Group of Death looms in football championship
It'll be squeaky bum time in the football championship at the weekend with the final round of matches in each of the four groups. Armagh, Kerry, Meath, Down and Monaghan are the only counties out of the 16 already assured of advancing to the knockout phase, the rest scrapping it out to join them. The task of
guiding us through the permutations
fell to Muireann Duffy who, after completing it, probably needed a lie down.
The 'group of death' will see one of Dublin, Galway and Derry have their season ended by Saturday evening, Gordon Manning talking to
Derry legend Chrissy McKaigue
about his county's chances of progressing, the former All Star convinced that they are still contenders this year. They play Dublin in Newry, the stakes on the rather high side.
As they are too in group three,
Leinster champions Louth and Clare meeting on Sunday
, the prize a ticket to the knockouts along with group leaders Down and Monaghan. Ian O'Riordan talks to Louth manager Ger Brennan ahead of the game.
Whatever happens against Dublin in Newbridge on Saturday in the All Ireland preliminary quarter-finals, it's already been a memorable year for Kildare's hurlers.
Ciarán Murphy was in Croke Park last weekend to see them win the Joe McDonagh Cup
, an emotional day it was too for the team's supporters.
READ MORE
In the build-up to Leinster's URC final against the Bulls, John O'Sullivan picks out
'Six of the Best' previous meetings between the sides
, among them last year's semi-final when
Willie le Roux 'helped pick Leinster apart with his cross-field punting'
. John talks to the Bulls stalwart, while Nathan Johns analyses how the teams go about their business,
the Bulls likely to employ a 'forward onslaught of raw power'
to see off Leinster.
In golf, Philip Reid previews the US Open which starts today at the Oakmont Country Club, Scottie Scheffler describing the course as
'probably the hardest that we'll play, maybe ever'
. Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry will have each for company in the opening round having been drawn together along with their Ryder Cup buddy Justin Rose.
After 'underwhelming' draws with Senegal and Luxembourg,
how are the Republic of Ireland shaping up
ahead of the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign in September? Gavin Cummiskey isn't overly optimistic.
In athletics, Ian O'Riordan talks to Rhasidat Adeleke ahead of
this evening's Bislett Games in Oslo
where Mark English will also be in action, the Donegal man hoping to build on 'the best times of his life'.
Gabrielle Rose is producing some of the speediest times of her life too, which is remarkable considering the swimmer is forty-seven. '
A middle-aged woman doing her bit to turn back the clock
,' writes Dave Hannigan. 'Brazenly trying to defy Father Time. On behalf of beleaguered, jaded and weary middle-aged triers everywhere.'
TV Watch
: The US Open gets under way at Oakmont Country Club today, Sky Sports Golf's coverage starting at 12.30 this afternoon. Later, Leona Maguire will be in action at the Meijer LPGA Classic (Sky Sports+, 8.0), hoping to rediscover the form that won her the tournament in 2023. In between, Ireland take on the West Indies in the first of three T20 internationals at Bready (TNT Sports 1 from 2.45) and at 7.0, Virgin Media Two has athletics' Oslo Diamond League (7.0).
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RTÉ News
36 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Donegal power past Louth into quarter-finals
It took a while, but Donegal eventually put their experience to use in MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey, as they eased through to the All-Ireland quarter-finals with a 16-point win over Louth. The Wee County put it up to Donegal in the opening half, but a second goal from Ciaran Thompson on 49 minutes put the home side on their way. Thompson, playing in his 50th championship game for the county, took a crossfield pass from Oisin Gallen to find the corner of the net. The score put Donegal 2-11 to 0-09 ahead and from there the Louth challenge faded and the home side were able to keep the scoreboard ticking, finishing with 12 different scorers. The large attendance of 15,369 were not give much to shout about in the opening half as both sides played it cagey. Donegal were really lacklustre in what was a very poor spectacle in the opening half. Peadar Mogan, as happens often, opened the scoring and Donegal looked to be in control after 15 minutes, leading by 0-5 to 0-1, Conor O'Donnell, Oisin Gallen, Michael Murphy and Finnbarr Roarty adding to their total. Paul Matthews had the lone Louth point. Craig Lennon added a second point