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UL’s David Clifford celebrates with team-mates after their semi-final win.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

THIS YEAR’S SIGERSON Cup final will be broadcast live by TG4. 

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NUI Galway needed extra-time to book their place in the final with a 0-18 to 0-15 win over MTU Kerry last night. 

In the other semi-final, Kerry star David Clifford scored two late points to ensure UL reached the competition’s decider for the first time in 25 years — seeing off 2020 champions DCU. 

The sides meet at IT Carlow next Wednesday, 16 February, for a 7.30pm throw-in. 

And the game will be available to watch live on TG4.

Great News🎉

The Sigerson Cup final between @GAANUIG and @ul_gaa will be shown live on TG4.

🕙The game will take place next Wednesday at 19:30 in @itcarlow

Come on lads. Show the country exactly what ye are made of💪@ConnachtGAA @HigherEdGAA pic.twitter.com/EF3LTEtMHT

— NUI Galway Sport (@nuigalwaysport) February 11, 2022

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NUI Galway 0-12
UL 1-6

A FIRST SIGERSON Cup title for NUI Galway since 2003 after their powerful start to the second half proved crucial in defeating UL at a rain-lashed IT Carlow grounds tonight.

NUIG’s Cathal Sweeney and Eoghan McLaughlin of the University of Limerick.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

Despite losing Mayo’s Tommy Conroy and Galway’s Sean Mulkerrin to injury in this campaign, the Maurice Sheridan-managed side were deserved winners against UL.

Matthew Tierney captains Galway to the Sigerson Cup 34 years after his father played for them in the final. pic.twitter.com/2RB6LfMaA1

— Maurice Brosnan (@m_brosnan) February 16, 2022

Roscommon’s Cathal Heneghan came off the bench to shoot 0-3, in a man-of-the-match display while Galway duo Tomo Culhane and Gavin Burke, and Mayo’s Fionn McDonagh were others to produce valuable scoring returns.

They also kept Kerry star David Clifford quiet as the NUIG rearguard succeeded in preventing him from scoring from play, after he had produced a series of devastating attacking displays throughout this competition.

UL lost Cork senior Sean Powter at half-time but were able to start Mayo’s Eoghan MacLaughlin, recovered from his recent injury setback.

It was Clifford who gave UL hope at a stage in the second half when their prospects looked precarious, slamming home a 47th minute penalty for what proved to be the only goal of the game.

46 nóim
@ul_gaa 1-03@nuigalwaysport 0–09

CIC ÉIRICE Ó DAVID CLIFFORD! 🤩🥳

UL are right back in this game! 😍👌
@ElectricIreland @HigherEdGAA @GAA_BEO
#FirstClassRivals | #SigersonCup | #GAABeo

BEO/LIVE AR @TG4TV pic.twitter.com/3MHRLlYHj1

— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) February 16, 2022

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

That penalty had been awarded after Dan Gray’s goalbound shot was judged by referee David Gough to have stopped by a footblock. UL built on that score, which left them 0-9 to 1-3 adrift, to surge back into contention, twice being only a point adrift in the finale after Donal O’Sullivan’s 50th minute point and again when his Kerry colleague Paul Walsh scored in the 56th minute.

Yet on both occasions NUI Galway were never dragged back to parity with Burke and McDonagh nailing crucial points, before Culhane’s injury-time free proved the insurance score as they ran out three-point winners to ensure captain Matthew Tierney lifted the cup.

The first half was a testing affair in difficult conditions. The teams were tied at 0-3 apiece at the interval with scores at a premium. NUI Galway hit over the first three courtesy of McDonagh, Paul Kelly and Burke.

UL didn’t score until the 19th minute, courtesy of Mayo’s Paul Towey, but they were level by the interval after O’Sullivan and Clifford both nailed frees. Indeed Clifford almost scored an audacious goal from distance with Conor Carroll off his line but the goalkeeper got back to gather possession.

The winning of the match was the scoring spree that NUI Galway embarked upon early in the second half. They were inspired by the immediate impact of Michael Glaveys club man Heneghan, the Roscommon forward jinking clear and weaving paths through the UL defence to pick off three points early in the half.

33 nóim
@ul_gaa 0-03@nuigalwaysport 0–05

Dhá pointe faighte anois ag Cathal Heneghan 🥳

NUI Galway take the lead against the wind!!
@ElectricIreland @HigherEdGAA @GAA_BEO
#FirstClassRivals | #SigersonCup | #GAABeo

BEO/LIVE AR @TG4TV pic.twitter.com/JUNoDhtC3B

— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) February 16, 2022

Tierney and Culhane (2) supplemented that burst with further points to send NUI Galway six clear. Clifford’s goal from the penalty ensured it was tense all the way to the final whistle but the newly-crowned champions showed their credentials.

