John Mullane: The only currency traditional counties value is an All-Ireland victory and I expect Cork to come alive
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Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Dublin hurling thriving and one club encapsulates what is building in the GAA
'And we're all off to Dublin in the green, in the green, "Where the helmets glisten in the sun, 'Where the camans flash, and the hurleys clash, 'To the rattle of the game hard won...' - The Dubliners (sort of) 1969 There are 30 senior hurling clubs spread across three senior divisions in Dublin and Thomas Davis — founded in 1888 — can hold their heads up with any. They have been county champions, one of only 27, but remain a village/community club - indeed their nickname is 'The Little Village' Tallaght may be the largest 'village' in Ireland but don't doubt its sporting acumen. Thomas Davis are a dual-code senior outfit while Shamrock Rovers reside nearby and Tallaght AC has been Rhasidat Adeleke's springboard. But as club chairman Paul Nugent, Games Development Officer Stephen Stewart, club stalwart Terry Carthy and senior hurler Jack O'Connor can attest, Dublin's 2025 inter-county hurling side is in 'The Ready Position' - just one win away from a first All-Ireland SHC final in 64 years. That was before The Dubliners — with local hero Ciaran Bourke (tin whistle, flute, guitar) one of their three founding members — released their iconic version of The Merry Ploughboy, in 1969. Nugent played all the way through the club's age-grades, senior for 20-odd years, has been involved at intercounty level (1988-91), managed the senior team, been involved in the committees, been football chairman and occupied a few different roles too. But in his first year as chairman he knows there is something very special going on – the surge of excitement about the hurling team can almost be touched. 'Last week and this week has just been phenomenal. I suppose over the last 20 years, it was all about football, and obviously, with the six-in-a-row team, everyone was interested in that but it probably died down a little bit. 'You know, we used to get 82,000 into Croke Park all the time for the footballers but I suppose winning too much can breed a little bit of neglect, let's say. 'When Dublin won that match against Limerick, the surge in anticipation was plain to see, straight away we had hundreds of applications for tickets for the next match — I suppose people are longing to see them doing well. 'It's been creeping up over the last 10 years of effort put into Dublin hurling. I suppose it takes time to compete with the Kilkennys and Corks, who are hurlers all their lives and by nature go to school with a hurley, but we're getting there!' These weeks are camp weeks across the GAA; here on Kiltipper Road they alternate between football and hurling week on week and Thomas Davis is awash with kids, a reflection of a burgeoning underage section. 'We cater for 300 four-to-seven year old kids in our Saturday morning Academy and another 600 at CCC1 and CCC2 levels at weekends,' says Games Development Officer Stephen Stewart, who combines his work at club level with responsibility for 10 primary schools. His is an interesting combination, blowing his whistle, keeping the volunteers busy, handling logistics for different groups/different ages – he's a watchman, full of encouragement and perhaps helped by his primary schools' role, he seems to know every kid's name! Club dual star and 2022-24 Dublin minor football panelist Jack O'Connor is working skills with 11 year-old Ruairí Ó Murchú, part of a wider group on Thomas Davis's astro-pitch. 'Watching the last game and the lads pulling through with the red card. I was in more shock than anything,' says O'Connor. 'I think they kind of just bonded, came together as one team instead of trying to play as 14 individuals unlike the Limerick team on the day. 'They held together, stuck to their tasks, did the basics better. I really like their mix within the team, sure, some are more disciplined than others, some would be more skillful than others, but they've worked these things together and that's been a thing. 'Overall, style-wise I really like the way they work off the ball, try to play easy transfers, and they have been getting into acres of space for free shots, I think that's a great part of their skill. 'Sean Currie has been an unbelievable player for them, highest scorer for Dublin and the highest scorer in the Championship, also Conor Burke, Conor Donohoe.' This semi-final could be a game specifically about goals... 'Especially with the way the Limerick game unfolded. Cian O'Sullivan and John Hetherton's two goals in space a minute proved vital because the Dubs only won by two points. 