SUNDAY’S meeting of Down and Armagh will be the first time that Páirc Esler has hosted an Ulster Championship match between the neighbours since 1991. The game, the names, and the old ground itself have changed considerably from that day in the rain when Down won a forgettable quarter-final 1-7 to 0-8, but the rivalry […]
ARMAGH’S Charlie Vernon has paid tribute to his long-standing team-mate Ciaran McKeever ahead of their eagerly awaited Ulster Championship quarter-final clash with Down this Sunday. Ciaran McKeever, who turns 34 later this month, admitted he seriously considered bringing the curtain down on his inter-county career last summer. He resisted the urge to call it a […]
DOWN manager Eamonn Burns looks set to hand a sensational inter-county debut to defender Anthony Doherty while Armagh midfielder Ethan Rafferty may be drafted in as one of the squad’s two goalkeepers. Gaelic Life understands that the RGU Downpatrick man will start in the Down full-back line in Sunday’s Ulster quarter-final, and given his height […]
IF Down’s Ulster famine has been excruciating for their fans, the wait for a championship win over bitter rivals Armagh has been equally unbearable. Clonduff man Darren O’Hagan is attempting to become the first player since Paddy O’Rourke in 1992 to lead Down to a championship win over the Orchard county. The rivalry has belonged […]
NIALL Keenan is aware of the pessimistic pre-match chatter ahead of Derry’s date with Tyrone in Sunday’s Ulster Championship quarter-final, but he’s not really put out by it. The 20-year-old Castledawson man had a chastening introduction to championship football in last year’s heavy defeat against Tyrone at Celtic Park. Although he wasn’t part of Damian […]
CONOR McManus will be out to prove a point in Monaghan’s Ulster Championship preliminary round clash against Fermanagh on Saturday, according to their ever-reliable full-back Drew Wylie. Too often the charge levelled at Monaghan has been an overreliance on Conor McManus, but the emergence of Jack McCarron seems to have addressed that problem. In 2016, […]
EDDIE Courtney is almost certain to make his championship debut in Saturday’s Ulster Championship preliminary round clash against Monaghan, and he admits he’d do anything to get a starting jersey. It’s a novel start for the Aghadrumsee man, given that he lives just a stone’s throw away from St Tiernach’s Park. His journey would be […]
IN an extended interview in this week’s Gaelic Life, Antrim goalkeeper Chris Kerr says his colleagues are a unified force ahead of their Ulster Championship clash against Donegal on May 21. The Saffrons hit the headlines recently when the management and players came together to publically berate the county board for, what they felt, was […]
ARMAGH defender Charlie Vernon is expected to be fit for next month’s Ulster Championship clash with Down despite sustaining an eye injury in training. The Armagh Harps man was having further scans on Wednesday, and manager Kieran McGeeney will be hoping for good news given the importance of Vernon to the team. With key defenders […]
TYRONE legend Brian McGuigan believes that Donegal have overtaken his native county and now look most likely to prevail in the upcoming Ulster Championship. The Red Hands are tipped by the bookies to defend their title, even if they had a flat league campaign, finishing sixth in Division One. By contrast, Donegal defied expectations of […]
