A SUGGESTION THAT the GAA need to appoint a national figure overseeing the demands placed on younger players and ensuring they do not suffer burnout, has been warmly received by the chairman of the GPA. GAA President John Horan spoke about his idea yesterday at the launch of the ESRI report into the playing of … Continue reading "‘That’s a terrific idea’ – support for GAA to appoint a Nucifora-type figure to tackle player burnout"

SEAN CAVANAGH IS continuing to recover from the injuries he suffered in a local championship match in Tyrone last weekend but is still hopeful of returning to line out for his club Moy in 2019. Earlier this year Cavanagh won All-Ireland honours with his club in Croke Park at intermediate level but his 2018 campaign … Continue reading "‘I still have heavy concussion but recovering’ – Cavanagh on the mend after injuries sustained in club match"

2018 ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONS Limerick and last year’s Super 11s winners Clare are two of the sides heading to Fenway Park for this year’s edition on 18 November, with tickets on sale tomorrow. Cork and Wexford are also on the billing with the four sides going head-to-head for the Players Champions Cup at the home of … Continue reading "Tickets on sale tomorrow with holders and 2018 All-Ireland champions Boston-bound"

THURLES SARSFIELDS ARE chasing five-in-a-row in the Tipperary senior hurling championship this year and they will face the recently crowned north divisional winners in their opening knockout tie in their bid to land the 2018 title. Ronan Maher and Padraic Maher of Thurles Sarsfields with their mother Helen after last year’s Tipperary county senior hurling … Continue reading "Reigning county champions to face recent north winners – Tipperary senior hurling quarter final draw is made"

FORMER HURLER OF the Year Michael Fennelly believes players are putting even more time into their inter-county commitments than the figures revealed in the recent ERSI study. Source: Cathal Noonan/INPHO On Tuesday, the report jointly commissioned by the GPA and GAA in 2016 found that inter-county players were spending up to 31 hours per week … Continue reading "‘More games, more pressure, more stress, so I would suspect those figures are not accurate’"

THE POST ALL-Ireland final debate over the role population and funding has played in the dominance enjoyed by Dublin footballers has continued to rage and while it has not surprised defender Philly McMahon, it is a line of thinking that he believes ‘can be dangerous’ on a wider level. Dublin footballer Philly McMahon at the … Continue reading "‘It can be dangerous and send the wrong message to our younger kids’ – the debate over Dublin’s dominance"

“I CAN HONESTLY say it’s a better feeling,” Siobhan McGrath grinned in the bowels of Croke Park shortly after she helped her Dublin side to another All-Ireland crown. “I was so proud of them last year but it’s definitely a nicer feeling.” Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO Last year, she watched on from the Hogan Stand, one … Continue reading "A tale of two All-Ireland finals: From a fan in the stands to the thick of the action in 12 months"

IT FITS THAT the three longest-serving Gaelic football managers at the outset of the 2019 season are a trio that journeyed deep into the heart of this year’s championship. Mickey Harte brought his Tyrone side back to the grandeur of All-Ireland final day and is set to be in charge for a 17th campaign. Jim … Continue reading "‘It’s very positive’ – Clare’s football supremo provides continuity as a sixth season beckons in 2019"

HIS SUDDEN DEPARTURE last Sunday night as the head of Dublin hurling was a shock, but one of the players who worked closely with Pat Gilroy when he ended the county’s barren football spell in 2011 does not believe it means the end of Gilroy’s future as a manager in the capital. Gilroy departed after … Continue reading "‘Whether that’s in football or hurling, he’s just that type of fella that he could surprise you’"

FORMER SLIGO STAR Paul Taylor is set to take over as manager of the county’s senior football team. The U21 boss has been recommended by the Yeats county’s selection committee and it is expected that he’ll be ratified by club delegates at a county board meeting on Monday. He’ll succeed Cathal Corey, who stepped away … Continue reading "Former Sligo star forward Taylor set to take the reins as new senior manager"