Dublin GAA announces 16 a-side club games

By Patrick Sharkey,

Dublin GAA chiefs have announced their plans to have a 16-a-side club championship and leagues.

The decision was made after extensive discussions between team management and the county board.

Former Dublin football manager, Jim Gavin, spoke to reporters about the decision, saying that it was a necessary step in the evolution of the sport. “As coaches, we’re always looking for ways to improve our players and our crew. We believe that adding an added player to each side will give our players more space and more opportunities to showcase their skills. It will in addition create new challenges and opportunities for us as coaches to develop new strategies and tactics.” The new tactics mean an extra midfielder but it is believed is nothing to do with the Kilmacud Crokes and Watty Grahams Glen Maghera controversy in which photographic evidence suggested 16 men on the pitch for Kilmacud.

The push is not without its challenges, however. The teams will need to adjust to the new format.

The message has already generated buzz among fans, with many excited to see how the new format will play out on the field. Some have even speculated that other counties may follow Dublin’s lead.

The first 16-a-side game in a Dublin GAA competition is set to take place in just a few weeks, and fans are eagerly anticipating the start of the new season. With the impressive track record of Dublin clubs in provincial and All-Ireland competitions and the added excitement of a new format, it’s sure to be an exciting season for Dublin GAA competitions. The changes impact both football and hurling.

Advertisement

Donegal 0-5 Meath 1-7 – Second half helps Meath seal the win.

By Patrick Sharkey,

A wide in the first minute made it hard for Meath. Donegal opened the scoring in the fourth minute through Susan White. Niamh O Sullivan then responded three minutes later with the opening point for the Royal ladies.

It went 10 minutes without any scores before Katie Long got a Donegal point. Aoife McColgan then made a big save for Donegal against a Byrne shot through on goal. Galloghy however then got herself a Meath point in the 23rd minute. Susan White then got her second point of the game. Stacey Grimes then got a point at the stroke of halftime for the royal to level it. The halftime score read Donegal 0-3 Meath 0-3. It was a low-scoring first half but if Susan White gets enough of the ball there is no doubt Donegal can trouble Meath a lot.

Meath began the second half on the front foot with Stacey Grimes and Niamh O Sullivan getting a point each.

It took until the midway point of the second half for Donegal to get going with a point from Ciara McGarvey.

Meath, however, was having none of it and Mary Kate Lynch got a 45th-minute goal to help the Royal pull.

Susan White however got back in gear in the 49th minute as she managed to get a point to help Donegal.

Meabh Byrne however showed her magic in the Meath shirt as she then managed to get a point to widen the gap between the Royal and the hills to four points. Meath made good use of their substitutes with Alva Leahy getting a point. The full-time score read Donegal 0-5 Meath 1-7. Meath proved all the doubters wrong today.

Donegal: Aoife McColgan, Katie Dowds (0-1), Evelyn McGinley, Emer Gallagher, Amy Boyle Carr, Jodie McFadden, Tara Hegarty, Shelly Twohig, Roisin Rodgers, Saskia Boyle, Kate Long (0-1), Louise Ryan, Susan White (0-3), Shannon McGroddy, Ciara McGarvey (0-1)Subs: Nicole McLaughlin for Jodie McFadden (43) Subs: Nicole McLaughlin, Ava Walsh, Niamh Carr, Connie Walsh, Shauna Higgins, Cait Gillespie.

Meath: M McGuirk, A Sheridan, MK Lynch, K Newe, N Gallogly (0-1), S Ennis, A Clearly, M O Shaughnessy, A Minogue, M Thynne, M Byrne(0-1), C Smyth, O Callan, S Grimes (0-2), N O Sullivan (0-2)Subs: Shelly Melia, Rachel Casserly, Alva Leahy

“We weren’t kind of sure” – Faithful put faith in Liam Kearns

By Patrick Sharkey,

Episode 54: David Dempsey – The GAA Zone podcast

On episode 54 of the GAA Zone podcast, the GAA Zone editor Patrick Sharkey spoke to the Offaly and Bally Common senior footballer David Dempsey. — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gaazone/message

1. Episode 54: David Dempsey 31:09
2. Episode 53: Managerial Merry Go Round 31:24
3. Episode 52: Antrim hurling 2022 31:38
4. Episode 51: Andy McEntee 30:25
5. Episode 50: The future of GAA Media! 45:20

The Kerry football championship can be a complicated model to get a handle on from the outside.

Jack Cooney has stepped down as Westmeath football manager to take up a role as the GAA’s National Player Development Lead. Westmeath will be unable to get him replaced by the highly rated Liam Kearns as he has taken the helm at the Offaly senior footballers with David Dempsey, the Offaly and Bally Common footballer being excited about it on the GAA Zone Podcast saying: “Yeah originally, we weren’t kind of sure as players after John Maughan had resigned as such. At first was probably going to be Tomás Ó Sé and then Tomás himself had to opt out due to work”.

