“Waterford kind of set up very well” – McNamara impressed with the current state of Munster hurling.

By Patrick Sharkey,

Episode 56: Westmeath aim to raid Orchard and send Saffrons packing The GAA Zone podcast

Welcome to the GAA Zone podcast on Anchor FM! In Episode 56, we fall deep into the thrilling world of Gaelic football. Join us as we focus on an upcoming clash that implies intense competition and captivating action. In this episode, titled "Westmeath Aim to Raid Orchard and Send Saffrons Packing," we look at an exciting match on the horizon. Our expert hosts analyse the strategies, key players, and historical context surrounding the clash between Westmeath and their formidable opponents, Armagh (known as the Orchard County) and Antrim (the Saffron). With fighting discussions and insightful analysis, we provide an in-depth understanding of the game, making this episode a must-listen for both die-hard fans and newcomers to Gaelic football. Tune in to discover. — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gaazone/message
  1. Episode 56: Westmeath aim to raid Orchard and send Saffrons packing
  2. Episode 55: Wyane McNamara
  3. Episode 54: David Dempsey
  4. Episode 53: Managerial Merry Go Round
  5. Episode 52: Antrim hurling 2022

Get ready for an extraordinary episode of the GAA Zone Podcast! We are thrilled to announce that Episode 55 features an exclusive interview with none other than Wayne McNamara, a revered figure.

In this riveting conversation, Wayne McNamara shares his invaluable insights, offering listeners a unique perspective on the sport we all love. This was shown when Wayne McNamara was asked about the Limerick v Waterford game saying: “Yeah, like, it was at the game, like, obviously, like you know, it was an extremely close game.”

Mr McNamara added: “I thought Waterford kind of set up very well for Limerick, you know, ehm, they prevented obviously the running, the movement from the Limerick parks in terms of Bary Nash, or, or, Sean Finn kind of moving forward and Kyle Hayes, they were checking runs a lot, so that kind of gave him, gave a bit of the Waterford defence bit of breeding space, you know.”

“But Limerick hurled well, I thought they hurled extremely hard as they always do. Eh, they’re a bit fortunate enough with I suppose with the wides from Waterford, you can see that. That was kind of evident on the last day with Waterford again. But so, there were few lucky escapes in terms of ehm scores but still no it was a good game. First down in the league. Two weeks after the league final it’s hard mentally to sustain that. I’m Limerick could have been, I had to get up for a league semi-final up for a league final, but then do you know third game in a row, up for many championships, because there’s only two weeks in difference. And then I suppose, like we’ve seen against a player game, so there’s a bit of a lull, but like it’s eh goof first win. Tough game, but ehm, like again, probably showed that the kind of false insecurity, that the league can give you.”

“You know, like, you went by whatever 10 points against in the league final, close in 10 points in the league final and two weeks later, your, you’re struggling to get those scores and that has fluidity in your game you know. Eh just probably shows where the teams are at in terms of the league.” Prepare.  

As we engage with Wayne McNamara, we uncover his predictions for the future of Gaelic games.

Don’t miss out on this captivating episode of the GAA Zone Podcast! McNamara was impressed with the level of hurling on show between Clare and Limerick despite the Treaty failing to win saying: “Yeah, it is a good game of hurling. A fantastic game of hurling. I had everything, to be honest. Ehm thought like if you go back to last year, Limerick and Clare where I think, they’ve played three times and there was a waypoint in the scoring difference, so that’s the course of the three games you know? So, as you knew it was going to be a tight battle. Eh I know in the league this year Limerick and Clare played in the league; I think Clare put out a kind of a shadowboxing team, to be honest. Ehm and just played and basically gave up the on that game. But I think it was with a view to the game I just went to two weeks ago you know. Eh, Clare fine-sided. They worked extremely hard. They got the breaks. I think were the biggest where their biggest plus was shutting down Limerick, I think. Ehm Limerick didn’t have much of a platform than to get them into their strides you know. Eh and plus again let’s say then get a clear forward, worked extremely hard in preventing the runs from the Limerick backs that they were doing that were kind in coaching into the space to support the runners up forward and Limerick forward you know”.

