GAA President Jarlath Burns attacks 'vested interests' undermining Croke Park
Burns did not specifically name any group or individual but he made it clear that the Association is unselfish in its behaviour and looks beyond the glamour of All-Ireland semi-final day.
He wrote: 'Our Association gets compared to international governing bodies with reach and resources that simply dwarf our own.
'We are not a professional sport, never have been and never will be.
'What we do playing our games across two codes to an incredible standard with amateur athletes while supporting a club structure beneath our top tier of inter-county players is by no means insignificant.
'We are different. We are unique and I can't think of another association that has its sports so tightly wrapped up in people's national identity.
'Our schedule and our season do not suit some vested interests who would prefer the inter-county calendar to dominate with no regard at all for the clubs who supply 100 per cent of our players.
'We have made some hard choices on the structure of our season.
'It is significantly shorter but the games have not suffered; the players at inter-county enjoy the system, and our club players have a certainty and a structure that they crave.
'I can accept that using penalties to decide this year's epic Munster final was a jolt and not to everyone's satisfaction. But here is the thing, a replay would have seen the loser have to play three weeks in a row or if a window was created for replays, then the winners could have been idle for five weeks.'
Burns added: 'Some people have an issue with how the GAA conducts its affairs… but no one has as yet offered a solution to how we might conduct our business in a competitive environment with limited resources and how we are able to run the Association and ensure that Gaelic games retains its pre-eminent place in Irish life.'
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Extra.ie
11 minutes ago
- Extra.ie
Kilkenny v Tipperary game put into dispute as GAA confirm 'official score'
Sunday's All Ireland Senior hurling semi-final has been put into dispute after a 'ghost' point appeared on the scoreboard, leading Kilkenny players to think they needed a goal to advance to the final. The Cats faced off against Tipperary at Croke Park on Sunday with a thrilling game going down to the final whistle. 14-man Tipperary were victorious on the day on what was initially said to be a tally of 4-21 to 0-30. However, the GAA has since confirmed the final point given to Tipperary did not exist. Sunday's All Ireland Senior hurling semi-final has been put into dispute after a 'ghost' point appeared on the scoreboard, leading Kilkenny players to think they needed a goal to advance to the final. Pic: INPHO/Leah Scholes The confusion came following a shot from midfielder Noel McGrath who went for a point in the 70th minute. Despite the point being waved wide by an umpire the scoreboard increased meaning Kilkenny thought they needed three points in order to take the game into extra time. A statement from the GAA has since confirmed the point was in fact a wide, writing: 'The GAA can confirm that the official score at the end of the Tipperary v Kilkenny GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Semi-Final was 4-20 to 0-30. The GAA acknowledge there was confusion over the final score. The CCCC is awaiting the full referees report in order to establish how the initial mistake occurred.' Both Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng and Tipp's Liam Cahill said they thought Kilkenny were chasing a three-point deficit at the end of the game. Darragh McCarthy of Tipperary is comforted by Mikey Butler of Kilkenny, right, as he is shown a red card, a second yellow, by referee James Owens during the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile The goal difference resulted in players Eoin Cody and John Donnelly going for goals on separate occasions, unsuccessfully. If both players instead went for points and succeeded, the game could have gone to extra-time. GAA fans have been having their say on X with Kilkenny fans furious while others aren't as aggrieved with the error. One said: 'Interesting how with all technology and officials this could happen. @KilkennyCLG had at least 2 attempts at goals that were tap over points that would have taken game to extra time. And with 14 for another 20 minutes would @TipperaryGAA survive?' Tipperary had 14 men with 15 minutes to go, but yet its a human error fault, if kilkenny can't game manage 15v14 nothing to do with one point. FFS. — Paul Davoren (@PaulDavoren1) July 6, 2025 Another said: 'Integrity of today's semi-final was brought into question by human error but a mistake all the same. Kilkenny were seriously hard done by. They chased a goal they didn't need. At the same time, Tipperary defended a goal they didn't have to.' A third responded: 'Tipperary had 14 men with 15 minutes to go, but yet it's a human error fault, if Kilkenny can't manage 15v14, nothing to do with one point.' On Saturday the first semi-final took place with Cork taking on Dublin, which prompted a sensational display from Pat Ryan's Rebel side. A full house, dominated by a travelling Cork army, watched Ryan's team shoot 7-26 to blitz the Dublin fairytale and move within 70 minutes of ending the county's 20-year wait for the Liam MacCarthy Cup.
