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Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
TJ Ryan's player-by-player guide to the All-Ireland hurling final
Tipperary 1. Rhys Shelly Has won the battle for the No 1 jersey with Barry Hogan. A clean sheet against Kilkenny in Croke Park under his belt is a huge positive. Puckouts have improved through the season and his long puckout is serious. 2. Robert Doyle The find of the year after Liam has moved him from attack to the full back line. Not an easy move and everyone knows only the really good ones can play in the forwards and the full-back line. 3. Eoghan Connolly Eoghan has the ability to play in any of the back six positions which is very important in the modern game. Three super points from play in the semi-final. Couple that with his threat from long range frees and he is a key cog in the Tipp defence - and on the scoreboard. 4. Michael Breen As the saying goes, 'Mikey Breen is a machine'. A powerful defender with the physicality required to handle one of Cork's big guns. Needs to be a little more ruthless defensively at times. 5. Craig Morgan Classy defender who also will be comfortable in different positions at the back. Has recovered brilliantly from his injury and could be the one detailed with a man-marking role. 6. Ronan Maher (capt) The captain and leader of the defence for Tipperary. A class act, superb long range striker of the ball. Can anyone hit a line ball further than Ronan? Wouldn't surprise me if he was sent to curb the Brian Hayes influence. Big game player too. 7. Bryan O'Mara Former Fitzgibbon Cup winning captain with UL. Again very versatile position-wise. The Holycross man has been hugely effective all year. Will be challenged with following his man versus minding the back three. Well able though. 8. Willie Connors The painted man in the middle of the field. Teak tough player who can chip in with long-range points from the middle third. Big show of faith by Liam in an area that's vital for Tipp to get right. Big game required. Tim and Darragh are a huge test. 9. Conor Stakelum Inspirational in the semi-final even though he wasn't named to start. Three brilliant points from play and one of the key Tipperary players early on when the ship was taking on water. Might just have fixed the Tipp midfield puzzle. 10. Jake Morris Jake has led the attack all year. In hurler of the year mode. His pace and running off the ball will be a concern for Cork. Can be equally effective on the inside line. Four points from play in the semi-final. Will need tight watching. 11. Andrew Ormond All-Ireland U20 winner with Tipperary in 2019, Despite being around a while, Andrew has been one of the finds of the season across all the inter county scene. Similar to Jake Morris, he adds huge pace to the half forward line. 12. Sam O'Farrell Another brilliant find for Liam Cahill. Probably better known as a wing back, he has epitomised the Tipp effort all year by playing in whatever role he has been tasked. Captained the U20s to the All-Ireland last month. Incredible debut season. 13 Darragh McCarthy I really like watching this lad. Has the beautiful moving feet that a tricky corner forward needs and he is hardy. Up and down year. Two silly yellows in the semi and the sending off in the Páirc, but he already has an All-Ireland medal with the U20s. 14. John McGrath Since his goals in the first round against Limerick he has been star quality. Oozes class every time he is on the ball. Makes scoring look easy. I did hear the chant in the semi final "Ooh aah John McGrath". We could hear it again. 15. Jason Forde His striking off both sides is exceptional. MOTM in their semi-final win over Kilkenny, scoring a great goal in the first half. Took over the frees in the second half and pinged them from really difficult positions and at critical times. Big player for Tipp. Tipperary Bench Noel McGrath is the name that jumps off the page. Every Tipp fan will be hoping Tipperary are in a winnable position on 52 mins and Noel will steer the ship home for the last quarter. A nice mix of experience and youth on the bench. Seamus Kennedy and Alan Tynan could very well feature and up top Oisín O'Donoghue and Darragh Stakelum will be ready. Oisín has a goal in him and that's a big help. So does Paddy McCormack who is an interesting addition. Tipperary Manager: Liam Cahill Liam must have had loads of sleepless nights when planning for the 2025 season. He made some big calls, some big omissions and mixed them with some big additions on and off the field. The introduction and management of the U20s has been brilliant and gave the Tipperary faithful hope early on. He has gone from being one of the managers under huge pressure back in January to possibly manager of the year by July. What a turnaround. CORK 1. Patrick Collins Super season so far. In pole position for the All-Star. Shot stopping, puckouts and reading of the game have all improved greatly over the last two seasons. Will be facing forwards well able to finish goal chances. A big save could be critical. 