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Irish Examiner
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
We took the risk not to bring on O'Callaghan, admits Farrell
Dessie Farrell revealed Dublin took a gamble by not bringing captain Con O'Callaghan off the bench for the closing stages of their All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final win over Cork. Farrell and his management team had debated whether to introduce the Cuala man when the fat was in the fire but ultimately chose not to risk him because of his ongoing hamstring injury. O'Callaghan had been named to start for Dublin but was replaced by Lorcan O'Dell before throw-in and Farrell said: 'We took the decision not to bring him on there. 'We sort of run the gauntlet on it a little bit for the last 10 minutes or so. Thankfully, that decision worked out, and we gave him an extra seven days to recover, and he should be good for the next day.' Read More John Cleary stays tight-lipped on future as Cork manager He continued: 'That was the plan. It's not to say that we knew this wouldn't be a tight affair, but we were just going to hope that we had enough. There were conversations with the coaches with a couple of minutes to go. We just decided to hold on. If it was a little bit tighter, I think you would have seen him come in for sure, yeah.' All the same, Farrell gave credit to Cork for the challenge they presented his side. 'They're a really big, strong physical team. Inside forward line, very, very dangerous. Well-conditioned, well coached so we knew what we were stepping into. 'I'm not sure everyone else may have around the country or that, but we knew how difficult this game was going to be. I'm just delighted to be out the other side of it in the hat on Monday morning.' Farrell wasn't happy with his team's display, all the same. 'I think overall, the best way to describe it is us playing in fits and starts. We struggled to get the consistency across the whole performance. It's never going to be plain sailing, an opposition is always going to get a purple patch, and it's how you can contain them in that period. 'We struggled to be clinical at times, and there were opportunities maybe to put a little bit of distance between ourselves and Cork at different stages. We didn't do that, we didn't take those opportunities, so it was always going to be a dogfight to the very end.'
Irish Daily Mirror
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Dessie Farrell on Con O'Callaghan absence and his quarter-final chances
Dessie Farrell decided to 'run the gauntlet' by not calling on Con O'Callaghan as Dublin held off Cork to reach the All-Ireland quarter-final. O'Callaghan was replaced in the team by Lorcan O'Dell and though Dublin were never comfortable in a 1-19 to 1-16 victory over John Cleary's side, the captain was held in reserve throughout, with Farrell effectively admitting that it was with next weekend's quarter-final in mind. The Cuala man picked up a hamstring injury in the win over Galway last month and sat out the loss to Armagh before returning for the crucial win over Derry last weekend. Farrell explained: 'We took the decision not to bring him on there. We sort of run the gauntlet on it a little bit for the last 10 minutes or so. 'Thankfully, that decision worked out, and we gave him an extra seven days to recover, and he should be good for the next day.' The Dublin boss said that if his side were trailing coming down the stretch, he would have called on his talisman. 'Yeah, that was the plan. It's not to say that we knew this wouldn't be a tight affair, but we were just going to hope that we had enough. 'There were conversations with the coaches with a couple of minutes to go. We just decided to hold on. If it was a little bit tighter, I think you would have seen him come in for sure, yeah.' Dublin will play one of Meath, Monaghan or Tyrone in the last eight and Farrell conceded that the showing here 'wasn't a classic performance by any stretch'. He added: 'But it was one where we needed to show a bit of character and dig deep, and thankfully the lads did that.' 'I won't say anything at the moment, my term is up now, I've been four years in it, and as anyone will know it's tough going, but look, we'll see during the week, or we'll talk to the relevant parties or whatever, but look, at this stage now, my term is up, so we'll see what the future holds going forward.' Meanwhile, Cork boss Cleary said that he was 'gutted' at the outcome having bossed the game for long periods, particularly in the first half, while he was frustrated at the performance of referee Seán Hurson. He said: 'I don't like criticising referees, but some of them (decisions) were three feet from me and I could not understand it. And then when it happened the other way, Dublin seemed to get them. 'It was one off the ball then, and we were looking down the first half, the exact same thing was happening, and we didn't get any of them. So we'd be disappointed about that, but we're out of the Championship now, bitterly disappointed at this stage, and the year is over.' Cleary, who took the job on an interim basis in 2022 before being handed a three-year term, was reluctant to speak on his future.