RTÉ News
20 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Vindication for Liam Cahill after Tipperary's long and winding road back to Croke Park
Liam Cahill would have been forgiven an Alan Partridge-style moment of satisfaction. A year ago, his Tipperary team finished bottom of the Munster table with a -36 points difference after earning a single draw from their four games. They had won just one provincial match across his first two seasons - albeit that was enough to set up a disappointing quarter-final exit to Galway in 2023 - and seemed to be going backwards. Unacceptable in one of hurling's so-called bigger counties. Asked last May whether he thought he was still the right man for the job, the two time U20 All-Ireland winning boss said he took "umbrage" at the not totally unreasonable question and pointed to the three-year term he had been handed by the county board, a flimsy guarantee in an amateur sport. Needless to say, he has had the last laugh. Following yesterday's extraordinary 4-20 to 0-30 semi-final victory over Kilkenny, Tipp are back in an All-Ireland decider for the first time since 2019, where they will face familiar foes Cork in a novel pairing on 20 July. "It's huge credit to the players, first and foremost," a calmly reflective Cahill told RTÉ Sport. "Myself and Mikey [Beavans], TJ [Ryan], Declan [Laffan], we only facilitate them. They've been incredible all year, really came back rejuvenated after a club scene late last year and really went after the areas that needed to be corrected from a disappointing 2024. These fellas set really high standards for themselves to be fair and they committed to that. "And to be fair, the alignment with our county board off the field as well. On the field and off the field is starting to work in tandem with one another in Tipperary. When you're trying to create a high- performance environment for players to excel, the board has to be working together and I think it's starting to happen now. "It's been difficult to navigate over the last two years from my perspective. I won't deny that. A huge change required, it's starting to come through now. Thrilled to be in the final." Cahill's men battled past the Cats thanks to a superb late goal from substitute Oisín O'Donoghue, their fourth, having recovered from a two-point deficit after Darragh McCarthy was sent off for a second yellow card with 12 minutes to play. "I'm very proud and happy with the way we tried our best to implement the way we wanted to play after we had a poor start," said the manager, who was speaking before the scoreboard controversy emerged, and confirmed he thought his team had been three points ahead at the finish. "That's down to Kilkenny as well. They were all over us. They had loads of energy. They were winning most of the breaking ball. It was probably a very much mistake-ridden game as well which probably led to a lot of the excitement. "To be fair to Kilkenny, you could never say you had them at any stage throughout the game. You're always nervy and expecting them to produce something and they duly did. Our defence today was really good. Consistency is something we crave and we try to chase. It's something we'll have to bring here in two weeks' time if we have any chance. "It's misfortune, the second yellow. By the rule book it's there, we had no complaints with it at all. Just disappointed for Darragh, he commits to everything. Just before that we probably had really discussed getting Oisín in at that time. Lo and behold, Darragh was coming off alright but we can't get Oisín in to replace him. It was a bit of a blow at the time, but I think it really ignited the rest of the players on the field. "Again, the impact of our bench coming in had a big bearing on today's game. I really thought they gave us huge energy. [Alan] Tynan in particular was superb when he came on. Obviously, Oisín and Noel [McGrath] as usual, giving us that calming influence. "We're a unit