FOR JUST THE second time in the club’s history, Foxrock Cabinteely ladies are gearing up for another Leinster final appearance.

They took the honours last year at the expense of Sarsfields Mountmellick (Laois) and this year’s challengers come from the St. Laurence’s club in Kildare.

But while they’re full value for their spot in today’s final, Cabinteely’s campaign almost came to a halt before the provincial stages even began. The county final against their rivals St Brigid’s produced a frantic finish with Cabinteely clutching to a two point lead.

With seconds remaining, a scramble ensued in Cabinteely’s goalmouth. Brigid’s forward Elaine Kelly emerged with the ball and her resultant shot was greeted with relief from the reigning champions, as it sailed over the bar.

Can @OFFICIALFoxCab do the double on Sun & retain their provincial crown. They face St Laurence's, Kildare 1:30pm in Kinnegad #ClubisFamily pic.twitter.com/pTquvTfdOc

— DublinLGFA (@dublinladiesg) November 4, 2016

Their hold of the Dublin senior championship was just millimetres away from being severed, but a one point cushion allowed Cabinteely to prevail. Sinéad Goldrick knows that her side were fortunate to survive that scare, but in the same breath, she says the preceding rounds were no breezy walk either.

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“We’re always really appreciative,” she tells The42, ”we’re making club history for the second year-in-a-row and it’s always so tough to get out of the Dublin championship. We won by a point and got out of there by the skin of our teeth. We had a very tough game against Crokes in our semis too and we were lucky to get through that game also, so to get out of Dublin for the second year-in-a-row is something that we’re very proud of.”

The management team co-ordinating the Foxrock Cabinteely ladies boasts an impressive line-up of Peter Clarke, Angie McNally, Pat Ring and Colm Kearney. Clarke is a well established inter-county manager in Ladies football while Angie McNally led a decorated career in the Dublin jersey.

Goldrick says their arrival has been a blessing for the club.

“They’ve all coached Dublin and have been involved with Mayo. When they take a team they take it together so they have brought a huge wealth of experience, they know football inside out and they don’t leave a stone unturned.”

Peter (Clarke) has a notebook and any team that we’re playing, he puts so much work in ahead of it. He’d be going down to games and picking their target players for us, he gives us a game plan and match-ups and stuff like that. As players we have a huge amount of respect for that and there’s a huge amount of unity within our team.”

Clarke’s research is clearly rubbing off his players. Goldrick is well versed on the strengths of the St. Laurence’s team and the range of players who pose a threat to Cabinteely’s title.

“They came out the right side against Confey in the Kildare championship. Emer Fogarty scored 1-06 and Maggie O’Neill I think scored 1-02 so they’ve really good forwards and we’re looking at that. We know they have a solid defence system so we just need to be patient. We’ll be putting in the same thought and preparation into this game as any other game.”

Goldrick in action for Dublin.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

Fixture congestion continues to provoke ire in men’s GAA with club teams repeatedly calling for better treatment and for gaps between their games to be reduced. The recently formed Club Players Association (CPA) is the culmination of that hostility.

This issue however, seems to be less prominent in Ladies GAA. The Dublin ladies county board made some adjustments last year to ensure the championship schedule is fairer on clubs.

“There’s always room for improvement,” says Goldrick, “but our county board and the Dublin senior team worked ahead of the season and Gregory McGonagle (Dublin ladies manager) spoke to the county board and saw gaps where club games could go ahead.”

She adds:

“Before our All-Ireland Final we had played our Dublin county final so it’s great because for club players, you want to playing championship football over the summer. We have that in ladies (football) so it’s really good and it gives you a break from county too.”

Foxrock Cabinteely have three representatives on the Dublin senior panel which made a third consecutive All-Ireland final appearance this year. Both Goldrick and Niamh Collins started in defence that day while Niamh Ryan was among the substitutes.

