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

Buncrana 0-11 Naomh Columba 3-13 – Three goal Glen outclass Buncrana

By Patrick Sharkey in O’Donnell Park,

Naomh Columba were always one step ahead of Buncrana. They led 1-6 to 0-4 at half-time and for almost every Buncrana score in the second half they responded instantly.

The game started with a Ryan McNern point in the fourth minute for Naomh Columba.

The Donegal star Aaron Doherty then came to the rescue for Naomh Columba scoring two points before the 10-minute mark to put the South Westerners three points ahead.

Oisin Crawford however got the first score for Buncrana with a point in the 11th minute.

Despite too many steps in the build-up, Naomh Columba got a goal from Christopher.

Aaron Doherty then got his third point of the game for Naomh Columba with a point.

Christopher Byrne then added to his tally with a quick point for Naomh Columba. With 23 minutes gone, Paul O’Hare missed his first shot of the game for the Glencolmbcille side.

It took Buncrana 26 minutes to get their second point of the game with a well-taken point from Jigger before Doherty scored for the Glen. Buncrana only took a minute to get their next score with Oisin Crawford getting his second point of the game. Ryan McElhinney then got his first point of the game with a well-taken point for Buncrana to bring the deficit back down to five points. The half-time score read Buncrana 0-4 Naomh Columba 1-6. Naomh Columba would be content with the performance they put in but would be wary that three of the four Buncrana points in the first half came in the last five minutes. One man who has been key to have got the Buncrana men back in was Ryan Hegarty.

Naomh Columba however entered the second half on the right foot with a point from Christopher Byrne to put the side six points ahead. Oisin O Flaherty then had his shot go wide. William McLaughlin put things right for Buncrana then got their first score of the second half with his point. Fionn Gallagher then however got a point for the green and yellow to put them five points ahead again. Kevin Mc Nern then got his first point of the game for Naomh Columba. Darrach O Connor then got a point for Buncrana before Molloy canceled it. Naomh Columba then got a goal from Byrne and Campbell got a Buncrana red card. However, the experience was key for Buncrana off the bench with Adrian McColgan getting himself a point. Ryan McElhinney then got himself his second point of the game for Buncrana to reduce the deficit by eight points. However, it was reduced by seven when Darrach O Connor then got a point for Buncrana that was deflected from the Naomh Columba full-back Barry Carr. Aaron Doherty got his fifth point of the game to make sure it is an eight-point deficit again. However, the best was yet to come for Aaron as the forward then got a goal less than a minute later for Naomh Columba before McColgan got a late Buncrana point. Doherty then got his second point from a free. The full-time score read: Buncrana 0-11 Naomh Columba 3-13. Despite a late Buncrana surge in the first half Naomh Columba managed to get the job done in Letterkenny. All the credit will go to the Naomh Columba forwards but one man who kept many of the Buncrana shots at bay, and keeping a clean sheet was the goalkeeper Padraig.

Naomh Columba: Padraig Byrne, Pauric Ward, Philip Doherty, Barry Carr, Eric Carr, Philip McNern, Pauric Hegarty, Fionn Gallagher(0-1), Declan McGuire, Paul O’Hare, Aaron Doherty (1-4, 0-2f), Kevin McNern (0-1), Ryan Gillespie, Christopher Byrne (2-2), Ryan McNern (0-1) Subs Used: Lanty Molloy (0-1) for Ryan McNern, Oisin McGinley for Barry Carr, Pauric Cunningham for Paul O Hare, Steven Jones for Philip Doherty

Buncrana: Harry Doherty (0-1), Aedan Stokes, Conor Grant, Stephen Doherty, Oisin O Flaherty, William McLaughlin(0-1), Oisin Crawford(0-2), Peter McLaughlin, Caolan McGonagle, Adrian Doherty, Darrach O Connor (0-3), Ryan McElhinney(0-2), John Campbell, Ben Bradley, Ryan Hegarty Subs used Kevin Tracey for Sean Doherty, Adrian McColgan(0-2) for Oisin O Flaherty, Micheal Bernard McLaughlin for Adrian Doherty

“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”.

“We get out of the blocks very early” – Andy McEntee feels he left Meath on good terms.

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

With club championships being played at all levels, it says it is unlikely that many GAA facilities could become available for accommodation use until after the winter. This happens as the Government is pushing plans for the potential use of sports halls, arenas, and locations around the country to accommodate people seeking refuge in Ireland. The Department of Justice today said that 43,972 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Ireland as of Thursday, 4 August. A total of 698 Ukrainian evacuees arrived in the country in the last week. Mr. O’Gorman confirmed that the Government has contacted sporting bodies about the use of sports halls and facilities to accommodate displaced Ukrainians. It added that in response to a request by Government in April, the IRFU asked clubs across the country to consider if they had suitable facilities.

Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson has been criticised for claiming the GAA is not welcome in unionist communities. One man however who is central to the Gaelic game’s boom in Belfast is the incoming Antrim senior men’s football manager Andy McEntee who spoke on episode 51 of the GAA Zone podcast about how the championship started for Meath against Wicklow saying: “Yeah, I think the score line might have been a little bit misleading. We get out of the blocks very early. Probably the quickest goal recorded in the championship, but we didn’t really push on as well as I would have”.

The Tipperary GAA community is in mourning after the death of Dillon Quirke after he collapsed.  

Dillon Quirke was playing for Clonoulty Rossmore in a Senior Hurling Tournament tie against Kilruane MacDonagh in Semple Stadium in Thurles on Friday evening. This is another example of community spirit.

Tipperary GAA has called off all matches due to take place in the County Hurling Championships.  

He received medical attention before being brought to Tipperary University Hospital in Clonmel.  

The Kerry GAA County Board is reportedly considering taking legal action after a Twitter user made a comment about drug use in relation to a widely circulated video that followed Kerry’s victory against Galway. Kerry however would be well-liked in Meath after knocking out the team who knocked them out of Leinster.

A Kerry GAA chief has dismissed false rumors circulated in an online video that players took drugs.

Following Thursday night’s meeting of the Kilkenny County Board, Derek Lyng has been ratified as the Kilkenny senior hurling manager. Before that, the biggest management news was Mr. McEntee.

 Salthill Gardaí has asked GAA supporters traveling to the double-header Galway football championship games in Pearse Stadium today (Saturday) to use the Quincentenary Bridge route to and from the fixtures. Galway would have given Meath the toughest challenge in 2022 before they met Dublin in the Leinster SFC with McEntee saying: “Yeah I suppose if you went into the game and said you were going to score 1-14, you probably say yeah okay, but again score line might have been a bit misleading, unfortunately, it’s a game that we never really got into and you know yourself”.

A Derry GAA player has appeared in court in the United States over an attack that left a man at risk.  

Lyng will take over from Brian Cody after the legendary Cats boss stepped down last month. The Meath footballers had their own legendary manager stepping down as the Dunboyne man left after the Defeat to Clare saying: “Yeah well look, we seemed to end up playing Clare every year you know. I think bar one in my tenure, and they are always close games. You know they were never easy”.