that keeps things really tight and we have one another's back. That's what really makes it proud for me is that when you can create something like that and the tests come like they came today outside there at Croke Park, the players usually find the answers." A careless slap on the hand of Kilkenny keeper Eoin Murphy led to McCarthy's second dismissal this summer, following his straight red before the throw-in in Cork. Two yellows won't keep the Toomevara tyro - one of three All-Ireland U20 winners in the panel - out of the final, however Cahill has an interesting choice to make as to his free-taker. McCarthy scored (1-02, 2fs) but had a couple of poor misses. Jason Forde (1-05, 4fs) was flawless (4/4) when he took over the placed balls, which had happened even before his team-mate's early exit. "I'll be backing young Darragh all day long anyway, I have no concerns in that regard," said Cahill. "He's a very resilient young man and I think over the next fortnight and the next couple of sessions, he'll arrive here in a good place in two weeks' time. "It's great to have Jason in reserve, he's having a huge year again. He's a phenomenal player and I'm really thrilled for him." "I suppose grass is grass" Tipp beat the Cats to lift the All-Ireland title six years ago but hadn't played at headquarters since. They were concerns over how some of their younger players might handle the experience but they were cheered on by the majority of the 60,378 in attendance and Cork won't have as big a share of the stands as they did last Saturday. "You can't give these guys experience unless you're here," reflected Cahill. "But they have experience of playing in a packed Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Semple Stadium. I know this is a different set up out here, but I suppose grass is grass. We just have to go at it and see what happened. "We had a number of experienced players, just like this man here to my right [Michael Breen], that have been here before and done it. Then the mixture of the younger fellas that have brought an abandonment of no fear and just hurling with the flow. I don't think anything fazes the younger fellas that have come into this squad. It was a big ask of them today and they passed the test with flying colours." Sitting beside his manager, defender Breen confirmed: "That was a serious Tipp support that we had out there today, you could hear them all the way through. Whether it was a point or a block and when the goals came it was deafening. "The last 24 months, maybe the finish of those seasons it was hard to see immediately where we would go, but as we kickstarted each campaign the last two years, we always believed that we could get up to this arena and perform here. "It wasn't big massive fixes, it was small tweaks. We had the players there. This man is putting it on the players and saying that we drove it but no more than he did, he had to put this plan in place to get us up here and thank God, everyone together, we did it." It's an all-Munster final for the second year in a row, and the first time Tipp will play Cork on the big day. Does Cahill feel battling through the more claustrophobic province – Tipp finished third on points difference behind the Rebels and Limerick as holders Clare crashed out – was an advantage against a Kilkenny side who cruised to their sixth Leinster title in a row? "The difference between Munster and Leinster out there today was only a puck of a ball," he pointed out. "I suppose when you come out of the likes of Cusack Park and Ennis in a tight game, and come out in Thurles fighting for your life to be one of the three to qualify, it does battle-harden you that little bit more. "From our point of view, the campaign and the road we have travelled definitely helped us towards the end." It has been a long and winding road for Liam Cahill and Tipperary over the last three years. But now, unexpectedly, it might just lead back to the promised land.
