Steven Poacher: Risk versus reward


THIS weekend sees the showpiece in our football calendar: the All-Ireland SFC final and what is perceived to be the rivalry of all rivalries, 30-time winners Dublin versus 38-time winners Kerry. There are so many facets to this game that make it intriguing and we will have the usual preview talk of key match ups, potential […]


Kevin Cassidy: The day is here


ALL the pretenders to the throne have fallen. All of those teams who thought that this was their year have fallen in their quest. We are now we are left with the best two teams in the country and what a spectacle it should be. At the start of the year Kerry would definitely be […]


JACK MADDEN: Finish line in sight


Weekends don’t really exist when you’re busy. May, June, July are all the same really, and the world keeps spinning for those who don’t fall off. The visual definition of a weekend inhabits a hot tub, enjoying the effortless transition from Friday evening to Monday morning. For the disinterested, deluded, or nonplussed, life goes on […]


Chance to upset the applecart


ALL-IRELAND SFC SEMI-FINAL Dublin v Monaghan Saturday, Croke Park, 5.30pm Live on BBC and RTE By Niall Gartland Advertisement THERE was an uncanny feel to Dublin’s second-half steamrolling of Mayo a fortnight ago. For the last few years there’s been a stange listlessness to the Dubs – comparatively speaking of course – but when they tore into Mayo […]


The leading contenders


1 Dublin Right, they played in Division Two and haven’t been as formidable looking since Jim Gavin set sail a few years ago, but I’m still tipping Dublin to take home the big one at the end of the season. You get the sense that the old heads on the Dublin team are determined to […]


Meenagh feels O’Hanlon will keep his spot over returning Cluxton


By Michael McMullan DERRY assistant manager Ciaran Meenagh isn’t expecting eight-time All-Ireland winning goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton to dislodge David O’Hanlon ahead of Sunday’s Division Two league final. The 41-year-old made a surprise return to ease a goalkeeping injury crisis in Dessie Farrell’s squad, news that filtered into the Derry camp before their draw with Cork. […]


A league of their own


2022: Kerry 3-19 Mayo 0-13 A SIGN of things to come, you might say. Kerry completed the league and championship double last season, and while they were pushed all the way by Galway in the All-Ireland final, they had a much easier time of it at Croke Park against Mayo. David Clifford led the rout […]


PATRICK MORRISON: Six steps to one-to-one coaching


By Patrick Morrison IN 2015, my first year with the Armagh team, we played a challenge game against Dublin down in the DCU sports complex. This was the first year of their five in-a-row dominance. We had started with a strong team with a handful of our regular starters rested. Dublin on the other hand, […]


PATRICK MORRISON: The Goalkeeping Spectrum


By Patrick Morrison OVER the past 20 years, we have really seen the evolution of the goalkeeping position in Gaelic football. We have seen possibly the greatest ever in Stephen Cluxton to the newest modern phenomenon of ‘keepers joining the fray out the field. Over the past 20 years, and even before that, we have […]


All-Stars feature: Legends of the game


NIALL Gartland takes a look back at the some of the most decorated players to play the game, PAT SPILLANE (NINE ALL-STARS) PAT Spillane was an outstanding player in his day and is the only gaelic footballer to have won nine All-Stars. He made his debut during the 19734 league campaign, and over the course […]