RTÉ News
18 hours ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Dublin eventually shake off stubborn Cork to advance to last eight
No Con O'Callaghan? No problem for Dublin who finished strongly at Croke Park to see off Cork and secure their All-Ireland SFC quarter-final spot. Captain O'Callaghan was named to play before being withdrawn before throw-in, stripping the 2023 champions of their key attacker. It didn't cost them on this occasion though with Seán Bugler and Cormac Costello sharing 10 points evenly between them, Bugler kicking the only two-pointer of the entire game. Paddy Small also stepped up for Dublin in attack and struck four points in front of 36,546. Brian Howard's goal in the 45th minute was a hugely important score too while John Small had a strong game at the centre of Dublin's defence. Dublin have yet to learn their quarter-final opposition and will feel they still have some improving to do. O'Callaghan initially picked up an apparent hamstring injury in the win over Galway and didn't feature at all in the subsequent Croke Park loss to Armagh. Word filtered around Croke Park a couple of hours beforehand that he wouldn't play and, sure enough, the Cuala man was withdrawn despite having played against Derry last week. Lorcan O'Dell is a quality forward and stepped in but losing their talisman was a huge blow. It wasn't initially apparent, not in attacking terms at least, as Dublin pointed after just 33 seconds, through Paddy Small, and struck the game's first four points. But just as it looked like they might pull significantly clear and put up a big score, they suddenly found themselves overwhelmed and only added another three points in the first half. They didn't score at all between the fifth minute, when Bugler pointed, and the 17th minute. In that period, Cork registered 1-03, 1-01 of which came from Chris Óg Jones who stuck his goal away in the 12th minute and finished with 1-04 overall. A sideline was played to Ian Maguire who picked out Jones and the corner-forward finished well for his goal, driving the ball low and across Stephen Cluxton to his far corner. It put Cork into a lead that they held for the rest of the first half, reaching the interval with a deserved 1-08 to 0-09 advantage. Brian Hurley nailed back-to-back points for Cork during their dominance and goalkeeper Micheál Aodh Martin powered over a 45 after a Jones shot at Cluxton was parried behind. But a two-pointer for Dublin moments before the break, from Bugler, gave them vital momentum. They were better after the break too, tying the game up in the 41st minute at 0-12 to 1-09 before Howard spun away from Seán McDonnell and planted the ball in the top corner of the Cork net. It was a cracking finish though it didn't kick-start Dublin as fans behind the goals on the Hill 16 terrace presumed it would. In fact, Cork grabbed the next three points to level it up again at 1-12 apiece, Colm O'Callaghan, Jones and Mark Cronin doing the needful. Then Sean Walsh made it four Cork points in a row to nudge them ahead. Cork manager John Cleary booted the ball away soon after, after it had crossed the sideline, and the ball was brought up for a two-point free attempt but Costello couldn't convert. That was a let off but Dublin kept the pressure on in the closing quarter and eventually pulled decisively clear. It wasn't Dublin at their free-flowing best but they brought their big-game experience to the surface in the final 10 minute or so. From the 59th minute onwards, Dublin outscored Cork 0-04 to 0-01 with two of those scores coming from the boot of Costello. Dublin: Stephen Cluxton; Eoin Murchan, Seán MacMahon, David Byrne; Brian Howard (1-00), John Small (0-01), Lee Gannon (0-01); Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne, Ciarán Kilkenny (0-01); Killian McGinnis, Niall Scully (0-01), Seán Bugler (0-05, 1tp); Paddy Small (0-04), Lorcan O'Dell, Cormac Costello (0-05, 0-02f). Subs: Cian Murphy for O'Dell (45), Luke Breathnach (0-01) for McGinnis (57), Tom Lahiff for Gannon (59), Nathan Doran for Scully (68). Cork: Micheál Aodh Martin (0-01, 0-01 45); Daniel O'Mahony, Maurice Shanley, Neil Lordan; Brian O'Driscoll, Seán Brady, Matty Taylor; Ian Maguire (0-01), Colm O'Callaghan (0-02); Paul Walsh, Seán Walsh (0-01), Seán McDonnell; Brian Hurley (0-02), Mark Cronin (0-04, 0-02f), Chris Og Jones (1-04). Subs: Eoghan McSweeney for Paul Walsh (48), Conor Cahalane for McDonnell (49-58, blood), Cathail O'Mahony (0-01) for Hurley (55), Sean Powter for Taylor (58), Luke Fahy for Lordan (63).