It’s always great to be playing county,” Goldrick explains, “because you’re playing with the best players in Dublin so you’re going to be improving. Within our club, we’ve a lot of players who could be playing for Dublin but they really want to focus on club for different personal reasons.”

But while playing inter-county football is a personal honour, and new friendships inevitably follow, it’s impossible to replicate the bonding enjoyed in a club team’s dressing room. Cabinteely are hungry to chase down more history today, and they’re grateful to be doing it together.

“There’s a group of us that have been playing since we were seven and playing football with players since you started football, there’s something special about that. And we’ve had players who have come in from different counties and I played with them in UCD and have been friends with them through college as well so again, it’s that sense of unity that you have.”

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1. “What would you have done to see this happen? Chicago Cubs, World Series champions. Would you have sold your house? Taken a pay cut? Would you have sworn off chocolate or beer, red meat or golf? Would you endure a summer full of winter? Would you have traded a few Bulls’ championships or erased the memories of the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cups?

“Julianna Zobrist handed over her baby. She did not plan to do it. But plans changed throughout Game 7 of this World Series one of the most memorable games in the sport’s history.”

A lot has been written about the Chicago Cubs‘ historic World Series win but this piece by Michael Rosenberg for Sports Illustrated was particularly enjoyable.

2. “Now, after last Sunday, we can lay claim to something else. As much as the likes of Griffin, Kelly and Brennan have done for the place in terms of geography, putting it on the GAA map, they and a bunch of team-mates, neighbours and friends have now written it into history. Ballyea is not just our home but the home of the 2016 Clare senior hurling county champions.”

Kieran Shannon explains what winning a county title means to the town of Ballyea in the Irish Examiner.

3. “How do I sum up nearly two decades in the NBA? What do you really need to know? What’s truly important? You’ll get to play against your heroes: Michael Jordan and Clyde Drexler.

You’ll play alongside Hall of Famers: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade. Sometimes you’ll be afraid. Sometimes you’ll think you’re out of your league. But you’ll keep showing up every day, putting in the work.

You’ll put up more than 26,000 shots in your career. Almost six out of 10 won’t even go in. I told you this game was a sonofabitch. Don’t worry, though. A successful man is built of 1,000 failures. Or in your case, 14,000 misses. You’ll win a championship in Boston. You’ll win another in Miami.”

Shooting guard Ray Allen announced his retirement from basketball this week at the age of 41. And his ‘letter’ to his 13-year-old self for the Players Tribune is quite a read.

4. “In many ways, football has become the Weimar Republic of commemorations. Acts of public solidarity can have huge power, but the currency has been debased. Stadiums have become like wheelbarrows stuffed not with worthless cash, but with increasingly worthless displays. Fans are often unsure what they are applauding.”

In an interesting piece for The Times, Matthew Syed argues that football is remembering so many causes that the gestures have lost all meaning.

5. “‘You know that crisp sound where you’re watching an Olympic diver hit the water, where it’s like a blade slicing through the water? Well, you have that smooth, clean sound, and at the same time it’s like someone has a sawed-off shotgun — pow! It’s amazing.’

“I nod again, wondering whether he has the best insights into football I’ve heard, or just the best weed I’ve smoked. ‘Do you see things out there that, like, you can’t explain? Things that, like, defy gravity?’”

Retired lineman Eugene Monroe uses cannabis as he claims it helps him to deal with his addiction to American football, he tells Tom Junod of ESPN The Magazine.

Eugene Monroe.

6. “I had no support from anybody in football, and in fact a few people made it worse. Suddenly I became the non-gay, gay spokesman in the sport. In some ways, it would have been easier if I had been gay. I could have just stood up and said: ‘Yes I am, what’s your problem?’ Instead there was a weird situation of denying it, but at the same time saying there would be nothing wrong if I was.”

Former Chelsea and England defender Graeme Le Saux wrote an excellent column in the Guardian on the treatment of gay footballers and why it’s important to drive homophobia out of the game.

