Articles in the GAA Category

Monaghan turn on the style to chalk up two goals and twenty four points against Louth by COLM SHALVEY … What a difference a week can make! Monaghan bounced back in some style from the Celtic Park disappointment to put Louth to the sword in Clones last Sunday and resurrect their Allianz National Football League Division Two campaign. Monaghan scored 2-24, which was almost four times their tally in the defeat away to Derry eight days earlier and the county’s biggest total in a National League game in 20 years, just three ...

KEVIN CARNEY WRITES … Just how much of a leg-up is home advantage in the world of Gaelic games? And why is it that teams invariably perform that bit better on home soil? Surely there’s enough imponderables there to spawn a post-graduate thesis to beat the band. Then again if the best brains in the world can’t come up with a definitive agreement on the nature and extent of global warming, maybe ‘home advantage’ is an area we should all just refrain from trying to fathom as well. One thing is sure ...

The atmosphere was rich with nostalgia and there was a palpable sense of history at the special Ulster Colleges Council symposium in the Cardinal O’Fiaich Library and Archive on Thursday evening last when a number of colleges trophies were retired and new replacement trophies were presented to the Council. Chief among these was a new MacRory Cup which was presented to the Colleges Council by Cardinal Sean Brady and when the cup was unveiled it’s magnificence drew gasps of surprise from the gathering who were told that it was insured for ...

KEVIN CARNEY writes for the standard. Ulster – the most testing and unnerving province. One thing’s sure, as Football gets a spring in its step, if Eamonn McEneaney manages to steer Monaghan to provincial glory this year, it’ll be the ultimate vindication of county board’s trust in one of their own. McEneaney has been there, done that and worn the jersey and is regarded by the powerbrokers of football locally as a safe pair of hands, hence his appointment to succeed another native, Seamus McEnaney. The ‘blayney man was cool, calm and collected ...

JOHN GRAHAM This Sunday Monaghan open their National Hurling league division 3A campaign when they take on Donegal in Clones at 2.30pm. This is a testing opener for Monaghan by any standards given that this is a very tight section where six teams will battle it out for the two places in the final which is scheduled for April 15th making for a situation where the points in every game will be vital. Monaghan are coming to Clones on Sunday for their first official competitive outing under new manager Mattie Lennon who has ...

The Dan Thompson Memorial Cup changed hands on Sunday last as Clones came to Sarsfield Park and plundered a victory at the expense of the home side, Killeevan who had won the inaugural tournament last year. Aghabog, Clones and Killeevan will all be competing against other in junior ranks this year so any psychological advantage that either could gain could be valuable later in the season when league points or more importantly championship progress could be at stake. Recently appointed Killeevan team manager, Declan McArdle, saw his side open with ...

Most of the media attention focused on the scuffle at the half-time whistle, but Monaghan’s impressive performance in beating Kildare was the real story of last Sunday’s Allianz National Football League Division Two game in Clones. Eamon McEneaney’s men led from start to finish and were full value for their five-point margin of victory. Few gave Monaghan a chance against a Kildare team who hit the ground running in the O’Byrne Cup and who wouldn’t have been too worried by their defeat against Tyrone, where poor finishing counted against them. Monaghan ...