Indo GAA podcast: He slept in a bath before an All-Ireland semi-final? John Mullane and Eddie Brennan
There's also memories of the things that happen in the lead-up to games, including sleeping in baths.
As for the Championship, the lads talk about how the race for Liam MacCarthy is lining up, and ask if the preliminary quarter-finals are fit for purpose.
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The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
I'm Irish skater hoping to qualify for my first Winter Olympics – my previous bid led to me learning whole new language
LIAM O'BRIEN'S mam and dad — from Cavan and Meath respectively — met at a GAA club in Australia. And that is just about the only conventional thing about the speed skater's sporting story. Advertisement 3 Liam O'Brien is targeting the 2026 Winter Olympics Credit: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile 3 He missed out on Beijing due to injury Credit: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile 3 Winter Olympic athletes, back row, from left, Sean McAnuff, Liam O'Brien, Cormac Comerford, with front row, from left, Elle Murphy, Elsa Desmond and Thomas Maloney Westgaard Credit: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile Many of us took up hobbies during Covid-19. O'Brien? Well, he learned Korean, as the only way of staying in the country to train in a bid to qualify for the He was bidding to emulate his sister Danielle who he had watched represent O'Brien explained: 'I moved to South Korea , in Seongnam just outside Seoul, and was stuck there during Covid, so I ended up going to Dankook University . Advertisement Read More on Winter Olympics 'I didn't choose it. When Covid hit, there were no visas and so my only way to secure a visa was through study and I decided to learn Korean. 'I wanted to train out of Korea and to qualify for the Beijing Olympics and that was my only option, to learn Korean and be there training. 'It's not the normal route, but yeah, I'm fluent in Korean now.' That, unsurprisingly, took time after being thrown in at the deep end. He recalled: 'That course was taught purely in Korean, and I hadn't actually learned the language up until that stage and was given 24 hours before I had to do my first exam. Advertisement Most read in Other Sports 'I knew how to sound things out, but I didn't know how to write them, so I spent 24 hours learning the alphabet and how to put them all together because it's different symbols where it forms one character. So that was an interesting afternoon.' He has since followed his coach Lee Kwang Soo to Tianjin outside Beijing but has ruled out trying to master another language. Meet snowboarding's Mia Brookes - the metal-loving record-breaking champ targeting Winter Olympics gold Making himself understood was not the only challenge he faced during a lockdown in a foreign country. He explained: 'I think everyone around the world was a bit isolated there with the quarantining and the masks and not being able to go outside a certain radius. Advertisement 'And you weren't actually able to buy masks. 'They had them on the shelves at first and they were all sold out and then they released that you could only buy five per week. 'You'd have to line up and buy them. But if there were none left, then there were no masks. 'Other places were giving them out, however you needed the Korean visa ID card and at that stage I hadn't gotten the card so there were a few months there where I was without masks. Advertisement 'My girlfriend at the time actually, her mother had bought some online, and she gave me a handful of them so I was using those.' 'There was an Under-16s Cricket World Cup, I think it was in Dubai at that time and I was thinking of coming across. But with skating and everything else, it just never worked out.' The hope was that all of those sacrifices and challenges would be rewarded with a spot at the Olympics but this particular chapter does not have a happy ending. He said: 'I was progressing really well. Unfortunately, nine weeks before the qualifiers for Beijing, I tore my ACL. 'So that was a big setback. I tried to keep myself entertained and not think about it at first. Advertisement 'I was given 12 weeks of no sport whatsoever, no walking, nothing. However, I was back on the ice within four weeks. 'And that was after being in a brace with my knee and not able to walk. I was unlucky. I missed out by one spot in the end. So there were 36 qualified for the 1500m and we placed 37th.' He is hoping for better luck this time around as he bids to book his spot for Milano Cortina but the route there is not straightforward. Although he prefers longer distances and Seán McAnuff, the other Irish skater competing at that level, favours shorter ones, they are competing for the one place and O'Brien is not sure what criteria will be applied if they post comparable results. But he remains undeterred, fuelled by wanting to follow in the grooves left by his sister, nine years his senior, as he first did as a toddler. Advertisement He recalled: 'She went to a birthday party at an ice rink and just loved skating and kept hassling mum wanting to go back. 'And so she started ice figure skating and someone said, 'Would you think about doing ice dance?' 'So she went into ice dance and when I was born, I was just born into an ice rink, so I started skating at the age of three, figure skating, and then slowly moved into speed skating. 'At the age of ten I gave up figure skating, it wasn't for me, so it was purely speed skating.' Advertisement PARTNER IN THRIVE When Liam was 15, he travelled to the Russian city and watched his sister and partner Gregory Merriman — who welcomed their first child Myla Grace last month — come 20th. He said: 'After watching her compete at the Olympics, it really drove me to want to become an Olympic athlete as well. 