'I think they will need to think clinically about goals against Cork but they have shown they definitely have goals in them, especially from those long, driven frees.' And yet Dublin hurling is not just about attaining a first All-Ireland final for seven decades, even if it is on the back of All-Ireland titles for Na Fianna (2025) and Cuala (2018 & 2017). They are the first Dublin clubs to have won that but this it was on the shoulders of a hell of a lot of club building - there have been 124 Dublin senior hurling Championships, dating back to 1887. Thomas Davis were on board for the county Championship within a year, a little-known entity from a tiny village against the backdrop of the Dublin mountains, its future as one of the city's thriving sprawls a long way off. Says Nugent of then and now: 'Our current facility was only bought in 1982, before that we were down near the village. We used to have a pitch there that we rented from Kevin Molloy, the local publican. 'Kevin was a barrister by trade, a very professional guy and on the committee here, and was instrumental in us buying this land in the late 1970/80s and starting us off here which was fantastic. 'We have an all-weather facility here albeit it's down 20 years and for which we are hoping to raise a lot of money, maybe ¤500k, to get it recovered alongside two main pitches, one we purchased from An Post probably six or seven years ago and we've recently developed. 'So we have great facilities but we also have over 100 teams so you never have enough facilities. It's always a battle with the county council to try and get enough pitches to cater for maybe 50 home games every weekend or during the week.' Dublin-Cork match will be the focus of this weekend for those who go to Croker, but there will also be those in a heaving and excited clubhouse catching the action. 'Yeah, we have our travel organised, one of the lads here has coaches and buses (Gerry Moore's Ridgway Coaches) so whatever is required it's kind of put out. There's at least a couple of buses going and if the demand is there for more he just puts them on. 'The clubhouse will be packed. We are not simply 'open' to the public for the day, we would always be welcoming to anyone in the local community, and over the last couple of years we've developed what we have to offer here. 'We have a cafe that opens at 9am, serves breakfast and then lunches up to half-two, then Thursday to Sunday we have food upstairs anyway.' Drop down if you are near! Thomas Davis are confident you'll like what you see, a modern, well-run operation, part of the identity of thriving Tallaght. 'It's a big community hub here and we field 100 teams each week. There's just loads of people giving a hand, running things like the Tallaght Festival or the St Patrick's Day parade, you put a small committee together and you try and get things done. 'There's two or three mentors with each team, then you have ground staff, you have committee staff, you are always looking for people to come in and help out and we've over 300 volunteers here -— volunteerism, as most people understand, is actually where the GAA is.' 'Actually it is the young people who are the lifeblood of this club,' says longtime club veteran Terry Carthy. 'They're fantastic, you take those helping at the camps today, they're going to be the Paul Nugents of tomorrow. 'Paul was a coach here one time too — now the young coaches are they're going on to play senior football and senior hurling. That's the way it works here. 'They are a fantastic group of young people, you couldn't get better in any area, in any other sport, because the idea is that it has to be that it is self-sustaining, that has to be your target.' 'You're always working at something,' says Nugent from the Thomas Davis bridge. 'I suppose, there's always a bit of fundraising going on, and here in Tallaght, a lower income area, it can be harder to raise funds. 'Our senior hurlers are in Division 1B, one down from the top echelon. We kind of went up and down a couple of times over the years but it's a big jump and we've struggled with it. 'Our footballers are in the top division, we got to the Championship final in 2020 and we'd be optimistic this year, we have a couple of lads who came back from abroad so it has strengthened our team. 'We have an intermediate team playing in Division 3 and our junior team is playing Division 5 in football so to have three teams at one, three and five is excellent. 'The girls' section is just thriving, imagine we have just one minor (Under-18) boys team but three minor girl teams. 'Obviously then, we are looking to re-cover our all-weather pitch, you're always trying to get a few grants and South Dublin County Council have been good to us over the years, or the government, let's say, with the grants originally. 'We have a big facility here that helps the whole community and we are proud to represent it too.'
