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Irish Times
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Rip-roaring Rebels return to All-Ireland final after Dublin demolition
All-Ireland SHC semi-final: Cork 7-26 Dublin 2-21 Initially, the All-Ireland semi-final weekend was seen as a great festival of hurling and some elemental matches took place, as teams fought for a final place. This evening in Croke Park was a bitterly disappointing shadow of such occasions. That's not to cast blame or aspersions on the teams. Cork turned up and did what they had to do whereas Dublin fought and flailed, trying to do what they could not – keep a lid on the relentless Munster champions and somehow drag the match back into the outer confines of a contest. Try as they did to stay afloat, the waves kept crashing down on them and as they splashed frantically for safety, eventually the boat on which they had set out disappeared over the horizon. This was only Dublin's third All-Ireland semi-final since they last reached the final 64 years ago. Achieved on the back of a sensational defeat of Limerick two weeks previously, there was a determination that they would substantiate that performance against the All-Ireland favourites. READ MORE For Cork, the purpose was to reach another All-Ireland final. They had probably accomplished that by the 12th minute after Brian Hayes set up Alan Connolly for the team's second goal, 2-5 to 0-4. Cork's Niall O'Leary tackles Dublin's Sean Currie. Photograph: Leah Scholes/Inpho There was more in it for manager Pat Ryan, however. He brought back three players after injury and all made strong impacts. From the early minutes when Rob Downey thundered through the air to claim the ball, the captain was in dominant form. Little Dublin did threatened a reliable source of scores, whereas at the other end the Cork full forwards were back to their dynamic league form, plundering scores and building an overwhelming lead. So, high summer, another full house for Cork and the goals crashing in – the perfect mise en scene for the red and white throngs. Dublin weren't where they had been in overturning Limerick two weeks previously. A slight nervousness affected their play. Conor Burke, who had shot like a sniper from centrefield against Limerick, was relocated to centre back to replace the greatly missed Chris Crummey, who was suspended. Burke's first attempt in the sixth minute went wide and anxiety grew. Cian O'Sullivan, valiantly leading the resistance, opened the scoring with a point in the first 10 seconds and Dublin attacked with abandon but what became a trend was immediately obvious – getting the ball to stick up front was a challenge as Cork defenders coped comfortably. Another player returning after injury, Declan Dalton, who had been very effective a year ago when Cork beat Dublin in the quarter-finals, was again on form and opened his side's account with one of those howitzer frees he can hit from a neighbouring country. He went on to have a fine match and looked right back on form. Dublin's Cian O'Sullivan challenges Cork's Mark Coleman. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho The opposite was happening to Dublin. Many of the players who had made such an impact on Limerick, were struggling to get into the game. Two defenders were gone by the 20th minute: Andy Dunphy and Conor McHugh, whose display marking Cian Lynch had been so lauded but who looked to have picked up an injury. Two of the full-back line, which had resisted so manfully that day, Dunphy and Paddy Smyth were on yellow cards within the first 10 minutes. John Hetherton, who had terrorised Limerick in the air, couldn't get near ball to break it down, let alone catch. Cork moved and moved too fast. Diarmuid Healy and Dalton created a goal chance for Brian Hayes and he finished well. Fergal Whitely riposted with two points within a minute but they kept the scoreboard clicking rather than reversed the momentum of the game. Hayes turned provider for Connolly and two minutes later Tim O'Mahony had a shot that was deflected into the air for Connolly to come in and bat to the net, one-handed. Dublin appeared to stop the bleeding when Seán Currie within a minute had spotted Cian O'Sullivan unmarked across the square and the latter hit an unstoppable shot, 3-5 to 1-5. In the maelstrom of scores that followed, the margin was expanding. Whitely defiantly crashed the ball off the crossbar but Dublin's grip was slipping all the time. Cork led by 10 points at half-time, 4-13 to 1-12 – Hayes having scored his second goal in the 32nd minute after more good work between himself and Connolly. Dublin's John Hetherton in action against Cork's Eoin Downey. Photograph: Tom O'Hanlon/Inpho Dublin may have hoped for one of those zone-outs that have afflicted Cork after half-time but the bristling occasion and the high stakes drove on the Munster champions. They rode out an unanswered 1-3 from Dublin – the goal a trick play after Currie lofted a straightforward free into the path of O'Sullivan, who had made a run. He rifled it to the net. All it did was reduce the margin to nine points and Cork came back with 1-3 of their own. By now this had all the urgency of a training run. Dublin desperately tried to move the ball around to see if they could engineer another goal, whereas Cork kept scoring them. O'Mahony availed of a neat lay-off from Horgan and then had a second when he followed up a spilt ball. Connolly claimed another hat-trick, having been well set up by replacement Robbie O'Flynn in the 65th minute. Dublin will be distraught to have slipped into a stereotypical meltdown when faced with a top team at an advanced stage of the championship. 