MATCHES IN THIS year’s GAA football and hurling leagues will be live streamed by the BBC for the first time this season.

A game each weekend will be covered on the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport NI website starting this Saturday 29 January 29 as Derry entertain Down in Owenbeg in their Division 2 football clash.

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The football coverage continues with Galway’s visit to Newry to meet Down in Division Two a week later. The first live hurling match will see Dublin taking on Antrim at Corrigan Park in Division One on Saturday 12 February.

The first Division One Football game is on 19 February 19 with Armagh playing neighbours Monaghan at the Athletic Grounds. Down against Roscommon in Division Two is the match that is the focus on 26 February, while Armagh’s tie against Kildare is then covered on 12 March

The BBC’s live streamed coverage of league games for 2022 will conclude with the Division Two Hurling tie between Down and Kerry on 19 March.

THE GAA HAVE confirmed that water breaks have been removed from match regulations.

One water break per half was introduced in club and inter-county games in 2020 as GAA action resumed amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

As restrictions loosened in recent days, their abolishment was expected, and the Association confirmed the news in its latest Covid-19 update for members this afternoon.

This change paves the way for the return of Maor Uisces, with two permitted per team.

They cannot enter the field of play, unless in hurling when carrying a replacement hurley to a player.

“Counties and Clubs should note that the provision for Water Breaks in our games is now removed from our Match Regulations with immediate effect,” the update reads.

“The following provisions in this context now apply:

“Maoir Uisce – Two Maoir Uisce who must be over 18 years of age, are permitted per team; they may not enter the field of play. Each must wear an official bib (Football: Purple or Green | Hurling: Brown or Lilac) and will be situated as per the “Pitch Layout” in our Match Regulations, and at least two metres from the sideline.

“Official team personnel (Selectors/Coaches), substitutes, injured players or members of the extended panel may not act as Maoir Uisce. In the event that any official team personnel, injured player(s) or a member of the extended panel act as a Maoir Uisce, any breach of rule, shall be considered as a Misconduct at Games by Team Officials infraction.

“Maoir Uisce are not permitted to have/use communications devices i.e. walkie talkies.

“In hurling the Maoir Uisce will also act as hurley carriers & may enter the field of play with a replacement hurley when necessary.

“This will also mean that the number of people allowed access to the controlled zone for games in our Match Regulations will increase by 2 (i.e. from 40 to 42) to accommodate this change.

“In this context, Counties and clubs should a note the provisions on unauthorised entry to the field of play as outlined in Rule 1.4 of the Rules of Control.”

Further details on rules and regulations surrounding entry to the field and incursions are included, and the full update, signed off by President Larry McCarthy and Director General Tom Ryan, can be read here.

– Originally published at 12:38

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MOURNEABBEY FORWARD LAURA Fitzgerald says losing their Cork crown in 2020 is a major driving force behind their charge for All-Ireland glory this weekend.

Mourneabbey’s Laura Fitzgerald.

Source: Seb Daly/SPORTSFILE

Mourneabbey have been the dominant club in Ladies Football for the best part of a decade, winning six consecutive Munster titles, and back-to-back All-Ireland triumphs in recent years.

But they encountered their first major slip two years ago.

That defeat at the hands of West Cork was a devastating blow to Shane Ronayne’s side, who were seeking a county seven-in-a-row at the time. The sides had tussled in the two previous deciders, and West Cork ensured that they would not be denied a third time.

Despite the result, Mourneabbey were briefly expected to represent Cork in the provincial championship, as West Cork were unable to progress due to their status as a divisional outfit. There were other complications regarding West Cork’s eligibility in the Cork championship, but in any case, the competition ceased at county level due to Covid-19 restrictions that were in place at the time.

Mourneabbey launched their reboot in 2021 with an effort that brought them back to the summit in Cork, after a five-point win over Éire Óg in the county final.

They added the Munster title after getting the better of Tipperary’s Aherlow which effectively marked a provincial seven-in-a-row for the Cork champions.

A crushing victory over Dunboyne followed in the All-Ireland semi-final to send them through to a showdown with Kilkerrin-Clonberne of Galway in the Currentaccount.ie All-Ireland Ladies senior club final this Saturday.

