If Cork manager John Cleary's time is up, could John Fintan Daly's time be finally now?
If John Cleary decides to call it a day as Cork football manager, could an outspoken Knocknagree man, with an impressive managerial cv, be the next man up?
Corkman
Where to for Cork football now? The Rebels season came to an end – some might say an inevitable end – against Dublin last Saturday, a three-point loss drawing a line under a season that promised much but failed to deliver much.
If success is measured by wins and silverware, then the Cork footballers' year was a failure. They didn't win promotion out of Division 2 (again), they didn't reach the Munster final (again), they didn't get back to the All-Ireland quarter-finals. The played 13 games across the National League, the Munster Championship and the All-Ireland Championship, winning six and losing seven: that's a 46% success rate.
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RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Get the popcorn out - it's showtime in the championship
Let's get ready to rumble! In the era of Mr Trump, there is a natural inclination to steer away from hype and grandiose claims. There is however a giddy anticipation of the weekend that lies ahead in the All-Ireland football championship. Could it be the best weekend's football we've ever seen? It's of course a daft thing to say in ways but then again, the ingredients have rarely ever been better. I work in Craigavon Hospital in Armagh, and I've never seen as many people keen to talk football. They're not just excited about their own team if they're in it, rather, it's all the games, all the possibilities that has them salivating in anticipation of what the weekend may bring. Those ingredients? With a possible argument to be had for Mayo, the eight top teams are all there. All eight have had the sheen knocked off them, and that means even for their most ardent supporters, there are doubts and wonderings and, crucially for their opponents, opportunity and hope. Not one of the eight remaining are anywhere near a settled team. All are missing likely starters or hoping to welcome some back. On top of the injury issues, the undulating nature of the season means players are finding form and losing it all over again. The variation in teams feels nuts for this stage in the championship but bears witness to the much talked of attritional nature of the modern campaign. The clash of styles is now in every facet of the game: two-pointers versus goal getters; fly keepers versus stay-at-home conservatives; arc defence versus man-to-man; scoring spread versus main-man magic; through-the-hand running or stretch-the-game kicking. And all of it still has to pass the Croke Park test. How often do we hear that Croke Park plays different? For all bar Dublin, the various teams' new game experience in HQ is one or none. Can the arc defence used by Armagh and Donegal for example hold up on Croker's expanses? Are two-pointers really more difficult there? If so, who between the two-point merchants in Galway and Meath will blink first? Again, we can ponder much but let's be honest, we know very little. The biggest factor of all that leads us to actually expect rather than hope for a stunning weekend's football is of course everything that has gone before. The regularity of hugely entertaining games that have left the terraces buzzing cannot be a coincidence. The rules have landed with more success than even Jarlath Burns himself could have dreamed of when he gave Jim and his crew the grandiose aim of "creating the most exciting and enjoyable amateur game in the world". The crowds are back and I'd imagine this weekend will see close to a record attendance for this stage of the championship. Just as the brilliance of the Munster hurling championship drives massive crowds and great atmospheres that only lifts the games even further, the big-ball game is now experiencing the same. Having been living the puritan life of defensive football for over 10 years the whole thing is intoxicating. Absolutely there are issues to be ironed out, many actually, but, there is a time to moan and a time to enjoy, and this weekend is very much the latter. As to predictions, it's a fool's errand this week. Valid cases can be made for all. But like my six-year old in a filling station when he's allowed to get a treat, sometimes you just have to make a call and no matter what it'll still be crap so here goes. Monaghan v Donegal WINNER: MONAGHAN Donegal's six-day thing is very poor form from the GAA. Monaghan's footballing dogs are learning a whole host of tricks and playing some of the best football in the country - and that has been one of the stories of the year. Caveat: all their wins have been against second-tier sides. They need a big-team scalp and for that they need Gary Mohan fit and to keep a closer eye on Shane O'Donnell than any team has managed to date. Doable? Maybe. It'd be some irony for Donegal to get the rest they don't really want after all! Tyrone v Dublin WINNER: TYRONE. Why? Hope springs eternal and I hear Mugsy is back in training and has the peroxide out! Dublin are a coming force. Their hunger and willingness to come back, especially among their older