Latest from The 42
The 42
9 hours ago
- Sport
- The 42
Limerick unchanged for Dublin clash
LIMERICK HAVE named their match panel for this Saturday's All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Quarter Final against Dublin. John Kiely and his management team have named an unchanged starting XV from the side that suffered a Munster final penalty shootout defeat to Cork earlier this month. There is one change among the substitutes, with Fergal O'Connor replacing Shane O'Brien. The game takes place at 4pm in Croke Park. Advertisement Limerick (v Dublin) 1. Nickie Quaid (Effin) 4. Mike Casey (Na Piarsaigh), 3. Dan Morrissey (Ahane), 2. Sean Finn (Bruff) 5. Diarmaid Byrnes (Patrickswell), 6. Kyle Hayes (Kildimo-Pallaskenry), 7. Barry Nash (South Liberties) 8. Adam English (Doon), 9. William O'Donoghue (Na Piarsaigh) 10. Gearóid Hegarty (St Patrick's), 11. Cian Lynch (Patrickswell – captain), 12. Tom Morrissey (Ahane) 13. Aaron Gillane (Patrickswell), 14. Aidan O'Connor (Ballybrown), 15. David Reidy (Dromin-Athlacca) Subs 16. Shane Dowling (Na Piarsaigh) 17. Peter Casey (Na Piarsaigh) 18. Colin Coughlan (Ballybrown) 19. Séamus Flanagan (Feohanagh-Castlemahon) 20. Declan Hannon (Adare) 21. Barry Murphy (Doon) 22. Fergal O'Connor (Effin) 23. Donnacha Ó Dálaigh (Monaleen) 24. Darragh O'Donovan (Doon) 25. Paddy O'Donovan (Effin) 26. Cathal O'Neill (Crecora-Manister)
The 42
9 hours ago
- Sport
- The 42
Two-time Wimbledon champion calls time on career
TWO-TIME Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova announced Thursday that she will be retiring from the professional tennis circuit after this year's US Open. The 35-year-old Czech, who is currently ranked down at 572 in the world, reached a career-high ranking of 2 in 2011 when she won the first of her two Wimbledon titles. She triumphed again in 2014 and went on to reach the final of the Australian Open in 2019. This week, she was handed a wildcard entry for one last outing on the grass courts of south-west London. Advertisement 'There comes a day that it is time for a new chapter, and that time for me has come now,' the left-handed Kvitova wrote on social media. 'I therefore wanted to share with you that 2025 is my last season on tour as a professional. 'I am excited and very much looking forward to soak in the beauty of playing The Championships, Wimbledon one more time, a place that holds the most cherished memories in my career for me. 'While I am not entirely sure yet what my hardcourt swing in the US will look like, I am intending to finish my active playing career at the US Open in New York later this summer.' Kvitova won Olympic bronze in 2016, but just before Christmas, she was attacked in her home by a knife-wielding robber, suffering cuts to the nerves and tendons in her left hand. She was a member of six Czech teams to have won the Fed Cup and won the most recent of her 31 tour titles on the grass in Berlin in 2023. Kvitova missed the 2024 season in order to give birth to her first child. Since returning, Kvitova is 1–6, with her lone win coming in the first round of Rome. 'I could not have asked or wished for anything more,' Kvitova posted. 'Tennis has given me everything I have today, and I will continue to be forever grateful to this beautiful sport that I love.' – © AFP 2025
The 42
9 hours ago
- Sport
- The 42
Kerry make 5 changes ahead of Cavan quarter-final
KERRY HAVE made five changes for Saturday's All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Preliminary Quarter-Final against Cavan. Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Seán O'Brien, Conor Geaney, Diarmuid O'Connor and Seán O'Shea all come into the team. Advertisement Tadhg Morley, Micheál Burns, Mark O'Shea, Killian Spillane and Tony Brosnan make way, with all bar Brosnan dropping to the bench. Paudie Clifford returns from injury to feature among the substitutes. The game takes place at 3.30pm in Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney. Kerry (v Cavan) 1. Shane Ryan (Rathmore) 2. Paul Murphy (Rathmore), 3. Jason Foley (Ballydonoghue), 4. Tom O'Sullivan (Dingle), 5. Brian Ó Beaglaoich (An Ghaeltacht) 6. Mike Breen (Beaufort), 7. Gavin White (Dr Crokes) 8. Joe O'Connor (Austin Stacks) 9. Seán O'Brien (Beaufort) 10. Diarmuid O'Connor (Na Gaeil) 11. Seán O'Shea (Kenmare Shamrocks) 12. Graham O'Sullivan (Dromid Pearses) 13. David Clifford (Fossa), 14. Conor Geaney (Dingle) 15. Dylan Geaney (Dingle) Subs:
The 42
11 hours ago
- Sport
- The 42
Rory McIlroy two shots off early clubhouse leader at Travelers Championship
RORY MCILROY made an impressive start to the Travelers Championship to sit two shots off the early clubhouse lead. The Masters champion had finished tied for 19th at the US Open over a punishing Oakmont course – but ended the weekend on a positive note following a three-under-par final round, which was the joint best of the day. The Northern Irishman, who saw his driver ruled as 'non-conforming' ahead of last month's PGA Championship before then missing the cut at the Canadian Open, had been looking to build some momentum at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell as focus turns towards the Open at Royal Portrush. Advertisement World number two McIlroy landed a birdie at the second and then sank two more ahead of the turn at the final PGA Tour Signature Event of 2025. After picking up another couple, a further birdie at the 17th saw him finish six-under with 64, to sit in a tie for second, two shots behind early clubhouse leader Austin Eckroat. American Eckroat hit a fine eight-under round, which included an eagle at the par-three 15th and a sixth birdie at the 18th. McIlroy's playing partner Keegan Bradley is also at six-under, having dropped a shot at the 12th, alongside Wyndham Clark, the 2023 US Open champion. Meanwhile, Shane Lowry is one over par at the time of writing after completing eight holes. The Offaly native has had an inconsistent start with bogeys on the first and seventh offset by a birdie on the third. England's Tommy Fleetwood carded a first round of 66 to sit in a group tied for sixth. Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, runner-up at Oakmont on Sunday, finished one over following a double-bogey six on the 17th. World number one Scottie Scheffler, defending his Travelers Championship title, has been paired with newly-crowned US Open champion JJ Spaun in the later starters. You can view the full leaderboard here. More to follow
The 42
11 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.' *****