Scorers for NUI Galway: Cathal Heneghan 0-3, Tomo Culhane 0-3 (0-2f),Gavin Burke 0-2, Fionn McDonagh 0-2,  Matthew Tierney 0-1 (0-1f), Paul Kelly 0-1.

Scorers for UL: David Clifford 1-1 (1-0 pen, 0-1f), Donal O’Sullivan 0-2 (0-1f), Eoghan McLaughlin 0-1, Paul Towey 0-1, Paul Walsh 0-1.

NUI Galway

1. Conor Carroll (Oranmore-Maree – Roscommon)

2. Colin Murray (Mountbellew-Moylough, Galway), 3. Neil Mulcahy (Moycullen, Galway), 4. Gavin Burke (Corofin, Galway)

5. Rory Egan (Edenderry, Offaly), 6. Eoghan Kelly (Moycullen, Galway), 7. Nathan Mullen (Coolaney-Mullinabreena, Sligo)

8. Paul Kelly (Moycullen, Galway), 9. Sean Kelly (Moycullen, Galway)

20. Gavin Durcan (Castlebar Mitchels, Mayo), 11. Matthew Tierney (Oughterard, Galway), 12. Cathal Donoghue (Kilcormac-Killoughey, Offaly)

13. Tomo Culhane (Salthill-Knocknacarra, Galway), 14. Fionn McDonagh (Westport, Mayo), 15. Cathal Sweeney (Salthill-Knocknacarra, Galway)

Subs

Cathal Heneghan (Michael Glaveys, Roscommon) for Donoghue (half-time)

Tony Gill (Corofin, Galway) for Durcan (44)

Ryan Monaghan (Oughterard, Galway) for Mullen (60)

UL

1. Conor Flaherty (Claregalway, Galway)

33. Jack Coyne (Ballyhaunis, Mayo), 3. Ciaran Donnelly (Bracknagh, Offaly), 4. Paul Maher (Adare, Limerick – captain)

5. Gearoid O’Donovan (Newcestown, Cork), 6. Sean Powter (Douglas, Cork), 7. Eoghan McLaughlin (Westport, Mayo)

8. Connell Dempsey (Knockmore, Mayo), 9. Daniel Walsh (Kilmurry-Ibrickane, Clare)

10. Ciaran Downes (Kilmihil, Clare), 11. Emmet McMahon (Kildysart, Clare), 32. Paul Towey (Charlestown, Mayo)

13. David Clifford (Fossa, Kerry), 14. Dan Gray (Castledermot, Kildare), 15. Donal O’Sullivan (Kilgarvan, Kerry)

Subs

Jack Glynn (Claregalway, Galway) for Powter (half-time)

Paul Walsh (Brosna, Kerry) for Dempsey (42)

Oisin Looney (St Jopseh’s Miltown-Malbay, Clare) for Downes (55)

James McCarthy for Gray (58)

Referee: David Gough (Meath)

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JAMES HORAN HAS called the demands on young inter-county players “unsustainable” in the wake of Tommy Conroy’s ACL injury.

Conroy had been double jobbing with Mayo in the Allianz Football League on weekends while on Sigerson Cup duty with NUIG in midweek.

His season came to a crashing halt when a devastating knee injury in the third-level quarter-final, which took place two days after he played the second-half of Mayo’s league draw with Donegal. 

Speaking with the Mayo News, Horan criticised the scheduling of third-level GAA competitions as the average age of inter-county panels continue to drop.

“It’s just unsustainable. If you were designing it from scratch, the current scheduling of the Sigerson would be the worst case you could possibly design. The demands on players don’t make sense at any level and we’ve worked hard to protect our players. 

“We’ve had sessions where we have nine guys training and 22 not training. There are more guys not training than training most nights. We have to have them there because we need to go through how we play, but this situation doesn’t make any sense to anyone.

“I’m not sure about the U20 competition and when that can be played but certainly the Sigerson must be pulled out of where it is. That’s the first and obvious thing that needs to happen. Can it be pulled pre-Christmas like it used to be?

“I think that’s what should happen and see how it works. It’s just not right and I’d say the same thing if Tommy hadn’t got injured.  

