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Irish Examiner
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
David Hyland: 'We were sick to our teeth over Leinster'
Kildare defender David Hyland is satisfied with the progress Tailteann Cup semi-finalists Kildare have made in a short space of time. The Lilywhites were beaten by Offaly in the Division 3 league final in late March and then exited the Leinster championship to Louth. But they've since blazed a trail through the Tailteann Cup and will meet Fermanagh in Sunday's semi-final at Croke Park. Hyland said Kildare's sweet quarter-final win over Offaly, turning the tables on two previous losses to the Faithful this season, proved just how much their young group has come on. "If you look at the performance we put in that day in the league final, and the performance we put in last weekend, it's chalk and cheese," said centre-back and ex-captain Hyland. "The development of the team has come a long way in the last two months or so." Kildare have clearly taken the Tailteann Cup seriously and appear desperate to win it. "We were sick to our teeth with the way Leinster turned out," continued Hyland. "We played the first two games of the Tailteann Cup and then after the Tipperary game we sat down on the Monday night and said, 'Look, we have an eight-week block now to go and win the Tailteann Cup'. "We talked about what that means for this team's development and also that it would secure Sam Maguire Cup football next year because that's ultimately why we're here, what we want to do. "After that, it was all shoulders to the wheel really. So I think it was that third game really where we knuckled down and said, 'Right, this is what we're after, four more games, let's go and win this Tailteann Cup'." Yet the experienced Athy man said that with silverware now in sight, they haven't allowed their focus to drift beyond Sunday's semi-final. "We can't because we haven't performed very well in Croke Park over the last number of years," he said. "So we need to get that off our back. And it's going to be a huge challenge obviously. It's all top teams that are left in the competition." Kildare have lost five league and championship games in a row at Croke Park since last winning a game there, a 2022 Leinster semi-final against Westmeath. And prior to that they'd lost 17 of their 24 Croke Park outings, across the league and championship, since contesting an All-Ireland semi-final in 2010. But boss Brian Flanagan has a talented bunch of young players at his disposal, many of whom contested All-Ireland U-20 finals in 2022 and 2023, winning the latter. Several more were U-20 winners in 2018. The Tailteann Cup may even be the best environment for those young players to learn their trade, though Hyland isn't sure. "I tend to disagree with that," he said. "I think the young guys we have here at the moment would be well able to mix it with the likes of a Down, a Clare, some of the teams that are in the Sam Maguire this year. We have to play the cards we were dealt obviously but I think that would have brought us on a bit more if we were in it." Attacker Jimmy Hyland looks set to miss out again with a lower leg injury and there are question marks over the fitness of Callum Bolton, Ben McCormack and Ryan Houlihan.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
Two of Jozef Puska's brothers found guilty of withholding key information about Ashling Murphy murder
A jury has convicted murderer Jozef Puska's two brothers of withholding crucial information from gardaí investigating the murder of schoolteacher Ashling Murphy. The two men's wives have also been found guilty of burning the killer's bloodstained clothes in an effort to obstruct his prosecution. Jozef Puska (35) murdered Ms Murphy (23) on January 12th, 2022, by repeatedly stabbing her in the neck after attacking her while she exercised along the canal towpath outside Tullamore, Co Offaly. He was later convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence. The Central Criminal Court jury on Tuesday accepted the prosecution's case that his brothers, Lubomir Jnr (38) and Marek (36) misled gardaí by failing to disclose crucial and vital information when they gave witness statements. READ MORE The jury found their wives – Viera Gaziova (40) and Jozefina Grundzova (32) – burned Jozef Puska's clothes to impede his arrest or prosecution. The 12 jurors unanimously found the brothers guilty, while the two women were found guilty by majority verdicts. All four were living with Jozef Puska, his wife Lucia, and 14 children at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly, when the offences occurred in January 2022. All defendants had pleaded not guilty to all charges. It was the State's case that the two brothers misled gardaí and withheld 'crucial, relevant and significant' information when they gave voluntary interviews in Tullamore two days after Ms Murphy's death. This included information that Jozef Puska returned home on the night of the murder with visible injuries, admitted to killing or seriously injuring a woman with a knife and subsequently travelled to Dublin. The 12 jurors at the Central Criminal Court gave their verdict in relation to the two brothers after deliberating for 13 hours and 40 minutes over five days, before returning again to the courtroom 16 minutes later to reveal their decisions on the charges against the two women. Ms Justice Caroline Biggs thanked the panel of seven men and five women for their service and excused them from jury service for life. The four family members were remanded on continuing bail until July 7th, when their sentence hearings will take place. More to follow ...