'We have to be better,' said manager Niall Ó Ceallacháin afterwards. Seven goals in an All-Ireland semi-final hasn't been seen in 39 years when Cork put them past Antrim. They may have wished for more of a test at this stage but semi-finals are for winning and there will be few complaints about such a rampant display with no injuries. CORK: P Collins; S O'Donoghue, E Downey, N O'Leary; C Joyce (0-1), R Downey (capt), M Coleman; T O'Mahony (2-1), D Fitzgibbon (0-3); D Healy (0-1), S Barrett, D Dalton (0-5, 2f); P Horgan (0-8, 6f), A Connolly (3-2), B Hayes (2-1). Subs: R O'Flynn for Healy (50 mins), S Kingston (0-2) for Horgan (55), T O'Connell for R Downey (59), Lehane (0-1) for Barrett (63), J O'Connor (0-1) for Dalton (67). DUBLIN: S Brennan; J Bellew, P Smyth, A Dunphy; P Doyle, C McHugh, C Donohoe; C Burke (capt; 0-3), B Hayes (0-1); R McBride, F Whitely (0-3), R Hayes; S Currie (0-7f), J Hetherton (0-1), C O'Sullivan (2-5). Subs: D Lucey for Dunphy (14 mins), D Power for McHugh (20), D Burke (0-1) for McBride (h-t), D Ó Dúlaing for R Hayes (46), C Ó Riain for O'Sullivan (67). Referee: J Murphy (Limerick).
Irish Times
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Dublin hurlers leave us lost for words
It's as well Nicky English wasn't lost for words when he was tasked with summing up the Dublin hurlers' momentous win over Limerick , seeing as he's a columnist of ours. But he probably came close. This, he writes, 'was the best Dublin hurling performance in adversity that I've seen ', their team spirit 'immense' in the course of them 'sensationally dumping the most formidable team of recent times out of the championship'. David Byrne was in Croke Park to see 'the hurling shock of the decade' , but Denis Walsh witnessed no such drama at the Gaelic Grounds where Tipperary eased their way past Galway . 'In Tipp's resurgent summer, this was another sunny day,' he writes. And we now know the shape of football's quarter-finals after Monday morning's draw . It followed a weekend of football that Malachy Clerkin likens to 'Willy Wonka's Everlasting Gobstopper machine' , as only Malachy Clerkin can. ' Kerry (easily) and the Dubs (doggedly) disposed of Cavan and Cork on Saturday, Sunday saw Donegal (in a stroll) and Galway (in a dogfight) get past Louth and Down,' he writes. Seán Moran was in Croke Park to see the dogged Dubs get there in the end against a battling Cork side, while Malachy was in Newry for the 'stone-cold thriller' between Galway and Down . READ MORE In the Tailteann Cup, it'll be Kildare v Limerick in next month's final after they saw off Fermanagh and Wicklow, respectively, Paul Keane reporting on the semi-finals, and we also know the line-up for the quarter-finals in the women's football championship after the weekend's action. Kildare produced the biggest upset by beating Ulster champions Armagh – they meet reigning champions Kerry in the last eight. And in his Tipping Point column, Denis looks at the GAA's latest exercises in self-reflection – they've set up a committee to look at the championship's structures and scheduling, and they've launched a major survey on amateurism among members. Our rugby crew have been exceedingly busy wrapping up the Lions' defeat by Argentina on Friday – there's reaction from Andy Farrell , player ratings , Tom Curry's thoughts on it all (hint: he was 'p***ed off'), five things we learnt from the game, an analysis of Fin Smith's performance and a piece on Finn Russell patching up his differences with Johnny Sexton. In football, there was a bolt from the blue on Sunday with the news that Damien Duff had resigned from his position as Shelbourne manager . He'll leave some hole in the League of Ireland . And we also hear from Carla Ward who is in Colorado preparing her Republic of Ireland side for the first of two daunting friendlies against the United States . In racing, Brian O'Connor looks ahead to next Sunday's bumper nine-race card at the Curragh , the highlight the Irish Derby – is that too lengthy a card for one day? – and he has news on the connections of Ireland's latest Group One star, Cercene , considering an ambitious Oaks attempt at the Curragh next month. TV Watch : It's third plays first in the Premier Division this season, Bohemians hosting Shamrock Rovers (Virgin Media Two, 7.45pm), and at 8pm you have your pick of the weekend's GAA highlights on TG4 and two Club World Cup games on DAZN, Seattle v PSG and Atletico Madrid v Botafogo.
