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Irish Examiner
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Graeme Mulcahy: Virtually empty Croke Park hindered Limerick's performance
Graeme Mulcahy reckons the lack of atmosphere in what he felt was an 'empty' Croke Park, compared to the packed out stadium for the Munster final, played a part in Limerick's demise. The Shannonsiders are still coming to terms with last Saturday's All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to a Dublin side that played with 14 men for the majority. Mulcahy expects a couple of Limerick retirements in the coming months but doesn't view the defeat as the end of an era and reckons that John Kiely and his management team will return in 2026 energised to make amends. The five-time All-Ireland medallist attributed the relatively flat performance, and ultimate defeat, to starting slowly in an 'empty stadium effectively' and allowing Dublin to generate momentum. Former attacker Mulcahy, who retired last year, pointed specifically to Aaron Gillane's unlikely wide in the opening minutes from a free as a sign of Limerick perhaps not being fully tuned in. Speaking ahead of the Electric Ireland All-Ireland minor championship finals, Mulcahy said it has been a few days of 'soul searching' and looking for answers in Limerick. Former Limerick hurler Graeme Mulcahy pictured ahead of the 2025 Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championship finals. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady "I think trying to come down off a Munster final, a Munster final that will live long in people's memories in terms of the drama, and then going to Croke Park a couple of weeks later, an empty stadium effectively with little or no atmosphere, like, you could hear the referee's whistle echoing around the stadium for the first five, 10 minutes," said Mulcahy. "It was just a completely different experience for that Limerick team. The whole game felt flat for that first 15, 20 minutes, aside from maybe the bit of intensity that Dublin brought. "In the first couple of minutes, Aaron Gillane had an easy enough free and it went to Hawk-Eye. "Whatever little atmosphere was in the stadium was sucked out at that point. I think that really played into Dublin's hands, just allowing them to get a bit of a foothold in the game." The Dublin/Limerick game preceded the All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final tie between Dublin and Cork. The overall attendance announced for the day was 36,546, well below half the capacity of the stadium. "I think it can have a massive effect," continued Mulcahy. "Psychologically, if you're not prepared for that and if you haven't spoken about it, it can have a huge effect. I think if that game had come down to Thurles, you would have had probably three times the amount of Limerick fans at the game that were in Croke Park. On the flipside of that, you wouldn't have had as many Dublin fans travel. I think that would have added to giving Limerick an edge, certainly in terms of their performance, that was lacking in Croke Park." Limerick still had an extra player after the 15th minute dismissal of Chris Crummey though Mulcahy said it felt like the backing of the Dublin fans who came streaming in for the second game as the first game was concluding 'effectively gave Dublin back that 15th man'. The Kilmallock man said he agreed with the decision to send Crummey off for what was perceived to be a head high challenge on Gearoid Hegarty. "On a personal level, I would love if he got it overturned and was able to play in an All-Ireland semi-final, but I just don't see it happening," said Mulcahy. The seven-time Munster medallist reckons that Cork will beat Dublin in their July 5 semi-final and that the Munster champions will 'go on and bridge that 20-year gap' by winning the All-Ireland. But he insisted that if Dublin can maintain the quality and intensity they showed against Limerick, 'Dublin could easily overturn Cork in that semi-final as well'. And if Dublin were to beat Cork, Limerick's defeat may be viewed in a different light. "I think if Cork were to wipe out Dublin completely, then it would feel even more difficult for Limerick, but if Dublin were to go on and overturn Cork as well, and get to the All-Ireland final, I think it would really signal their intent and suggest that there's maybe a new hurling power on the rise." As for Limerick, Mulcahy rejected talk of the core of their group potentially coming to the end of the line. "I think people want to see it as an end of an era," he said, pointing to rival counties. "They want Limerick gone away and I just hope that's not the case. I think if they stay unified, like, you'll always lose a couple but I think if they keep the core group together and take the learnings from this year, I think they'll be competitive again next year."
