Articles in the GAA Category

John Graham reports The GAA’s Central Competitions Controls Committee (CCCC) is advancing plans for the inter-county season with the aim of completing it in the same calendar year and finishing out the remaining league games on the first two weekends available, October 17/18 and October 24/25. The Ulster Council has yet to release exact details of their championship schedule, which now incorporates the minor and senior teams playing on the same day. Meanwhile,at local level, Monaghan County Board has set out a plan for an eight weeks time frame to run ...

Monaghan GAA ‘shave or dye’ to support charities COLM SHALVEY The Monaghan GAA senior footballers and management have decided to shave or dye their hair in aid of two very worthy charities, with Drew Wylie’s ‘lockdown look’ grabbing the headlines this week! The county team, whose 2020 season has been on pause since early March, are hoping to raise an ambitious target of €30,000 to support cancer services in Co Monaghan and the Holy Family Special School in Cootehill, which caters for pupils with learning disabilities and/or autism across Cavan and Monaghan. ...

Enda McGinley, Joe McMahon, Mattie Donnelly and Ryan McMenamin (Tyrone), Éamon McGee (Donegal), Mark Poland (Down), Finian Hanley (Galway) and Cora Staunton (Mayo) among others. Also among the many to take part from within the county were Eugene ‘Nudie’ Hughes, Bernie Murray, Declan Loughman, Gerry McCarville, Ray, Jack and Ellen McCarron, Kieran Hughes, Linda Martin, Ciara McGuinness, Gavin Doogan, Mark Counihan, Paul O’Connor and Colin Malone, while there were also messages of support from Tommy Bowe, Conor McManus and Joe Brolly (Derry). Organisers of the weekend’s events said they were ...

Oram native at the helm on RTE Sport Colm Shalvey reports Monaghan man Declan McBennett has clocked up two years as head of sport at RTÉ, among over two decades at the national broadcaster, but even all that experience won’t have prepared him for the unique challenges posed by a 2020 sporting calendar left in disarray by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a wide-ranging chat, McBennett recognised the challenging landscape, while keeping things very much in context: “It has been difficult as there has been no sport, but it pales into insignificance when ...

COLM SHALVEY The GAA has confirmed that walking tracks on club grounds may be allowed to reopen from next week. Any training, even in small groups, remains off-limits during the second phase of the Government’s ‘roadmap’, but the situation may be reviewed in phase three. In a statement released late last week, the Association said: “The GAA continues to monitor closely the ongoing pandemic and the Government’s roadmap relating to the relaxation of restrictions. The Association notes that we remain in Phase One and await an update about the possible ...

COLM SHALVEY The GAA may consider permitting limited access to some club grounds before July 20, but not for playing purposes, as per recent comments by John Horan. With the GAA and the LGFA insurance currently suspended, the playing fields are due to remain closed until July 20, despite a glimmer of hope regarding the earlier reopening of walking tracks, following recent comments by GAA President John Horan, who told BBC NI: “If there is one first step that we may make in terms of loosening things up it may well ...

CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 CRISIS Páraic McDonald made his name as a multitalented sportsman in Castleblayney and a winner of multiple titles with the Faughs, but he has now spent almost two decades as a full-time coach at Kilmacud Crokes as the Stillorgan club has grown into one of the biggest in the country. Monaghan GAA Games Development Manager Paul O’Connor called on his former team-mate to deliver a webinar on developing youth club coaching programmes last week and speaking to The Northern Standard this week, Páraic said they were pleased with the ...

Michael Fisher The Northern Ireland Executive has published a five-point plan for a phased exit from Covid-19 restrictions. It was released at Stormont on Tuesday by the First Minister Arlene Foster and deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill as the official coronavirus death toll in the North rose to 449 and the number of positive cases reached 4253. Fermanagh and Omagh is the Council area least affected, with 78 Covid- 19 cases and 10 deaths, while Belfast is the area most affected by the virus. Unlike the phased recovery plan on ...

Golf courses are set to reopen for play next week in the first phase of the Government’s ‘road map’, but the picture remains far from clear for the return of team sports. Golf clubs in Monaghan and across the country are readying themselves to reopen on a restricted basis from next Monday, May 18, with play for members only and competitions not permitted in the initial stage. Golf’s national governing bodies – Golf Ireland, the Irish Ladies’ Golf Union and the Golfing Union of…

The GAA seems to be still planning to hold club and inter-county championships in 2020, but have ruled out any games before October and say there is a lack of interest in playing matches behind closed doors. A series of conference calls on these matters between senior Croke Park officials and county chairpersons were held during last week, following much recent speculation from various stakeholders, managers, referees, players and officials, as to whether the 2020 season should be abandoned. Counties had already been asked to suspend all activity until July ...