“The Sigerson cannot be played the way it currently is. Inter-county football is getting younger and younger, and that age-group is being constantly squeezed. Players are trying to play for us, and they’ve got Sigerson or Trench Cup and the U20s as well.”

Eoghan McLaughlin is expected to miss three to four weeks with the ankle injury he sustained in the second round against Monaghan.

McLaughlin’s UL face Conroy’s NUIG in tomorrow’s Sigerson Cup final, with both Mayo stars sidelined for the decider. 

Meath’s Jordan Morris.

Source: Ken Sutton/INPHO

Meanwhile, Meath star Jordan Morris has seen his transfer Nobber to Kingscourt Stars in Cavan rubber-stamped by the GAA.

The talented young forward, who has become a key figure in Andy McEntee’s team since his breakthrough in 2020, has returned to the club where he began his underage career.

Morris’s loss is a blow for intermediate side Nobber, who he helped to the Meath IFC title in 2019 before their relegation in 2020. 

THE DUST MAY have settled, but the memories of that special day will last a lifetime.

In late January, Kilkerrin-Clonberne of Galway were crowned All-Ireland senior club  champions for the very first time, ending Mourneabbey’s bid for three-in-a-row as they lifted the Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup.

“It was definitely the best win I have ever had in ladies football,” as Nicola Ward beamed at the 2022 Lidl Ladies National League launch last week.

“Playing with the girls that I’ve been playing with since I’ve been U10, it was such a nice community, family feel to it. And the celebrations afterwards were just overwhelming.

“Even this week, the girls have been going around with the cup to the school, the creches and the church – even at mass, they were in both parishes with the cup. The celebrations will be still ongoing for another while. But finally nice to win something big at senior level.”

The nature of the victory must have made it all the more pleasing. The long-time Galway and Connacht champions avenged the heartache of defeat to the same opponents in 2019, and did so with a simply stunning performance.

Kilkerrin-Clonberne finished 1-11 to 1-7 winners in Birr, holding the Cork heavyweights to just one point from play — scored by Ciara O’Sullivan in the 51st minute.

Last time out, in their first decider appearance, a single point was the difference after Laura Fitzgerald broke their hearts with less than 20 seconds remaining.

Kilkerrin-Clonberne celebrate after their win.

Source: Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO

“We’d all been talking about 2019 in the lead-up to the match,” 2019 All-Star Ward explains. “I was saying, ‘We’re all two years older, we’re two years stronger’. Even Eva Noone, our corner forward in 2019 was only 16 playing, and those two years stood to her.

“To think that she’s still only 18, and just got that bit cuter. I know when you do lose matches it is awful to use them but you definitely do learn from them and you do get that experience from them.

“As much as 2019 hurt, we definitely used it to our advantage in the final. It was just so great to get over the line and even sweeter that we got a bit of revenge on Mourneabbey from 2019.”

The sweetest part of all? Surely the fact that it was a family affair. Nicola’s twin sister, Louise, was captain, with their father, Willie, the manager.

The heartwarming scenes captured afterwards said it all.

“It was unreal. Dad and Michael Divilly, Siobhan, Olivia and Niamh’s Dad, they managed us in 2013 when we won our first senior county title with the club.

“Obviously we’ve been nearly trying for a decade to get to the All-Ireland and for them to come back — I know the roles are reversed this year, Michael was the manager back in 2012 — was just unreal, and it was just so fitting that they were involved. Our brother, Adrian, was involved in the management as well. Mum was the only one sweating at home by herself, but had a big part to play!

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Seaimpíní na hÉireann!! @KClgfa @LadiesFootball |#currentaccount |#LGFAClub pic.twitter.com/UXmeVdg6kH

— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) January 29, 2022

“Obviously Dad is a bit older than most managers and maybe at the start of the year, people mightn’t have wanted him or thought other people might have been better for the job but I suppose myself and Louise seen literally how much effort and time he put into it.

“It was the talk in our house every single day. We’re just so delighted that he did it basically for us and got us over the line.”

Another who played a big role in the success, and the rise of Kilkerrin-Clonberne through the years, was Galway All-Ireland winning captain Annette Clarke.

Wearing the number 25 jersey, the long-serving star came off the bench in the closing minutes; her experience and know-how undoubtedly steadying the ship as the club edged closer and closer to the Holy Grail.

“Oh, stop,” Ward smiles. “She is a legend around Kilkerrin-Clonberne, she is just unbelievable. She’s a massive inspiration to us.

“We’ve looked up to her since we were young. We were in Croke Park when she captained Galway to the All-Ireland in 2004. And to think that she’s still a playing, what, nearly 20 years later is unreal.

