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RTÉ News
11-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
A season of Sundays on a single Saturday evening
As I cycled my bike across Limerick city on Saturday evening the atmosphere could be sensed a couple of kilometers from the Gaelic Grounds. Drawing closer to the stadium it was easier to dismount and walk in along with the moving sea of green and red. I parked the bike up safely near a house of God and as I walked down the Ennis Road the flashing blue lights could be seen in the distance followed by a team bus. That buzz those players feel as they wade through the traffic and crowds en route to a Munster Final is something they will not truly appreciate for years to come until, like me, they are the ones walking in. Then they will look back and think, wasn't that a magical time? I worried that the game might not live up to the buzz beforehand, especially after what happened a few weeks previously. But in terms of excitement, tension and drama we got all that and more. Much more. The hurling probably was not at the pitch we have to come expect with these teams. But then when you consider the atmosphere and tension everywhere how could we expect a flawless display to go with that? The hits were ferocious, the tackles intense, the anger felt by many was only surpassed by the volume of sarcasm from fans when a free eventually was awarded. Sportsfile's 'A Season of Sundays' is a review of the GAA year in pictures and is often a great stocking filler at Christmas. This year I feel they will have to bring out two volumes of this famed book because one could be full of images from Saturday night alone. Here's just a few examples of such iconic images: Adam English helping out referee Thomas Walsh in the middle of the field with cramp. Darragh Fitzgibbon as he gazes into a sea of green waving arms to nail the 65 to take it to penalties. The view from above as the world stands still for a brief second for each penalty taker. And finally the sea of jubilant Rebels gathered in front of the Mackey Stand to see the cup of the same name held aloft. Iconic images from a night that will live long in the memory for all those lucky to be there in person to experience it. It was a pleasure to be there to call it on radio and I was mentally drained from it all by the time Robert Downey lifted that cup so I can only imagine what way those players and management team were feeling afterwards. Limerick will need every bit of the three weeks off to get the bodies right after that physical battle and allow the minds time to come back down and breathe once again. For many players the body will recover quicker than the minds because it can be solved with stretching, pool sessions and cold plunges. But there are no physical stretches for the mind. Only time and space to help yourself to get over it all and get ready to go at it again. This might mean a few days off completely, then back to some light pitch stuff by Friday. Then, it's back into third gear work by Sunday and you should be ready to go again by next week, both physically and mentally. So when you think of it the three weeks off allows only one week of proper training, with the week after taken up with the recovery and the third week just fine-tuning before more knockout hurling. One of the most important people in the room during this period could be the sports psychologist. Questions will be asked where did it go wrong, what did we get right? Everything is fine when you win. The right subs came on at the right time, tactically we got it spot on, our match-ups were on point. When you lose then, you're questioning everything from the way you ate the chicken and pasta to did I put my grips on properly this time? But it just came down to a literal puck of a ball. The margins are so small that maybe not much, if anything, needs to change in the coming weeks for Limerick. I fully believe they will be back in Croke Park and will be meeting Kilkenny and that has the potential to be a battle akin to the 2019 semi-final. For Cork they'll still be walking on air. Their victory will give them the real belief now that they can finish the job this year but I feel they are there now to be knocked off. We saw the passion they brought to that game Saturday night because they were hurting from a few weeks ago. Where will the drive and hunger come from next time against Galway or Tipp? That will be their biggest challenge now I feel over the coming weeks. To get themselves back into a kill or be killed mindset for Croke Park. Find an angle of hurt or disrespect from somewhere to come at this game and bring that hunger and desire they showed in the Munster Final. If they bring that fight to Croke Park they will take serious beating - maybe they just won't be stopped now if they do. I believe Tipp are still involved in this year's championship (or so I read in the paper). That's nice for us here in Tipp. Not much if