Month: September 2021

DONEGAL AND KILCAR footballer Ryan McHugh will play no part in the remainder of the 2018 Donegal senior football championship due to a concussion injury.

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McHugh suffered concussion in a challenge game against Dublin champions St Vincent’s in Cavan last month.

The reigning club champions had hoped the 2016 All-Star winner would be given the go-ahead for Sunday’s quarter-final meeting with Naomh Conaill in Tir Chonaill Park in Donegal town.

However McHugh has been ruled out of not just Sunday’s game but the remainder of the club championship.

It’s a major setback for Kilcar, who ended a 24-year wait for county senior glory last year, as they are already without star forward Patrick McBrearty due to a cruciate injury.

“Ryan won’t make this year, regardless of how far we get,” stated Kilcar manager Barry Doherty.

“It’s a huge blow, yeah, of course it is. We’ve only had him for one league game all year and other lads will have to step up and we’ll need to get more out of them.”

Sunday’s game is a repeat of last year’s final which Kilcar won by 0-7 to 0-4 against the Glenties outfit.

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THE POST-WEEKEND conversation in Magheracloone on Monday morning was expected to revolve around their contesting of a Monaghan county senior football semi-final.

But their three-point defeat in Clones on Sunday afternoon against Scotstown paled in comparison to the setback the club suffered that night when a sinkhole opened up on their GAA grounds causing major damage.

Source: TheJournal.ie/YouTube

It now appears that the collapsing of pillars in an old gypsum mine caused the the sinkhole in the club, which is based the south of Monaghan close to Cavan, Meath and Louth.

Source: Google Maps

The upshot is the club have been left with no access to their facilities or GAA equipment which is stored in their grounds and have embarked on a fundraising drive to finance the purchase of new equipment.

Niamh Kindlon was a decorated ladies footballer during her playing days, winning an All-Ireland medal and All-Star awards during her career with Monaghan.

She is now chairperson of the ladies football section of her home club and admits it was ‘a miracle’ that the accident didn’t occur at another stage over the weekend when the pitch and club grounds were in use.

“On Friday evening our U12 girls were playing on that same pitch.

“On Saturday there was a boys blitz all day with nine or ten travelling teams involved. On Sunday morning the U17 boys team played at 11 o’clock and that was early because the senior men’s team were playing later.

“It’s just a miracle it didn’t happen any other evening. It’s the hub of activity as you could imagine between all underage teams playing.

“It’s really devastating. It was hard to believe until the pictures came out that it actually happened and it’s as bad as it is. It’s very sad. 

“I’m chairperson of the ladies club and my two brothers are on the executive of the men’s club. My older brother rang me at about half 9, quarter to 10 on Monday morning. The chairperson of the club had contacted him, put a message on the executive What’s App.

“My brother was afraid we had something with the ladies club organised and maybe we would be in the pitch that evening and that we mightn’t have heard. He just wanted to make sure to let us know straight off how bad it was and stay away basically.”

Niamh Kindlon (right) in action for Monaghan against Cork in the 2013 All-Ireland ladies football final.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Kindlon revealed that they had never any previous problems when doing upgrading works on their club pitches.

“We put a new prunty pitch in, started working on it in 2013 and it was opened in 2014. There would have been a lot digging and testing done before we went ahead with that project.

“We opened the pitch and there was no issues then and that’s not too long ago. We’ve had different work done on our juvenile field as well.

“At the moment we’re not getting near it and we might never get back up to get that stuff. It was good the senior men’s team were away on Sunday as their footballs for training for this week are actually with the kitman because he had them at the game and he hadn’t dropped them back to the pitch.

“Little things like that, it’s just thankful for them but for any other juvenile team, all their gear is in store.”

The incident has occurred at a stage in the season when the majority of Magheracloone’s teams have finished their campaign. Their senior men’s team may bowed out of the championship last Sunday but do still have league fixtures to fulfil and were scheduled to have a home fixture against Scotstown this Saturday evening.

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The support of neighbouring clubs has been gratefully received.

