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The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Shane O'Donnell hints at retirement plans as he admits future of Clare GAA stars ‘up in the air' after All-Ireland exit
SHANE O'DONNELL says Clare's sour season could tempt him to stay on. The reigning Hurler of the Year thought 2025 would be his final farewell after winning his second All-Ireland last summer . 2 Shane O'Donnell suggested he could stay on for 2026 Credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile 2 Clare were dumped out of the championship in Munster Credit: John Sheridan/Sportsfile But he missed the bulk of the season with a shoulder injury as the Banner's Liam MacCarthy defence blew up in smoke. Championship . And the Éire Óg clubman admits he would find it hard to quit senior He said: 'Obviously, I've thought about it, but it's probably not the time to make any decisions, really. I had talked about this year being my last year. Read More on GAA 'I can't remember if one of yourselves reprimanded me on saying this every year, so I can't remember who it was. 'So I'm a bit more careful about how I phrase this. 'I think we had genuinely intended, a number of us had intended, for this to be the last year. 'With how disappointing it ended, it makes it very difficult to hang up the boots . It's still up there. Most read in GAA Hurling 'I don't know, to be honest.' Lethal forward O'Donnell, along with team-mates Tony Kelly, 31, John Conlon, 36, and David McInerney, 32, are the sole survivors from Clare's class of 2013 who went all the way to lifting the All-Ireland under Davy Fitzgerald 11 years ago. 'Lots of fight' - RTE GAA pundits react to Sean O'Shea's 'very interesting' interview after Kerry dethrone Armagh And the Ennis native, 31, admits what some of his team-mates do next will have a massive impact on his decision. He said: 'It depends on a number of factors, not least, whether other players are staying or going. It definitely will be up in the air until the end of this year. 'I think in your mind you're kind of thinking, 'Yeah, do you know what, things like last year, we're at that level now, so there's no way we're not going to go again'. 'But then we'll see what happens essentially. 'When push came to shove after, I remember the week of our last game against 'I kind of turned to Davie Mac and just said, 'That's our last Tuesday session ever'. 'And he just looked at me and I was under the impression he was going to be leaving. 'He just turned to me and was like, 'No,' basically. 'And even in the couple of weeks before that, I had a very kind of compressed campaign of being very aware that these could be my last games with Clare and it started to become quite uncomfortable. 'But I will also say that I'm not of the same mindset as Tony, so I don't intend to be scraped off the floor of a Clare dressing room to get me out of there. 'I will hopefully be able to walk out on my two feet. 'But I think there is that group that has played there for so long, it is hard. 'And it's going to be a big decision from the first person to move out. 'And then if that person moves, then I think the rest of them will flow pretty quickly.' l CLARE hurler Shane O'Donnell, former Kilkenny hurler Walter Walsh and Wexford hurler Lee Chin joined Bord Gáis Energy Retrofit Manager Valerie Hand and Director of Marketing at Bord Gáis Energy, Meadhbh Quinn to kick off their new solar campaign. With €400 off, there's never been a better time to switch to solar with Bord Gáis Energy – Ireland's most trusted name in home solar installations. Book your free consultation today and make the smart move for your home – backed by a 25-year panel warranty, 24-hour monitoring, and SEAI-registered installers. Go to for more details.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Shane O'Donnell hint on Clare future, fellow double All-Ireland winners' plans
Shane O'Donnell says a number of Clare's All-Ireland winning veterans had intended for this to be their last season. But, he reckons the way the Banner's defence of the Liam MacCarthy Cup ended - with a surprise Munster Championship exit - makes it very difficult for their older hands to hang up their boots. 2024 Hurler of the Year O'Donnell, whose season was blighted by a serious shoulder issue which required surgery, had intended to head to America for work with his girlfriend. However, he says 'the gloss' has been taken off America in recent months and that they may now look at Australia as an alternative down the line. This could be good news for Clare hurling fans, but O'Donnell reckons that if one of their experienced cohort does decide to go, others may follow. Tony Kelly is already on record as saying he would have to be scraped off the floor of the Clare dressing room rather than retire. O'Donnell is a different character: 'I think in your mind you're thinking, 'Do you know what, things like last year (All-Ireland win), we're at that level now,'' said the Éire Óg club man. 'So there's no way we're not going to go again. But we'll see what happens, essentially. 'When push came to shove, I remember the week of our game against Limerick - obviously we were out at this stage and the Tuesday training had just wrapped up. 'I turned to Davie Mc(Inerney) and just said, 'That's our last Tuesday session ever.' 'I was under the impression he was going to be leaving. He just turned to me and was like, 'no' basically. 'I think when it comes down to it, it becomes very difficult to actually take that step away. 'Even in the couple of weeks before that - I had a very compressed campaign - I was very aware that these could be my last games with Clare. And it started to become quite uncomfortable. 'But I will also say that I'm not of the same mindset as Tony, so I don't intend to be scraped off the floor of a Clare dressing room to get me out of there. 'I will hopefully be able to walk out on my two feet. But I think there is that group that have played there for so long - it is hard. 