Gaelic Star

RTE does the good thing

Paris, Wednesday Nov 18th - France v Ireland - a nation watches their soccer team strive to make it to South Africa this summer

Ireland, Wednesday Nov 18th - France v Ireland - media blackout

That was the reality, until lunchtime today when RTE saw the light, paid up the cash and allowed the nation to watch the biggest game in years.

France beware, Ireland can now watch the game live from the National Broadcaster, who they pay for ...wooo...

On the pitch the French are superior to us, but I bet they don't have an answer to Bill and the boys in the studio. John Giles could still do a job.

Irish Student Press

SOME new writing I have been doing is for the Irish Student Press

It is available in all schools around Ireland for 50cent. It is aimed at the kids in the school and I cover schools sports.

As the site says, "The latest issue of The Irish Student Press was distributed to 50,000 students on the 16th of Sept. Our next scheduled circulation dates are 14th of Oct., 11th of Nov. and 16th of Dec. 2009."

Some of my articles are below:

WORLD soccer legend – Pele - is coming to Ballymun Comprehensive School and your school could be there as well.

The brilliant Brazilian will be in Ireland next month with his charity ‘Goals For Life’, which he promised to set up after scoring his 1000th career goal in November 1969.

Now forty years later, Ireland is the first country outside of Brazil to participate in the fundraising drive which is aimed specifically at schools. Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin and The Little Prince Children’s Hospital, Curitiba, Brazil will benefit directly.

And now you have the chance to be there as well, as schools from all over Ireland are being invited to take park in the former striker’s campaign.

As a school, you must raise a target of €2000 for the “Goals for Life” initiative and as a reward, schools will be invited to a special event taking place in Ballymun Comprehensive School on November 26th where Pele will appear and make a special presentation to schools who participate in the programme.

A teacher and two children from the first one hundred schools who achieve the target amount will be invited to the event and be presented – by Pele himself - with a limited number of unique medals commemorating each of Pele’s goals (1283). The sets of medals are currently valued at €1800 by collectors and sure to increase in value.

The schools can either keep the numbered medals or auction them off to raise even more funds.

The fun doesn’t stop there for soccer mad school kids, as a Futsal marathon to raise additional funds will also take place and this event is by invitation only and is aimed solely at school children and their teachers who have participated in the “Goals for Life” programme.

‘Pele’s day’ will conclude with a Gala Dinner at the Burlington at which the star will be the special guest and is expected to raise considerable funds for both children’s hospitals. Irish soccer team manager - Giovanni Trappattoni - will also be there.

“We are hoping to raise €1,000,000 for the ‘Goals for Life’ charity and help Irish hospitals in the process,” the European Ambassador for the Little Prince hospital Don Mullan told the Irish Student Press.

“All schools have to do is to get in contact with me and I have a DVD on the Goals for Life campaign, material for the teachers and photograph’s of the medals that they could collect.

“It is the 40th anniversary of Pele’s 1000th goal when he dedicated himself to helping to children – so it is great that he can spend it with Irish school children.”

Up to last week there were three schools signed up for the charity scheme, but it is still early days. To raise the profile, Don was on the Ryan Tubridy RTE Radio 1 show and has more media gigs lined up in the weeks leading up to the end of November.

To help schools reach the €2,000 target the organiser has included a cover letter with the information going out. In it, there are a number of ideas for raising the money including; a non-uniform day, a marathon soccer match, a sponsored penalty shoot-out and many more.

Mr Mullan added, “Schools know themselves the best way they can raise the cash, but we have given them some ideas in our cover letter.

“It is for a great cause and at the end of the day some of the kids and a teacher can get to shake the hand of the probably the best soccer player –ever – Pele.”

For more information and to start collecting the money needed to meet Pele, contact Mr Don Mullan on 0872389341, email dmullan@hpp.org.br or you can call 1890507508 for details on gala dinner tickets.

Calasanctius

MARTIN CRUMMY

RANKED 15th in the world, basketball at Calasanctius College Oranmore is at an all time high.

