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Unconsidered Royals riding high on more than good luck

Unconsidered Royals riding high on more than good luck

RTÉ News​5 hours ago

In 2024, Meath footballers hardly pulled up trees. They were well beaten by Dublin in the Leinster semi-final and lost all their games in the All-Ireland round-robin. It would turn out to be Colm O'Rourke's final year in charge.
Robbie Brennan, the All-Ireland winning club manager with Kilmacud Crokes, subsequently took over.
A new campaign. The Royals garnered eight points from their Division 2 campaign with four wins and three losses, coming behind Monaghan and Roscommon.
And then at the end of March, Joe McMahon and Martin Corey stepped down from their roles as selectors/coaches.
The omens did not look good. Fast forward to the end of June and Meath are in an All-Ireland semi-final. A championship run where they have already beaten Dublin, Kerry and Galway and reached a Leinster final.
Sunday's win over the Tribes saw them finish the stronger and now a date with Donegal awaits in the last four.
Tough times make strong men, and Meath now appear a team transformed, even if they are still being underestimated #sundaygame
📺 https://t.co/5y76j90rz3 pic.twitter.com/PTsclZLt9D
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 29, 2025
Speaking on The Sunday Game, Peter Canavan has been impressed in how Brennan's side have gone about their business since their management upheaval, saying: "The wheels could have come off the wagon back then in the middle of the league".
What also pleased the two-time All-Ireland winner was how they responded to Galway's two-goal burst with ten minutes left in the Croke Park quarter-final.
"Meath were six up with 15 minutes to go. Galway came back to level and then went three up. So we thought that was the bit where Meath had one their bit and played well. Galway would go on and win it.
"They did not follow that script. Meath showed real character to come back in the style they did.
"It was a tentative first half; it was an arm wrestle. When the game opened up and the two teams went at each other Meath weren't found wanting.
"They beat Dublin, they beat Kerry, they beat Galway. It can't all be luck."

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Colm Boyle: O'Shea masterclass as Kerry produce stunning second half performance
Colm Boyle: O'Shea masterclass as Kerry produce stunning second half performance