“She gave birth to two beautiful babies in September and was back training with us then at the end of October. She’ll kill me for saying her age, but she’s 40 years old and she just…

A special moment for Annette Clarke, one of our longest serving players, as she finally got her hands on the Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup this afternoon.

This sweet victory comes nearly 18 years after Annette captained Galway to the All-Ireland Ladies SFC title back in 2004. pic.twitter.com/SNJhfiHARr

— KilkerrinClonbernelgfa (@KClgfa) January 30, 2022

“She won a free, I think towards the end as well. Look, she has massive experience. Even when she came back in October, herself and another girl, Lisa Gannon, who had a baby, we were like, ‘Okay, we have everyone now.’ Everyone who could be with us was with us, and I think that was the most special thing about it. No one missed out.”

Clarke was involved with the Galway management team last year, but appears to be absent for 2021 in the wake of Gerry Fahy’s recent departure.

The Tribe remain without an official manager, with Ward and her clubmates watching from afar as they take a much-needed break from the inter-county scene through the early stages of the league.

She insists, however, that they’ll be “fully committed to the cause” after a few weeks off.

Working as a nurse in Crumlin Children’s Hospital, that’s Ward’s main focus at the minute as she continues to split her life between east and west.

“Still up and down – the car has some amount of mileage on it,” she laughs. “Between club and county now, it was a busy year but even after winning the club, it’s so worth it.

“Sometimes you ask yourself: ‘Why do you do this to yourself?’ But when you get a win like that, it’s so worth it.”

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THE FOUR TYRONE players sent-off in their recent football league game against Armagh, have had their bans upheld.

Four Tyrone players were shown a red card against Armagh.

Source: Philip Magowan/INPHO

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The Gaelic Life is this morning reporting that the quartet of Peter Harte, Michael McKernan, Padraig Hampsey and Kieran McGeary had their bans upheld after a hearing took place in Croke Park last night.

Bad news for Tyrone fans re. the Athletics Ground brawl – all four red cards were upheld at a hearing at Croke Park last night so Padraig Hampsey, Peter Harte, Kieran McGeary and Michael McKernan will miss this Sunday’s league clash against Kildare

— Niall Gartland (@Niall_Gartland) February 15, 2022

They are now set to miss next Sunday’s tie at home to Kildare in Omagh as Tyrone go in search of their first victory in this year’s league.

The All-Ireland winners saw the players sent-off, along with Armagh’s Gregory McCabe, by referee David Gough towards the end of the recent tie after a melee had occurred.

The players were sent to the line for contributing to a melee. They do now have the option of going to the Central Appeals Committee (CAC) in an attempt to have the suspension overturned.

Speaking yesterday at a separate press event before the hearing took place, Hampsey expressed surprise at the division of the red cards.

“Well I suppose if you look at it that way, you could be right but I suppose we just probably feel that it’s a hard one to take where Tyrone ended up getting four red cards and Armagh ended up getting one. So we probably feel a bit done that way, but it is what it is and David has seen what he seen and his linesmen and umpires have seen what they seen, so we’ll know more tonight and as I said we just want to voice our opinion.”

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CONOR LAVERTY WAS one of the last men to emerge from Kilcoo’s dressing room on Saturday night.

Kilcoo’s Conor Laverty celebrates at the end of the game.

Source: Ken Sutton/INPHO

He walked out with his gearbag in one hand and a glint in his eye. Almost 20 years after he made his senior debut for the club as a 17-year-old, he stood here as joint-captain of the All-Ireland champions. 

Two years earlier, Laverty was consoled by his children on the Croke Park sod after Corofin outlasted them in extra-time.

On Monday night, he tweeted a picture where two of his sons were in bed with the Andy Merrigan Cup safely tucked in between them.

The Andy Merrigan cup was in safe hands last night. I hope their dreams come true someday. They owe us a few days out in Croker. #apicturesaysa1000words #💙💙🏁 pic.twitter.com/exP8oEEcUb

— Conor Laverty (@ConorLav14) February 13, 2022

Laverty has played a central role in the Kilcoo story. That goes back to his goaled penalty in the 2003 Division 1 league final, a win that many in the club reference as the day they believed they could win the Down championship.

He’s the only player still involved from that team and is the club’s most decorated player with 10 county medals, two Ulsters and now an All-Ireland crown.

He was Down captain when he retired from inter-county action aged 31 in 2016, keen to give some of his best years to the club.

