Latest news with #Cavanagh
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Former Tyrone star Seán Cavanagh expects Armagh and Galway to battle for Sam Maguire
Armagh and Galway are the frontrunners for All-Ireland glory, according to former Tyrone star Seán Cavanagh. Armagh proved victorious in last year's final, defeating Galway by a single point in the Croke Park clash, and with both sides avoiding each other in the quarter-finals, a repeat meeting remains on the cards. Cavanagh was responding to a question regarding Tomás Ó Sé suggesting that six of the eight remaining teams could win Sam Maguire, and the three-time winner went one better by stating that all-bar Meath could win it. But on further interrogation, it became evident that Cavanagh sees the title staying in the Orchard County, or heading west across the Shannon. "I think you could actually make an argument, I think seven of the eight would fancy their chances, if I'm honest," said Cavanagh. "I don't think it would have been in Meath's chats at the start of the year that they could win Sam Maguire. I think Leinster was always probably going to be their target. "But I think the other seven teams there right now, they'll be talking about the potential to win Sam. Tomás was probably trying to talk it up, but I'm going to try and talk it up a bit more than that." The All-Ireland champions remain the team to beat, according to Cavanagh, who is in awe of the quality and depth of the Armagh squad, and their application and endeavours on the pitch. They take on Kerry on Sunday at HQ, and while Cavanagh is not ruling out the possibility of David Clifford inspiring his side to victory, the Moy man believes that the Kingdom have become too reliant on his contributions, and that Armagh will have too much on this occasion. "I've watched a few Kerry games, and while last weekend, their defence and their press looked a bit tougher, they were very open against Cork in the group stages. "They've had their injury concerns, they're very vulnerable, and they're coming up against a team that has probably 25 players that could play on Sunday, and it wouldn't change the level of their performance. "I think Armagh have brought a consistency in the standards that certainly I wasn't expecting. I always felt the years after we won an All-Ireland, we started to run out of gas a little bit, and even psychologically, we started to show signs of tiredness. "Armagh haven't shown anything like that because they're able to drop in five or six guys that are freshening the team up. "Right now, Armagh is the team to beat. I think Kerry's reliance on David Clifford, in particular, is still there and I think Armagh will relish trying to stop him. "I think it's going to take a really big performance from Kerry to try and topple the All-Ireland champions on Sunday afternoon." "I don't see too many signs of weakness in Armagh right now, and I'm not convinced Kerry has it in the locker to do that this weekend, unless we get a David Clifford 3-07, which isn't out of the realms of possibility. "But it just feels, any time I watch Kerry, the reliance on David, it's been the same for the last few years." Cavanagh feels that Galway are about the best side equipped to prove competitive with this Armagh unit, and he expects the Tribesmen to be battling for top honours in this year's championship. Galway take on Meath in the first game of Sunday's Croke Park double-header and Cavanagh expects Pádraic Joyce's side to progress. "The fact that they've hung in there and with all their injury problems, and all they've got on going on there, they've looked really strong to me," said Cavanagh, when asked of Galway's chances. "I think personnel wise, it's still them and Armagh and I wouldn't be overly surprised to see another Armagh-Galway final. "The fact that (Matthew) Thompson's come in, and that forward line didn't really need much adding to, if I'm honest, and the likes of Céin Darcy around midfield has been incredible. Peter Cooke was a phenomenal player a few years ago, and he's now coming into the games now as well. "It feels to me that whoever beats Galway could win this All-Ireland. That's where my head's at right now. They'll take a fair bit of stopping." Cavanagh did not quite put his own county into the mix of winning this year's championship, however, he does feel that Tyrone might have a performance in them as they meet Dublin on Saturday, following the Monaghan versus Donegal encounter. Cavanagh feels that despite the relegation in the league, that football could be on the way up in Tyrone, backed up by the fact that their Under-20 side have won back-to-back championships, while the minors have reached this year's decider. "With the signs of life and energy that Malachy (O'Rourke) has injected back into the team, a few new faces and a bit of momentum with underage, it does feel that, as a county, we've got a bit of momentum heading back in the right direction," he said. "Dublin are the Man United of the GAA, they are the box office team, they have been an incredible team for so long now and they've been the benchmark. "But I think we're ready to stand up, and if we come on Saturday night and we beat the Dubs, and we make an All-Ireland semi-final. I think, as a county, we're back heading in the right direction."
