Latest news with #Fermanagh
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
GAA spygate: looking for that 5% on the opposition to get you over the line
Business as usual. When it was put to Jim McGuinness that a spy had been infamously outed at Kerry's training before the 2014 All-Ireland final, his response was matter-of-fact: It happens to everyone. Everywhere. 'Listen, the bottom line with that is that, espionage is a very strong word to use, but it's going on all the time,' he said at the time, while denying that Patrick Roarty was associated with their camp after the Donegal man was spotted in a Killarney tree observing training. 'We put people out of our own training on Wednesday night and maybe three or four times in the lead in.' Inter-county management has always been steeped in a cloak-and-dagger tradition. The art of preparation is an exercise in sourcing information. In the endless search for an edge, who you know is as important as what you know. A long list of contacts has its currency in this peculiar trade. 'You'd consult a lot of different people depending on who knows a county or the players,' says former Tyrone footballer Ryan McMenamin, who previously managed Fermanagh and coached Cavan. 'How are things going or what are you hearing? I know my time with Cavan and Fermanagh, we had a lot of knowledge on the players with videos and everything. All the video is available in a shared Drive. You'd have that anyway. You are just looking for a sense. 'Ireland is small enough. Everyone has a contact. The phone might buzz after a challenge, any chance we can see that? Who played well? 'You would have a network of former players, friends and coaches you can give a shout.' Most of this is well within the lines. A former team-mate involved in a rival club championship, a casual chat with a GAA-obsessed cousin, a call, a text and a MP4. With the challenge game circuit the way that it is, video exchanging is a routine practice. That has only accelerated in recent years. 'There is a general acceptance of it since Covid,' says McMenamin. 'Andy McEntee created a WhatsApp group for managers to get their hands around it all. There is a behind-the-scenes scene that supporters wouldn't see." 'There is a bit of 'don't give out any of your own secrets but if you want to get along…', so we played challenges and both teams requested no video. 'We're not recording that.' It stops anything from getting out. 'There are conversations among managers all the time. Sometimes you have an agreement around a challenge. No video and no information shared.' In the aftermath of a devastating Ulster final defeat, Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney made it clear they had already started to plan for the group stage. 'Derry are playing well by all accounts in the challenge games,' he said. Did they get access to the footage from those matches? Who knows. Would it have been in their interest? Absolutely. Earlier this month, McGeeney was less willing to discuss how they utilised a free weekend having secured a quarter-final spot before their final group game. When asked if they elected to travel outside the county for a training camp, he was guarded. 'You try do as much as you can each weekend. Some days you travel, it depends if fellas are working. Any time we have had a chance, it depends if the Athletic Grounds is available, all of those things. You try make the most of every weekend you are off. It wouldn't just be the last one.' Each leader has a trusted circle. Before the All-Ireland final last year, Pádraic Joyce revealed the two managers he was closest to were former International Rules team-mate McGeeney and former Sigerson Cup team-mate Jim McGuinness. Kerry boss Jack O'Connor has previously charted his network. Ger Loughnane was a confidant after they struck up a relationship at a coaching course. Fr Gerard McAleer was his coach in Maynooth and a key influence. The Tyrone priest was part of the management team that led the county to an All-Ireland title in 2003. Writing in his autobiography, O'Connor recalled how he looked to Tyrone for solutions in 2006. 'I go and speak to people about tackling. I phone contacts in Ulster. What do Armagh do? What do Tyrone do? This is almost a betrayal of my Kerry blood, to be asking how they do things up North. 'One day I travel to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin and meet with a very prominent northern football man who knows exactly what they do. (He has to remain nameless.) We sit for a few hours as he shows me drills, gives me ideas, opens up a new world of work to me.' Take word in. Keep the watchers out. In 2013, Éamonn Fitzmaurice's decision to lock the gates for Kerry training proved unpopular locally. The voice of Kerry football, Weeshie Fogarty, stepped forward to vocalise those frustrations. What he discovered convinced him the decision was justified. Management told him their 'proof' that scouts had attended and studied their sessions They also showed him how it makes a difference. Páidí Ó Sé was adamant they had been monitored in the lead-up to the 2003 decider. All-time great Declan O'Sullivan spelled out the difference it made in his mind. 'Training behind closed doors was definitely the reason why we beat Donegal in the final,' he told Fogarty for the Heart and Soul of Kerry Football. 'The game is gone so professional now, people are always looking for that little extra percentage.' Such is the power of information. Truth is optional; perception alone can tilt the scales. Sides source strength from the belief they know what is going on with the opposition. 'A general chitchat might give you a sense of what is going on,' says McMenamin. 'It depends what you glean from it. A lot of it will come from your analysts. They might have 90% of what you need to know. You are just looking for that extra five or ten percent to get you over the line.' Half the battle is convincing yourself you're already ahead.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
