Carlow overcome Westmeath in Joe McDonagh Cup thriller while Down secure relegation lifeline vs Kerry
CARLOW will travel to Laois next weekend with their fate in their own hands in the Joe McDonagh Cup after overcoming WESTMEATH 7-23 to 4-22 in Mullingar yesterday.
The Barrowsiders had stormed into the break with an 18-point lead and would go on to stretch their advantage with another Marty Kavanagh goal in the first minute of the second half.
The Lake County took over in the rest of the third quarter, outscoring the visitors by 2-13 to 0-3 before James Doyle and Fiachra Fitzpatrick added green flags to see out the win, with Kavanagh hitting 3-12.
Meanwhile, in Ballycran, DOWN secured themselves a lifeline in their battle against the drop with a 2-26 to 2-19 victory over KERRY.
And DERRY laid down a marker in the Christy Ring Cup after they swept WICKLOW aside 2-30 to 1-13 at Celtic Park.
The emphatic win ensured top spot in the table for the Oak Leafers, and a Croke Park showdown against LONDON.
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The Londoners booked their place in the final with a 4-20 to 1-13 win over already-relegated TYRONE at McGovern Park in Ruislip, with Conor O'Carroll — who hit 2-3 — and Sean Glynn, with 1-4, leading the scoring.
In Trim, DONEGAL and MEATH played out a dead rubber with Mickey McCann's men edging past the Royal County 0-28 to 3-14.
In the Nickey Rackard Cup, FERMANAGH got their first point of the season with a 1-22 to 3-16 draw against MAYO, who have already booked their place in the final.
The men in green and red will meet ROSCOMMON in the decider after goals from Brendan Mulry and Seán Canning saw the Rossies come from behind to beat LOUTH 4-17 to 0-20.
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Had the Wee County held on, it would have been ARMAGH in the June 1 final, thanks to the Orchard's 0-23 to 3-13 win over SLIGO in Tubercurry.
In the Lory Meaghar Cup, finalists CAVAN rested players in their 2-15 to 1-10 loss to LEITRIM at Breffni Park, LANCASHIRE beat WARWICKSHIRE 0-26 to 4-13 in Birmingham, and MONAGHAN drew 2-20 to 2-20 with LONGFORD in Inniskeen to secure a semi-final clash against NEW YORK next Saturday.
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Fiachra Fitzpatrick and Donagh Murphy of Carlow during a March Allianz Hurling League Division 1B match
Dublin GAA legends reunite in Germany after taking part in gruelling sporting phenomenon
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Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Children's books review: Sports rivalries, journey of self discovery, and a haunting Wolfling
Féile by Emma Larkin (O'Brien Press, €9.99) Féile is in full swing and for the first time, the Power twins Aoife and Aidan are playing on different football teams. Their twin telepathy was previously at the heart of the Droichead Beag team but at U14 level, the siblings have had to part company — Aoife joining new combined LGFA side Droichead/Gorman. With the Droichead side depleted, the arrival in the village of talented all-rounder Dayo — whose parents came to Ireland from Nigeria — is a welcome boost for Aidan and his team-mates. His twin, meanwhile, is appointed captain of Droichead/Gorman ladies but must contend with sulky team-mate Ellie, who appears unwilling to abandon the fierce rivalry between her own Gorman team and Droichead — despite now playing on the same side. Both boys' and girls' sides win their county finals and are heading for the National Féile, with the chance to meet the country's top teams, or perhaps those from London or New York. Droichead have not reached the Féile finals since the twins' estranged uncle Eamon captained the side, before leaving for America upon finishing his Leaving Certificate. That was nearly 20 years ago and Eamon has not returned, initially due to his undocumented status, and latterly having settled and married, with his children never having met their family back in Ireland. Family matters are pushed to the back of the twins' minds however, as the end of June approaches and Droichead's history-making Féile double bid puts both boys' and girls' teams in the spotlight. As in her two previous Twin Power titles, Cork native Emma Larkin — herself a GAA coach — plays her part in levelling the playing field for girls in sporting fiction. Here, in addition to affording the football achievements of Aidan and Aoife equal status, she references the GAA's One Club model as both teams travel together to Féile on one bus and receive parity of treatment. Larkin, whose writing is inspired by her maternal grandmother Maureen Cashman, a member of Cork's All-Ireland Camogie Championship treble-winning team of 1939-1941, adds a nice touch by giving the Power twins' Nana a footballing back-story. A University College Cork and Coláiste Muire Crosshaven past student now living in Kerry, Larkin threads a tale of family intrigue through the sporting action — capturing the essence of grassroots GAA and parochial rivalries in a story perfectly pitched for both boys and girls aged nine to teens. The Brightest Star by Meg Grehan (Little Island, €10.99) The