Late Meath comeback rescues point against Armagh as Kerry and Galway produce convincing wins on opening weekend
The Green and Red trailed the
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Aoibhín Cleary was player of the match for Meath against Armagh
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Last year's champions started the campaign with winning ways
But the Kingdom stormed clear following a clear-the-air session.
Bourke said: 'We had a frank discussion about things at half-time.
'They had a look at themselves. We did much better in the second half.'
Mayo only scored one point after the restart and boss Liam McHale said: 'We would have expected to score five or six points in the second half.'
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Connacht champions GALWAY began their campaign with a comfortable 1-13 to 0-7 victory over TIPPERARY.
Tribe boss Daniel Moynihan said: 'The work rate, the drive, the pressure we put on Tipperary, was exceptional.'
MEATH came from four points down with three minutes to go to draw 3-8 to 2-11 with ARMAGH in Navan.
Royals captain Aoibhín Cleary said: 'We kept fighting until the end, which was great.
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'It was great to come back to get that draw after Armagh had been leading for the majority of the second half.'
RTE GAA pundits argue over who started halftime row as Cork eventually topple Limerick in Munster epic final
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Irish Examiner
8 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Mark O'Shea the oldest first-time All-Ireland SFC winner as a starter since Tadhg Kennelly
Up to March this year, the only time Mark O'Shea had worn the Kerry jersey on the field of play was to virtually make up the numbers. In 2020, and with Kerry away on a team holiday following their All-Ireland final replay loss to Dublin the previous September, then U20 manager John Sugrue was charged with putting together a team for the McGrath Cup. After a hosing against Cork, Sugrue wanted to beef up the team largely comprising U20s so made contact with 'over-age' players like O'Shea who, despite having no minor or U20 experience with Kerry, had impressed breaking into the Dr Crokes midfield the previous season. I lár na pairce wouldn't have been considered an option for him until his late teens. 'I got a massive growth spurt there when I was about, I'd say, 17, 18. I went from about five nothing to about 6ft 2in or 3'. So, yeah, Crokes, my parents, they always kind of taught me, 'Look, just keep at it'. 'I tried to master the skills when I was smaller. When obviously the height came, things kind of started to progress a bit fast and you're kind of thrown into playing with Crokes. Obviously, playing with Kerry was something I thought probably would never come around and just very glad that it did.' It was a couple of days after Crokes went goal crazy against Dingle in last October's county final that Jack O'Connor sent O'Shea a message. ''Look, when you get the chance later in the week, will you be able to give me a call?'' The 27-year-old O'Shea was unsure what it entailed. 'I was like, 'The boat is probably gone here as well.' But, look, Kerry is such a good championship. You're playing against the Barry Dans [O'Sullivan], Diarmaid [O'Connor], David Moran and these fellas down through the years. So, it's a good kind of place to be putting yourself up and you can get a bit of confidence from it too.' A nephew of Pat O'Shea, Mark has his own blood to thank for his progression as well as Edmund O'Sullivan and Brian McMahon in the Lewis Road institute. O'Connor was vital in making him feel as comfortable as possible in the Kerry set-up, even when things went awry mid-championship. 'Jack was saying, 'You've nothing to lose,' and after the Meath game I may as well have never put on boots again, and that was the first time I'd seen at inter-county, if you're not at it… look, you can probably get the criticism, and rightly so, we weren't at it and I wasn't at it. Jack was just kind of saying to me, 'Look, there's no pressure.'' O'Shea is amusingly philosophical about his elevation this year to become the oldest first-time All-Ireland SFC winner as a starter since Tadhg Kennelly who was 28 in 2009 (Donnchadh Walsh was 30 in 2014 but had been part of '09 panel). 'I suppose there wasn't many midfielders left,' he smiles. When it was announced Kerry were to wear blue for the All-Ireland final, superstition got the better of him. 'I was like, 'Feck's sake' because I wore it when I made my debut against Mayo up in Castlebar and we were beaten. And I made my starting debut against Meath in the championship with the blue jersey. So I was like, 'Jeez, I don't know about these blue jerseys.'' Coming into a dressing room with five other Crokes men as well as Kerry masseuse and former club manager Harry O'Neill and videographer John C O'Shea made the transition easier for O'Shea. To see his clubman Gavin White excel last Sunday week before lifting the Sam Maguire Cup after his difficulties in the 2023 All-Ireland final and this year's All-Ireland club semi-final was thrilling for O'Shea. 'Anyone that knows him knows just how meticulous he is with everything. And obviously, look, no-one in Kerry or Crokes ever even put any bit of blame on Gavin for either. 'But the reaction this year, and I'd say the captaincy there, there's a lot of weight on the shoulders and when you've your captain kicking three points, I'd say won about 10 breaking balls, it's easy to row in behind someone like that. And yeah, just absolutely phenomenal. Couldn't happen to a nicer fella.' There was redemption for Micheál Burns too after he was dropped off the panel last season before he was recalled following a stunning run with Crokes. 'The Armagh game there, you saw the ability. And look, he came back with a bit of freshness too. 'The summer away in Chicago served him unbelievable, because when he came back with Crokes, he was just a refreshed player and obviously, carried through to this year. He's another fella I'm delighted for. Serious mentor to me coming up the last two years.'
