IT is a terrible irony that Jimmy McGuinness’s system won Michael Murphy an All-Ireland medal yet ruined his best years. As a young footballer Michael was so good it was cartoonish. Here was a real life Hotshot Hamish, fetching impossible high balls and driving them to the net like Tony Yeboah, the ‘keeper standing there wondering […]
Family bonds behind Portaferry success
By Shaun Casey GERARD McGrattan was still playing the last time Portaferry claimed three consecutive county titles, and last Sunday, he patrolled the sidelines and watched on as his son led the line on another historic day for the club. Sunday past was the first time since 2002 that Portaferry won three in-a-row, and Tom […]
KEVIN CASSIDY: A look to the future
LAST weekend‘s games gave us a glimpse into the future as to what our Gaelic games might look like from here on in. By and large, I took a positive outlook on what I witnessed and think that we are heading in the right direction. At this point, it’s important that we point out that […]
JOE BROLLY: Honest Jim Gavin
JIM Gavin has the air of a fresh faced young Mormon selling bibles door to door. Serene as the buddha, he could persuade you of almost anything. Imagine him as a US trial lawyer, beaming down from a gigantic billboard, with the slogan: Honest Jim Gavin, Trial attorney. Just because you did it doesn’t mean […]
KEVIN CASSIDY: Facing into a new landscape
THIS weekend, we face into a massive weekend of football but it’s the action at Croke Park that may change the entire Gaelic football landscape and how it is played for years to come. On Friday evening, the interprovincial series makes a return. While that is nice to see that in itself, the biggest excitement […]
Beggan “excited” by rule enhancements
By Shaun Casey MONAGHAN goalkeeper Rory Beggan is “excited” by the new rule enhancements that will be trialed at Croke Park over the weekend and hopes they will improve Gaelic football as a spectacle. Jim Gavin’s FRC committee have brought forward seven new rules that will change the face of the sport. A number of […]
Running the rule: A player, coach and referee’s take on the new GAA rule proposals
Jim Gavin and the Football Review Committee have revealed their proposed seven core enhancements to help shape Gaelic Football. Michael McMullan spoke with a referee, player and coach to get thoughts on the proposals. Barry Dillon (Ulster University and Truagh manager) COACHES and managers look at rule changes in the same way. How do they […]
Kieran Donnelly to take charge of Ulster team for upcoming inter-provincial series
By Michael McMullan FERMANAGH manager Kieran Donnelly will manage the Ulster team for the upcoming inter-provincial games later this month, Gaelic Life can confirm. The Brookeborough man, now going into his fourth season as Erne manager, was approached by Football Review Committee Chairman Jim Gavin to look after the Ulster side. The Irish Examiner have […]
JOE BROLLY: More boring than baseball
A MODERN coach/manager has finally broken ranks to say what we are all thinking. This week, Professor Niall Moyna, a state of the art expert who has managed DCU to four Sigerson Cups, was a selector and advisor to the St Vincent’s All-Ireland winning club team of 2008 and an integral part of Pat Gilroy’s […]
KEVIN CASSIDY: The plan is here
AT I sat down to pen this week’s column, I’ve actually had to check myself. Normally I’m quite upbeat about things and take a positive outlook and it’s just dawned on me that my last couple of articles have had a negative slant. Maybe this realisation was brought on by the fact that I spent […]