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The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Cork hurlers catch strays during Jack O'Connor's triumphant RTE interview after Kerry outclass Donegal
EVEN on All-Ireland football final Sunday Cork hurling fans wound up still having a bit of salt rubbed into the wound by Jack O'Connor. Moments after 2 A proud O'Connor saw his men run out 1-26 to 0-19 winners Credit: RTE 2 The pre-match favourites only scored two points in the second half against Tipperary The 64-year-old branded it a "tough ole year" as he cited But the veteran boss noted that he sensed a good feeling off his players throughout the morning in the lead-up to today's 3:30pm throw-in. He also pinpointed David Clifford's walk-off two-pointer as a critical score that stretched their lead out to seven as the teams headed in for half-time. It was when recalling something he said during the interval that the inadvertent jibe at their neighbours' limp second half in the hurling decider came up. Read More On GAA O'Connor said bluntly: "I think that two-pointer was a massive score by David. That was a massive fill-up at half-time to put us up by seven. "Then we said to each other in the dressing room that what happened to Cork last weekend wasn't going to happen to us. "We were going to come out and play and try to win the second half. And we did win the second half by three points so overall two good halves." O'Connor's was the only eye-catching post-match interview either as a pumped-up Paudie Clifford called out their detractors. Most read in GAA Football The playmaker vented: 'We felt disrespected, to be honest. People were writing us off, saying we weren't the same since 2022. But we knew what we had in us. 'We hadn't really done the full 70 minutes in a while – not since the last time we won Sam. Henry Shefflin picks RTE Sunday Game Hurler of the Year but wants no blame for selection for best 15 picks "But today we did. We emptied the tank.' He also shut down talk that Kerry are a one-man team carried by younger brother. He added: 'Look, David is unbelievable, everyone knows that. "But we've 15 lads on that pitch and plenty more ready to go. This is a team – and always has been.' KINGDOM COME AGAIN The Kingdom produced a ruthless display at Croke Park to see off Donegal and claim their 39th All-Ireland football title. The Clifford brothers were outstanding, with captain Gavin White and Joe O'Connor also starring as Kerry dictated the tempo from the outset. Donegal battled bravely and got to within four points early in the second half, sparking hopes of a comeback. But Kerry responded like champions, pulling away again to seal a deserved victory. Jim McGuinness' men had their moments. However, they'll rue how their zonal defence was continually exploited by a savvy O'Connor game plan.
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Kerry GAA icon denounces myth surrounding David Clifford and All-Ireland finals ahead of Donegal clash
DAVID Clifford has competed in four All-Ireland finals - including one replay - and has gained somewhat of a reputation in these games. Some fans have suggested that the 2 Clifford will hope to silence the haters against Donegal on Sunday 2 Ó Sé has won six All-Ireland's with Kerry so he would know a thing or two about finals Kerry icon Darragh Ó Sé disagrees with this criticism of the Fossa man who he believes has produced decent performances in Sam Maguire Cup deciders. When writing for the "Clifford has played in four finals so far and he's had good days and bad days. "Funny enough, the game against Dublin in 2023 is the one everybody holds up as his big failure but I don't see it that way. Read more on GAA "He was so close to having a brilliant game that day – a foot either way on three shots and it would have been one of the greatest All-Ireland final performances." Clifford produced just three points in The five-time All-Star's three second half wides proved costly as Kerry lost out by two points to Dessie Farrell's side. Of Clifford's All-Ireland finals, he only came out on top once with a 0-20 to 0-16 win over Galway to secure the Kingdom's first Sam Maguire Cup win in eight years. Most read in GAA Football Clifford scored eight points to clinch the title, outscoring his total points from both the 2019 final and replay combined. The four-time National Football League winner scored just two points in the initial clash with Dublin before scoring five in the replay. Henry Shefflin picks RTE Sunday Game Hurler of the Year but wants no blame for selection for best 15 picks But if The 2022 All-Ireland winner scored 1-9 to secure Kerry's place in the All-Ireland final after last seasons absence. The Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan - who had a sensational game in his own right - Morgan stated: "He's just sensational. He's six foot four, he's fast, he's mobile, he's good in the air and he can shoot off both feet." Jim McGuinness has even The Donegal boss said: "Myself and Mark Anthony (his son) were chatting about it on the way up in the car there. "We were talking about the fact that he could be the best player that has ever played the game and time will tell on that I suppose. 'You can never make that assertion until somebody hangs up the boots but certainly he's an exceptional football player. He seems to be very driven this year."