Former Monaghan footballer Tommy Freeman in action for Magheracloone in last year’s county senior football final.

Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

“Our senior team have four league games to play, there’s only one of them fixed to be a home game, that was due to be Saturday,” said Kindlon.

“Local clubs in Monaghan, Cavan, Meath and Louth have been brilliant in offering their pitches and support in any way they can. Meath Hill in county Meath have offered their grounds, so that match is actually there on Saturday evening. We’re lucky in that sense that it’s towards the end of the year when most clubs actually are finished.

“The real trouble is going to come next spring when all teams are back playing and we’ve no facilities to go to. Probably realistically whatever reports comes back, the chances of ever getting back up to those pitches again is probably (slim).

“I know Francie (Jones, club chairman) said the foreseeable future but it’s probably forever. I think that’s the word that’s going around but we don’t know anything yet.”

– Details about the fundraising efforts for Magheracloone GAA club can be found here.

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TWO-TIME ALL-Ireland medal winner Maurice Fitzgerald appears to the preferred choice to succeed Eamonn Fitzmaurice as the manager of the Kerry senior football team, with former Mayo team coach and selector Donie Buckley lined up to be part of the new management team.

Kerry football great Maurice Fitzgerald.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

With less than a fortnight to go to the 8 October to have a management ticket to go before club delegates for ratification, it’s believed the job is Fitzgerald’s to refuse, and that the St Mary’s club man is seriously considering making the step up from selector to manager.

It’s believed that the four-man selection committee, headed up by county board chairman Tim Murphy and secretary Peter Twiss, met earlier this week to advance the process, and the only barrier to Fitzgerald taking the job is his recent appointment as principal of Coláiste na Sceilge in Cahersiveen and the extra workload that will go with that new job.

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Kerry’s selector Maurice Fitzgerald and chairman Tim Murphy.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

It’s understood that the selection committee are keen to have Buckley on board in a coaching/selector role, and that Fitzgerald will happily work with the Castleisland native as part of a management team.

Donie Buckley (centre) is a former coach of the Mayo footballers.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

It’s also speculated that Fitzgerald’s former Kerry team mate Stephen Stack, who managed Austin Stacks to the Munster Club title in 2014, is being lined up to come on board as well, although it’s not clear if direct contact has been made with the Listowel native, who, it’s understood, is willing to get involved with the Kerry team.

Fitzgerald was a selector for the last two years under Fitzmaurice and it seems there is a desire on the part of the selection committee to maintain a link between the previous management team and the new one.

Should Fitzgerald take the managerial reins it’s possible he would add another name to the management team, with names such as Diarmuid Murphy, Seamus Moynihan, Declan O’Sullivan, Tommy Griffin and Johnny Crowley mentioned.

Three-time All-Ireland winning minor team manager Peter Keane has been interviewed about the position, as has Jack O’Connor, and both men are still under consideration for the position.

O’Connor previously managed the Kerry seniors for two separate terms, winning three All-Ireland titles in his time in charge.

Peter Keane celebrates Kerry’s All-Ireland minor final victory in 2018.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Jack O’Connor savours Kerry’s All-Ireland minor triumph in 2015.

Source: Donall Farmer/INPHO

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THE NEWS THAT billionaire JP McManus donated €100,000 to each county board in the country came as a surprise to many, but not to Limerick centre-forward Kyle Hayes.

Limerick star Kyle Hayes

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

McManus made the gesture in honour of Limerick’s All-Ireland hurling final triumph and Hayes, one of the stars of that victory over Galway, paid tribute to the contribution he’s made to the county.

“I’ve met him a few times, JP is the most down to earth man ever,” Hayes says. “If you didn’t know his face he wouldn’t stand out or anything. 

“It doesn’t really surprise me to be honest because he’s very, very generous. He has nearly a hand in everything in Limerick that’s being built and he’s always donating money. So it didn’t actually surprise me. 

“He’s a sound man, to be fair to him.”

JP McManus

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Hayes doesn’t turn 21 until next year but he’s already an All-Ireland champion and looks set to claim his first All-Star later this winter. Despite the whirlwind 12 months he’s enjoyed, he says life hasn’t changed too much.