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Avondhu GAA: Araglin and Mitchelstown to meet in Division 2 football final
Buttevant and Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels will face off in the Division 3 final Araglin and Mitchelstown will meet in the Cavanagh's Fermoy Div 2 FL final this Saturday in Glanworth 3pm. Eight teams competed in the league which began in February. Araglin, Fermoy, Glanworth, Mitchelstown, Kildorrery, Shanballymore, Doneraile. Mitchelstown were unbeaten but held to a draw by Doneraile.
The 42
5 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
'I don't think there's someone in Croke Park trying to take Donegal down'
FORMER TYRONE STAR Seán Cavanagh has questioned Donegal's approach to articulating their frustration over their hectic fixture schedule, and doesn't believe that they are being harshly treated by Croke Park. Jim McGuinness has been vocal about this issue recently, and was fiercely critical of the decision to choose Roscommon's Dr. Hyde Park as the neutral venue for their All-Ireland round-robin game against Mayo earlier this month. He said 'it would only happen because it's us' after that one-point victory. This week, Donegal GAA released a statement slamming the six-day turnaround between their All-Ireland preliminary All-Ireland quarter-final win over Louth, and their quarter-final clash with Monaghan this Saturday. 'I would wonder whether there's different messages going out externally as to what's maybe going out internally,' Cavanagh began when asked for his interpretation of Donegal's reaction to their grievances. Advertisement Three-time All-Ireland winner Seán Cavanagh. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO 'If you were to maybe draw up a master plan, you'd maybe want to have that little bit of external, 'the world is against us'. I think that's standard. Every team that's won anything has always used that at some point in time.' 'I don't think for one minute that there's someone in Croke Park trying to take Jim and Donegal down. So I certainly see it as just one of those things. I don't think the players need to be thinking too much about it.' Tyrone's three-time All-Ireland winner also pointed to the importance of player welfare and understands Donegal's obligation to 'look after players.' The Ulster champions are the only team in the final eight with a six-day break before their quarter-final. But Cavanagh added that he never felt he could criticise fixtures during his playing days, and suspects that McGuinness could be communicating the wrong message to his panel. 'You can see the frustration that's there from him. It's obviously been in his head for the last number of weeks. 'I'm not totally sure it's the right thing to do. He'll be better at psychology than I would be, but from a coach's perspective, I would think it's not a great thing to be telling your players that they're tired. 'I remember whenever we were in those five or six weekends in a row, the way Mickey Harte would have been dressing [it] up to us would have been, 'think of all the great competitive games we're getting here, how much sharper we are.' 'And when you look at it in the cold light of day, Donegal losing to Tyrone in Ballybofey knocked them back. And they lost that gap, that extra week of rest that we've all spoken about is so valuable this time of year. 'But as a player, I always felt we didn't really have the entitlement to sort of change when the fixtures were there.' Looking at the other teams still left in the championship, Cavanagh feels his own native Tyrone has not performed yet to their capabilities but that a crunch match against old rivals Dublin could be the spark that brings their season to life. 'I think we're back heading in the right direction. Saturday night presents itself as a really big opportunity to lay down a marker that we're heading back in the right direction.' He also feels Kerry are 'vulnerable' due to their injury concerns, as well as their reliance on David Clifford who hit 3-7 in their preliminary quarter-final win over Cavan. Barry-Dan O'Sullivan has been ruled out of the rest of the season with a knee injury, while Paul Geaney, Tony Brosnan and Diarmuid O'Connor are among those on the treatment table at the moment. Related Reads 'What a goal. That is one of the great goals we've seen in Croke Park. Magic, magic Mulligan!' Here's this week's GAA inter-county schedule and TV coverage 'Not a new issue' - GPA supports Donegal's frustration at short quarter-final turnaround He feels their quarter-final opponents — and defending All-Ireland champions — Armagh are the team to beat in this year's championship. 'They've had their injury concerns. They're very vulnerable. And they're coming up against a team that has probably 25 players that could play on Sunday. 'I think Armagh have brought a consistency in the standards that certainly I wasn't expecting. I always felt the years after we'd won All-Ireland we started to run out of gas a little bit. And, even psychologically, we started to show signs of tiredness. Armagh haven't shown anything like that because they're able to drop in five or six guys that are freshening the team up.' Seán Cavanagh was speaking ahead of the 2025 Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championship Finals.