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Cork chairman gives update on Pat Ryan's future after ‘tremendously disappointing' All-Ireland final
CORK county board chairman Pat Horgan has updated fans on senior hurling manager Pat Ryan's future as his three-year term comes to an end. Cork's season came to a disastrous close as 2 Pat Ryan cut a helpless figure as the Rebels were destroyed 2 It was their second successive All-Ireland final loss The match marked the end of Ryan's three-year term as Cork boss where he said Chairman Pat Horgan - not to be confused with corner-forward Patrick Horgan - has decided not to rush into any decision on Ryan's future just yet. When talking to 'The executive will sit down and talk to all the people directly involved over the next couple of weeks. Read more on GAA 'The senior hurling is very simple. It is a time for reflection for a couple of weeks and then we'll sit down and talk to everybody concerned. 'In my few words at the banquet, what I said is 35 minutes should not define a team, or a group.' The chairman also spoke on the controversial decision to Many fans were disappointed they will not get the chance to welcome home and thank the players for their hard work throughout the year. Most read in GAA Hurling The Midleton man commented: 'The thing about the homecoming is that we had never actually put it in place until we saw what the result was. "We respected their wishes that they just didn't want to go through with it, and we said that is fine. Henry Shefflin picks RTE Sunday Game Hurler of the Year but wants no blame for selection for best 15 picks 'I think that is fair and reasonable. We had it last year, and I think they deserved a bit of space to themselves. "I just think it was going to be so, so difficult for everybody involved. We understood. We respected it and we said fine." It wasn't all doom and gloom for the Cork hurlers this year as they picked up a cup double. A convincing league final win was followed up by an Cork have lost just three times this season including a league loss to Tipperary, a Munster round-robin loss to Limerick and the Liam MacCarthy Cup decider disaster. Another great achievement for the Rebels was that every one of their Championship games were played in front of a sold out crowd, a point Horgan wanted to celebrate. He added: 'The one point I made at the banquet very forcibly was that Sunday was our seventh championship game and every single one of them were sold out. "That is something the GAA and business community have benefited from considerably."
The Irish Sun
22-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Joe Brolly rubbishes comparison between Mayo footballers and Cork hurlers in verdict of final ‘disaster'
IN a real sign of Cork's hurlers being at their lowest, Joe Brolly has outlined why this year's final letdown is worse than those suffered by Mayo's footballers throughout the 2010s. Mayo 4 Patrick Horgan turned 37 in May so who knows if he will be back for another season 4 Mayo lost All-Ireland finals in 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021 4 For once, he paid Mayo a bit of a compliment Credit: @freestateirl 4 Tipperary trailed by six points at half-time before going on to win by 3-27 to 1-18 Speaking on his He argued: "What I think about this Cork disaster is that this is not one like Mayo where you could say 'We have lost an epic game by a point. We are very, very close and we will redouble our efforts.' "And that was a constant thing y'know, they lost a replay against a great Kerry team in the 2014 another replay in the 2016 final against Dublin. "That whole time they were playing brilliantly in big games and the question was why can they not close off that last five minutes. Read More On GAA "Because they were always there with five minutes to go, and sometimes were ahead. This is different. "I mean this is carnage, this is a f***ing wasteland of dreams." He then heavily criticised manager Pat Ryan and suggested his players will no longer believe he is the man to lead them to the promised land as their drought stretches beyond two decades. Ryan and his staff were clearly outwitted on the day by counterpart Liam Cahill Most read in GAA Hurling But the players must take their fair share of the blame for a 35-minute performance where their execution of the basic skills of the game abandoned them. In the immediate aftermath of their crushing loss, the 48-year-old Henry Shefflin picks RTE Sunday Game Hurler of the Year but wants no blame for selection for best 15 picks Asked if this one was worse than their "Last year, we came away with a good bit of pride in the way we performed and the epic game it was. In fairness, that second half petered out and that was disappointing. 'Our momentum and energy was terrible in the second half. They had all the momentum, they had all the energy, they working the hardest. That's disappointing from our point of view. 'Obviously it's the second All-Ireland in a row that we've lost. Just really, really disappointed with that second half. We didn't represent ourselves the way we should have represented ourselves.' Ryan admitted that Cork were in 'a great position' after Shane Barrett's goal Asked to explain the 21-point turn-around after the interval, the defeated gaffer said: 'We just got out-worked really. 'They got great momentum, got a few scores and got the crowd behind them. They got a couple of breaks of the ball, a couple of the goals they got, and then obviously the sending-off. 'Look, credit to Tipperary. They came out and worked really, really hard. We were in a good position at half-time but we got blown away in the second half. 'Once momentum goes against you, it's hard to get it back. 'We just didn't wrestle it back and unfortunately Tipperary were in the ascendancy. Like really, really good teams do, they put us to the sword.' LUCK WASN'T A FACTOR During a second half that saw them score just 0-2, Cork struck the woodwork four times. They also had Eoin Downey sent off and Conor Lehane had a penalty saved by Rhys Shelly. But Ryan said: 'Luck had absolutely nothing to do with it. The harder you work, the more breaks that come for you and the more balls that fall into your hands. 'They worked really hard, used the ball really well and put us under pressure on our puckout, especially in the second half, and put us under big pressure on their puckout in the second half. 'Goals change games and they gave them great momentum. 'And then Eoin getting sent off, you're chasing the game a small bit as we lose our plus-one at the back whereas they can keep their plus-one at the back. You're chasing the game an awful lot. 'We're just disappointed, with our reaction. To only score two points in the second half isn't good enough for us.'