“Same old me, anyway. It’s crazy, the reaction we’re getting in Limerick, people are still coming up and congratulating you and it’s four or five weeks on since the final. 

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“You’re meeting men in their 50s just after the match or the week of it and they’re nearly breaking down crying to you. It shows you how much it means to everyone in Limerick. It’s such a major thing and something I want more often. 

“The 10 minutes after the match it was fairly special. Just chilling out and sitting down on the field and taking it all in. It was crazy, they’re brilliant memories. In the dressing room as well was very good. 

“The reaction over it has been good, it’s nice, but we’re back now with the club and back to reality,” added Hayes, the winner of the PwC GAA/GPA Player of the All-Ireland hurling final.

Limerick’s entire starting 15 from the decider were nominated for a 2018 All-Star, meaning the group will have another outing together in Dublin before the year is out. 

“It’ll be a nice social occasion. To be fair, every one of the lads, not just the 15, put in a serious shift all year. I think that’s why we were successful this year, because of the squad we have. 

“If someone got injured there then someone would come in off the bench and you weren’t batting an eye-lid. We just had that trust between all of us.”

PwC GAA/GPA Player of the All-Ireland Hurling Final Kyle Hayes speaking at the launch of the PwC All-Stars App

Source: Piaras Ó Mídheach/SPORTSFILE

Has he his tuxedo sorted for the big night yet?

“No, I actually haven’t. I must look into it now and we’ll go in shopping together some day. Sure there’s 15 of us going to it, someone will organise it. I won’t be the one doing it anyway!”

Hayes accepts Limerick will have a target on their backs when they enter next season as the defending champions, but he’s confident this young team will only get better over the coming years.

“We’ll welcome on that challenge. We’re going to defend it with everything we have. We want to improve more, we’re not just content with staying where we are at the moment. 

“We want to push on and win another few anyway, definitely. We’ll take it match by match, hopefully. 

“Everyone is the same, that’s why we did well this year. We weren’t getting carried away. There’s no point listening to stories outside of the camp. You’ll only get your head blown up. 

“Everyone is fairly grounded to be fair. And as long as we keep that way it should be alright. We’ll always dig deep to get something more out of us. Speaking on behalf of all of us, we haven’t reached our full potential yet. 

Source: TommyDickson/INPHO

“We’re a young team and we’ll relish that challenge now for, first of all, next year when we defend it first. We just want to grow and get closer as a team and we’ll mature and get a bit more experienced and we should improve anyway.

“While you’re here now really make the most of it. I think all the rest of the boys are all the same. They have that in their head. We just want to put the jersey in a better place, really.”

As well as the All-Stars banquet, they’ve got the Super 11s trip to Boston and a team holiday to Mexico to look forward to in the coming months. 

“We’re going to Fenway Park in November so we’ll probably have to do a few training sessions before that anyway. I don’t know if they’ll be too hectic. 

“Probably when you get back from there you’ll be looking even doing a bit in the gym and doing your pre-season gym. By the time we come back out on the pitch we’ll be absolutely bulling to get out on it. You need a bit of a break as well, you can’t stay going all year round.

“You just build up that hunger again once you get a bit of a break.”

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Source: James Crombie/INPHO

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AS THE DEMANDS of the inter-county game continues to increase, it’s the clubs who inevitably suffer and see little of their star players during the season.

Apart from a round or two of club championship in April and the odd league game during the year, most players are not released to the clubs until their county’s interest in the All-Ireland is over. 

In an era where Dublin cast a long shadow over the football championship, it’s generally September before the clubs in the capital are granted exclusive access to their players. 

Jack McCaffrey says he’d like to spend more time with Clontarf, but acknowledges there’s not much that can be done unless there’s an improvement to the overall fixtures calendar.

“I’m always embarrassed going back to Clontarf about how rarely I’m there and how little I give back to a club that has given me so much,” he says.