while Donegal had a great goal opportunity which Oisin Gallen spurned. The miss seemed to inspire Louth and especially Ryan Burns as he hit three points in as many minutes to tie up the game on 24 minutes. Gallen and Dara McDonnell traded scores before Donegal got the goal they threatened. It came from a long kick-out by Shaun Patton which found Oisin Gallen and he sent Conor O'Donnell through to fire to the net. Donegal did have possession as the hooter sounded but Louth turned them over and Ryan Burns hit the last score of the half to leave just two between them - Donegal 1-06 Louth 0-07. Sam Mulroy opened the second half account for Louth with a free but they only managed one more score (Mulroy from play) until the 62nd minute and by that stage Donegal were able to substitute Michael Murphy, Ryan McHugh and Eoghan Bán Gallagher. There will be tougher tests ahead for Donegal, who had 11 wides, while several shots dropped short. Scorers Donegal: Oisin Gallen 0-5; Conor O'Donnell 1-2; Ciaran Thompson 1-0; Michael Langan 0-3, 1tp; Michael Murphy 0-3, 1tp 1f; Finnbarr Roarty, Daire Ó Baoill 0-2; Peadar Mogan, Shane O'Donnell, Niall O'Donnell, Caolan McColgan, Hugh McFadden 0-1 Louth: Ryan Burns 0-4; Sam Mulroy 0-3, 1f; Paul Matthews, Craig Lennon, Dara McDonnell, Peter Lynch, Ciaran Downey 0-1 Donegal: Shaun Patton, Finnbarr Roarty, Brendan McCole, Peadar Mogan; Ryan McHugh, Eoghan Bán Gallagher, Caolan McColgan; Jason McGee, Michael Langan; Ciaran Moore, Ciarán Thompson, Shane O'Donnell; Conor O'Donnell, Michael Murphy, Oisín Gallen. Subs: Hugh McFadden for McGee (half-time), Dare Ó Baoill for McHugh (49), Patrick McBrearty for Murphy (51); Niall O'Donnell and Odhrán McFadden Ferry for C O'Donnell and Gallagher (54) Louth: Niall McDonnell; Daire Nally, Dermot Campbell, Donal McKenny; Emmet Carolan, Peter Craig, Craig Lennon; Tommy Durnin, Dara McDonnell; Conall McKeever, Ciaran Downey, Paul Matthews; Dan Corcoran, Sam Mulroy, Ryan Burns. Subs: Conor Grimes for Carolan (half-time), Seán Callaghan for Durnin (48), Ryan Walsh for Matthews (51), Kieran McArdle for Lennon (53), Ciaran Byrne for R Burns (56)
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
All-Ireland draw on Monday with Armagh to face Kerry
The draw for the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland SFC will take place live on Monday morning on RTÉ Radio 1, with one tie already decided as holders Armagh will face Kerry. The draw will be held during the 8:35am sport bulletin on Morning Ireland, with a live feed also available on the RTÉ News channel and RTÉ Player. The four winners from the preliminary quarter-finals will be drawn against the winners of the four round-robin groups. As before in the competition, redraws will be held to prevent the avoidance of repeat provincial final pairings and, where possible, repeat pairings from round 1. Teams will be split into two pots with Armagh, Monaghan, Tyrone and Meath playing against one of Dublin, Galway, Donegal or Kerry. The fixtures that will not be allowed to be repeated are Armagh v Dublin/Galway/Donegal, Tyrone v Donegal and Meath v Kerry. As the Orchard County have three possible repeat pairings, they are automatically matched with the Kingdom. The remaining draw will be presided over by GAA president Jarlath Burns and Feargal McGill, GAA Director of Player, Club and Games Administration and the quarter-finals will take place in Croke Park on the weekend of 28 and 29 June. The All-Ireland Hurling Championship semi-finals have been confirmed. Cork will face Dublin on Saturday 5 July at 5pm in Croke Park.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Relentless Down give Galway huge test but experience sees Pádraic Joyce's contenders through
All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final: Down 3-21 Galway 2-26 Another Sunday, another stone-cold thriller. Down gave Galway their bellyful it here, chasing Padraic Joyce's side manfully and relentlessly right to the very last drop. They came up short, mostly because they'll be playing Division 3 football next year while Galway are a top table side and have been for a while. On the evidence of this summer, it won't be too long before Down grab themselves a seat too. Conor Laverty's team are a world removed from where they were when he took over in late 2002. Back then, they hadn't won a game for a year and the traffic at the dressingroom door was flowing out rather than in. A world where they would run a credible All-Ireland contender like Galway to two points must have seemed beyond fanciful back then. 'I wasn't coming here hoping that Down would play well,' Laverty said afterwards. 