Articles in the GAA Category

JACK MADDEN previews the Co Senior Football Championship “through inter-county tinted glasses” and finds holders Scotstown have several would-be conquerors to be wary of It’s that time of year again, whatever “that” time even means these days. Championship season takes on a bit more of a wintry flavour this time, or an autumnal one at the very best. County players will once more be available to their clubs when they are needed most, the crème de la crème. Whether or not that cream rises to the top remains to be seen. ...

COLM SHALVEY As the dust settles on an intercounty season that saw Monaghan teams lose three Ulster football finals – the delayed 2020 MFC decider against eventual All-Ireland champions Derry, the U-20s in extra- time v Down and the seniors by the narrowest of margins to Tyrone – Mayo’s presence in another All-Ireland final could give inspiration to many to keep knocking on the door. Some more excitable Monaghan supporters may have even hoped that Tyrone’s Covid-19 issues, which threatened to cause the cancellation of their All-Ireland semi-final against Kerry, might ...

The saga surrounding the Tyrone-Kerry All-Ireland Football Championship semi final leads JACK MADDEN to conclude that the Covid-shadowed 2021 season is not one for predictions… Saturday: “Tyrone GAA Statement Re All-Ireland Final V Kerry: “This morning, the Tyrone GAA Management Committee has decided that it is not in a position to field its senior football team in the rescheduled All-Ireland football championship semi-final in Croke Park, next Saturday. “Having received expert medical opinion on the existing and future health and welfare of the players who contracted the Covid-19 virus during the ...

Colm Shalvey reports The club season moved up a gear last Sunday as many teams welcomed their county players back in the race to qualify for the knock-out stages of the leagues. Scotstown got off the mark in Group One of the Senior Football League when they held off Inniskeen for a home win. Scotstown had four points to their name by the time Andrew Woods opened Inniskeen’s account, but with Dónal Meegan and Ciarán McNulty adding scores for the Grattans, they reduced their deficit to the minimum (0-8 to 0-7) ...

Players have stomach for battle to win silverware Colm Shalvey reports Several Platinum Tanks Reserve Football League Finals took place last Friday night and amid very challenging weather conditions at each venue, all games went down to the wire. Two of the games had two-point winning margins, while another was a one-point game and the other went all the way to extra-time. Platinum Tanks Reserve Football League Division 1A Final Latton 0-10 Scotstown 0-8 A purple patch either side of the second-half water break pushed Latton towards a narrow win over Scotstown ...

COLM SHALVEY Monaghan’s Croke Park record against Tyrone sadly remains at zero wins and the games have all tended to follow a horribly similar pattern. The game was once again largely played on Tyrone’s terms after a burst before half-time saw them build up a fivepoint lead. A bit like Rory McIlroy’s recent history at the majors, where he has tended to fall adrift before finding his form belatedly, Monaghan rediscovered the verve that had seen them score 5-28 in their previous two championship matches. The half-time introduction of Niall Kearns ...

Jack Madden reports Déjà vu, again. A one-point margin of defeat was almost written in the stars. Stars that are peering through a sky of cloudy, grey disappointment. These defeats do not get any easier. The footballing brain has reached its capacity, the soakage limit hit. It feels as though there is no more room for new lessons to be learned amongst all the old ones. The record of Tyrone victories over Monaghan at Croke Park extends, a record that was under siege in the second half, but all too comfortable ...

A game “as blistering as the Newry sun” saw Monaghan rise above tragedy to edge closer to Ulster glory – JACK MADDEN was there A minute’s silence where time stood still. Sixty seconds perfectly observed. How we wish we will never see the likes of it ever again. On Saturday morning there was much doubt surrounding the first of the 2021 Ulster semi-finals. Word came through that the game would indeed go ahead. According to the BBC before throw-in, the Monaghan team had met on Saturday morning and agreed to fulfil ...

Colm Shalvey A weekend in which Monaghan qualified for two Ulster finals would normally be cause for unbridled celebration, but the county was left reeling by the tragic death of U-20 captain Brendan Óg Ó Dufaigh in a two-car collision late on Friday night. Monaghan GAA postponed all club games scheduled for last weekend as a mark of respect to Brendan Óg Ó Dufaigh, while the Ulster U-20 final, which had originally been scheduled for this Saturday, has been postponed until the following Friday, July 30. Brendan Óg Ó Dufaigh was ...

Monaghan needs to find X-factor to dump out rivals Armagh Colm Shalvey reports The latest chapter of the Monaghan v Armagh rivalry sees a place in the 2021 Ulster SFC Final go up for grabs in Newry on Saturday afternoon. Both teams go into this derby on the back of double-digit wins in the quarter-finals. Monaghan got their first Ulster SFC win since 2018 at the expense of Fermanagh, while Armagh were pushed for long spells by Antrim before cutting loose in the final quarter to pull well clear of Enda McGinley’s ...