anything is being said and it is a lovely way for the Premier lads to be coming into knockout hurling. I honestly do feel it is a punishment rather than a reward for the Joe McDonagh finalists to be asked to go and play again this weekend. I mean let's be honest - what is the point of these games? We're asking both Kildare - who will still be enjoying themselves at the time of writing - and Laois - who won't be over the heartache - to tog out again on Saturday against a top tier team coming into the game after three weeks of rest and are no doubt bursting for road. The prize for Kildare is next year - not next week. I think we are doing them an injustice asking them to go out and play again on Saturday. Some will say, 'oh they deserve a crack at the Liam MacCarthy.' They do and they will get that next year when they are in a much better place to perform for it. Fixture-makers have constant headaches over the squashed calender. One solution could be to do away with this week of fixtures. Just send the provincial winners into the semi-finals and match up the provincial finalists and the third place team in the province. We haven't had an upset here since Laois defeated Dublin in 2019. That was a very good Laois team, so arguably not even much of a shock at the time. But we won't see that happen again for a long time. Partly because the top tier teams are aware of what happened the Dubs that season. Forewarned is forearmed. No shocks this weekend, Tipp will win, as will Dublin. But I really do hope the hurling people of Kildare enjoy every second of the day on Saturday as a precursor for Liam MacCarthy hurling in 2026. What a story and when the Team of the Year or Manager of the Year Awards are being spoken of I really hope this Kildare team and their manager Brian Dowling are in that conversation. YT:
Irish Times
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Cian Lynch: ‘Hurling is so instinctive, it's an art form, it's an expression'
Cian Lynch still carries the scars of battle, stitches across his left eye and several grazes down his legs. But compared to the hurt of losing Saturday's epic Munster final to Cork , those scuffs don't cut quite as deep. The manner of the defeat, after a penalty shoot-out, is something that has animated many hurling fans over the last five days. Lynch was not even aware there would be a penalty shoot-out until after extra-time and while he praises Cork for getting over the line, the Limerick captain would prefer to see provincial finals decided by a replay. READ MORE 'I suppose it's not for me to make a point or make a comment on what's the right thing to do but you'd love to have another crack at it. Any team would,' says Lynch. 'But for us, it's just about accepting that that's in the past now. We unfortunately didn't win and Cork did. 'It's great credit to Cork. They got the victory in penalties. The game could have gone either way. 'Look, it's something to obviously review. Hurling is so instinctive, it's an art form, it's an expression. Why do people play it? It's because it's a 15-man game, it's a chance to have a man on the shoulder to support. 'But when it comes to penalties, other than the five guys and the goalie, I suppose you're helpless standing on the sideline watching. It's tough for guys, but it is what it is.' Limerick's Cian Lynch dejected after the game. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Lynch did not take a penalty last Saturday night at the Gaelic Grounds but had nothing but respect for those who were prepared to stand over a sliotar in those pressure-cooker moments. 'If you were asked to take one, I'm sure 100 per cent you'd do anything you can to help the team but I wouldn't be someone that's known to stand over a free or a penalty, to be honest with you,' he says. 'But the five guys, obviously our guys, the same as Cork obviously and Nickie [Quaid], to step up, that takes some courage. 'After playing 70 to 90 minutes of hurling, to have it based on standing over a penalty, that is tough. That is some responsibility, but great credit to the guys, great credit to Nickie and so on. Just the way it is.' Galway defender Fintan Burke watched Saturday night's drama unfold and is also of the belief that a replay would be a fairer way to produce a winner. 'If you win great and if you lose it's the worst thing in the world,' says Burke. 'I'd be of the opinion of a replay. That's just personal, I don't think penalties are a fair reflection on where a team is at, as in you could have five great penalty takers and maybe the other team only has three, and it's not really reflecting on hurling throughout the team. So personally I'd be going for a replay, but that's just again personal preference. 'People just think you're standing up hitting a shot, but you've to put so much energy in and it's probably a lot more mentally you're exhausted and you have to walk the 60 yards then on your own and there's a lot going through your mind.'