2. Niall O Leary Was probably the leading corner back in the country up to his injury. Missed the Munster final but returned for the semi-final win over Dublin. Big challenge to shut down Forde but more than capable. 3. Eoin Downey The full back spot has been an issue for Cork for a while now. Eoin has fixed that. Question about aerial ability but coped really well against Dublin. Shutting down John McGrath will be important. 4. Seán O'Donoghue Brilliant hook, flick and block in the semi-final. Be interesting to see the early exchanges with Darragh McCarthy after what happened in the Páirc. Could be a key duel this one. 5. Ciarán Joyce Superb hurler. Can play at 5, 6 or 7. Has filled in at 6 for Robert Downey during the year. The tag 'Rolls Royce Joyce' is not lost on him. Very strong in the air, especially second half in the Munster final against Cian Lynch. 6. Rob Downey (capt) The skipper and brother of Eoin in the full-back line. Scored an amazing goal in last year's final. Very important player for Cork and needs to be fully fit. The Cork fans respond to Rob driving forward. 7. Mark Coleman Dynamic pacey wing back who has had a brilliant season so far. Lovely striker of the ball, especially from sidelines. To be fair to him, he has silenced the doubters questioning the defensive side of his game. 8. Tim O'Mahony The Newtownshandrum man brings the physicality to the middle third. His runs forward are starting to reap big rewards with two goals in the semi-final. Travelling companion of Darragh and they have forged a formidable partnership. 9. Darragh Fitzgibbon One of the top hurlers in the country for the last two seasons. Covers huge amount of ground and always contributes to the scoreboard. Can take frees too. Has it all. A cert in everyone's Fantasy Hurling team. 10. Diarmuid Healy Landers tipped us off about this fella a while back. Hasn't had a straightforward year but Pat has managed him brilliantly. Had a really good Munster final and has pace to burn. The scores are coming too. 11. Shane Barrett Brilliant against Kyle Hayes in the Munster final and contributed 1-3. Your modern, fast-moving, scoring centre forward. Will take serious watching from a Tipperary viewpoint. 12. Declan Dalton In outstanding form all year when fully fit. His points from range are a big feature for this team both from play and frees. Added an aerial presence too to the Cork half forward line that was needed. 13. Patrick Horgan Ever-present since 2008 in the Cork full-forward line. Top championship scorer of all time. Need I say anymore? An absolute gem of a corner forward with wrists of gold. Is it his time? 14. Alan Connolly The hat-trick hero from the semi-final. Quietish season up to then by his high standards but Croke Park brings him to life. Has goals on his mind which you love to see in inside forwards. 15. Brian Hayes The big corner forward has been instrumental in Cork's return to the top table. His goal scoring and assists are top notch while his knockdowns are a new feature for inside forwards. Danger every time he is on the ball. Front-runner for POTY. Cork Bench Loads of strength, especially in attack. Damien Cahalane and Tommy O'Connell have been the key men defensively. A fully fit Cormac O'Brien will be a help. Up front they have loads of options. Seamus Harnedy (if fit), Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston, Robbie O'Flynn. The list goes on. Their bench won the Munster Final for them. Cork Manager: Pat Ryan Pat has had an outstanding year so far on the field. Two cups already on the table and the clean sweep is on. One can only imagine how difficult things were off the field for Pat. A tremendously likeable man, it is easy to see why the players have so much love and respect for him. His honesty is admirable, approach is straightforward, and the way they play is exciting. Pat has certainly put the cocky back in Cork which could be dangerous for everyone else.