Chosen by Basketball Association of Ireland to represent the country at the World Schools Basketball Championships - they didn’t let themselves or the school or the country down - coming 15th in the competition.

The 2009 schools basketball season proved to be an all-time high for the school on the courts and it was topped off when they got the nod to head to Turkey last May.

The girls who went from the school were from the U16 basketball team and they came up against teams from 27 different countries.

They left Dublin airport on Saturday May 2nd, with a large delegation from Oranmore including, the 12 team members, accompanied by their coaches, two teachers, 11 parents and two little brothers.

There first match came around very quickly – with little sleep had by the Irish travelling party.

On Monday May 4th the girls played Belgium, but despite a valiant effort they lost 51 to 48. However they were soon to bounce back as they won the most important match of the day by defeating Estonia. This match decided what division our team would play in for the rest of the week and a 62 to 40 win was very much welcomed.

But there no rest there for the Calasanctius team as they took on Luxembourg the next day. Unfortunately, lady luck wasn’t on their side and they lost by the narrowest of margins - 43 to 47.

In this match there was a significant rise in performance levels with Catríona Foley, Ciara Newell, Ailish O’Reilly, Kate Lyons and Sarah Reynolds all showing their potential.

After such a demoralising defeat behind them, a game against tournament favourites – Turkey – just came too soon for the girls and they were beaten for the second time that day.

A day’s break was welcome, but it was back to the courts on Thursday May 7th where Israel sneaked in a precious win against an unlucky Irish side 65 to 59. But again the girls rose to the occasion in the most important match of the day when they defeated Poland 68 to 55.

It was coach Joe Shields birthday the next day – but he couldn’t bring any cheer to the courts as a sleek Slovakia won by 15 points – the Irish team effort wasn’t helped by the unlucky Catríona Foley, who dislocated her nose.

However the injury count wasn’t to end there as the next day - Saturday May 9th - Lua Rahmani was brought to hospital with her nose broken. Ireland held on though and won this match against Latvia, scoring 63 points to their 57.

In the end, the Irish watched the finals from the stands as Spanish girls defeated Turkey while the Turkish boys claimed victory over Serbia.

It was an experience, though, the girls will never forget.

“This was a unique honour for the girls, our school and their mentors and coaches, Joe Shields & Mary Rockall,” began Principal Joe Harrison.

“Calasanctius College has a well-established link with Maree Basketball Club that goes back a long number of years. We have achieved many national honours; so much so that this school’s reputation in basketball, boys & girls, is the envy of many schools across the country.

“For this we are very grateful.”

Team and mentors who went to Turkey:

Joe Shields (coach), Lua Rahmani, Kate Lyons, Caitriona Foley, Sorcha Connolly, Sarah Reynolds, Sarah Drislane, Mary Rockall. Aoife Fogarty, Vanessa Brennan, Aoife Greally, Ailish O’Reilly, Ciara Newell, Helena Lyons (coach)

Sunday, 20 September 2009

Man Utd v Man City , 13.30

MARTIN CRUMMY

THE aristocrats of Manchester have a new challenge. The blue half of the city has been transformed by money and now comes the real test.

Manchester City have flexed their financial muscle this summer, bringing big name, proven Premier League players in.

It has resulted in a controlled start to the season and a place towards the top four of the Premier League.

That is the aim for Mark Hughes and his new side, to break into the top four and make a mark with their millions of pounds.

Come Sunday, in the Theatre of Dreams, things will come to a head.

Already this season there has been tensions in the city as both sides have gone through transition.

Alex Ferguson claimed during pre-season that he saw no threat from the Man City revolution, saying, “small club with a small mentality.” In cheeky retaliation, posters of Carlos Tevez in the blue of city were put up with the slogan, ‘Welcome to Manchester.’

It was meant to annoy Ferguson and co. and this could just come to mean something when the two sides come head to head in the Manchester derby.

