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Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Late bloomer Huw Lawlor in hurler of the year form
You wouldn't know it by his size and stature – about 14 stone and 6ft2in – or the way he has commanded the air in the centre of Kilkenny's defence in the Leinster championship but Huw Lawlor was small for his age as a boy. 'When he was nine or 10 or 11 years of age, he was tiny,' Kilkenny great Tommy Walsh told Off The Ball listeners on Leinster final day last month. 'He was like Messi. That's how small he was.' Lawlor isn't going to deny the truth. Photographs of him from his Kilkenny CBS days provide some proof that he was a late bloomer. 'I would have started as a corner-back, I suppose. I was fairly small when I was younger so I was always kind of corner-back. Did a bit of experimenting around the half-forward line when I was in sixth year of school I think. But no, I had a defensive mindset, really.' The 29-year-old is considered Kilkenny's best hurler this season (Billy Ryan and Mikey Carey aren't too far behind). It's Walsh's relief Lawlor is a better defender because he acts and thinks like a smaller hurler. The player himself doesn't believe his role is one that generates much acclaim. "I think your focus has to be on the team the whole time,' he says of his position. 'I don't think you're going to get any plaudits in terms of scoring or anything as a full-back... well, some lads are, maybe not me!' Lawlor wouldn't be aware of the chatter about him being a hurler of the year contender because he blocks out the commentary. He watched the All-Ireland quarter-finals but 'turned it off after the final whistle goes.' Galway's Fintan Burke has spoken of muting the TV when the analysis is done and Lawlor thinks along the same lines. 'I think it's important not to let too much outside noise kind of impact you. "Obviously, there's loads of narratives out there, different people talking about different things, but we're just trying to focus on our hurling and I suppose listening to the lads in our own bubble is the most important thing.' As a dietitian in St Luke's Hospital coming on four years, Lawlor is living proof of how nutrition matters although he leaves the work inside the camp to Marie Power and Eimear Nolan as his area of expertise is clinical dietetics. 'If there are any questions from the lads, I just tell them they're asking the wrong person, go ask the dietitian, you know,' he says before adding, 'Obviously, you hear stories of what lads were doing back in the day or whatever, but I think it's an important thing, you might be talking about the 1% thing in terms of making an improvement. "But look, nutrition is a big part of it now and you're just trying to nail it and not leave yourself short on game day. Coming up to a match especially, there's a few things you're wanting to get right just so you can trust your body that it's going to be right on the day to go for 70-plus minutes. "It's definitely a crucial factor and something that we're reminded of all the time. Same with anything, you could say it about your training and your sleep and your nutrition, if you leave one short, you're going to suffer down the line. So it's just something you have to nail all the time.' Sunday is Lawlor and Kilkenny's first championship crack at Tipperary since the 2019 All-Ireland final where the O'Loughlin Gaels man in his debut year was given the job of shadowing their captain Seamus Callanan, who had scored a goal in all of his county's SHC matches to that point. Although Callanan was scoreless in the first half, he found the net three minutes into the new half. 'Obviously, it was a tough first year,' Lawlor recalls. 'You go in as a defender in your first year, you're going to be challenged in different ways. I took huge learning from that match and every championship match that year.' Huw Lawlor was promoting the launch of the Circet All-Ireland GAA Golf Challenge that took place in Michael Lyng Motors, Co Kilkenny. This year's Challenge for GAA clubs takes place in Killarney Golf and Fishing Club on October 16 and 17.
Irish Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
John Giles' family life with wife and children as he retires from punditry
John Giles has called time on his career as a pundit. The Ireland football legend has graced Irish screens and airways for many decades, being respected as one of the best analysts in the land. The ex-Leeds United ace was a mainstay of RTE's football analysis from the 1980s until he stepped away from TV work in 2016. He has been a key component of Newstalk's football coverage for more than twenty years, and on Off The Ball on Thursday night, he reflected on his career analysing the game's top players. He said: "I was really lucky. I fell into the television. Eamon [Dunphy] helped me a lot in that. "When you're doing the job I was trying to do, you have to watch all the matches. You can't make it up as you go along. "I think it got to the stage where I was getting a bit stale trying to watch as many matches as I could and it became hard work. "Football has never been hard work to me, I have always loved it but there are so matches. "Even in the summer now, you see the teams over in America [for the Club World Cup]. "I have had a good run of it. I am 84, nearly 85. "I have enjoyed it. I loved playing. I fell into to the television, I had no intention of doing that when I was actually playing the football. "No complaints whatsoever." Here's everything you need to know about the football great: John Giles was born in Dublin on November 1940 and is 84 years old. He kicked off his career with Manchester United, making over 100 appearances for the Red Devils before moving to Leeds United. During his time in Manchester, he bagged an FA Cup and then had a remarkable run with Leeds under Don Revie, where he clinched two First Division titles, an FA Cup, and a League Cup. He also made it into the PFA Team of the Year. His English playing days concluded with West Brom, followed by a brief stint with Philadelphia Fury, and finally ended his playing days with Shamrock Rovers, securing an FAI Cup. Giles tied the knot with his wife Anne way back in 1966. She is the sister of former Irish sprinter Paul Dolan. The couple have four sons and two daughters together. Two of Giles' sons previously played for Shamrock Rovers. His sister Kay was married to England World Cup winner Nobby Stiles. Giles first graced the RTE airwaves in 1986, marking the start of a highly respected broadcasting career. He remained a fixture for the national broadcaster for three decades, signing off after Euro 2016. He still worked for Off The Ball until announcing his retirement on June 26, 2025.