The clash will also be a repeat of the 2019 All-Ireland final where Mourneabbey defended their title.

“It came crashing down,” Fitzgerald recalls of that 2020 campaign that ended in defeat.

“Not that we thought our reign was over but we were extremely devastated to have lost that match, we didn’t perform particularly well. But that’s the making of a great team. If you don’t perform on the day, that’s it, you can’t have any complaints.

Mourneabbey were All-Ireland champions when the final was last played in 2019.

Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

“We were technically supposed to be training for a Munster competition but that didn’t transpire. But definitely it was the ingredient that made us that bit hungrier this year. We came back to training as if we lost all six county titles. We had to seriously make up for the loss that we’d just experienced.

“We had a couple of years won previously, and not that it meant nothing, but we had to redeem ourselves massively in Cork itself. We went out with a purpose this year definitely.

“We let the committees and councils fight that one out, but we can only train and play when we’re told to. West Cork were a serious outfit so we had no issue with them.

“We trained for about two weeks before the competition was called off but I think there was issues with us representing Cork in the Munster championship because we hadn’t won the county final.”

Fitzgerald has been in impeccable form for her club this year, netting 10 goals in their last three games. Four of those came against Dunboyne in the All-Ireland semi-final as part of an emphatic 30-point win.

That result was particularly significant given that it was against a side that contained talented duo Emma Duggan and Vikki Wall who were central to Meath’s incredible All-Ireland triumph.

“I wouldn’t keep count,” Fitzgerald replies modestly when her tally is relayed to her.

“I am just very lucky to be playing on the pitch and to be scoring goals, finishing off moves which others have started.

“Collectively we have worked on being that more clinical and ruthless as well which is what Shane really pushes for. coming into this stage of the All-Ireland series if the goal is there you just have to take it because it is probably the difference at the end of the game so it is something we have worked on collectively.

“I’m just very fortunate for the position I play in and the players I have around me. To be honest, I’m just one of 15 that’s on the field at any given time.”

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Kilkerrin-Clonberne will bring a considerable fight to St Brendan’s Park in Birr this weekend. Galway star sisters Louise and Nicola Ward are key components in their system, along with fellow county teammate Olivia Divilly.

Revenge for the devastation they suffered in the 2019 All-Ireland final must surely be on their mind too. It was Fitzgerald who kicked the decisive score that day with a last-minute free and she has vivid memories of how hard their opponents were to shake off.

“Their fitness levels,” she begins when asked for her memories of that day. “They were a serious outfit, they had 15 very good players on the pitch at all times.

“I know Nicola [Ward] went off injured but you wouldn’t have known with the replacement that came on. They were relentless and the fact that it went down to the last 20 or 30 seconds kind of shows that… the only thing only thing on our performance, I don’t think we were 100% ourselves and we’ve reflected on that.

“We know we weren’t at our very best that day but still fought to win. We’re definitely going to have to bring our A game on Saturday or else it’s going to be game over.”

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Letterkenny IT 0-7
UCD 0-6

Alan Foley reports from Convoy, Donegal

LETTERKENNY INSTITUTE OF Technology produced a massive surprise to see off University of College Dublin to seal a last eighth berth in the Sigerson Cup. 

In only their second year in the senior bracket – they were semi-finalists when the competition was last played in 2020 – the side managed by Maxi Curran came through what might only be termed as a struggle at the Donegal Training Centre in Convoy.

The biggest margin between the sides over the course of the hour was when the all-Donegal side led 0-3 to 0-1 at the start of the second half, with Joel Bradley-Walsh scoring the second of his four points on the night.

UCD led only in the first half through a 45 from Aaron McClements and didn’t manage to score from play till Brian McLoughlin popped over in the 47th minute.

Both sides were creating a decent number of chances, with finishing poot from both. Conor O’Donnell of LyIT and UCD’s Daire Cregg and Eoin Harkin did provide an exception to that.

