Articles in the GAA Category

Michael Fisher The ‘Clones Cyclone’ Barry McGuigan fondly remembered his “bubbly, happy, happy” daughter Danika McGuigan on Friday’s Late Late Show on RTÉ1 in an emotional interview with Ryan Tubridy. On a couple of occasions he had to pause to collect his thoughts while he openly shed a tear as he recollected the final weeks of her life. Danika known as ‘Nika’ passed away in July 2019 aged just 33 after a battle with cancer returned. As an 11 year-old she had previously been diagnosed with lymphoid leukemia and successfully ...

Colm Shalvey reports Monaghan native Aaron McCarey will be looking to make an impact at Cliftonville in 2021 after signing for the Belfast club late last month. Scotstown man McCarey had to remain patient as understudy to long-serving Dundalk goalkeeper Gary Rogers for the bulk of his two seasons at Oriel Park, but he will be hoping to sweep aside another veteran, Richard Brush, at Cliftonville. The Lilywhites won all three major honours available to them in Ireland once across those campaigns, with McCarey starting the 2019 League Cup Final, where ...

JACK MADDEN ponders the impact of Covid-19 on the sports fields, and sporting psyche, of Co Monaghan Brexit. it has finally happened. the late Dolores o’Riordan would question if they had to let it linger. the initial relief will not take long to wear off. Reality will seep in like water into a dry sponge. in our parts, the sponge is thirsty, and the water will continue to flow. intersecting stormont and leinster house should surely be beneficial, but we have seen it is anything but. Between a rock and a ...

Colm Shalvey reports Monaghan have made some high-profile additions to the senior football management team, with Dónie Buckley, Jonny Davis and Gary Rogers coming on board. Following the return of Conor Laverty and Peter Donnelly to the Down U-20s and the Tyrone seniors late last year, Séamus McEnaney needed to bulk up his backroom team once again, with the addition of the highly-rated Buckley as ‘Head Football Coach’ being seen as a coup for the county. The former Castleisland player began his coaching days in Clare, where he progressed to their ...

Colm Shalvey reports 2021 promises a return of a busy sporting schedule further down the line, albeit with the exact calendar still in some doubt. In the short term, the country’s return to Level 5 restrictions of the Plan for Living with Covid-19 means the beginning of 2021 is a bleak one for the sporting landscape. Elite sports are permitted to continue behind closed doors, amid a national surge in Covid-19 cases, but the likes of golf clubs and gyms have had to close once again. The GAA delayed the return ...

COLM SHALVEY REPORTS Monaghan have an Ulster MFC semi-final to prepare for in the new year after a convincing win over Antrim last Sunday saw them end another calendar year unbeaten. A composed performance at a sundrenched Corrigan Park gave Monaghan their 12th consecutive win in the Ulster MFC, although they will need to clear another couple of hurdles if they are to secure a third consecutive provincial title at minor level. The absence of a form guide made last weekend’s game a difficult one to predict, but Antrim’s Ulster league ...

JOHN GRAHAM There is no doubt about it -2020 has been a year unlike any other, but for some GAA people it turned out to be memorale amid uncertainty, tragedy and lockdowns. We salute the lucky ones who received deserved recognition in the 2020 Northern Standard Newspaper/ Monaghan GAA Annual Awards which were unable to be hosted this year due to Covid-19. Senior Footballer: Damien McArdle (Scotstown): A consistent performer with Scotstown, mostly in defence, but also in a number of other roles, this man, who made his championship debut ...

Farney poised for Ulster championship restart COLM SHALVEY REPORTS Just over two months after their dramatic preliminary-round win over Cavan, Monaghan’s minor footballers finally get to resume their Ulster MFC title defence this Sunday when they take on antrim at Corrigan Park in Belfast. Monaghan’s bid for a third consecutive provincial title at minor level began in the middle of october when they came from six points down at half-time to pip Cavan with a late Stephen Mooney goal in Clones, but that remains the only game yet to be played in ...

PLENTY OF REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL FOR LADIES Silverware proved elusive for the Monaghan senior ladies last Saturday, but they can still reflect on a progressive campaign. after games that were decided by razorthin margins against Tipperary and Galway in their all-ireland SFC group, Monaghan saw another championship clash go down to the wire against armagh, who held the edge as they claimed their first Ulster title since 2015. Having fallen to a heavy defeat in the Ulster semi-finals last year, Monaghan closed the gap considerably this time against an armagh ...

Ulster title up for grabs for Monaghan COLM SHALVEY REPORTS A first Ulster Ladies’ SFC title since 2016 is the prize on offer for Monaghan when they take on Armagh behind closed doors in Clones on Saturday. It’s a first provincial final appearance since 2017 for Monaghan, who are up against last year’s runners-up Armagh. Both counties enjoyed progressive All- Ireland SFC campaigns, with Monaghan missing out on qualification from a razorthin group by the narrowest of margins after edging out Tipperary and falling agonisingly short against Galway. Armagh went one step ...