THERE IS a certain awkwardness in watching Peter Canavan’s analysis of sons Darragh and Ruairí on the Sunday Game. A magnificent Irishness, where a fear of being brash leads to the complete and utter opposite. It gets to the point you almost have to restrain yourself from driving your own clan into the ground. Canavan […]
JIM McGuinness. One man’s messiah, another man’s Satan. A tactical genius, and the man who damaged the game beyond repair. Marmite. Take your pick. The origins would slip your mind, the man with the laptop and a Powerpoint presentation in a room with no socket. Maybe it was quite Jim McGuinness of him to get up […]
By Jack Madden PATRICK McCarry of Sports Joe summated what has become an alternate dimension. “Manchester United take the money and run on distasteful visit to Dublin.” Too many shirts and ties. Elite level soccer is no longer a game of the people. The RTÉ Kevin Moran documentary a few months back was an insight […]
THERE was something so symbolic last year when Declan Hannon climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand and shared the Liam McCarthy Cup with Cian Lynch. This time round, with the roles reversed and the outcome repeated, it was freakish. Fittingly freakish, for a Limerick side that now are beyond the vocabulary of sporting excellence. […]
THERE was something so symbolic last year when Declan Hannon climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand and shared the Liam McCarthy Cup with Cian Lynch. This time round, with the roles reversed and the outcome repeated, it was freakish. Fittingly freakish, for a Limerick side that now are beyond the vocabulary of sporting excellence. […]
By Jack Madden PROCRASTINATION. July 14th, County Monaghan. “Friday night, I’m going nowhere. All the lights are changing, green to red. Turning over TV stations Advertisement Situations running through my head.” Anticipation. July 15th, County Dublin. “Saturday, I’m running wild And all the lights are changing, red to green. Moving through the crowds I’m pushing […]
YOU’D wonder what went through Shane Walsh’s head as the ball hung high in the dark grey Carrick-on-Shannon sky. It hadn’t been his day. The magic moment you come to expect slipped from his grasp. Rip up the script. Less than 24 hours previously, Toulouse defeated Ronan O’Gara’s Stade Rochelais to win the French Top14 title. […]
TWO years ago, Rod Stewart was invited to partake in the Scottish Cup fifth-round draw. Stewart himself claims to be an avid Celtic supporter. Avid Celtic supporters don’t overly claim Stewart. The 11th January 2021 was one of several indicators as to why. There aren’t too many members of the Green Brigade that are invited […]
By Jack Madden THE small goals are wheeled out. Forget about turnovers won, shooting efficiency, distance covered. Just make sure that the laces are tied. Coaching is normally kept to a minimum. Parents aside, the disinterested crowd care for little other than an unsuccessful scramble for mobile phone coverage. Still, even for Wi-Fi whizzkids and […]
By Jack Madden THE draw – it’s a funny one. The immediate aftermath provides an array of semi-emotive nothingness. The silence says it all really. In today’s game, it requires even more reflection. Gone are the days of the replay, where American football brings All-Ireland semi-finals to Limerick, and where Mayo prolong their barren spell of […]