The Irish Sun
20-06-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Tipperary legend makes confident prediction for county's future as quarter-final vs Galway looms large
THE appearance of green shoots in Tipperary helped to convince Patrick 'Bonner' Maher it was time to bring an end to his days in blue and gold. As a three-time All-Ireland SHC winner, the Lorrha-Dorrha half-forward played a prominent role in Tipp's greatest days of the recent past. Advertisement 2 Maher is an ambassador for the Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championship Credit: Inpho 2 Oisin O'Donoghue, 15 and Darragh McCarthy, 13, amongst teammates after beating Kilkenny in May's All-Ireland U20 final And Maher, who Three weeks since The All-Ireland Under-21 triumph of 2010 was an important launchpad for what Maher went on to achieve at the highest level. Promising youngsters such as Darragh McCarthy, Oisín O'Donoghue and Sam O'Farrell are already making a similar transition now. Advertisement Read More On GAA Maher said: 'It's great to see and there's huge potential in that Under-20 squad to come up and get into that senior panel. 'From our perspective back in 2010, it was huge for us to get into the senior panel and get involved in senior games, so that will bring them on immensely as well. 'There's a good few of them boys that I think will have a bright future and long careers ahead of them wearing a Tipperary jersey.' For Maher, there was no fairytale ending as his swansong season was utterly wretched. Advertisement Most read in GAA Hurling Liam Cahill's men were dumped out of the Championship with a game to spare in the Munster round robin. Just five years after the county's 28th Liam MacCarthy Cup triumph, it painted a bleak picture for the state of Tipp hurling. Nevertheless, Maher viewed the situation from a different perspective. 'Just in time for Father's Day' - Dublin GAA legends welcome the birth of precious baby daughter He explained: 'Coming to the end of 2024, I know the campaign didn't go well but I could see the green shoots that were in there around the group and I knew Tipperary would do well moving forward. 'Another thing I kind of said to myself was maybe the time for me to step away is now and give some younger player, one of the Under-20s, an opportunity to come into the panel and to take a place and get an opportunity to drive it on from there.' Advertisement COMING GOOD Having come under intense scrutiny following the failure of last season, Cahill has overseen an impressive response in 2025. A victory over Galway in Maher continued: 'It's just one of those things when you train so hard to peak at a certain time and it just doesn't happen for whatever reason. 'But the group got back together. They went hard at it early this year and the fruits of that are showing now. Advertisement 'An awful lot of these younger players, the likes of Jake Morris and these boys, are stepping up, which is huge and it's needed. 'Ronan Maher is always a leader, Mikey Breen, there's an awful lot of these boys putting their hands up to show that they have the leadership quality there that they always potentially had. "But they're really shoving it on this year, which is great to see.' MAGICIAN MCGRATH While the injection of youth is serving Tipperary well, Maher also hailed stalwart Noel McGrath, 34, who is still central to the cause in his 17th season. Advertisement The two-time All-Star said: 'Noel is a generational player. He's always had it since we were playing together at minor and I suppose Under-16 level. "He's always had something special about him. Fair play to him, he's some operator. 'It was a joy to play beside him for so long. You probably don't see half the work that he does away from the field to get himself into the condition. "He looks after himself fierce well to still be able to operate at the level he is. It's great to see that he's still doing the job and it looks like there's plenty left in the tank with him too.' Advertisement PATRICK 'BONNER' MAHER is an ambassador for the Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championship.
