Articles in the GAA Category

By COLM SHALVEY The Packie Boylan Cup will spend the winter in Drumhowan for the third time since 2006 after they deservedly held on to edge out Emyvale in the Universal Graphics Junior Football Championship Final last Sunday. Drumhowan’s win was their fifth in all, taking them level with Cremartin at the top of the roll of honour. Emyvale had lost just three times in 20 games this year prior to last Sunday and they went into the final on the back of rattling in 4-18 against Éire Óg in ...

DRUMHOWAN 1-11 EMYVALE 3-04 By JOHN GRAHAM ULSTER and Monaghan club junior football club champions 2008, Drumhowan are back on the provincial scene again after they held out for the narrowest of victories over Emyvale in this pulsating junior football championship final that built to a nerve tingling finish in Scotstown on Sunday last. Overall Drumhowan were worthy winners as they battled for everything and showed the greater degree of hunger at vital times. Those qualities were seen to best effect in the final quarter after they had been rocked by two Emyvale ...

EMYVALE 3-11 MAGHERACLOONE 1-13 BY JOHN GRAHAM THE PREDATORY instincts of Ryan McAnespie were the central plank of this Emyvale victory in the replayed final of the minor football league division 2 that was played in somewhat greasy conditions in Blackhill on Saturday afternoon last. Mc Anespie finished with the impressive tally of 3-8 with just three of those points coming from frees as he tortured the Magheracloone defence with his pace, skill and most importantly his finishing in what was a veritable tour de force by the county minor star. This was a most ...

Formbook suggests there’ll be little to choose between Emyvale and Drumhowan on Sunday. by JOHN GRAHAM. vital ingredient for success in any team sport is to build up a level of consistency throughout a competition and in that regard the protagonists in Sunday’s final of the Universal Graphics junior football championship are there on merit as they have been two of the most consistent teams in junior ranks of this year. However if in measuring their respective levels of consistency and using that to confer the tag of favourites on one ...

BY COLM SHALVEY Donegal may not have gone through Monaghan on the way home from their All-Ireland Senior Football Championship success, but one local youngster, Barry Og Doherty, got his hands on the famous Sam Maguire Cup after meeting star player Karl Lacey (see photo). Donegal ended their 20-year wait for a second All-Ireland title with a 2-11 to 0-13 win over Mayo in last Sunday’s final. The Donegal support – big in both numbers and volume – were in dreamland after their team burst out of the traps with two early goals. The ...

By John Graham Castleblayney won the Silver Hill Foods Seniior Hurling League Final last Saturday and now have their eye on the bigger stage of the Ulster club championship. Blayney boss Paul Hughes saw the league final as ideal preparation and also a good occasion to give some of the squad players match experience but he is also aware that it is a big step up from senior hurling in Monaghan to the standard at intermediate level in Antrim. “Yes we were able to bring in a full complement of substitutes and we ...

Hurling BLAYNEY V INNISKEEN BY JOHN GRAHAM It has become a real power struggle between Inniskeen and Castleblayney as to who will be top dog on the hurling scene in the county this year and that hunger for success will be central when these two sides go head-to-head again on Sunday morning to decide the destination of this years Silver Hill Foods senior hurling league title. Castleblayney go into the game as reigning senior hurling champions having defeated Inniskeen in that final back on August 12th and they will be very keen and very ...

Clontibret and Ballybay are counting down the days to what should be a cracking SFC Final on October 14th. by COLM SHALVEY Two contrasting games in last Sunday’s double-header of Gormley uPVC Senior Football Championship semi-finals in Clones mean that Ballybay and Clontibret will go head-to-head in the final for the first time since 1959. Ballybay qualified for their first SFC Final since 1987 with a stunning 5-8 to 0-13 win over Latton, which was the topic of most conversations leaving St. Tiernach’s Park. Ballybay put on a superb attacking display ...

By KEVIN CARNEY Malachy O’Rourke has appealed to all stakeholders in Monaghan GAA to row in together so that success can be more easily attained. The new county senior football manager was ensconced in Latton’s think-tank for their SFC semi-final joust with Ballybay last weekend but he has now firmly turned his attention towards the county scene and making a success of his minimum two year term in the hot seat. The former Fermanagh senior player added to his knowledge of football in Monaghan by joining Latton’s backroom team back in July (repeating ...