Indo Sport podcast: The football weekend – McGuinness on the warpath Dublin get on top of kick-outs
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Irish Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Meet the TikTok hurling wonderkid who hopes to one day line out for his county
A hurling wonderkid who has become a TikTok sensation hopes to one day line out for his county. Ben Smyth has dazzled social media users with his slick stick skills since his account was created last September. The 10-year-old from Meath plays as a half-forward for the U11s side at St Peter's Dunboyne and proud dad Niall declares that his small stature doesn't stop him from scoring. TikTok hurling star Ben Smyth Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Niall, who also plays for St Peter's Dunboyne, said: "Ben has always been tipping away with a ball since he could walk. "I realised he had a knack for hurling when he was really young - when he was able to hit the ball with one hand. He has really good hand-eye coordination. "He's always playing hurling and Gaelic football and he's always out practising. The hurl is never out of his hand." Niall said his son practices for around two hours each day, in addition to two weekly training sessions and weekend matches. Ben also regularly attends Niall's training sessions and matches with the St Peter's Dunboyne senior team. The proud dad said his son is a "force to be reckoned with" on the pitch before joking: "I don't want to give him a big head." He continued: "He's smaller than the other guys on the opposition team and his own team, but everybody says his heart is huge. He's well able and he gets stuck in. He scores plenty." Ben and his dad Niall Sport runs deep in the Smyth family. Ben's great-grandfather Brian Smyth captained Meath to the county's first All-Ireland football title in 1949 and his late grandfather Bernard also hurled for the county. Dad Niall added: "I'm so proud of him. I've been hurling all my life, and people probably think 'Jesus, I'm forcing him'. But we just let him do his own thing, and he loves it. "I don't mind what he's doing as long as he's happy and enjoying it. The GAA and sports in general are great for kids. I wasn't as good as Ben at 10 - that's for sure." Speaking about their viral success, Niall explained that Ben saw some hurling content on TikTok and decided to make some videos of his own. Niall set up a TikTok called ben_hurl to let others see his talent, but neither realised how big the reaction was going to be. Clips of him practising have since gone viral, with two videos reaching more than one million views. The account, which Niall manages, has nearly 10,000 followers. He said: "The views went off the charts, we didn't expect it." Ben chatting to reporter Danny De Vaal When asked about his TikTok success, Ben said: "It feels good, but I'm always pushing myself to do better and accomplish more. I'd love to play county." The youngster said his idols include Kilkenny veteran TJ Reid and rising Tipperary star Darragh McCarthy. When asked to give his thoughts on the recent All-Ireland Hurling final, which saw Cork lose to Tipperary after a disastrous second half, Ben said: "I think Tipp had a great comeback, Cork thought they had it won, but Tipp came back stronger." Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
Irish Examiner
13 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
How Kerry's kickout clinic overwhelmed Donegal
Everything felt different. David Clifford stood in the parade like a caged bull, ready to be unleashed. The start was delayed by drawn-out formalities, while in the Kerry warm-up, Shane Ryan was the one practising frees off the ground. For a team that contains one of the purest ball strikers in the country, it was a curious sight. Seán O'Shea was immense in the decider, but it was noticeable that throughout the second half, he was down stretching his calves and seeking energy shots from the sideline. When they earned their first two-point free of the second half, Ryan came forward to take it. He slipped and it dropped short. O'Shea took over and slotted the next one from his hands. It was demonstrative of Kerry's steely determination and composure throughout. Thankfully for Kerry, it was one of the few Ryan slips all afternoon. The Rathmore man finished with 71% retention. Remarkably, they retained as many long restarts as they did short. One clipped kickout to the corner was too short but Paul Murphy showed how this side has developed throughout the championship. In a similar scenario in the quarter-final, Dylan Casey paused and allowed Rory Grugan to dart in for a goal. This time Murphy accepted a small loss and conceded the free, catching the ball inside the arc. They won 17 kickouts in total and turned that into 12 points. Their break ball structure was sheer coaching brilliance. Of the 10 Shaun Patton kickouts they stole, eight were on breaking ball. McGuinness singled out Gavin White for specific praise in that element of the tie. Too often in Gaelic football, hunger is offered as the sole determining factor on breaking ball. Kerry's improvement in this regard since the Meath defeat in the Sam Maguire series has been immense. They routinely