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Fitzmaurice: Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne to the fore in Dublin resurgence
Dublin may not have won Leinster, or even their All-Ireland series group, but they remain a serious proposition. That's the view of former Kerry All-Ireland winning player and manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice, who believes a rare appearance in the preliminary quarter-final stage – against Cork on Saturday evening - will suit Dessie Farrell after getting more of his players back into the fold in recent weeks. The Dubs snuck out of Newry with victory on Saturday evening, coming out on top against Derry in a thrilling encounter. Dublin's bid for a 15th consecutive provincial crown came unstuck against Meath, while their defeat to All-Ireland champions Armagh in Croke Park was seen by many as further proof of the new pecking order. Victory in Salthill, plus the gritty win against Derry last time out will offer hope to Dublin supporters that despite an inconsistent 2025, there is still plenty of hope with just a dozen sides remaining in the hunt for Sam Maguire. Captain Con O'Callaghan returned in style against the Oak Leaf county, while Eoin Murchan was part of a Dublin panel for the first time since January. With the Small brothers – both absent earlier in the season – fully back in action, it means that only Colm Basquel is an injury concern for the visit of the Rebels to Croke Park. "You can't ever rule Dublin out," Fitzmaurice told the RTÉ GAA podcast. "We know they are not the team they were. Outside of maybe Armagh, who are continuing to perform to a really high level, every other team is having little blips. "Dublin are exactly where they want to be. Normally they would go the straight route, but having the extra game this year, getting those players back, it is probably good for them." "They're in great shape. Even as good as they were the last night (against Derry), there is more in them." O'Callaghan's return, Ciarán Kilkenny's tour de force and the collective shooting accuracy (seven wides was a much better return than the 17 hit against Armagh) were some of the highlights against Derry, but Fitzmaurice singled out the performance of Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne as another reason for optimism. The departure of James McCarthy and Brian Fenton from the engine room has left a sizeable void, with a number of combinations given the chance to impress over league and championship. Ó Cofaigh Byrne and Killian McGinnis were handed the number eight and nine jerseys respectively on Saturday and played well enough to suggest they could be the immediate future of Dublin's midfield, the former pushing for player of the match, ably assisted by McGinnis who notched 0-03 in an industrious display. Fitzmaurice believes the Cuala powerhouse is coming good at the right time for the men in blue. "His performance in the middle of the field was huge for them," he said. "Against Armagh – and credit to them (Armagh) they are always so well drilled – they spoiled him. Cluxton went for him a good few times in that game, but Ben Crealey was able to break the ball away from him and Armagh were picking up the breaks whereas in Newry the last night, they were winning the ball, either him indirectly or off him."