Last week, Bradley-Walsh hit a hat-trick as LyIT were beaten in a against University of Limerick, 2-23 to 3-15 at the Connacht AirDome. Tonight, with the score 0-6 to 0-6, he kept his nerve to hit the winner with a marked ball in injury time. McLoughlin had the chance to level it in the fifth minute of injury-time but his shot fell to the right and wide.

*****

Tonight’s other Round 3 game saw Queens University defeat IT Carlow by 0-17 to 0-16 in the Sigerson Cup. Queens University and Letterkenny IT join UL, NUI Galway, DCU and MTU Kerry, who have already qualified for the quarter-finals.

Tomorrow’s Round 2B games see Ulster University play MTU Cork and Maynooth University face St Mary’s College Belfast.

@ElectricIreland @HigherEdGAA Sigerson Cup final score
@itcarlow 0.16@QueensGAA 0.17#FirstClassRivals #sigersoncup

— IT Carlow GAA (@ITCarlowGAA) January 25, 2022

*****

Scorers for Letterkenny IT: Joel Bradley-Walsh 0-4 (0-2f, 0-1 mark), Conor O’Donnell 0-2, Jason McGee 0-1 (0-1f),

Scorers for UCD: Brian McLoughlin 0-2, Daire Cregg 0-2 (0-2f), Aaron McClements 0-1 (0-1 ’45), Eoin Harkin 0-1.

Letterkenny IT

(All Donegal unless stated)

Emmett Maguire (Termon)

Dylan Dorrian (Milford), Caolan Ward (St Eunan’s), Kieran Tobin (St Eunan’s)

Conor O’Donnell (Carndonagh), Oisin Langan (St Michael’s), Jack Gallagher (Glenswilly)

Rory O’Donnell (Milford), Ryan McFadden (Termon)

Peadar Mogan (St Naul’s), Jason McGee (Cloughaneely), Kealan Dunleavy (Glenswilly)

Jack McSharry (Killybegs), Joel Bradley-Walsh (MacCumhaill’s), Eoin Dowling (St Eunan’s)

Subs

Aaron Gilhooley (MacCumhaill’s) for Gallagher (28)

Sean Neary (Bonniconlon, Mayo) for McSharry (47)

Keelan McGroddy (Downings) for Dorrian (53)

UCD

Evan Comerford (Ballymun Kickhams)

Ryan O’Toole (Scotstown, Monaghan), Eoin Harkin (Dunsany, Meath), Paddy O’Keane (St Patrick’s, Wicklow)

Kieran Kennedy (Ballyboden St Enda’s), Martin O’ Connor (HWH Bunclody, Wexford), Darragh Ryan (Sarsfields, Kildare)

Ethan Devine (Na Fianna, Meath), Aaron McClements (Loughinisland, Down)

Jeaic Mac Ceallabhuí (Naomh Conaill, Donegal), Darragh Kennedy (Killygarry, Cavan), Ruairí McCormick (Warrenpoint, Down)

Daire Cregg (Boyle, Roscommon), Ray Connellan (Athlone, Westmeath), Brian McLoughlin (Clane, Kildare)

Subs

Cathal Mangan (Kilclonfert, Offaly) for McCormick (half-time)

Adam Loughran (Aghagallon, Antrim) for Mac Ceallabhuí (47)

Ciaran O’Reilly (Ballyboden St Enda’s) for Kennedy (47)

Matthew Corcoran (Geraldines, Louth) for Devine (57)

Referee: Pat Clarke (Cavan).

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THE GAA DO not plan to replicate last year’s inter-county blanket coverage on the GAA Go streaming platform, after attendance restrictions have been lifted for sporting events around the country.

The 2022 season steps up a gear next weekend with the opening round of the Allianz Football League, followed by the hurling equivalent the following weekend.

Three Division 1 league matches will be broadcast live this weekend across RTÉ and TG4 with the television partners the main focus of the live coverage this spring.

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The 2021 leagues, which only began last May due to the delay that the pandemic caused, saw 54 matches streamed from the football and hurling league. The service, which is a joint venture between the GAA and RTÉ, showed all games that were not televised from the four divisions of the football league, along with Divisions 1A and 1B of the hurling league.

The landscape is different now with full crowds allowed back at matches, whereas last year the GAA’s focus during lockdown was to ensure supporters could see their county in action as attendances at games was curtailed.