Irish Daily Mirror
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
'The Munster Final shouldn't be decided on pens - both deserved another day'
What an epic game the Munster Final was. The commitment. The intensity. Some of the scores. The use of the ball. The tackling. It had it all. One of the best Munster finals I've seen in years. I think a big part of the reason the game was so enthralling and so good was down to ref Thomas Walsh. Sometimes referees can get very caught up in rules. I've been at Championship games with 30 or 40 frees and to me that ruins it. Yes there were things Walsh could have easily blown for in the first half but he let it flow. There were only three frees before the break, but if there was something dangerous he pulled it. I know the altercation at half-time might have made him blow a few more frees in the second half but in general his contribution was immense and neither side could complain. I wish a lot more refs would take that approach as hurling would be better for it. In the first 15 minutes Tom Morrissey was outstanding. I felt he faded big-time after that, but he was causing Cork problems, getting on ball, coming from side to side and getting scoring chances. The big thing with Cork in the first half compared to the last day was running the ball into the right spots. They didn't just get the ball and hit it. They worked it into different areas in the middle of the field to try and pull out the Limerick half-back line. Their use of the ball was fantastic. Cork didn't just hit 80- or 100-yard balls down on top of the Limerick full-back line. They were very smart in how they used it, getting them short passes. Once they got to midfield, they either shot from distance or got the ball deep to the inside line. That, along with their phenomenal work-rate, which was especially evident at the start of the second half with their half-forward line getting back deep on Limerick puck-outs and winning a lot of breaks, was important. Cian Lynch's distribution was magic, especially in the first half. This guy sees passes like no other player in the game. His vision. His awareness. He is not a selfish player and I can see why John Kiely made him captain. They are all the ingredients you need to be a good leader. He was the man behind a lot of Limerick's first-half scores. Aidan O'Conor looked to have the Cork full-back line in trouble in the first half and was unlucky not to have two or three more scores. He just needed to settle a small bit. The big thing with Limerick was they didn't hit their full-forward line enough. Cork marked the Limerick half-forward line, which goes back deep for short ball and there was a mountain of space from the 65 back to the Cork full-back line. When Limerick got that ball in fast, it looked like trouble for Cork. There were two or three goal opportunities that Limerick will feel they should have converted. The difference between Cork and Limerick's half-back line is Kyle Hayes sat back and guarded that middle most of the time, and Limerick in general didn't look like giving away goals. Hayes had an effect in the first 15 or 20 minutes, didn't really after that, but he was still a constant in the middle of that defence, where I felt Cork really pushed up man-on-man on the Limerick half-forward line. That's why there seemed to be more space when Limerick delivered that long ball in. Limerick's second goal was a touch of genius, especially from Aaron Gillane. His footwork and pass to the oncoming Shane O'Brien was something you can only dream of. Only certain players have that ability. Gillane was one of Limerick's focal points. They just didn't get him enough ball. It's very hard for Cork to defend when they have only two on two in 40 or 50 yards of space. Seamus Harnedy did well in patches and won a bit of aerial ball. Gearoid Hegarty was absolutely phenomenal on high ball. The big thing for me in the first half, which was very unusual, was Cork's 21 turnovers to Limerick's 14. That means Cork were working extremely hard. That's one thing you could always say about Limerick over the last six or seven years, is their workrate and their turnovers. They pride themselves on that. Cork had nine or ten wides to Limerick's four, so that means Cork probably should have gone in further ahead at half-time. Patrick Horgan is playing as good as ever — working unreal, passing ball and scoring but I felt his placed balls were a bit off and I thought that might come back to bite Cork. Knowing Hoggie he wouldn't be happy with missing those. You have to admire Cork's mentality, They were aggressive and when things went against them they never strayed from the plan. Even when Limerick went a point or two up at the end, they kept going and kept with it. That's massive. Tactically, even playing against the wind in the second half, I thought they were a lot better in terms of using that ball. I still would be worried for Cork going forward, leaving that space in front of the full-back line. On puck-outs and in general play they were a lot better this time against Limerick. Darragh Fitzgibbon was phenomenal. The ground he covers. They scores he gets. The work he does. During the 70 minutes maybe Cork had a slight edge, capitalising on Limerick's wides. James Owens had a tough job to go in and referee. His style might be different to Thomas Walsh. The players had to adapt. Limerick might have felt a small bit hard-done-by with so much extra-time. Overall, a draw was a fair result. Looking at the list of penalty takers I had a feeling it suited Cork better, but I don't think the Munster Final should be decided on penalties. Both teams deserved another day. I know we are tight in the calendar but that shouldn't be a reason to go to penalties. I think it's unfair, putting that pressure on players. Few fans would have a problem with it going to another day. Cork prevailed and you can't begrudge them the win. It would have been easy to fold up the tent after the beating they got the last day from Limerick. And they had a knock-back last year but these guys keep coming back for more. Fair play to them. They are resilient. It's important they enjoy this victory and well done to them, but there is still a lot of hurling left to be done. Munster is great, but only one thing matters at the end of the day and that's winning Liam MacCarthy.
