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The 42
15 hours ago
- Sport
- The 42
'Just a special talent' - 20 years on from Galway's 'Terrible Twins' brilliance in All-Ireland final
THE TONE WAS set after just 18 seconds. Cathal Blake made the hard yards, Micheal Meehan provided the finishing touch to the net. On All-Ireland final day for Galway it was the perfect start. By the eighth minute they had hit the net twice, they struck a third goal by half-time, and doubled that tally during the second half to finish with six. They only raised five white flags but no one of a maroon persuasion minded that the goal total surpassed the point figure. Two decades on as Galway and Down prepare to cross paths in the senior championship arena in Newry, the memories of a madcap and wildly entertaining All-Ireland U21 final between the counties in Mullingar come flooding back for those involved. The end scoreline, 6-5 to 4-6, remains stunning to read, and in the Galway ranks there was too chief architects. Meehan, an irrepressible talent, struck 3-2. Seán Armstrong, fresh out of the minor ranks, pushed him hard in the scoring stakes and finished with 3-1. 'Sometimes I feel sorry for Cathal Blake, he was full-forward beside the two lads and he was a brilliant footballer, still playing with his club,' recalls Barry Cullinane, a towering midfielder in that Galway team. 'He took the Down full-back out of it, and they followed him because they knew if they didn't, he was going to cause problems and it just left to rake space inside for the lads. 'You'd don't need to ask them twice to pull the trigger. The exploits of famed Galway duo Sean Purcell and Frank Stockwell earned them the 'Terrible Twins' label, Meehan and Armstrong struck a partnership that year to rival them. Before the final, they hit 15 out of Galway's 17 points in the All-Ireland semi-final against Cork, Armstrong swinging over seven from play. Meehan's talent was already advertised in bright lights. In 2002 he won the Hogan Cup with St Jarlath's and an All-Ireland U21 medal with Galway. In 2003 he won the Sigerson Cup with NUIG. In 2004 he won the All-Ireland senior club title with Caltra. Advertisement By 2005, his last year as an underage footballer, his ability had been illuminated for all to see, but there was a confidence in the threat posed by his attacking colleague as well. 'I wouldn't have played with Army up to that, but he had a huge reputation, even from like U14 in Salthill, they had a really, really good team,' says Cullinane. 'He came out of minor but was basically built like a 25-year-old. 'He could handle himself. He came out of Leaving Cert, went into the military, and didn't take a huge amount of work on the physical aspect of it because genetically he was all there. 'We knew when we had him that that you definitely had a potent forward line. We'd been unlucky at minor level with that team, we lost in an All-Ireland quarter-final to Joe Sheridan's Meath team, and probably maybe lacked a little bit of support for Mikey and Army was the extra bit of impetus that we needed.' Delivering for Meehan fuelled the motivation of that Galway group. 'There was huge excitement around then because you saw that 2002 (U21) team and the performance they put in, they beat Kerry in a semi-final and Dublin in a final. That was off the back of the 2001 senior final and there was a huge positivity around Galway football at the time. Maybe it had dwindled a little bit. 'But for all of us, you know you're playing with a generational talent when you've Michael Meehan. We knew that, we'd all seen him since Under-12 coming up through the ranks and knew exactly how good he was. 'I think there was a bit of a responsibility that we had to perform as well to make sure that he got the recognition that that he deserved. He was just a special talent. 'Not only as a brilliant footballer, he was a brilliant leader as well and demanded high standards. It was the responsibiliry for us all to get to the level that he expected.' They delivered. Cullinane was one of a number who graduated to the senior ranks. 'We got a load of lads off that off that U21 team. Damien Dunleavy, Niall Coyne, Darren Mullahy, Alan Burke, Finian Hanley, Gary Sice, myself, Niall (Coleman), Mikey, Army, we got a load of lads went on to play senior. 'Only for injuries, I'd say a couple of them would have had a lot better (careers). Damien Dunleavy was an unbelievable talent. Like he had everything, he was athletic, brilliant footballer, but just ravaged by injuries. 'Darren Mulllahy was an exceptional wing-back and again kind of just got caught with injuries over the years. It was definitely a profitable team for the Galway seniors. We were lucky that Peter Ford at the time was over the seniors and he was over the U21s. 