Cooney who served four years as manager of his native county after being appointed in the autumn of 2018, said the area of player development was one in which he held an academic interest and that he was eager to work in the area on a full-time basis. It is a similar story to Mr. Ó Sé who is the new Kerry U20 coach and Mr. Dempsey was asked whether the Kerry side should be excited saying: “Yeah absolutely. Look he’s won a host of personal accolades like players of the year and all-stars”.

There have been further moves in the post-GAA intercounty season managerial merry-go-round.

Pairc Ui Chaoimh will host a rugby fixture in November when Munster host world champions South Africa. Offaly will hope to return to that venue in division two in 2024 with Dempsey saying: “I suppose so, there is no point saying otherwise, we’re after last season getting up to division two”.

The GAA’s Central Council has given the go-ahead for Munster to take on a South Africa select XV.  

Rather than Thomond Park in Limerick, Munster will take on the world champions on November 10.  

Mount Sion recorded another big win in the Waterford championship, destroying Lismore to qualify.  

In the modern era, technology is a part and parcel of sport at the highest level. David would want to play in a Croke Park with Hawkeye working saying: “Look we’ve been knocking on the door the last few years kind of against counties that are at our level, and we seem to just be falling short, you know in 2019, Meath up there, we let the game slip, we were up two points, or three points kind of”.

 Who are the main influencers inside and outside the largest cultural and sporting organisation in Ireland? David Dempsey believes: “Look I’m not going to lie. I’d be a complete fan of it. Originally when the Tailteann cup was promoted at first, I was, and I thought it was kind of going to turn into something like the Tommy Murphy cup from years gone by. But after seeing what they did promotion-wise and the crowds that were still attending games I found it fantastic. I think every single player wants to be playing as many games as they can with their county. This year for the likes of Offaly we played Wexford obviously we didn’t get the result in the Leinster championship.”

Derry’s Owenbeg will be the host venue for the bulk of next year’s GAA World Games which sees Gaelic players from overseas traveling to Ireland to take part in the competition. For New York, it is their O’Byrne cup, but Offaly is focused on winning the real O’Byrne cup according to the Bally common man who said: “I suppose it depends like some management teams take it seriously and really go for it with their first 15 and some then like to be a little bit more experimental and try out new tactics, try new players, give the guys a chance. It entirely depends on what Liam Kearn’s plans are, you know, he could withhold some of the key players, give other guys a chance, and then we hit the ground running for the league, or straight away from the get-go, he might want to, get a bounce, and start winning games immediately and go very strong. I think it was 2019 as well. We actually got to an O’Byrne cup final against Longford and we actually lost by a point that day look it set Longford up for a good league campaign so look it is something players would have interest in”.

“It’s hard to know” – the managerial merry-go-round keeps spinning

By Patrick Sharkey,

Episode 54: David Dempsey – The GAA Zone podcast

On episode 54 of the GAA Zone podcast, the GAA Zone editor Patrick Sharkey spoke to the Offaly and Bally Common senior footballer David Dempsey. — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gaazone/message

1. Episode 54: David Dempsey 31:09
2. Episode 53: Managerial Merry Go Round 31:24
3. Episode 52: Antrim hurling 2022 31:38
4. Episode 51: Andy McEntee 30:25
5. Episode 50: The future of GAA Media! 45:20

The dust has firmly settled on the 2022 All-Ireland races, with club championships now in full swing.

In the controversy over a proposed GAA pitch at Victoria Park in Belfast, some people seem to have assumed that the GAA is just another sporting organisation. It means a lot more to the cult.

A GAA-mad Sligo teenager is visiting every county ground in Ireland this week to fundraise for Temple Street Children’s Hospital. He could have seen Ephie Fitzgerald when he landed in Waterford as Aaron Maher Predergast from GAA Fan TV spoke on episode 53 of the GAA zone podcast talking about him.

Clara GAA Club has not reached an agreement to sell their old ground at Pairc Brid on the Ballycumber road. However, Waterford seemed to have agreed to keep Fitzgerald in place with Mr. Maher keeping the faith.

A Cork GAA club has hosted a Cúl Camp course for some 40 Ukrainian children staying in the area.

A Co. Limerick GAA pitch narrowly escaped an inferno after a stack of hay bales caught fire in the vicinity during last weekend’s heatwave. Waterford footballers could also catch fire in 2023.

The horrible last few weeks that have been for the Tipperary GAA family have been a stark one for many around the county, but one thing that has shone brightly from the passing of Dillon Quirke is the community values we are lucky to have in our organisation. Over the border in Waterford, community spirit is fully behind the footballers with Mr. Prendergast saying: “Yeah, I think the right decision is just to keep him I think personally because I think Shane Roynane obviously was the manager there last year and they had another manager the season before that as well so there has been a lot of instability there so probably do need just a bit of stability manager keep the same ideas. It’s hard to know really what the goal or the objective is but I suppose it is better to keep the same manager because it does probably increase the likelihood of improvement and results. Like even look at London like who kept Michael Maher throughout the Covid break and everything else”.

