Search Results for 'Dessie Farrell'

And then there were two. Dublin qualified for a place against Mayo in the All-Ireland final after an epic battle with Kerry in arguably one of the best games of all times. As a neutral watching my heart missed the odd beat such was the excitement and tension, I can only imagine what it must have been like for supporters of both teams. You have to give Dublin credit for the way they came back after conceding some real sucker punch goals, and as I have always stated you need the odd decision or bounce of a ball to go your way to be successful. In my opinion this game hinged on three defining moments. First of all the placing of Cian O’Sullivan on Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper after half time. Cooper had run Ger Brennan ragged in the first half with a superb display, he was like a quarter-back orchestrating his team, he was simply untouchable, with O’Sullivan’s superior pace he was not nearly as effective in the second half. Secondly and most importantly the failure of referee Cormac Reilly to issue Johnny Cooper a second yellow card after a deliberate trip on namesake Colm, he would have definitely received a yellow had he not had one to his name already. Surely Dublin would not have survived with 14 men in a game of that intensity. Last, by no means least, after Declan O’Sullivan missed a glorious chance to put Kerry ahead in the 68th minute, David Moran and Marc Ó Sé challenged each other from the resulting kick out, Michael Darragh McCauley pounced on the loose ball to free Kevin McMenamin whose tame effort at a point went over Brendan Kiely’s head and into the back of the net. Game over. It truly was an immense game with some brilliant goals scored and some phenomenal build up play. It gives James Horan and co plenty to think about.

Under the new GAA GPA Awards scheme, sponsored by Opel, Michael Fennelly was named the GAA GPA Player of the month for August and Tommy Walsh was named GAA GPA Player of the month for September. The players were chosen by a players committee of the GPA.

I arrived early at GAA HQ last Sunday as I like to soak up the pre match atmosphere of All-Ireland final day. Normally there is a great buzz in and around Croke Park from about 10am and last Sunday was no different. I was privileged to have been asked to do co-commentary for the minor game and match analysis on the big one, so I had to be in the grounds by 12.45. As it happened, I also received an invitation from the GPA to attend a pre-match reception in Jurys Croke Park at 12 noon. It was a gig for former inter-county footballers and was an excellent idea as the opportunities to meet and chat with former players from other counties are few and far between. In fact during our playing years we would barely look at each other never mind hang about for a chat after matches. So unless you participate in some of the GAA golf classics, you rarely get a chance to say hello. And I don’t play golf! My friend Pat Holmes had arrived at the reception before I got there and, unfortunately for me, had devoured most of the sandwiches. Notwithstanding that minor complaint, the 30 minutes I spent at the pre match event was pleasant. I chatted with Greg Blaney, the former Down centre-forward, and John Lynch, corner back with Tyrone in the eighties. I asked both for their pre match predictions. Neither of them could see anything other than a Kerry victory. And that was the general consensus in and around Croke Park prior to the match, with the exception of the Dublin folk of course.

At half time last Sunday few, if any, Galway football supporters would have held out too much hope of a win for Tommy Joyce’s minor team in the All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park.

The Galway minor footballers will head to Dublin this Saturday for theAll-Ireland semi-final on Sunday at Croke Park (1.30pm) knowing most people expect it to be a very tough day at football headquarters.

The Galway minor footballers will take on a very highly rated Dublin outfit in the All-Ireland semi-final in three weeks’ time at Croke Park, following their 1-9 to 0-9 victory over Cavan last weekend in Longford. Their semi-final is fixed for August 28 and will be followed by the senior semi-final between Donegal and the winners of Tyrone and Dublin.

Kilkenny’s Eoin Larkin and Tyrone’s Seán Cavanagh have been announced as the Opel Gaelic Players of the Year for hurling and football for 2008 by the Gaelic Players Association at the GPA’s annual gala and awards evening at the Citywest Hotel.

Over the past few weeks and right up to the middle of January 2009 county boards and clubs will be holding their AGMs and releasing their accounts for the club delegates and club members to study. Some of the figures that are in the public domain already make for scary bedtime reading for those charged with raising the revenue to keep the wheels greased and turning. For example, the Waterford hurling board spent nearly €2 million in preparing their teams in 2008. The Galway hurlers cost over €1 million to keep on the road last season and they didn’t even reach the last four. How much would it have cost if they got to the final?

Kilkenny All-Star player Tommy Walsh has been named as the Opel Gaelic Player of the Year for hurling for 2009.

Over the past few weeks and right up to the middle of January 2009 county boards and clubs will be holding their AGMs and releasing their accounts for the club delegates and club members to study. Some of the figures that are in the public domain already make for scary bed-time reading for those charged with raising the revenue to keep the wheels greased and turning. For example - the Waterford hurling board spent nearly €2 million in preparing their teams in 2008. The Galway hurlers cost over €1 million to keep on the road last season and they didn’t even reach the last four. How much would it have cost if they had got to the final?