Irish Examiner
38 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Who would have thought people cared so much about Munster SFC?
Another decade, another Munster senior football championship row. The loop theory has been underscored by the latest kerfuffle surrounding this much-maligned competition. The only difference this time around is Noel Walsh isn't here to stand up for the minnows. The former Munster chairman passed away in 2020 but you can imagine just how vexed he would be by last Thursday's decision by the provincial council to seed the championship in favour of Cork and Kerry. Walsh didn't get to see his beloved Clare compete in the last three Munster SFC finals as they previously did in the 1910s. You can imagine it would have given him an immense sense of pride. For nobody fought as hard for parity in the draw. But he was a realist too. When Kerry were winning all around them, he successfully proposed they be given a bye to the final in 1980. But as counties grew stronger into that decade, the St Joseph's Miltown-Malbay man lobbied for an open format before it eventually came to pass for the 1991 championship, a split decision. Limerick reached their first final in 26 years and a year later the cows in Clare were blissfully ignored. In the final year of his chairmanship, Munster experimented with a new format and the top three seeded teams earning semi-final berths but the open draw returned in 1999 and lasted until 2007. The following year, Cork and Kerry were kept apart in semi-final byes, another split decision which Walsh described as 'a black night for Munster football'. He said: "You're asking the impossible of the weaker counties in Munster to try to beat Cork and Kerry in the same year. There isn't a county in Ireland that could expect to do that, never mind in Munster.' Following outcry, the open draw returned for five more years before the council chose to separate Cork and Kerry again. 'A night of infamy' is how Walsh framed the decision. He couldn't believe it was happening under the watch of a Clare provincial chairman in Robert Frost. 'I think that's (the financial argument) just a spurious argument being put out by the chairman,' he lashed in this newspaper. 'What is more important anyway — a reduction in grants or a fair chance in the championship? We're not a banking organisation.' Again the boycotting of the McGrath Cup and Railway Cup team led to a compromise from 2015 in the form of the previous year's finalists being given semi-final places but no guarantee they would be separated. And that is what has endured these past 10 seasons until last Thursday's vote, which similar to the one taken in 2013 has been coloured by finances and resources. Limerick voted no back then but supported the latest motion despite the opposition of their players and management. According to Limerick manager Jimmy Lee and Clare Munster Council delegate Bernard Keane, the promise of investment in football in the four counties had been floated prior to the vote. We dare say the semi-final byes Limerick received for their football winners from Munster in the provincial championships probably helped too. The irony of how exercised, if not interested so many people are in the change of draw in a competition that in its five games this year (33,491) attracted less than either the Cork-Tipperary (42,231), Limerick-Cork (42,477) or Cork-Waterford (42,181) 2025 Munster SHC round games is potent. Having indicated he would do so in May, provincial chairman Tim Murphy has grasped the nettle. Given its five-week timeline, there isn't a whole pile that can be done with a competition that some of those criticising this latest attempt to resuscitate it have called to be scrapped. Linking league finishes with the championship has precedence, of course, and Cork are the only team who have beaten Kerry since 1992. But there probably should have been prior warning and a delay in its implementation until 2027. As Clare chairman Kieran Keating pointed out, the county weren't aware upon the league's conclusion in March that as a consequence of their and Cork's performances in it they were also losing an automatic semi-final position in the Munster SFC. At the same time, Cork weren't relegated, were a point away from promotion to Division 1 and therefore ascending to Division 2 wouldn't have done anything for The Banner. As an aside, was Peter Keane waiting to see the outcome of the vote before committing himself to a second year as manager? As the four counties consult with the Gaelic Players Association, one wonders what will happen when the 2026 draw is due to take place in October. Will Limerick compel their representatives to change their vote? If that doesn't force a U-turn, with pre-season competitions in line to return next year, it's likely the McGrath Cup will be impacted if it is revived. At the very least, Murphy has started a debate. There is heat in it but as Walsh would have argued that is necessary. It shows people care. Who would have thought it? Kerry's Kayleigh Cronin left for Australia. File picture: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho TG4's ladies and Aussie Rules football conundrum Dublin's victory in Sunday's All-Ireland ladies senior football final was roundly expected to the point that former Donegal footballer Nadine Doherty insisted Meath would need their opponents to suffer 'a psychological meltdown'. Doherty made her comments on 'Off The Ball' on Saturday where she also spoke of the impact of the emigration of footballers to the Australian game. 'I think it's decimated our game,' said Doherty, highlighting how Kayleigh Cronin was missed by Kerry in the championship having left after the league for Australia to play for AFLW club Adelaide Crows. She added: 'I don't like the way our game is promoted alongside the AFL; I think we've eased off a little bit but TG4 show the AFL. I find that absolutely bizarre because you're our biggest sponsor and marketing our direct opponent. 