He was heavily involved in Kilcoo’s underage structures, managing future team-mates like Shealin Johnston, Anthony Morgan and Sean Og McCusker at the U16 grade in 2017.

He was part of a Kilcoo delegation that sought out Mickey Moran to become their manager. When things were going wrong in the first-half on Saturday, he led the line and was their only player to score. 

And he’s been operating without a cartilage in his knee since Moran took charge.

There was plenty to discuss with the man who insisted he wouldn’t lift the cup until his manager joined him on the steps of the Hogan Stand.

*************************

What were the emotions like at the final whistle?

“Just madness. That’s Kilcoo, just madness is us well summed up. It’s hard to even take in but it’s something you’ve dreamed of all your life. You’ve reached the pinnacle, there’s no next step.”

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Conleith Gilligan said you’ve been playing with no cartilage in your knee since they took charge, is this the end for you? 

“Only for there’s good men that have been looking after me, they’re keeping me right and on the field. I’ll just really enjoy tonight. I don’t know what the future holds.

“It was always the dream, to get to here. To be able to stand in Croke Park with Aidan (Branagan) and lift the Andy Merrigan Cup, it’s amazing.”

How important was Mickey Moran’s speech at half-time?

“The things that Mickey said in there definitely hit home and got the reaction he needed. He’s just a special man and has a special way with words. Whenever he went into that detail, we knew we had let ourselves down in the first-half and we needed a kick, we needed a reaction.  

“Today it was just meant to be. There’s no way we were being beaten in two All-Ireland club finals in extra-time. How would you live with that?”

Kilcoo’s Conor Laverty with his sons after the 2020 final defeat to Corofin.

Source: Bryan Keane/INPHO

Talk us through the end of the game. To win it like that was special. 

“Something was written in the stars. All year, it’s just felt right. Even for Mickey, someone was up there looking down, saying ‘this is the right moment for this man to reach the Holy Grail’.

“For him to say he was manager of an All-Ireland winning team after being in five finals, four defeats, for his legacy. It would always have been said he was a great manager and the players that played for him would always speak so highly of him, but it would have been said that he didn’t manage a team to an All-Ireland.

“We spoke about that as players recently. Over the past few weeks, we spoke about when that man pulls out at the top of the lane for the last time – and hopefully that’s not for a while yet – that he’s going out that lane as an All-Ireland winning manager.”

You were part of a delegation of players who met Mickey about taking over in late 2018. What do you remember about that meeting? 

“He came to Kilcoo. I think it was to test what the journey was like too, that’s maybe what his thinking was on that. Three or four players met with him and then some of the committee members met after that.

“It was the most fascinating meeting I was involved in in my life. He never took his eyes off you whenever he spoke. He spoke in great detail, asked really good questions. 

“Leaving, I shook his hand and said ‘I’ll see you in a couple of weeks’ and he sorta laughed. That night, me and Aidan actually put on our runners and went to the forest park and run ourselves ‘til we couldn’t run any more.

“We said going home in the van that this man’s gonna get us to the ultimate prize. We knew leaving that night that he was the man for us, that he was gonna win us this. There was no doubt in my mind of that.”

It’s unusual to see players so attached to an outside manager.

“There is a special bond, but all the teams he’s managed, a lot of players would say they had that bond with him. This was just a missing part of the jigsaw. It fitted both – it fitted this club and our team because we were chasing that dream, we were chasing to try and be the best team in Ireland, and probably he was chasing it too.

“My time was running out, some of the older lads’ time was running out and so was his. But you could see it in his eyes. The first night he spoke to us, he had us eating out of the palm of his hand. Some of the places we’ve went in training, dark, dark places, tough, tough sessions, and there was never a word.

“You go in there and 1-40, even the lads who don’t get minutes, they love Mickey. He’s just a special man. When anyone has issues or stuff going on in their personal life, he’s so good to you. He’ll just walk past and put his arm around you and say a wee word.

“I know myself, one of my wee boys wasn’t well before Christmas and you’re up to high doe, you didn’t wanna miss training. He was like ‘cub, go and be with your family, your family needs you’.

“He’s just a great man at putting your mind at ease and leaving you that there’s no stress with him. He’s always looking out for the player, he’s always got the player’s best interests at heart, and that’s a very special thing to have.” 

Kilcoo manager Mickey Moran before the Ulster quarter-final.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

Did you always have it in your head to get him up to lift the cup?

“I promised him I was sending him up them steps. I was not leaving there until he came up them steps. That was it. We would have give up our All-Ireland medal, every medal we had, to make sure Mickey Moran had managed a team to an All-Ireland.