The Irish Sun
12-06-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Chrissy McKaigue insists Derry can still reach the top despite overblown criticism
CHRISSY McKAIGUE knows great expectations have changed the Derry narrative but insists they can still win the big one. 2 Chrissy McKaigue knows expectations have changed with Derry but insists they can still win Sam under Paddy Tally 2 Derry face Dublin in a crucial Championship clash this weekend But their Championship hopes unravelled last year as Donegal stunned them in They survived to dismiss McKaigue also called it quits as Paddy Tally took the reins for this year — but they are yet to win a game under him. A READ MORE ON GAA McKaigue remembers playing Division 4 football in 2019 but their revival raised the bar. He said: 'Expectation is a wonderful thing and it's often created by a world outside the bubble itself. 'There has been a narrative created that Derry's senior footballers had the worst season ever last year. "I can accurately remember many poorer years for Derry in the Championship but last year was sort of built up into this catastrophe of a year. Most read in GAA Football 'It was more so we didn't meet expectations. I'm not saying that everyone follows that narrative, but I felt Mickey Harte last year got a lot of scrutiny that was a wee bit over the top at times.' Still, the 2022 All-Star believes Tally can take them all the way for the first time since 1993. GAA fans 'loved seeing and hearing' the late Micheal O Muircheartaigh as he features in RTE documentary Hell for Leather He added: 'I still feel that Derry are a contender for Sam Maguire. 'Maybe not this year in the same capacity as last year but do I feel this Derry squad will have the potential to be a contender for Sam Maguire in the next number of years. 'Derry have a fair bit of talent and probably a nice enough age profile in that squad too that would suggest that they're still going to be knocking there or thereabouts the next number of years. 'I feel that the underage in Derry is really strong and you'll probably be yet to see a couple of the players that I'd be really excited about. 'From a Derry perspective, that's really pleasing because for a long number of years as we know, we weren't anywhere near that level.' l CHRISSY McKAIGUE was speaking at the 2025 Electric Ireland GAA All- Ireland Minor Championship launch Pictured is former Electric Ireland Minor Championship star Chrissy McKaigue of Derry at the 2025 Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championship Launch. This summer, Electric Ireland will use their social channels to spotlight players from across the Championships, in their 'Parent Point of View' series highlighting the major impact that playing Minor can have on players and their families #ThisIsMajor.
The Irish Sun
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Star singer to perform at Gaelic Grounds as warm-up for mouth-watering Munster final between Cork & Limerick
GAVIN James will set the scene for Saturday's Munster final spectacular by playing a 40-minute warm-up set. There is the distinct possibility that Limerick are "in the heads" of their Cork foes considering they 3 Once again the TUS Gaelic Grounds in Limerick will play host to the rivals 3 Gavin James is set to serve as the warm-up act before hurling takes centre stage And ahead of Saturday's 6pm throw-in Limerick GAA has announced that Dublin singer-songwriter James will get the occasion going from 4.35pm. "Gates will open on Saturday June 7 at 4pm. "Honing his performing and song writing gifts as a busker and pub performer in Dublin, to sold out world tours, Gavin's come a long way. Read More On GAA "James has built a community of fans that have seen his music streamed three billion times across the globe and earn diamond and platinum records in multiple countries. "He has also sold more than 250,000 tickets (and counting) worldwide with a live show that is as transporting as it is uplifting. "This June, James returns with a new single 'Cherry Cola', a precursor to a new album of original material that he's recording in a studio on a mountain outside his home city of Dublin." Earlier this week, Tipperary great Patrick 'Bonner' Maher Most read in GAA Hurling Speaking at the Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Championship launch, he said: 'I think Cork should come back. They'll have a bit of a bite after what happened in the last game. 'I'm hoping for a classic Munster final, fire and brimstone, where two teams go hammer-and-tongs at each other. Tipperary GAA star 'had to do live apology on RTE' the day after cursing during All-Ireland interview - 'It's going to be a hard one to call. Both of them are going to go hard at each other and see where the pieces fall. 'Judging on the last day, you'd say Limerick are one or two points ahead. 'But I wouldn't write off Cork because those boys are well able to play.' Limerick, who have won five All-Irelands and six Munster titles since 2018, are often placed in opposition to Brian Cody's four-in-a-row Kilkenny crop in debates over the greatest hurling team of all time. 3 Maher at the 2025 Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championship launch Credit: Inpho Maher came up against John Kiely's Limerick on several occasions in the latter half of his career, having also been part of the Tipp side who scuppered the Cats' quest for a fifth consecutive Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2010. But the three-time All-Ireland winner said: 'It's very hard to compare a team in one period to a team in the current period. 'There are so many variables, it's hard to say if they're as good or better than that Kilkenny team. 'I was lucky enough, or unlucky enough, to play against both. For their time and their moment playing, they're the best team that's there at that moment. 'I wouldn't compare against the Kilkenny team because they were a different animal and that was in their time. They're two serious outfits.'