Manchester United have been steady in their early defence of their crown, but a defeat to Burney will be worry, especially since they seemed to lack the imagination to break down a resolute defence.

Without Ronaldo there is a worry that the goals and flare in tight games will be missing. To counter this, Wayne Rooney is in his natural centre forward position and has responded with goals.

The jury, though, remains out on Ferguson’s other summer signings namely Michael Owen and the quiet Antonio Valencia.

In contrast City have managed to blend into a somewhat coherent unit despite spending over €150 million on new talent.

Irish star Stephen Ireland has played his part, continuing his fine form for last season and proving a top-class link man between defence and attack.

Gareth Barry has shored up midfield, allowing an attacking trio of Robinho, Adebayor and Tevez to weave their magic.

As of yet the three haven’t caught fire, but they have done enough to win games, with fringe players like Craig Bellamy and Martin Petrov playing their part instead of Robinho.

Remember talent like Roque Santa Cruz, Brazilian left back Silviho and last seasons hard man Vincent Kompany still have to make an appearance in the 2009 league.

Manchester City will challenge this season but need to keep big stars like Robinho happy and away from the clutches of Barcelona.

As for the red half of the city, they have to do what they do every year and put their trust in Mr Ferguson to mould another team around Rooney.

If that happens then the status quo will be kept in the city, but if the blues get the upper hand, all we can do is stand back and watch the Manchester fireworks.

Laptops, soccer and the hols

It's been a hectic few months and the lack of blogging on my part can be easily explained.

1. I got engaged.
2. My laptop gave up the ghost. To be fair, it was a miracle it lasted so long, as the keyboard went about 2 years ago.
3. Went on holidays with no internet for 2 weeks.

Now I have a fancy netbook. It is something I would definitely recommend and it is super fast.

It is actually the best option for journalists on the move.

If you are reporting on a game and you have to go get quotes, pop the small netbook under arm and away you go to the mixed zone. It starts up fast, shuts down fast and is easy to use.

There can be some issues with word processing but Microsoft Word is the best if you can get it. Otherwise a free download is jarte. It is small and does all you need, especially if you are pasting the copy into the email for a newspaper.

On hols the EEE PC didn't come with. Instead it was sun, sea and dorada.

I missed the Ireland game v France, but got updates high up in the sky by the kind pilot and then rang the minute we landed.

Figures crossed for Wednesday night. We need an early goal, but a clean sheet could be beyond us. Here is hoping. I have a ticket for it... but the price - especially just after my holiday - is just too much.

The Mighty Dubs

It was pleasure rather than work for me at Croke Park yesterday. But it turned out to be painful viewing as Kerry ran away with their All-Ireland quarter-final against Dublin.

They were awesome and I see today they are marginal bookies favourities to lift Sam.

Boylesports All Ireland Football Championship Outrights (odds from 27/07/09 in brackets)

11/8 Kerry (9/2)

7/5 Tyrone (13/8)

4/1 Cork (4/1)

12/1 Mayo (8/1)

35/1 Meath (33/1)

Paul Galvin had the best 20 minutes this season on poor Bryan Cullen. He spoke in the Sunday Independent about being more mean and aggressive like he was in his youth. But that all evaporated on the dodgie soil in Jones Road at 2.15pm yesterday. He was - as the man would say - roasted!

The Gooch got the plaudits but between Galvin and Dara O'Se the game was won by the Kingdom.

It is a weird place Croke Park when 60,000 - odd Dublin supporters are silent as their team get a good hiding. They don't some Dublin supporters 'Sunshine Dubs' for nothing and they roundedly booed their heroes off the pitch at half-time and full-time. One bad game and suddenly Keaney and the Brogan's are bad players in some Cusack Stand pundits.

Two quotes of the day from 'true' Dubs:

"We would be better to support the hurlers....."

"At least there will be no phone calls and scrambling for tickets anymore this summer."

Its been awhile

GAA games have come and gone since I last blogged.

