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IT’S HALF-TIME in Dublin’s first National League tie of the year. It’s also Paul Mannion’s first game back in a Dublin jersey since 2014.

After a lively first-half on Kingdom debutant Brian Ó Beaglaoich, the Kilmacud Crokes forward isn’t feeling so sprightly.

In the privacy of the Croke Park dressing rooms, he’s hunched over, throwing up into a sink.

Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO

After spending the 2015 campaign in China and Chicago, Mannion is getting to grips once again with the high physical demands of inter-county football.

He played some O’Byrne Cup football with UCD in early January, but this is different. This is Kerry in Croke Park.

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“I was absolutely knackered at half-time,” Mannion recalls. ”I came in and got sick in the sinks at Croke Park. It raised eyebrows a little bit. It took a long time to get back up to that level.

“It never happened me before even after the hardest training sessions I’ve ever done in my life, long runs and sprints that never happened me.

“I knew after coming back from the year I had I wasn’t in the best of shape. It wasn’t really surprising, it was a bit weird for the other lads, but they knew the shape I was in.”

Mannion’s close friend Jack McCaffrey faces a similary battle to build back up his fitness levels in 2017. The 2015 Footballer of the Year stepped away for the summer and volunteered in Africa as part of his medical studies.

“I think he [McCaffrey] will come back and as long as he trains hard he’ll fit in fine, it won’t be any trouble to him. I don’t expect it to be any struggle for him.

“Maybe fitness wise at the start, like I did, but I was talking to him a few weeks ago and he claims he’s in the best shape of his life!”

Source: Instagram/maaanonion

After his year out, Mannion picked up his second senior All-Ireland title earlier this month. That number might be three had he stayed around last year, but it’s not something that keeps him up at night.

“I felt like I’d love a break. I didn’t really expect to have played Dublin senior football for two years anyway.

“By the time it came around it was a welcome break and a chance to explore a bit of the world, learn a language and meeting people from all over the world. It was a great year and I didn’t have any regrets.

“I was in Beijing and Wuhan. Wuhan I was probably thinking was a bad choice maybe because I didn’t really like the city. I was loving Beijing. No, I didn’t really miss football an awful lot.

“I was doing a lot of other things, playing soccer in a college soccer league, playing pool, table tennis like mad – every day. I was having fun. There was no regret. I was doing a bunch of other amazing things so it was just another experience really.”

He’s studying for a Masters degree in Digital Innovation at Smurfit Business School, and doesn’t rule out returning to China for work in the future. For now though, he’s happy to be in the business of winning All-Irelands with Dublin.

Things might have worked out differently. A talented underage soccer player, Mannion was capped by the Ireland schools’ team in 2011. He lined out for Belvedere and Home Farm, before the lure of winning All-Irelands with Dublin swayed him towards Gaelic football.

“It was 2011, the year with the minors, that really made me choose Gaelic. We lost the final against Tipp that year, the same day that the seniors won. And I remember standing on the pitch that day, [thinking] I would love to go on and win a senior.

“It was only a few months later that I was in the under-21 panel with Jim [Gavin], and just followed on from there, and never really thought about going back to soccer after that.”

Has he any regrets he never pursued a professional career in England? ”For me, I am glad that I didn’t have the opportunity and glad I didn’t go. I can see a lot of the lads that did go away from my age group and there is only one left over there now.

“So a lot of them are coming back and playing in the League of Ireland and they don’t have college degrees or anything to fall back on.

“They are still holding out hopes to get back across, but that just wouldn’t interest me at all. [I’m] much more happier with the way things have turned out.”

Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO

Things haven’t turned out badly for the 23-year-old. After his encounter with the Croke Park sink in January, he flitted in and out of the team before making it back into the starting XV for the All-Ireland final replay against Mayo.

Mannion was confident enough about his own form to approach Gavin and throw his hat into the ring for a starting place.

“I spoke to one of the [selectors] and he said, ‘Tell Jim how you feel’. I just initiated it myself.

“I spoke to Jim and I said, ‘I feel ready, I feel I’m flying and if you’re thinking of making any changes I’m confident and up for the challenge’. Then a couple of days before he gave me the nod.”

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Paul Mannion was on hand to launch Elverys Intersport’s #BringTheColour campaign.

