Latest news with #RobFinnerty
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Shane Walsh used to dream of chances like late free vs Armagh so when the moment came, he kept hopes alive
SHANE WALSH admits that kicking the winner against Armagh was the stuff of dreams. Sleepy Galway 2 His performance wasn't all good on the day 2 But he delivered when his county needed him most Pádraic Joyce's men were heading out of the Championship after dozing off early and falling nine points behind the All-Ireland champions. But with alarm bells going off in the dressing room at half-time, they decided to rise and shine after the break. Stung by fears that when you snooze, you lose, goals from John Maher and Rob Finnerty awoke the beast. It was not exactly a nightmare for Armagh, who were already through to the next round after two wins. Read More On GAA But after their epic fightback, Galway still needed their star man to deliver victory to guarantee their own progress to the preliminary quarter-final. And when Walsh — who kicked a total of 0-9 — stood over a free after the hooter had sounded, he harked back to his younger self, when being in this position was something he could only dream about. His effort sailed over the bar, vindicating his team-mates' urgings to back himself when it matters most. Walsh said: 'The last kick of the game, as I said to myself, 'You dream of those opportunities, so just commit to it'. Whatever happens, back your ability, and thankfully it curled in. Most read in GAA Football 'I probably hadn't that in the last couple of weeks, but in fairness to the group, we had good conversations last Tuesday week and they were just talking to me about backing myself more. 'You mightn't score every shot but we're backing you to take our shots as well. That stood to me as well in the first half because there were things that didn't go well and shots that did go well. 'Just in time for Father's Day' - Dublin GAA legends welcome the birth of precious baby daughter 'You have to keep hammering away at it. You can review the game afterwards, let's just focus on the next ball, keep on seeing where you can get the next chance. 'It's down to the lads running balls into good positions for me and letting me do my thing as well. "There's lads there that do different jobs for the team. There's lads that go up and down that field all day, that I don't be doing. 'I'm there to help out in getting scores for the team. So, when the lads give you that backing, and Pádraic gives you that backing, it's huge.' Galway's campaign looked over when Armagh surged nine ahead and the Tribe squandered two first-half penalties. Ethan Rafferty saved Matthew Tierney's effort before Rob Finnerty blazed over to leave their summer hanging by a thread. But boss Joyce read the riot act at half-time, and the players delivered with a storming second-half performance to steal third place in the group of death. JOYCE'S STATUS Joyce was a Galway icon as a player and starred when they won the 1998 and 2001 All-Ireland titles. The Tribe have reached two finals under his watch, but fell short against Kerry in 2022 before Armagh pipped them last year. And Walsh hailed his manager for keeping the dream alive. The forward said: 'I think it starts with the man that's heading everything. He is a winner through and through. "It really shone out in the last two weeks, just how much a winner he is and how much pride he has in himself and in Galway. 'It kind of shone through on to the players and we were able to feed off that then. You couldn't but feed off it. 'When he comes in to really lift the place and tells you how good you are, tells you how good things are, that really gets you going. 'We believe in Pádraic, he believes in us. When you get that bond together, it means you'll go until the last second.' START SOMETHING Galway were backed into a corner ahead of Saturday's win after losses to Dublin and a battling draw against Derry left them dangling by a thread. Walsh now hopes the win can spark another run to the biggest day of all, as they bid to end a 24-year wait for Sam. He said: 'Probably in the last couple of weeks we were in our shell a bit with the Dublin and Derry games. After that we said, 'Our Championship is on the line'. 'Everyone, to a man, was encouraging each other to give this a right go, and it stands to you. 'When those lads are saying it to you, and even though you might say it's something simple, but those words of encouragement, they go a long way in a group.'
