Articles in the Sports News Category

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 ...

JACK MADDEN takes a look through the lens of lockdown at the status and perception of League of Ireand soccer and its contribution to the forging of the “Boys in Green” identity of our international team The ghost of Monaghan United spends its days haunting the residence of John Delaney. Any spare time is passed disrupting the sleep schedule of Giovanni Trapattoni. “We are proud because before the game we were in the same position with Sweden and Austria. In Ireland there is no league. our players play in England. In ...

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 ...

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 ...