7. “There was a dirty river at the end of the field and it was absolutely disgusting-looking — as well as very cold. So, Allen pulls us over and goes ‘if you’re going to swim it, swim it’ — as if to say, ‘if you’re going to win it, win it; if you’re going to do it, do it’.

“Then, he just strips off, jumps in and swims it, gets out on the other side in his soaking boxers and then runs about 200 metres in the Baltic cold. I didn’t know at the time that he was a bit of a lunatic anyway – he’s known as ‘Mad Dog’ for a reason – but it did take the focus off losing.”

In his column for the Sunday Independent, former Ireland footballer Stephen Hunt explains the depths some managers will go to in the hope their team will snap out of a losing streak.

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“IT WASN’T GOING to be very open and we knew it wasn’t going to be too high-scoring.”

If Tomas Quinn’s assessment of yesterday’s Dublin senior football final is true, then it’s just as well St Vincent’s had himself and Diarmuid Connolly in their ranks to unlock the Castleknock rearguard.

The Dublin stars, past and present, shook off the cobwebs after a slow start and combined with devastating effect in the second-half.

St Vincent’s landed a 28th county title, while Connolly and Quinn picked up their fourth Dublin SFC medal.

The team’s high profile duo linked up wonderfully in attack for St Vincent’s, with their fingerprints all over good play from the Marino club in the final 30 minutes. Both men had a quite opening, but they were instrumental as Vincent’s turned the screw on Castleknock after half-time and eventually sealed the victory.

Much of this game was a slugfest, as a defensively-minded but tactically aware Castleknock made the game difficult for their more illustrious opponents.

This 0-15 tally by the Vinnies, including outscoring the west-Dublin outfit by 0-8 to 0-3 after the interval, required all the brain power and knowhow of Quinn and Connolly – the scorer and supplier.

“It was a bit of a blur to be honest,” Quinn added after the game.

“It was tough going out there and it was very competitive. We knew they would be. We probably dipped the last 10 minutes if the first-half and you could see they were getting more and more belief.

“We knew the second half was going to be tight and it was just important for us to keep clipping scores.

“Just a couple of opportunities came. [I was] kind of in two minds whether to go for goal with the first one.

“[I] probably could have gone for goal but a point was good in the end. I was just trying to get on ball and Diarmuid got a couple of good balls into me and thankfully it worked out.”

It’s a third title in four years for Quinn as his side reassert their vice-like grip on the Dublin championship.

Despite losing key defenders Hugh Gill and Nathan Mullins to injuries at a key stage in this campaign, St Vincent’s had the depth to comfortably deal with the threat posed by Castleknock.

“It might sound like a cliché when teams win but we are really relying on it,” continued Quinn. “Hugh Gill and Nathan Mullins have been two of our most important players all year and they didn’t play in the semi-final and the final.

“They are two of our back six and guys have come in and its been pretty seamless. Guys came in early in the game today and guys are just stepping up like Albert Martin kicking a winner against Ballymun and we have relied on that.

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“We are the same squad that have been going for the last couple of years, we don’t have 18 or 19 year-olds coming in to kind of freshen us up. The guys that are there coming in have been there for two or three years and they are very hungry.

“They want to come in, they have a point to prove and thankfully they’ve been doing that.”

Ger Brennan’s red card looked like it might spark a Castleknock fightback as they immediately reeled off two scores after the two-time All-Ireland winner was dismissed.

Quinn felt that going down to 14 men might have actually worked in their favour.

“It’s one of those things that didn’t change a huge amount for us the way they play the game because they were leaving a lot of space inside.

“It didn’t really change a lot for us, it probably focussed a little bit for the last 10 minutes which probably wasn’t a bad thing.”

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Tipperary’s Padraic Maher and Cork’s Patrick Horgan will be chasing club glory.

Source: Ken Sutton/INPHO

WE’RE DOWN TO the final four in the Munster senior club hurling championship today with places in the decider up for grabs.