“I think there’s still a bit of work to be done on the fixtures side of things, being fair to everybody. The club is the real strong point of the GAA. I think there is a bit more we can do for it. Definitely.” 

Jack McCaffrey, the PwC GAA / GPA Player of the Month, at the launch of the PwC All-Star App

Source: Piaras Ó Mídheach/SPORTSFILE

McCaffrey’s Clontarf face St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh in the Dublin SFC relegation semi-final this weekend, a game that will pit him against county team-mate Bernard Brogan. 

Despite the trophies they’ve lifted together with the Sky Blues, friendships go out the window once they cross the white lines. 

“There’s a lot of lads from (Kilmacud) Crokes, Ballymun (Kickhams), trying to win the championship – that’s an entirely different end of the spectrum. Plunkett’s have Bernard, Alan (Brogan), Niall Walsh and Ross McConnell who have played for Dublin.

“You don’t go out there and chat to lads, your friends, when you’re playing against them. Equally at county level, I’d be friends with a lot of lads from other counties but once you cross the white lines to play against each other, it’s no-holes-barred.”

Both McCaffrey and Brogan make successful returns from ACL surgery this season. The wing-back suffered his injury last September and made his comeback during the Leinster championship, while Brogan had surgery on his cruciate in February and returned to competitive action in August. 

“He (Brogan) had a couple of issues to bounce towards me at the start, but the thing about cruciates, no more than any other injury, there’s some things that would work for me and wouldn’t work for him and vice versa,” explains McCaffrey.

“He sought advice from many other people and he was leaving no stone unturned, but it’s not the kind of thing you want to be constantly looking at someone else.”

Jack McCaffrey goes down with a torn ACL in the 2017 All-Ireland final

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

A torn ACL has become common in all levels of sport and is usually a non-contact injury.

Has McCaffrey, who currently works as part of the pediatric team in Drogheda hospital Lady of Lourdes, any theory as to why it occurs?

“It’s one of those things. The way it was described to me is that your ACL is like an air-bag and you hope you never have to use it, and if you do, it just ruptures and protects everything else around it.

“You see some lads, like myself, I went down, close to tears, couldn’t run, and you see other lads who stay playing for a number of weeks without knowing it’s ruptured.”

His recovery was a major success and in addition to winning a fourth All-Ireland medal and man-of-the-match in both the semi-final and final, the wing-back was nominated for Footballer of the Year alongside team-mates Ciaran Kilkenny and Brian Fenton.  

Such an accolade was the furthest thing from his thoughts on those long nights rehabbing his injury last winter.

“It didn’t even enter my mind. These kind of nominations aren’t something you ever think about. 

“You don’t go out thinking, if I play well here this might happen. You go out trying to do your best for the team, and anything that comes after that, it’s a bonus.

“It’s a massive compliment to be paid, but at the end of the day it’s way, way behind winning an All-Ireland in terms of a priority.

“There’s a lot of hard work that goes into getting onto the Dublin team, onto the starting 15 and then performing. I’d never want to give the impression that anyone just turns up and just turns it on, because that doesn’t happen.

“There were very few fun moments coming back from the cruciate injury. It was a slog. But what I always refer to like that, is when you’re out playing football with your friends, it’s the definition of fun.

“It’s literally what you would have done as a kid, hanging out. You go out and just kick a ball around. I think that’s something that we as a group have never really lost sight of, and are conscious of enjoying our time in Dublin jerseys.

The 24-year-old scooped the big award in 2015 but feels this time it’s between Kilkenny and Fenton.

“I don’t think I’m in the running. It’s a massive honour to be nominated, but I think that award is between the two lads, and fairly justifiably so. May the best man win.”

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THE LIMERICK FOOTBALLERS will have the same manager in charge for the 2019 season but must search for a new coach to lead them.

Limerick football manager Billy Lee with his now former coach Paudie Kissane.

Source: Donall Farmer/INPHO

Paudie Kissane has confirmed his decision to depart from the position he has held in the Limerick senior setup for the 2017 and 2018 campaigns.

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Limerick were the third Munster county that Kissane had worked with in a coaching capacity after he started out with Clare in 2014 before going on to work with his native Cork in 2016.

