Christy Ring and Glen Rovers
The Irish Examiner published a 24-page supplement to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the greatest hurler of all time, Christy Ring. I was asked to contribute this piece on Christy Ring and Glen Rovers. Christy Ring was born in Cloyne, County Cork in 1920. He played with his home club, Cloyne until […]
St Nicks v Na Piarsaigh Cork County Senior Football Championship Relegation Playoff – Part 2 the fall out
Writing last week’s column about the legacy of Gaelic Football in both the St Nicholas and Na Piarsaigh clubs did nothing to purge the feeling of impending doom I felt about last Saturday’s relegation play-off between the two sides. This was Russian Roulette GAA style, and my club St Nicks was one shot away from […]
St Nicks v Na Piarsaigh Cork County Senior Football Championship Relegation Playoff. Part 1 – The Build Up
In or around 7pm next Saturday, barring a draw in Páirc Uí Rinn, the north side of Cork city will find that it has lost a senior football club. This is because St Nicholas and Na Piarsaigh will face each other in the relegation play-off of the Cork Senior County football championship. I have been […]
Lessons from the All-Ireland Football Final
Because life is a cycle, the Sunday Game programme had hardly finished last Sunday night when the thoughts of the majority of the viewers were all ready concerned with the most enduring of all GAA questions; who’s going to win the All-Ireland next year? In life’s cycles there are more followers than leaders, therefore the […]
A Brief History of Donegal
As we head towards next Sunday’s All-Ireland football final it struck me that very little is known in this part of the country about Donegal, and Donegal football. Cork people have strong opinions about other counties. In most conversations concerning the inter-county affairs of the GAA it is quite normal to hear phrases like “That’s […]
John Gildea A Tribute
John Gildea RIP I was deeply upset to hear of the death of John Gildea of St Finbarrs Hurling and Football Club last week. I first met John in 1995 when I was coach to the Cork City under-16 football team. John was one of several players on the panel from the St Finbarrs Club. […]
Tipperary made it difficult for the referee and even more difficult for themselves
I learned a long time ago that as a coach or a selector, you must have a Plan B, and even a Plan C, to help cope with the unexpected things that happen during the course of a game. In 1989, when I was coaching Glen Rovers against Midleton in an under-21 county hurling semi-final, […]
Ever wonder what it is like to be a coach with a GAA Development Squad?
That growing phase is remarkable. We said farewell to the faces we had become familiar with in November. When we met again in mid-February they looked completely different. In November the average height was about 5ft-4in and I’d say the average shoe size was about size five. In mid February the average height was about 5ft-8in and the shoe size was nearer size 8…
The fear of success
Then one day, I decided to see what would happen if I stopped.
As I approached the gate the dog appeared and got into the ready position. Once I was passed the gate it took off after me, barking and snapping as usual. I led it on for 30 metres. Then I stopped the car and turned off the engine.
The dog stopped running. It stopped barking too.
Cork 0 – 17 Tipperary 0 – 18. A few thoughts on last nights Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship game between Cork and Tipperary.
For most of the game Cork looked as if they could hold Tipperary at arms length. The longer the game went on however, the stronger Tipperary became. I think that the individual hurling skill of the Tipperary players was a major contributor to this.