In Ennis, Clare’s Ballyea take on Tipperary’s Thurles Sarsfields while at the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick’s Patrickswell meet Cork’s Glen Rovers.

For Ballyea this is unchartered territory after winning their first Clare senior hurling crown last Sunday. In contrast Thurles Sarsfields are seasoned campaigners after this year winning their sixth Tipperary senior hurling championship in eight years.

Patrickswell ended a 13-year drought in Limerick recently but the club have 19 county senior titles to their name. Similarly Glen Rovers ended a barren spell of their own in 2015 by claiming a first Cork crown in 26 years and then last month they retained that title.

1. A 28th title for brilliant St Vincent’s

ST VINCENT’S ARE back on top of the Dublin football tree. Their 28th senior football title leaves them 17 clear of their nearest challengers O’Tooles, who last lifted the trophy in 1946.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Having gone from 1984 to 2006 without a championship title, Vincent’s are starting to replicated the sort of dominance they enjoyed in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.

Tommy Conroy, who took over as manager in 2012, has steered the Marino club to county titles in three of the last four years. 35-year-old Tomas Quinn, who made his Vincent’s debut back in 2000, picked up his fourth county medal.

2. Bright lights don’t blind Castleknock

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

The fear for Castleknock heading into this game was that they might be overawed by the occasion. But this well-coached outfit didn’t let the bright lights affect them. They crowded the middle and filtered bodies back into defence, frustrating the red-hot favourites.

After a slow start, Castleknock came roaring back into the contest and deservedly found themselves level at the break. After half-time, the Vinnies were a little more controlled in possession and Castleknock found scores from play hard to come by.

Although they were defeated, they must take solace in the fact they performed well for long-spells against a classy, battle-hardened team. Appearing in their first senior county final, this young Castleknock group equipped themselves quite well. The challenge for the west-Dublin club in 2017 is to prove they’re not one-hit wonders.

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3. Ger Brennan’s red card

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

Already carrying a yellow card, Ger Brennan’s clumsy high challenge on Kevin Kindlon in the 45th minute. It threatened to unhinge Vincent’s. Castleknock peeled off two quick-fire scores to get to within two.

Fortunately for Brennan his recklessness didn’t cost Vincent’s, although James Sherry came close to finding the net shortly after his dismissal. Had Brennan been on the field he likely would have snuffed out that chance.

They say the mark of true champions is how they react in the face of adversity and Vincent’s did so admirably. The 14 men left on the field had enough about them to see out the game.

4. Castleknock’s defensive game

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

As we mentioned earlier, this was a well-drilled Castleknock side and they managed to clog up the main channels of attack for the first three quarters and drag their opponents into a street fight.

The ‘Knock played the first-half with Ciaran Kilkenny as a lone gunslinger in the full-forward line with the rest of the team withdrawing deep. He reverted outfield after half-time.

The first-time finalists commonly had as many as 14 men behind the ball as Vincent’s attacked, which really slowed the pace of the game.

The majority of Castleknock’s seven first-half points came from quick breakaways. After the opening 30 minutes, Vincent’s changed tack. Rather than pressing high, in the second-half Vincent’s allowed Castleknock bring out possession to their 45m line before they put pressure on the ball carrier.

That switch in styles Castleknock to just 0-3 after the break – all Des Carlos frees. That was the game’s turning point.

5. Another bumper year for Connolly

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Connolly has enjoyed another bumper year. He hasn’t lost a championship game on the football field in 2016 – a remarkable achievement. With a Leinster club campaign still to come, the 29-year-old has a county medal to put with the medals (National League Division 1, Leinster SFC and All-Ireland SFC) and All-Star he’s already picked up this season.

Connolly is a serial winner and at this stage his medal cabinet must be bursting with silverware. He didn’t score today, but some of the passes he produced were out of this world. Simply a sublime footballer.

6. Leinster campaign next weekend

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

The celebrations in the capital will be short-lived. Tommy Conroy’s men are straight into Leinster club action next weekend where they’ll face Carlow champions Palatine at Netwatch Cullen Park next Sunday, November 13.