move from primary to secondary school is a milestone in anyone's life, the anticipation and excitement often being accompanied by uncertainty at what lies ahead. With the first glimpse of impending adulthood coming into view and the prospect of forming new friendships, it is a time both of change and reflection, where self-identity can come under scrutiny. For Stevie, co-narrator of Donegal-based Meg Grehan's fifth verse novel, there are challenges ahead and anxieties to be managed, but one thing she is certain of is how she feels about Chloe. If maths lessons leave her in a state of deep confusion, Stevie knows she loves the 'fizzy' feeling she gets when she's with Chloe, as their relationship begins to develop from childhood friendship to something more. When they join the afterschool LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Club, the pair find a place where they belong and feel comfortable, but there is still something troubling Stevie. Their other close friend, Andrew, is becoming distant and the ties that bound the trio together at national school look set to unravel. While Chloe and Stevie find liberation at the Rainbow Club, Andrew is hesitant about attending, even as an ally. How should he introduce himself to club members, for a start, when he hasn't yet figured out who he is? Stevie, in the end, sums it up best, and if she cannot provide Andrew with answers, she can at least reassure him that there is no need for him to provide them either. 'You don't need to know anything. We're thirteen. We don't need to be sure of anything. We just need to feel,' she says. 'I'm still figuring out what it all means.' Though Andrew is the second narrator in this follow-up to The Deepest Breath, his is a quieter, subsidiary voice, eclipsed by Stevie's internal monologues and reflective of his uncertainty in his sexuality — contrasting with her growing confidence in her relationship with Chloe. Their different paths towards discovery represent one of the chief strengths of this warm embrace of a novel which 'isn't about knowing everything, or understanding everything. Even yourself. It's about friendship. It's about having a safe space to figure it all out'. The Nightmare Club: The Wolfling's Bite by Annie Graves/Oisín McGann, illustrated by Glenn McElhinney (Little Island, €10.15) Annie Graves is a 12-year-old orphan who lives in Glasnevin with her pet toad Much Misunderstood and black kitten Hugh Shalby Nameless. She is the host of The Nightmare Club, tellers of spooky stories for the kind of sleepovers that rarely involve sleep. The tale of young Jessie and her seemingly cuddly toy Wolfling is enough to give any child nightmares, even if she has given her furry friend the innocuous name, 'Twinkle'. The Wolfling is a robotic learning toy, designed to do tricks and copy words spoken by the child. However, when Jessie's older brother Jonah searches online, he finds rumours suggesting Wolflings can move without being switched on and have been known to bite their owners. 'Don't let a Wolfling smell its owner's blood,' advises one internet source. 'Don't let it anywhere near meat after sunset', counsels another. If that sounds like something straight out of a Gremlins movie, it also seems unlikely to Jonah — who dismisses the words of internet wisdom… until one night he hears a shriek. Jessie has awoken from her pink princess bed, still clutching her beloved Twinkle, and holding her hand over her nose as blood seeps through her fingers. Roger, one of Jessie's two pet rabbits, is deemed the culprit and swiftly banished. Bugs, the remaining bunny, is plainly petrified of something. Now, big brothers can be quite perceptive about little sisters, and Jonah has a hunch that Jessie might possibly have been picking her nose prior to the savage attack. Picking it until she made it bleed. Could his sister's nose represent 'meat' to a Wolfling? Jessie and Jonah are about to find out as this short story, part of a Nightmare Club series, takes a surprisingly gruesome turn, considering its six-plus age guide. Though its title gives a clue so unsubtle as to negate much of the plot's suspense, the slimness of this book and its copious illustrations should not be mistaken for indications of its suitability for beginner readers.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Dean Rock: Jim McGuinness wants people to think it's Donegal against the world