Kissane retired from playing with Cork in 2013 after a career that saw him part of their All-Ireland winning side in 2010 and win an All-Star award at wing-back for his performances that year.

He is stepping away but Lee is set to stay put as manager with The Limerick Leader reporting that he will be at the helm for the final year of his three-year term.

Lee has endured a difficult tenure with championship losses in 2017 in Munster to Clare and in the qualifiers to Wexford, while 2018 saw a defeat in Munster again to Clare and a qualifier reversal at the hands of Mayo. A large turnover in players from season to season has not helped his cause.

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CLARE DUAL PLAYER Ailish Considine has signed for Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW) side Adelaide Crows on a professional rookie contract.

Considine flew to Melbourne last week along with 17 other athletes to take part in the CrossCoders International Rookie Camp.

The Kilmihil native adjusted to her first taste of professional Aussie Rules seamlessly and knew early on that an offer was on the table from 2017 league winners, Adelaide Crows.

“I had a fair idea that it was Adelaide I was going to go to, they had made the offer straight away so as soon as I realised I was definitely going to be playing professional sport for the next five or six months, I couldn’t believe it.”

A former vice-captain of the Clare ladies football intermediate squad, Considine also represented Clare camogie for five years. In more recent times, she tried her hand at AFL on home soil with the West Clare Waves.  

Considine’s short stint with the West Clare Waves has served her well as she has adapted to the oval ball very quickly, something Adelaide Crows were quick to spot.

“They are very happy with me skill wise, the kicking and stuff, that was one of the reasons they made an offer so soon,” she said.

“I played two or three tournaments with the West Clare Waves AFL club. It was only a nine-a-side game so it was very different to an actual full size game but still, getting a little bit of a touch of the oval ball was a bit of an advantage to have.”

Considine will follow in the footsteps of ladies football great Cora Stauton who lined out for Great Western Sydney Giants last season and will again do so in 2019, and Mayo’s Sarah Rowe who recently agreed a deal with Women’s AFL side Collingwood.

Since Staunton’s record-breaking move to the AFLW last November, the door has been well and truly blown open for other ladies footballers to weigh up a move.

In action for Clare in 2016.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Scouts have been actively trying to lure ladies footballers to the Australian league and seven of the current CrossCoders on trial in Melbourne are inter-county footballers. Considine believes the recent signings of herself, Staunton and Rowe is only the beginning of such moves.

“The standard of ladies footballers will open the AFL wide open because the talent pool isn’t there standard wise in Australia yet. We (ladies footballers) are ready made athletes, all we need is fine tuning on the basics of the skills and the basics of the game play. Other than that, fitness, speed, agility, coordination, gameplay, movement we have all that already.”

“The ladies footballers have blown it out of the water to be honest. It was actually scary watching how good the girls were on their first time playing, it was just mad.

“We played a team of potential draft players in a friendly game, girls who have been playing Aussie Rules for some time and after just three days playing Aussie Rules, we beat them on a massive score line.

 “It’s going to be huge and I think there is going to be a couple more signings yet.”

Although confident that she has the skill set to adapt to the game, Considine is aware of the challenge ahead.

We have secured our first international women’s player 🇮🇪 Welcome @Duckyc7 https://t.co/L4FxsySsTt #weflyasone pic.twitter.com/N4Gb4uLDjT

— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) September 27, 2018

“It is a different game and it will take time. That will probably be the biggest challenge for me as a player is to actually learn the gameplay, learn the movement, learn the patterns. 

“I know it’s not going to be plain sailing. I’ll have a lot to learn tactically but that’s something I’m really excited for.”

Considine will make the move to Australia in mid-November.

In all, she will spend five months in Australia but aims to be back in Ireland to line out for Clare in the 2019 championship.

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DONEGAL STAR FORWARD Yvonne Bonner will join Cora Staunton at Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants for the 2019 AFLW season after she became the second Irish player to sign a pro deal Down Under today.