This spring the GAA are keen to encourage a return of fans at stadiums and the onus on a blanket broadcast approach is not as great.

No specific games have yet been confirmed by GAA Go for domestic coverage but it is expected a small selection of games will be picked up in the coming weeks, likey to be top tier matches that are not being televised.

GAA Go will continue to carry match feeds to their international markets.

This weekend’s inter-county TV coverage sees Dublin face Armagh on Saturday night on RTÉ 2 while the TG4 live games on Sunday feature Mayo against Donegal and Tyrone against Monaghan, with Kildare v Kerry available on the Spórt TG4 YouTube channel.

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Updated Jan 25th 2022, 1:14 PM

KERRY STAR JAMES O’Donoghue has announced his inter-county retirement.

The 2014 Footballer of the Year and two-time All-Star confirmed his decision on Off The Ball’s The Football Pod.

O’Donoghue, 31, revealed he made up his mind when he stepped away from the panel last year, though the news was kept quiet through the Kingdom’s run to the All-Ireland semi-final, where they fell to eventual champions, Tyrone.

Doubts had been cast over his future, O’Donoghue having struggled with injury in recent years — though the 2014 All-Ireland winner confirmed his exit today.

“It’s all over, it’s all over bar the shouting,” he told OTB’s Tommy Rooney, and former Dublin star Paddy Andrews, who he joins as co-host of the podcast.

“Last year, I was fighting an uphill battle. Realistically, I stepped away from the panel just before the going got very serious because I wasn’t really contributing. I told them at that stage that I was retiring but because Kerry were going too well, we decided not to put out a statement and throw all the good vibes out of the camp. So we just kept it under wraps.

“It’s a painful one, it’s definitely something that’s going to be hard, but it’s the right thing.”

The Killarney Legion clubman burst onto the Kerry panel during the 2010 McGrath Cup, and went on to establish himself as one of the top forwards in the modern game.

O’Donoghue on the ball in the 2015 final.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

O’Donoghue was simply scintillating from 2013 to 2015, in particular, winning his first All-Star in ’13 despite Kerry’s semi-final exit at the hands of Dublin — he scored 2-3 in that thrilling encounter — and his first and only All-Ireland in ’14 as the Kingdom overcame Donegal in the final. 

He was named Footballer of the Year and collected a second All-Star accolade that season after finishing the championship with an impressive 4-24 tally.

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O’Donoghue again starred in 2015, though Kerry fell short to Dublin in the decider, and his long road of injury hell began thereafter.

He retires with eight Munster championships to his name; his last game for Kerry a league meeting with Galway in February 2020, where he scored 0-2 in the opening half before being replaced at half-time.

O’Donoghue also revealed he attempted a comeback for 2022, with Jack O’Connor in charge once again, but his “body wasn’t up to it”.

In action for Killarney Legion in 2020.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

“I know Jack well, very well and have always got on great with him, and I know that if I was right, I could have picked up the phone and rang him and said ‘I’m thinking about changing my mind, what do you think?’

“I actually did give a go at getting into very good nick for it, just to see if I could give it one last go, but do you know what – my body wasn’t up to it. I’ll go back to the club now, tailor my programme and I guarantee you that I might not see another injury, just the slight drop in intensity might suit me.

“If I was right I could have picked up the phone and we’d have had a chat, but it just didn’t feel right.”

“You can’t keep doing this, you have to either get right, or get out,” he added.

He now replaces Andy Moran, the new Leitrim manager, on The Football Pod. You can listen to the full episode here >

JOE O’CONNOR IS set to be named the Kerry senior football captain for 2022.

It’s understood that Austin Stacks put the midfielder’s name forward following a meeting of the club executive last night.

O’Connor picked up a knee injury in the recent Munster club final defeat to St Finbarr’s. A cruciate setback was feared, but Kerry boss Jack O’Connor ruled that out at a media briefing on Monday evening. 

“It has been confirmed that it looks like cartilage problem more than ligaments so that is good news and that is about the best news that he could have got,” he said.

