Latest news with #DarraghMaloney
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Paudie Clifford covers every blade of the pitch – and doesn't hold back in post-match chat
The changes in Gaelic football this season didn't only come with the new rules, or innovations, at play. For those watching on television, the diamond-patterned turf in Croke Park proved a distraction that took a bit of getting used to, although Joanne Cantwell on RTÉ One assured us the view from up high was quite different from that which the players would encounter at field level. Still, for those of us sitting on our sofas, not expecting an episode of Landscape Artist of the Year, it took a bit of getting used to, and that was only in the parade when Donegal for some reason decided enough was enough of marching behind the Artane Boys Band and took themselves away from the formalities of it all. Darragh Maloney referred to Donegal's abrupt departure from the parade as part of the 'mind games' in the psychological warfare that goes on between teams at All-Ireland finals. Kerry , though, stuck to the old ways and stayed true to tradition in marching behind the band until the death. READ MORE 'There's greatness in their DNA,' Sarah Mulkerrins over on BBC 2 Northern Ireland had told us upon Kerry's arrival on to the pitch ahead of the parade, while the Beeb's match commentator Thomas Niblock in his build-up essay had talked of how the players from Donegal and Kerry came from counties where football 'isn't just played, it's inherited'. Both RTÉ and BBC have evolved their prematch coverage of All-Irelands and their use of a corner of the now diamond-patterned pitch near the Nally Stand had Joanne and Sarah as their respective main presenters, each knowledgeable and bringing a mix of pertinent questions of their punditry teams with a little humour too for a match where there was a common consensus that the new rules had, as Philly McMahon put it, 'reinvigorated everybody'. Kerry's David Clifford and Brendan McCole of Donegal in action in the All-Ireland football final. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho In the build-up to the game, the BBC cameras brought us high into the premium seats where a number of award-winning actors – among them Douglas Henshall, Martin Compston and Chaneil Kular, who are all starring in The Revenge Club, a new thriller being filmed on locations in Ireland – were among the station's guests. 'I cannot believe I've missed [Gaelic football] my whole life,' remarked Henshall (of Shetland fame) with Compston (you know him from Line of Duty) marvelling at the lack of segregation among the supporters, which he described as 'mind-blowing'. The RTÉ lads, meanwhile, were hardly building us up for a game of the century or anything like that, with Peter Canavan being 'sceptical about a free-flowing game', while Tomás Ó Sé added: 'I don't think it's going to be a classic.' [ Kerry player ratings: The Clifford brothers star as Kingdom lift Sam Maguire Opens in new window ] So much for all of us with our popcorn and cups of tea settling in for a game where we wanted free-flowing football and drama, and hoping someone somewhere had a bit of revenge to add to the mix. By half-time in a game of, yep, free-flowing football dominated by Kerry, the BBC's Niblock seemed to tip his cap to what he'd seen from Kerry and especially to Kerry's chosen one. 'What do you say about genius?' he asked of DC, although the same could have been said about Paudie – whose energy levels should be harnessed for the national grid – and others as the game seemed all but done for. Former Dublin manager Jim Gavin working for RTÉ in Croke Park: 'Half-time is only a break in play, I think this is far from over.' Photograph: Morgan Treacy Hold your horses, or something like that, seemed to be the message coming from pitchside down below where none other than former Dublin manager Jim Gavin – the head of the Football Review Committee – had joined the BBC analysts. 'Half-time is only a break in play, I think this is far from over,' said Gavin. Jim was right until he was wrong. Donegal's fightback seemed to briefly hold out the prospect for a comeback akin to Tipperary's against Cork in the hurling but that never happened, and Kerry did what Kerry usually do when the Sam Maguire is within touching distance. [ How Tipperary capitalised on Cork's chronic lack of flexibility to take All-Ireland title Opens in new window ] 'It's amazing to see Kerry so excited about winning an All-Ireland,' remarked Mickey Harte on the Beeb, to which Niblock responded by observing – after so many pundits had foreseen a Donegal win – of Kerry that, 'the hurt, the anger, whether it is manufactured, a team can feed off it.' Indeed, over on RTÉ, Damian Lawlor had done what no Donegal defender had managed and only gone and nabbed Paudie Clifford, who seemed more charged up than he had been in his terrific performance throughout where he seemed to cover every blade of the diamond-patterned turf. Paudie didn't mince his words either in his chat with Lawlor. 'We did feel disrespected, being called a one-man team,' he said, with all the assurance of a big brother who knew the bigger picture. It's in their DNA, for sure.