The search is on for Fermanagh's best hay meadows
ULSTER Wildlife, with the support of the Vaughan Trust, is inviting local farmers to showcase their traditional hay meadows in a new competition aimed at preserving one of Northern Ireland's rarest farmland habitats. Farmers in Fermanagh are being encouraged to enter the newly launched Fermanagh Hay Meadow Competition, a unique opportunity to gain recognition, and a financial reward, for managing species-rich hay meadows in a traditional, environmentally sensitive way. Fermanagh remains one of the last strongholds of these once widespread habitats, which have become increasingly rare due to modern farming practices. The decline in traditional hay meadows has led to a corresponding loss in wildlife species and the gradual disappearance of haymaking knowledge and customs that were once essential to rural life. Historically, hay meadows played a vital role in the survival of farms, providing essential winter fodder. Traditional meadow management went far beyond cutting hay; it also involved trimming hedges in winter to maximise sunlight exposure and maintaining 'sheughs' (ditches) to keep fields dry. Traditional hay meadows are characterised by low soil fertility and a late summer cut, which encourages a diversity of wildflowers and grasses. These meadows vary from field to field - some dazzle with yellow and white ox-eye daisies on drier land, while wetter meadows take on a purple hue with ragged robin. These habitats support a range of wildlife including bumblebees, butterflies, grasshoppers, and birds such as skylarks and meadow pipits. To be eligible for the competition, the primary use of the field must be for hay production. However, meadows that are occasionally harvested for big bale silage - due to challenging weather - will still be considered. The competition is open to all farmers in Fermanagh who manage a traditional hay meadow, regardless of whether the field is enrolled in the Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS). Judging will take place in early July 2025. A panel will assess entries based on the overall management of the field, the diversity of wildflowers present, and the general condition of the sward. The top three meadows will receive cash prizes: £500 for first place, £250 for second place, and £150 for third. Farmers wishing to take part should email their application to including their name, address, contact number, and the area of the hay meadow. The deadline for entries is 1st July 2025.
BreakingNews.ie
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Animation inspired by mother's poem to her daughters ready for Galway premiere
A filmmaker mother-of-three from Co Fermanagh is to have her book-turned-animation premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh next month. Ciara Tinney, 39, a former assistant director on hit fantasy drama Game Of Thrones, said it does not feel real that the film Wildkind will be shown at the festival. Advertisement The mother-of-three began writing her poem Wildkind after giving birth to her first daughter Adabelle, 11, and began to illustrate it when her daughters Fiadh Ros, eight, and Birdie Blue, six, were born. The book is an ode to the landscape and nature of her homeland. 'Motherhood naturally became a really creative time, because you just had these huge thoughts,' she told the PA news agency. 'So I just started to write them. Advertisement 'The book is a poem written for my daughters, and it is, very basically, just a story of how I want them to live, and how I want to live with them, focusing on being kind and staying connected to the wild. 'Kids today are being labelled as digital natives. 'The idea that they're spending half of their time in a digital landscape is just crazy, especially for someone who grew up in Fermanagh and used to just run about the fields.' Tinney self-published Wilkdkind and sold around 300 copies, before embarking on transforming the book into an animation, voiced by her mother. Advertisement She added: 'A lot of the kids books and things that were around when Ada was tiny, it's very rainbow coloured and very high stimulation artwork and crazy animals, like tigers. 'But we just didn't have that here. So I kind of thought it'd be lovely to have a more realistic and view on what our wild is. 'It's not going to be a rainforest jungle, but there's still so much to explore here in Ireland. 'It's just this little grounding, the fluid wilderness, and the watercolour imagery, it's supposed to feel like it's slowing you down.' Advertisement She said the black-and-white theme of the book was about simplicity, but also about connection. Tinney is hoping that the film, which is available in English, Irish and Arabic, will resonate with a wide audience. 'The overall idea that I really wanted to come across in the book was of 'one land and one sea', and it's here for sharing, a kind of a universal landscape that could be shared by everybody. 'There was a gorgeous conversation I had with some of the people who did the voiceover in Arabic. Advertisement 'We were looking at the book one day, and I said 'Does anywhere here make you think of home?' 'Two of the mums, Rasha and Arwa who are from Sudan, started telling the story about the River Nile. 'The idea of the river was making them think of the River Nile, and being under this mountain where the river flows by and there's a woman selling fish freshly caught out of the river. 