Tag: Offaly GAA

  • Plenty of positives to be gleaned from last minute defeat

    Plenty of positives to be gleaned from last minute defeat

    MEATH…2-11 OFFALY…1-15 Before the availability of online betting and the onset of Covid-19, it was part of the daily routine for whatever wheels were transporting me at the time to roll up the town and I’d stick on my Lucky 15 or whatever other multiple took my fancy on a given day. Well, there’s a…

  • One brave warrior’s special day exposes GAA bluff

    One brave warrior’s special day exposes GAA bluff

    Early April, 1999, but it’s more like a day in November. Wind and rain sheet into the old disabled viewing area in Croke Park. The corner where the Nally Stand and Hill 16 meet. The kindly old Steward, Bobby, who da and I had got to know from years of being in and out, says…

  • Meath headed for familiar setting for Championship opener

    Meath headed for familiar setting for Championship opener

    It will be a case of the road well travelled for Meath as the draws for the 2025 incarnation of the Provincial Championships – conducted on Saturday last – decreed that Robbie Brennan’s first outing as manager in the blue riband competition will be in Netwatch Dr Cullen Park against Carlow. Without having actual figures…

  • Harte isn’t the story here – Michael Duignan is

    Harte isn’t the story here – Michael Duignan is

    For a variety of reasons, it was resolved a long time ago that one could no longer be shocked by any revelations pertaining to Mickey Harte. From unhelpfully commenting on matters that had absolutely nothing to do with him (Same Sex Marriage and Abortion) to giving character references for a rapist who had pleaded guilty,…

  • Thank you Offaly

    Thank you Offaly

    “Is this to be it for Donegal? It would be a victory that would do an awful lot of counties an awful lot of good”. It was and it did. That quote was Ger Canning’s commentary on Declan Bonner’s iconic point which sealed a first serenading of Sam for the men from The Hills. Sensationally…

  • Frayne keeps ‘Hill in the frame amid chaotic conclusion

    Frayne keeps ‘Hill in the frame amid chaotic conclusion

    Summerhill (Meath)…1-09 Tullamore (Offaly)…1-07 The records will show that a late Kevin Ryan goal and an even later point from Eoghan Frayne were the deciding factors in this attritional but entertaining Leinster Club SFC encounter, but unfortunately it is likely to be overshadowed by the chaotic conclusion to proceedings which culminated in Dublin referee Barry…

  • System partly vindicated but still needs tweaking

    System partly vindicated but still needs tweaking

    What’s in a name? Quite a lot as it happens. Partly to see what sort of reaction it would receive, when doing my Facebook Check-In for Meath’s match against Wexford, it was referred to as the All Ireland IFC quarter final. Disappointingly, nobody took the bait. That’s what it should be called, though. As should…

  • One glaring factor of unfairness

    One glaring factor of unfairness

    In this space over the years, reference has been made on numerous occasions to my sporadic reading habits. For the sake of clarity, that’s generally meant in terms of books. Newspapers and/or online are part of the staples which keep these wheels turning on daily basis. The National papers on a Monday being a must.…

  • Watching, admiring, hoping

    Watching, admiring, hoping

    Did you ever watch somebody, sporting or otherwise, and just get an inkling straight away they were destined for stardom? Off the top of my head I could name a plethora, quite a few of them close to home.  Graham Geraghty and Emma Duggan are two that jump off the page. On a larger scale,…

  • Strange Sundays – Part I

    Strange Sundays – Part I

    If any writers, or producers of any media content, have ever experienced the following please drop a line down in the comments. On Sunday morning I started writing a piece relating to the two semi finals of the World Snooker Championship. Specifically, the contrast between the two. The epic encounter between Luca Brecel and Si…