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“It was exciting” – Wexford hurlers reflect on a season like no other

By Patrick Sharkey,

Episode 56: Westmeath aim to raid Orchard and send Saffrons packing The GAA Zone podcast

Welcome to the GAA Zone podcast on Anchor FM! In Episode 56, we fall deep into the thrilling world of Gaelic football. Join us as we focus on an upcoming clash that implies intense competition and captivating action. In this episode, titled "Westmeath Aim to Raid Orchard and Send Saffrons Packing," we look at an exciting match on the horizon. Our expert hosts analyse the strategies, key players, and historical context surrounding the clash between Westmeath and their formidable opponents, Armagh (known as the Orchard County) and Antrim (the Saffron). With fighting discussions and insightful analysis, we provide an in-depth understanding of the game, making this episode a must-listen for both die-hard fans and newcomers to Gaelic football. Tune in to discover. — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gaazone/message
  1. Episode 56: Westmeath aim to raid Orchard and send Saffrons packing
  2. Episode 55: Wyane McNamara
  3. Episode 54: David Dempsey
  4. Episode 53: Managerial Merry Go Round
  5. Episode 52: Antrim hurling 2022

GAA fans were left scratching their heads during the All-Ireland semi-final as a Shane Walsh point was inexplicably chalked off after the umpires consulted Hawkeye. With just minutes left in a very labored and low-scoring first half, Galway was 0-03 to 0-04 down and Shane Walsh had a free.


Galway are All-Ireland Minor champions for the first time in 15 years! Episode 46 of the GAA Zone podcast focused however on the first championship game for the senior hurlers who drew to Wexford and according to former Wexford hurler Richie Kehoe: “It was exciting alright but to be honest with you we didn’t hurl for 50 minutes of that game or even more. Galway was still looking all over the winners there being four points up after 66 minutes or something like that. Then it was all the excitement over Cooney taking the free and then the throw-in ball. I think Chinner gets a point from play and then he adds on another four frees. You know suddenly, we were looking like we were dead and buried. We ended up getting a draw and probably on the balance of play I say”.
Hawkeye will not be in use for the Dublin vs Kerry All-Ireland football semi-final after the GAA said the technology will be reviewed following an error. The last time a Dublin side wouldn’t have had use of Hawkeye in an important game would have been when the senior hurlers beat Wexford in the second round of the Leinster championship round-robin when Richie Kehoe said: “It was much the same. Wexford probably only hurled for 15 minutes in both of those games and like Dublin looked all over the winners again. I think they were six or seven points up after maybe 50 minutes. Donal Burke was absolutely on fire on placed balls and frees. Dublin was playing a short passing game as they be running through the middle at ease. They were finding their scores a little bit easier than ourselves.”


Galway saved their best for last as a magnificent display propelled them to the All-Ireland Under-17 football championship title at Dr. Hyde Park in Roscommon. The Wexford hurlers can relate to the Galway minor hurlers having had their biggest championship win in Laois with Mr. Kehoe saying: “Well it was needed. No disrespect to Laois but they were down several of their top players that day”. but it was a confidence builder for us. Plenty of lads got on the scoresheet. It was 6-21 to 0-12 points that day or something like that. Plenty of lads got game time. It was what we needed. You know it was what we needed to build the confidence a little bit to put in a performance which they did. Laois gave it all for maybe 20 minutes in that game and after that, we completely blew them out of the water”.


The All-Ireland senior football semi-final is part of a double-header of action, Kilkenny facing New York in the opening game in the All-Ireland junior decider. Kilkenny will be looking to cause an upset.
Watch Dublin vs Kerry in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final live on Sky Sports Arena from 3pm Sunday.
This is a separate Dublin side from the one that celebrated a sixth All-Ireland title in a row in 2020.

“We had an up and down national league” – Donegal legend holds mixed feelings over the league campaign.