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FORMER MONAGHAN SELECTOR Declan Brennan has revealed plans to establish a Club Players Association (CPA) – and revealed that he’s received over 10,000 messages from interested parties wishing to contribute.

The CPA’s goal is to ensure a voice for club players across the country, with particular emphasis on the fixtures schedule which often sees them without games for weeks and months on end as the inter-county season is in progress.

Brennan, regarded as the driving force behind Dublin City University’s first Sigerson Cup win in 2006, is also a four-time county SFC winning manager with Clontibret, with whom he won two titles as a player.

Brennan worked alongside former Meath star Colm Coyle when he was Monaghan manager and after a stint with DCU, he worked with Ulster University (Jordanstown) for two years at Sigerson Cup level.

Brennan is planning to hold a national meeting “within the next three to four weeks”, where plans will be formalised for the establishment of the CPA.

He revealed: “At that meeting, we intend to send out the message out in relation to what we’re about, and where we’re going with this as an organisation.

“We don’t necessarily see ourselves setting something up in stone for years ahead. It’s more to identify the problems at the moment, and put forward what we think should be done.

“If we’re not listened to, we feel from talking to people and getting the air at the moment, that there is player power on the club scene, and we’ll try to do something about it.

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“We need to help the administrators in Croke Park, who have so much bureaucracy and red tape to go through, that they can’t manage it.

“It has to come from the players themselves. They have to drive this over the line.

“They want time off, and they want to play football at decent times of the year.

“I see no difference between the club and county player – they’re all putting in the same effort at this moment in time, and deserve the same respect.

“This is not about me,” Monaghan native Brennan stressed. “I’m not involved with anybody at this moment in time and don’t intend to be but I suppose, over the years, I’ve witnessed a lot of things going on and it’s come to a head over the last number of months.”

It was reported earlier this year that Down legend Conor Deegan was considering setting up a group similar to the GPA, to represent club players, and now Brennan has come forward with similar plans.

He said: “I’m not sure who was talking and I haven’t really been listening to what other people had in mind.

“I’m not going on this on a solo run. A number of people contacted me asking to get involved in some capacity.

“I felt the best way to would be to speculate on how much hurt and anxiety is out there, by a simple text, Facebook, email and social media.

“I’ve received over 10,000 messages, mostly from club players and there’s no point in saying from an official end of things.

“Club officials and county board officials, no, which is what I sort of expected.

“I was never fond of the administration end of things, I’ve always been involved in coaching and management.

“I have great respect for people who do that but it’s come to a head that they’re so far removed from the reality of what’s going on in the day-to-day situation with clubs.

“People are telling me they’re totally frustrated by the lack of respect, fixtures being put on at short notice.

“People are going to America for two or three months and missing very little and then at the end of the year, they’re playing through the gutters.

“Look at the Dublin situation, where lads were asked to play a week after the All-Ireland final. People need to wake up to this.”

Brennan’s business, DBSM Sports Management centre of excellence, is based in Castleshane, Monaghan.

Brennan and his team specialise in premier sports performance and injury rehabilitation.

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AFTER SUFFERING A second stroke in January of this year, Sligo’s Johnny Martyn was still hopeful that his football career could still be salvaged. The initial conversations with doctors were promising but a phone call in May cut those final strains of hope to ribbons and he was told that his body had no more chances to give.

It was news he wasn’t expecting and the cruel sense of disillusionment that so often afflicts athletes who are forced to retire followed soon after.

“I got a call from the Sligo team doctor and he told me that after further consultations they said it would be better if I stopped because the medication I’m on is a blood thinner and if I get a bang, it could cause internal bleeding. I hadn’t played any games at that stage but I was gearing towards that.”

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“I didn’t see it coming,” Martyn added. “The good thing is that I’ve had no effects and I’m fully healthy. It’s just there’s a huge gap in my life. You’re used to training and now it’s gone.

“The first couple of weeks, I didn’t mind and I was able to go out more. But then it sunk in and it was hard to take especially when there were games coming up with Sligo and the club.”

Martyn’s first stroke occurred at a Sligo training session a few days out from a championship game against Cork in 2014. The session was in its early stages when Martyn started exhibiting some of the classic stroke symptoms – mouth sloping to one side, and despite his attempts to communicate his despair, his lips could only produce silence.

He put his career on pause to let his body heal and had his eye on a restart in 2015. Ankle ligament damage brought that comeback to an abrupt end and when he came back the following year, he was looking towards completing a full season of inter-county football without any interruptions.

