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Irish Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Shane O'Donnell gets his head around Donegal's ‘surreal' showdown with Louth
It's back to Ballybofey for Donegal this weekend, accompanied by the hope and expectation it is only a pit stop on the way to Croke Park. Yet for Shane O'Donnell, getting back to Donegal has been the making of him as an intercounty footballer. The St Eunan's man studied physical education and maths in DCU, during which time he tried to combine living in the capital and playing for Donegal. He made his senior debut in 2022 but, given the travel and associated time demands, he stepped back from the Donegal squad the following season. The return of Jim McGuinness to the helm in 2024 prompted O'Donnell to recommit and now, having completed his studies, the 24-year-old is back living and working in Donegal, teaching at Deele College in Raphoe. READ MORE One of his teaching colleagues in the school is his Donegal team-mate Peadar Mogan. Those home comforts have helped him produce some of his strongest showing so far for Donegal, while he was also named as the club player of the year following last season's county championship. 'I suppose the big thing for me there was getting home, I was in Dublin there for four years so it was very taxing on the body,' he recalls. 'Which kind of led to me taking the break as well. It is definitely a lot easier now being at home, it takes away the travelling. 'I was kind of nearly living out of the car at one stage. It is nice to be able to recover and rest, especially with the quick turnaround for games. I feel good at the minute and I am looking after the body really well.' O'Donnell has started all seven of Donegal's championship games this summer and chipped in with 0-6, including a point against Mayo. Having emptied himself for the cause last Sunday, O'Donnell was brought ashore with just three minutes remaining. So he was watching on from outside the white lines as Ciarán Moore jinked inside the Mayo defence and popped over a winning point with the last kick of the game. A draw would have been enough for Donegal to finish second as Tyrone were well in control against Cavan in the other group game. Ciarán Moore celebrates clinching victory for Donegal against Mayo. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho But while O'Donnell was aware of the permutations, he's not quite sure the players on the field had all the info. 'I suppose when you are caught up in those type of games and those type of moments you are not thinking about other things,' he says. 'It was hard to get messages on with the noise from the supporters, I think we were shouting a few things as well but they didn't hear us. 'There were a few boys probably shouting at [Ciarán] to kick it out and all that. And there were probably a few boys shouting at Shaun [Patton] then as well to drain the clock and wait for the hooter to go. But we're happy with how it turned out.' McGuinness expressed his unhappiness about the venue choice after the victory, the Donegal manager feeling the game should have been set for an alternative neutral venue rather than Dr Hyde Park. However, O'Donnell says the players tend to stay away from such matters and not get caught up worrying over where they play. 'There wouldn't be really much chat about it. I suppose with the big games you are kind of used to being on the road at this stage and you get your preparation done the night before with travelling down to hotels and so on. 'It's probably more of the logistics team that are dreading the thought of it. We are just happy to be playing in the big games and being at this stage of the All-Ireland series.' Their prize for finishing second in the group is a home preliminary quarter-final against Louth at MacCumhaill Park on Sunday at 4pm. It is a straight knockout clash between the Ulster and Leinster provincial champions. 'It's kind of mad that all four of [the provincial winners failed] to make it to the quarter-finals, that we're all in the preliminary round. 'That's how much competition there is between all the teams. We took our eye off the ball I think against Tyrone so we're probably in the place that we deserve to be, second place in the group. 'It's all to play for now and I suppose one of us is going to go out between ourselves and Louth this weekend, which is again surreal that one of the provincial champions isn't even going to make it to the quarter-finals.' Michael Murphy is still doing Michael Murphy things for Donegal. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho If Moore was the game-winning hero for Donegal last Sunday, the imperious Michael Murphy was once again their player of the match. It is impossible to measure the exact impact of Murphy's return to the fold this season but it's fair to say the 2012 All-Ireland-winning captain has been immense for his county. 'He's a bit of an icon for a lot of us because there's a lot of young boys there that wouldn't have played with him beforehand,' says O'Donnell. 'Thankfully I was there for his last year under Declan Boner and Stephen Rochford so I was able to work with him for a year, but there are a lot of new faces there at the minute that wouldn't have seen him before. 'I think a lot of us now just kind of idolise him and look up to him.' Getting Donegal and Murphy back to Croke Park is now the next target.