'And it was just amazing, it's just a class little moment to think, if that can make them feel at home with this imagery, then I feel a real sense of accomplishment in that.' The film will be shown as part of the Galway Film Fleadh on Sunday, July 13th at 12:30pm in Town Hall Theatre. 'I'm just so proud of the film, getting to work with the Arabic speaking families in that way was just amazing, because that's a whole part of the story. 'It's about integration too, and it's about art for all and everybody being able to be a part of this artistic piece of work and that exploration of mother tongue. 'The overall story of the book I always say is a call to come home, it's a mother's call to come home, to come home to Mother Earth. 'I just think it's a nice message, especially in today's world.' Wildkind is directed by John McDaid, animated by the creative studio Dog Ears, and received funding from Northern Ireland Screen.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Animation inspired by mother's poem to her daughters ready for Galway premiere
A filmmaker mother-of-three from Co Fermanagh is to have her book-turned-animation premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh next month. Ciara Tinney, 39, a former assistant director on hit fantasy drama Game Of Thrones, said it does not feel real that the film Wildkind will be shown at the festival. The mother-of-three began writing her poem Wildkind after giving birth to her first daughter Adabelle, 11, and began to illustrate it when her daughters Fiadh Ros, eight, and Birdie Blue, six, were born. The book is an ode to the landscape and nature of her homeland. 'Motherhood naturally became a really creative time, because you just had these huge thoughts,' she told the PA news agency. 'So I just started to write them. 'The book is a poem written for my daughters, and it is, very basically, just a story of how I want them to live, and how I want to live with them, focusing on being kind and staying connected to the wild. 'Kids today are being labelled as digital natives. 'The idea that they're spending half of their time in a digital landscape is just crazy, especially for someone who grew up in Fermanagh and used to just run about the fields.' Tinney self-published Wilkdkind and sold around 300 copies, before embarking on transforming the book into an animation, voiced by her mother. She added: 'A lot of the kids books and things that were around when Ada was tiny, it's very rainbow coloured and very high stimulation artwork and crazy animals, like tigers. 'But we just didn't have that here. So I kind of thought it'd be lovely to have a more realistic and view on what our wild is. 'It's not going to be a rainforest jungle, but there's still so much to explore here in Ireland. 'It's just this little grounding, the fluid wilderness, and the watercolour imagery, it's supposed to feel like it's slowing you down.' She said the black-and-white theme of the book was about simplicity, but also about connection. Tinney is hoping that the film, which is available in English, Irish and Arabic, will resonate with a wide audience. 'The overall idea that I really wanted to come across in the book was of 'one land and one sea', and it's here for sharing, a kind of a universal landscape that could be shared by everybody. 'There was a gorgeous conversation I had with some of the people who did the voiceover in Arabic. 'We were looking at the book one day, and I said 'Does anywhere here make you think of home?' 'Two of the mums, Rasha and Arwa who are from Sudan, started telling the story about the River Nile. 'The idea of the river was making them think of the River Nile, and being under this mountain where the river flows by and there's a woman selling fish freshly caught out of the river. 'And it was just amazing, it's just a class little moment to think, if that can make them feel at home with this imagery, then I feel a real sense of accomplishment in that.' The film will be shown as part of the Galway Film Fleadh on Sunday July 13 at 12:30pm in Town Hall Theatre. 'I'm just so proud of the film, getting to work with the Arabic speaking families in that way was just amazing, because that's a whole part of the story. 'It's about integration too, and it's about art for all and everybody being able to be a part of this artistic piece of work and that exploration of mother tongue. 'The overall story of the book I always say is a call to come home, it's a mother's call to come home, to come home to Mother Earth. 'I just think it's a nice message, especially in today's world.' Wildkind is directed by John McDaid, animated by the creative studio Dog Ears, and received funding from Northern Ireland Screen.
The Journal
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Journal
Wins for Kildare and Limerick in Tailteann Cup semis
The 42 The 42 is the home of quality journalism for passionate Irish sports fans, bringing you closer to the stories that matter through insightful analysis and sharp sportswriting. Kildare 1-13 Fermanagh 0-9 KILDARE MAINTAINED their unbeaten record in the Tailteann Cup following a 1-13 to 0-9 victory over Fermanagh at Croke Park today. Advertisement The seven-point win flattered the Lilywhites as they'd only led by 0-7 to 0-6 at half-time and added just a single point in the first 20 minutes. Limerick 2-18 Wicklow 1-17 Limerick will meet Kildare in the Tailteann Cup on 12 July after overcoming Wicklow today. The Division 4 league champions looked down and out with less than 20 minutes to go, as they trailed by seven points, before mounting an impressive late comeback. The 42 Subscribers can read the full match reports here (€) The 42′s award-winning team produces original content that you won't find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women's sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye.
