
Kerry set to wear blue away strip for All-Ireland final
Kerry GAA have confirmed that the Kingdom will instead wear their blue away strip for the showpiece game on Sunday week.
The move will end any speculation of a colour clash with Kerry and Donegal both wearing green and gold colours on their home strip. Both sides wore their away strips when they met in the league earlier this year.
It might be a mildly surprising move in some quarters after Meath and Donegal both played in their home strips for Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final. Meath and Donegal in action
It has not yet been confirmed what colour strip Donegal will wear but they are happy to be back in their first All-Ireland final since 2014.
The return of Jim McGuinness has no doubt been the catalyst and Ryan McHugh has opened up on what he brings to the group.
'What does Jim have? It is hard to put it into words. The way I like to answer this question is he brings it (energy and drive) every single night.
'I have been fortunate enough to be involved with him in an All-Ireland final. Yet he is on it from the first night we meet in December through to the final session of the season.
'And I know that sounds easy but it is actually an extremely difficult thing to do as you never know whether a person has problems off the pitch, a family issue, for example.
'But every single night, Jim is there, demanding the most of us, demanding we put in the best effort we can.
'It is not easy to get that. He is a phenomenal leader. He puts serious belief into you that you are on the top of your game. He gets the training done; gets fitness into the legs. There is no guarantee in life you are going to win. But when Jim is involved there is a good guarantee you are going to be competing.'

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Irish Examiner
23 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Joyce treasuring quiet nature of the farm before Croke Park cauldron
For generations in Tipp, the dream summer was Cork bate and the hay saved. For Ciarán Joyce, the dream these days is to have Tipp bate and the cows milked. After four years working towards his degree in agriculture from MTU Cork, school's out for summer. But instead of looking for a full-time job, preferably in dairy farming, he's postponed that for another while yet. He's enough work on his hands trying to secure Cork their first hurling All-Ireland in 20 years and helping out on the family's dairy farm in Castlemartyr. The day we meet him down in Páirc Uí Chaoimh at the Cork press event, he's only a couple of hours after coming off the land and out of the blazing sun. Three decades on from Pat Spillane understandably, and in many ways presciently, bemoaning whether an occupation as physically-demanding and time-consuming as farming was compatible with the pursuit of Celtic Crosses, Joyce, sporting more of a bronze rather than a farmer's tan, is advertising the virtues of an honest day's labour on the land. 'I was working away today, yeah,' he smiles. 'I'm farming for the summer at home with my father, no days off. He [his father, Carey] won't give you any days off – likes to keep me grounded! 'We were actually fencing this morning. It was a good day to be at that. I love it. 'There's a lot of physical stuff, true. But I've been doing it since I was a toddler, so it's not like it's new to me. You could say you get farmer's strength from it. 'And I find it very good instead of sitting down in an office chair or whatever. You're up and about, you're constantly moving. So I actually think it's a good thing for you.' A week like this, in particular, he finds it is all the more to be treasured. Working alongside his father, who would have coached him and multiple others with Kiltha Óg, far away from the maddening crowd. 'It can be difficult in an office ahead of a game, where you can get consumed by it. It's nice at home, just myself and my dad working away. We actually try and talk as little as possible about hurling. He's very good like that. He's a big GAA man, but with that, he realises it's important to keep my eyes off hurling for a good while. 'I suppose over the coming days, you have to cherish these times. Because they don't come around too often. When you're looking back in years to come, they should be great memories to have. The build-up to an All-Ireland final.' It will also be informed by last year's. 