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Who is commentating for RTE on today's All-Ireland football final?
The intercounty GAA season ends today with the clash between Kerry and Donegal in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final. Kerry come into this game as slight favourites, however, Donegal are just marginal underdogs in a game that is well and truly too close to call. The game will be subject to massive media coverage and is being broadcast simultaneously on both RTE and the BBC. Darragh Maloney and Eamonn Fitzmaurice will be the men behind the mic in the gantry for RTE this afternoon, with Damian Lawlor providing pitchside analysis throughout the day. Longtime RTE presenter Maloney has emerged as the voice of gaelic football on the National broadcaster, with Marty Morrissey his counterpart in the hurling. And in Fitzmaurice, RTE have a man well positioned to give his thoughts on the game, with Fitzmaurice forming a part of the Football Rules Committee (FRC) which has shaped the game this season. He was also manager when Kerry and Donegal last met in an All-Ireland final, when the Kingdom won back in 2014. Writing in the Irish Examiner ahead of the game, Fitzmaurice said: "From a Kerry perspective they will have to get a lot right, the norm to win a final. Everyone will have to play well, they will need to tie down the Michaels (Murphy and Langan) and the O'Donnells (Shane and Conor) and they will need to get an impact from the bench, including springing a marker for Patrick McBrearty when he is introduced. "To win, the Munster champions will also have to excel in attacking against Donegal's zone, defending their runners and breaking even on Shaun Patton's kickouts. "Donegal's greatest strength so far can be their biggest weakness - in my opinion. Their zonal defensive setup has worked so far, getting them to an All-Ireland final and winning Ulster. "I have long felt it won't win Sam, and I am about to get my answer, one way or the other."
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
RTÉ and BBC confirm broadcast teams for All-Ireland SFC final
Darragh Maloney and Éamonn Fitzmaurice will provide the RTÉ commentary for tomorrow's All-Ireland football final. The game is being broadcast on RTÉ One as the women's European Championship final between England and Spain is being shown on RTÉ2. RTÉ's coverage gets underway at 2:15pm when Joanne Cantwell will be joined by an analysis team of Tomás Ó Sé, Peter Canavan, and Lee Keegan. Damian Lawlor will be the sideline reporter. Irish language coverage will available on the Sunday Game Beo, which can be watched on the RTÉ News Channel and through the RTÉ Player. Alongside presenter Gráinne McElwain will be former Clare footballer Gary Brennan and Galway All-Ireland winner Seán Ó Domhnaill, while Daráine Mulvihill will be the sideline reporter. Commentary will be provided by Garry MacDonncha and Dara Ó Cinnéide. The game will also be shown live on BBC Two NI. Their coverage starts at 3pm and will be presented by Sarah Mulkerrins. She will be joined pitchside by Oisín McConville, Philly McMahon, and Conor McManus. All-Ireland winning manager Mickey Harte will be alongside Thomas Niblock on commentary while Mark Sidebottom will have all the latest news and analysis from Brendan Devenney and Owen Mulligan pitchside. Jacqui Hurley will present the Sunday Game highlights show which starts at 9:30pm on RTÉ2 tomorrow night. Ciarán Whelan, Enda McGinley, Paul Flynn, Cora Staunton, Tomás Ó Sé and Mark McHugh will provide the analysis.