It felt like Jim McGuinness had ripped some pages from the Alex Ferguson playbook last Sunday - the chapter on 'us against the world'. The Donegal manager was apparently frustrated by the scheduling of Dr Hyde Park to host his team's All-Ireland round-robin match against Mayo . His remarks to that effect caused something of a dispute between Donegal and the GAA's Central Competitions Control Committee . But sweep away that thin veneer and maybe it was more about engineering a sense of Donegal against the world. Or the world against Donegal. Take your pick. It was about galvanising the squad, galvanising the county. It was more about what's to come rather than what has already taken place. READ MORE McGuinness doesn't strike me as somebody who expresses such sentiments without having first walked through the consequences in his head. It's all part of a plan and a strategy. McGuinness remarked: 'You're 38 minutes from Mayo's training ground. We're 3½ hours from Inishowen. It's not fair. If I don't say it, who's going to say it?' Having travel distances at hand showed this was a message McGuinness had pre-cooked and was keen to express. It wasn't really about the venue. It was about creating a siege mentality. Additionally, it was used as a deflection tactic because Donegal's level of performance probably wasn't where he would have wanted it to be last Sunday. The Mayo match rounded off a slightly disappointing group stage for Donegal. They never really reproduced the levels they showed in the Ulster final. Donegal players form a huddle before last Sunday's match against Mayo. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Donegal would have targeted finishing top of their group, so the last few weeks haven't panned out as McGuinness and his management team would have liked. The preliminary quarter-final is a game they could have done without. So, it was an opportune time to rally the county behind a cause, stir up a 'them versus us' mentality. Ultimately, it creates a fuss around an issue that is not going to have any material impact on whether Donegal win the All-Ireland or not. Should they beat Louth in Ballybofey on Sunday, then Donegal will play the rest of their championship games at Croke Park. Moaning about a venue at this stage is incidental. However, it does allow the Donegal squad and their supporters to unite behind a perceived sense of unfairness and use it as a motivational tool for the weeks ahead. In that regard, McGuinness had nothing to lose by shaking a few trees in his post-match interview last Sunday. At this stage of the championship, teams will use whatever they can to gain an edge. If you should be beating a team by 20 points and you don't beat them by 20 points, then that's probably a sign of complacency or a lack of humility For years, it was thrown at Dublin about playing all our championship games in Croke Park. When we were asked about it, the message from the players and management was consistent – we are happy to play anywhere; we don't decide on venues. And we were happy to play outside of Croke Park. That wasn't just a throwaway comment. Looking back now, some of my fondest memories were going to play down the country. Those away trips were great for team-bonding and encouraging camaraderie. I would have liked to play in more of the grounds around the country. Donegal manager Jim McGuinness looks on from the sideline during last weekend's match against Mayo, which his team won by a point. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho But we were aware of the narrative out there around us playing in Croke Park. When our success reached a certain level during that era, everybody outside of Dublin wanted us to be beaten, which is understandable. We certainly used that as a motivating factor. It wasn't a central tenet of our preparations, but I think we kind of fed off that as a group. We got a huge amount of confidence during that period because the group was so tight-knit. The dressingroom became a sacred place – when we were in there, it felt like it was us against everybody else, and that worked for us. It wasn't about going out to prove people wrong – it was more about showing the opposition absolute respect. You do that by beating them by as much as possible. If you should be beating a team by 20 points and you don't beat them by 20 points, then that's probably a sign of complacency or a lack of humility because you are not doing what you should be doing. And I think there might have been an element of that in the comments by McGuinness last week. Donegal need to rediscover their form from earlier in the championship, because in the defeat to Tyrone and for parts of last week's win over Mayo, they weren't doing what they should have been doing in terms of putting the opposition away. Instead, that result hung in the balance right until the last kick of the ball. Donegal's Ciarán Moore celebrates scoring the late winning point against Mayo. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Given how the second half panned out, Donegal could quite easily have ended up losing and found themselves finishing third in the group and now facing the prospect of a trip to Killarney this weekend. So, while McGuinness will be pleased by the character and ruthlessness they showed to win the game, it wasn't as convincing a victory for Donegal as they probably would have liked. Instead, it was another draining 70 minutes for a team that has played more games than most in this year's championship. Sunday's preliminary quarter-final will be Donegal's eighth outing having already played Derry, Monaghan, Down, Armagh, Tyrone, Cavan and Mayo. Only Meath have played as many matches as Donegal – and the Royals have avoided the prelims. So, perhaps McGuinness just felt now was the right time to spark a little fire. You cannot keep the 'us against the world' psychology going for six months but it's something that can be helpful in a shorter window. There are just five weeks until the All-Ireland final, so McGuinness probably reasoned that leaning into it now would pull the group nice and tight for the journey ahead. There is probably a bit of pressure on the group as well because the expectation levels have increased – Donegal are fancied by many to win the All-Ireland. Patrick McBrearty and Michael Murphy celebrate in the dressingroom after Donegal beat Armagh in the Ulster SFC final in May. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho McGuinness delivered Sam Maguire in year two during his first term in charge and so parallels will be drawn between 2012 and 2025. One key difference is that for this group, 2025 looks like their best shot at winning the All-Ireland. Donegal made it back to an All-Ireland final two years after the 2012 triumph, but I wouldn't be as convinced this group will still be as competitive two seasons from now as they currently are. Michael Murphy, for one, is unlikely to be still togging out for the county. Will McGuinness still be there? Key players like Patrick McBrearty and Ryan McHugh have spent well over a decade in the trenches. I think it's pretty much now for this Donegal team. The players know this team's window for success will not be open forever. That all adds to the pressure. And with the team not performing as well as they should, maybe that's why this 'us against them' messaging emerged from the Donegal camp last weekend. Because, let's be honest, Donegal are not exactly the most loathed team in the country. Far from it, I would have thought. They are expected to beat Louth on Sunday and I believe that is exactly what will happen, but Ger Brennan's Leinster champions have nothing to lose and I'd expect them to bring a decent performance. Donegal's Oisín Gallen signs autographs after the game against Cavan at the start of June. Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan/Inpho Beyond that, Donegal will need more from the likes of McBrearty and Oisín Gallen in supporting Michael Murphy up top. Gallen, for me, is the key. He was exceptional last year, won an All Star and brought that real x-factor quality to his play, but I don't think he has got back to those high standards this season. All it takes for a player of his ability to find his mojo again is one good game. If he can deliver a big performance against Louth, then Donegal will travel to Croke Park as a much more formidable outfit. Either way, the Ulster champions are likely to be among the last eight when the quarter-finals take centre stage next weekend. Because the racket last Sunday about venues wasn't really about Dr Hyde Park, it was about benefiting Donegal when they get to Croke Park.
Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
GAA fans furious ahead of bumper weekend of All-Ireland action
As another bumper weekend of GAA action approaches, fans have been taking to social media to voice their anger over which games are being televised on free-to-air TV and which are being shown on GAA+. RTE will televise the two All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship quarter-finals of Dublin v Limerick and Galway v Tipperary on Saturday. The broadcaster will also show the Tailteann Cup semi-finals as Wicklow face Limerick and Kildare take on Fermanagh on Sunday. However, it is the decision to show the four All-Ireland Senior Football Championship preliminary quarter-finals on GAA+ that is angering supporters ahead of the weekend, with three of the top four in the outright Championship betting in action. Kerry host Cavan at Fitzgerald Stadium on Saturday afternoon before the evening meeting of Dublin and Cork at Croke Park. Then on Sunday, Down host Galway in Newry before the clash of Donegal and Louth in Ballybofey. "Dublin v Cork, football's biggest game of the weekend, is on a subscription channel online Sat. It's on at the same time as the biggest hurling game of the weekend on RTE. They couldn't get less people to watch the biggest football game of the weekend if they tried," stated one fan. Another asked: "Where are the important gaelic football matches ,also known as the Preliminary Quarter Finals been Televised, Not on free to Air?" Someone else said: "Taking all the big games this weekend, @rte and you wonder why numbers are declining . Absolute disgrace especially when your buffing the weekend schedule with re runs of west side story & all creatures great and small." "An absolute disgrace by the GAA to put the Dublin vs. Cork match on GAA+," read another comment. LIVE GAA ON TV AND STREAMING THIS WEEKEND Saturday June 21 All-Ireland SFC Preliminary Quarter-Finals Kerry v Cavan, Fitzgerald Stadium, 3.30pm, GAA+Dublin v Cork, Croke Park, 6.15pm, GAA+ All-Ireland SHC Quarter-Finals Limerick v Dublin, Croke Park, 4pm, RTEGalway v Tipperary, TUS Gaelic Grounds, 6.15pm, RTE Sunday June 22 All-Ireland SFC Preliminary Quarter-FinalsDonegal v Louth, Ballybofey, 4pm, GAA+Down v Galway, Pairc Esler, 1.45pm, GAA+ Tailteann Cup Semi-Finals Limerick v Wicklow, Croke Park, 2pm, RTEKildare v Fermanagh, Croke Park, 4pm, RTE