Episode 56: Westmeath aim to raid Orchard and send Saffrons packing The GAA Zone podcast

Welcome to the GAA Zone podcast on Anchor FM! In Episode 56, we fall deep into the thrilling world of Gaelic football. Join us as we focus on an upcoming clash that implies intense competition and captivating action. In this episode, titled "Westmeath Aim to Raid Orchard and Send Saffrons Packing," we look at an exciting match on the horizon. Our expert hosts analyse the strategies, key players, and historical context surrounding the clash between Westmeath and their formidable opponents, Armagh (known as the Orchard County) and Antrim (the Saffron). With fighting discussions and insightful analysis, we provide an in-depth understanding of the game, making this episode a must-listen for both die-hard fans and newcomers to Gaelic football. Tune in to discover. — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gaazone/message
  1. Episode 56: Westmeath aim to raid Orchard and send Saffrons packing
  2. Episode 55: Wyane McNamara
  3. Episode 54: David Dempsey
  4. Episode 53: Managerial Merry Go Round
  5. Episode 52: Antrim hurling 2022

By Patrick Sharkey,

GAA president Larry McCarthy will travel to Wales this weekend to unveil a commemorative plaque.  

James Horan has made two changes from the team that overcame Monaghan last week. One man who did his service for the GAA abroad playing for Donegal New York and will look ahead to the fixtures this weekend is Donegal legend Anthony Molloy who assessed the season for his own county saying: “I suppose we had an up and down national league and that there. I don’t think we performed to the best of our ability as well as we could have like. We are still there in division one”.

In the meantime, Cork has named an unchanged side for their qualifier clash against Limerick.

There is a busy weekend of GAA on the way between the All-Ireland senior football and hurling.  

Hurling fans from across the country have expressed their outrage at a perceived lack of respect for Antrim and Kerry as they were not included in a photo shoot promoting the launch of this year’s All-Ireland series. However, Mr. Molloy was talking about different Donegal players who haven’t got enough respect saying: “Overall I think we have improved as a team, as a bunch of players. You know again I’ll go back to our captain first and people are writing him off like. For 70 minutes, age is not on his side. We must remember Michael Murphy was giving man-of-the-match performances”.

Belfast’s Corrigan Park is a difficult venue to go to and league results have shown that over the past.  

The GAA in Galway is paying tribute this morning following the passing yesterday of former Galway GAA secretary Phelim Murphy at the age of 91. Murphy was a man who prioritised youth.

There are also All-Ireland SHC preliminaries taking place in Belfast and Tralee. The young players of Donegal will be happy they go back to Clones instead of somewhere intimidating like Belfast and Donegal academies have taken templates developed by Murphy as Anthony praised the young guns.

There’s another stacked weekend of live sport coming to your TV screens at the end of the week.

Back in the day, clubs across the Atlantic had a habit of bringing in a few big names recruits to take to the pitch for important matches. Donegal New York may have gained the services of the then All Ireland winning captain Anthony Molloy, but he is happy that the young stars of Donegal are still in the hills saying: “I suppose for me you know Michael Langan has huge potential. He’s a fantastic player. A very, very natural player. So, to be fair I suppose Bonner has given him every chance.”

There’s a Croke Park double feature on Saturday as Clare takes on Roscommon and then Mayo faces Kildare. All the talk will be about midfield pairings and the Ardara man gave his view on the current midfield situation for Donegal saying: “I think a man who deserves credit is Hugh McFadden from Killybegs like. I would start Jason McGee and maybe Caolan McGonagle. I would start them two”.

A Cavan GAA club has been left truly heartbroken after one of its most talented players died in a car crash.

Both Cork and Limerick will be happy with the draw. The qualifier games will have a minute’s silence for Luke Byrne.

Two splendid days in September when the senior team, managed by Cyril Farrell and captained by Conor Hayes, brought the Liam McCarthy Cup west of the Shannon for only the third and fourth times in the county’s history. One man who also had that kind of joy in football was Anthony Molloy for Donegal, so listen to the podcast to unpack it all.