'It was only after that that I'd really seen the goal and that target there in short track speed skating as well and really went for it then.' It meant ditching other sports. Although he dabbled in He said: 'Growing up, I was always playing football or cricket . Advertisement 'I actually went to a school for cricket, a sports school there and I was playing great cricket at the same time. I was a wicketkeeper batsman. I tended to bat at the top of the order but I wasn't very good at working the ball around. 'There was an Under-16s Cricket World Cup , I think it was in Dubai at that time and I was thinking of coming across. But with skating and everything else, it just never worked out.' Initially, he represented Australia too but, as proud as his folks were of their daughter's achievements, he admitted his mother Mary takes particular pride that he now competes for his ancestral home. He said: 'She loves it. Mum's always joked about — I wouldn't say joked about it, she was quite serious — but she always wanted Danielle to represent Ireland as well. However, growing up in Australia, we never saw that connection — not the connection but there was never an association to start with when we were there.' Advertisement A meeting between his dad Seán and Karen O'Sullivan — chief executive of the Ice Skating Association of Ireland, established in 2007 — helped provide the pathway. He said: 'We've kept in contact ever since and when the opportunity came up to switch across to Ireland, I took that chance and Danielle and mum and dad were all very supportive and well, they loved it.' He is the only non-Chinese athlete in his training group and with McAnuff based out of Hungary , their paths rarely cross as they engage in a long-distance contest for an Olympic spot for which the rules are not entirely clear. O'Brien said: 'I've no idea. That's all to find out.' Advertisement
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Bradley admits leaders Rovers are keen on Masterson coup
Conor Masterson would be of interest to Shamrock Rovers if the former Liverpool centre-back was to become available. Masterson (26) was in Tallaght on Friday to watch the Hoops swell their lead at the top of the table to 11 points following a 4-1 mauling of Cork City. He's just completed his season at English League Two Gillingham but is out of contract next week and yet to agree to an extension. Previously, he featured in the Championship for Queen's Park Rangers and was once part of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool first-team squad. He famously joined the Reds from his local Lucan United club in 2014 on a record package of €525,000. The defender from Celbridge has options to move up a tier to League One but both Damien Duff and Stephen Kenny are interested in bringing him to Shelbourne and St Patrick's Athletic respectively ahead of their European campaigns. Masterson was a regular during Kenny's year in charge of Ireland's U21s. Hoops boss Stephen Bradley was asked about the presence of Masterson as a club guest and while he stressed no talks have occurred he'd be open to exploring the prospect. Bradley has an embarrassment of riches in terms of squad depth, able to rest Jack Byrne, Graham Burke, Matt Healy and Lee Grace ahead from Friday with the derby against Bohemians in mind. Retaining freshness is his priority, evidenced by his strike force bolstered by the capture of Irish League sensation John McGovern from Dungannon Swifts. He'll be available after the window opens on June 1, the same date Masterson can join alternative employers. 'Look, Conor is a good player and there's no getting away from that,' admitted Bradley. 'He has been that since he was 14 years of age. We all remember that and that hasn't changed. 'We want good players here. I don't know what his plans are, I don't know anything about them and that's being genuine. 'I'm hearing that teams have offered him deals, I don't know how true it is. All I know is we haven't spoken to him. But if it's something that he was coming home, we'd obviously be interested in good players.'
The 42
3 hours ago
- The 42
'For us, it's 68 years, so the people were allowed that' - Sam Mulroy loads up again
THE TROUBLE WITH Shangri-La, is eventually you have to go home and de-scale the kettle. While Sam Mulroy and the Louth team and management went bananas after bridging the 68-year gap back to their last Leinster title, it was fun and it was glorious. And for it to be Meath as the vanquished? Ah, stop! Too much! Too much! 'It was something that none of us, Louth or Meath, probably ever experienced as players. It was unbelievable. I think I was just saying to the few lads here today that like, I think All-Ireland final day has an awful lot of neutral people here,' says Mulroy now. 'Like, I'd be at All-Ireland final day, Louth are not involved, so whereas on Leister final day, it was Louth/Meath, and there were 60,000-plus people here shouting for either side. So yeah, it was noisy, it was electric, it was class.' But 13 days later, they went out in Newbridge against Monaghan and lost. However, they still had Down to come and felt good enough about themselves, right up to the point when they realised that their diesel was still a little dirty. They left themselves too much to do. Down deservedly won. Which left a final day out against Clare, who, let's face it, was their banker. The three point margin and flow of the game however, shows that it was far from comfortable. Bit of a hangover, then? 'Yeah, I think so,' admits Mulroy at the launch of the All-Ireland football series. 'I suppose winning Leinster has been the main goal over the last number of years for this group, so I suppose when you get there and you do it, maybe there is a case of coming down a little bit. 'There was obviously a lot of celebrating for a few days after, and you have to because, as I said, it took a long time to get there and you have to enjoy it and live in the moment for it. 