Irish Times
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Leinster pales in comparison to spectacular Munster decider
Some weekend, that. Top billing? You'd be torn between Carlos and Cork, the former, Señor Alcaraz, for his astounding comeback against Jannik Sinner in the French Open final, the latter, the hurley-wielding Rebels, for their part in a Munster final that won't soon be forgotten. 'Everything about it was staggering,' writes Denis Walsh of the game at the Gaelic Grounds. ' The suffocating intensity, the twists, the spectacular scores and the crazy misses.' It was, says Seán Moran in his match report, 'a smouldering, frantic affair' , one that was decided by the first ever shoot-out in a provincial final. As Ian O Riordan puts it in his round-up of the weekend's hurling , nothing Kilkenny and Galway could produce on Sunday was ever going to outdo what was served up the day before. Nicky English agrees. The Leinster decider was, he writes, 'a pale imitation of the Munster final' , but while Kilkenny prevailed, he's not convinced they are contenders this year. They did, though, survive a late Galway rally to win their sixth successive Leinster title , Ian in Croke Park to witness their triumph. Paul Keane heard from Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng after, and Paul was on hand too earlier in the day to see Kildare produce a breathless second-half display against Laois in the Joe McDonagh Cup. READ MORE There wasn't too much drama in the Tailteann Cup, the form guide holding as Sligo, Wexford, Offaly and Westmeath all progressed , but there was plenty of it on the opening weekend of the women's football All-Ireland championship, Dublin and Meath both needing last second equalisers against Waterford and Armagh, respectively. Kerry opened the defence of their crown with a win over Mayo in Tralee, while last year's runners-up Galway saw off Tipperary in Tuam. Denis, meanwhile, previews RTÉ's five-part series on the history and nature of Gaelic football , the first episode of Hell for Leather airing tonight. Its timing, he says, 'couldn't have been more opportune because this has been the most spectacular football season in living memory' – thanks in no small part to the new rules. In rugby, after enduring three straight URC semi-final defeats, Leinster finally broke the code, comfortably beating Glasgow on Saturday to set up a meeting with the Pretoria Bulls at Croke Park in next Saturday's final. Gerry Thornley reports on the game and hears from Leo Cullen and Jack Conan , while Johnny Watterson analyses a performance that was far superior to Leinster's last outing . And in racing, Brian O'Connor looks back at Lambourn's Epsom Derby success , one that gave Aidan O'Brien a record-extending 11th win in the classic. Lambourn is now odds-on to become the 20th horse to complete the Epsom-Curragh Derby double at the end of this month. TV Watch : There are highlights from the GAA and rugby weekends on TG4 and RTÉ 2, respectively, at 8pm, while the pick of the night's football action is Wales' World Cup qualifier away to Belgium (Virgin Media Three, 7.45pm). And at 9.35pm, there's the first episode of Hell for Leather, a history of Gaelic football, on RTÉ One.
