Messages

33,419 a new all-time attendance record for the Camogie Finals today.

2026 Electric Ireland Football Minor Star Team of the Year

1. Rory Twohig (Cork and Kilmeen)

2. Aaron O'Sullivan (Cork and Glanmire)

3. James Maguire (Tyrone and Killyclogher St. Mary's / Cappagh)

4. Liam Mescal (Kildare and Eadestown)

5. Aodhán Corry (Tyrone and Trillick St Macartan's)

6. Tomás Gallen (Tyrone and Fintona Pearses)

7. Éanna Lynch (Cork and Ballincollig)

8. Kieran O'Shea (Cork and Urhan)

9. Charlie Meenan (Tyrone and Killyclogher St. Mary's / Cappagh)

10. Eoghan Ahern (Cork and Carrigaline)

11. Matthew F Daly (Tyrone and Eglish St. Patrick's)

12. Joe Miskella (Cork and Ballincollig)

13. Tom Whooley (Cork and Clonakilty)

14. Greg Kelly (Kildare and Castledermot)

15. Vincent Gormley (Tyrone and An Charraig Mhór Naomh Colmcille)


7 for All-Ireland winners Cork
6 for the All-Ireland runners up Tyrone
2 for Leinster champions and All-Ireland semi-finalists Kildare.

A surprise to see none from Derry who reached the last four or Roscommon who won Connacht winning 5 of their 6 championship matches.

Last year's was almost a nail in the coffin for provincials. Going further meant zero later on and was almost a negative. I am not sure how they rectify that.

Only 1 Provincial Champion made the last 8.

Perhaps let Provincial Champions straight to Round 2?
Have the 8 non Finalists play a prelim Round so 4 of them will be on their last life?

Why do that though?
After the provincial finals a lot of people were saying how good they were. Roscommon, Westmeath and Armagh certainly celebrated their wins and seemed to enjoy getting the titles.
The have their cups, why should doing well in that competition be rewarded in a separate competition.  I think a level playing field at the start of each competition is fairer instead of getting a leg up because you are already a winner. We had a great AI series, why mess with it?

Not a separate competition when county in Div 3,4 or relegated in Division 2 can reach the last 16 of the All-Ireland championship by reaching a Provincial final.

Provincial runner up getting the same as the winner, round 1 home game is probably the main issue. Also holding the round 1 draw before provincial finals was so poorly planned.

Comedian Jimmy Cricket aged 80. Co Tyrone-born Belfast-raised, real name James Mulgrew.

10 minutes to play Galway 1-6 Kerry 0-8

Three in a row for Kerry to lead by 2 with 7 minutes left.

Goal Galway, lead by 1 point again.

Level game once more with 4 minutes to go

2 minutes to play Galway lead by 1 point

Result Galway 2-7 Kerry 0-12.  First Senior All-Ireland title won since 2004.

Half time in the Senior All-Ireland final.

Galway 1-4 Kerry 0-7

Result Roscommon 2-12 Fermanagh 0-6. Had been some year for them with their U16s winning the All-Ireland and U18 losing the All-Ireland final to Cork.

Errors aside a big gap between the sides and not just the score.

Intermediate final half time.

Fermanagh 0-2 Roscommon 2-7. A half to forget for the Fermanagh goalkeeper. Shane Cake Currans daughter in action at number 9 for Roscommon.

Junior All-Ireland final result.


Antrim 1-13 Carlow 2-9.  Great finish to the match, fine goal by Carlow to level it up then Antrim kicked the winner with seconds left.

[Only buying shares in the afterlife" is Nobel Prize worthy]

Same Oul Town - melancholy as hell, paints a picture of every rural dump in the country. "Only buying shares in the afterlife" is Nobel Prize worthy.

Share The Darkness - brilliantly deployed without success after a few pints in a bar on many an occasion.

Red Cortina - a universal rite of passage

They did unfortunately produce a murderous version of Downtown with Petula Clark that should be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Classic line.

As are these, which I still use , usually for own amusement (and other's  bemusement).  As classic as  the  Father Ted quotes.

"Will Galway beat Mayo? Not if they have  Willie Joe"

"When you played  against a gale force wind,  and it changes at half time"

"face the ball, the game is on"

"Jaysus, I'd kill for a pint of porter"

"get that wasp  off my sandwich".

So many good and memorable lyrics

Galway and Mayo

there's a stillness in the summer air, sheepdog lying in the sun. Three young girls with butterfly nets break into a run.

Broke my heart.

I was standing on the edge of the parallelogram, roaring me head off, pass it in sham, play it in low ,don't hesitate or stall, will you open your eyes, for Christ's sake pass me the ball. ....you broke my heart

From Share The Darkness

Ah life's too short for wasting
For ifs and might have been's
Life's too short for wondering if
You could have lived your dreams

When the world belongs to distant dogs
And the air is dark and still
And drunken conversations pass beneath the window sill
And there's someone singing Elvis songs as they make their way back home
And all your fears and worries attack when you're alone

Right, it's the one  we've all been waiting for.

Appropriately , we're doing it this week of all weeks.

Here we go....

The Saw Doctors

Austy these lads wouldn't fill a tea room in Castlebar, let alone Croke Park.

Can you not just yourself name the 3 songs everyone is vaguely familiar with and then move on?

You need to move on from the tedious nonsense of any music artist needing fill Croke Park.

They have regularly sold out the TF Royal 4,000 capacity theatre in Castlebar.  Also regular guests at Glastonbury over the years. 

Great longevity thanks to their many good tunes with astute lyrics.

My favourite three

I hope we meet again
Clare Island
Same Old Town

Kerry will be looking to end the famine next year. But it will be another open championship with the new format increasing the chances of heavy weights knocking each other out sooner than expected, clearing the path for others.

Next year

David Clifford 28 championship debut 2018.

Paudie Clifford 29 debut 2020.

Diarmuid O'Connor 28 debut 2019

Sean O'Shea 29 debut 2018

Mark O'Shea 29 debut 2025

Gavin White 30 debut 2018

Mike Breen 29 debut 2021

Graham O'Sullivan 29 debut 2019

Jason Foley 31 debut 2019

Paul Murphy 35 debut 2014


All in their late 20s early 30s with a lot of mileage in the legs.  Mayo have showed what youth and freshness did and Kerry if still managed by Jack O'Connor will need to freshen things up starting a few of U20 All-Ireland winners in 2027.

28 or 29 isn't old ffs.

Loads more in all of those boys and bar Murphy would expect them all to finish up with about 3 more.

Add in the mileage in legs. In what is sure to remain very open championship in the years ahead and All-Ireland titles spread out among counties I would think one more will be won by Kerry and for anymore it will require the help of youth and freshness.

Kerry will be looking to end the famine next year. But it will be another open championship with the new format increasing the chances of heavy weights knocking each other out sooner than expected, clearing the path for others.

Next year

David Clifford 28 championship debut 2018.

Paudie Clifford 29 debut 2020.

Diarmuid O'Connor 28 debut 2019

Sean O'Shea 29 debut 2018

Mark O'Shea 29 debut 2025

Gavin White 30 debut 2018

Mike Breen 29 debut 2021

Graham O'Sullivan 29 debut 2019

Jason Foley 31 debut 2019

Paul Murphy 35 debut 2014


All in their late 20s early 30s with a lot of mileage in the legs.  Mayo have showed what youth and freshness did and Kerry if still managed by Jack O'Connor will need to freshen things up starting a few of U20 All-Ireland winners in 2027.