The newly crowned Dublin champions are 9/4 favourites to lift the club All-Ireland on St Patrick’s Day. Offaly holders Rhode look like their biggest threat in the province, while Corofin, Dr Crokes, Slaughtneil, Castlebar or Kilcoo are all genuine contenders for the ultimate prize in club football.

Vincent’s have the know-how and talent to go all the way once again and back up their All-Ireland victories in 2008 and 2014. Another win in March would leave them level with Crossmaglen on three All-Irelands victories each in the last decade.

While Cross are in decline, having suffered a rare defeat in Armagh this year, Vincent’s are still flying the flag in Dublin. They’ll take some stopping.

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Mourneabbey  2-16

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IN A REPEAT of the 2014 Munster club final, Mourneabbey prevailed against the Banner of Clare to secure their third senior Munster title on the spin.

The Cork champions won the tie in emphatic fashion with Doireann O’Sullivan scoring seven of her side’s points while the goals came from Ciara O’Sullivan and substitute Laura Harrington. The reigning champions were hit with two sin bins during the tie but comfortably survived the setbacks.

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Congrats to @banner_ladies keeper Emma O'Driscoll on the player of the match award today. Well deserved! pic.twitter.com/sVflmeD6fX

— Mourneabbey LFC (@MourneabbeyLFC) November 5, 2016

Meanwhile, points from Louise Henchy and Grainne Nolan kept the Clare side in the chase and they were just five adrift of Mourneabbey at half-time. A Niamh Keane goal arrived late into the second half but the deficit was to big to bridge in the end.

Mourneabbey will now progress to the All-Ireland semi-final where they will meet Ulster champions Donaghmoyne in a repeat of the 2015 All-Ireland decider.

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St Vincent’s 0-15
Castleknock 0-10

Kevin O’Brien reports from Parnell Park

ST VINCENT’S ARE the kingpins in Dublin once again.

Mossy Quinn rolled back the years and Diarmuid Connolly played an instrumental role from centre-forward as the Vinnies were crowned county champions for the 28th time.

Their third SFC title in four years wasn’t quite the blow-out many people were predicting before the game but nonetheless there was an assuredness and confidence about the display of the winners.

Appearing in their first ever Dublin SFC in only their 18th year of existence, Castleknock gave a good account of themselves but ultimately they hadn’t the firepower to live with the Marino-based club.

After under-performing in last year’s final defeat to Ballyboden, St Vincent’s are back on the top of the tree in the Dublin championship.

It was a defensive affair with Castleknock dropping a lot of bodies back behind the ball, which in turn forced Vincent’s to adopt a similar approach.

Diarmuid Connolly had a quiet opening half by his lofty standards. He was well-marshalled by Tom Quinn early on but by the end of the game the two-time All-Star was pulling the strings all over the field.

His link play with Quinn was a joy to behold. Connolly picked out the 35-year-old corner forward with a few delightful passes to set-up a few key scores after the break.

Quinn and former Mayo attacker Enda Varley were extremely accurate up front.

Vincent’s were leading by 0-11 to 0-7 after 45 minutes when Ger Brennan was dismissed for a second yellow card. That gave Castleknock a massive boost and they reeled off a couple of points to give them hope.

Ultimately though ‘Knock were relying on the placed balls of Des Carlos and Vincent’s had the experience and class to steer the ship home.

On a beautiful afternoon in a packed Parnell Park, Castleknock arrived into the game massive underdogs against the three-time All-Ireland champions St. Vincent’s.

With two 2016 All-Stars on show Castleknock played Kilkenny as the lone soldier in a one-man full-forward line, while Connolly lined out at 11 for Vincent’s.

St Vincent’s started the game firmly in control and eased into a three point lead inside the opening ten minutes with Quinn and Varley looking lively.