But while warming up to be introduced during an FBD League game, a similar sensation to the one he had felt two years earlier, resurfaced. The fact that this experience was less painful offered some hope that he could recover and go again in time.

“I can remember (2014) like it was yesterday but I try not to think about it too much. When it happened the first time, I thought I wouldn’t get back. But then I got an opportunity to come back.

“When it happened the second time, the fear was there and I just couldn’t believe it was happening again but it turned out to be a mini-stroke so it wasn’t as bad as the first one.”

The St Mary’s player can appreciate the aspects of his story that deserve to be celebrated. In addition to having no side effects from his health scares, the diagnosis still allows him to exercise so long as contact is excluded. But as he says himself, “he’s not one for going for a run or going to the gym.” In truth, there’s no real drive to find any other pursuits while he continues to linger for the one that has been a constant in his life for so long.

“There’s not much left outside of Gaelic football. It’s been my whole life. There were times when I was playing that I wouldn’t be looking forward to going training but now I’d love to be going.”

“It’s been hard not being involved. One of my best mates who I play with lives down the road so I see him a good bit but there’s other players that I don’t get to see so I do miss that dressing room spirit. I’m not 39 or 40, I’m just 35 and while I knew that last year was probably going to be my last year with Sligo, I thought I could keep going for a while longer with the club.”

There was a temptation to disregard the medical advice and play on with full knowledge of the risks, but that choice was taken away from him.

“To be honest if it was up to me, I’d be back playing. When they told me, I said I was willing to take the risk but I wouldn’t be insured so I had no choice really.”

Various causes can offset a stroke and while it seems bizarre that a high performance athlete could be stricken by something that is more commonly regarded as a consequence of poor lifestyle choices, it’s not a rare thing in sport. All these possibilities were laid out for Martyn during his ordeal.

“The doctors explained a good bit of it to me and when it happened the first time, blood clots were mentioned. We played Limerick in the previous game and I could well have gotten a bang and that could have had an effect. They told me as well about blood clots in rugby and American football.”

Apart from attending games as a spectator, Martyn has temporarily withdrawn himself from football. This is not the end, but rather an opportunity to engage with the sport in a new way. Sligo manager Niall Carew and his club manager have extended offers to him to join their respective backroom teams, and the prospect of that new challenge already seems to intrigue him.

“I’ll definitely get involved again next year. There’s plenty of underage teams in the club and there’s the county as well.”

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ANOTHER WINTER LIES in store for Mayo in the long shadow of Sam Maguire.

Despite three devastating All-Ireland final defeats in the last six years, Tom Parsons and the rest of the Mayo squad have an unwavering belief that lifting the title in September is written in their destiny.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

Parsons is a little less damaged than the rest. He wasn’t part of the panel for the two previous losses, but they still hurt.

“The outside influences of the burden of 65 years for Mayo, we take that on the chin,” he says.

“That was my first All-Ireland final. I wasn’t involved in 2012 or 2013. I know a lot of the guys have played in all three and we’ve come up short. We carry ourselves on our history as a team. We just want to represent Mayo as best as possible.

“Last week was tough to take. We definitely felt we performed really well and we did all the things that we talked about in training.  As it turned out we didn’t win it. Now we’re at a stage we’ve accepted it, we moved on.

“I can already sense from talking to the players that we’ve had our week where we’ve been very, very dissapointed. This week and the coming weeks is where we reflect, analyse and see where we can improve and really go at it in 2017.

From speaking to the 28-year-old, you get the sense that 2016 has already been put in the rearview mirror. With a group of All-Ireland winning U21s germinating within the squad, Parsons is optimistic the future is bright.

“If we can improve the way we improved throughout the season 2016 at the same rate in 2017, we’ll be in a really good place,” he says.

“Arguably this year our two best players were Brendan Harrison and Patrick Durcan. It was their first All-Ireland final and they improved massively throughout the year. There’s no reason why we can’t have another two new finds next year who could again be our top performers next year.

“It’s promising. A lot of our team are young, eager and ready to go. We’ve a bunch of U21 lads there who won an All-Ireland final this year and they are just ready to rock-and-roll for 2017.”

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

As is often the case with a narrow one-point All-Ireland final defeat, mistakes from the losing team are over-analyzed and over-processed. Parsons defended Stephen Rochford’s decision to start Rob Hennelly ahead of David Clarke in the replay.