'There are 40 players gone – Kellyanne Hogan, a massive loss to Waterford (Hogan joined Collingwood). Not everybody is able to stay in Ireland for the full season and then head out two weeks before pre-season. There are only the top tier players (who can do that)… I just think it's ruining our game.' It's rare that TG4 would come in for criticism when they have done so much for the Gaelic games family but it's an interesting point by Doherty. When there is great Irish interest Down Under, TG4 can claim there is a market for what they are showing yet it does seem a mite counter-productive when that sport has taken players away from the indigenous one they endorse. Ultimately, something may have to give. Fógra – On August 14, The Friends of Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh come together for a golf classic in The Grange in Rathfarnham, Dublin in aid of two special charities. The fourball event is aimed at raising funds for The Hospice Foundation as well as Camphill Community in Dingle. To book, visit
Irish Daily Mirror
38 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Kerry hero Mark O'Shea on his piseóg ahead of All-Ireland final win over Donegal
They like their piseógs in Kerry, and Mark O'Shea was spooked by superstition ahead of the All-Ireland final. The colour clash with Donegal meant that both counties would wear their change strips for the decider as the Ulster champions donned a predominantly white jersey, with Kerry switching to blue. It became Kerry's default alternative decades ago, representing the Munster colours with the long-standing tradition being that counties would adopt their provincial strip if a clash emerged in the All-Ireland series. But while it cropped up regularly over the years given the predominance of green in county jerseys, this was the first final that they had worn it in an All-Ireland final since 1972, when they lost to Offaly after a replay. O'Shea, who only broke into the side this year at 27 years of age, had more contemporary reasons to feel restless about the blue however. 'When we were wearing the blue jersey, I was like, 'Feck sake' because I wore it when I made my debut against Mayo up in Castlebar and we were beaten,' he explained. 'And I made my starting debut against Meath in the Championship with the blue jersey. So I was like, 'Jeez, I don't know about these blue jerseys'.' That Meath game came amid a rut of injuries which threatened Kerry's All-Ireland ambitions. Their midfield hasn't been the most celebrated sector of the team in recent years and with Diarmuid O'Connor and Barry Dan O'Sullivan out through injury, manager Jack O'Connor had to go further down the trough than he would have liked. The nine-point defeat to Meath in the group stage appeared to reduce Kerry's Championship campaign to a procession, amid serious doubts around their ability to muster a serious assault on the All-Ireland with the personnel they had available at the time. At that stage O'Shea was seen as somebody who was part of the problem more than the solution. 'Jack was saying, 'You've nothing to lose', and I suppose after the Meath game I may as well have never put on boots again, and that was the first time I suppose I'd seen inter-county, if you're not at it… look, you can probably get the criticism, and rightly so, we weren't at it and I wasn't at it.' But as some key players were phased back in, O'Shea remained prominent - largely because of a lack of fit alternatives - but his graph rose with that of the team as Kerry started picking off Ulster opposition. He was left out for the Cavan game as O'Connor made his return from injury, only to last just three minutes as O'Shea was immediately pitched in. He stayed there for the remainder of the year as Armagh, Tyrone and Donegal were dismissed, all of them with remarkable comfort. Prior to this year, O'Shea's only involvement with Kerry had been in a McGrath Cup game in 2020 when the team was away on holiday. He had never even played underage football for the county but he caught O'Connor's eye during Dr Crokes run to the All-Ireland semi-final last winter. 'No, never played under-age. I got a massive growth spurt there when I was about, I'd say, 17, 18. I went from about five nothing to about 6'2' or 6'3'. So, yeah, Crokes, my parents, they always kind of taught me, 'Look, just keep at it'. 'I tried to master the skills when I was smaller. When obviously the height came, things kind of started to progress a bit fast and you're kind of thrown into playing with Crokes. 'Obviously, playing with Kerry was something I thought probably would never come around and just very, very glad that it did. 'I was like, 'The boat is probably gone here as well'. But, look, Kerry is such a good championship. You're playing against the Barry Dans, Diarmuid, David Moran and these fellas down through the years. So, it's a good kind of place to be putting yourself up and you can get a bit of confidence from it too.' His uncle Pat, Kerry's All-Ireland winning manager in 2007 and a dominant figure in the club, had a strong guiding hand too. 'Ah, he did, to be fair. I suppose, minor was when I got a bit of belief in myself. And Edmund O'Sullivan, to be fair, he was an unbelievable coach, an unbelievable mentor to me and still I can always pick up the phone and just have a chat about anything, to be fair. 'And from him to kind of Brian Mac (Mahon) in the Crokes and then to Pat, like, to be fair. I've had Pat now for two stints and the quality of what he does, he's a serious man.' Kerry manager Jack O'Connor celebrates O'Connor, fresh from delivering his fifth All-Ireland, is one of the most successful managers of all time and the simplicity with which he helped to elevate O'Shea from a decent club footballer to a county player of real substance is telling. 'The one thing Jack kind of said to me a few times, he was like, 'Look, you're, I suppose even over the last year, you've played a lot of big size games with Crokes'. 'So he was like, 'Look, it's no different to them games.' And he was right, at the end of the day it's a game of football. And once you take out the emotion, that's all it is.'
