Men like Ryan McBride don’t come around very often in this world but, when they do, no-one forgets them. In such a short space of time, Ryan McBride had a massive, massive effect on everyone he came into contact with and everyone else who he forced to sit up and take notice. In 27 years, […]

9 years ago

This is just not right

9 years ago

This is what it’s all about. It actually couldn’t be more perfectly poised. Two clubs who’ve never been here before. Two clubs off the back of novel provincial championship wins. East versus west. Leinster versus Munster. Dublin versus Clare. And at stake, it’s only a bloody AIB GAA All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Friday 17 March […]

9 years ago

Football. Jesus bloody Christ, football. God, honestly though, I just love football so much. And football loves me. Remember that Manchester City and Monaco game? Remember it? The French outfit going 3-2 up, Radamel Falcao proving he’s actually a good footballer, John Stones cocking up and then John Stones scoring, City winning 5-3… the game to […]

9 years ago

“You’ll probably not win the All-Ireland this year without beating Dublin, and if you’ve never beaten them…” Four full seasons have passed since Mayo managed it. A final, a semi-final, and another final defeat have passed without them taken the opportunity to beat Dublin. 10 games against the capital have come and gone and, each […]

9 years ago

Super 8 or… just no? It’s the weekend of truth. Paraic Duffy’s proposal to split the All-Ireland football quarter-finals into two groups of four will be put before Congress and deliberated on. It’s a movement that could completely change the structure of the championship and one that could bring with it some serious ramifications. No […]

9 years ago

There was a moment during that historic All-Ireland club semi-final that summed up all that is good about Slaughtneil. Chrissy McKaigue, right in the middle of one of the most possessed performances you are likely to ever see, pulled away from danger, shook off a challenge from Diarmuid Connolly and won a free. He jumped […]

9 years ago

Horrific news. The county of Westmeath and the entire GAA world has been plunged into mourning after the news that Castlepollard hurler, Donal Devine (40), passed away on Tuesday night. Donal, a brother of inter-county referee Alfie Devine, hails from a renowned hurling family in the Lake County and was said to have attended training […]

9 years ago

Gardaí are investigating an alleged assault from an underage game in Cavan. The incident is believed to have taken place in a minor league game between Cavan Gaels and Crosserlough on Saturday. That game was played out in Breffni Park’s 3G pitch but was said to have been abandoned before full time owing to a […]

9 years ago

Don’t agree with someone’s opinion? Insult them. Tease them. Don’t agree with someone’s opinion? Riot and attack a college campus to force a speaker to flee and cancel his event. Don’t agree with someone’s opinion? Stick your middle finger into the air and tell him to fuck off. This is the world we’re living in […]

9 years ago

If you had to choose…

9 years ago

The results are in, the votes have been counted and verified. Almost 3,500 of you had your say for the GAA moment of the year and almost 1,000 of those went for the same memory. May 25, 2016. Mullingar the venue, hurling the sport, fairytales the order of the day. Kilkenny roll into town and Westmeath […]

10 years ago

It’s the mental pressure that contributes most to burnout more than the physical strain. Young footballers and hurlers are being asked to give the very best of themselves to their clubs, to their schools and maybe their counties too but, whilst it’s surely tough to cope with the demands of training and playing so much, […]

10 years ago

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The club championship – the real championship, as some call it. We only whinge all year about not getting to play it because it is the biggest and best event of the season, no matter how small and bad it might end up feeling like. It’s still […]

10 years ago

We’re not all Zach Tuohys. The AFL man is back in Laois and he’s back for this weekend to line out for Portlaoise in the county final again. Of course, that brings with it whinges and moans – he’s a professional, he shouldn’t be allowed to play, that type of thing. But he’s a pretty superstar […]

10 years ago

The SportsJOE office is split

10 years ago

As number 15s go, you’d travel very far to find one more iconic than this pair. Cillian O’Connor and Bernard Brogan: two footballers of very similar abilities with very, very different loyalties. The Mayo and Dublin rivalry in recent years has been one of the fiercest in a long time. Whilst the capital have clinched […]

10 years ago

Two giants of Gaelic Football collide, but only one can stay standing. They say that the Football Championship doesn’t come alive until August and it’s hard to think of a more mouth-watering quarter-final line-up in years than what’s in store at GAA HQ this weekend. You have to go back to 2010 for an All-Ireland […]

10 years ago

Has it ever happened to you?

10 years ago

It’s that time of year again. Defensive football has been slated, competition structures looked at and now we’re onto the black card. Two dismissals of Tyrone players during the Ulster final has brought the card back into the spotlight and its purpose and application are all being debated yet again. The question begs though, if […]

10 years ago

It’s do or die for Mayo. Stephen Rochford takes the Connacht champions into their first qualifier game since 2010 and last season’s big success from the backdoor wait in the long grass. Fermanagh head for Castlebar on Saturday (throw-in 3.30pm) planning an ambush in the same fashion that dumped Roscommon out on their ears last […]

10 years ago

It’s harder than it looks

10 years ago

Are you the hatchet man or did the drink find you?

10 years ago