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
‘We didn't turn up' admits Hehir as she reveals Clare out to ‘rectify' camogie league final loss in All-Ireland quarter
CLARE HEHIR rejects the notion that the Banner's perceived lack of experience at Croke Park is a stumbling block. Clare face Championship quarter-final this afternoon. Advertisement Most of the Déise side are used to the big stage, having made it all the way to the O'Duffy Cup decider in 2023. But ahead of today's televised clash, Banner full-back Hehir insists her crew have also enjoyed memorable moments at Sinéad O'Keeffe, Niamh Mulqueen, Caoimhe Cahill, Jennifer Daly, Ellen Casey, Cliodhna Queally and Grace Carmody were involved when the juniors won the All-Ireland just two years ago. Last December, Truagh Clonlara were the first Clare team to reach an All-Ireland senior club final. And while Galway's Sarsfields were too strong, it was an invaluable experience for Áine O'Loughlin, Róisín Begley and Michelle Powell ahead of today's outing. Advertisement Read More on Camogie Hehir's memories are from further back — 13 years ago. The Inagh-Kilnamona defender revealed: 'Myself and Andrea O'Keefe would have played in a Féile final there when we were 14. 'We played De La Salle of Waterford. So it's funny to be meeting them again.' Waterford forward Beth Carton and goalkeeper Brianna O'Regan lined out that day and will take the field again this afternoon. Advertisement Most read in GAA Hurling Clare's last quarter-final appearance was a 2021 trip to And Hehir warned that her team-mates must not let the occasion — they are playing in front of the cameras in the curtain-raiser to a sold-out All-Ireland SHC semi-final at Croker — get to them. Palestine GAA players watch camogie match on laptop She said: 'It's not like no one has ever touched the grass there before and that's a help. 'It's just about not letting the occasion get to you, as much as you do want to enjoy it as well, because not everyone gets to play there.' Advertisement Having been relegated from Division 1A of the Very League last season — when Hehir was absent after taking a year out to go travelling — Clare showed signs of improvement, reaching this year's Division 1B final, which they lost to Antrim. Hehir believes that making the All-Ireland last six is another signal that things are getting better for the Banner. She said: 'The league was good, a lot of girls got a lot of game time. 'Two championship wins was great. You saw a lot of girls stepping up to the plate who would be leaders on the team this year. There was a lot of learnings from the league final. There would have been a lot of us who wouldn't make finals too often with Clare camogie. Advertisement 'And maybe that occasion might have got to us or we didn't turn up on the day. 'So that's something we want to rectify and we want to put in a good performance.' With Waterford standing in the way of a last-four berth, Hehir, 27, says the Clare squad will be giving it their best shot. She added: 'We definitely won't be sitting back and admiring them. Advertisement 'Their improvement over the last few years is something we would obviously have liked to have done ourselves. 'And I suppose that this could be the day to start that.' 1 Saoirse McCarthy of Cork is tackled by Clare Hehir of Clare during the Munster Senior Camogie Championship semi-final match Credit: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Shels boss Joey O'Brien not get carried away by bright start
Having been announced as Shelbourne boss on a permanent basis they day before Friday's 3-1 home against relegation battling Cork City, Joey O'Brien must have been thinking that this management business was handy as his side raced to a 2-0 lead after just six minutes. However, the former Irish International laughed off any such suggestion: "No, definitely not. I've been around long enough to know it's definitely not this easy." O'Brien had seen his side battle to two draws prior to Friday's victory and felt that his side got their rewards for a fast start, although Kitt Nelson threatened to make it less than comfortable as he netted on the stroke of half time. "From a performance point of view I thought we were brilliant, I thought we should have won by more. The first-half started really well, we got the early goal, which helped, and then we got the second. We probably should have been three-up in the first-half, We're disappointed with the goal we gave away, a set-play. "So that was disappointing, to come in at 2-1. But in the second half we still wanted to attack it and look to push on to get that third goal. Again, we probably looked like we weren't going to get it, so looked like a nervous finish. But obviously getting a bit of luck with the third goal made the end of the game easy enough." It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks for the 39-year-old who saw one of his best friends depart the club, and gave an insight into just how it came about that he now finds himself at the helm of the reigning Champions. "Listen, obviously after the manager left, it was such a quick turnaround, I suppose, to get into the Waterford and Galway games. After that it was put to me if I was interested in it and if I wanted to take it," he said. "I had a couple of days thinking about it. I didn't want to rush into it really. I just weighed it all up and just thought, yeah, I have had a great learning here under the manager, what he's built over the last number of years for me as a coach to improve and what I've learned from him, it's just been brilliant. That's ultimately where I was at. It is a fantastic squad of players. They are a massive part of it as well and that's the squad that has been built over the last few years." O'Brien joined the club in 2021 having hung up the playing boots at Shamrock Rovers, and admitted that he had his sights on management in the future but such life, you never know what is around the corner. "I probably looked into it when my career ended as a player and I wanted to get involved in coaching and then leading into the management, but I don't think you can never make it out exactly how you want it to. The opportunity to work with the gaffer was obviously a huge part in me stopping playing football and I don't regret it for a second. What I learned, and the moments we had over the last three and a half years have been unbelievable. It happened. He made his call and then it was up to me to make my call and I did. Beaming with pride, he added "it was just so unexpected. I'd never thought about it. So that was my thinking about the whole situation. I just never thought of taking this job. So suddenly there was the news that the manager was leaving. It is a great football club that's been built and has great memories here. Hopefully we can write new memories again. With the players, we have a great squad. Great lads. That's why I wanted to hang around, "