“He’s just a wonderful man. Some of the things he’s done in Gaelic football, some of the lives he’s touched, some of the careers he’s been involved in, he’s a very special man. It’s a very fitting tribute that he got up them steps.

“For me, if someone said ‘you won an All-Ireland title’, I’d think ‘Mickey Moran managed a club to an All-Ireland title’. That’s where I am in my thinking. It’s him first. For us as players, we were more happy for him today than ourselves.

“And he’ll be the complete opposite, he wouldn’t want to come up them steps, he’s not into that. But there was no way he wasn’t coming up. That’s why we never lifted it until he came up.”

You’re going down the coaching line yourself, what’s the single biggest thing you learned from him?

“If my players were able to think of me the exact same way that players think of Mickey Moran, you’d be doing something right. Yes it’s about winning and things like that, but it’s much deeper than that with him.

“He’s the kind of manager players just adore, and whenever you love your manager, you’ll go to places you never would have gone before. It’s how simple he keeps things. It’s not blood and thunder all the time, probably not until half-time today.

“People would say is he a manager, is he a coach, but he’s just everything rolled into one. He’s a special man.”

What does it mean for you to win the All-Ireland at this stage of your career?

“Time was running out, like. I knew that myself. To have my wee boys running on the field after it and the smiles on their faces… It’s the box done. You can lie in bed tonight and know that all the suffering, all the heartbreak, you can just lie and smile tonight.

“You can go tomorrow and just be satisfied. Because we never were, never in our whole life. Even after Down championships, you had Ulster and then you got beat. I’m playing 20 years and at the end of every year, there’s heartbreak.

“There’s no heartbreak tomorrow. There’s only a smile tomorrow morning because there’s no next day out. We’ve done it. We’ve reached the Holy Grail.”

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FOR THE SECOND successive week, Michael Fennelly had to pick his Offaly team up off the floor after they suffered a heavy defeat to All-Ireland contenders.

Offaly’s ambitions are a far cry away from challenging for the Liam MacCarthy – they won’t even be competing in the top tier come the championship. The Faithful are newly promoted to the Joe McDonagh, having lifted the third tier Christy Ring title last season.

They also won promotion from Division 2A in 2021, which guaranteed them a spot in the 12-team Division 1 that is split between two groups.

Offaly drew the short straw when they were drawn in 1B, with Laois and Antrim placed in 1A.

Even a round-robin game to look forward to against either of those counties would give Offaly a genuine opportunity to pick up some points.

Instead, they’ll be doing well to finish within 10 points of any team.

They lost to Galway and Cork by a combined 36 points. They still have Clare, Wexford and Limerick to play. With the championship throwing-in mid-April, most teams are seeking to hit form far earlier that previous years.

“It’s a very steep learning curve,” remarked Fennelly.

“For the team that’s progressing and has been promoted, it does very little to be honest.

“You’re in survival mode and you’re shipping big defeats and I feel for the boys, I don’t think it’s overly fair on them but that’s the system and the structure that’s there and we can’t do anything about it.

“For me it’s two to three steps from where we’re at being honest about it. You’re not going from Division 2A to another group, you’re gone two or three divisions above it. They’re just at a higher level than us at the moment.

“At the end of the day we are gearing towards the Joe McDonagh in the summer, that’s going to be massively competitive. But the speed of our play needs to increase and that doesn’t happen overnight.”

It’s hard to see things improving for them much over the coming weeks.

Antrim are competing well, having ran both Kilkenny and Dublin close over the past two weekends. They finished on five points in last year’s league, after beating Clare and Laois, and drawing with Wexford.

Darren Gleeson admitted his frustration after the game at their failure to pick up any points, but at least the Saffrons have shown they belong at this level. They’re a county on the rise, with emerging young talent have given several strong performances against more established counties.

For Offaly, that’s where they want to get to. But it’s no quick fix.

“I think they are enjoying competing against these great players who we saw on TV, are winning Munster titles and Leinster titles and going on to challenge in semi-finals and finals,” said Fennelly. “But you couldn’t be doing this every day. It can be deflating.”

Waterford recorded their biggest ever league win over Cheddar Plunkett’s Laois on Sunday. For a team dumped Dublin out of the championship in 2019, Laois have regressed significantly.

Waterford scored seven goals and left another handful behind them, while also firing over a remarkable 31 points. In years gone by, Liam Cahill might have sent out a second string outfit, but the Deise need to get their key men up and running as the Munster campaign looms.