Castleknock, who were operating with Kilkenny in a one-man full-forward line, didn’t get on the score board until the 12th minute.

They visibly grew in confidence from that point and started to expose Vincent’s on the break. Kilkenny, Kevin Kindlon and Des Carlos found the target to leave the sides level at the break on 0-7 apiece.

Castleknock were slow starters to the second-half as two scores from Quinn and one from Shane Carthy sent Vincent’s into a three-point lead. The game was turned on its head by Brennan’s red card, for a high challenge on Kevin Kindlon.

That gave Castleknock hope and a couple of frees from Carlos left them trailing by 0-11 to 0-9 with 15 minutes left. James Sherry had a goal chance saved off the line and with that went Castleknock’s chance.

Varley, Trailor and Joe Feeney were on target at the far end as Vincent’s saw the game home.

Scorers for St Vincent’s: Tomas Quinn 0-5 (0-3f), Enda Varley 0-4 (0-1f), Gavin Burke 0-2, Cameron Diamond 0-1, Shane Carthy 0-1, Ruairi Trainor 0-1, Joe Feeney 0-1

Scorers for Castleknock: Des Carlos 0-5 (0-4f), Ciaran Kilkenny 0-2, Mikey Galvin 0-1, Kevin Kindlon 0-1, Eoin O’Brien 0-1.

St Vincent’s

1. Michael Savage

2. Michael Concarr
3. Jarlath Curley
31. Craig Wilson

5. Brendan Egan
6. Ger Brennan
20. Cameron Diamond

8. Daithi Murphy
9. Shane Carthy

10. Gavin Burke
11. Diarmuid Connolly
12. Cormac Diamond

13. Ruairi Trainor
29. Enda Varley
15. Tomas Quinn

Subs:

Albert Martin for Murphy, 32 mins
Joe Feeney for Cormac Diamond, 40 mins
Adam Baxter for Varley, 60 mins

Castleknock

1. Morven Connolly

2. Paul Bourke
3. Peter Sherry
4. Eoin O’Brien

5. Graham Hannigan
6. Tom Shiels
7. Tom Quinn

8. Ciaran Kilkenny
9. Shane Boland

10. Des Carlos
11. Ben Galvin
12. Kevin Kindlon

13. Mikey Galvin
14. James Sherry
15. Colin Lynch

Subs:

Craig Brennan for M Galvin, 42 mins
John Kindlon for Lynch, 52 mins
Martin Brady for B Galvin

Referee: Darragh Sheppard

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WHEN THE MOURNEABBEY ladies football team reconvened for the 2016 season, they knew they had to park the hurt of the previous year before a new campaign could begin.

A second All-Ireland final had come and gone without the silverware coming back to Cork and thoughts about another shot at All-Ireland glory were understandably in their minds.

But they knew they couldn’t indulge those notions yet. And as they look towards a third consecutive Munster final today, team captain Bríd O’Sullivan assures The42 that their focus remains firmly on the provincial championship.

“We kind of spoke about it at the start of the year,” she begins, “and we knew that we were kidding ourselves if we weren’t concentrating on getting out of Cork first and getting out of Munster.”

She added: “I suppose we’re one-third of the way there after getting past St Val’s (in the county final) and obviously it would be in the back of our minds after the heartache of the last two years, but we’re trying not to think about it because you can’t afford to be thinking too far ahead when you’re coming up against such experienced and good sides, so we’re just going to concentrate on today for now and see what happens.”

Today they face the Banner of Clare, a side who they previously defeated in the 2014 Munster final. But O’Sullivan insists that the outcome of that encounter means nothing ahead of their next meeting.

@MourneabbeyLFC aim to win 3 in a row this weekend in Munster senior titles pic.twitter.com/aCS13NDCLu

— COS Photography (@COS_Photography) November 3, 2016

“We did play them two years ago but we aren’t really reading anything into that because we’ve both become very different teams since then. There’s different personnel and things like that but they are an excellent team and they’ve a few girls who had success with Clare this year as well, so it will be interesting alright,” said O’Sullivan.