Irish Daily Mirror

timean hour ago

  • Irish Daily Mirror

Colm Boyle: O'Shea masterclass as Kerry produce stunning second half performance

I wrote off Kerry last week and said David Clifford was the only chance they had of winning this game, but as it turned out we got a Sean O'Shea masterclass. O'Shea hit 12 points from play and set the tone right from the start with a couple of incredible scores that lifted his team. Kerry's second half was the best 35 minute performance by any team in this year's Championship. It was almost total football, not just in how good they were with the ball in hand, but the way they out fought Armagh and outwitted them on their own kickouts. While most of the focus will be on Sean O'Shea and David Clifford, who really kicked into gear in the second half, Kerry had very unlikely heroes in the midfield pair of Sean O'Brien and Mark O'Shea. They both put in huge shifts, as did Joe O'Connor around the middle third and Gavin White, who delivered one of his best performances in a Kerry jersey. When Armagh went five points up early in the second half, I thought Kerry were done. It looked like Armagh were going to cruise home in the second half but what Kerry produced after that was absolutely sensational, to score 14 points without reply. Armagh's kick out losses in the second half was into double digits. When they came under serious pressure, their decision making on their kickouts seemed very one dimensional and quite poor at times, which shows that even the best teams can collapse under pressure with the new kickout rule. Despite trailing by a point at half-time, I thought Kerry looked the better team with that man Sean O'Shea really leading the charge. For Kerry to win the game, I felt they needed to start well and be in the game at half-time and O'Shea was a huge reason why they were. Their response to conceding a very soft goal was also hugely impressive. They had it wiped out in two minutes with Sean O'Shea getting a two pointer and a one. That showed a steeliness and a resolve that probably I and others throughout the country had doubted leading into this game. Armagh just didn't seem to cope well with the expectancy of coming into this game as All-Ireland champions against the Kerry underdog. The most surprising aspect was how they lost control of that game and an area everyone thought they were so strong in, that middle eight. Both their midfielders were removed in the second half - Niall Grimley and Ben Crealey. And at times it was Oisin Conaty almost forging a furrow up front alone as he continued his almost Player of the Year form. He was absolutely brilliant. For Kerry to win this game without a fully fit Paudie Clifford, Paul Geaney not seeing game time, Diarmuid O'Connor out with injury, Tom O'Sullivan hobbling off after 20 minutes - and also missing Mike Breen, Tadhg Morely and Tony Brosnan - is a serious testament to them. If they can get a couple of them back for the semi-final against Tyrone, they are going to be in a really good place. Meath produced the shock of the round against Galway. This was a result I just didn't see as possible, even though they'd beaten both Dublin and Kerry in this year's Championship I thought the road Galway have been on over the last couple of weeks in particular, and the last couple of years, would have stood to them coming into yesterday's game. Padraic Joyce will be shocked at how poor his team was and some of the basic errors they made in the game. This was a very strange match. The first half was of a shockingly poor standard and Galway probably undeservedly went in at half-time one point up. I felt at half time that Galway would come out and blow Meath away in the second half, but it just never materialised and the longer Meath were in the game, the more they grew in confidence. In Jordan Morris they had the outstanding footballer on the pitch. When Conor Gray goaled in the 52nd minute, which was followed quickly by a Morris point to put Meath six up, that shocked Galway into life. And in the space of seven minutes, Galway went from six down to three up after goals from Cillian McDaid and Liam Silke. It looked like Galway were going to survive, like they did in Celtic Park against Derry and in Breffni Park against Armagh. But an incredible turnover by Morris on Johnny McGrath a couple of minutes later led to Morris palming the ball to the back of the net and Meath all of a sudden gained control again. Padraic Joyce will be really disappointed with his team, that they could not see this game out after Silke's goal. But the story of this game is Meath and what a performance it was by them in the last 20 minutes. A dramatic ending to the game did have a slightly farcical side to it with Meath slowing down the play and wasting enough time for Eoghan Frayne to kick the ball out over the endline, while they were waiting for the hooter. I hope they get rid of the hooter next year. I think it's just too easy for players to run down the cloak and play keep ball for the last two minutes. At least in injury time you are not sure if it's the last play of the game if it's in the referee's control. Anyway, Meath shouldn't have any fear whatsoever of Donegal, but Jim McGuinness will be absolutely delighted to avoid Kerry in what has been an unpredictable championship so far, so who knows what could happen from here on it? Dublin's All-Ireland quarter final defeat by Galway last year shocked the country, but this year's quarter final loss to Tyrone wouldn't have surprised too many. While I did fancy the Dubs to just about get the job done, the loss of Con O'Callaghan for most of the game proved decisive. I was surprised how much the O'Callaghan no-show against Cork was played down by various media outlets during the week. Dessie Farrell played it down in the aftermath of the Cork win, stating that he didn't feel the game needed O'Callaghan's introduction, despite it being level with 10 minutes to go. In hindsight it was a huge signal that he was struggling badly. I'd imagine Malachy O'Rourke would have been expecting O'Callaghan in from the off, but the fact he didn't even take part in the Dublin warm up would have been a huge boost from his Tyrone team. All of a sudden there was very little to fear for his team. That said, I thought Dublin played some great football in the first half playing into a tricky breeze into the hill. They went in at half time a point down but actually outscored Tyrone 10 score to 7. Crucially, Tyrone hit four brilliant two pointers in the first half, something which has been an Achilles heel for Dublin in this year's Championship. Dublin had the lowest number of orange flags of all eight teams going into this weekend - and again failed to raise an orange flag on Saturday. The second half was almost a replica of the Armagh game a couple of weeks ago. Dublin's radar was completely off. In total they had 16 scores from 35 shots, which ironically was the exact same as Monaghan had against Donegal in the earlier game. When Eoin McElholm lined up Ciaran Kilkenny and breezed past him to put Tyrone two points up coming down the stretch it felt like a huge moment. For a young player to show so much confidence in a critical moment was incredible. Tyrone smelt blood after that, kicked on for home and outscored Dublin by six points to one in this period. For Tyrone it's a brilliant win but I think O'Rourke will feel there's another gear in his team ahead of the All-Ireland semi-final, which is an ideal scenario for his team to be in. Dessie Farrell didn't hang around in announcing his departure as Dublin manager in the aftermath, which wasn't a surprise after six years in charge. Who will replace him will be interesting but there is no doubt there will be an uncomfortable few weeks ahead for Louth as I expect Ger Brennan to be heavily linked to the job. Whoever the next Dublin manager is, he'll face big questions straight away about his veterans. If Stephen Cluxton does finally call a day, it will be off the back of an incredible season for him. He was completely written off after the defeat to Meath in the Leinster semi-final. We all thought that at his age the new kick out rule was one step too far for him. But he returned to have a brilliant game in Dublin's victory in Salthill against Galway and had an incredible 90percent retention rate back to back against Derry and Cork, before signing off for this season with 77percent retention against Tyrone An interesting few months await for Dublin. From looking like they were in serious trouble at half-time, Donegal went on to produce their best 35 minutes of football in Croke Park since Jim McGuinness returned at the helm. They wiped out Monaghan's seven point lead in the space of 17 minutes and once Michael Murphy drew them level with a free in the 52nd minute, there was only ever going to be one winner. Monaghan will look at some very poor decisions in front of goal, especially in the second half and it sucked the life out of their general play. The more Monaghan suffered in front of the posts, the more energy Donegal seemed to have and their direct, hard running at Monaghan in the second half often from turnovers or shots that dropped short had the Farney men in all sorts of trouble. Ryan McAnespie's injury at the start of the second half was a huge blow to Monaghan after a monster of a first half from him. The sight of Conor McCarthy hopping off at a time when Donegal had serious momentum was a clear sign it was going to be Donegal's day. Jason McGee and Paddy McBrearty in particular gave Donegal a huge impact off the bench and both were hugely influential in the closing stages.