Irish Times
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Nicky English: Weary-looking Limerick's errors allowed Cork confidence to flourish
The key phase in Saturday's scrappy but thrilling Munster final was the 10 minutes before half-time when Cork recovered from a one-point deficit to outscore Limerick by 1-5 to 0-3. This gave Cork all the belief they needed; they had taken the champions' best shots and were still afloat. That 1-14 to 1-10 lead gave them something to work with and reflected a change in fortunes. It was always possible that Limerick's comprehensive victory in the clash between the sides three weeks ago might take the edge off John Kiely's team and drive Cork on, but the Rebels couldn't go into the game expecting that to be the case. Limerick settled themselves swiftly. In the first 20 minutes, Cian Lynch and Kyle Hayes were hitting the levels of the round-robin match. But Darragh Fitzgibbon began to impose his game at midfield and Shane Barrett ended the half with 1-3 from play. Cork now had something to work with . READ MORE It was uncharacteristic stuff from Limerick, or at least stuff we're not used to seeing. Their established KPI (key performance indicator) – the 30-point mark – wasn't reached, but that has been a feature of their season. Only in the first match against Cork did they achieve that tally. At the weekend, they again fell short. There always appeared to be something holding them back. I made a note in the 50th minute that Limerick were in control after the second goal by Shane O'Brien, but they went on to shoot some terrible wides. Instead of stretching away, they let Cork stay in it. Damien Cahalane was an example of Cork's resilience. He hasn't been first-choice for a while, but he battled away and even got up the pitch for a score. He'd have been in trouble if Aaron Gillane's free at the end of extra-time won it for Limerick, but overall it was a brave performance. Nothing highlighted Limerick's problems more than the usually ultra-reliable Nickie Quaid fumbling a ball over the endline for the equalising 65. That and the six wides in extra-time killed them. Kilkenny will likely face Limerick in the All-Ireland semi-final, which will be a serious test of their mettle It all ended with a succession of very ordinary penalties that I had to watch back on video because my train was due to leave before they were finished. This just underlined how crazy the scheduling is. You could have filled Croke Park for the replay, so it represents a serious loss of income for the Munster Council. There has to be a structure that allows matches like this to be played out and not have spectators running from venues into the dusk to catch trains. Kilkenny's TJ Reid scores a goal in the Leinster SHC final against Galway at Croke Park. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho Many people had also left Croke Park on Sunday before Galway showed any signs of life. The late revival came out of nowhere. By the time Cathal Mannion had engineered a goal for Brian Concannon and added a point, the Tribesmen had scored 1-6 without reply and the margin was down to four. It merely served to wake Kilkenny up. TJ Reid, still defying age and gravity, caught a fantastic ball and gave it back to Adrian Mullen, who scored a good point. For the next high ball towards the Kilkenny goal, Huw Lawlor reached into the skies and caught it before going on a gallop and providing a scoring pass for Billy Ryan. The match was a pale imitation of the Munster final, but it was claustrophobic and intense and crucially, exciting. Hurling has largely lacked excitement this year. I'd revalue the goal to four points to try to inject some adrenalin into matches. Kilkenny didn't convince me that they're contenders. They did what they had to do and Derek Lyng deserves credit for getting consistent performances out of them, but that's a Leinster six-in-a-row and they're no closer to an All-Ireland. Kilkenny will likely face Limerick in the All-Ireland semi-final, which will be a serious test of their mettle. A mention of the refereeing. I get the idea about letting the game flow, but rules are there for a reason. Fouls are fouls. From the throw-in on Saturday, referee Thomas Walsh appeared to be fighting a losing battle. He even had to jump out of the way of some hitting to get the match started. Like a schoolteacher, he needed to crack down on that sort of stuff at the start. He could then loosen the reins a little bit later in the game, if he so wished, but only if he had control. Rules weren't applied and I don't think it helped the match because it made the players anxious on both sides. The management teams were up in arms, as was the crowd. Clear fouls went unpunished and I don't think it helped anyone. I would also implement some of the new football rules, primarily the clock and hooter, and take timekeeping from referees. Regardless of Limerick's complaints from Saturday, the innovation has worked well in football and needs to be introduced. The same goes for disciplinary measures on dissent and gamesmanship, which has had a radical impact on misbehaviour.