Most of the side is made from Connacht. That is in terms of the style of play for Limerick and Maher Prendergast said: “Yeah it will be tough for them obviously in division two, but I do think they should keep him to be fair though like I think you know like when Billy Lee took over, they were in division four. So, he has taken them from division four all the way to division two and brought through a lot of young players in there as well also, so I think they’re in good hands. I think he’s done a really good job, like, I think probably the ambition maybe with Limerick football now, is maybe they’re looking at what Clare has done, and do you know like they obviously beat Clare on penalties and gave Clare a good run for their money. Clare has been very good at staying up in division two. So, you just don’t know, like, I’d still give Limerick a good chance at staying up, but it is going to be tough for them.”

All-Ireland champions Galway have six players on the Electric Ireland GAA Minor Star Football Team.

Mayo, whom Galway beat in the final, has four members on the team.  Paddy Tally however isn’t rumored to be on any of the Mayo coaching tickets to bring these young lads through with Maher saying he could be looking elsewhere.

Rio Mortimer and Paul Gilmore of Claremorris have been named in defense while joint captains Diarmuid Duffy and Ronan Clarke are in attack. Prendergast has backed Tally to succeed elsewhere.

Inspired by the powerful midfield duo of Michael Gacquin and Senan Buckley who accounted for 0-24 between them, Clonguish Og produced a fine performance to defeat St Vincent’s.

“I think the league was a massive success” – Sambo believes division one is crucial for Antrim hurling.

By Patrick Sharkey,

Episode 54: David Dempsey – The GAA Zone podcast

On episode 54 of the GAA Zone podcast, the GAA Zone editor Patrick Sharkey spoke to the Offaly and Bally Common senior footballer David Dempsey. — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gaazone/message

1. Episode 54: David Dempsey 31:09
2. Episode 53: Managerial Merry Go Round 31:24
3. Episode 52: Antrim hurling 2022 31:38
4. Episode 51: Andy McEntee 30:25
5. Episode 50: The future of GAA Media! 45:20

Plans for a live referee mic at next Sunday’s Wexford County senior hurling final as part of the TV coverage, have had to be shelved due to a directive from the GAA at the national level. The novel initiative was trialed last Sunday for the Kerry senior hurling final on TG4 and was praised by viewers as an innovative development. A TG4 spokesperson confirmed to The42 today that they were set to employ the live referee mic again in next Sunday’s decider in Wexford, but the GAA has stepped in.

Dan Quirke gave a moving tribute to his son as over 1,000 mourners gathered in the Tipperary village of Clonoulty for the 24-year-old hurler’s Requiem Mass.  Dylan Quirke played in the league.

Hundreds of people have attended a vigil for Dillon Quirke as his local GAA club Clonoulty-Rossmore led the tributes. Antrim had a solid league campaign until the final day when they lost out to Quirke’s Tipperary with former Antrim senior hurler Terrance ‘Sambo’ McNaughton talking about the league campaign saying: “You know, the past league was fantastic, we got what we set out to do, the biggest thing was to stay in that league. To get exposed to that level of hurling for another year for them young lads, I think the league was a massive success for us and it wouldn’t have taken a whole lot more to be a whole lot better.” People attended the GAA grounds of the Tipperary club.

Cork suffered All-Ireland senior camogie final heartache for the second year in a row as a late Sophie O’Dwyer goal and a Denise Gaule point pushed the title beyond their grasp and into grateful Kilkenny hands with a 1-13 to 1-12 win at Croke Park on Sunday. Since then, Davy Fitz has left Cork.

On the Friday after Kerry’s All-Ireland triumph, Jack O’Connor hit the road home from Dingle to St Finian’s Bay in south Kerry and the official homecoming in Dromid. Someday Antrim could have similar celebrations and Mr.Naughton sees division one as important to achieving that saying: “It’s the most important thing. It’s premier, it’s ahead of everything. To me really, that is the way that we’re going to be able to close the gap and get exposed to that level and a consistent regular basis”.  

Flo Roche, from Poppin tree in Ballymun, has vowed to make the most of every day she has left with her youngest son Calvin (22), who was born with a mental and physical disability. Dublin GAA helped his birthday celebrations and just like Antrim, they benefited from a full league campaign with McNaughton saying: “Yeah, I think this year was an important year. It’s every year, there is pressure like management is a results-based game like and he got some very good results and probably come towards the end of the year we were a wee bit start, stop. Eh, I have been on record it says that I thought that we had a real chance to take a skeleton in Cork. But it came a week after the Joe McDonagh which wasn’t ideal for us. And that there like the first half against Cork we were the better team. We missed a lot of simple chances. We could have been in six, seven points up.”

With the majority of top-tier hurling counties set to have a new manager in place for 2023, it has been an intercounty off-season of change. It won’t be a season for Antrim however who are coming back.

Erin’s Own GAA will hold their Golf Classic on Friday, August 19th in Castle comer GC. Antrim won the Joe McDonagh cup last year from the funding of clubs and Sambo talked about it saying: “I think we were favorites to win. Eh and we did win it obviously but the final like we started off If we were going to carry apart and McKenna then stopped. That is what it is meaning about the start”.