Star’s Bruce Arthur.

Dan Byrne of Bohemians celebrates after their FAI Cup quarter-final win over Derry City on Wednesday.

Source: Lorcan Doherty/INPHO

“In many ways Bohemians were a metaphor for the Celtic Tiger, living through what seemed like a golden time, winning leagues and cups, travelling across Europe for five seasons in a row. Yet while everything appeared perfect, it wasn’t. The club, like so many others in the League of Ireland before them, were living beyond their means, caught up in a complicated property sale, €7million in debt by the time the fantasies stopped and reality bit. They were nearing their darkest hour when they saw the light, their board voting to slash their annual wage bill from €1million to €140,000. In so doing, their successful manager was lost, as was the entire first team and hopes of winning anything significant. Or so we thought.”

– Garry Doyle of The Times on the Bohemians revival.

“Language is powerful in such spheres and those speaking out need to be careful for, without evidence given to relevant authorities, they have no right to so lazily flash certain sentiments about. Yet that happened as silence after the brief chatter made sure innuendo formed and prospered.”

– Women in sport have been fighting hard for parity, clearly on this occasion it didn’t suit some, writes Ewan MacKenna for Independent.ie. 

“Six years ago, Golf Digest profiled this inmate who grinds colored pencils to their nubs drawing meticulously detailed golf-scapes. Although Dixon has never hit a ball or even stepped foot on a course, the game hooked him when a golfing warden brought in a photograph of Augusta National’s 12th hole for the inmate to render as a favor. In the din and darkness of his stone cell, the placid composition of grass, sky, water and trees spoke to Dixon. And the endless permutations of bunkers and contours gave him a subject he could play with.”

– Golf Digest’s Max Adler tells the story of Valentino Dixon, an innocent man who walked free this week after spending 27 years in prison.

“Obviously this is a breeding ground for greatness — right? Maybe not. What if I told you that the statistics suggest that just 15% of the players who play in the tournament are likely to go all the way and play for their countries at senior international level. Just 48 of all 320 players will still be in their national set-ups by the time they are adults. That’s just three players per squad.”

– Using relevant data, Stephen Finn illustrates the challenge players face when seeking to progress after representing their country at U17 level in the European Championships, which Ireland will host in 2019. 

George Green at Everton.

Source: Nick Potts

“Green signs a two-and-a-half-year contract, receives a £45,000 signing-on fee in three instalments of £15,000, and a promising future with the Toffees beckons for the Dewsbury teenager. Four years later he is stood on railway tracks near his hometown waiting for the next train so that he can end his life, Green’s hopes of making it as a Premier League player ruined by cocaine and alcohol.”

– Former Everton player George Green opens up to the BBC’s Neil Johnston about his battle with addiction and depression.

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1. Jon Walters

…also, I would like my official description to change from Veteran forward to Pensioner forward 👍🏼 https://t.co/NTVR6zOrYR

— Jonathan Walters (@JonWalters19) September 21, 2018

2. Saoirse Noonan

Brotherly love – Friend and fellow @sportsfile photographer Eóin Noonan consoles his young sister Saoirse after today’s TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Championship Final#ProperFan pic.twitter.com/A3RPXJg1GV

— Sam Barnes (@SportsfileSam) September 16, 2018

3. Noelle Healy

Funny the things you come across ….#SeriousSupport #dreamland @LadiesFootball @SubsetDublin pic.twitter.com/lBssuVjtkK

— Noëlle Healy (@NoelleHealy) September 18, 2018

4. Cleveland Police

We WON!!! —-Wait….Oh God. The free beer thing…Ok Cleveland. Stay calm. GO BROWNS!!! @Browns @budlight #CLE

— Cleveland Police (@CLEpolice) September 21, 2018

5. Rafa Benitez

I was proud to give Stephen Darby his Liverpool debut and now I am deeply saddened to learn of his retirement. Stephen is a special person and he has my total support. He will never walk alone. pic.twitter.com/S0BTTeow4L

— Rafa Benitez Web (@rafabenitezweb) September 19, 2018

6. Sid Lowe

I’d totally forgotten that ChLg games are not at ChLg times any more….could have been embarrassing on Wednesday.

— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) September 17, 2018

7. James Milner

Thanks Gary, always appreciated your role on the football pitch… and your punditry is now terrific and intelligent 😜 https://t.co/cCDyHZjnsa

— James Milner (@JamesMilner) September 15, 2018

8. Damian Comer

And they said I couldn't mark a bingo card…where the haters now? pic.twitter.com/u0I9iMvsl9

— Damien Comer (@DamoComer) September 16, 2018

9. Enzo Calzaghe

CALZAGHE TRIBUTE We look back to 2014 when @RealJoeCalzaghe was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and dedicated the achievement to his father Enzo.

For more:https://t.co/MWWdiV9jws https://t.co/g6nCDkvhKY

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) September 17, 2018

10. Brian Fenton

@EoinMurchan

— Brian Fenton (@BrianFenton08) September 18, 2018

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THE FOUR-IN-a-row chasing Castlebar Mitchels booked their place in the semi-finals of the Mayo senior football championship with a 1-20 to 2-9 win over Claremorris in MacHale Park on Sunday afternoon.

Mayo senior star Paddy Durcan finished the day with four points and his twin brother James with three, while Neil Douglas continued to show why he is the most dangerous club forward in the county with a personal haul of six points all from play.

Mitchels did the heavy lifting in the first half going in leading by 1-12 to 1-0 with Aidan Walsh getting the goal for Castlebar and Conor Diskin getting Claremorris’ sole score for the entire 30 minutes.

The second half was a matter of just getting though it, but Claremorris showed plenty of pride and outscored the defending county champions by 1-9 to 0-8, with their goal coming from a penalty by James Shaughnessy.

But Castlebar were able to keep themselves well ahead all the way through with Paddy Durcan kicking three second half points and they now look forward to a repeat of last year’s county final against Ballintubber in two weeks time.

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• Cillian O’Connor scores 0-7 as Ballintubber book semi-final spot while Breaffy see off Westport

Andy Moran’s Ballaghaderreen pulled off a minor upset seeing off Garrymore by two points, 3-11 to 0-18, in the last quarter-final of the weekend.

Two first-half goals from Darragh Kelly and a second-half three pointer from inter-county man Cian Hanley was the difference at the end of an exciting encounter.

Ballaghderreen led by 2-4 to 0-7 at the break after playing with the aid of a strong breeze in the first half with Barry Regan kicking three points and Andy Moran the other for the east Mayo side.

Garrymore kept themselves in touch thanks to four points from Paul Deely and two from Mark Tierney as they looked to overcome the great start that Ballaghderreen got.

Both sides went toe to toe in the second half, but the greater experience of the victors saw them home with Andy Moran pulling the strings in the middle and three points from midfielder Ryan Lynch key to their win.

2018 Mayo senior football championship

Semi-final draw

Breaffy v Ballaghderreen
Ballintubber v Castlebar Mitchels

Quarter-final results

Castlebar Mitchels 1-20 Claremorris 2-9
Ballaghederreen 3-11 Garrymore 0-18

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