Irish Examiner
21 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Scratchy Lions win has simplified the Test selection equation for Farrell
FOR some reason Dame Edna Everage sprung to mind in the wake of the British & Irish Lions less-than-marvellous weekend display against the NSW Waratahs. As Edna once waspishly told a fellow grand dame: 'I'm trying to find a word to describe your outfit … affordable.' It was not dissimilar to the lacklustre Lions in Sydney: all dressed up and nowhere to hide. It has been an awkward few days all round, with increasing amounts of potential comedic ammunition available to Aussie hecklers. 'Mr Farrell, welcome to our hotel, we've held the family suite for you.' 'Mate, was the pitch really damp on Saturday or were you blokes just wallowing in your own mediocrity?' It is reaching the point where the Lions need to start delivering a few short sharp punchlines of their own. 'Maybe we should play Fiji instead?' was briefly a possibility as the Wallabies hovered on the brink of losing their warmup Test in Newcastle. But it is a dangerous game to play when, self-evidently, there continues to be a risk of the Lions rocking up underdone to Brisbane for the first Test on Saturday week. Australia may not be the best team in the world – they went into the weekend ranked eighth – but where does that leave the Lions if the series heads south? Among other things, it makes the first Test absolutely pivotal. This is not a hard and fast law – as recently as their last tour in 2021 the Lions won the opening Test in South Africa only to go on and lose the series – but we should expect Joe Schmidt's Australia to grow stronger over the course of a three-Test series. Hence the importance of picking the smartest-possible starting XV – and a complementary bench – for that challenge. In some ways Saturday's scratchy 21-10 win over the Waratahs has simplified the equation. Let's just say it was not the worst game to miss. There are occasions when players' reputations are enhanced simply by sitting in the stands and the Waratahs game was one of them. Read More Andy Farrell felt NSW Waratahs deliberately watered pitch to hinder Lions So the moment has come for Andy Farrell to cease his ruminative beard-stroking, replace the light pencil with proper ink and get down to it, dah-ling. There is still the Brumbies game this Wednesday to assist deliberations further but the time for experimentation has all but expired. The front row, in theory, should be straightforward. The Lions may have waxed and waned to date but their scrums have gone pretty well. Dan Sheehan is first among equals at hooker and Ellis Genge and Andrew Porter, probably in that order, are both tough hombres at loose-head. But the picture at tighthead is murkier: do the Lions go with the proven farmer strength of Tadhg Furlong, the maturing Will Stuart or the previously little considered Finlay Bealham? If Furlong is back anywhere close to his best, Farrell will be tempted. But at this point a wider Irish question presents itself. The Lions could possibly select as many as 10 or even 11 players from the Ireland side who finished the Six Nations with a laboured 22-17 win over Italy. No disrespect to the Azzurri but there is rather less snap and crackle about some of Ireland's leading lights than a year ago. That could mean the usual assumptions about the benefits of cohesion do not hold as much water. And if Maro Itoje and Joe McCarthy are bolted on to start in the second-row it also raises other related back-row questions. On tour form alone Ollie Chessum might just be edging in front of Tadhg Beirne, and Jac Morgan a gnat's nostril ahead of Josh van der Flier. Read More Wallabies score late to snatch win against surging Fiji as Lions await Of course it matters not, in theory, where a qualified Lion hails from. But assuming Jack Conan starts at number eight is there realistically enough time left to develop the kind of ingrained understanding the all-Irish trio possess? Possibly not, a scenario which will be niggling away in the back of Farrell's mind. At least nobody disputes Jamison Gibson-Park will start at 9 and Finn Russell at 10; all things being equal, the back three should comprise of James Lowe, Blair Kinghorn and Tommy Freeman. Which leaves the midfield and the bench. Do the Lions go for a they-shall-not-pass central defensive brick wall of Bundee Aki and Gary Ringrose or reunite Russell with Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones? It would seem even Farrell remains undecided. At the weekend he acknowledged that Test matches tend to be tighter tactical affairs than the lead-up games. 'We are good when we are direct,' he murmured. But the Lions could do with some extra pace – hence the likelihood of Henry Pollock being among the replacements – and Jones offers that. Farrell will further have noted the way in which Fiji ran at the Wallabies and kept their potentially influential centres quiet as a result. Scott Cummings (right) and his Lions teammates show their frustration during the match Lions 'must do better' is Andy Farrell's verdict as Waratahs deny watering pitch Read more The Lions should also keep in mind their captain Itoje's pledge at the initial squad announcement back in May. 'I want us to play with passion and energy and the zeal you would expect of a Lions squad,' said Itoje back then. The cameras in the visiting dressing room at the weekend did not catch a tremendous amount of that and one or two individuals look to have plenty on their youthful minds. So stick or twist? Strip back the gameplan or keep the faith? Put Farrell Jr on the Test bench ahead of Fin Smith for pure psychological effect? It says everything about the concertina-ed nature of this Lions trip that such debates still remain live at this late stage. But ultimately the answer is simple: go all out or go home. As the great Dame Edna might have put it: 'Don't chicken out now, possums!' Guardian