I was treated to the full Micko experience in Aughrim, when Down came to town and were sent home.

The fall-out of that game for the Mourne Men was revealed last night when Ross Carr wasn't given a fourth year in charge.

But that day - July 18th - among the Wicklow hills - the only story in town was that of Micko - all 73 years of him.

I reported on the game for the Sunday Tribune, Sunday Times, Sunday Star and a host of other daily newspapers.

Next up, was hurling in the form of the relegation round 1 play-off. July 25th Parnell Park, will go down in hurling folklore as the day when Antrim and Offaly faced off for no apparent reason.

By the final whistle, the game had more or less been deemed null and void. No need to play, no need for the Antrim County board to fork out €3,500 (approx) in taking the team down.

I suppose no need for me there either, but the Sunday Times, Irish Mail on Sunday and the Irish Times - needed some copy from the shambles.

***A little aside - Galway for the minor hurling title ...very good side even Matt Murphy - renowned manager says so.

OZ Experience

I have been keeping up-to-date with the RTE show OZ Experience, which charts Ricky Nixon's camp in Castlebar last year.

It is really well put together and the young players come across very well. They are honest, genuine and for me, show all that is good about the GAA.

The show reminds of a piece I did with Thomas McCann from Antrim - just after he was at the camp. Just like the show he was honest and open with me.

PUBLISHED IN THE NORTHERN IRISH STAR ON Tuesday Sept 9th 2008.

THOMAS McCann is practising at home with an Aussie Rules ball, waiting for the call.

Since his barnstorming beep test performance at the Flying Start AFL recruitment Camp, McCann has been on tender hooks to find out how he has done.

At the Castlebar camp, organiser – Ricky Nixon – was very impressed with his fitness and speed. The five Aussie Rule clubs involved in the search - St Kilda, Richmond and North Melbourne, Geelong and Brisbane - are all understood to be committed to inviting one player each to Australia in the post-season. Nixon will be making phone calls this week to the five players, who have been selected to travel to AFL trials. McCann knows if he gets the call, he will probably go, but also realises that he would have a lot of work to do to make a career for himself down under. “They were impressed with my fitness and speed but I know myself if I did go then I would have to bulk up,” he told The Star yesterday.“I was chatting to Ricky (Nixon) last week, but I think that was just to give me a bit of confidence.“They were impressed that I won the bleep test. “But I know I would have to put in a savage pre-season over there, if I wanted to make it.“We were shown video’s of the pre-season preparations and they look savage hard.”McCann played Freshers football with Collingwood recruit Kevin Dyas at UUJ, before Dyas made the jump to Aussie Rules. They remain friends and intend to meet up when the Armagh man is home later this month.Dyas is due home soon after receiving a horror injury in a reserve game, where he ripped his hamstring muscle off the bone. The 2008 Tommy Murphy Cup winner with Antrim takes good heart from the performances of Dyas and Martin Clarke in the AFL. Nixon has already pointed out that he is on the look-out for another ‘Marty Clarke’ and he may just have found him in McCann.When Clarke went over first, he was rated amongst the fitness at the club from his GAA training and McCann - with his 15.1 in the bleep test - is in that bracket. “I suppose that will stand to me, but with the heat over there, you never know,” he said. After the Flying start recruitment camp in the West of Ireland another Antrim lad Niall McKeever impressed in the bleep test getting 14.5. He is also highly rated by the five AFL clubs involved this time and he could also be in line to join the likes of Colm Begley and Tadhg Kennelly in making a career for themselves in Australia. The UUJ student reports that the camp was more about skill tests than fitness. “It was more skill based and the only fitness thing in the camp was the bleep test,” he said. “No matter how fit you are, you always feel the bleep test because it has so many different levels.“For me anyway the bleep test depends on who is beside me and how they keep going." Part of the skills regime was for the players to try and kick an Aussie Rules ball into a basketball net from the half-way line. McCann hit the back board with his effort- his first ever kick of the oval shape ball - but Laois starlet - Conor Meredith – scored the ball in to the ring. Meredith has already been ‘Down Under’ with the Brisbane Lions on a trial and that experience showed when he collected €100 off Nixon for the incredible kick. McCann was very impressed with the kick, which is hard to achieve if you haven’t mastered the AFL kicking technique. “It is a very accurate kick; you have to have the technique right, as you know exactly where the ball is going, because it can only go where your foot is going,” he said. “I have one (AFL ball) here at home, I am just knocking it about.”Nixon, the camp organiser, also left an impression on the Saffron player. “He told us everything straight and he doesn’t hold back at what he is thinking,” said McCann.“He had a wee chat with you and pulled you aside and tell you how things are going – and tell you how you are doing.“He said I was doing well, I think he was impressed with the bleep test. “It’s good that way because that can give you a bit of confidence. “I though the whole camp was good, everything was organised and it was something different to be doing. “The ball – at first – was hard to kick about with, but once you know how to kick it, it gets a lot more enjoyable.“There is a proper technique, if you don’t get the technique right you are pretty screwed at kicking the ball.”The Castlebar camp is set to yield three more rookies leaving the Irish shores, with a total of five getting trials. But there is no guarantee that will make it, even if the likes of Begley and Kennelly have knocked out a profitable, professional football career for themselves.