'That was the way it was done. John O'Mahony, God rest him, took the seniors and U21s, and then when he stepped aside and Peter Ford came in, he took that as well. So it was good for us in terms of like that transition to senior was was more seamless.' Related Reads A New York All-Ireland final and Croke Park championship meetings - Kerry and Cavan's history 'You are used to being on the road' - Shane O'Donnell makes light of Donegal controversy 'You couldn't be happy with Saturday' - Paul Geaney gets ready for charge at Sam Maguire Members of the opposition that day have progressed as well. Conor Laverty was a livewire, jinking forward that Galway needed to watch. Now he is the Down boss trying to mastermind the downfall of the Galway seniors. 'He was one of three lads we had pinpointed,' recalls Cullinane of Laverty. 'Joe Ireland, I think injury kind of caught him as well, he didn't start the final and got a goal off the bench. Ambrose Rodgers in the middle of the pitch and Laverty, they were the three hot hot properties. 'At the time, like the whole analysis side of it wasn't as as detailed as it is now. You were just getting snippets here and there, but we knew what he had done up to that. 'To see what he's gone on to do for Kilcoo and Down, you have to have huge admiration for him. He was a hard runner and I think he kind of has brought that into Kilcoo and brought it into Down. He's obviously a good thinker of the game and he was a really, really good footballer.' The 1959 was the first Galway-Down clash in championship, Galway winning that All-Ireland semi-final. They would meet four times in the space of 13 seasons, Galway edging the semi-final record 3-1, but Sunday afternoon will represent a first championship meeting in 54 years. Since last Monday's draw, memories of the 2005 U21 showdown have been stirred up again. 'Good days like that, you'll always gravitate towards those memories and they were really nice,' says Cullinane. 'There was a great bunch of lads and the draw just makes you think about about them. 'It's1971 since Galway played Down in the championship. I played them in the league a few times. 'But definitely there's a connection between Galway and Down football. For myself, I'm from Claregalway. Patsy O'Hagan, who's the former Down star of the '60s, he moved to Claregalway and Danny Cummins, ex-Galway footballer, is actually his grandson. 'So in Claregalway there's a big Down connection and that adds to it this week.' *****
The 42
11-06-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'It wouldn't be a straightforward decision' - AFL door still open for Tyrone star
EOIN MCELHOLM has acknowledged that he would have a big decision to make if an AFL contract offer comes in. The Tyrone senior is the Dalata Hotel Group U20 Player of the Year for 2025, having secured back-to-back titles with the Red Hands. Loughmacrory talent McElholm struck 2-4 in last month's All-Ireland final defeat of Louth, 12 months on from registering 0-7 in their 2024 final win over Kerry. Throw in his terrific minor and college record — he played in the 2021 All-Ireland minor decider and captained Omagh CBS to Hogan Cup success in 2023 — and you can understand why AFL scouts are interested. McElholm impressed at the AFL Draft Combine in 2023 and spent two weeks on trial with Fremantle after last year's Championship. He has come on in Tyrone's first three Championship games this season and is pushing hard for a first Championship start ahead of Sunday's crucial Group 1 game against Cavan. Asked about his AFL situation, McElholm, who turns 20 next month, said it's something he hasn't ruled out but has placed on the back burner for now. Advertisement 'Just keeping in touch, but nothing crucial,' he said. 'But if the opportunity came, I'd definitely look into it because I was out twice and really enjoyed it out there. I really enjoyed the whole experience. But just for the meantime, the focus is on Tyrone and what happens there.' McElholm said he has developed an interest in the oval ball game and watches Fremantle play whenever he can. But he acknowledged that it would be difficult to walk away from Tyrone GAA just as his senior career is lifting off. 'It definitely would,' said McElholm, who made his senior debut as a sub in last year's Championship defeat to Roscommon. 'It wouldn't be a straightforward decision. I'd obviously have to think about it and stuff. I just really enjoyed the opportunity, and if things weren't going well, you're always only a flight away from home.' Meath's Cian McBride, who had a four-year stint at Essendon, spoke recently about the club being won over specifically by his speed. 