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
The Tipperary club corner-forward on track for a hurling All-Star at corner-back
A week before the beginning of his debut season with Tipperary, Robert Doyle lined out at left half-forward on the TUS Midwest side that drew their Fitzgibbon Cup opener. Barring a difficult final Sunday, this debut inter-county season will conclude with All-Star corner-back selection. In last summer's local Tipp championship, Doyle lined out at corner-forward for Clonoulty-Rossmore, even further up the field again than he was for TUS Midwest in subsequent months. In their final group outing, and needing a result against Templederry Kenyons to avoid the relegation play-offs, Doyle struck 2-1 to top-score from play and steer Clonoulty clear of any trapdoor argument. But despite a club campaign that included three goals in three outings, the Tipp management didn't want him breaking lines and pilfering flags, they wanted him putting the brakes on the game's most revered forwards. Management's first job, mind, was to get him on board. Full-back for the Tipp U20s in 2023, Doyle had turned down the 2024 invitation to graduate straight into the senior set-up. 'Somebody asked me after the All-Ireland semi-final did we have a bit of a job to get him to come in, as if he wanted to be guaranteed a spot! Twas anything but that,' Tipp selector Declan Laffan clarified at the county's All-Ireland final press day. 'I won't say he needed a little bit of poking to get him on board this year. I'd be telling lies to say he didn't. It was whatever he wanted to do in his own life at the time and obviously we had spoken to him the year before, but he's in now and he's hugely important to the group and he's really delivering.' Laffan reckons Doyle's versatility may have come against him at times in the recent past. Case in point was his complete lack of defensive selection and defensive exposure between the conclusion of his Tipp U20 career in April 2023 and his senior debut 20 months later. 'With Robert, we always viewed him as a defender, and obviously when you're involved in this end of things, you're watching everything, inter-county, minor, U20, whatever's on, you're aware of it.' His debut was his half-time introduction, replacing corner-back Michael Corcoran, in the facile opening round League win over Galway. Tipperary have played 13 games since. The 22-year-old debutant has started all 13. And outside of his half-time withdrawal in the non-event that was their All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final against Laois, he's finished the other 12. Tipperary's Robert Doyle in action against Eoin Cody of Kilkenny in the All-Ireland SHC semi-final. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie If minutes clocked aren't enough of an indicator of the esteem management hold him in, look at the jobs he's been detailed on the run to the decider. On the Saturday evening in Ennis when winless Tipperary's championship involvement hung by a thread, the brief of the debutant was to shadow and stifle the 2024 All-Ireland final man of the match. No biggie, sure. Tony Kelly had seven first-half possessions and involvement in 1-2. Doyle, though, had four possessions, including the assist for Tipperary's third goal and secondary assist for their fourth. The first half, so, to the blue corner. And while Kelly had two second-half assists, won a converted free, and won a penalty he converted himself, Liam Sheedy would remark on the Irish Examiner's Dalo's Hurling Show that the Tipp No.2 'more or less' put Kelly 'to sleep'. A week later he issued a stronger anesthetic to Dessie Hutchinson. The Waterford captain managed one point in total. It was also the only shot at the target he managed off Doyle. Hutchinson went into the game boasting a 3-16 tally against Tipp across the four previous summer clashes. Doyle limited the corner-forward to one white flag and three possessions in the 65 minutes before he was whipped. 'For a young lad who played up front with Clonoulty, what management have done with him is off the charts,' Sheedy added. Kilkenny's Eoin Cody was another to receive short shrift last time out. Of course, Doyle's outstanding piece of semi-final interruption was to block on the goalline John Donnelly's injury-time green flag attempt. Tomorrow, he'll renew acquaintances with Alan Connolly. They've already danced this year. Connolly thrives in the company of the blue and gold. Five goals during the last three times he's shared a field with the Premier. Doyle wasn't present for the May afternoon last year when the Rockies kid raided Thurles for a championship hat-trick. He was instead preparing for a club championship where he intended to do similar. On Sunday, his latest job is to render ineffective a returned-to-form Connolly. 'He's a real quiet chap, he's not a guy that'll stick out within the group. I won't say you'll have to go looking for him but you're not going to hear him shouting around the place,' Laffan continued. 'He quietly goes about his business and look, he's a superb player and has done a huge job for us this year. We are really seeing now the true value of what he is capable of.'
Extra.ie
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Inside the life and career of DJ Carey as GAA star pleads guilty to fraud