“To play at the top level, every team needs to be adaptable. If you look back to the Tyrone game, we deployed Alan Dillon at centre-forward. If you look at the Tipperary game, we deployed Barry Moran as a sweeper.

“The call came in the second Dublin game because Dublin were putting severe pressure on short kick-out. We have a very experienced goalkeeper in Rob Hennelly who is on par with David Clarke, has played in All-Ireland finals, kicks the ball out long and has been playing really well in training.

“Would I call it a risk? No. I’d call it adaptibility of a team. Unfortunately, when a goalkeeper makes a mistake it can be detrimental or it can be a goal. Is that the reason why we lost the All-Ireland final? No.

“There was a number of reasons. There was a number of errors, both forced and unforced that we could be done better with around the middle of the field. I don’t think there was one Mayo player who didn’t make a mistake in both games.”

“I 100 per cent back and trust the character of Rob Hennelly and the work he puts in. It’s been difficult for him but he has a strong character and he will be back training and will come back at it. And the exact same goes for the management. ”

Parsons adds there have been “no whispers” of any potential retirements from the squad. Heading into Year 2 of Rochford, he’s confident they have the pieces to solve the puzzle.

“The age profile of the team is good. There’s a huge drive, there’s a huge bond in the team. I don’t think miles on the clock is going to be a huge factor in us not competing or going at it for next year.

“I think top teams now have to be really mentally strong as well. As a group we certainly are really mentally strong.

“If we put it together and improve, it’s all there. Why not?”

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A book of condolence for Anthony Foley was opened today at the IRFU offices in Dublin.

Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO

Home

• Anthony Foley‘s family have said their ‘anguish is bottomless’ following the tragic death of the Irish and Munster rugby legend.
• Tributes continue to pour in from around the world with a book of condolence opening in the IRFU offices in Dublin, as well as in council offices around Munster.
• Nevada State Athletic Commission say the punishment handed to Conor McGregor after a press conference fracas isn’t as severe as first reported.
• The Ireland senior and U21 panels for the 2016 hurling/shinty series were announced today.
• Olympic boxer Adam Nolan yesterday won his first county hurling title with Oulart-the-Ballagh.
• Melbourne City have remained tight-lipped on the rumours linking them with a move for Dundalk’s Daryl Horgan.

Members of the Munster squad stand and observe the shine for Anthony Foley outside Thomond Park.

Source: Niall Carson

Away

• Dan Carter has been cleared of doping following a probe which implicated him and two Racing 92 team-mates.
• Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has been banned for eigth tournament weeks and fined by the ATP.
• The FA want to appoint another English manager as Sam Allardyce‘s successor.
• Three men have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of the daughter of sprinter Tyson Gay.

Connacht head coach Pat Lam today received an Honorary Doctrate From NUIG.

Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

The Best Thing We Shared

This brilliant goal in the final seconds of yesterday’s Laois SFC final denied Portlaoise a 10th conseuctive title.

Source: SportsTalk TV/YouTube

On The Record

“We will always look at new broadcasters . Hurling is the (one of the) fastest sports in the world, it should be on ESPN or FOX (but) we can’t have a big broadcaster who could cherry pick finals and provincials.”

The GAA‘s media rights manager, Noel Quinn, on how he aims to make the most of broadcast deals.

Where we were today

Kevin O’Brien was at St Vincents GAA club to speak to Dublin’s Paul Mannion.

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Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO

The Fixture List

• The Champions League returns on Tuesday with eight games down for decision, all kicking-off at 7.45pm. Tottenham’s trip to Bayer Leverkusen is the highlight while Leicester host Copenhagen.

Showbiz, Baby!

As Sars beat Kiladangan to clinch their first county three-in-a-row since the 1960s, they dedicated it to Lieutenant Colonel Jack Griffin, who served as both trainer and selector with the team and sadly passed away last November.

Paudie Maher brought Griffin’s three young daughters Laragh, Isabelle and Emma up the Semple Stadium steps yesterday and rather than lift the Dan Breen Cup himself as captain, asked them to accept it on the team’s behalf from county chairman Michael Bourke.

Source: Inpho

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Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

AS THE FINAL whistle blew and Thurles Sarsfields were crowned Tipperary senior hurling champions once again, there was one man very much on Paudie Maher’s mind.