Hurling mecca

Just under 4,000 paying spectators and a handful of journalists. Not a typical Croke Park final day. There is more there for the Cumann Na Bunscoil finals. Yet for the fourth, third and second tier hurling finals last weekend, there was a distinct lack of fanfare.

The Croke Park powers did a smart thing though, by looping the noise of the small attendance in Hogan Stand, all around the stadium. It was a bit disrupting at times, but it made the place less eerier. Croke Park is a weird place when it is quiet. You hear everything - even if you don't want it.

Less than 24 hours later 72,000 people crammed in to see the best Leinster Final in manys a year. It just shows you the value of the Dubs, although they haven't been getting Hogan Stand tickets at all this year with the upper cusack full of blue and all the lower tiers in snow white.

My man of the match was Ciaran Whelan - great half of football from someone people thought was too old for the battle.

I reported on the hurling finals for all national newspapers in the country.

Irish Independent

All-Ireland qualifier - Down v London

Newry, the sun was shining. London were in town. Down blew them away in the first half and then fell asleep. It was a poor display against the Exiles, Laois are up next for Ross Carr's men and despite their bad performance they should beat Laois.

Laois are a big, physical team and that will suit Down. At home they are a handful for anyone. The bookies will go with Laois, especially after Down's second half collaspe last Saturday. But my money is on Down, they are a bad team, but should raise their game enough to shunt a poor Laois outfit out the back door.

I reported on the All-Ireland qualifier for 14 newspapers in total, both Sunday and Daily National newspapers.

It has been awhile

Two weeks away from the World Wide Web, does stem the flow of blogging. A week, all inclusive in Majorca was a welcome break, but celebrities still found their way to be around about.

First up,a page three model was good enough to drink in the same bar with us. And then on the way home Tottenham and England winger Aaron Lennon was on the same flight.

Here is a few -bad - snaps of him getting his bags in Stansted.

He isn't very big in stature but I guess Harry Rednapp is hanging onto him this summer - as he was holiday with his whole family a few days just before pre-season started.

Wee headlines all over the place

Laois were lucky. But so too were the sub-editors in work on Sunday evening, as most went with a headline similar to the Irish News headline on my match report.

In truth the headlines this morning were a bit lame, but they did hit the point. With a WEE bit more luck Louth could have punished a lacklustre last quarter from Sean Dempsey's side.

As I put it in my Irish Daily Star spread lead match report - 'Instead of laying down a marker ahead of a Leinster semi-final against in-form Kildare, they wilted in the second half and – in some cases – were lucky to get out of Dublin with a win.'