31-year-old Bonner, like Clare’s Ailish Considine who has linked up with Adelaide, penned a rookie contract off the back of the CrossCoders trial camp.

11 Irish athletes traveled to Melbourne last week as part of a group of 18 vying for coveted deals ahead of the Australian league’s third season — and obviously impressed.

Bonner, this week nominated for a second All-Star award, will become the second Irish woman to don the Giants jersey, following in Staunton’s footsteps.

“For this to actually come true, it’s like a dream, I suppose, to know that I’m the next Irish girl to come out after Cora,” the attacking ace said.

“I play full forward back home for Donegal, so I’ll play quite similar. It’ll just take a while to get used to the different ways of marking and stuff like that.”

Giants head coach Alan McConnell added: “It’s fun, it’s great for our footy club and exciting for our playing list to add more talent like this.

Welcome to @GWSGIANTS Yvonne! #internationalrookie #beGIANT pic.twitter.com/yYv0Upf8I1

— CrossCoders (@CrossCodersCo) September 27, 2018

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“In the Gaelic game she plays a similar role to that of a forward, a goal-kicking forward. Because of her endurance she plays a bit higher, (so) she’s probably more of a traditional centre half-forward in that sense.”

Cavan native Laura Corrigan Duryea was the first Irish representative in the AFLW, plying her trade with Melbourne from the inaugural season. 

Staunton joined her last year and in recent weeks, Sarah Rowe has signed for Collingwood with Bonner and Considine sealing moves today.

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2018 WAS THE stuff of dreams for Aaron Gillane.

In his debut season for Limerick he scored 6-94 across league and championship, helping them win promotion back to Division 1A and, more importantly, bridge a 45-year gap without the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

Yesterday, Gillane was named PwC GAA/GPA Hurler of the Month Award for August while his first All-Star looms in the coming weeks.

Aaron Gillane at the launch of the PwC All-Star App

Source: Piaras Ó Mídheach/SPORTSFILE

But when he’s asked about his most difficult moment of the summer, he references the red card he shipped in the second game of the Munster round-robin campaign against Cork.

Gillane was sent-off for a petulant strike on Sean O’Donoghue right in front of the linesman.  Walking off the field during that first-half in Pairc Ui Chaoimh that day, he was fearful his year was over.

The suspended Gillane was replaced by Shane Dowling for the win over Waterford and the Na Piarsaigh man held his place for the final group game against Clare.

“I thought I was after ending my year and apart from that I was after letting the boys down massively. It was a great result for us to get the draw that day.

“We couldn’t have done it without the work of Seamus (Flanagan) and Graeme (Mulcahy) in the full-forward line. I was kind of disappointed at the end because if we’d lost that match and lost to Clare, I wouldn’t be sitting here today with the Liam MacCarthy. So, thank God, the boys pulled me out of that one.

“Walking off the field, the thing that was going through my head in my head was that I’d worked so hard to actually get onto the team and now I’m after playing myself off the team.

WATCH:

Here's the incident that led to a straight red card for Limerick's Aaron Gillane.

Cork lead by two! #MSHC #GAAClips pic.twitter.com/uiXq338ZJg

— eir Sport (@eirSport) June 2, 2018

“Luckily after the Clare match – we had a bad day at the office – we went back training and no one was promised their position. Everyone went full at it, hammer and thongs.

“I thought I trained well enough for that two or three weeks and I got my chance against Carlow and took it. Then against Kilkenny, it just kicked on from there.”

As a scoring forward, Gillane received special attention from defenders during the summer but it’s something he’s learned to deal with.

“I wouldn’t have noticed it until after the Cork match because they would have been saying to me, ‘They think that you’re a hothead. They’re going to look for a reaction from you.’

“In the matches coming up to that, yeah, there were people digging me off the ball but, you know, that doesn’t just happen to me, it happens to everyone. All you can do is get on with it, there’s no point crying and whinging over it.”

Gillane and Cian Lynch with Mary manager Jamie Wall

Source: Tom Beary/INPHO

Gillane readily admits he’s a confidence player. At the beginning of 2017, his resolve was tested when John Kiely dropped him from the Limerick panel ahead of the league. 