gambled on Ryan's kickout, with defenders positioning themselves on the other side of the forward to ensure they were ball side on the break. Their variety and creativity in short kickouts was strikingly clever. On several occasions, Jason Foley or Paul Murphy matched up with Michael Murphy on the arc and took off in a foot race. The rest of their defence created space on either side for them to prosper. Shaun Patton, to his credit, tried to get creative. His first kickout to the Cusack Stand side was an absolute dart. As they began to run into trouble, he signalled for an overload and went wide. Donegal finished with a respectable 64% retention. Despite the fact David Clifford, a two-time Footballer of the Year and current favourite for a third award, finished with nine points, this was a triumph of Kerry's system. Some of Joe O'Connor's kickout wins were immense. His soaring catch in front of the sideline for Paudie Clifford's first was a classic example. Donegal never gave in, but the reality is that they found themselves in an irrecoverable hole midway through the first half. It was 0-13 to 0-4, with 10 of Kerry's points during that stretch coming from kickouts. 'We didn't perform, Kerry did perform,' said McGuinness. 'That is the bottom line. They started very early in the game and they got a foothold in the game. I thought we responded quite well in the first half on our attack, we were good, we were clinical, but I think they might have scored in their first six attacks, so we were struggling to deal with them in that period.'
Irish Independent
21 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Player of the Match award for Louth's Céire Nolan and an All-Ireland medal...there are no better days
Covering every blade of grass, from one end of Croke Park to the other, defending when it mattered, involved in so much of Louth's attacks and getting on the scoresheet herself for good measure, the St Fechins club player was outstanding in the final, from first whistle to the final hooter – no other player came near her on the day. 'This is what dreams are made of,' Nolan told Louth local journalists after the game. 'We come to Croke Park and every day in Croke Park is an unbelievable day but this just tops it off. After the work we've put in all year, this group of girls, we've worked so hard and we are so happy that we got to showcase what we have been working on all year.' It certainly wasn't easy for Louth who gave away an early goal, got their way back into the game, built up a five-point lead, when Antrim went a long time without a score before they finished strongly and Louth had to defend like Trojans in the last couple of minutes, but they were deserved winners in the end. 'We know things can go wrong, that's Gaelic football, but we've talked all year about being resilient and not letting things get to us, so we just stick to the plan, work hard,' said the St Fechins club player. 'Credit where credit is due though, our defenders, our midfield, forward line, everyone, everyone got back to help. 'We're a team and we work for each other and we're not saying you have to do this, it's everyone works together and for each other and I think it showed out there come the end of the match that we really did.' And her own role within this team…Nolan was everywhere. Listed to start at corner-forward, she likes dropping back, running forward, starting and getting on the end of moves, is she possibly Louth most versatile player? 'I like to run a bit,' Nolan laughed before continuing, 'But look, it's different. Last year I was defending so this is a different type of role but I'm really enjoying it. 'Just being able to contribute more to the kind of forward play, attacking play experiment with what I can do.' When Louth got a run on Antrim in the second half and they struggled to create chances while Louth opened up a five-point point lead, did Nolan think at that stage that it was a done deal? 'I didn't think at any point it was over,' she said. 'We had a period there near the end when we were struggling to get the kickouts away and I think, you try not to look up at the clock because the time nearly goes slower as you look up at it, but, we're confident in our system. 'We know how to play our system and once we stick with that, we knew we could get over the line.' In terms of Nolan's own game and herself, the St Fechins player has been on a personal journey in terms of injuries. With two ACL (Anterior cruciate ligament) injuries Nolan has fought her way back on what was a difficult journey. 'One ACL is bad enough but both legs is worse,' she laughed. 'Look, it's hard, it is, but I always knew that I always wanted to get back playing with Louth and that was kind of the end goal. "So I just worked through it and I was lucky enough the management always let me stick around with the girls and the support from all the girls was great. "We had Mia Duffy come back (from an ACL), Eilish (Hand) came back from an ACL as well so look, it's a terrible injury but when you have a group of girls like our girls surrounding you it's made that much easier.' And today makes it all worthwhile? 'Oh absolutely, days like this are the best days, you never forget them.'