Former hurling star DJ Carey pleaded guilty to 10 counts of defrauding a number of people out of money while faking a cancer diagnosis. The former Kilkenny left-wing forward was set to stand trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday, but Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, indicated a jury would not be required and Carey would be entering guilty pleas. Carey entered guilty pleas to dishonestly inducing people to pay him money after he wrongfully claimed to have cancer and needed money for his treatment. Former hurling star DJ Carey pleaded to 10 counts of defrauding a number of people out of money while faking a cancer diagnosis. Pic: Collins Courts As the former hurler awaits his sentencing later in the year, take a look inside the sporting career and personal life of the 54-year-old fraudster. DJ has three bothers and three sisters — one of which is Catriona Carey — with the whole family steeping in Kilkenny GAA. The Kilkenny man shares two children — Michael and Sean — with his ex-wife Christine. The pair wed in the 90s and enjoyed seven years of marriage before their split in 2003. DJ Carey with his ex-wife Christine in 2000. Pic: Damien Eagers/Sportsfile DJ was later in a romantic relationship with former Dragon Den star Sarah Newman with the pair engaged to marry — but the wedding was subsequently called off. Last year, Sarah married millionaire Henry Digby, the Baron of Offaly at St Andrew's Church in Dorset. DJ Carey and Sarah Newman. Pic: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland Like many young fellas, DJ took up hurling in his primary school days, and went on to play for both the Minor and Senior Kilkenny teams. He made his Senior debut during the 1988-89 National League, lining out in goal for Kilkenny on February 19, 1989. He was later switched to an outfield position, becoming one of the best hurlers of his time. Amongst his accolades, DJ won five All Ireland Senior Hurling Championships — one of which he captained Kilkenny — as well as ten Leinster Senior Championships. He won 9 All-Star Awards as well as two Hurler of the Year awards. Like many young fellas, DJ Carey took up hurling in his primary school days, and went onto play for both the Minor and Senior Kilkenny teams. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland The county player retired from hurling in 2006, but later returned to the sport in a managerial capacity. His first post was with the Institute of Technology, Carlow (now South Eas Technological University) with the college team making it to the final fo their first ever Fitzgibbon Cup. They lost to reigning champions, Mary Immacute College. DJ Carey managing IT Carlow. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile DJ Carey also fulfilled duties for the Leinster inter-provincial team; the Kilkenny U-21 team as well as the Kilkenny senior hurling team where he was a selector under Brian Cody. He left the gig in January 2021. In 2023, it was unveiled that DJ scammed 23 people to donate funds to him after he fraudulently claimed he needed the money for cancer treatment. Amongst the charges were 19 of deception and two charges for using false instruments between 2014 and 2022. At the time, DJ denied all charges with a trial date set for Wednesday, July 2, 2025. Following confirmation that the former hurling star would be entering guilty pleas, he was remanded on continuing bail with his sentencing hearing due for October 29.
Irish Examiner
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Cork players don't look to blame others anymore
'Donal O'Mahony, he's a good friend of mine, he's in the coaching ticket there. We have huge regard for each other.' – John Kiely, May 30. In the skull and crossbone, Donal O'Mahony and John Kiely were kindred spirits. Thickest of thieves. One of the few things they didn't share in UCC was a Fitzgibbon Cup. Kiely finished up a year before O'Mahony was part of the 1996 winning team. Full of affirmations and convictions, it's easy to see how they gravitated to each other and continue to remain pals despite their obvious differences. The respect Kiely speaks of is indisputable. O'Mahony considers Limerick 'a generational team' but Pat Ryan's Cork beat them twice in the space of two months last year. Since then, there has been the 16-point payback but the Cork selector approaches Rd 2 in this Munster final brimming with belief. 'I've been involved a couple of years now and your natural inclination is you want to win every game, and when you don't, you get really disappointed. But like Pat's language is very good this year. It's a marathon, it's not a sprint. You just need to stay in there, and then when the time to make a move comes, you make it. 'So for us, making a move is from now on. We're in the Munster final, we're going to the All-Ireland series, so like this is happening. While we lost the game against Limerick and drew a game against Clare the first day, we're making finals whether it's by a circuitous route or a straight line route.' To draw a line under what happened on May 18, there had to be a bloodletting. A round of genuine mea culpas. Management and players owned up. 'If the lads are waiting for us to tell them to do things, I think we're in difficulty,' says O'Mahony of the fall-out from the game. 'There's a real sense that they let the group down, ourselves, they let the backroom team down and, yeah, we let the supporters down. 'It's not just the players, it's the management as well. We're in charge of setting up, we're in charge of the tactics, so we're all in it together, and that's a real positive for us, that the players hold their own meetings, and take responsibility, and they don't look to blame the coach, or the selectors, or the physios, or the doctors. 'That's, I think, a shift in the last couple of years. Before, maybe it wasn't that way, whereas now they take ownership of the performances, and don't look for excuses, don't look to blame people.' O'Mahony has obviously heard the yarn that Cork took a dive last month but he dispels that theory completely. At the same time, there are priorities. 'We always define that the big players play when it's needed the most. Is it needed the most in a round-robin game in Munster or an All-Ireland semi-final? You kind of go towards the latter there. 'This narrative that we kind of took the foot off the pedal and trained really hard for last week is incorrect. Our job all the time is to go out and try to win games, and we didn't achieve that outcome, but it wasn't a fatal blow-up, we weren't knocked out of the championship, and it put us back into an environment that we've been dealing with well in the last two to three years when our backs are to the wall. 'I think that's becoming our defining character. When we need to deliver, we're getting better at it. We're not there yet, but we're definitely getting better at it.' Although it was at times a fraught performance, beating Waterford last Sunday week was a case of mission accomplished and reaching a third consecutive competition final. O'Mahony didn't need the outside world for validation. 