'But yeah, our performances against Monaghan and then Down weren't up to scratch, and we knew then going into last weekend that, as you said, we have to win to stay in the Championship. Advertisement Sam Mulroy scores a penalty for Louth in the nip-and-tuck first half of the Leinster SFC final 📱 Updates - 📺 Watch - — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 11, 2025 'I don't know if we played better that way, but we were backs against the wall a little bit sometimes, so maybe it was the best thing for us. So yeah, I thought at times last week we were good, so hopefully coming back to some sort of form.' They have the unenviable task of an away day in Ballybofey – not quite the fortress now that Tyrone tore up Jim McGuinness' unbeaten record in Pairc MacCumhaill – but intimidating nonetheless. Before we get to that yet, let's stay in the warm bath of the Leinster final before it turns tepid. 'For us, it's 68 years, so the people were allowed that, it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for a lot of people, and hopefully it comes around, hopefully the gap's not as big the next time. But I suppose it's hard to get back on track, maybe, even just for people around the county and talking about it and not getting caught up in that as well. 'I think it was a short turnaround of our training on the Wednesday, obviously with a job to do and we knew we were going into a tough group. It was a case of maybe you didn't get to bask in it as much as you'd like, but we enjoyed the few days we did get.' Few deserved the few days quite like Mulroy. He had sent a series of shots wide earlier in the game, but stepped up with 1-7 in total and a critical two-point free towards the end. We're finding ourselves asking forwards about a lot of critical finishing scores in this brave new world of rules in 2025. How does Mulroy keep a clear head in those situations? After all, he is the championship's leading scorer with 4-34 from six games so far, and the top scorer in the round robin, with 3-20, despite losing two of those three games. 'Moments come and pass and it's trying to stay on track, not get too caught up in it, and by the time I took the last kick, I'd completely forgotten about the few before, the few I missed at the start of the second half. Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE 'I was actually only watching the clips back with the boys on the Wednesday of training that you're like, 'why did I take that shot?' Or 'what was I doing there?'' The next bit is really, really interesting. Read twice if necessary. 'You nearly forget about them, and I think that's an ability and a skill that you develop over the years of just not getting too high and not getting too low with your shots or your chances or whatever it is, because the game's so fast and there's no time. 'I suppose a younger Sam maybe would have dwelled on them and let it get to me and affect me, but I suppose now as I've grown as a player, I've definitely learned to just move on and forget about it. 'I probably expected myself to score one or two of them, and I snatched that one on the top of the arc. I was probably trying to force it a little bit. 'I know the shots I've taken, I think I can definitely score them, and then it's just a case of probably feeling the moment a little bit more, understanding when you need to take the shot or is there a better opportunity to just keep the ball.' The partying, the few sherbets, the music and craic and stories and yarns were priceless. But in time, that stuff fades. What remains is how the children of Louth were inspired by a group of men who have become instant heroes. Only at the start of this week, the former Louth great JP Rooney forwarded Mulroy a video. It was of Rooney's soon, previously a football agnostic who wasn't bothered either way, he would never have been out with a football on his own. Then his father took him to the Leinster final. 'It was very nice to see that yesterday, that you're inspiring the next generation of players to be involved in GAA and want to play for their club or their county,' Mulroy says. 'And then I suppose, maybe there was a glass ceiling in Louth that we could never get over the line and win anything, and I suppose getting that job done, and then obviously the 20s and the minors doing really, really well as well, you're just hoping that people coming through in Louth don't see that there's a ceiling on this thing, you can go as far as we like.' All of this seemed a long way off when Mickey Harte took over in the winter of 2020 and Louth were a division 4 team. It looked just slightly less unlikely when Harte left after the 2023 season, having left Louth as a division 2 side and having reached a Leinster final. The feeling was of a team that had emptied themselves in a few seasons under an All-Ireland winning coach, and gravity would soon ensue. 'When Mickey Harte left I kind of felt, no matter who comes in there, it's a case of next man up and we keep going on this journey, and Ger (Brennan) came in with this team, and we've done rightly,' deadpans Mulroy. Related Reads 'We back you no matter what' - Shane Walsh on backing of Galway team mates 'Just a special talent' - 20 years on from Galway's 'Terrible Twins' brilliance in All-Ireland final 'You are used to being on the road' - Shane O'Donnell makes light of Donegal controversy 'Yeah, look, I think the group is an experienced group. We learned a lot under Mickey and Gavin, but I think the group realised that we didn't want it to stop there, so, yeah, it's a case of just keeping it going no matter who comes in. It brings them to Donegal and a man Mulroy knows well. In 2020 and 2021, Jim McGuinness was in helping out with Mulroy's club, Naomh Mairtín, when they won their first and second Louth county titles. They've had a few brief meetings since, a few snatched words at Ballyshannon for a league meeting and after last year's All-Ireland quarter final defeat. It would be good to catch up, Mulroy says. But they have miles to go before all that. 'We're not going up to Ballybofey for the craic or to fulfill a fixture,' he states. 'We're in a prelim quarterfinal for the All-Ireland series and we played in a quarter-final here last year. so it's a case of let's try and go better again this year and try and progress as a team. As I said it won't be just to fulfill a fixture and just let Donegal go through into a quarter-final.' * Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