'I did the combine over there, when I went out two years ago,' said McElholm of how he impressed scouts. 'So it's the 2km run, the 20m sprint, the jump and agility test. I actually did well in the 20m sprint, I got top 10, ninth. 'Probably the rest of my scores weren't as good as the sprint. But that's what they really look into, yeah, your physical attributes. Because they know when you're over there, you'll have the skill base to pick up on their game and learn it.' McElholm will hope to impress again for Tyrone on Sunday in Enniskillen. A win over Cavan could secure them top spot in the group and an All-Ireland SFC quarter-final place, although a loss could potentially spell the end of their campaign. It bodes well for Tyrone that they beat Cavan earlier this season in Ulster and haven't lost a Championship game to the Breffni since 1983. 'It's a knock-out game, that's the way you have to look at it,' said McElholm, a Sigerson Cup semi-finalist earlier this year with Ulster University. 'It's an elimination game now. You have to prepare for it as if it's your last chance, basically. The main thing is getting a performance. 'Cavan showed great glimpses of what they can do against Mayo and Donegal. They're going to be very up for it, especially after us beating them in the Ulster championship.' After losing to Mayo in Round 2, Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke may fancy making changes in attack, potentially paving the way for a McElholm start. But with the Canavan brothers, Darren McCurry, Mattie Donnelly, Mark Bradley and Peter Harte among those vying for spots, it's ultra competitive. 'The two Canavans and Petey and Darren, they're boys who you watched growing up,' said McElholm. 'Now playing with them and learning different tips and skills, it's a complete pleasure.' Dalata Hotel Group GAA U20 Football Team of the Year 1. Conan McGarvey (Tyrone) 2. Pádraic Tinnelly (Louth) 3. Joey Clarke (Tyrone) 4. Caolan Donnelly (Tyrone) 5. Tadhg McDonnell (Louth) 6. Callum Daly (Tyrone) 7. Hugh O'Loughlin (Mayo) 8. Seán Callaghan (Louth) 9. James Maguire (Louth) 10. Kevin Muldoon (Donegal) 11. Eoin McElholm (Tyrone) 12. Seanán Carr (Donegal) 13. Ruairí McCullagh (Tyrone) 14. Tomás Kennedy (Kerry) 15. Darragh Beirne (Mayo)
Irish Daily Mirror
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
McGeeney hails 'best system GAA has ever produced' that is set to be scrapped
Kieran McGeeney's one man crusade to save the All-Ireland round robin format is beginning to gather support. The much-maligned system is due to be binned at the end of this season after a GAA Special Congress voted in a new format last February, with an overwhelming majority of 92.8 percent. Ironically, it comes at a team when the format is being widely showered with love by pundits and fans alike. McGeeney's comments came after another thrilling weekend of football where Derry and Galway played out a pulsating draw, Armagh trumped Dublin at Croke Park and Mayo bounced back to shock Tyrone in Omagh. On top of that, Down pipped Louth in a thriller at Newry, while Meath and Roscommon fought out a draw at the Hyde. The main factors for getting rid of the old format were the belief that there were too many games for a tight window and that only four teams were eliminated out of 16 after three rounds of games (24 matches). Another solution would have been to have just two teams qualify out of the four-team groups rather than four, although this may have meant more dead rubbers. In the current system, the carrot of topping the table to claim the one of the four automatic All-Ireland quarter-final places on offer has proved worthwhile with teams seeing the value in it and going after it hard. Having one game less and clear two week breaks between big games appears to have advantaged sides, rather than having a hectic schedule of playing three huge championship matches in 13-15 days. The other criticism of the format was that teams could lose three championship games and still make the last 12, as happened with Derry and Roscommon last year. However, this fails to take into account how competitive Ulster in particular is. The new format still has 16 teams, who qualify in the same fashion - the eight provincial finalists, the highest ranked league finishers, and the Tailteann Cup winners from the year before. Those 16 teams play off against each other in Round 1, with the winners going to Round 2A and the losers going to Round 2B, where those eight losing teams play off against each other. The four Round 2A winners qualify for the quarter-final stage with the Round 2A losers meeting the Round 2B winners in Round 3 (preliminary quarter-final). Once again the lopsided provincial championships determining the top eight seeds corrupts the system, but this seems unlikely to change in the near future. The new system is already used in the Sigerson Cup. McGeeney, though, reckons the current format is the best the GAA has ever had with big games week on week in May and June. And he says you can't look beyond your next fixture: 'That's why I love this system," he says. "You're looking at the next point. 