He returned to hurl with Mary I for their Fitzgibbon Cup campaign and their manager Jamie Wall helped build him back up. 

“It was him that gave me my chance. It would have been very easy to throw in someone else, especially with all the star-studded names we had.

“He just threw me onto the field and said, ‘Take the shackles off. Don’t be worrying about who’s around you or who’s marking you. There’s no pressure on you. Everyone’s going to be worrying about the big names.’

“I think that definitely benefited me. As well as being a good coach he’s a very good man manager as well. The time and effort he puts into coaching it’s a testament to the things he’s won.”

As the side’s free-taker and main forward, Gillane thrived. He posted 6-47 as Mary I romped to Fitzgibbon glory and a recall to the Limerick squad arrived from Kiely afterwards.

“I was on the panel last year at the start of the year and I got dropped after Christmas. Then I played the Fitzgibbon campaign and I got brought back in after that. I was a bit hit and miss. This was my first full year properly. 

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

“Obviously, it was disappointing. it would be disappointing for anyone no matter who it is. But there’s no point sulking and whinging over it. I was very lucky to be able to fall back into that Fitzgibbon team.

“It’s so competitive and I was playing a really good standard of hurling so it was nearly as good as being on the county. What benefited me as well as I didn’t have to juggle the county and Fitzgibbon Cup. I got to focus just on the Fitzgibbon Cup and that definitely worked in my favour I think.

“You want to go and prove a point. I got my chance with Jamie and got a bit of confidence in the Fitzgibbon Cup. My confidence is a big thing and I played that year U21 with a bit of confidence. We won that U21 as well but the players I had around me, it was easy to play with them.

“I’d say everyone is the same. If you’re playing within your shell, you’re not going to get the best out of yourself. You do need that confidence to express yourself on the field. That’s when you’re going to get the best out of yourself.” 

Cian Lynch and Aaron Gillane lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup for the crowd in Limerick

Source: TommyDickson/INPHO

The Patrickswell man didn’t stand-out as an underage hurler and found himself on the Limerick ‘B’ teams coming up underage. But he scored 0-44 as Limerick enjoyed All-Ireland U21 glory 12 months ago and while he didn’t feature for Kiely’s seniors in 2017, it propelled him onto that stage this year. He hasn’t looked back.

“Up along I would have been on the U14s, U15s and U16s ‘B’ teams. I was just there, I wasn’t really enjoying it as much as I’m enjoying it these days. Getting that good run of form in the Fitzgibbon Cup, it certainly gives you a bit of confidence.

“When you’re winning a big competition like that you don’t want to stop. I kept working hard and the same to John (Kiely), he gave me my chance with Limerick this year. I can’t thank him enough for that.

“It all boils down to hard work, if you want to be playing you’ll be playing.”

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THE RETURN OF Munster title winners Stephen McDonnell and Aidan Walsh to the Cork hurling squad is a prospect when their management assemble their squad for the 2019 season.

Cork coach Kieran Murphy confirmed today that the duo ‘have put their hands up’ to be available for selection for next season.

McDonnell and Walsh both started in Cork’s 2014 Munster final victory over Limerick with McDonnell captaining the side to success against Clare last summer.

28-year-old Walsh hasn’t featured for Cork in the 2017 and 2018 championship campaigns as he lined out for the county football side while 29-year-old McDonnell opted out last season.

“We haven’t finalised our panel at the moment but certainly they are in the discussions,” revealed Murphy in Croke Park today at the launch of the Fenway Hurling Classic 2018.

“Stephen opted out this year because he was doing a bit of travelling and a bit of work commitments. Obviously Aidan was tied up with the footballers, so look as far as I’m aware these lads have put their hands up to say that they’re available.

“We’ll be sitting down over the next few weeks after the club championship and obviously with the pedigree that these guys have, they’re certainly going to be in our thoughts.

“You’re always looking to add value. You need to kind of determine what are their characteristics? If you were to bring them back, what are they actually bringing to the table?