There will be few opportunities to bed in players and fine-tune their style before their championship opener against Tipperary.

So Laois were beaten out the gate by 33 points. Like Fennelly, Plunkett must continue to fight the good fight in the weeks ahead knowing full well that further beatings are coming down the line.

Laois lost their five Division 1B games by a combined 54 points before surviving in the top flight by dint of their relegation play-off win against Westmeath. 

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It’s hardly any wonder players opt out of playing for weaker counties when there’s the potential to be subjected to this on a weekly basis.

No hurler wants to go out on a cold February afternoon and get walloped by one of the big guns.

However, those who do commit to a county set-up and strive to play at the top level, knowing heavy losses may come their way, should be commended.

“I feel for the boys because they’re being thrown into the deep end realistically,” added Fennelly.

“And I do look back to Westmeath last year and I can’t get away from that. Their scorelines were 7-27, 5-34, 4-47, huge defeats and probably scoring similar to ourselves.”

It’s a difficult predicament the midland counties find themselves in. One one hand, the weaker sides should be given opportunities to test themselves against the top teams in the league.

But these one-sided games do little for confidence levels or to convince players it’s worthwhile putting in so much time to play inter-county hurling.

It has been argued that there are too many teams in Division 1, yet reducing the number of sides is effectively pulling the ladder up behind the big boys. It would do little to improve hurling in Offaly and Laois.

In fairness to the O’Moore County, they gave Tipperary their fill of it and only went down by four points in round 1. Plunkett may well write off Sunday as a poor performance. He has no other choice. 

If Fennelly does go on to manage his native Kilkenny in the future, he may reflect on days like Sunday as the making of him as a manager. It will take all his man-management and motivational skills to rally his troops for three more games before they start playing teams at their own level.  

The Ballyhale man took solace in the fact Westmeath conceded 20-136 after taking five heavy defeats in 2021, yet rebounded to win the McDonagh Cup.

“I do look back to Westmeath last year and I can’t get away from that. Their scorelines were 7-27, 5-34, 4-47, huge defeats and probably scoring similar to ourselves.

“They won the Joe Mc last year after shipping those heavy defeats in the league. The structure was different last year, it was only two games and you’re in the final, now you’ve five games and it’s going to be more competitive than ever I feel.

“That’s going to be massively challenging for the boys and we need to get a lot of lads back from injuries and getting healthy. But our heads are in a good place, genuinely we are and even though these are hard days, that’s the way it is.

“That’s the structure that’s there, but we need know what we need to do. That lads are learning without a doubt, but that speed doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time and it’ll come eventually.”

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GALWAY CAMOGIE CAPTAIN Sarah Dervan, and Cork Ladies star Erika O’Shea have expressed their support for a motion going before GAA Congress regarding a merger of the GAA, LGFA and the Camogie Association.  

The motion has been submitted by the GPA, and requests that the GAA “prioritise integration with the LGFA and Camogie Association in order to jointly ensure equal investment, recognition and opportunity for all genders to play all sports in the Gaelic Games family.”

Both Dervan and O’Shea hope that the motion is approved at Congress on 26 February, and that all players belong to the one GAA unit going forward.

Dervan captained Galway to their second senior All-Ireland camogie title in three years last September after a tense battle with Cork. But despite their success, Cathal Murray’s side are still hampered by inequalities.

“Unfortunately, we are in the middle of it,” the Mullagh defender begins. “Tonight we’re training on astroturf because we can’t get any pitch facilities with lights. So it is a real struggle for us. We’ve trained on astro an awful lot this year so far and we’re thankful of getting it, but it’s not ideal.

“We’re playing Dublin on Saturday so it’s not ideal preparation for the first round of the league.

“You are curtailed a lot with what you can do on astroturf. You can do a bit of ball work, the speed work. You wouldn’t really do much of your fitness on that because if you’re a bit of an older one like myself, it does take it’s toll on you but unfortunately it is the way it is. Hopefully this merger will happen sooner rather than later and all parties will be under the one umbrella.

“It’ll be massive for the Ladies Football and Camogie Association to be interlinked with the GAA. It’ll be a huge positive.”

Dervan adds with frustration that accessibility is an ongoing issue for the Galway camogie team, and that they are forced to rely on the kindness of clubs to avail of their training facilities. 

Cork’s O’Shea echoes similar sentiments regarding the basic requirements for training. Her county has been a dominant force in Ladies Football in recent times, capturing 11 All-Ireland titles between 2005 and 2016. But even with that collection of silverware, Cork teams have still struggled with getting basic provisions in place for their players. 