'As you can see there (the Armagh/Dublin game), the way this game is played, the minute we put that ball short, Dublin were hungry to get a score because they know how much it means. We were the same against Derry. 'Again, I think it's why it's the best system that the GAA has ever produced.' McGeeney doesn't believe the system is too hectic and demanding on players and managers and that the preseason builds a robustness in players if it is done properly. 'I think the whole system is better,' he continued. 'I genuinely do. Those week to week (games). It is hard. Again, that was probably the argument for the pre-season. Teams do their own pre-season. 'Those days of flogging players and the stuff that I used to do is long gone, thank God. Your pre-seasons are mapped out to the last degree. 'To have somebody who doesn't even know your players, their medical history or anything else, to tell them what to do, I think plays a big part. 'If you get the pre-season right, that robustness in your players can last. It doesn't guarantee it, but it's no different in any sport, professional or amateur. 'I don't think it's too much. Sometimes when you get extra time in a game and you can be out the following week, that's a lot because you're basically playing two games in that one weekend. 'In general, sometimes you fall foul of it, sometimes you don't. 'The cadence we have is pretty good. I do think the system we have works well. We can't expect every game to be a clinker. 'We can't expect everything to be brilliant. It's no different than when there's Champions League or World Cup rugby. There's going to be rounds and there's going to be games that are poor. 'But I think what we've got is good. In our sport, we have to respect the club level as well. 'At the minute, we seem to have that, although most of the leagues are going on at the minute without a lot of the county players. They're normally back in for the tail end of the league. 'It's an important part of it and into the Championship. I don't know if we need to mess with it that much. I think we've done enough of that. I know it changes again next year, but the cadence is pretty good.
Irish Independent
30-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Former Louth and Armagh inter-county star Padraig O'Neill to be remembered with charity walk
The walk in aid of the Irish Heart Foundation is being organised by Cillian O'Neill and will take place on Saturday, July 19. The route will take walkers across the Cooley mountains from The Lumpers Bar in Ravensdale and down into Carlingford, where Padraig, who was affectionately known as 'Bucket', had lived with his family at Grove Road. The Newry-native moved to Carlingford with his family at a young age, and during the course of his career lined out for both Louth and Armagh. He first played Gaelic football to a high standard as a student at the Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School in Newry and as a student of Ulster University, won three Sigerson Cup titles. His club career began at juvenile level with Cumann Peile Cuchulainn before moving to the Cooley Kickhams underage sides. Louth MFC and Louth U21FC titles followed and he made his senior team debut in 1982. He won several Cardinal O'Donnell Cup and ACC Cup titles in a lengthy career that ended in 2005. He captained Armagh minors when they were defeated by Derry in the 1984 Ulster MFC final. He went on to play for the under-21 team and was also part of the senior team beaten by Donegal in the 1990 Ulster SFC final. He later declared for the Louth senior football team. On his retirement from playing, he was involved in team management and coaching. He was manager of the Naomh Malachi team when they won the Louth IFC title in 2009, and was also associated with the Cuchulainn Gaels and Cooley Kickhams. The 58-year-old suffered a fatal heart attack on is way home from the 2024 All-Ireland SFC semi-final and died at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, on July 20 last. Now his family and those organising the walk are hoping that his friends from college, work and the world of GAA will join in the walk, celebrate his memory and raise funds for the Irish Heart Foundation. Anyone interested in taking part is asked to contact Daryl Bailey on 087 905 4282 and let him know they can join the hike. A donation of €25 per person is being requested.