hands is mesmerizing. They are the one team who are getting stronger week on week before our eyes. Injuries are massive here. How fit is Con? How fit is Brian Kennedy? Opposite types of footballer, equal importance to the outcome. Michael McKiernan's loss is a huge blow for Tyrone. Taking down the Dubs in Croker is one of the biggest challenges in the game. With the additional week's rest, that challenge has to be relished by the Red Hand. Galway v Meath WINNER: GALWAY Galway Arrive battered and bruised but still standing. Over the past weeks we've seen them rise like Rocky as the ref almost counted them out against both Derry and Armagh. That has to have welded their spines solid. The nice footballers of Galway are quickly looking like a side who refuse to lose. Meath have been a revelation but the big question here is did their two statement wins, over Dublin and Kerry, owe as much to their opponents being off it than to their excellence. I suspect it did. I expect Galway to show up. Tiredness could definitely be an issue for them but they survived all they have to fall here? Kerry v Armagh WINNER: AH, I GIVE UP Even in all the above ones, my mind is running amok throwing counter arguments at everything I type. Every sentence I start to form for this one doesn't get to the fourth word until its truth is rubbished. I just hope Paudie Clifford and Paul Geaney are fit and Soupy Campbell is good to tog out. I know when you beat Kerry they tend to be lovely about it to your face and very slighted behind it. They generally do vengeance pretty well down there. But who the hell knows? If you ask me who my two favourites are for the All-Ireland I'd say Donegal and Armagh. Yet somehow, I've decided both of them lose this weekend! My head is hurting. The sooner the ball is thrown in the better, at least we can all be very wise come Monday! Popcorn at the ready – it's showtime.
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Dual load getting heavier, but Cork ace Coppinger can't help but carry on
Libby Coppinger has been defending her patch as full-back for most of her near decade on the Cork senior camogie team. The four All-Irelands and two All-Star awards accumulated since being called up in 2016 provide irrefutable evidence that she is in the finest traditions of Cork full-backs, though injury prevented her from playing a part on the pitch last year. Think resolute, think resilient. A sure touch makes her the ideal blend of silk and steel. Coppinger also provides an invaluable defensive shield in her professional life, as a depository officer with Alter Domus, a funds services company. 'When a fund is set up, there needs to be a depository appointed to it,' Coppinger explains. 'We're not involved in the investments or anything like that, but protecting the investor. It's kind of like a version of an audit. We're just ensuring everything's done properly and all the rules are being followed.' A pretty significant pivot in 2021 brought the 28-year-old to this point, having graduated in public health. Life is, after all, one long journey of self-discovery, where the learning never stops. There was never any doubt about Coppinger's insatiable desire to wear the Blood and Bandage, however. West Cork would not be a traditional camogie stronghold but nobody told the girl from Kealkill and with St Colum's providing a steady foundation, she soared. While playing further up the field for the Rebels with the big ball and regularly getting among the scores, Coppinger's job description with a camán has always been about minding the house. As the game has evolved, so too have the full-back's challenges, to an extent. The job description remains the same. 'I think as a whole in camogie, the skill is gone phenomenal, and there's some excellent hurlers out there. As a back, you're going out to mark your player, and there's obviously times where there's sweepers and everything involved. But you just have to try win your battle with the forward. So that hasn't changed. Just make sure they don't score! 'I think maybe there's a bit more licence to do a bit of hurling yourself. Before, you were probably just there to stop them playing. Now you're playing a bit yourself as well. We talk about the forwards being the first line of the defence so the same way, we're the first line of attack. You're trying to give the ball to the player in the best position out the field. So hurling-wise, just in general, everyone's kind of gone up a level. 'I suppose possession has become such a big part of the game now, whereas before, both sides might just try and get the ball down the field and clear their lines. So, there are more of those runs inside (rather than standing under a dropping ball). And they're making a couple of runs. You're trying to track them everywhere. So you have to be concentrating the whole game, make sure you're not ball-watching. You might not touch the ball as much and to be honest, it's nearly easier to be concentrating on the game when you're on the ball the whole time. So that mental part of it is always there.' Improvement and evolution continue to be the watchwords of the Coppinger code, but they are at the core of the Rebels' success too. There are always new peaks to scale, in terms of KPIs within games and through a season. And while the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Championship is the overriding priority in every term, securing a first Very League Division 1A medal had high value for Coppinger and most of her equally garlanded teammates. Only the Mackey twins and Ashling Thompson had been involved the last time Cork had won it, a dozen years ago. 