
Pat Spillane: My verdict on where Dublin lost their way – and it's not all down to Dessie Farrell
People are always slagging me for criticising the GAA. Well, here's a new twist.
After another pulsating, enjoyable, entertaining weekend of championship football last time out, I must thank Jarlath Burns, the GAA president, for appointing Jim Gavin and the FRC who are responsible for making me fall back in love with Gaelic football.

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The 42
2 hours ago
- The 42
'If Kilkenny don't win it on the field, they ain't going to bring it to the boardroom'
LIAM CAHILL SAYS there was never any possibility of Tipperary's All-Ireland semi-final victory over Kilkenny being retrospectively decided in the boardroom. The Premier boss insisted he had no concerns that the result could come under question after the scoreboard controversy that affected the final moments of the two-point win. 'It's human error, that's the bottom line,' said Cahill. 'A mistake was made, but it had no effect on us or what we wanted to achieve at the end of the day, which was just to get the result. 'Everybody in the GAA, we do our best to try and do things voluntary and keep things as right as we can and, unfortunately, it was just human error. What can be done, only move on.' Advertisement When asked if he had sympathy for Kilkenny's situation, Cahill replied: 'It was out of our control, really. It is unfortunate. 'From the outset, these boys here were just concentrating on getting over the line. Look, you can go into all the ins and outs of it, there were several other passages of play, decisions that work out throughout the 74-plus minutes. 'The reality is that's what big matches like that are made of and you just roll with the punches and you take the hits. 'We know Kilkenny from the start of time are a huge hurling county and I said that afterwards. Like ourselves, if Kilkenny don't win it on the field, they ain't going to bring it to the boardroom, that's for sure. 'That's one thing in Tipperary we were fully 100% sure of. Please God, there will be more encounters into the future where maybe the shoe will be on the other foot.' Cahill said Tipp were going by the scoreboard, although there were some questions over the score. 'For me, we were going on the scoreboard. Through Declan (Laffan) and the lads down the earpiece, there might have been a little query alright. 'But for us, we were playing what was in front of us.' Jake Morris was under the impression the difference was three points, rather than two, towards the end. 'I didn't know what the story was when John Donnelly was hitting that shot. We would have been three up (in my head); but to be honest you don't even think about the score. You are just playing every ball as it comes to you. 'It all happens so quickly but I suppose there was a bit of relief when the ball ended in Bryan O'Meara's path and he carried it out.' On Kilkenny, he added: 'They are a serious, proud hurling county with some serious hurlers. They are a really good team. Related Reads Galway's Liam Gordon to referee All-Ireland senior hurling final Harnedy 'touch and go' to be fit for Cork in All-Ireland final against Tipperary The key factors that helped Tipperary defeat Kilkenny to return to hurling bigtime 'Derek Lyng seems to be a really good operator. It is credit to them that they didn't make as much of a complaint out of it as they could have. 'As Liam said inside, it was a human error. It was unfortunate for them, but it is just the way it goes sometimes. You get the rub of the green sometimes and it fell our way last Sunday.'


The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
GAA+ revenue taking ‘direct hit' from dodgy boxes as proposed ‘Netflix levy' will raise costs for streamers, pols hear
THE popularity of dodgy boxes is having a 'direct hit' on the GAA's finances as people are illegally streaming games instead of signing up for GAA+, a Dail watchdog heard today. Officials from the Advertisement 1 Almost half a million people in Ireland use a dodgy box, it's been found Credit: Getty The Broadcasting Amendment Bill will force The legislation will also create the possibility of a new content production levy or ' However, Arts Minister Patrick O'Donovan has vowed that he will not introduce this levy while he is in charge due to concerns that it will push up the price of subscriptions for users. Head of GAA+ Noel Quinn told the Advertisement READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS He said that the introduction, timing and collection of any levy should reflect each platform's scale and resources instead of one size fits all. The GAA+ boss noted that any levy would likely have a knock on impact on the price of streaming subscriptions and hurt consumers. In a briefing document provided to the Committee, the GAA Plus boss raised concerns about the prevalence of 'dodgy boxes' that are being used to illegally stream games. Dodgy boxes enable people to access a range of content and TV channels from across the globe illegally by streaming them online through a specific device and app. Advertisement Most read in Irish News GAA+ told the Dail watchdog that it is estimated that half a million people use dodgy boxes in Ireland and the prevalence is having a direct hit on their subscriber growth potential. The briefing document said: 'On the topic of regulation and while it is not directly related to the Revised General Scheme, it would be remiss to make a submission linked to the Irish broadcast sector without raising the major issue of piracy. 'Copyright infringement and intellectual property theft remains a damning thorn in the side of official bodies and requires immediate and serious collective action. 'The proliferation of 'dodgy boxes', which experts conservatively estimate to be in the region of 500,000 in Ireland, is a direct hit to the GAA's potential subscription revenue earning power – a key pillar of its commercial arm that seeks to reinvest 82 per cent of all profits to grassroots clubs, counties and provinces – and merits sustained regulation and consequential policing of the offenders by the highest authorities in conjunction with the effected parties.' Advertisement


Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Time to ‘move on' from semi-final scoreboard controversy, says Tipperary boss Liam Cahill
Liam Cahill says Tipperary were not worried about the possibility of a replay being ordered after last Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final victory against Kilkenny ended in controversy. The scoreboard mistakenly awarded Noel McGrath's 70th-minute effort as a point, even though one of the umpires signalled the Tipp player's shot had drifted wide of the Hill 16 posts. That error gave Tipperary a four-point lead when in fact Kilkenny were three adrift. The score at the final whistle was given as 4-21 to 0-30, a three-point difference. However, just before 8pm on Sunday evening, the GAA amended it, with referee James Owens confirming the result as Tipperary 4-20 Kilkenny 0-30. Speaking at Tipperary's All-Ireland final media evening at Horse and Jockey on Tuesday, manager Cahill says there were no fears within the Tipp camp that the result would not stand. READ MORE 'No, no. What can we say, sure. It's human error, that's the bottom line,' said Cahill. 'A mistake was made but it had no effect on us, on what we wanted to achieve at the end of the day, which was just to get the result. Everybody in the GAA, we do our best to try and do things voluntary and keep things as right as we can. Unfortunately, it was just human error. What can be done, only move on. 'You can go into all the ins and out of it. There were several other passages of play and decisions that work out throughout the 74-plus minutes. The reality is that's what big matches like that are made of and you just roll with the punches and you take the hits. 'We know that Kilkenny from the start of time are a huge hurling county and I said that afterwards on Sunday. Like ourselves, if Kilkenny don't win it on the field, they aren't going to bring it to the boardroom, that's for sure. That's one thing in Tipperary we were fully 100 per cent sure of.' Cahill said he was judging the score during injury-time by the scoreboard but admitted there were some doubts raised by members of his backroom team. 'For me, we were going on the scoreboard. Through Declan [Laffan] and the lads down the earpiece, there might have been a little query all right, but for us we were playing what was in front of us.' Tipperary's Jake Morris celebrates with Darragh Stakelum after last Sunday's All-Ireland SHC semi-final win against Kilkenny at Croke Park. Photograph: Tom O'Hanlon/Inpho Cahill's sentiments were echoed by Tipp vice-captain Jake Morris. '[Kilkenny] are a serious, proud hurling county with some serious hurlers, they are a really good team,' said Morris. [ Nicky English: Tipperary proved they're primed to take All-Ireland challenge to Cork Opens in new window ] [ Tactical Analysis: Tipperary's ruthless efficiency and turnovers sank Kilkenny Opens in new window ] 'Derek Lyng seems to be a really good operator, it is credit to them that they didn't make as much of a complaint out of it as they could have. 'As Liam said, it was a human error. It was unfortunate for them but it is just the way it goes sometimes. You get the rub of the green sometimes and it fell our way last Sunday. 'I didn't know what the story was when John Donnelly was hitting that shot at the end. We would have been three up [in my head] but to be honest you don't even think about the score, you are just playing every ball as it comes to you.' Cahill added that Tipperary have no fresh injury concerns. He hopes to have a fully fit squad to select from for the All-Ireland final against Cork on Sunday week. Meanwhile, Liam Gordon from Galway has been announced as referee for the All-Ireland hurling final, his first senior final. Previously he has experience of reffing the All-Ireland under-20 final, the All-Ireland club final and the Munster hurling final.