'Last year's final, while it was on, was probably one of the most enjoyable matches I've ever played in. Even though we lost in the end, just the game itself and the occasion, and everything around it was unreal. "Even the build-up was some experience to be part of. But I feel like this year we're definitely better equipped. We've been through it all and we're fully ready for it now.' Informed by the disappointment of last July, Cork appeared to attack this year's league, delivering the county's first in Joyce's lifetime. But did they specifically target it? 'I'd say we approached it like any other league campaign. We were still trying out new players. It's just this year our squad, compared to any other year, is so good. You could throw in any fella on any given day and he'd perform.' For as intelligent a player as he is, Joyce errs on the side of not overthinking things. 'I will look at a few clips. Tomás Manning, our video analyst, prepares, but I really don't look into it too much. If you play an opponent enough times, you know what their weaknesses and strengths are.' Nor does he worry too much about whether he's playing at wing-back or at centre-back. 'The way we play, there's actually not much of a difference. We like to play in the opposition's face. And the way opponents are switching around the place, you could find yourself at six anyway for maybe 10 minutes of the game, and Rob could be at wing back. "So we enjoy playing anywhere in the half-back line really. And we've all played together a lot now. We're kind of learning new things and different calls. We're getting better and better at that, definitely.' There have been testing times. In the first quarter of the Munster final, Cian Lynch was probably the best player on the pitch. By the game's end though he had lost his own individual battle with Joyce. 'It was a big challenge. I've marked him a few times now and he's very hard to mark. He's intelligent, can strike well off both hands. But after those first couple of balls [Joyce lost], you just had to reset. "You have to concentrate on the next moment, because if you dwell on a mistake you made a minute or two ago, you're not properly focused for the next ball. Gary Keegan does an awful lot of psychological work with us and he's always harping on about the next moment. "Even against Dublin, we felt we were only playing for 10 minutes here and there. We want to improve on that for the next day. Go about things moment by moment.' And treasure those on the farm with his dad in the lead-up, too.


Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Cashel's King Cormacs new princes aiming to help Tipperary reclaim All-Ireland hurling throne
Seán and Catherine O'Donoghue missed Oisín's goal last Sunday week. There they were in Croke Park alright, sitting in the Hogan Stand, but the folks in front of them were on their feet by the time they rose to theirs and their 19-year-old son had struck that audacious shot. Then a voice said O'Donoghue was the man who put the ball in the Kilkenny net, then another and his parents turned to each other and embraced. Teenagers scoring senior majors in Croke Park has become a lesser-spotted thing. Shane O'Donnell's hat-trick in 2013 would come to mind but the gap between under-age and senior had supposedly become a gulf. Darragh McCarthy, Sam O'Farrell and O'Donoghue have debunked that theory. And Oisín, scoring his third championship goal and second in as many games, is U20 again next year. At the final whistle, Oisín jumped into the arms of his team-mate, Cashel King Cormacs club-mate and big cousin Eoghan Connolly, Just as he did as a fan after the end of the 2019 U20 All-Ireland final against Cork when Eoghan was part of Liam Cahill's winning side. 'He idolised him big time,' says Seán. 'Eoghan Connolly is a gentleman on and off the field. All the juveniles look up to him. He has taken on that mantle and is involved in coaching in the club. You're seeing the real Eoghan Connolly now, a man who can really hurl. He's turned out to be one of the top backs in the country.' Tipp U20 ace Oisin O'Donoghue with his father Sean Catherine's sister Theresa is married to TJ Connolly, who has managed the Tipperary U21s and led Cashel King Cormacs back to senior level last season. The Butlers from Holycross-Cahill, the sisters have strong claims for their sons's prowess and O'Donoghue and Connolly were players of note themselves, part of the club's sole senior county championship success in 1991 when they later added Munster honours. Both played at various levels for Tipperary. Seán captained the minors in 1990 and was part of the team that lost to Kilkenny in the following year's final before featuring for the U21s in 1994. Connolly was a dual player at minor level for two years and at U21 for three. Sunday is the first All-Ireland senior final since '91 that Cashel King Cormacs have had more than one representative in a Tipperary panel when the Bonnar brothers were in their pomp and reflects the strides they have been making in recent years. 