Search Results for 'Declan Ryan'

There’s something heart warming about Donegal. Their team ethic is not based on fancy individuality that can so often lead to failure, but on the values of hard, honest toil and a simple, effective game plan. They have a manager who doesn’t care in the slightest what the football fraternity think of him or his team. He has set out his stall and is sticking by it. The whole world was down on top of them last year, (myself included) because of their ultra defensive dour style of play. Jim McGuinness was vilified for tarnishing our ‘beautiful game’ with such an ugly conservative style of defensive system that saw supporters, including many from his own county, walk out in disgust from Croke Park, when Donegal missed a glorious opportunity to defeat a Dublin side that were there for the taking. In fact, I spent most of last summer hoping they would be beaten as I genuinely hated their style of play. The reality is, they have some fantastic forwards, last year, inexplicably, they utilised them so far from goal that they rarely got an opportunity to do serious damage to any opposition. Six points against Dublin in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final is a case in point. This year they are unquestionably easier on the eye and appear to have realised that they have the ability to be serious contenders for an All-Ireland title if they are prepared to play a more attacking expansive brand of football. I admire them for that and for the fact that they have refined their system which now has seen them score an average of 18 points per game in the five games they have played in this year’s championship. They have also retained their air tight defensive system, only conceding a single goal from open play. And to be fair Jim McGuinness deserves great credit for turning the fortunes of a county whose team, up to last year, were the party, fun loving boys of the inter-county scene.

There is a memorable moment towards the end of Brian Cody’s autobiography – the self-titled ‘Cody’ – in which he describes the run-up to the 2009 All-Ireland final.

Tipperary senior hurling manager Declan Ryan won his first All-Ireland medal playing midfield with Thomastown Vocational School (Grennan College).

Hot on the heels of successful events in April and June, the next Local Heroes music night takes place in Suede Bar Athlone next Friday August 26.

It's amazing what a week can do in sport.

The big three Kilkenny, Cork, and Tipperary have dominated the hurling scene for quite some time now, you have to go back to 1998 when the last non-superpower of hurling, Offaly, won the Liam McCarthy. Thirteen teams have ambitions to derail the current champions Tipperary but realistically only a handful have the talent to do so.

There was so much drama in last Sunday’s final league action that the GAA hierarchy could be forgiven for doing a U-turn on the reinstatement of the semi-finals that was passed in congress last Saturday.

John McIntyre’s side will play their last game on home turf for 2011 on Sunday when they take on the All Ireland champions Tipperary in Pearse Stadium at 2.30pm.

It has been a long hard winter in Kilkenny and I'm not just talking about the weather. The disappointment of not achieving the illusive five-in-a-row has been well and truly trashed out since last September.

Since my last column two weeks ago, Tipp have reclaimed the Munster title after a solid performance against Clare in the final. They, like Kilkenny, can sit back and watch the remaining contenders battle it out for the remaining two semi-final spots.