An official announcement unveiling the identity of the Kerry captain for 2022 is expected imminently, with ratification due at next Monday night’s county committee meeting at Austin Stack Park.  

The only other viable nomination was Dylan Casey but the fact that he is only 21 and has yet to start a competitive game for the Kingdom likely resulted in O’Connor — who played in 2021 and scored a goal against Roscommon — getting the nod.

O’Connor’s nomination will again rekindle the debate within the county regarding the captaincy selection each year, as the county champions are gifted the honour of naming the skipper, often not a nailed-down starter.

Joe O’Connor (left) with Tommy Walsh and Paudie Clifford last year.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

“The captaincy is something that will be discussed between Austin Stacks and the County Board,” O’Connor said when asked about the practice.

“It is irrelevant the way I feel about it because that is the system. I am a pragmatist and there is no point in me getting excited about it, sure you cannot have everything you like. That’s the system and it’s stood Kerry well in the past and until that is changed, that is good enough for me.”

A change made last year means that the county champions cannot name a vice-captain and that in the absence of their nominated captain (if he is not on first 15, or is out injured), the manager and county board chairman pick the stand-in captain.

This most likely will see either David Clifford or Seanie O’Shea lead Kerry out on Sunday at Newbridge, as they open their 2022 Division 1 League campaign against Kildare.

Earlier today, James O’Donoghue announced his inter-county retirement.

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FOR ALL THE titles they’ve accumulated over the past decade, it’s the pain of defeat that turned Ballygunner into a ruthless winning machine. 

The club won Munster in 2001 and endured four final defeats before they next claimed provincial honours in 2018. For the then five-in-a-row Waterford champions, getting over the final hurdle in Munster turned into a team crusade.

They finally shook off serial tormentors Na Piarsaigh three years ago and it was then that their sights turned to the All-Ireland. Just as Clarinbridge had done in early 2002, Ballyhale Shamrocks ousted them at the semi-final stage.

Ballyhale won by five points in a game that swung on Eoin Cody’s 44th minute goal. Moments earlier, Conor Power’s goal bound flick got stuck in the mud on the line, as did Tim O’Sullivan’s follow-up, to deny Ballygunner a three-pointer at a key stage.

Ballygunner’s bid to reach a maiden All-Ireland final the following campaign saw them upset by Borris-Ileigh in the Munster decider. Another year, another opportunity to claim the Tommy Moore Cup gone.

It was a defeat that badly stung Ballygunner, as did the talk that they were bullied by the Tipperary men.

Covid struck in 2020, ruling out a shot at provincial and All-Ireland glory. Time kept ticking on.

Ballygunner’s 2021/22 campaign has had more substance to it. They breezed through Munster, gunning down Limerick champions Kilmallock by 14 points in the final at Semple Stadium.

Sunday’s assignment against Slaughtneil brought a different test. Beating the physical and hard-working Derry side in a dogfight on the tight confines of Parnell Park proved that Ballygunner can mix the flashy hurling with the steely stuff. 

They’re no longer a team that can be bullied. 

“The physicality was there from the minute the ball was thrown in,” reflected centre-back Philip Mahony. 

“In fairness we knew it was going to be like that. It’s an All-Ireland semi-final against Slaughtneil, they’re a great club they’ve won Ulster championships in football and hurling.

“They keep going every week and anytime you come up against a team like them you know it’s going to be really tough. You’ve got to put it up to them too in those kind of situations. They never went away which we knew they wouldn’t but we’re just delighted to get the win it’s the only thing that matters in a semi-final.

“We’re used to playing in tight pitches like this. It’s very similar to Walsh Park and Fraher Field which are the fields we play on most of the time.

“There’s a lot of experience from lads playing against Dublin in various different games, underage and even playing challenge games against Dublin you’d usually be playing here. So we knew exactly what it was going to be like and we were prepared for that.”

There was plenty of trash talking going on between both sides throughout the hour.

Ballygunner showed their cute side when it was required too. Shane O’Sullivan and Pauric Mahony dragged down Slaughtneil forwards Sé McGuigan and Shane McGuigan as they chased a goal near the end. 

To reach the first final in their history was a big thing for the players, but Mahony admitted “unless we win now it doesn’t mean too much.”