BBC News
21-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Limerick win 'one of the best days Dublin have had'
Dublin forward Cian O'Sullivan said their shock 2-24 to 0-28 All-Ireland quarter-final win against Limerick is "up there with one of the best days we've ever had as a group".Despite playing the majority of the game with 14 men after captain Chris Crummey's 15th-minute red card, the Dubs recorded a famous win as they reached the All-Ireland semi-finals for the first time since 2013.O'Sullivan, who scored Dublin's second goal, praised his side's dogged display in their victory."Credit to the lads, 14 men for 55 minutes what more could you ask for, never mind beating Limerick the best team down through the last 10 years," he told BBC Sport NI."Out there it felt like the final whistle couldn't have come soon enough, they got a chance towards the end and had a pop at goal, but we kept it out. We kept them at arm's length, and everyone left it out there."Dubs boss Niall O Ceallachain added that he "knew" his side were capable of causing an upset against Limerick, something they will look to do again in the last four against Cork on 5 July, which can be watched live on the BBC. "We probably felt we weren't as far off this as the outside noise thought we were," he said."There isn't the level of respect to Dublin hurling which should be given at times, but we haven't earned that so days like today are really important." Whilst it was a glorious day for Dublin, it was another disappointing afternoon for Limerick, whose Munster reign was ended by Cork earlier this boss John Kiely admitted his side simply failed to get going at Croke Park, despite their numerical advantage."I think in every department you have to say Dublin had the edge on us, they were just sharper on the breaking ball, better on their own restarts, better on our restarts and better in front of goal," he admitted. "Everything was sticking and there's no reason I can put my finger on; you have to say hats off to Dublin they played very well and deserved to win the match."For us it's disappointing our season ends like this, but we have to accept this, we were beaten by a better team."
Irish Times
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Inspired 14-man Dublin beat Limerick in remarkable championship shock
All-Ireland SHC quarter-final: Dublin 2-24 Limerick 0-28 Fourteen-man Dublin have shocked Limerick with a historic two-point victory to deny the Treaty men a place in the All-Ireland semi-final for the first time since 2019. Niall Ó Ceallacháin's charges, who last reached the All-Ireland semi-final back in 2013, took full advantage of a lacklustre Limerick performance with second half goals from Cian O'Sullivan and substitute John Hetherton proving the difference for the Dubs. John Kiely's Limerick side, looking to bounce back after their heartbreaking penalty shoot-out defeat to Cork in the Munster final, never got to the heights hit by this record-breaking side in recent years and trailed by three points at halftime before Dublin held on for the remarkable win, despite a late Limerick resurgence. The game was the first Championship meeting between the two counties in 10 years with just Nickie Quaid and Cian Lynch surviving the starting 15 from Limerick's one-point defeat to Dublin in that All-Ireland qualifier at Semple Stadium on July 11th, 2015. READ MORE Dublin add a second goal inside a minute, with Cian O'Sullivan finding the back of the net. 📺 📱 Updates - — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) A decade later a much-changed Limerick side were again left shocked by a determined Dublin side full of passion and belief. Limerick had named an unchanged side to the team that lost on penalties to Cork in TUS Gaelic Grounds two weeks previously, while Dublin made two changes to the starting 15 that overcame Kildare in their All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final a week ago with Andy Dunphy and Conor Burke coming in for Paddy Dunleavy and John Hetherton. Both sides were level seven times in the opening half minutes with Ó Ceallacháin's Dublin team showing huge character and determination after being reduced to 14 men when captain Chris Crummey saw red after just 15 minutes. Limerick, showing real signs of a hangover from their penalty defeat to Cork two weeks' previously, struggled against a strong breeze in the opening 35 minutes with Seán Currie and Conor Burke starring for the Dubs with eight of their side's return of 0-15. After Limerick opened up a three-point lead just shy of the 11th minute mark, a superb score from the impressive Seán Currie quickly brought it back to a two-point game. However, when Dublin were reduced to 14 three minutes later when Chris Crummey saw red for a heavy tackle on Gearóid Hegarty, even the most optimistic of Dublin supporters in Croke Park would have given their side the slightest of chances against a team of Limerick's magnitude. Boosted by a vocal home support Dublin grew into the game and grew in belief as the half went on as four Currie points without response had the sides level again by the 19th minute, despite the numerical disadvantage. Despite being a man down, Dublin scored 10 of the next 13 scores during a period when Limerick went 10 minutes without a score. A purple patch for Limerick just before the break which saw Tom Morrissey and Cian Lynch and reduce Dublin's winning margin to three – 0-15 to 0-12 – but it looked worrying times for Kiely's charges. Limerick's David Reidy and Conor Burke of Dublin. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho After the restart, Dublin showed no signs of losing belief and points from eventual man of the match Conor Burke – who also picked up the man of the match award in Dublin's quarter-final defeat to Cork in last year's Championship – and Ronan Hayes eased the men in blue into an early second half five-point lead. When Adam English slotted over in the 51st minute to make it 0-19 to 0-18 in favour of Limerick it was the first time the Munster side led since the 24th minute. However, two quick-fire goals from Cian O'Sullivan and John Hetherton, who was only on the field for 17 minutes when he blasted to the net from a tight angle, beating Nickie Quaid at his front post, again made it a five-point game. The momentum was certainly with Dublin now, Limerick narrowed the deficit to three minutes later, and with the momentum swinging in the visitor's favour the inevitable looked likely. Dublin had other ideas, however, and a superb save from Seán Brennan to deny Aaron Gillane a certain goal gave the Dubs a real belief the game was theirs to lose. Limerick again brought it back to a one-point game with five minutes to go but points from Brian Hayes, and two Currie frees put four between the sides as time added on fast approached. As Limerick went in search of that all-important goal, Dublin continued to put bodies on the line and when the resilient Dubs' defence blocked Diarmaid Byrnes' drilled effort on goal, a Treaty men comeback seemed unlikely. Peter Casey and Adam English gave Kiely's men a fighting chance with two late points, but it was too little late for the Shannonsiders as Dublin held on for a historic two-point win. Dublin: Seán Brennan; John Bellew, Paddy Smyth, Conor McHugh; Paddy Doyle, Chris Crummey (capt) (0-1), Andy Dunphy; Conor Burke (0-5), Brian Hayes (0-2); Riain McBride (0-2), Fergal Whitley (0-1); Cian O'Sullivan (1-1); Seán Currie (0-9, four frees), Ronan Hayes (0-3) Diarmaid Ó Dúlaing Subs: John Hetherton (1-0) for Ó Dúlaing (half time), Darragh Power for Whitley (52 minutes), Donal Burke for McBride (64), Colin Currie for Hayes (69), David Lucey for McHugh (70 + 5) Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Seán Finn, Dan Morrissey, Mike Casey; Diarmaid Byrnes, Kyle Hayes, Barry Nash (0-1); Adam English (0-5), William O'Donoghue, Gearóid Hegarty (0-4), Cian Lynch (capt) (0-2), Tom Morrissey (0-2), Aaron Gillane (0-9, six frees, one '65), Aidan O'Connor (0-3), David Reidy Subs: Cathal O'Neill (0-1) for Tom Morrissey, Barry Murphy for Mike Casey (both half time), Declan Hannon for Nash (50 minutes), Peter Casey (0-1) for O'Donoghue (58), Shane O'Brien for O'Connor (64) Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway)
BreakingNews.ie
21-06-2025
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Dublin shock Limerick in All-Ireland quarter-finals
Dublin have caused the shock of the hurling championship as they defeated Limerick 2-24 to 0-28 in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. Dublin started strong, with Seán Currie, Conor Burke and Ronan Hayes leading the charge, as they never gave Limerick a bit of space in Croke Park. Advertisement Despite a bright start to the game, Dublin were dealt a huge blow when Chris Crummey was sent off for an elbow strike on Limerick forward Gearoid Hegarty, with Limerick leading by two points at the time. However, they responded well and took a deserved 0-15 to 0-12 lead into the interval. Wides early in the second half cost Dublin, as Limerick were able to draw level in the 50th minute at 0-18 each. Adam English put Limerick ahead after four unanswered points, as they looked to take control of the game. However, Dublin were not finished, as two quick fire goals John Hetherton and Cian O'Sullivan turned the game around completley. Dublin lead by three points with 10 minutes to go, as the atmosphere and hope grew they were going to casue the shock of the summer. While Limerick were able to get it back to one point, points from John Bellew and Currie made the fans believe the win was on the cards. After some heroic defending in the final moments, Dublin sealed the win in a historic day for Dublin hurling.