Final camogie group games sets up exciting quarter-final clashes as Galway right last year's wrongs
Final camogie group games sets up exciting quarter-final clashes as Galway right last year's wrongs

The Irish Sun

timean hour ago

  • The Irish Sun

Final camogie group games sets up exciting quarter-final clashes as Galway right last year's wrongs

NIAMH Mallon admits Galway's experience of the All-Ireland senior camogie quarter-finals last year made them intent on winning their group this year. Galway topped Group 2 after claiming a 0-17 to 0-11 win over Waterford on Saturday at Kenny Park in Athenry. And that sealed their place in the last four — having failed to automatically qualify last year. Advertisement 2 Last year's All-Ireland finalists have secured a semi-final place after topping their group 2 Dublin won their first group game against Derry The Tribes lost to Cork in their group finale 12 months ago to set up a quarter-final with the Déise that they had to dig deep in before winning 1-12 to 1-9. Mallon and Co eventually made the Croke Park final last year but were undone — again — by old foes Cork. But last year is forgotten about and the Maroon are back in the semi-final. And Mallon — who is now looking forward to an extended spell of preparation — said: 'We learned a lot from last year. 'We got turned over by Cork in the last group game this time last year and we had to go to Croke Park the following week and win a quarter-final. Advertisement Read more on GAA 'We wanted to try to avoid that this year. It was probably unspoken but it was something we probably wanted to do and thankfully we have. We have four weeks now of training to prepare for an All-Ireland semi-final.' Classy forward Mallon slotted over four points in the six-point win over Waterford. And she was aided by skipper Carrie Dolan who also recorded nine points. But it was a tight game that the Tribes only won late on with the teams level at 0-11 apiece with four minutes of normal time remaining. And Dolan said: 'We came here to get a result and we got it. We knew we had our work cut out for us. It was a draw coming down the home stretch but our girls pushed on and got the next few scores.' Advertisement Most read in GAA Hurling Waterford's first defeat of the campaign means they play Clare in the first of next weekend's two quarter-finals. The Déise will face the Banner at 2.30pm on Saturday at GAA HQ as part of a double-header with the All-Ireland SHC semi- final involving Cork and Dublin. 'Lots of fight' - RTE GAA pundits react to Sean O'Shea's 'very interesting' interview after Kerry dethrone Armagh But Clare will need to improve having been blitzed by Tipperary in a 4-17 to 0-10 defeat at The Ragg. The Premier will face Kilkenny in their last-eight clash at GAA HQ on Sunday at 1.30pm as a result of their win. Advertisement The tie will be the curtain-raiser to the All-Ireland SHC semi between the two counties. And Tipp boss Denis Kelly will be delighted with how his side dismantled the Banner as they head into that clash. Mary Burke and Casey Hennessy shared the goals between them and Grace O'Brien registered eight points. But neighbours Kilkenny will be expected to represent a stronger level of opposition. Kelly said: 'It was good to get a performance and a good score.' Advertisement TIPP TURNAROUND And the Premier chief admits he is delighted with how his side bounced back from their humbling He added: 'We got a bit of a knock-back with Cork at the start but it was probably the best time to get it. We've been improving since so we're happy enough with where we're at. 'Kilkenny will be a big step-up again the next day but we're looking forward to it.' And with his county set to bring a big crowd to Croker for the hurling semi-final, Kelly hopes his team gets backed. Advertisement He added: 'We haven't had massive support this year with the way the Championship is condensed. 'There's a lot of hurling and other games on, which take supporters out. But it'll be different in Croke Park.' Meanwhile, Amy O'Connor hit 3-5 as Cork beat Wexford 5-21 to 0-11 at Wexford Park. Saoirse McCarthy and Clodagh Finn also raised green flags for the Munster side. Dublin also recorded their first win of the Championship over Derry to ensure their senior status. Advertisement Like O'Connor, Emma Flanagan was in hat-trick scoring form for the Sky Blues. Aisling Maher also clocked up 2-7 and Kerrie Finnegan helped herself to a brace of scores. That added up to a 7-19 to 1-11 victory over a lifeless Oak Leaf at Parnell Park. Jackie Donnelly hit 1-2 for the Ulster side but they will now focus on playing Wexford in a straight fight to avoid relegation.