Irish Times
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
TV View: Dublin deliver shock of the season to leave us all bewildered
Liam Sheedy put it best on The Saturday Game. If after watching Limerick beat Cork by 16 points you suggested that just five weeks later they'd be knocked out of the championship by a Dublin side down a man after 14 minutes, you'd have been sent to a home for the bewildered. Did you ever see the like? And be honest now, how many of you went out for some sun after Chris Crummey was sent off, making the assumption that, thereafter, Dublin would be pulverised? If it wasn't for the need to drop back indoors for another bottle of Factor 100, we'd have been none the wiser about what was unfolding, Darragh Maloney and Brendan Cummins' hollers on the telly alerting us to the drama. The new batch of freckles could wait. The Dubs, somehow, were three points up at the break, Joanne Cantwell's Gaelic Grounds-based panel mightily impressed by their efforts. But as Dónal Óg Cusack noted, 'can you imagine what's being said in the Limerick dressingroom?' READ MORE Exactly. Fireworks. So, the Dubs' delirium would be short-lived, Limerick would step it up a gear or eight in the second half, normal service would be resumed, and that'd be that for the plucky underdogs. Except, as Darragh asked after those two Dublin goals in a minute, 'WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?' You know the way sport can, occasionally, leave your jaw on the floor? This was one of those days, nothing more jaw-dropping than Seán Brennan denying Aaron Gillane that goal, there ending the save-of-the-season competition. By then, Hill 16 had filled up with the football crew who had arrived for Dublin's meeting with Cork , when at the start of the game there'd have been space to lay out a heap of picnic blankets and sun loungers. 'And how many times have we seen Dublin football followers drifting in to see a Dublin hurling team get the last rites,' asked Dónal Óg come full-time. On this occasion, they had been administered to Limerick's 2025 championship hopes. It was, in a word, sensational . Later in the evening, Damian Lawlor wondered if it was hurling's Séamus Darby moment. At the very least, 'is this the greatest day in Dublin hurling history and one of the greatest results in GAA history,' he asked Liam Rushe. 'Yeah, it's definitely up there,' he said, although he reminded Damian that the county had a few All-Ireland titles to its name. Mind you, only those pushing 90 would remember the last one. Rushe experienced a fair sprinkling of good days in the Dublin shirt too, but not too many saw this one coming. 'To think this morning I was at training and people were asking me would we cover the 12 point handicap,' he laughed. 'An absolutely massive shock.' Rare auld times indeed. Back at the Gaelic Grounds, Tipp and Galway's supporters were celebrating Limerick's demise while waiting for their own counties to square up, Galway following Limerick out the championship exit door come full-time. 'It was all a little bit flat,' said Joanne. 'Jeez, I don't often say this Joanne,' Dónal Óg sighed, 'but thanks be to God that's over'. It had, though, a hard act to follow. A view of the pitch ahead of the Lions v Argentina at the Aviva Stadium. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho If the Dubs fought like lions, the Lions were, well, a bit kitten-like on Friday night, Argentina ruining their big Australia send-off . And TG4 and Sky had given the game the mother of all build-ups too, Donal Lenihan among a string of folk who popped up on TG4 to reflect on their touring memories. It was only recently that he was rummaging around his attic, probably looking for Christmas tree lights, when he found not one but four boomerangs that he didn't even know he had. But sure, which one of us doesn't have four boomerangs in the attic? Not many, mind, brought them back from Australia after winning the 1989 series. Sky's team is exceptionally excited about this tour. 'All three tests are live on Sky Sports – just saying it makes you tingle,' as commentator Miles Harrison put it during their four hours of coverage of an 80 minute game. And the 'destination' of the current crop of Lions, asserted Will Greenwood, was 'a place in sporting history'. That might be arguable, seeing as they won in Australia before. Real sporting history would be, say, the Dubs doing the Double. If you'd even mentioned that possibility before Saturday afternoon, your address would, yes, now be: 'The Home for the Bewildered'.