It was match where Laois showed they have the physical power to overcome weaker teams. Whether that will be good enough against Kildare is another thing. Kieran McGeeney's charges have seriously bulked up - thanks to Julie Davis regimes. James Kavanagh on the Sunday Game last night looked a different player from last year, with his arms popping out of his tight white shirt.

Surely they will match Laois in the physical battle and will have too much firepower, to reach a Leinster final against Dublin.

My 16/1 bet for Kildare for Leinster is sitting nicely at home, waiting to be cashed!

As for Louth Eamonn McEneaney got a lot of abuse from the Parnell stands yesterday and his days could be numbered. To be fair, they were never really in the game, but some of his calls near the end were confusing. Leaving Ronan Carroll inside in the square for 70 minutes was a mistake - in my book. It could be hot and heavy times ahead for McEneaney.

Guinness Hurling Advertising

Open publication - Free publishing - More guinness

As I wrote about this before - Guinness Hurling Advertising for the 2009 Championship.

Well here is the proof.

In-pub posters that were made possible because of GAA fan vox-pops before National League games in the spring. I was the sports/GAA consultant on this advertising campaign. They looked really well in the establishments I have seen them in and they are county specific. These are Dublin based posters.

The Hangover premier

It wasn't all bog ball and hurley's the past few days. Nope. It was the glitz and glamour of the European premier of The Hangover in the Savoy cinema on O'Connell Street. The movie was worth the 30-40 minute wait for Heather Graham to grace the red carpet.

It is funny, well constructed and has some nice turns in it - so that it can't be called a slap-stick comedy. The Hangover is far from it and ending credits are the icing on the cake.

Well worth a viewing, even if you don't get to see Heather in all her glory.

A Christy Ring Weekend

Newry was the setting for - what I feel - will turn out to be a defining moment for Mayo hurling. For thirty-five minutes they hurled with authority and skill to be just one point behind Down at the end of the first half, of the Christy Ring semi-final. But a second half collapse, coupled with Down finding their form, meant they left the border city with nothing learnt and a lot lost.

The glum Mayo players faces weren't helped when their manager of three years - and one as a selector - called time on his role. It was clear after being beaten semi-finalists last year that this game against Down meant everything to th team.

He hinted that there are other players, of the 30 plus bracket, who also may not be back next year. In that case, then, in years to come the Down loss could well be seen as the catalyst for a whole new dawn in Mayo hurling. Whether that's a good or bad dawn - remains to be seen.

I covered the game for several media outlets including:

Irish News
Belfast Telegraph
Mayonews

And also The Irish Daily Star, Irish Examiner, Irish Independent, Sunday Star, Sunday Life.

Here comes the summer sun

A weekend off from covering sports is never really a weekend off. The Sunday Game was my bread and butter GAA last weekend as the sunny weather in Ireland took me out and about during the day. I had – earlier last week – toyed with the idea of heading to Clones to watch Tyrone vs. Armagh in the Ulster Championship. But to be honest, I enjoyed the weekend of rest and relaxation ahead of a big sports weekend ahead.

In the end – as an Armagh man – maybe I made the right decision. By all accounts, the orange men did themselves proud but Tyrone are All-Ireland Champions and can grind out a win with the best of them.

The Sunday Game pundits were decent in their appraisal of the game, which lacked the bite for last week’s encounter between Derry and Monaghan – of which the players are now paying for. There was a major emphasis on referee -Pat McEnaney's - performance from the panel, but he did well and the clips showed his mettle. An interesting stat was that Tyrone made 30 scoring chances, with 12 wides, Armagh made 20 with 6 wides.

As for Armagh, they are a work in progress. Peter McDonnell’s selection, I thought, worked well bar one or two players. A number 15 still has to be found in order to rack up winning scores, while a scoring half forward is still the sides achilles heel when it comes to tight games. The midfield of Toner and Lavery looked very good and it will be interesting come next month, when maybe, Charlie Vernon can take a place on the ’40, with Toner and Lavery lording it around the middle.