'We were disappointed after our showing when we played Galway in the last round so we were very grateful to get to play them again just a few weeks later, when a cup was on the line as well. So it was good to win it. 'I think we got a lot from the League, players-wise, building, people getting game time and everything like that. We had been going for the League the last few years, so it was nice to actually get over the line this year. We're happy out to have the medal.' Coppinger was her usual authoritative self, having missed the Leesiders' run to a second straight All-Ireland last year with a Grade 3C (very serious) hamstring tear. And while it did make her think about the mileage she has built up over the years playing both codes for Cork, she could not bring herself to lighten her load just yet. Meanwhile, she hopes integration of the Gaelic games associations will take place in 2027, as promised, and will aid those that want to play both codes, particularly at club level. 'I probably did think about playing the two more than ever before. I guess it was about getting the body back to the standard it was at but I felt this year, I kind of just had to give it a go. There's no point in throwing in the towel before you even try. 'But unfortunately, it's just getting that bit harder. I know it ended my season last year, and you just want to park it but it still carries over, unfortunately, to the following year more than you'd like it to. But I'm happy to go another year. The decision is closer than I'd like it to be, but we're gonna keep going for as long as we can anyway. 'I don't really know where we're at, at the minute with the integration. When we heard about it, you're happy to hear it but it's kind of, 'Will it happen before the end of my playing career?' 'Obviously, there's three of us (as dual players with Cork – Hannah Looney and Aoife Healy the others), and there's more girls in other counties, and we're kind of, I suppose, highlighting it at a an inter county level, but it happens all over the place with clubs. So I would just like to see more togetherness and communication throughout that. 'It's our choice to play at inter-county level, and that makes a bit more complicated. But the amount of girls playing dual all over the country, it's great to see, and we don't want to discourage that, especially when so many girls are walking away from sport as it is. 'So hopefully integration will happen and it will be beneficial to us all.' A minor setback did rule her out of the early stages of this year's Championship but she was back in situ for the defeat of Clare last weekend and is looking forward to building on that at Chadwicks Wexford Park this afternoon (2pm). 'Nothing's been perfect yet, but we're kind of building every game and trying to get through it and get to that semi-final spot and then reassess after that. But we still have Wexford coming, so all eyes are on that. You're not looking further ahead at all. 'There's been a few injuries and stuff along the way for different players throughout our panel. But thankfully, we do have good depth there, and everyone's kind of fighting for that jersey, which creates good competition. 'We're really just trying to go after our own performances in games, and you hope that the result will take care of itself then. You're trying to raise your standards all the time. You might win by a few scores or whatever, but might have been the prettiest. So you're always trying to review the game and learn from it. And we've been doing that throughout the year.' The headline news? There's more to come. From Coppinger, and from Cork.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
What time, TV channel is Dublin v Tyrone on today in All-Ireland Championship
Tyrone are the great unknown of the eight sides left in this year's All-Ireland Championship. Superb against Donegal. Dire against Mayo. Dublin were workmanlike in beating Cork in last weekend's All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final, and also lost to Armagh - both without Con O'Callaghan. The captain's presence is vital. Padraig Hampsey will probably pick him up if he plays. Peadar O Cofaigh Byrne versus Brian Kennedy in the air will be massive, as will the Tyrone match-ups on Cormac Costello, Paddy Small and Sean Bugler, probably Cormac Quinn, Niall Devlin and Peter Teague. Darragh Canavan is the key for Tyrone in terms of creativity, while Darren McCurry is scoring heavy and Eoin McElholm, off the bench could be dangerous. Where is the game being played? The game is being played at Croke Park What time is throw-in? Throw in is at 6.15pm Can I watch the game on TV? No, the game is not on TV. Is the game being streamed online? Yes, the game will be live streamed on GAA+ Betting Odds: Tyrone: 11/10 Draw: 7/1 Dublin: Evens