Irish Times
29-05-2025
- General
- Irish Times
‘Adapt and move on': Laois's Killian Roche on rule change deterring adventurous sweeper keepers
The night that Laois opened their 2024 National League campaign with a narrow win over Longford, goalkeeper Killian Roche filled his boots. The Clare native was his team's joint top scorer that evening, lamping three points from play and two more from frees. He performed a similar function earlier this year when powering UCD to another Sigerson Cup final with important points from play against DCU, MTU Kerry and TU Dublin. This year's Sigerson Cup was played under the 2024 rules while the first five games of the 2025 league also afforded adventurous goalkeepers such as Roche plenty of freedom to roam and score as 12 v 11 overloads were permitted. READ MORE But the shift in rules since then has cut the legs off sweeper keepers who are back focusing on the bread-and-butter basics of goalkeeping again: shot-stopping and kickouts. The Killeshin clubman will be back in action on Saturday evening when Laois travel to Newbridge to play Offaly in the final round of Tailteann Cup group games. A Laois win could see the 2024 finalists top the table and advance directly to a quarter-final. But is it all still floating Roche's boat like it used to and is football as fun with his wings clipped? 'The game probably needed changing in a way. You don't mind it so much. I'd be more worried about the kickout rule. That's probably the one that bothers me a bit more,' Roche said. 'Taking away the back-pass from the keeper is one thing, but still insisting on the kickout going long, that you have to kick it out beyond the arc, is another layer. 'Like, if you go short, but you can't pass back to the keeper, that's risky enough in itself. And that was kind of the issue in the past, where teams went short, got it back to their keeper and had the extra man so they could play keep ball. You can't do that any more. 'Every keeper is in the same boat': Laois keeper Killian Roche is seen in the Tailteann Cup against Kildare last year. Photograph: Bryan Keane/INPHO 'That's the one frustrating thing I find with the new rules, but I don't mind the rest of them. Every keeper is in the same boat, so you just have to adapt and move on.' Ulster trio Niall Morgan, Rory Beggan and Ethan Rafferty were typically identified as the most attack-minded goalkeepers under the rules that pertained before the mid-league change. But Roche was just as keen to live life on the edge and to burst forward in search of a score while leaving the backdoor unlocked. 'Since the rules changed, I haven't been going up as much,' he said. 'You can see it in the GPS numbers even, the distance covered has gone down considerably. It is probably hard to tell an outfield player to stay back for the sake of me going up. 'There are advantages there too. Ethan Rafferty is probably the best at it, he's a natural outfield player, too, and he's obviously a great man to bring up the pitch because he's fresh and it allows other players to get a rest when they're staying back. 'So it works for some, but for other counties it doesn't at all. It is probably harder now to tell an outfield player to hold back for you to go up.' Roche remains a vital cog in the Laois machine as they prepare for what will be a huge derby game on Saturday in neutral Newbridge. A Laois win, allied to a Wicklow win over Waterford elsewhere, would leave three teams – Laois, Offaly and Wicklow – all locked on four points, bringing scoring difference into play. Truth be told, anything could happen when it comes to Laois and the Tailteann Cup. They reached last year's final, and a semi-final in 2023, yet have also endured some of their worst days as inter-county players in the tier-two competition. Killian Roche, pictured playing against Wexford last April: 'You can see the prize at the end of it, it's a pathway to Sam Maguire'. Photograph: Leah Scholes/INPHO Roche, who has started 15 of the 16 games that Laois have contested since the Tailteann Cup began in 2022, was in goals for the 2023 semi-final defeat to Down, when they coughed up 8-16. 'It was a dark day. They drew with London that season too. More recently, they lost to division four side Wicklow in round two of this year's competition, a reversal that few anticipated. It remains a tournament they desperately want to win,' he said. 'You can see the prize at the end of it, it's a pathway to Sam Maguire.' His native county, Clare, will compete in that competition on Sunday when they travel to play Monaghan in Clones. Roche was on the Clare panel for three seasons, between 2016 and 2018, before injury, then a move to the midlands for college prompted a club and county switch. 'Where I'm living now, that's where my life is,' he said. 'I've been living on the Carlow/Laois border for the last seven or eight years now.'
