Articles in the GAA Category

Colm Shalvey reports Togoville’s record at the venue for owner Patrick McCann, trainer Anthony McCann and jockey Conor McGovern. Having made it a ‘lucky 13’ wins at Dundalk Stadium the previous week, 11-year-old Togoville added to that list by holding off nearest challengers Jered Maddox and Oh Purple Reign in the ‘Join Us On Instagram @dundalk_stadium’ Handicap last Friday. It made for another successful evening at Ireland’s only all-weather racecourse for trainer Anthony McCann of Shabra fame and Clones jockey Conor McGovern, who guided the 4/1 joint-favourite to a third win ...

To a mundy backing track, JACK MADDEN runs the rule over decisions taken at the 2021 GAA Congress and finds “some necessary, some strange and some in-between” … GAA Congress 2021. It is that time of year again. This time Larry McCarthy of Cork was announced as President of our 137-year-old association. His appointment coincided with the sudden appearance of experts nationwide, the commencement of debate from Derry to Kerry. Here we go again. The rolling stone of the GAA gathers no moss. For all its faults, 2020 gave us space ...

Monaghan Sports Partnership is launching an exciting new programme, starting Monday the 1st March. This is a FREE 6- week programme which is suitable for all ages and is ideal for complete beginners, and anyone who wishes to increase their walking fitness and progress to jogging with relative ease with the help of podcasts from an experienced coach. It is a simple progressive programme that begins with more walking than jogging, and gradually evolves into more jogging than walking over a 6-week period. Participants will receive two podcasts and session ...

If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it … JACK MADDEN makes a case for continuity when it comes to staging the Ulster Football Final at St Tiernach’s Park in Clones, the “living room”of the sport’s provincial spiritual home In my memory, I will always see, The town that I have loved so well As the late Luke Kelly brings the words of Phil Coulter to life, he is as much Derry as he is Dublin. Reminiscing on the good times, before the “tanks and guns”. Days when there was “music there ...

Colm Shalvey reports Chairman Declan Flanagan admits the extended delay to the return of Gaelic Games activity did not come as a surprise and that it provides further headaches to fixture planners for 2021 at club and county level. The GAA revealed last week that Government representatives have clarified that inter-county Gaelic Games activity is not covered under the current Level 5 exemptions for elite sports. This means that a return to intercounty training or games is not permitted under the current restrictions, with the GAA Covid Advisory Group outlining that ...

Colm Shalvey reports Lough Egish brothers Ciarán, Tony and Breandán Ward have raised more than €16,000 to date for SOSAD Ireland and have extended their lockdown challenge into February. Having already more than doubled their initial target of 300km on their daily runs at Aughnamullen GAA complex walking track, the Wards have now set a new goal of 1,000km. Their JustGiving page has received donations of over €16,000 in aid of Irish suicide-prevention and bereavement support charity SOSAD, who have announced that they will be setting up a branch in Monaghan ...

“Never have words held so much power.” JACK MADDEN meditates on the ceaseless and often damning social media commentary that is part of life for the modern sportsperson They have reached the pinnacle. They have worked and they have fought to reach the summit, the peak of their game. For years, they stood atop of the sporting mountain untouched, after engineering their own podium. Now Tim Berners- Lee, Mark Zuckerburg and others have inadvertently built a cable car. A path to the top, where effort is not required. A golden ticket ...

Colm Shalvey reports The GAA’s Covid advisory group has determined that it would be “irresponsible to permit a return to collective training at this time”. The recent reduction in Covid-19 case numbers has, however, given Croke Park officials renewed hope that “the commencement of competitions in the month of March is a definite possibility”. Communication to clubs and counties this week from GAA President John Horan; Director General Tom Ryan; and Director of Player, Club, and Games Administration, Feargal McGill, confirmed the extension of the delayed return to training for senior ...

For those wed to the “oddball pursuit” of hurling in Co Monaghan, the journey is always “more of a process than a miracle” according to JACK MADDEN The hats, scarves, and headbands are on sale. “Three euro each, two for a fiver!”. The bandwagoners fill the streets. Friends and family are more scattered, their nerves all over the place. The locals lament the influx of culchies once more. “Next!” is the call from the scauldy, middle-aged woman in the burger van. The significance begins to sink in. Perfect imperfection. This is ...

The extension of Covid-19 restrictions is expected to delay the GAA’s return to inter-county action until March and have a knock-on effect on the proposed 2021 calendar. The association is expected to update its return-to-play plans in the coming days following confirmation that the Government has agreed to continue Level 5 restrictions until at least March 5. The Allianz Leagues had been scheduled to begin on the last weekend of February, but a new start date of the end of March, at the earliest, is now on the cards. It ...