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
John Giles speaks for all football fans when revealing part of his motivation behind retiring from punditry
JOHN Giles spoke for football fans of all ages when detailing how the relentlessly expanding season is part of the reason he's opted to retire from punditry. On Thursday the 84-year-old Advertisement 2 Giles is finding the relentless modern football calendar increasingly tough 2 Last night Balon d'Or holder Rodri made his first start since suffering an ACL tear Credit: Getty When asked if it had been a difficult decision to settle on, he succinctly summed up the growing disillusion he and fans the world over are feeling thanks to the The Ireland icon reflected: "I always enjoyed doing it. But what I've found lately is that there's do many matches in all different competitions that if I had to look at them all. "And really to do this job well you have to really watch all of the matches, you can't make it up as you go long. "So I think I was getting to the stage where it was getting a bit stale trying to watch as many matches as I could. Advertisement Read More On Irish Football "It became hard work and like, football has never been hard work to me. I've always loved it but there's so many matches - even in the summer now with this Club World Cup over in America. "But I've had a good run of it. I'm nearly 85, I loved playing football, fell into working on the television then which I had no intentions of doing. So no complaints whatsoever from me." The ongoing Club World Cup is the But even the Premier League's expansion into Advertisement Most read in Football Throw in giants like Man United Thursday evenings will certainly be worse off without Giles' voice beaming out across the Irish airwaves. David Beckham in hospital as Victoria shares picture of star with arm in sling & sweet 'get well soon daddy' message Amid the OTB's Managing Director hailed: 'John Giles, Senior Analyst, is a titan of Irish sport. His weekly explanation of football truth on Off The Ball helped deepen what the country knows about football. Advertisement "His ability to see through bulls*** and his love of the game shone through in every contribution. "Off The Ball has been blessed to call John a mentor, colleague and friend for over 20 years, he set the bar for what's expected every Thursday night and we can only hope to live up to his legacy. "We have truly been standing on the shoulders of a giant.' RTE EXIT The Dubliner Advertisement Unlike his exit from Newstalk, it was a somewhat acrimonious parting as the Leeds United great told the Irish Sun in 2017. The former Ireland player-manager stated at the time that he He said: 'I don't think that's possible, an offer coming in. If it did, I would consider it, but I wouldn't be dashing in, strange as that may seem, I don't miss it. 'I wasn't disappointed with how it ended with RTE, I had 30 good years at RTE. Advertisement 'It took them that long to find me out! That was their business to do it, I would have continued but I wasn't broken-hearted about it, I had a great run.'
The Journal
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Journal
Irish football legend John Giles brings near 40-year punditry career to an end
The 42 JOHN GILES HAS called an end to his near-40-year punditry career at the age of 84, today announcing his intention to step back from his weekly Thursday slot with Off the Ball. Giles has been providing punditry for Off the Ball since the show's inception in 2002, but has now made the decision to call it a day. 'John Giles, Senior Analyst, is a titan of Irish sport', said Ger Gilroy of Off the ball. 'His weekly explanation of football truth on Off The Ball helped deepen what the country knows about football. His ability to see through bullshit and his love of the game shone through in every contribution.' Having left the West Brom manager's job in 1985, Giles first moved into media by doing punditry for RTÉ for the 1986 World Cup, agreeing to the role at Eamon Dunphy's behest. Giles and Dunphy were later joined by Liam Brady, and the trio formed the iconic RTÉ panel, which consistently shaped the conversation around football in Ireland. Advertisement Giles was the appointed 'senior analyst', whose tactical insights and innovative use of technology was buttressed by wise insights into the character of footballers along with a very low tolerance for bullshit. Giles also established a kind of canon for the sport, making clear there was a difference between a great player and a merely good player. Giles stepped away from RTÉ after Euro 2016, with Dunphy retiring two years later. Brady then left RTÉ in 2023. Giles and Brady continued to make regular appearances on Dunphy's popular podcast series The Stand, from which Dunphy stepped back at the start of this year. Giles continued his work with Off the Ball up to the end of the recent English football season, but will not return when the new season kicks off in August. Off the Ball will bid farewell to Giles at a special event at the Sugar Club in Dublin on 14 August, for which ticket details will be announced in due course. Written by Gavin Cooney and originally published on The 42 whose 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. Subscribe here .
The 42
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The 42
John Giles brings punditry career to an end by stepping back from Off the Ball
JOHN GILES HAS called an end to his near-40-year punditry career at the age of 84, today announcing his intention to step back from his weekly Thursday slot with Off the Ball. Giles has been providing punditry for Off the Ball since the show's inception in 2002, but has now made the decision to call it a day. Advertisement 'John Giles, Senior Analyst, is a titan of Irish sport', said Ger Gilroy of Off the ball. 'His weekly explanation of football truth on Off The Ball helped deepen what the country knows about football. His ability to see through bullshit and his love of the game shone through in every contribution.' Having left the West Brom manager's job in 1985, Giles first moved into media by doing punditry for RTÉ for the 1986 World Cup, agreeing to the role at Eamon Dunphy's behest. Giles and Dunphy were later joined by Liam Brady, and the trio formed the iconic RTÉ panel, which consistently shaped the conversation around football in Ireland. Giles was the appointed 'senior analyst', whose tactical insights and innovative use of technology was buttressed by wise insights into the character of footballers along with a very low tolerance for bullshit. Giles also established a kind of canon for the sport, making clear there was a difference between a great player and a merely good player. Giles stepped away from RTÉ after Euro 2016, with Dunphy retiring two years later. Brady then left RTÉ in 2023. Giles and Brady continued to make regular appearances on Dunphy's popular podcast series The Stand, from which Dunphy stepped back at the start of this year. Giles continued his work with Off the Ball up to the end of the recent English football season, but will not return when the new season kicks off in August. Off the Ball will bid farewell to Giles at a special event at the Sugar Club in Dublin on 14 August, for which ticket details will be announced in due course.