'It has taken a lot of time to get here,' says O'Donoghue, who is also club chairman. 'We kind of took our eyes off the ball in the 1990s when the seniors were successful and the juveniles weren't brought on at the same time. But in the last 11, 12 years, the juvenile section has been brought back to where it should be.' Anyone who witnessed Cashel claim a premier intermediate title last season would have been taken by their size. Oisín himself is superbly conditioned for a teenager. Connolly has handed over the baton to Fergie O'Loughlin and Eoin Cadogan this season with hopes high of marking their return to senior level with a bang. 'The gym we have is top class and our juveniles have a qualified strength and conditioning coach overseeing their training and ensuring they do things proper,' says Seán. 'We're definitely on the right track.' O'Donoghue is an outgoing man and the pride he takes from seeing Oisín and Eoghan is unmistakable. The pair were back in Leahy Park pucking a ball around the evening after the semi-final as children gathered to train and that image filled his heart. 'The boys would have similar personalities. They're very cool, calm and collected, very humble. Their feet are firmly on the ground and they know what this means to Cashel King Cormacs. The club keeps our juveniles on the straight and narrow and makes good men of them in the future.' When Oisín was confirmed as the goalscorer, Seán's thoughts turned to his late father Pat and brother James, who was on that stand-out Cashel team with him and Connolly. 'That they couldn't be there to watch Oisín in Croke Park,' Seán's voice falters for a second. 'My father came to Cashel as a detective in 1963. He was on duty when the great Jack Lynch hit the first hurling ball in Rockwell College in '64. He was a big football man of course but hurling too and involved in the club many years.' Tipperary forward Oisin O'Donoghue with his parents Seán and Catherine. Seán would admit to pucking every ball with his son and nephew-in-law. 'I would be vocal at matches and Catherine at times wouldn't like that. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I like to see our players do well, especially the Cashel King Cormacs men.' In 1991, there were five sets of brothers in the Cashel squad comprising 15 of the 27-man panel – the Bonnars (Cormac, Colm, Conal and Ailbe), the O'Donoghues (Pat, Seán and James), the Fitzells (Pa, Peter and Willie), the Grogans (Johnny and Tommy) and the Slatterys (Tony, Ger and Seán). Currently, six of the Cashel senior panel are related – Margaret Butler is married to Brendan Bonnar and their sons Con and Ross are there as is Ronan, Eoghan's younger brother. He was joint-captain of the Harty Cup-winning Cashel CS team, which Oisín was also a member of two years ago. And that number is likely to grow. Oisín is the eldest of Seán and Catherine's five sons. After him, there's Briain (18), Ultan (16), Cormac (14) and Tiernan (12). This week will be expensive but 'it becomes an after-thought,' insists Seán. 'Occasions like this don't come around too often.' Oisín finished his first year in UL and is currently working with Martin Bourke's Farm Relief Services in Cahir for the summer. 'I'd say he hasn't been out once on a social night out in UL because of his commitment to his hurling between senior and U20 hurling since last November,' reckons Seán. 'For every county player now, I imagine it's a life of discipline and everything Oisín does is down to the minutiae from diet to recovery. He doesn't eat rubbish. It's all about getting ready for big days like this.' Father and son wouldn't talk too much about hurling. When they do, it's short and to the point. Oisín's attitude about playing in Croke Park for the first time last Sunday week was simply he would no longer be a rookie after the game. This Sunday morning, from their homes four miles apart, the O'Donoghues and Connollys will send off their sons as they have done for all their championship games. Seán's advice for Oisín will be the same as it always is: 'Loads of movement.' The handshake, the hug, the kiss – they will say a lot more.


Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Cork's fast starts have become trademark in All-Ireland final run
'We're targeting goals all the time, we're targeting fast starts all the time. That's the goal of it, that's the game,' said Pat Ryan in the aftermath of their ruthless semi-final skewering of Dublin. At the county's All-Ireland final press evening two days later, he expanded on this point and core principle of the group's. 'From our point of view, what we were looking at was the attitude in the way we started, and the way we hunted down Dublin at the start was really, really good.' Following their second-half fall-off when hammering the 14 men of Tipp by 15 points in late April, the final margin just a five-point improvement on the half-time difference, the Cork manager noted that his team has only one gear and that is 'flat out'. 'We can't be in third or fourth gear, it is not the way we play. We have to be in fifth gear,' he added. And while their second half remains stubbornly inconsistent and rarely found in breach of the speed limit, those fifth gear first-half take-offs have been a centrepiece feature of a campaign where they've returned to an All-Ireland final that they led by 1-8 to 0-4 after only 14 minutes this weekend 12 months ago. Allianz NHL Round 1 29 minutes: Cork 1-11 Wexford 0-2; FT: Cork 2-21 Wexford 0-12 Cork's opening game of the season started in similar fashion to their concluding game of the season previous. 1-7 without reply had the visitors to the south-east a dozen clear in the distance before the half hour had even been reached. The 1-1 finish to that scoring sequence belonged to Blarney full-forward Pádraig Power, who a week later would sustain a season-ending shoulder injury. Allianz NHL Round 2 11 minutes: Cork 0-7 Limerick 0-2; FT: Cork 1-16 Limerick 1-16 Seven shots, seven scores. On a miserable night down by the Lee, the hosts feasted on Limerick waywardness from the placed-ball, sideline ball, and open play. Following the Shane Kingston white flag to stretch them five clear on 11 minutes, they'd add just one further point across the remainder of the half and found themselves two behind at the break. Allianz NHL Round 6 26 minutes: Cork 3-5 Clare 0-5; FT: Cork 6-20 Clare 0-23 In keeping with their entire year, an injury-stricken Clare rearguard lacked resistance and basic cohesion. Brian Hayes showing the cleanest pair of heels to the Clare full-back - Conor Cleary on that occasion - for the batted opening to his hat-trick was a warning sign not heeded for the return championship visit six weeks later. Allianz NHL Round 7 17 minutes: Cork 2-5 Galway 0-7; FT: Cork 4-22 Galway 0-22 Neither of the Cork goals were obvious green flags when the finisher first grabbed hold of possession. Brian Hayes' deceptively quick feet, with his back to the City End goal, took Pádraic Mannion out of the equation and he then sidestepped Joshua Ryan as if the debutant were not there. Darragh Fitzgibbon was outside football's 40-metre arc when he began the long - and successful - hunt for a second. Allianz NHL final 27 minutes: Cork 2-13 Tipperary 0-10; FT: Cork 3-24 Tipperary 0-23 The pyrotechnics from the two previous games weren't immediately unpacked. Behind at the 11-minute mark and stalemate affairs seven minutes later. Then, fireworks. Many, many fireworks. 2-5 to 0-2 in seven minutes. 2-1 off Tipp puckouts spoiled. Ethan Twomey's goal right on the stroke of the regulation 35 shoved the interval difference to 13. Munster SHC Round 1 25 minutes: Cork 2-8 Clare 0-5; FT: Cork 2-24 Clare 3-21 The red flashlight emoji was in use from the off. In Cork's first attack, Brian Hayes rounded Darragh Lohan and kicked for green having had the hurley pulled from his hand. A minute later, they pulled him to the ground under a dropping ball into the large parallelogram, unnoticed by Liam Gordon. A delay of the inevitable. On 12 minutes, another Brian Hayes batted goal in Ennis. The entire inside line engineered in tandem for his second 13 minutes further on. Munster SHC Round 2 16 minutes: Cork 3-6 Tipperary 0-3; FT: Cork 4-27 Tipperary 0-24 If the suspicion was that the fixture was killed stone dead by the opening minute dismissal of Darragh McCarthy, there wasn't a pulse to be found when Alan Connolly continued his penchant for raising green against the blue and gold. A fifth goal in three successive outings against the Premier. All six starting Cork forwards on the board and just over a quarter of an hour elapsed. All-Ireland semi-final 13 minutes: Cork 3-5 Dublin 0-5; FT: Cork 7-26 Dublin 2-21 Staying with Connolly and staying with green. His delicious one-handed finish 13 minutes and 26 seconds in bettered by just over three minutes Cork's previous best, from the aforementioned Tipp torching in Munster, for how early in a game their trademark fast start produced three majors. Tipp stifling needs to be ready to go from as early as the parade.