Since that maiden Munster achievement in 2014, Mourneabbey have collected two more provincial and county championships along with the All-Ireland final appearances. But prior to that, their trophy cabinet lay bare for a number of years.

O’Sullivan explains where the sudden burst of riches came from.

“We won the Intermediate All-Ireland in 2007,” she says, “and I would have been about 14 then. And a lot of the girls who are playing now wouldn’t have been playing then, they would have been children, so after that a lot of the older players went travelling and things like that so it just took a few years basically for us to grow up and for those players who were children back then to be ready for the challenges of senior football.

“We changed our management as well in 2014 and, in fairness, Shane (Ronayne) and Dominic (Gallagher) have really helped turn things around for us.”

All support needed for @MunsterLGFA final v @BannerGAAEnnis in @carrigoon at 3pm on Saturday!! #hontheabbey #blackandamber pic.twitter.com/GPQSIVuEUd

— Mourneabbey LFC (@MourneabbeyLFC) November 2, 2016

A secondary school teacher in Kildare, O’Sullivan has a typically hectic schedule for someone who plays both football and camogie at club level, as well as playing with the Cork senior footballers.

During last year’s campaign, Mourneabbey played three fixtures in one week due to the county final requiring a replay and this year has been another long stretch on the road.

But O’Sullivan has no complaints about the toil involved and the rewards are all worthwhile. Today offers Mourneabbey the chance to secure another one with the ultimate goal tightly stored away elsewhere.

“It’s hard to balance it all but when you’re successful you don’t really mind because you’re enjoying it, so hopefully that’ll last for a little bit longer.”

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UNFANCIED NICE AND Mario Balotelli currently top France’s Ligue 1 table, and Robert Duggan White says it makes a nice change to the tragic stories coming out of the city after the Bastille Day attack earlier this year.

I was in Nice on holidays this year. Any sport shop I went into was all Marseilles and PSGg shirts. Couldn’t find a nice jersey at all. Love to see them win the league. A little lift after the shite the city went through recently.”

We did a (slightly belated) player ratings from the All-Priests Over 75s Challenge match this week, which gave Irishoversea the perfect opportunity to recall a Fr Ted classic.

One of favourite quotes from father was : Father Dougal:
Didn’t you tell me once that Father Jack had a trial for Liverpool?

Father Ted:
No… no, he was on trial, in Liverpool.”

Dick Clerkin, the longest-serving inter-county Gaelic footballer in the country, announced his retirement the other day. I think Jimmy Murphy spoke for a lot of us when he said:

Incredible servant to the game in all fairness. Best of luck with the retirement.”

Stephen McPhail was named Shamrock Rovers’ new sporting director on Tuesday, prompting Dave O’Hanlon to joke about his days Elland Road during Peter Risdale’s calamitous reign.

Well having been at Leeds at least he knows how not to run a football club.”

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Dundalk pair Daryl Horgan and Andy Boyle received their first call-ups to the Ireland squad this week after countless wonderful displays for the Lilywhites. Smithers says:

That’s amazing news they deserve it. Harder to find any other player who’s playing as well as they are. Although they probably won’t play it should be a good experience for them. Fair play.”

The Chicago Cubs have ended a 108-year wait to win the World Series. Ted Logan points out how close Back to the Future was when it revealed they’d end the drought in 2015:

Back to the Future 2 was only one year out with their prediction. Be on the look out for flying DeLorens guys!”

Four years on from London 2012, Rob Heffernan was presented with his bronze medal for the 50k walk at Cork City Hall on Thursday — a sight Ardmore02 is glad to see.

Great stuff, delighted for him. Hope he defends his title in London next year too.”

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FOR THE FIRST time in the county’s history, the Clare men’s football team reached the All-Ireland quarter-finals this year.

Indeed, they previously qualified for the All-Ireland semi-final as Munster champions in 1992 but this is the furthest the county has advanced since the introduction of the back-door system.