Irish Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Clare claw back some pride but win over Limerick is too little too late
Munster SHC: Limerick 0-24 Clare 3-20 Brian Lohan felt it was important to sign off a luckless All-Ireland defence with a victory as Ryan Taylor's second-half goals saw Clare past Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds. Mark Rodgers' 1-8 inside 46 minutes put the Banner in a winning position before Taylor raced forward to net a brace in front of 32,133 fans. Regardless of their flat performance in this dead-rubber contest, the Treatymen will host Cork in the Munster final on Saturday week while Clare must lick their wounds and wait for next year. They were hampered by injuries from the outset of their title defence. Hurler of the Year Shane O'Donnell made a long-awaited first start of 2025 and was fouled for five of Rodgers' pointed frees. READ MORE Diarmuid Ryan had his first appearance of the year off the bench. His first touch was to release Taylor for his second goal. Free-taker Aidan McCarthy departed the set-up earlier this month, and when asked about his absence, Lohan replied: 'He's not on the panel. We've loads of guys on the panel, and that's who we're going to talk about. Aidan's not on the panel.' Lohan continued: 'I don't think hunger is an issue. We were unlucky with injuries, and that's just the way it is. 'We were okay in our approach, but we did miss crucial guys at crucial periods of time. Broken bones, they take 14 weeks, 16 weeks, and we'd three guys with broken metatarsals. Clare's John Conlon tackles Limerick's Tom Morrissey. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho 'We never had a broken metatarsal for the last five or six years. This year, we had three guys went down. 'The Munster Championship started maybe two or three weeks early for us. 'We got some of our guys back on the field and got a good performance and a good result, which was important.' Limerick manager John Kiely opted for eight changes as Declan Hannon made his first appearance of the season, and Shane Dowling lined out for his first championship game since the 2019 All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny. Kiely was left agitated on the sideline by his team's mistakes. 'We just didn't come out of the blocks in the second half,' said Kiely. 'It was one of our weakest quarters of the game. We lacked intensity, a bit of energy, and accuracy in what we were doing. 'We made too many mistakes and ultimately, across the 70 minutes, on analysis it will be shown that we made quite an inordinate number of errors. Just missed pickups, dropped balls, misplaced passes, unforced errors, if you like.' Mark Rodgers scores a goal for Clare. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho Lohan's three late switches included a change of goalkeeper, with Eamon Foudy taking over between the sticks. Clare began with a strong wind at their backs, but Limerick landed the first three points through Diarmaid Byrnes, Séamus Flanagan, and Gearóid Hegarty. Clare responded with a pair of four-point streaks as they enjoyed success off the Treaty puck-out. Tony Kelly slotted one from under the Mackey Stand while falling, Peter Duggan arrowed over his first of two sidelines and Cathal Malone also picked off a brace. They led 0-8 to 0-5 as Byrnes missed three early frees. But the Shannonsiders came back to level for a third time with three in a row from Hegarty, Peter Casey, and a free from Byrnes. Clare outscored them 1-4 to 0-1 from there to the break, beginning with Rodgers' goal in the 26th minute. He capitalised after Foudy's long puck-out was knocked down by Duggan and into the Scariff man's path. As the rain lashed down, Rory Hayes thundered out of defence to point after a brilliant turnover and Clare took shelter 1-13 to 0-10 ahead at half-time. They built on that lead to move eight ahead with three points from Rodgers and David Reidy's second after the break. Clare's Shane O'Donnell. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho Tom Morrissey clipped three in response, but Clare moved ahead by 10 with Taylor's opening goal. Malone secured the sliotar and Rodgers played the final pass for the midfielder to jink on to his left and fire to the roof of the net. Kelly's third point made it 2-19 to 0-14. However, Limerick fans sensed a comeback as they reeled off the next six points. Substitutes Adam English and Barry Nash got off the mark. Cathal O'Neill tagged on his first of three second-half points. Morrissey's tally reached 0-7 (five frees). Aidan O'Connor was also supplied a goal chance by Byrnes but dropped the sliotar and whipped wide. With five minutes remaining, Taylor put a pin in their hopes with his second goal after being fed by Ryan for a 3-19 to 0-20 lead. Limerick ended with four replacements registering as O'Connor and Donnacha Ó Dálaigh raised white flags. LIMERICK: S Dowling; M Casey, D Morrissey, B Murphy; D Byrnes (0-4, 2f), D Hannon, C Coughlan; D O'Donovan, W O'Donoghue; G Hegarty (0-2), C O'Neill (0-3), T Morrissey (0-7, 5f); S Flanagan (0-2), S O'Brien, P Casey (0-2). Subs: B Nash for M Casey (32-34 mins, temp), A English (0-1) for O'Donovan (44), B Nash (0-1) for Murphy (50), A O'Connor (0-1) for O'Brien (53), D Reidy for Byrnes (59), D Ó Dálaigh (0-1) for Flanagan (61), P O'Donovan for P Casey (66). CLARE: E Foudy; R Hayes (0-1), A Hogan, Darragh Lohan; D McInerney, J Conlon, C Galvin; R Taylor (2-1), C Malone (0-2); T Kelly (0-3), D Reidy (0-2), J O'Neill; S O'Donnell, P Duggan (0-2, 2sc), M Rodgers (1-8, 7f). Subs: Daithí Lohan for Darragh Lohan (14 mins, inj), I Galvin for Reidy (60), D Ryan for McInerney (65), S Meehan (0-1) for O'Donnell (66), A Shanagher for Duggan (67). Referee: T Walsh (Waterford).