“I feel like the lads don’t have that problem,” says O’Shea.

Cork’s Erik

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

“I remember when we’re training at minor and we actually won the All-Ireland that year, we couldn’t find a pitch, we were training on the side of a pitch. We were running up and down the side of a pitch. Those kind of things are disheartening. A merger would make such a big difference. It would be good for women in sport and keep a lot of girls involved.

“All my team-mates want to see the merger happening. It would change everything for girls in sport The WGPA and the GAA joined and that has made a big difference.”

If a total merger does get voted in at Congress, Dervan hopes that the new association will be designed to ensure that all four codes are treated equally, and that the female sports are not overlooked once the integration is complete.

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“Absolutely, everything needs to be equal. The senior teams for the Galway hurlers, camogie, men’s footballers and women’s would be all equal and we’d all get a fair share of facilities, funding, everything.

“It’s the only way forward and all it can do is bring positives, especially for young girls starting out playing camogie, that they don’t have this divide. That we’re all one umbrella, one family and it shouldn’t matter, you have the same opportunities as everyone else.”

Sarah Dervan and Erika O’Shea were speaking at the brand launch of “In the Zone” by East Coast Bakehouse, which has been endorsed as “The Official Protein Cookies & Biscuits of the GAA/GPA” as The Players Choice.

– Originally published at 5:52pm

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MAGGIE FARRELLY WILL become the first female referee to take charge of a men’s national league match this weekend. 

The Cavan native has been named to officiate in Sunday’s Division 4 football fixture between Leitrim and London at Carrick-on-Shannon, with throw-in scheduled for 12pm. 

It is not the first time that the experienced Farrell has made GAA history, however.

She was the first woman to referee a senior men’s inter-county match — a McKenna Cup game between Fermanagh and St Mary’s — back in January 2016.

Last November, Farrelly also became the first female referee to take charge of a senior men’s county final, a Cavan senior football championship final replay between Gowna and Ramor United.

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TYRONE’S PÁDRAIG HAMPSEY says his team are “not proud” of the brawl which unfolded in the closing minutes of their league clash with Armagh, but also believes that the incident was blown out of proportion. 

Referee David Gough issued five red cards after the sides engaged in a major scuffle, with four Tyrone players being sent to the line. Hampsey was one of the players who was punished, along with Kieran McGeary, Michael McKernan and Peter Harte.

Armagh’s Greg McCabe was the fifth recipient of a red card as Kieran McGeeney’s side clinched a six-point win.

Hampsey says there is an appeal taking place tonight regarding these suspensions ahead of their next Division 1 outing against Kildare on Sunday.

“There’s an appeal tonight in Croke Park. We’re hoping to find out more tonight on where we stand on that.

“I think the players will have to go down to that one so there’ll be a hearing and I guess…to be honest, I’ve never been involved in one so I’m not too sure what goes on but the players will be down tonight and we’ll see what we’re dealt with.”

Padraig Hampsey.

When asked for his thoughts on the brawl, he replied:

“I suppose it’s a derby game with two Ulster teams, two neighbouring counties so I just feel that things maybe got out of control. It’s one we’re not proud of ourselves as a county and as players but look, I don’t think there was much really in it. For my own self, there wasn’t much in it to be honest.

“But look, it happened and we’re not proud of what happened.”

The All-Ireland champions are still looking for their first win of 2022 National League following that loss to Armagh, and a draw against Monaghan in the opening round of the competition. 

Hampsey is hopeful that Kildare’s visit to Healy Park on Sunday will be an opportunity to get their season off the mark.

“Yeah, Kildare on Sunday at home in Healy Park. It’s been a tough enough start to the league campaign, the draw with Monaghan and the defeat to Armagh. We’ll be looking forward to this weekend and to hopefully getting our first win on the board. 

“I suppose coming off the back of the holiday, I feel we’re maybe a couple of weeks behind other teams but we’re getting up to pace again. I know our first-half performance wasn’t that good but I think our second-half performance was, you know, I thought the lads performed well and we did well enough to get it back to four points but unfortunately we couldn’t get the win.

“No, look, we’re getting up to speed again and as I mentioned before with the week break and then back in now against Kildare on Sunday, hopefully we can get the win.”

Pádraig Hampsey was speaking at the brand launch of “In the Zone” by East Coast Bakehouse, which has been endorsed as “The Official Protein Cookies & Biscuits of the GAA/GPA” as The Players Choice.

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