'The same fellas patting you on the back the week after Waterford were the same fellas kicking your ass after Limerick, so you don't get carried away with it. Our focus is getting the best out of our fellas, because we do believe that if we get the best out of our fellas, as we proved last year, we're a match for anyone. 'Our philosophy is a general psychological set, you have to keep the outside out, the noise that we can't control, but we're very proud of the connection that we have with our supporters. 'That brings with it the responsibility that you have to deliver. Everybody's busy these days, people are paying good money to go and watch us, and in Limerick the last day, the traffic was chaotic. People are giving a lot of time, a lot of money to follow us, we need to give them something to follow.' The wrecking ball that Brian Hayes has become at the edge of the square is the type of forward Cork folk will gladly fork out to see. O'Mahony can't stress enough how vital it is to have players with different skillsets. 'We felt at times before we might have been one-dimensional, whereas we've developed an adaptability, and that's a concern we have when we're looking at who we add to the panel. If we keep adding the same player, we're probably easier to play against. 'On one end of the spectrum, you have William Buckley who is lightning fast and a brilliant fella on the ball, all the way up to Brian Hayes, who's 6ft 5, and plays a totally different style of hurling. 'We feel we can change the way we play in-game, which is really important. In my first iteration (with John Meyler), we had really good players but were probably the same type of players and replacing a player with the same type of player you were likely to get the same outcome.' To execute a different result now, Cork must be different. O'Mahony is emphatic that they can be. 'If you look at the modern game of hurling, we were 12 points up at half-time in Ennis, and Clare turned a 12-point lead around in 35 minutes of hurling, so why can't we turn a 16-point deficit around in 70 minutes of hurling? 'We know we're capable of getting goals, and we're averaging nearly 30 points, we were 31 against Waterford, and we have the arsenal to do it, so we're confident that that 16-point deficit isn't a barrier to us.'
RTÉ News
24-04-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Hurling gladiators must prioritise rest over relaxation as relentless schedule leaves no time for craic
Sometimes in life we build things up too much and are left with a sense of anti-climax. This certainly cannot be said of the Munster hurling championship, as once again last weekend it gave us all we hoped for and more. All boxes were ticked - atmosphere, intensity, drama and some brilliant hurling displays. Are we seriously expecting more of the same again a week later? Yes, yes we are. The Colosseum served as a powerful symbol of Roman power and entertainment, attracting vast crowds and offering a range of thrilling and often bloody spectacles. Hurling fans attending matches this weekend at Walsh Park and Páirc Uí Chaoimh will have similar expectations, minus perhaps the lust for actual death. We're not at the point where we are literally calling for heads, but are we right to expect so much from these modern-day gladiators? Recently I asked some inter-county players what their Monday after championship Sunday in the round-robin looks like. Recovery is the main thing. Recovery hubs and physio visits result in many taking the Monday off work, with some understanding bosses to allow them to do so. I recall taking Mondays off after championship games during my own time, but the recovery back then was in the form of elbow stretches in a public house. We lived for those days out as a group. Even better if there was a cup for company, but it was all about the enjoyment of the group. Some of the best memories I have from my time with Tipp came from those bonding sessions. Nowadays there simply isn't the time for this. There is barely the time for players to get a pizza or a greasy bag of chips afterwards and I'd be confident the majority would not want it in their system either just in case it jeopardised preparation for the following week. This is where I really do feel for the modern player. Sure they get to play in front of packed stadiums and get all the plaudits that go with it, but those days represent a tiny percentage of the work and commitment they give to get to that 75 minutes on game day. I was involved with the University of Limerick in their Fitzgibbon Cup campaign this year and I got a real flavour of the culture among elite young hurlers. They are great ambassadors for our game on and off the pitch, but I can't help but feel the craic away from the field of play is lacking. Only one team gets to win each year and I think any players pictured having a few drinks gets blown out of all context. The GAA culture appears so anti-drink, especially compared to sports such as rugby. All-Star trips are great at fostering that sense of community among opposing inter-county players, but only a select group of hurlers experience those getaways. I would love to see the day where, similar to rugby, both teams come together post-match and share some form of beverage. Rivalries cast aside, it would allow players to meet the human inside the helmet, to share stories and shake hands. It would be a sign of respect. It might seem crazy, but maybe referees could even pop down and have a chat with the players, talk about what they got right and maybe what they got wrong but in a safe environment, once again creating that human connection between all. It would also serve to benefit the on-field relations between officials and players alike. The longevity of hurling careers will reduce due to the intensity of these games and the time between them. Finally, I'm repeating myself here, but the championship simply must go back to a May start. It felt all wrong being down in Nowlan Park last week and looking down at the date reading 19 April. Easter should not be for championship, it should be for egg and the resurrection of Jesus, not the comeback of Nickie Quaid!