“Cork did very well” – Rebels look to have turned their fortunes around

By Patrick Sharkey,

Episode 56: Westmeath aim to raid Orchard and send Saffrons packing The GAA Zone podcast

Welcome to the GAA Zone podcast on Anchor FM! In Episode 56, we fall deep into the thrilling world of Gaelic football. Join us as we focus on an upcoming clash that implies intense competition and captivating action. In this episode, titled "Westmeath Aim to Raid Orchard and Send Saffrons Packing," we look at an exciting match on the horizon. Our expert hosts analyse the strategies, key players, and historical context surrounding the clash between Westmeath and their formidable opponents, Armagh (known as the Orchard County) and Antrim (the Saffron). With fighting discussions and insightful analysis, we provide an in-depth understanding of the game, making this episode a must-listen for both die-hard fans and newcomers to Gaelic football. Tune in to discover. — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gaazone/message
  1. Episode 56: Westmeath aim to raid Orchard and send Saffrons packing
  2. Episode 55: Wyane McNamara
  3. Episode 54: David Dempsey
  4. Episode 53: Managerial Merry Go Round
  5. Episode 52: Antrim hurling 2022

The GAA has confirmed the fixture details for next weekend’s senior football and hurling.


Roscommon vs Clare and Kildare vs Mayo will be shown live on Sky Sports. However, one team who put up a fight but fell short was Louth and on episode 41 of the GAA Zone podcast, Mayo-based journalist Chloe Lynch gave credit to Louth saying: “Well to be honest you know I think it was quite shocking. We have seen from the start how well Mickey Harte has been doing with Louth. Cork did very well. I think it was a weekend full of shockers to be fair.”


Some of the big hitters will exit the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship this weekend as the revamped Qualifiers take center stage. Cork could be one of the big hitters exiting this weekend and Donegal-based Tik Tok star Ethan Kelly, AKA Donegal Ethan gave his thoughts on Cork winning against Louth saying: “To be honest now I thought Louth was very well set up. I thought every man knew the job he had to do. To me watching from the outside I thought Cork was just very strong, especially around the middle. I feel a lot of the middle breakdowns came because Cork is very strong”.


Armagh will take on fellow Ulster rivals Donegal this weekend after they beat Tyrone. However, one new rivalry that could be developing is Mayo and Monaghan after the weekend and Lynch gave her thoughts on the game saying: “Monaghan are that kind of team you never know what would happen. They are often a team that will get slept on. You know the injuries were obviously a big thing in the Mayo camp. Like we saw the return of Hennelly and Durcan and you know Monaghan did start strong. Like there were many times during the games when Mayo thought ‘o sugar, wake’ up here’. The penalty was obviously a big decider and Monaghan did play their hearts out. Like they had a great league campaign. You know Mayo has had its ups and downs since the Kerry loss”.

Andy McEntee has stepped down as the manager of the Meath senior footballers after a six-year reign. This means Séamus McEnaney might be tempted to return to his old post and Mr. Kelly did not hold back in talking about his Monaghan team and their performance against Mayo saying: “I’ve got a few cards in my day as has many men playing football. I think a black card at the start of the match is very sore on Conor McManus. Conor McManus is a big loss to any team. You know, especially that early in the game. Was it a black card? Yeah, you could argue for or against it. “

Catfishing connects to the creation of fake online profiles to lure another person into a relationship.


However, while the 2 johnnies podcast was trending over the last few weeks with a catfishing story, this week it is all about the GAA Zone podcast which forgot to mention that Kilcar eked out a three-point win over rivals St Eunan’s in a drab, low-scoring encounter. However, one game that got people talking was Clare v Meath and Kelly knew what was up saying: “I don’t want to sound rude but the match itself, didn’t really set much a light.”


Neither side has achieved much since, and confidence will be low in both camps. Chloe echoed similar views saying: “I say it was kind of a shocker you know. I didn’t expect Clare to get over the line. You know it is another one that it would be hard to get the outcome of, but you know I think both teams did very well. It will be interesting because sometimes we only put our focus on the big teams you know as the championship goes on. It will be interesting now to see how far Clare can go”.


The Dublin footballers wore ‘Support 4 Drummo’ jerseys in the Leinster final win over Kildare and the Dublin hurlers did the same in their final group game against Galway. More solidarity was shown throughout the weeks and donations can be made.