“Obviously these guys have a lot of experience, they’re still in good shape, they both look after themselves very well, so I suppose that would be kind of a key thing that they need to bring. They have that experience. When we do sit down for discussions, that will certainly be a help.”

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Aidan Walsh celebrating Kanturk’s All-Ireland club victory earlier this year with Anthony Nash.

Source: Gary Carr/INPHO

Murphy does not envisage any player retirements from the Cork setup before next season commences.

“You’d always kind of gauge it from the mood in the camp. Certainly there’d be nobody walk away before Boston anyway! We don’t expect anybody to kind of walk away to be honest so unless something out of the blue now in terms of work or anything like that comes up.

“Every fella has indicated they’re fresh and they’re hungry and the atmosphere is good so fellas are willing to go again. You’re going into a tough Munster championship again next year but I actually think that excites these players. These games week on, week off suits them. They just want to play games.”

The Cork management are currently monitoring the form of players in club games and considering what underage hurlers to draft into their senior squad yet Murphy feels it is a natural policy rather than a reaction to concerns over their squad depth in the All-Ireland semi-final loss to Limerick.

A dejected Cork hurling manager John Meyler after their loss to Limerick.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

“There was a lot made of that after the semi-final. The one thing that happened us in the semi-final is the three lads in the half-forward line all picked up injuries. Seamus (Harnedy) picked up an injury in the first half, Danny (Kearney) and Luke (Meade) picked up injuries at the same time in the semi-final.

“Robbie (O’Flynn) came on and probably had more of an impact than what people were saying because of the end result. Certainly we need to get a few of the U21s and just kind of integrate them into the panel. We were fortunate this year that Tim O’Mahony, Robbie Flynn, we’ve Jack O’Connor, just a couple other guys that are putting their hands up in the U21 setup.

“We’re looking at these guys now to see what’s their next step, do they have the ability to come into the ranks and challenge for a senior spot. The clubs take priority now and the main emphasis from a management point of view now is just going to club games, watching fellas.

“You’re trying to find a few players to bring on to the panel and challenge some of the lads in the panel. Talking to John, it’s just a natural thing at the end of every year, you’re probably going to freshen things up and bring a couple more in so that’s the main focus at the moment.”

A two-time All-Ireland senior winner as a player, Murphy believes the underage outlook for Cork is brighter now in comparison to the struggles experienced a few years ago but the challenge in converting that at senior level remains.

“There was a lot of doom and gloom a good few years ago. In fairness you have to give credit to the Rebel Óg that’s been set up, I know they’re looking at that at the moment just in terms of the structure of it and stuff. It has kind of come to fruition.

“The 17s win last year was great, the 21s getting to the All-Ireland final this year, disappointing not to win it but again it’s another Munster title, it’s another bit of confidence for the lads. There is young players coming, it’s all about getting them into the framework of inter-county training and inter-county mindset. That’s probably the challenge now for Cork as a whole.”

Wexford’s Lee Chin, Peter Duggan of Clare, Sean Finn of Limerick and Patrick Horgan of Cork at today’s 2018 Fenway Hurling Classic Launch.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Before they begin their preparations for 2019, Cork will be one of four county teams travelling to Boston for the Fenway Hurling Classic that takes place on 18 November.

“Fellas are absolutely thrilled with it, it’s the first kind of trip these lads would have had in a good few years,” says Murphy.

“You look at someone like Patrick (Horgan) who’s given so much time and commitment to Cork, for him to go over to Fenway Park and play over there, especially when he’s great contacts and great friends over in Boston, that’s what it’s about.

“To go over and play in Fenway, such an iconic stadium, to be able to say I was on the field there, it’s brilliant. The concept is excellent, they’re refining it all the time, it needs constant refinement.

“I think as Davy (Fitzgerald) said there, there is definitely a need for the game to be played over there and developed over there. I think what’s coming back is they want it as well too, the community over there, not only the Irish but also the American people who go and watch the games. They love it and the more exposure we can give people to it, I think it has to be good for hurling and the GAA and the GPA.”

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