Tyrone's high hopes, Donegal's high dudgeon
And then there were eight. Some set of pairings too after Monday's All-Ireland football quarter-final draw,
Conor McManus's eye drawn to the meeting between Dublin and Tyrone
. Eleven years ago he was on the Malachy O'Rourke-managed Monaghan team that lost to the Dubs in the last eight. And it is O'Rourke who will be at helm for Tyrone all these years later, Conor having a notion that he might just fare better this time around.
Donegal will face yet more Ulster opposition in the shape of Monaghan, but they're
none too pleased about having only a six-day turnaround
since playing Louth on Sunday. They are, Gordon Manning reports, the only one of the eight quarter-finalists put in that position.
In hurling, Denis Walsh looks back at
'the greatest shock of the last 50 years', Dublin's victory over Limerick
. It was, he writes, Limerick's 'weakest performance in a consequential match since they were beaten in the qualifiers by Kilkenny in 2017'. But the display from Dublin was, he says, simply 'staggering'.
In rugby, Gerry Thornley reflects on
a successful night for the Lions off the field, if not on it
, a coffers-boosting sold-out Aviva Stadium witnessing Argentina 'deservedly make their own piece of history'. He also hears from
Josh van der Flier
who describes his first Lions selection as 'probably the pinnacle' of his career.
READ MORE
Owen Doyle wasn't, though, too impressed by the Lions' first outing of the summer, if referee James Doleman and his crew had made as many mistakes, he writes,
'they would rightly have been run out of town'
. He felt Doleman did well, particularly with the award of a penalty try for a collapsed maul. 'As the tour continues it will be interesting to see whether this is now policy. It should be.'
In football, Shelbourne are trying to come to terms with life after Damien Duff, the club's co-owner Neil Doyle insisting there were
'no recriminations, no hard feelings'
following his resignation. Malachy Clerkin is, though, trying to wrap his head around
'Duff's desire to be hated'
during his time in charge of Shels, when he is 'this universally adored figure in Irish sporting history'.
And ahead of the Republic of Ireland's friendlies against the United States in Denver and Cincinnati, we hear from
Ellen Molloy who is hoping to add to her seven caps
having received her first call-up from Carla Ward.
In racing, Brian O'Connor reports on
Ryan Moore having a shot at an historic Irish Derby hat-trick
on Sunday on board Lambourn, while in his Different Strokes column, Philip Reid brings the latest news from the world of golf - including
Tommy Fleetwood extending his 159-tournament winless streak
with a heartbreaking loss at The Travelers Championship last Sunday. Mind you, he's won €26.9 million along the way, so he's not going hungry.
TV Watch:
It's the final day of the first test between England and India at Headingley, England needing 350 runs to win, India requiring 10 wickets (Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15am). And this evening, DAZN have coverage of Benfica v Bayern Munich at the Club World Cup (8.0).
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The 42
31 minutes ago
- The 42
Tyrone take major step, dominant Donegal, Monaghan's second-half struggles
1. Tyrone take major step It was far from a freewheeling classic of a football game, but at this stage of the season the outcome is the only real currency. Tyrone had already lost twice in this summer's championship before they arrived in Croke Park last night. If Dublin joined Armagh and Mayo in that list of conquerors, then Malachy O'Rourke's side were bound for the exit door. Instead they took a major step forward. For the first time since 2021 when they lifted Sam, they will contest on the last four stage. Their performance was pockmarked by errors, the match was nervy and anxious for long stretches, but Tyrone cleared their minds and pushed on confidently at the decisive phase. They looked at Luke Breathnach pointing in the 64th minute to pull Dublin within one, and then struck 0-7 without reply in the remainder of the game. Four of those were supplied by substittutes. The electricity provided by Eoin McElholm and Ruairi Canavan suggested Tyrone have the depth and attacking range to trouble anyone. There was a few moments of brilliance by Darragh Canavan as he hit three points from play over the course of the game. And the big moments by their experienced core of Peter Harte, Mattie Donnelly, Niall Morgan, and man-of-the-match Kieran McGeary, illustrated that they remain a team with a lot of big game know-how. 'You talk about the skill and the work but it is that raw bite and fight for the jersey,' remarked Malachy O'Rourke afterwards. Advertisement 'That's probably the most pleasing thing of all. You're obviously looking at quality and a good high skill level and everything else. 'But if you don't have that bite and you don't have that, the fellas prepared to work really hard for each other and there's no such thing as a lost cause, you're not going to win. So really delighted with that. In fairness to the boys, they've shown great application all year.' Tyrone's Kieran McGeary is hugged by her mother Kathleen after the game. Tom Maher / INPHO Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO 2. Dominant Donegal 'Donegal, Donegal' rang out around Croke Park down the stretch yesterday evening. The Tír Chonaill faithful headed for the Hills happy, McGuinness and co set for their second All-Ireland semi-final on the bounce. They had to dig deep to overcome Monaghan at Croke Park yesterday, Donegal trailing by seven points at half time, 1-15 to 0-11. They looked leggy, the six-day turnaround and hectic schedule appearing like it may catch up with them. But they found another gear in the second period, outscoring their opponents 1-15 to 0-5 — and 0-11 to 0-0 from the 46th to 68th minutes. In all, they scored 1-26 from 26 scoring chances and hit just four wides, three of those from Michael Murphy. He finished with 0-4, split evenly between play and wides. Donegal had nine different scorers, all but one hitting more than a point. Michael Langan led the charge with 1-3 on his 100th appearance for the county, while himself, Murphy, Conor O'Donnell, Ciarán Thompson, Oisín Gallen and Shane O'Donnell all clipped 0-3 or more. This, of course, all stemmed from defensive solidity, goalkeeper Shaun Patton bouncing back after a nervy opening period. Their bench press was key too, with Patrick McBrearty kicking two big scores which encapsulated their experience and composure through the endgame. The substitute clenched his first and let out