The Banner’s Niamh O’Dea had two brothers (Cian and Jack) involved in that impressive run and she also played a pivotal role in steering the Clare ladies to an All-Ireland Intermediate final against Kildare this year.

Later today, she’s back on club duty as the Banner converge on Mallow to battle it out for a senior Munster title. Standing in their way, however, are Mourneabbey of Cork, who are seeking their third consecutive title.

The last game for 2016 in @MunsterLGFA is going to be a good one! Tomorrow in Mallow at 3pm @banner_ladies take on @MourneabbeyLFC pic.twitter.com/wzAtxxgETH

— Munster LGFA (@MunsterLGFA) November 4, 2016

It’s a repeat of the 2014 provincial decider where the Clare side were defeated, and O’Dea says they’ve learned valuable lessons from that loss.

“There’s no getting around it,” she told The42, “they’re a good team and they’ve been in the last two All-Ireland finals. But, look, at the end of the day, we’ll worry about our own game. If we can perform on the day there’s nothing that can stop us. Obviously they’ve a few key players to look out for but it all comes down to ourselves and how we play and how we can get the best performance out of ourselves.

We went up for long stretches of the last game but, typical Cork team, they never give up. Their strong players really performed that day. But if we focus on ourselves, we know they have key players but we know we’ve a good panel and we’re all a year older and a year wiser so hopefully that’ll play into our hands.”

The Banner were crowned the Clare county champions for the sixth successive time earlier this year, and wins in the Munster B Championship against Southern Gaels (Kerry) and Ballymacarbry (Waterford) granted them the chance to atone for that loss two years ago.

O’Dea says that each fixture has brought more improvements to their game.

“The year has gone good so far,” she says, “no complaints. The game against Southern Gaels was probably the most open we’ve had in a long time, it really ebbed and flowed up and down. We’d a lot of goals and a lot of scores. It was a good game to come out on top of because they were a good strong team.

What a great day for our seniors beating Ballymac 4-9 to 1-12 in the Munster B final. Well done girls. We are so proud @ClareFM @Clarelgfa pic.twitter.com/GaKq7j3LLc

— Banner Ladies (@banner_ladies) October 23, 2016

“Against Ballymacarbry, we’ve played them a lot over the last six years and it’s been back and forward all along. But they’ve all been tough games and very different games. It was ideal preparation because in every single game there were different tactics and that,” O’Dea added.

The UL student, who is currently doing a Masters in Sports Performance, turned 23 last week and a win today would be a birthday present worth waiting for. Her father, JJ, forms part of the Banner management team and her sister, Eva, would be lining out today but for an extensive injury she sustained while playing for Clare in their All-Ireland semi-final win over Tipperary.

And with brothers Cian and Jack also playing for Clare, there’s a good blend of rows and laughs whenever football is discussed in the O’Dea household.

“There’s a good bit of banter. Eva got injured there and she’d be a key player for us and the father is involved as well and he loves it. There’s a bit of everything but it’s been all positive so far in the household. This is a big year for football in Clare, the men’s and women’s team did very well. There’s a few rows but it’s all good.”

Cian and Jack even organised a supporters’ bus to travel to Croke Park and support their sister in the All-Ireland final.

“They had a group coming up from home and that and there was other Clare lads as well so there’s been good support this year and we can’t complain about that.”

Niamh O’Dea on the attack against Kildare in the 2016 All-Ireland Intermediate final

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

As for the wounds left by that threadbare defeat to Kildare, O’Dea admits that while the hurt still lingers, it also offers her motivation to ensure her club side make the most of the opportunity presented to them today.

“We had big expectations going into that game and then it didn’t happen on the day. It was disappointing for us because, looking back, we didn’t do ourselves justice. I suppose today is a chance to prove ourselves again. It would be a bit of redemption because we know we’re good enough, we know we’re capable so it’s just about going out and performing to our capabilities.”

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