Irish Times
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Darragh Ó Sé: Fatigue could separate football's contenders from pretenders - and that's bad news for Kerry and Donegal
I was exhausted just looking at the Ulster football final last Saturday. It was a sunny day, the game was deep into extra-time and it was all happening with the new rules in place. Fellas were dropping like flies everywhere you looked. If you can deliver good football under those conditions, you are going to be right up there when the big business gets done over the coming months. At one stage near the end of extra-time, Peadar Mogan was doing a half-limp-half-hop, like a man who'd been shot in the back of the leg. Mogan found himself at wing-forward and suddenly got a twinge in his hamstring. Worse, he got a pass from Shane O'Donnell. Mogan wouldn't have been thankful to his teammate for that pass. He dished the ball off like it was on fire and gave it the full Hopalong Cassidy back into his own half where he could stay out of trouble. READ MORE There is going to be more and more of that as the championship goes on. I expect fatigue to play a serious part in what happens between now and July. Games have gone to extra-time before, but the old rules allowed some room for resets and breathers to take the sting out of games. That can't happen to the same extent now. The solo-and-go has killed the reset free. Not being able to pass back to the goalie has kept the action moving forward. The 50-metre punishment for slowing down a free or a sideline ball has killed that option too. The bodies don't get a break. You keep going until you have nothing left to give. Donegal's goal in extra-time was a prime example of that. Rory Grugan is one of Armagh's big leaders and best decision-makers. But his body just couldn't give any more. He saw Jason McGee cut in behind and knew he had to go with him, but he couldn't get there. McGee gave it across to Ciarán Moore and Donegal had their goal. We've all been that soldier. Kerry played Tyrone in the All-Ireland 2005 final and towards the end of the game, I got forward to take a shot for a point. I don't even remember if I scored or not. What I do remember is the ball being in the air and the only thought in my head being: 'How the hell am I going to get back out in time for the kickout?' Armagh's Darragh McMullen takes on Peadar Mogan of Donegal during last Saturday's Ulster final in Clones. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho When you're reeling like that, the crisis is as much a mental one as a physical one. Your lungs are gone. Your legs are gone. But the biggest problem you have is making yourself believe that these things don't matter. You ask yourself questions in those moments. Am I able, physically, to get my body out into position here? And if I do get out there, how am I going to manage to win this kickout? Where am I going to find the fortitude for this? Murphy is one of the best decision-makers in the history of the game The one saving grace you have is that there is only one answer. You will do it because you must do it. Ask yourself all the questions you like but you're only wasting valuable time. This thing is non-negotiable. It's what all your training was for. [ Conor McManus: Rule changes make Gaelic football more exciting and managing the clock even more crucial Opens in new window ] [ Jimmy's not winning matches, it's the boys, insists Donegal's McGuinness Opens in new window ] Whenever I was exhausted in a game, I told myself that this is how I thought it would be. Think about any time you're tired in real life – loads of different thoughts go through your head all at once and most of them are some version of a complaint about how tired you are. I basically decided to drown them out with one single message: you knew this would be hard so get on with it and find a way. You could see Michael Murphy doing that against Armagh last Saturday. This is a man who made his debut for Donegal 18 years ago. He missed two full seasons of intercounty football. He had more excuses than anybody to put his hand up and get off the pitch, but Jim McGuinness kept him there until the 77th minute. And why wouldn't he? When everything is hard, you need your best decision-makers on the field. Donegal manager Jim McGuinness with Michael Murphy after he was taken off during extra-time of the Ulster SFC final. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Jim can see the right decision from the sideline, but in a cauldron like that, there's very little he can say or do. So, to have Murphy in there guiding fellas on where to go and what to do is invaluable. He's no ordinary Joe Soap telling you to go and do something, either. If Michael Murphy says it, you'll fairly hop to it. Murphy is one of the best decision-makers in the history of the game. I rate him alongside Seamus Moynihan as somebody who never seems to take the wrong option and who always knows where to be and what to do. For him to keep going into extra-time was some shift. McGuinness played it well too. He had brought Paddy McBrearty off in normal time and then put him back on for Murphy in extra-time. What does that tell you? It says that in a world where everybody is out on their feet, a good decision-maker is better than the freshest legs. Donegal's Shane O'Donnell on the attack against Armagh in the Ulster SFC final. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho This is going to become more and more pertinent as the championship goes on. The last thing you need if you have to take a key player off with fatigue is to replace him with someone who is only 80 per cent as good. But in some cases, teams are not going to have a huge amount of choice in the matter. For what it's worth, I don't think it spells good news for Kerry. I look around at some of the other squads and they seem to be a good bit deeper. It's why I don't think the Dubs are gone. It's why Galway and Armagh are going to be right up there. It might catch Donegal, funny enough – McBrearty was one of three players they brought back on in extra-time. When the games come in a glut from the end of June, that could count against them. The new game demands that players go deeper into the well than ever before. Not everyone will be able to climb their way out.
BreakingNews.ie
10-05-2025
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Saturday sport: Armagh and Donegal lock horns in the Ulster football final
Gaelic games Ulster football For the second successive year, Armagh and Donegal lock horns in the Ulster Senior Football Championship final later. Donegal come into the game as defending champions, with Jim McGuinness' team overcoming the now All-Ireland kingpins on penalties in last season's provincial decider. Advertisement Throw-in at Clones is at 5.20pm. Tailteann Cup Limerick lead London by 14-points to 1-9 in the Tailteann Cup. Wicklow are 5-points to 1-11 up away to Offaly. Munster hurling There's a crucial match in the race for qualification in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship this evening. Advertisement All-Ireland champions Clare welcome Tipperary to Ennis at 6pm, with both teams on just one point from their first two fixtures. Last year's hurler of the year Shane O'Donnell is on the Banner bench and could make his first appearance of the year. Leinster hurling There are three games down for decision in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship. Following their win against Offaly last time out, Galway welcome Wexford to Salthill. Advertisement Dublin can take a huge step towards qualification with a win at Antrim, while table toppers Kilkenny host Offaly. Soccer Manchester City head to already-relegated Southampton this afternoon looking to boost their Champions League qualification hopes. A win will move them level on points with second placed Arsenal in the Premier League. Another contender for a top five finish – Aston Villa – are away to Bournemouth this evening. Of the other sides battling for a place in Europe next season, Fulham host Everton, Brentford are at Ipswich and Brighton go to Wolves. Golf Shane Lowry is one shot off the lead heading into today's third round of golf's Truist Championship in Philadelphia. The Offaly man heads into the weekend at 11-under-par, with Keith Mitchell the man to catch into the weekend. Defending champion Rory McIlroy is seven-under into the weekend. Rugby James Ryan could play his first minutes since the Six Nations this evening. The Ireland lock is on the bench for URC table toppers Leinster's match with Zebre at the Aviva Stadium. Connacht take on Edinburgh at Dexcom Stadium, in their last home fixture of the regular season.