a roar after raising his first white flag through the blitz, himself and the Donegal faithful loving it and hoping there is more to come. McBrearty celebrates. Tom Maher / INPHO Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO 3. Monaghan's second-half struggles Rory Beggan landed a mammoth two-pointer after the first-half buzzer and Monaghan headed for the dressing room seven points up. They will have been pleased with their 35 minutes' work. Gabriel Bannigan's side had Donegal on the ropes. His nephew, Míchéal, was the goalscorer, while they kicked four two-pointers, with brilliant Beggan and Andrew Woods on song. There was room for improvement too, with a fair share of wides recorded. But Donegal utterly outplayed them from there. Monaghan failed to score for 22 minutes. They tried to force matters down the stretch, often overcomplicating things as they desperately tried to stop the rot, and finished with 12 wides in all. This was a puzzling collapse, a limp exit. Related Reads Dessie Farrell steps down as manager of Dublin footballers Jim McGuinness: 'We, the management and the players, had nothing to do with the statement' Donegal dominate in second half against Monaghan to reach All-Ireland last four 'It was definitely a game of two halves,' Bannigan said afterwards. 'The first-half performance from Monaghan, to me, gives you a glimpse of what this team is capable of. But we need to be able to put two halves like that together if we're going to take out a team like Donegal.' Struggling to put his finger on it all, he added: 'The things that we were doing brilliantly in the first half, we just weren't able to replicate them in the second half. 'There were handling errors, there were poor options taken, we were getting shots blocked down, we kicked more wides. We didn't seem to have the same hunger around the breaking ball. All of those things just went against us.' *****
The 42
31 minutes ago
- The 42
Lions boss Farrell hails McCarthy, Hansen after Australian tour opener
HENRY POLLOCK MIGHT have hogged the limelight in the British and Irish Lions Australian tour opener, but coach Andy Farrell was equally impressed with Ireland pair Joe McCarthy and Mack Hansen, who both staked claims for a Test spot. Hulking English back-rower Pollock, 20, lived up to the hype in Perth, helping the tourists to an emphatic 54-7 win over Western Force on Saturday. While he put himself in the shop window for a Test call-up, playing a part in two of the Lions' eight tries, it was McCarthy who claimed man-of-the-match honours. The tireless Irish lock's fingerprints were all over the game, making key defensive plays and powering over for a well-earned five-pointer. It put him in pole position to claim a contested tight five slot in the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane on 19 July. 'He just stays in the game the whole time,' Farrell said of McCarthy. 'He's a lot more composed in what he does but at the same time he's never wavered in the intent within his game. 'In the set-piece, you saw him come away through the maul, stealing the ball, running down the wing and cutting back inside, looking for offloads and going through rucks and being the force that he is. 'He's developing his all-round game and he'll only grow from here on in.' Advertisement Farrell also had high praise for Irish winger Hansen, who had an ordinary first-half but came alive in the second. 'I mean there were some fantastic tries, but the play of the day by a country mile was Mack Hansen,' he said. 'Back and forward, full length of the field, fighting for his team on his own, that's what a Lion should 100% do for his team.' While noting some flashes of individual brilliance in the first game of their nine-match tour, Farrell also pinpointed teething problems to fix before their next match against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday. He highlighted ill-discipline, with six penalties conceded in the first-half before they got in their groove after the break. 'Happy with the scoreline and happy with how we actually got to that point because it wasn't all going our own way,' said Farrell. 'We gathered ourselves well and sorted a few things out on the run and played some nice rugby in the end. 'We had more composure (in the second-half), we were less desperate,' he added. 'We gave a good few penalties away through a lack of discipline certainly… once we stopped giving them the field position and territory they wanted, I felt we defended really well and we were composed enough to score some nice tries.' – © AFP 2025
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Live GAA updates: Meath face Galway before Armagh and Kerry battle for last All-Ireland SFC semi-final spot
Fixtures: All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals Meath v Galway, Croke Park, 1.45pm (RTÉ) Armagh v Kerry, Croke Park, 4pm (RTÉ) Get an in-depth look at the weekend's action and the best analysis of upcoming fixtures in our weekly newsletter [ Inside Gaelic Games: The weekly GAA newsletter from The Irish Times Opens in new window ] 1 minute ago And here's Seán Moran's previews of the quarter-finals too. [ All-Ireland SFC quarter-final previews: Top teams about to be thinned out with big names in the firing line ] 7 minutes ago This weekend's quarter-finals mark another high point of a season where championship football has captured the imagination in a way it hadn't for quite some time. Seán Moran discusses the quarter-finals, as well as how the FRC have breathed life back into the sport. [ Turnstiles click for a game transformed and the most open championship in decades ] 12 minutes ago Kerry face Armagh in a heavyweight clash at Croker today. Dean Rock remembers another time when Kerry came up to the capital as underdogs in a quarter-final; 2009's hammering of Dublin. However there's a big difference between then and now, he says: "The core problem for Kerry is that they don't have enough players operating at the very highest level." [ Dean Rock: Kerry's problem is the calibre of player in the squad. Everything hinges on David Clifford ] 1 day ago Hello and welcome to live coverage of the second set of All-Ireland quarter-finals at Croke Park. Galway face Meath (throw-in 1:45pm), and Armagh will play Kerry (throw-in 4:00pm) in a rematch of last year's semi-final classic. There were flashes of brilliance all through yesterday's quarter-finals, but Donegal and Tyrone both managed to come through by decent margins. Neutrals will be hoping that today's games are a bit tighter in the last few minutes. It promises to be a great day of football, with big crowds expected at GAA HQ for the double-header.