Kerry's 15 minutes of pure destruction and what else we learned from the GAA weekend
Kerry's 15 minutes of pure destruction and what else we learned from the GAA weekend

Irish Times

timean hour ago

  • Irish Times

Kerry's 15 minutes of pure destruction and what else we learned from the GAA weekend

Armagh's 15-minute downfall In the 42nd minute of Kerry's quarter-final with Armagh, the kick-out after Joe O'Connor's rallying point to cut the deficit to 0-15 to 1-16, was intercepted by Paudie Clifford, who made such a difference when introduced for the second half. He laid it off to his brother David who was short with a point attempt. Kerry didn't fluff another shot until Micheál Burns's last-minute wide with eight seconds left on the clock. In the meantime, the Munster champions hit Armagh with 14 points – 11 unanswered scores. As Enda McGinley put it on the RTÉ commentary, the All-Ireland champions couldn't get their hands on the ball. During these 15 minutes of pure destruction, Ethan Rafferty's kickouts were feasted on by Kerry. Up until Graham O'Sullivan's score, the last of the 14-point salvo, Armagh lost nine of their 11 restarts. READ MORE Kerry's Seán O'Shea celebrates a point with David Clifford during the All-Ireland quarter-final against Armagh. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho This was all compounded by the champions' inability to get anything back on the scoreboard. Careless wides by Ben Crealey and Niall Grimley were followed by a brilliant tackle from the excellent Joe O'Connor and a frustrating 4v3 breach by Rian O'Neill. Credit so to MOTM Seán O'Shea, identified prematch by his manager as a team leader, who scored 0-12, including three two-pointers and no wides. The eight-point winning margin appeared a bit understated but given the starting point of trailing by five, it was a 13-point turnaround. Coincidentally, the last time Kerry dethroned All-Ireland champions at Croke Park was 23 years ago when they beat Galway, also in a quarter-final and also by eight points. Kerry had travelled the extended road of the qualifiers just as Jack O'Connor's team had done at the weekend. They will of course hope that the similarities end there, as they went on to lose that year's All-Ireland final to Armagh. – Seán Moran Not-so-disgruntled Donegal It's the sharp end of the championship so obviously everything is heightened. Everybody is that little bit tetchier and more willing to see the worst in everybody else. But even allowing for that, some of the derision that has been aimed at Jim McGuinness and Donegal over the past few weeks has felt a bit much. The Jimmy's Whingin' Matches stuff does at least boast the upside of being a reasonably serviceable pun. But there's a barely disguised subtext to it all – that Donegal are always moaning about something and they should whisht up and get on with it. Their second half on Saturday was the perfect answer, an eyeballs-out gallop to the line that left Monaghan wheezing in their dust. They are the right favourites for Sam Maguire. Even so, there will always be people out there convinced that Donegal and McGuinness are up to something. That they aren't to be trusted or that they're dealing from the bottom of the deck somehow. It started in the league when they got a game against Kerry called off during Storm Éowyn. Never mind that the postponement meant they would have to play five matches on successive weekends, it still went down in some quarters as McGuinness pulling a fast one. Donegal manager Jim McGuinness ahead of the All-Ireland quarter-final against Monaghan. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Maybe it's as simple as the fact that Donegal have never been forgiven for changing the way football was played in the last decade. Or maybe it's just that McGuinness fights Donegal's corner and is unstinting and steadfast in doing so. Most likely, it's a combination of the two, probably with an element of envy at how he has turned Donegal around in the two seasons since he came back for his second stint. Because in case anyone has forgotten, Donegal lost eight of their 12 matches in 2023, the year before McGuinness took over. Saturday was his 32nd game since assuming the reins and they've only lost six times altogether in two seasons. They are gathering speed and may well have Caolan McGonagle back for the semi-final against Meath. They've done all the right things. Maybe that's what annoys people most of all. – Malachy Clerkin Cherish the youth As Dublin fell in a heap in Croke Park on Saturday they looked further away from winning an All-Ireland than any time since the 'startled earwigs' quarter-final of 2009, when they lost to Kerry by 17 points. As things turned out, it only took Pat Gilroy two years to knock them into shape, but for the next Dublin manager to produce an All-Ireland winning team in that time frame would be a staggering achievement now. 