Irish Times
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Nicky English: Clare on the edge as Munster reaches sudden death
Saturday evening in Ennis is championship hurling : a one-off game, the first of the season, where the team that loses is basically gone. Both Clare and Tipperary are going to have to throw everything at it and both are coming off fairly poor performances. Tipp never got started in Cork and you would have to question their mindset going there, which ultimately led to Darragh McCarthy's red card at the start. This meant they were never going to win. Before they played Cork, I thought Clare were struggling to come to terms with their All-Ireland success but they have had so many injuries that finding any sort of form has been extremely difficult. They have had one good half out of four to date and that after a poor league campaign but you must remember they played Waterford without two of their best players, two of the people who won the All-Ireland for them, Tony Kelly and Shane O'Donnell . Diarmuid Ryan, apart from 15 minutes, and Conor Cleary have also been missing. READ MORE Speculation is that John Conlon is battling a back problem. That's half of the defence and two of the best attacking players. Noel McGrath consoles Darragh McCarthy after he was red carded at the start of the Tipperary v Cork game at Páirc Uí Chaoimh a fortnight ago. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho No team, no matter who they are – Limerick or Cork – can be stripped of resources like that and still be at their best. The level I expect from Clare this weekend will be dictated by who's available. If Shane O'Donnell plays, he's a great player who showed his propensity to come back in last year's league final when he contributed strongly, but at the same time he hasn't played a single game in 2025. So, there's a question mark over the availability of key players and even if available, their likely form, given the struggles to get fit and healthy. In a way, it's no different from the last number of years; as I've always said, Clare reflect the personality and values of their manager, Brian Lohan, and when all seemed lost against Cork, they were able to turn it around. So, I'd expect they won't be wanting for either desire or application but I just wonder if they can get anywhere near last year's level. [ Clare buoyed by return of Shane O'Donnell and Tony Kelly for Tipperary clash Opens in new window ] From the word go this year, I have felt that getting into Munster's top three and qualifying would constitute a very good result for Tipperary. It could result in getting some of the younger players Croke Park experience in a semi-final, possibly, but first of all they have to wipe the slate from Páirc Uí Chaoimh. In fairness to Tipp, they fought away in Cork both days and showed plenty of application. Cork maybe had taken the foot off the gas but Tipp had goal chances for Sam O'Farrell and Andrew Ormond, and didn't lie down in a hopeless situation. I think that this is a great chance for them. Have they the wherewithal? They scored five goals the last time they went to Ennis but Clare had a lot of chances themselves and created difficulty for Tipperary's defence by running at them. Cork did the same this season. Pace really is an issue for them. Peter Duggan has probably been Clare's best player in the championship but Tipp have plenty of stand-up defenders to try to deal with him. It's the running game that's likely to cause more anxiety, emphasising how vital the wheels of a fit O'Donnell and Kelly would be. [ Joe Canning: Summer will be over before it starts for losers of Munster showdown – and US clubs are ready to pounce Opens in new window ] If Tipperary can actually hold out defence and midfield, which has really been quite questionable for them as well, I think they can manage McCarthy's absence. Jason Forde is not in bad form. Jake Morris has been in really good form and it could well be the kind of game would suit John McGrath. I think it gives Tipperary very much a fighting chance in this game which, on balance, I think they'll win. In Leinster, the fight to get out of the province with Kilkenny will be a lot clearer by Saturday evening. Wexford go to Pearse Stadium. After a poor league, which wasn't improved on against Kilkenny, Galway were a good bit better beating Offaly. They were really up for it. Micheál Donoghue got yellow cards on the line, and although that's not a great look for manager, it was a real call to arms for this current Galway team in that match. Despite showing fallibility in a few chances against Dublin, Wexford's Lee Chin has consistently been an absolutely outstanding player. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho It can have a galvanising effect and they needed something. Wexford have impressed me despite a slightly unlucky defeat in Parnell Park when a goal was wrongly awarded against them at a critical juncture of the match. Dublin went on to score another quickly and well deserved the win but Keith Rossiter is getting nearly all he can out of Wexford. They remain heavily largely dependent on Lee Chin, who is again in outstanding form, if a bit fallible finishing a few chances against Dublin. At the same time, he carries huge workload and responsibility and has consistently been an absolutely outstanding player. I saw teams being picked from the last 25 years and he was one player who would certainly have to be included. He really merits very high praise, because at his best he is virtually unmarkable. Galway at home look more likely but Wexford will rise to that challenge. I thought Dublin moved the ball well and intelligently. They also took all the handy scores, which hasn't always been the case with them but previously questionable decision making has been transformed. They should seal qualification in Corrigan Park against Antrim.