BBC News
7 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Walsh the Galway hero as they edge Armagh in a thriller
Shane Walsh was the Galway hero as his ninth point of the game with the final kick saw his side edge Armagh by 2-22 to 0-27 in a thriller at Kingspan Breffni into the game, Armagh knew they were straight through to the quarter-finals as winners of Group Four, but Galway's continued interest in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was far from prospects looked bleak at the end of the first half when they trailed by eight, having been outplayed with two penalties in the they roared back into it after the break with goals from John Maher and Rob Finnerty injecting life as they grabbed the win which ultimately saw them claim third place in the group, which means they hit the road next week for a preliminary Armagh came into this repeat of last year's All-Ireland final with the pressure off, they were full of intent early with Ethan Rafferty slinging over the first of his team's four two-pointers in the opening O'Neill and Peter McGrane followed with points before Galway were offered a great chance to get into the game when awarded a ninth-minute penalty as Rob Finnerty went down under a Paddy Burns challenge, but Rafferty was equal to Matthew Tierney's effort and John Maher screwed the rebound Walsh did get them on their way with a pair of scores, but Armagh were flying with the next five points including a two-pointer from Niall Cooke slung over a two-pointer for Galway, but Darragh McMullan hit back in kind with a scorching effort with the outside of his gap was eight when Galway got a second penalty on 30 minutes with Walsh going down under a challenge from Burns and this time, Finnerty stepped up but thumped was the gap at the break as Rafferty got his second two of the half, this time a free, as Armagh went in with a 0-15 to 0-7 lead that in no way flattered them. Galway produce storming second period Galway had much work to do at the break and whatever was said most certainly worked as they were a different team, hitting early points from Peter Cooke and Cillian McDaid before their first goal on 39 minutes came as Dylan McHugh squared for Maher to palm leaders stepped up with Walsh, Finnerty and substitute Paul Conroy all leading the charge with Armagh just about keeping their noses in front with Jason Duffy and Ross McQuillan pointing.A two-point free from Walsh levelled it before his side moved two clear as Armagh suddenly needed to dig deep and did so with the next five points on the spin as Tiernan Kelly and Jarlath Og Burns got their names on the Cathal Sweeney hit back, Galway grabbed their second goal and they turned over the Armagh kick-out with Finnerty showing great composure to finish as we were set up for a frantic final 10 was nip-and-tuck down the stretch with Galway edging two ahead, only for Rafferty to kick his third two of the game to bring his tally to nine and although Walsh restored the Galway lead, Shane McPartlan became Armagh's 14th scorer of the evening to level once one minute to go, possession was vital and Galway got it, draining the clock and then winning a free after the hooter which Walsh thumped over to seal victory and keep Galway in the race for Sam Maguire.
Irish Daily Mirror
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Galway star on Dublin's 'revenge' mission and how he picked Mayo's pocket
Rob Finnerty reckons that Dublin will be gunning for revenge when they land in Salthill this evening. Galway scored their first Championship win over the Dubs in 90 years in last year's All-Ireland quarter-final, condemning the then Leinster champions to their earliest exit since 2009. And having relinquished their provincial title last month after losing to Meath, Dublin are now bidding to avoid successive Championship defeats for the first time since 1997, when they were knocked out by the Royals in their first outing having also been beaten by them in the previous year's Leinster final. But Finnerty says that they will be driven by the prospect of avenging last year's defeat. He said: 'They definitely will. They're a really hungry group and they obviously still have so many top players. 'They'll probably get a few more bodies back, but you can only imagine what their training's been like since that defeat to Meath and I'd say they're raring to go. 'When you look at their team sheet, there's so many players there with so many All-Irelands so it's hard to not rate them very highly, especially with the extra lads that are coming back as well. 'I think they're probably missing three or four starters against Meath, and I know maybe two or three of them were only just back on that day. So maybe they were caught on the hop that day or whatever. But yeah, they'll still be really strong.' There is a novel factor to the tie with it being the first Championship meeting of the counties away from Croke Park since the 1933 All-Ireland semi-final, which took place in Mullingar, and it's certainly the most interesting group in this phase of the Championship with All-Ireland champions Armagh and Derry also involved. 'I've heard that a lot now, the group of death,' says Finnerty. 'People were even saying it last week before we even played our provincial final. It's obviously a really tough group but it's probably where you want to be as well. 'Getting the opportunity to play Dublin at home in a Championship game is unbelievable, so we're really looking forward to that.' Galway come into the game having emulated a feat of their greatest ever team by winning four Connacht titles on the spin for the first time since 1966, with Finnerty taking on the mantle in attack in the absence of Shane Walsh and Damien Comer through injury in the provincial final against Mayo. 'Shane and Damien are obviously two of the top players in the country, so they're going to be a massive loss to any team. 'I think a lot of us are that few years older maybe, different players and have that bit more experience and there's loads of different lads coming into themselves. 'We're in a really good place as a group and when we get them back that'll only make us stronger.' The game swung in Galway's favour through Finnerty's ingenuity as he intercepted a Colm Reape kickout in the 61st minute and was pulled down by Rory Brickenden, who was black-carded as a result. It was something that Finnerty says he was waiting to pounce on having studied Mayo's form. 'That's kind of their favourite pocket there. He's a right-footed kicker so he obviously likes to kick that way. 'It would have been something I'd have looked at on video as well, about maybe trying to fake going the other way and then trying to intercept it. So I had a feeling we might get one and thankfully we did and we made it count. 'I probably was trying it a lot throughout the game. It just happened to come off once, thankfully enough.' Finnerty is, of course, the son of former Mayo footballer Anthony, also known as 'Larry' and a long-time Salthill resident, though he suggests that his father's identity has been somewhat diluted at this stage. 'He was absolutely delighted after the game, to be fair to him. I think he's coming around. He's a bit of a Galway man at this stage, obviously you have that extra bit of craic with the family, the cousins and aunties. 'They obviously still have that side to them, where they'd probably be supporting Mayo. It is enjoyable.'