RTÉ News
01-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne's aerial dominance key to Dublin's cause
Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne has claimed primary possession under half of the kickouts he has contested so far in the 2025 championship. For the first time in a decade Dublin are without the retired Brian Fenton in the number eight jersey, giving the towering Cuala man the chance to step up as the county's new midfield general. Ahead of this afternoon's clash with reigning All-Ireland champions Armagh, Ó Cofaigh Byrne has cleanly caught 30 per cent of the kickouts he has contested. From 26 kickouts in three championship matches he has caught eight and won another five following a juggle, or by knocking the ball down to himself. On top of that he's also claimed half of the six throw balls he has been in for at the start of each half across Dublin's win over Wicklow, shock defeat to Meath and most recently in the victory in Galway. So all in all, so far in his first season as a Dublin regular starter (he made only two short substitute appearances last summer) the former UCD student has won primary possession under exactly 50% of his total aerial contests. Not once has his opposing player beaten him and claimed possession, with the other 50 per cent of the duels breaking away. A Dublin team-mate has won the subsequent breaking ball on five occasions with the opposition team coming away with possession the remaining eight times. Therein lies the 25 year-old's greatest strength, to little surprise the 6ft 6in midfielder is a powerhouse under a high ball, and while it's unfair for any player to be compared to the incredible all rounder that was Fenton, both players arrived into the Dublin team at the optimal time. Before this year's rule changes, efficiency, control, and decision making had become the key requirements for a footballer over the past 10 years. Teams prioritised maintaining possession and creating high percentage opportunities with minimal risk. Fenton had 29 possessions from midfield in his last All-Ireland final in 2023 and he was never turned over. A machine to cover ground and get on the ball, he was consistently comfortable and composed, more often than not picking the right pass or option. Following the rule changes around kickouts (needing to go beyond the two-point arc) introduced this season, the percentage of contested restarts in the provincial championships rose from 26 per cent in 2024 to 63%. While in Leinster that figure was up to 70% this year. Before Fenton there was Michael Darragh MacAuley and prior to him Ciaran Whelan, while throughout the six-in-a-row winning seasons Dublin never lost sight of the importance of Denis Bastick and the presence and physicality he brought to their midfield. So while Dublin have always appreciated the need for primary ball winners and leaders in the middle third, Ó Cofaigh Byrne is thriving even more so given the current environment he's playing in with kickouts galore often deciding games. Nevertheless - Dublin have kicked out 60 long or contestable kickouts in their three championship games to date. Meaning there is still scope to further trust and involve their most dominant ball winner. In his final competitive game playing the old rules, Cuala's club All-Ireland final victory over Errigal Ciarán last January, his goalkeeper only kicked two long kickouts to him. He caught both. Of 41 kickouts in the game, he only had three contests, with Cuala retaining possession each time. He also scored 1-1 in that final, as well as assisting another goal, winning a throw-in and making three crucial interceptions. One to cut out a scoring chance, and another to turn over Darragh Canavan. All within just eight possessions and 12 involvements. For Dublin so far this championship his overall possessions - especially in comparison to Fenton over the past 10 years - and involvement in the general play is quite low. Rather than linking or starting moves, he often gets ahead of the play and looks to enter attacks in and around the D area. He's assisted 0-03 but yet to have a shot this summer. As he grows into his role and seeks more responsibility Dessie Farrell will expect him to kick on in those aspects. In three matches he's had just 25 possessions. Ultimately however the importance of his aerial dominance can't be understated. Meath, particularly in the first half playing with the wind, decimated the Dublin kickout. Which along with their ability to shoot two-pointers, was the winning of the game. Against Galway Dublin's long kickout game was far more complete. Up against a much stronger opposition than the Royals they caught five clean possessions - Ó Cofaigh Byrne with three - to the Tribesmen's zero. Armagh will present a strong physical challenge around the middle sector - with big Ben Crealy likely to provide an interesting match-up. As much as Brian Fenton was a generational talent, he grew into the position game-on-game in his early years. If Ó Cofaigh Byrne can build on his start to the season and deliver against the current champions, it'll be a big step to making the number eight jersey his own.