“Fair play to Louth” – The wee county set to rattle the big county

By Patrick Sharkey,

Episode 56: Westmeath aim to raid Orchard and send Saffrons packing The GAA Zone podcast

Welcome to the GAA Zone podcast on Anchor FM! In Episode 56, we fall deep into the thrilling world of Gaelic football. Join us as we focus on an upcoming clash that implies intense competition and captivating action. In this episode, titled "Westmeath Aim to Raid Orchard and Send Saffrons Packing," we look at an exciting match on the horizon. Our expert hosts analyse the strategies, key players, and historical context surrounding the clash between Westmeath and their formidable opponents, Armagh (known as the Orchard County) and Antrim (the Saffron). With fighting discussions and insightful analysis, we provide an in-depth understanding of the game, making this episode a must-listen for both die-hard fans and newcomers to Gaelic football. Tune in to discover. — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gaazone/message
  1. Episode 56: Westmeath aim to raid Orchard and send Saffrons packing
  2. Episode 55: Wyane McNamara
  3. Episode 54: David Dempsey
  4. Episode 53: Managerial Merry Go Round
  5. Episode 52: Antrim hurling 2022

Four GAA matches will be televised by RTÉ Sport this weekend in a bumper weekend of coverage.


Mayo’s Connacht exit has been forgotten about. The main story of the championship in football has been the rise of Louth and on episode 40 of the GAA Zone podcast, 2017 Liam McCarthy cup winner Paul Flaherty is full of praise for Louth saying: “Fair play to Louth in the All-Ireland championship. There are a lot of good teams in the Tailteann cup that hasn’t gone that far. So, you give huge credit to Mickey Harte and the Louth team. They had a good league campaign. Obviously, they were promoted back-to-back. Sam Mulroy has been their star forward who has been carrying them through the games though. You must give Louth huge credit. Cork you know, the Munster championship isn’t as competitive as it was years ago, and Kerry just seems to be a way ahead of them. Cork is probably second in command there, yeah it is going to be a tough one. Everybody is going to give Cork the upper hand here, but I don’t think there will be much in it. I say a point or two, but it would be great to see from maybe just a neutral perspective, to see Louth take themselves over the line. The rebels kind of call themselves the capital of Ireland sometime when Dublin people aren’t listening.” There’s a big schedule of sports for the June bank holiday weekend, with championship action across football, hurling, and camogie. The major events of the weekend are undoubtedly the provincial hurling deciders in Munster and Leinster. Neighbours Clare and Limerick face off for the second time in the space of four weeks in the Munster matter down in Thurles.

If New York defeats Offaly, they will be returning to Ireland two weeks later for the Tailteann Cup.


The 2 Johnnies Podcast in Ireland is promising the third installment of their ‘GAA catfish’ saga as more than 100 people have come forward claiming to have been directly targeted. However, the main podcast this week is the GAA Zone podcast with Paul Flaherty believing Cork footballers got lucky in their qualifier drawing saying: “From a Cork perspective it is probably the best they could have got.”


Former Donegal star Eamonn McGee is calling on local GAA clubs to show their colours for Pride.


Gardai are investigating ‘an alleged incident of assault’ during a GAA minor match on Monday evening.


There are 40 clubs in Louth, a county with a population of approximately 130,000. If Louth advance against Cork, they will be happy to know they won’t be facing the winners of Mayo and Monaghan.


A Lahinch man has won Clare GAA’s prize-giving away a house in Lahinch. Another man looking for a win like that at home will be James Horan when his side takes on Monaghan and Mr. Flaherty is looking forward to the game: “It’s going to be tough this one. Mayo have been knocking on the door of the All-Ireland championship the last few years and everybody thought when they beat Dublin last year, they would go one step further, but it just didn’t fruition. Tyrone was better on the day.”
A final call is being made to GAA followers in Westmeath to have their stories published in the second edition of a grassroots book on the organisation. Stories could include when Monaghan hosted Westmeath back in Clones in 2008 for the final round of division two in which a Banty coached side missed out on promotion two with a 20-year-old Conor McManus and since then Flaherty has reflected on the Farney rise saying: “It’s hard to know because they have been about for so long”.


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