Irish Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Cavanagh believes 'sight of a Dublin jersey' will bring out the best in Tyrone
Sean Cavanagh reckons Tyrone and Dublin need a 'big statement win' in this weekend's All-Ireland quarter-final at Croke Park. Cavanagh says the sight of the sky blue jersey is already 'getting the juices flowing' in Tyrone again, as they gear up for a shot at 'the Manchester United of the GAA'. The former Football of the Year and three-time All-Ireland winner believes Monday morning's draw has Tyrone people 'excited about football again'. Cavanagh also believes the pieces of the puzzle are there for his county and he's backing Malachy O'Rourke as 'the man to get it right' this weekend. 'I think there's more in Tyrone,' said the Moy club man. 'I think it's taken Malachy a little bit of time to try and shuffle things. There's a couple of injuries he had to deal with and every county has those. 'But I feel there's a big performance in this Tyrone team. I think there's something. I know the talent is there. I know Malachy is the right man to get it out. It just feels like when is it going to come?' Cavanagh, 42, reckons that getting to Croke Park could spark something in a Tyrone side that were hugely impressive winners against Donegal in the All-Ireland group stages but flopped next day out against Mayo at Healy Park. 'If you look back at the history of Tyrone playing in Omagh in the Championship, it's not great,' said the five-time All Star. 'I was up that night. It was flat. Mayo brought all the energy and the atmosphere wasn't great. It didn't overly surprise me. Tyrone play better outside of Omagh. I know that sounds mad as it's our home ground. 'But we've never really had any magical performances - or anything up there in a long many a day. I think the sight of Croke Park, the sight of the Dubs and the sky blue jersey will definitely bring out whatever's in those players right now. As a supporter, I do feel there's a big performance in the team. 'I think they'll all see it in that way. They'll all see it as an opportunity to bring it on Saturday night. 'Any year Tyrone has good years, it usually takes a big game and the sight of something that will energise and excite the team to get it out. 'So I'm cautiously optimistic that the sight of a Dublin jersey on a Saturday night in Croke Park will do that.' Dublin midfielder Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne (left) has proved too powerful for both Derry and Cork over the past fortnight but Tyrone have their own giant in the middle in skipper Brian Kennedy. 'Brian is engaged to a daughter of a good friend of mine,' continued Cavanagh. 'She plays for the Moy Ladies. He was at the Moy pitch the other day and I had to look up at him. He's six foot seven. Brian's not small, I can tell you that. 'So look, Ó Cofaigh Byrne is a good player, don't get me wrong, but I think if you stand beside Brian Kennedy you'll realise he'll not be overawed by the size of anyone else. 'Unless you've Shaquille O'Neal playing for Dublin on Saturday night, I don't think it's going to annoy him.' One question mark raised about Tyrone – with Cathal McShane not starting and then leaving the panel – is the absence of a big, physical inside forward. It was Cavanagh's move to play that role in 2008 which sparked Tyrone and set them on the way to a third All-Ireland title, as he landed the Footballer of the Year award. 'Look, the forward line probably hasn't found the balance yet,' said Cavanagh. Darren McCurry's had a great year inside. 'Mark Bradley had the injury and is only really getting back to the pitch but you don't need me to tell you how tricky he is and what he can add to it. 'Darragh Canavan probably hasn't really hit the heights that we expect. You'd almost wonder whether you might see him going a little bit deeper, where he played as a minor and Under-20 at times. 'Eoin McElholm, we've seen what he can do at Under-20 level and club level. I think he's ready to explode at some point. I think we know the talent is there but I don't think that balance has been totally right. 'It's probably taken a few Championship games for Malachy to see the permutations of the chemistry between the players. 'I think Croke Park is the place. I think people get sometimes too carried away. You'll hear these flippant statements of, 'They're too small'. 'For me anyway, trying to chase a forward with the stature of a Darragh Canavan or Mark Bradley was always much trickier, a harder handle. 'It's just how you play the ball to them and how they work with one another but, in the spaces of Croke Park and the ball moving fast, I don't think the 'too small' thing will matter that much. 'I don't think Tyrone have been playing long high ball for a right while at this point, so I'd be fairly optimistic that Malachy will get the right balance. 'I think we're a strong midfield. Obviously Niall Morgan in nets and having Pádraig Hampsey back in the defence will certainly help us. 'But Michael McKernan's going to be a bit of a loss. 'I think the players and pieces of the puzzle are there and I trust Malachy will get it right.'