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The Independent
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Newsmax host defends Qatar's gift to Trump then admits he'd ‘definitely criticize' Biden for the same thing
Newsmax host Rob Finnerty laid bare his hypocrisy on Tuesday night when he admitted that he'd 'definitely criticize' Joe Biden if the Qatari royal family had gifted him a $400 million plane while president – right after passionately defending Donald Trump over the same thing. Finnerty, a fervent MAGA sycophant who once proudly declared that Trump 'is a dictator that the American people want,' opened his primetime Newsmax broadcast by parroting the president's talking points when it came to justifying the lavish 'palace in the sky.' At the same time, he also took aim at Republicans who have come out against the president over accepting the gift, who have called it 'skeevy' and 'not America First' as it could run afoul of the Emoluments Clause. 'Once again, the current plane is almost 40 years old. To put that into perspective again, FDR, if he flew around on a 40-year-old plane at the start of the Second World War, he'd be cruising the friendly skies in the Wright Brothers glider from the very first flight in North Carolina,' the right-wing host declared. 'It was 1903. Do the math. If Spirit or some other low-cost airline was offering really cheap tickets, but the catch was you had to fly on a 40-year-old plane, would you still book that flight? I doubt it. I wouldn't.' Finnerty went on to air the president's recent comments in which he's made the case for accepting the pricey gift. 'Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done,' Trump declared on Truth Social this week. 'Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country.' After playing a clip of Trump saying the luxury jet was merely a 'gesture of good faith' and a gift to the United States and not him personally, Finnerty then groused about allies of the president taking issue with the Qatari plane. 'And even Republicans are so jazzed up about this,' he noted before reading off a tweet from Ari Fleischer urging Trump not to 'do it' because 'Air Force One should be American through and through.' Additionally, Finnerty shrugged off what the Constitution says about US government officials receiving gifts from foreign governments, mostly because Democrats were citing it. 'My goodness, Democrats are suddenly so upset at even the hint of a quid pro quo because of something called the Emoluments Clause,' he exclaimed. 'Public officials can't accept gifts, but this plane would not be a gift to Donald Trump. It would be a gift to the United States.' Still, Finnerty acknowledged that if the shoe were on the other foot, he'd be up in arms over the royal family of an authoritarian regime giving a Democratic president a massive airliner. 'I will say, I would definitely criticize Joe Biden if he cut the exact same deal, and I would criticize Joe Biden if he was about to get a $400 million plane from Qatar to fly around for a couple of years, then donate to his presidential library that no one would go to. I would definitely criticize that move,' the Newsmax anchor admitted. 'That would not go unnoticed by this show.' According to Finnerty, though, the hypocrisy on his end was acceptable because of the former president's son. 'But the left never seemed to care when Hunter Biden was appointed to the board of a Ukrainian energy company when his dad was vice president,' he concluded. 'That didn't seem to bother anyone on the left.'
Irish Examiner
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Rob Finnerty: Goalkeepers cutting value of two-pointer by touching ball 'a bit crazy'
Galway attacker Rob Finnerty reckons it's 'a bit crazy' that goalkeepers can cut the value of a two-pointer in half by simply getting a touch to the ball. Galway benefited from the directive in the Connacht final when goalkeeper Connor Gleeson got his hand to a long-range kick from Mayo's Ryan O'Donoghue which still went over. There was controversy at the time as TV replays suggested that the ball had already gone beyond the crossbar when Gleeson got his touch. Either way, Finnerty isn't a fan of the directive that a goalkeeper can have such an influence on the scoring system, agreeing that it is a weird rule. "It is, it's a strange rule," he said. "Because it obviously halves the reward which I think is probably a bit crazy. If you can get the ball over from 50 or 45 metres, I don't see why you wouldn't get the reward of the two points. Obviously it worked in our favour at the weekend so we'll take it. "Connor has done that in a few games now. It's obviously something he's been looking at and he's done it well so fair play to him." Galway won by just two points in the end, clinching an historic four-in-a-row of Connacht titles and their place in a devilishly difficult All-Ireland SFC group alongside Dublin, Derry and All-Ireland champions Armagh or Donegal. First up for Galway will be a home date with Dublin in Salthill on Saturday week. It remains to be seen if star attackers Shane Walsh and Damien Comer are fit for duty having both missed the provincial decider. "I'm actually not sure, I'd say it mightn't be too far away," said Finnerty of his colleagues' returns. "But I'm not sure will they make that Dublin game." It has been confirmed that the 5pm encounter will form part of a double header with the county's hurlers facing Antrim beforehand at 2.30pm. "That'll only add to the occasion and hopefully as many Galway people as possible can get down to it," said Finnerty, who plays for the local Salthill-Knocknacarra club. One thing Finnerty isn't a fan of is holding the draw for the All-Ireland SFC before the provincial finals, potentially shifting the players' focus from the job at hand. "Obviously it wasn't ideal that they did do the draw beforehand," he said. "It doesn't really make much sense in my eyes, knowing where you're going to be and who you're facing. I think we did a good job of just staying focused on Mayo and on winning a Connacht championship. "Even do it this weekend after the Ulster and Leinster finals, that probably would be an ideal thing, just do it on TV after the game or whatever. That would be my opinion on it." *Rob Finnerty was speaking at the launch of Harvey Norman's new GAA sponsorships, including Hawk-Eye and Camogie Stats partnerships.