As for me over the Bank Holiday Weekend it was BBQ and Corona in the Dublin sunshine. This weekend it is back to the nitty gritty of Christy Ring Hurling and Hill 16 being swamped with the Dubs…..bring on the summer.

Watch last weeks show on the RTE Mediaplayer

Dub-tastic

It was weekend for the Sky Blues to remember. The Heineken Cup was celebrated in Dublin, until the Leinster team returned on Sunday evening to the capital.
But the real Dublin sporting achievements took place in Portmarnock, North County Dublin, where seniors and minors won in perfect harmony.

First up, a re-vamped Dublin Senior Football team under Pat Gilroy got the better of Mayo in a Challenge game on Friday night. They were poor in the first half, with only Dermot Connolly showing anything like his game face. The second half, though, with the Dubs totally changed, was a different affair.

Eamonn Fennell, despite his lack of club football, was huge in the middle of the park, while Blair Kelly shone at wing forward, with Jayo and Mossy looking dangerous inside. It was a night for experiments, some worked and some just gave Gilroy a headache ahead of June 7th.

I covered the game for all of the National Daily Newspapers in Ireland, filing my copy on the whistle.

Then the next day, in glourious sunshine, Dublin minor footballers finally put Laois to the sword. It was an interesting game to watch, especially being sandwiched between two very vocal Laois hacks. They were to be disappointed though, as Dublin move onto a Leinster semi against Offaly.

I wrote on this game for the Sunday Star and Irish Daily Star.

Those like Gerry Harrington and John Costello will hope the same symmetry happens on Leinster final day, but both sets of teams and team managements have a lot of miles to cover before that.

2009 Guinness Hurling Hurling Championship advertising

Fruit of my loins:

It was a few months ago now, on a bright morning by the seaside. I sat down with the good people of Irish International Proximity Ltd and brainstormed. There were questions, there were answers and lots of head scratching.

But, by the end, there was something achieved, something born.

What was concieved was the in-pub and background advertising for the 2009 Guinness Hurling Hurling Championship. I was the GAA advisor on the content, posters and up-coming scratch cardss. All the details went to the printers last week and the results will be in the pubs, clubs and venues around the 12 Liam McCarthy Counties very soon. Watch out for my quote summing up the summer ahead.

The start of the advertising campaign started this week with the launch of the Exclusive Guinness Supporters Nights

Coulter was 'wrong'

Benny Coulter is an honest guy and when asked was he right to start last weekend's Ulster SFC defeat to Fermanagh, he is brutally honest.

My article on the Down marksman appeared in a host of National newspapers this morning including the Irish Daily Star, The Irish Daily Mirror and The Irish Independent.

Here is an online version of my story.

He is my hero

It's that time of year again when the U-21 2009 Hero of the Future is awarded. Croke Park will be filled with the good of the GAA tonight to toast the winner. My betting is that it will be Cork Captain Colm O'Neill. He had a stunning championship and deserves to lift more silverware. Peter Fitzpatrick from Down, who played at number 14 against Fermanagh last weekend, is also a candidate and definitely one for the future.

I will update in the morning as to the winner was and how the night went.

Well as it turned out Mr O'Neill was the winner and a worthy one at that. It was a well run night in the players lounge in Croke Park, with family and friends of the nominee's all gathered to celebrate what was a very good Championship.

Christy Ring Cup

Blink and you'll miss it.

Sometimes in the GAA you just have to sit back, listen to the crack of the hurl and wonder why. Sensibly the Croke Park powers have listened to the grass roots and made winning the Christy Ring Cup a worthwhile exercise. The carrot, of playing with the big boys in the Liam McCarthy Cup, is now there for all in tier two to hurl for.

But before you know it the Christy Ring will be decided and all before the summer has got going. It is still early days in the 2009 GAA Championship, but already I have been at a quarter-final of an All-Ireland competition.