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Sean Cavanagh: Win over Dublin would see Tyrone back at the top table of football
Sean Cavanagh reckons that the losers of Saturday evening's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final tie between Tyrone and Dublin will end the season with a pile of regrets. Three-time All-Ireland winner Cavanagh is confident, however, that Tyrone can pull off a win which he feels would be as big as their 2021 final success and which would 're-announce ourselves back at the top table of football'. Since that final win over Mayo four years ago, Tyrone have played 20 Championship games and won just nine, a poor return that has seen them exit at the qualifier (2022), quarter-final (2023) and preliminary quarter-final (2024) stages since. Only once in that period have they managed to put back-to-back wins together in the Championship, against Clare and Cork last year, and their patchy record so far this summer reads; win, loss, win, loss, win. They were also relegated from Division 1 earlier this year, albeit on seven points. Tyrone did, significantly, beat Donegal in their All-Ireland SFC group and former captain Cavanagh feels the rebuilding that has taken place in Tyrone in recent seasons is on the verge of paying dividends. Speaking ahead of the Electric Ireland All-Ireland minor championship finals, the five-time All-Star predicted that the 'sight of Croke Park and the sight of the Dubs and the sky blue jersey will definitely bring out whatever is in those players right now'. But, as is the case for Dublin, a loss would leave Tyrone's entire season feeling unfulfilled. "I think both Tyrone and Dublin will look to that game on Saturday night and think that this is our chance to make the entire 2025 season successful," said Cavanagh. "Because I think that whatever team loses, it'll be a disappointing year for them. "But, again, whatever team wins, it's their chance to go, 'Okay, we weren't totally expecting to be in a semi-final but this can drive us on'. And I think they'd compete well in the semi-finals from there on. "It's a great draw for both sides. Usually I'm not one for sitting on the fence but I think both teams will look at it in a very similar fashion. "There'll be that level of intrigue with the sort of magic and history of the game but equally I think from where the teams are at right now, I think both teams need a big performance, need a big statement win." Michael McKernan's shoulder injury looks set to rule him out for Tyrone while there's a question mark over Con O'Callaghan's hamstring injury, despite assurances that he will be fit to feature for Dublin. From Tyrone's perspective, Cavanagh feels they're a squad just waiting to cut loose after a rebuild of sorts in the wake of their last All-Ireland win. "It's only really now that we feel that we're kind of back where Tyrone football should be," said the Moy man. "But equally, and this kind of goes back to needing to win on Saturday evening, would beating Cavan and beating Donegal represent a great Championship season for Tyrone? I don't think so. "And look, the Donegal game was brilliant, a good performance, but I think we need more this year. So where we find ourselves is that if we want to get more, then we have to take out the Dubs in Croke Park. "You can flip that around very quickly and say to the lads, 'Look, what an opportunity this is for that team to really go and announce themselves'. "I think if we were to come to Croke Park and beat the Dubs, that would be as good a performance as we had in the All-Ireland in '21. What a chance it is to re-announce ourselves back at the top table of football." Cavanagh's sense is that Tyrone's rebuild is almost complete with recent All-Ireland U-20 winners, like Eoin McElholm, beginning to filter through. "There's a big opportunity in the next few years in Tyrone to go back to being in All-Ireland semi-finals and finals, and expecting to be there," said Cavanagh. "I think watching our neighbours Armagh win last year, and seeing where they're at at the minute, as probably the form team in the country, that will have stoked the fires enough for us to say, 'Yeah, we have to get back and we have the talent to get back there and we have the management team to get back'. "It feels like all the building blocks are there for us to do it. It's just about time that we have to arrive now."