'I came here with a massive belief that these players could perform at this level and that this is the standard we want to be playing at. But what we did talk to the players about was, do you want to be coming here to Páirc Esler to be playing a preliminary quarter-final in front of 14,000 people? 'Or would you rather be playing ... I came to a league match here against Clare one year and there wasn't 150 people at it. Or Tailteann Cup games where there were only a couple of hundred people there. This is where players want to be. We would have felt that in games this year, it's been experience that has held us back slightly in key moments.' READ MORE Down's Pierce Laverty in action against Galway's John Maher. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho Ultimately, that was probably Galway's thumb on the scale here. When the stadium was bubbling midway through the second half as Down dominated midfield, Joyce was able to bring Peter Cooke in off the bench. Cooke has been a here-again-gone-again presence for Galway down the years but he made his debut in 2016 so he knows the road. He was able to steer Galway home. Cooke caught a world of ball, scored a point and laid on the sealing goal for Tomo Culhane. All of which meant that brave and all as Down had been, the home side were never able to cut the margin below two points. 'We were battle-hardened before today but we're battle-hardened again,' was Joyce's take on it all. And so they were. Though Cooke saw them through the endgame, Galway were in position thanks in the main to a couple of effervescent displays from Matthew Thompson and Shane Walsh. Thompson in particular looks like a nailed-on Young Footballer of the Year, pulling the strings out the pitch year like someone with a decade under his belt rather than just a few months. Walsh popped up with 1-7 in the first half, including three two-pointers and a goal that oozed class. In the space of two minutes just before half-time, he landed a two-pointer from play, laid on a goal for Rob Finnerty, skinned Ceilum Doherty for a one-pointer, then caught the kickout and drove on to draw a foul outside the arc, which he duly converted. Seán Fitzgerald in action for Galway. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho He got injured in the process, landing on his shoulder, and barely had a kick after half-time before being taken off. 'He got a nasty injury,' Joyce said. 'He fell forward and the Down player followed through with the knee on the shoulder so he's in a bit of a bother there with the shoulder.' That burst just before half-time looked like it had put the game out of reach for Down. They went from being just a point behind in the 28th minute to going in at the break on the thick end of a 1-16 to 1-6 scoreline. Even though there was a stiff breeze blowing straight down the ground, it still looked fairly insurmountable for Laverty's side. But Down didn't take a backward step. They had a couple of two-pointers on the board within 69 seconds of the restart. Odhran Murdock was phenomenal, the 22-year-old Down captain running in 1-2 from midfield and pushing his side forward at every opportunity. Caolan Mooney rolled back the years off the bench, whistling through for back-to-back points to make it 1-20 to 1-18 with a quarter-hour to go. Galway were rocking now, their kickout in such peril that Joyce had replacement goalkeeper Connor Gleeson warming up a couple of times. But gradually they got a foothold around the middle again, with Cooke and Cian Darcy settling them. When Cooke put Culhane away in the 65th minute, the Galway sub iced the game. It was tough on Down goalkeeper Ronan Burns who had made a string of brilliant saves but wasn't quite up to this one. Down's day in microcosm. They gave Galway a huge test here. Expect it to stand to both of them. DOWN: R Burns; P McCarthy, P Fegan, C Doherty (0-0-1); R Magill (1-0-0), P Laverty, M Rooney (0-1-0); D Guinness (0-2-0), R McEvoy (0-1-0); D Magill (0-0-2), O Murdock (1-0-2), A Crimmins (0-0-1, 1f); J Guinness (0-0-1), P Havern (0-0-2, 2f), J McGeough (1-0-1). Subs: E Branagan (0-0-1) for McCarthy (21-26 mins, blood); Branagan for McCarthy (h-t); C Mooney (0-0-2) for McGeough (55); O Savage for Doherty (57); C McCrickard for Crimmins (62); F Murdock for Rooney (66). GALWAY: C Flaherty; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, L Silke; D McHugh, S Kelly, C Hernon; P Conroy, J Maher; C Darcy (0-0-1), M Tierney (0-0-2), C McDaid (0-0-2); R Finnerty (0-1-4, 1f), S Walsh (1-3-1, 2tpf), M Thompson (0-1-3). Subs: P Cooke (0-0-1) for Conroy (48 mins); D O'Flaherty (0-0-2) for Hernon (57); J Heaney for McDaid (61-69, temp); T Culhane (1-0-0) for Walsh (62); J Daly for Maher (67). Referee: D O'Mahoney (Tipperary).