'It's going to be a big decision from the first person to move out. Then, if that person moves, then I think the rest of them will flow pretty quickly.' The Ennis man, who is based in Dublin and Clare, continued: 'We saw a lot of opportunities to talk at the end of last year after we had our win. We just said that this year was probably going to be our last year. 'A lot of us actually explicitly had plans to leave and weren't going to be available for the year after. 'It wasn't one isolated conversation or it wasn't a one-to-one. I wouldn't say it was an agreement, but that was definitely the path we were going to go, which has changed slightly.' The veterans of their 2013 All-Ireland victory under Davy Fitzgerald are O'Donnell, McInerney, Kelly and the daddy of them all, John Conlon. Management wise, O'Donnell reckons no news means good news and that Brian Lohan is likely to stay on for a seventh year, a move he would welcome. 'I have no actual information about it,' he continued. 'I know that Brian cares deeply about the continuity of Clare hurling. 'No news I would expect to mean as he feels like he wants to stay, or is going to stay. Because if he wants to stay, he will be. Obviously, we all want him. 'I think he would not make a decision late in the year and decide, 'Oh, actually I'm not going to go (on),' and then leave Clare searching for a manager. He would never do something like that. 'The fact we haven't heard anything I think maybe gives some indication. But that's all I have to go on.' For himself, O'Donnell says now is not the time to make any decisions on his own future. 'Obviously, I've thought about it,' he says. 'I had talked about this year being my last year. 'I can't remember if one of yourselves (journalists) reprimanded me on saying this every year. 'So I'm a bit more careful about how I phrase this. I think a number of us had genuinely intended for this to be the last year. 'With how disappointing it ended, it makes it very difficult to hang up the boots. 'I don't know, to be honest. It depends on a number of factors. Not least whether other players are staying or going. It definitely will be up in the air until the end of this year. 'When other players make that decision, then we'll see. My girlfriend and I initially talked about going to the States. But for us at the moment, the States is a less appealing place to be honest. 'The whole visa thing has got a lot more complicated, so that is probably off the cards. 'We'll still be looking to go somewhere like Australia, but that does push the timeline out a small bit more, so it's (playing on for Clare) potentially available.' **** Clare hurler Shane O'Donnell was promoting Bord Gáis Energy's new solar campaign. With €400 off, there's never been a better time to switch to solar with Bord Gáis Energy – Ireland's most trusted name in home solar installations.
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Clare v Waterford live updates from All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship Final
Clare meet Waterford in the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship final as a champion will be crowned in Thurles. The Banner came through Cork last time out, winning by 0-27 to 1-22 in a titanic struggle in the All-Ireland semi-final. The Déise beat Kilkenny by three points in Wexford in their semi-final, with a strong second half proving key there. Throw-in is at 5:15pm and you can can catch all the action here. Here are the released teams for the clash: Clare: Leon Talty; Niall Doyle, Jack O'Halloran, Zak Phelan; Evan Crimmins, Dara Kennedy, Colm Daly; Graham Ball, Evan Cleary; Rory Ralph, James O'Donnell, Ben Talty; Ian O'Brien, Paul Rodgers, Liam Murphy. Waterford: James Comerford; Conor Lynch, Daragh Murphy, Darragh Keane; Bradley Penkert, Hugo Quann, Tommy Kennedy; Eanna McHugh, Gearóid O'Shea; Pierce Quann, Jack Power, Shane Power; Dylan Murphy, Cormac Spain, Jamie Shanahan. Hello all, and welcome to our coverage of the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship final between Clare and Waterford. Semple Stadium in Thurles hosts the sides today as they bid to claim the Irish Press Cup. It's been a stupendous campaign for both sides so far, but only one can claim the title. The winner will bring silverware back to the county after what has been poor years for their senior hurling teams. This will surely ease that for the champions today.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Opinion: NFL's suspension of kicker Justin Tucker is essentially a guilty verdict
Justin Tucker has not been charged with a crime or faced any litigation in a civil court. But the NFL effectively gave him a guilty verdict Thursday when the league levied a 10-week suspension on the former Baltimore Ravens kicker. Which makes the Ravens' decision to release him May 5 under the guise of 'football decisions' even more dubious. Sure, Tucker's best football – a career that makes him arguably the greatest kicker in NFL history – is behind him. But Tucker's days with the Ravens, and perhaps as an NFL kicker, were numbered once 16 women accused him of sexual harassment while receiving massage work at eight different Baltimore-area spas from 2012-16 in a series of reports in the Baltimore Banner from earlier this year. The NFL started an investigation in February. Tucker, who has still denied any wrongdoing, vehemently disputed the Banner's reporting. But the NFL does not mess around with its investigations. These are well-paid, well-resourced, highly respected individuals seeking the truth. Multiple Ravens stakeholders, including general manager and executive vice president Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh, met with investigators. Whatever investigators discovered must have been severe enough to warrant a suspension of this length with Tucker, released by the Ravens May 5, and not currently on any team. A representative for Tucker released a statement to ESPN stating that the kicker stood behind his previous statements, which called the Banner's reporting libelous. Those past defenses were obviously not founded in reality. The punishment after the investigation reveals as much. 