While tens of thousands of Mayo supporters descended on Croke Park, as towns, villages and crossroads emptied in hope that a 75-year wait for Sam Maguire might finally end, anticipation had already reached a fever pitch a week earlier in the tiny rural community of Tooreen, near the Roscommon border. For while Mayo is, and…
I am young enough to remember the Ireland of my childhood. I am one of Bertie’s babies, born just before the turn of the millennium, raised in the long glow of the Celtic Tiger’s era of greed and excess. My earliest memories are of cranes on the skyline and a country that seemed to be…
Ireland is changing at an unparalleled rate. Our position as a globalised economic hub on the edge of the European Union, bridging the gap between the trading bloc and the United States, combined with our highly educated workforce, has placed the country at the centre of international investment and opportunity. Government policy increasingly reflects the…
Just like that, another inter-county season is over. Could anyone have predicted a more memorable ending? Where were you when it happened? The day Mayo finally returned to the promised land. A dream generations had lived and died without seeing finally unfolded on Jones’ Road, producing one of the greatest eruptions of emotion Croke Park…
On Sunday, the curtain falls on the inter-county season as the Sam Maguire Cup takes centre stage at Croke Park. A week after the Liam McCarthy found its destination, Gaelic football’s showpiece brings together two counties whose histories have been forever intertwined, with Kerry and Mayo meeting in an All-Ireland final for the first time…
‘A grain of rice will tip the scale.’ It remains one of the most enduring lines ever uttered in GAA circles. Coined by the legendary Páidí Ó Sé during his spell as Westmeath manager in the early noughties, the phrase perfectly captures the fine margins that define championship sport. More often than not, it is…
This year’s race for the Sam Maguire Cup has, by some distance, stolen the limelight from its hurling counterpart. Week after week, the championship has produced thriller after thriller, dramatic twists and genuinely remarkable performances and outcomes. The introduction of the new rules has completely transformed Gaelic football, opening up the game and injecting a…
The final four standing in the race for the Liam McCarthy Cup will lock horns this weekend as the championship reaches its penultimate stage. In truth, hurling desperately needs two high-quality semi-finals to inject some life into what has, for long periods, been a surprisingly underwhelming summer. For years the Munster Championship has been regarded…
This Saturday, Tipperary’s minor hurlers will travel to the banks of the Shannon to face neighbours Limerick in the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Final, a fixture that evokes memories of a decade ago, the last time the two counties met in the decider at the grade. Ten years have passed since the Munster rivals clashed in…
Just five games remain in this year’s intercounty hurling championship as the All-Ireland quarter-finals bring the curtain down on provincial campaigns that, in truth, never really caught fire. The Munster and Leinster finals were far from the classics many had anticipated, with Limerick and Galway emerging victorious to secure direct passage to the All-Ireland semi-finals.…