Search Results for 'Sean Og'

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.

• Galway sports stars Ollie Canning, Sean O Domhnaill and Ja Fallon are taking part in the 148km first stage of the ‘Race The Rás’ charity cycle in aid of GOAL and The Irish Cancer Society from Dunboyne to Portumna on Sunday. The three will begin each of the stages three hours before the professional riders begin their leg of the tour, which finishes in Skerries on Sunday week. In total, almost 100 members of the public will join more than 50 current and former GAA personalities to cycle at least one stage of the tour. They are hoping to raise in excess of €100,000 for the two organisations. Other GAA stars who have confirmed their participation include Sean Og Ó hÁilpín and Brian Corcoran, ex-Kilkenny star DJ Carey, Clare’s Tony Griffin and ex-Irish rugby international, Mick Galwey.

Amateur cyclists from all over County Kilkenny and beyond are this week scrambling to sign up and join some of the county’s top GAA stars to ‘Race The Rás’ and help raise money for GOAL and the Irish Cancer Society.

Sean Og’s debut single, “I Still Love You Without Your Car”, was released in May 2010 and shot to the number one position on the Irish iTunes chart. The song received play on radio stations across Ireland as well as in Europe and the US. The music video, which showcased Sharon Shannon's amazing singing and musical instrument-playing dogs, instantly became a YouTube sensation.

It’s not too often I start my column with a football theme but the scenes that followed last Sunday’s Leinster football final will have repercussions for every GAA supporter.

There was a dreamlike and eerie atmosphere in Pearse Stadium on Sunday afternoon as most hurling supporters kept their powder dry and stayed away until the league final on Sunday week.

On Saturday night in Thurles a thrilling touch of the Irish sporting summer will be available as the All Ireland hurling championship is now in the long desired do-or-die phase. Whoever loses from here on in will be a mere afterthought in the tale of 2008 so there shouldn’t be any shortage of intensity or incentive.

Everyone involved in the world of GAA has a story to tell. If you trace their roots back far enough, there has to have been a starting connection point between them and the GAA.

Everyone involved in the world of GAA has a story to tell. If you trace their roots back far enough, there has to have been a starting connection point between them and the GAA.

Have you ever wondered about the effect a manager can have on a group of footballers? Let me highlight just one example of how a single individual has transformed the fortunes and the mood of a club in the space of a week. We are witnessing an astonishing turnaround in the fortunes of Spurs in a matter of days, since the arrival of new manager, Harry Redknapp. I take a casual interest in the fortunes of this particular team as my wife Audrey is a lifelong supporter of the Spurs. In the last few months we witnessed one of the biggest clubs in England with big star players struggling in the relegation zone of the Premier League and facing relegation if the fortunes of the club didn’t improve immediately. Harry arrives on the scene and within days these underperforming stars are like men inspired. They grabbed their second thrilling comeback in five days last weekend, this time against table toppers Liverpool. I am perplexed and slightly intrigued as to how Harry has got them into a team of believers, with the mood of the club changed considerably in the space of a few days. People within the club have suggested that the fun has returned to the training ground and now everyone feels part of the team. Another suggested that they are now treated with respect. Harry apparently told them they were good players! This would suggest that previous management didn’t tell them that! Under previous manager Ramos a number of first team regulars were banished to the reserves without explanation, in the process undermining the morale and camaraderie within the whole group. There is a lesson here for all managers. If you lose the dressing room, in other words the very people you are expected to inspire and develop into a winning team, they will lose confidence in your ability to lead them. This should be the signal for you to walk.