'We are disappointed with the NFL's decision,' Rob Roche told ESPN. 'Justin has always strived to carry himself in a way that would make his family and community proud. 'The people who know Justin best know his character and understand that while he remains fully committed to excellence as a football player, he is deeply dedicated to his most important lifetime roles as a father, husband, and friend.' The Ravens called his release a football decision. But that was always insulting to everyone's intelligence. Tucker didn't help himself by having his worst statistical season in 2024 (73.3% field-goal percentage). 'Sometimes football decisions are incredibly difficult,' team general manager and executive vice president Eric DeCosta said in a statement at the time, 'and this is one of those instances.' Had the NFL Players' Association, the league and Tucker not agreed to the punishment, the case could have gone in front of a jointly appointed disciplinary officer, former U.S. district judge Sue L. Robinson. Neither she nor commissioner Roger Goodell (or another arbitrator, had Goodell deemed it necessary) will have to make an additional ruling, however. The lone disciplinary hearing heard by Robinson since the policy was created during the latest collective bargaining agreement was Deshaun Watson's 11-game suspension and $5 million fine levied in 2022 after he faced dozens of sexual harassment allegations, also from massage therapists, in the Houston area while he played for the Texans. More: Justin Tucker suspended 10 games for violating NFL's personal conduct policy People forget the league wanted an indefinite suspension of at least one year, while the union took its case to Robinson who issued a six-game suspension. The NFL appealed and an agreement on the 11-game ban and $5 million was reached. For Tucker, a five-time All-Pro, to get 10 games with no pushback puts him in a similar tier of punishment. That it occurred to a legendary member of the same organization at the center of the Ray Rice controversy, in which the league suspended Rice two games despite video evidence of him harming his spouse, invokes nasty memories. Tucker was a popular figure in the Ravens' locker room. He was the longest-tenured player in the organization until his release and the last remaining member of the Super Bowl 47 team. His career kicking percentage of 89.1% is tops in league history. Tyler Loop, a sixth-round pick in the 2025 draft from Arizona, and undrafted rookie John Hoyland are currently the only place kickers on Baltimore's roster. There's been no reported interest among the other 31 teams in Tucker, who can still sign and participate in training camp and preseason games. If one wants to take a flyer on Tucker come Week 11 this November, that will be their right, same as it was the Browns' to trade for Watson and give him $230 million fully guaranteed. They should keep in mind that the NFL doesn't ban players for 10 weeks for no reason. And that reason should be enough to make them think twice.
Daily Record
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Returning Stirling Albion midfielder talks club connection as overhaul continues
Kyle Banner was one of three returning faces announced as the Binos played their first pre-season match of the campaign - and insists the squad has high expectations for the season ahead. Absence makes the heart grow fonder – or at least it does for returning Stirling star Kyle Banner after he sealed a move back to Forthbank after a year away. The 25-year-old left Albion last summer in the wake of Darren Young's departure from the club, marking the end of a stint with the Binos which had begun when Banner was just a youngster. But after a season with playoff-chasing Stenhousemuir in League One, the versatile defender/midfielder signed on for a return last week and made his second debut for the club in the weekend in the Stirlingshire Cup – ironically against former club Stenny. After the 2-1 defeat in the Binos' second match of the afternoon on Saturday, Banner (right) said: 'It's been in the pipeline longer than people maybe realise, I think it was discussed back in January and it wasn't quite right then but as soon as the season finished, I spoke to the gaffer and got it all sorted. 'Not many people actually knew it was in the works, maybe just Geeks [Ross McGeachie] and the manager, so it was funny to see the surprised faces when I came back to training. 'It was a tough one to leave when I did, it was 50/50 in terms of what was going to happen [last summer], but the circumstances made me go elsewhere. 'It's my local club and I've been here since the age of 13, it just makes me look forward to the season ahead and delivering success.' Banner's return to the club marked another impressive weekend in the transfer market for Stirling and boss Alan Maybury as he delivered on his stated intention to add more experience to a side which often relied heavily on young players last season. The ex-Stenny man's signature was added to by the return of ex-Binos favourite Lee Hamilton – most recently the skipper for fellow League Two outfit Clyde – for a third spell at the club and the confirmation of a contract extension for youngster Harley Ewen. Saturday then saw the return of Stirling skipper Ross McGeachie, with the Albion lifer signing a one year extension with the club after some uncertainty about his future. It means that between Banner, Hamilton and McGeachie that a total of 733 Stirling appearances have been added to a defence which boasted one of the worst defensive records in League Two last time around. Those additions complement the arrival of impressive captures in the forward areas, with two of the new boys – Russell McLean and Ross Cunningham – also given their first run out in Binos colours at the weekend. Banner added: 'There are loads of good people still involved with the club; it's different on the pitch to what it was two years ago but we've got to fancy our chances with what is in that changing room.'