Albeit it was of a lower quality than most of the rest of the hurling stable this summer. Saturday's game was none-the-less a big game in the scheme of things. Carlow are the coming force from tier two of hurling and John Greene has them singing a pretty tune, which overpowered a tired looking Kildare side. Details from my report are here.

They lack that killer first touch and ruthless streak to put away a team, but Carlow - at the minute - are the best of the rest in terms of hurling in Ireland. They have a semi on June 6th and then the final a week later - if it doesn't clash with an Ulster Hurling Championship game.

The Christy Ring Cup will be all over before Christy Cooney has had to field his first questions on the Kilkenny dominance. But who will care? Carlow, most likely, will be celebrating back-to-back titles, but it won't be enough when they have to wait until the 'real' action is over to find out if they make it to hurling nirvana.

The GAA are - by nature - a confusing organisation at times, so here is a decent run down of how the hurling championship pans out for the summer

Ireland v Nottinghamshire

A delayed start because of rain showers means that Ireland will go into bat at 1.30pm, IF the weather stays sunny.

Clastle Avenue is a perfect venue on a good, dry day, but I fear that the unpredictable and wet Irish weather will have a say in this Friends Provident Trophy match. It is already been trimmed to a 34 overs match, with Ireland leaving out James Hall from the start.

Lets cross those brollies and hope the sun shines.

While I wait, I am watching Man Utd keep their wagon the road towards the Premiership title. As I a City fan, you can guess where my allegiances lie today.


----It turned out to be a bad day at the crease for the Irish Cricket. It ended with a win for the visitors on the final ball, leaving Ireland with no wins and four defeats in this series.

I only got to see the first few overs as I had to make my way down to Newbridge for a hurling game. What I did see was a poor start by Nottinghamshire, as Mark Wagh (four) was trapped in front by Phil Eaglestone. They did rally though and Ali Brown (32) and Alex Hales (15) steadied things before Hales was caught. It was entertaining fare with the rain just staying an arm lengths away.


The match ended with high drama.....but again it was case of another hard luck story for the Irish team.


Image by Deryck Vincent

Dublin SFC

PARNELL’S 1-9 FINGAL RAVENS 1-6


Parnell's new Laois contingent stood up to be counted in Parnell Park last night.

A goal from Darren Rooney and two points from Colm Parkinson signals a warning of intent from this Coolock club.

Coach Declan North is finally getting a good spine to the team and things are looking up. They were narrowly beaten by Na Fianna in the first round of the Dublin SFC, but they have made up for that winning their first Championship game under North's tenure.

Joey Collins also showed what a talent he can become and gave a hint that Parnells could well be the sleeping giant of the Northside.

Certainly in Rooney they have a man who can take on any task as he lorded midfield and had still enough in the legs to notch the winning goal. He is going to key to a club that have high ambitions.

For now though, they must wait for the next round draw and resist the usual temptations.

SCORERS - Parnells: J Peyton 0-3 (0-1f), D Rooney 1-0, N Collins, J Collins, C Parkinson 0-2 each. Fingal Ravens: W Finnegan 0-3, C Norton 1-0, N Tormey 0-2 (0-1f), PJ Casey 0-1.
PARNELL’S - S Cluxton; B Byrne, M Fitzpatrick, M Kenna; C O’Reilly, D Myler, E Browne; D Rooney, P Keogh; N Collins, C Sugrue, J Peyton; J Collins, K Guckian, C Parkinson. Subs: L Browne for OReilly (34), P McGing for Guckian (47), S Mills for Sugrue (53), M Whelan for McGing (58).
FINGAL RAVENS - T McGrath; C Prendeville, M Lambe, S Maxwell; I Kavanagh, D Daly, J Morris; K Kavanagh, P Brennan; N Tormey, PJ Casey, D Flanagan; C Norton, W Finnegan, S Madigan. Subs: J Boland for Maxwell (48), M White for Lambe (53), D Kavanagh for Madigan (55), G Brennan for Casey (57), D Keogh for Norton (59).
REF - S Farrell (St Patrick’s, Donabate).