“We’ve been trying hard for a number of years, we lost two semi-finals previously to Clarinbridge and Ballyhale,” he continued. “We’ll just knuckle down for the next two or three weeks again.”

They’ll play Shamrocks in the All-Ireland series for the second time since 2018. Ballyhale are well used to lining out at Croke Park, but a host of Ballygunner players have experience of lining out at the venue too.

“It probably does stand to you as well. A few guys have played there going back as far as when we were in school in De La Salle.”

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WEXFORD BOSS DARRAGH Egan has hailed the addition of former Ireland and Leinster rugby player Gordon D’Arcy to the county’s hurling setup.

D’Arcy has joined Wexford as a member of the backroom team, which also features Billy Walsh, the current USA boxing coach that formerly served in that role with Ireland.

Tipperary native Egan is in his first year as Wexford manager and saw his team at the weekend qualify for the Walsh Cup final next Saturday against Dublin in Croke Park.

The 35-year-old is pleased to be able to lean on experienced sporting figures like Walsh and D’Arcy.

“It’s vital for me number one, I was talking to Billy today again before the match and he’s just a huge support for me and for the players, that they will be working with him as the year progresses,” said Egan, when speaking to South-East Radio after Saturday’s game with Kilkenny.

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“Gordon is with us on all match days, he has been absolutely brilliant with us. Very, very good for me. We have that conversation when I’m driving down on a Tuesday evening, we get a good 40 minutes or an hour conversation, just based on the previous weekend and stuff that we can work on.”

Egan outlined what D’Arcy has to offer their setup.

Wexford manager Darragh Egan.

Source: Ben Whitley/INPHO

“Look that man has been in dressing-rooms (in) some of the biggest days in Irish rugby and Lions rugby and so on,  and he’s a good Wexford man. He really loves his hurling. He’s some brilliant kind of ideas for us and brilliant kind of match day tips and tricks for me. He’s imparting that information to us at the moment, so it’s great.

“Even pre-match and so on, Gordon would be keeping an eye on how warm-ups are going and things like that, some of the bits of information that he gives to me then, it’s real quirky stuff. It wouldn’t be run-of-the-mill GAA thinking but he’s looking at how the players are focused, what’s their application like in the warm-up.

“Even in-game it’s not hurling information he’s giving, he’s giving body language information, he’s giving how the substitutes are preparing, are they watching, are they ready for the game, are they focused?

“He’s a great asset around the place and I think he’s working very well with the backroom, so hopefully he works very well for us throughout the year.”

– This article was first published on The42 today at 4.10pm

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THE GAA HAVE announced the fixture details for the six All-Ireland club finals that will take place in Croke Park next month.

The finalists for the three hurling deciders were confirmed over the weekend with six football semi-finals down for decision next Saturday.

The centrepiece will be the senior finals on Saturday 12 February with Ballygunner playing Ballyhale Shamrocks in the hurling showdown, while St Finbarr’s, Kilcoo, Kilmacud Crokes and Padraig Pearses are the four counties left in the hunt for football honours.

The intermediate and junior finals will take place over the course of the weekend of 5-6 February.

Here is the full fixture details for the Croke Park games:

All-Ireland Club Final Fixture Details

Saturday 5 February

• 3pm – Ballygiblin (Cork) v Mooncoin (Kilkenny) – Junior Hurling.

• 5pm – Kilmoyley (Kerry) v Naas (Kildare) – Intermediate Hurling.

Sunday 6 February

• 1.30pm – Gneeveguilla (Kerry)/Denn (Cavan) v Kilmeena (Mayo)/Clonbullogue (Offaly) – Junior Football.

• 3.30pm – St Faithleach’s (Roscommon)/Trim (Meath) v Steelstown Brian Ógs (Derry)/Na Gaeil (Kerry) – Intermediate Football.

Saturday 12 February

• 3pm – Ballygunner (Waterford) v Ballyhale Shamrocks (Kilkenny) – Senior Hurling.

• 5pm – St Finbarr’s (Cork)/Kilcoo (Down) v Pádraig Pearses (Roscommon)/Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin) – Senior Football.

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