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Josef Puska's two brothers and their wives guilty of offences after murder of Ashling Murphy
A jury has convicted Jozef Puska's two brothers of withholding crucial information from gardaí investigating the murder of school teacher Ashling Murphy, while the two men's wives have also been found guilty of burning the killer's bloodstained clothes in an effort to obstruct his prosecution. Jozef Puska (35) murdered Ms Murphy (23) on January 12, 2022, by repeatedly stabbing her in the neck after attacking her while she exercised along the canal towpath outside Tullamore, Co Offaly. He was later convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence. Advertisement Jozefina Grundzova (31) and Marek Puska (34). Photo Collins Courts The Central Criminal Court jury on Tuesday accepted the prosecution's case that Jozef Puska's brothers, Lubomir Jnr (38) and Marek (36) misled gardai by failing to disclose crucial and vital information when they gave witness statements, while their wives - Viera Gaziova (40) and Jozefina Grundzova (32) - burned Jozef's clothes to impede his arrest or prosecution. Lubomir Puska Jnr (35) and Viera Gaziona (38). Photo Collins Courts The 12 jurors unanimously found Josef Puska's brothers guilty, while his sisters-in-law were found guilty by majority verdicts. All four family members were living with Jozef Puska, his wife Lucia, and 14 children at Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly when the offences occurred in January 2022. All defendants had pleaded not guilty to all charges. It was the State's case that the two brothers misled gardaí and withheld 'crucial, relevant and significant' information when they gave voluntary interviews in Tullamore two days after Ms Murphy's death. Advertisement This included information that Jozef returned home on the night of the murder with visible injuries, admitted to killing or seriously injuring a woman with a knife and subsequently travelled to Dublin. The 12 jurors at the Central Criminal Court gave their verdict in relation to the two brothers after deliberating for 13 hours and 40 minutes over five days, before returning again to the courtroom 16 minutes later to reveal their decisions on the charges against the wives of the two brothers. Following the four verdicts, presiding judge Ms Justice Caroline Biggs thanked the panel of seven men and five women for their service and excused them from jury service for life. The four family members were remanded on continuing bail until July 7, when their sentence hearings will take place. More to follow.
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Rory McIlroy secures qualification for Ryder Cup after top-20 US Open finish
Rory McIlroy has qualified for the 2025 Ryder Cup after last weekend's US Open in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. The European side will hope to retain their Ryder Cup title from 2023 and claim their first Ryder Cup on US soil since 2011. The Holywood native can now finish no lower than sixth in the order of merit, meaning he will be part of Luke Donald's squad in New York this September. This came despite a seven-over-par showing at the major which landed him a tie for 19th place. Offaly's Shane Lowry remains one of the six players in contention, dropping from second to third after Tyrell Hatton's tie for fourth place last weekend. Robert MacIntyre enters the fray after placing second in Oakmont, while Austria's Sepp Straka and Rasmus Højgaard of Denmark round out the European squad at the time of writing. Tommy Fleetwood, Ludwig Åberg and Justin Rose lie best-placed of the chasing contingent to sneak into the squad before the cut off in August. Surprise US Open winner JJ Spaun also put himself in contention after winning his first major, placing above Bryson DeChambeau for the US team. Spaun took the US Open title in some style on a rain-soaked Sunday in Oakmont, sinking a 64-putt birdie - the longest of the tournament - to win with a shot to spare. He and DeChambeau lie third and fourth respectively for the American side, with Scottie Scheffler already having qualified. Xander Schauffele is second currently for the US, while Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa are on the fringes. This may yet change for both teams, with the Open Championship yet to come in Antrim next month, which may shake up the order.
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Kildare survive late drama against Offaly to advance to Tailteann Cup semi-finals
Kildare advanced to the semi-final of the Tailteann Cup when they had a single point to spare over an Offaly side that had enjoyed two wins over the Lilywhites earlier this year.