Lieutenant Colonel Jack Griffin was a Sarsfields clubman through and through until his tragic death last November at the age of 47.

As Sars beat Kiladangan to clinch their first county three-in-a-row since the 1960s, they dedicated it to Griffin, who served as both trainer and selector with the team.

Maher brought Griffin’s three young daughters Laragh, Isabelle and Emma up the Semple Stadium steps and rather than lift the Dan Breen Cup himself as captain, asked them to accept it on the team’s behalf from county chairman Michael Bourke.

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Source: Twimg

ADAM NOLAN SPENT most of his sporting life going for gold — but he was delighted to get his hands on some silver yesterday.

The Olympian, who boxed for Ireland at London 2012, clinched his first senior hurling title with Oulart-the-Ballagh who were crowned Wexford champions for a remarkable 10th time in the last 13 years.

Nolan still has a long way to go before he catches up with brother Darren however. He’s been involved in all 10 of the club’s wins since the turn of the century.

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INCOMING WEXFORD BOSS Davy Fitzgerald has spoken about the sense of relief he felt after stepping down as Clare manager last month.

Fitzgerald’s five-year spell in charge of the Banner came to an end before he was quickly snapped up by Wexford. The 45-year-old agreed on a three-year term in charge of Wexford, with a review to come after two years.

In a revealing interview with RTÉ Sport, Fitzgerald spoke about the series of events which led to his Clare departure. He was adament the majority of the squad wanted him to remain in charge of his home county.

“The players are getting a lot of stick in Clare that they don’t deserve. 95, to 96 or 97% of them players I would die for. Maybe one or two of them have lost their ways a small bit. Or maybe their dads have, but apart from that, them Clare players are great lads.

They didn’t organise anything against me. I more or less told them after the Galway game…like if you were in the dressing room you would know that I knew I nearly had enough.

“I asked them to see would they like a change of voice, that’s exactly the words I put to in their mouths.”

He voiced his disbelief at the criticism he received, especially when it came from within the county.

“I was more relieved to get out of Clare,” the three-time All-Star said. “I had fellas I played with cutting the back off me for three years. I haven’t seen too many of them coaching anyone to win anything.

“There’s no real logic behind any of it because they can’t stand up and say they have done anything themselves.

I remember going home [after leaving Clare] and saying, ‘I don’t have to listen to that anymore’. The way I felt treated, and probably betrayed by some of them, was unreal, but that’s the way it is and it is over.”

“The [playing] style is based on the players you have. What I was dealt with was mainly a bunch of 20, 21 year-olds  and you had to make sure you were covered in all angles.

“You had to make sure the systems you were playing suited them.

“I look back on it with no regrets and I’m happy.”

Having stepped aside, his initial plan was to take a year off but Wexford chairman Diarmuid Devereux had other ideas. Next year will be his tenth straight season as an inter-county manager.

He says he met Devereux ”out of courtesy” but was impressed with his passion and refusal to accept no for an answer.

1. Bundee Aki scores a crucial late try in Connacht’s Champions Cup win against Toulouse yesterday

Source: Inpho/Billy Stickland

2. Uruguay’s Egidio Arevalo shows off his acrobatic skills in a World Cup qualifier against Colombia

Source: Ricardo Mazalan

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3. Cork’s Stephen Dooley and Adam Hanlon of Finn Harps battle for the ball and with the conditions at Turner’s Cross on Friday night

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

4. Green Bay Packers’ Clay Matthews celebrates a sack on New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning

Source: Mike Roemer

5. Simon Zebo looking mischievous at Munster training this week

Source: Gary Carr/INPHO

6. Buffalo Sabres Josh Gorges (4) collides with Montreal Canadiens forward Torrey Mitchell (17) in the NHL

Source: Jeffrey T. Barnes

7. Lisnagarvey’s Mark McNellis with David Kane and Mitch Darling of Three Rock in the EY Men’s Hockey League

Source: Presseye/Rowland White/INPHO

8. Boston Celtics forward Jordan Mickey (55) goes for a dunk in the final seconds of the fourth quarter of a pre-season NBA game against the Brooklyn Nets

Source: AP/Press Association Images

9. Leinster’s Robbie Henshaw is tackled by Remi Grosso of Castres Olympique

Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO

10. Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard enjoyed himself this week

Source: David Zalubowski

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