'I know there's challenges with underage in the county at the minute or over the last number of years,' said Dessie Farrell afterwards, 'but there's a great crop after coming in there and I'd be very optimistic for how they go about their business in the seasons ahead.' While Dublin were dominating the senior championship, fending off accusations of 'financial doping', there was very little commentary about their performance at age-grade levels. Their last minor All-Ireland was 13 years ago, and that is also the last final they have contested. Their record at under 20/21 level is not as alarming, but it is still eight years since their last title; Tyrone, their conquerors on Saturday, have won three titles in that grade since then. Dessie Farrell during Dublin's All-Ireland quarter-final against Tyrone on Saturday. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho The last three age-grade titles that Dublin have won have all been delivered by Farrell: minor in 2012, and under-21 in 2014 and 2017. Given the playing numbers at their disposal, this dearth of age-grade success must represent some kind of systems failure. Does it really matter in the long run if players of the required quality are still being produced? That is where the conveyor belt has stalled. In the final quarter against Tyrone, when Dublin were desperately looking for something, the search was led by familiar names: Con O'Callaghan, Ciarán Kilkenny, Brian Howard, and to a lesser extent the Small brothers. It will be a different team again next year. John Small has already made one failed attempt to escape. Nobody ever knows about Stephen Cluxton, but the next manager might take the decision out of his hands. Kilkenny, Cormac Costello and Niall Scully are in their early 30s. Will all of them have the stomach for another campaign? Will Dublin be favourites for next year's Leinster title? Maybe by default. – Denis Walsh Meath's six appeal Meath's semi-final against Donegal is to be their ninth championship game of the campaign – the most the county will have played across a single summer since 1991. Meath's renaissance this year is in stark contrast to recent seasons. In 2024 Meath played five championship games, losing four and winning just one. They didn't win a single championship game the previous year, spending the business end of the summer in the Tailteann Cup. In 2022 they managed just one championship win, the same in 2021. But so far in this campaign the Royals have played eight games – winning six, losing one and drawing one. Meath's Jordan Morris celebrates after the final whistle against Galway. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho They didn't even amass six championship wins on their way to claiming the All-Ireland title in 1996 or 1999, winning five matches in both of those campaigns. It was the same for their All-Ireland wins of 1987 and 1988, so this has been a summer of summers for Robbie Brennan's team with six championship wins, beating Carlow, Offaly, Dublin, Cork, Kerry and Galway. Even in 1991 when they played 10 championship games, including four matches against Dublin, Meath finished that campaign with just five wins. They did chalk up six Tailteann Cup victories in 2023, but in terms of the top flight, the Royals have to go back to their breakthrough Sam Maguire-winning seasons of 1949 and 1954 to find a campaign in which they won six games. – Gordon Manning Slippin' & slidin' A prediction. Someone will score a goal or miss a goal this coming weekend during the hurling semi-finals and one of the contributory factors will be the slippiness of the Croke Park pitch. It played like an ice rink over the weekend, with players in all matches feeling their heels going from under them at inopportune moments. As the Galway backroom team stood gloomily munching on sandwiches under the Cusack Stand after losing to Meath, a brief inquiry as to what the story was with the pitch brought a frustrated response. Everybody was wearing cogs, they said. This wasn't fancy lads wearing fancy boots. But the misty morning rain on Dublin's northside had made it pot luck as to whether players could trust the ground under their feet. Meath's goalkeeper Billy Hogan slips while taking a free. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho In fairness, it was an equal opportunities destroyer. Meath goalkeeper Billy Hogan got struck down a few times, Galway's Shane Walsh the same. Anyone stopping quickly or trying a jink or a turn inside invariably found themselves going alley-oop. It was sheer chance that there wasn't a key slip that caused a game-defining score. The weather forecast is for a heatwave during the week followed by rain on Saturday and Sunday. Don't be surprised if it means Croke Park plays like a slip'n'slide next weekend. Defenders beware. – Malachy Clerkin

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