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Irish Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
The hurling year in review: Ronan Maher leads the way for Tipperary's stunning triumph
Seán Moran Hurler of the year: Tipperary have a couple of candidates in the nuclear winter of Cork's All-Ireland fallout. Ronan Maher gets it here for leadership and his defensive performances, taking on and dismantling key opposition threats, in the team's gravity-defying phase, culminating in Sunday's final. Match of the year: Tipperary 3-27 Cork 1-18. More recency bias but this was the most extraordinary All-Ireland final. An underdog has never reared up with such ferocity, driven by such an abundance of outstanding performances. Devastatingly perfect timing. Memorable moment: The neutrino of 2025's universe, Croke Park on May 21st: The 34 seconds in which 14-man Dublin beat Limerick with goals by John Hetherton and Cian O'Sullivan. 'What is happening here?' cried Darragh Moloney. Answer: the reshaping of the whole championship. Biggest disappointment: The disparity between the provinces and not just in terms of All-Ireland domination. Leinster needs less predictability and better atmosphere. This year, even the reliable Wexford-Kilkenny fixture turned into a dead rubber. Despite a sixth title, Kilkenny ended the year in gloomy introspection. READ MORE In 2026 I would like to see... The end of the McDonagh Cup anomaly, which sees preliminary quarter-finals needlessly extending the season. Promotion should mean for the following year. Jarlath Burns is pushing the idea and the hope is that it will be implemented in time for next summer. Cork's Diarmuid Healy celebrates after the Munster final, which was filled with tension right through. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Denis Walsh Hurler of the year: Ronan Maher 's performance in the final on Brian Hayes may have tilted it in his favour ahead of Jake Morris, who was good in the final without reaching the heights of other performances this season. Best game: Unlike recent seasons there were no stone cold classics but the Munster final was compelling and dramatic with a heady mix of brilliance and mistakes and razor like tension. Memorable moment: Sean Brennan's point blank save from Aaron Gillane was the pivotal moment in Dublin's sensational victory over Limerick. A goal for Limerick then and the jig was up. Biggest disappointment: The Leinster championship, with it's glut of Saturday afternoon/teatime fixtures, its small crowds and predictable results was downbeat from start to finish. In 2026 I would like to see… Just an extra week in the schedule to give the provincial championships more room to breathe and to avoid attractive fixtures crawling all over each other. Tipperary's John McGrath celebrates scoring his side's third goal - with his finishing Tipp would not be champions. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho Malachy Clerkin Hurler of the year: John McGrath . Scored 7-16 from play and did it in the biggest games – two goals against Limerick on the opening day, two against Clare in Munster, one in the All-Ireland semi-final, two in the final. Without his class, composure and deadly finishing, Tipp wouldn't be champions. Best game: Dublin v Limerick, All-Ireland quarter-final. Even now, a month later, it still seems so improbable. Dublin putting it up to Limerick wasn't on anyone's radar. Dublin doing so with such a key figure as Chris Crummey sent off in the first half is an outlandish notion. Yet they did it, in the shock of the summer. Memorable Moment: Darragh McCarthy standing his ground as Damien Cahalane bullocked towards him in the final, getting poleaxed by a frontal charge before bouncing to his feet and giving a double fist-pump when he knew he'd won his free. And then slotting said free. Summed up his defiance on the biggest day of his young life. Biggest disappointment: Clare's defence of the All-Ireland never got going. Unable to shake off a bad league, their only win came in the final game of Munster against a weakened Limerick team. It was all too late by then. In 2026 I would like to see... Dublin win Leinster. They have the players, they have the manager, the Limerick win shows they can keep pace with the big boys. So why should they have anything to fear from Kilkenny and Galway? Kilkenny's TJ Reid with his daughter Harper after the semi-final loss to Tipperary - hopefully we see him back in action for Kilkenny again next year. Photograph: Tom O'Hanlon/Inpho Gordon Manning Hurler of the year: Cork would have had more leading contenders for this award ahead of the final but Ronan Maher 's display of leadership in the decider capped off what had been a brilliant season by the Thurles man. His versatility to move between the full and half-back lines was key to keeping Tipp's defence organised, with the team captain providing a solid platform from which the Premier embarked on a six-game winning streak. Best game: The Munster final was a madcap, epic game of hurling at the Gaelic Grounds. Finishing level after extra time before Cork won out on penalties, it started in sunlight and it ended in twilight. As a sporting spectacle this contest had everything – skill, drama, excitement, controversy. Both teams were out on their feet at the end, but they had truly hoisted the game of hurling upon their shoulders that day. Memorable moment: It will be a long time before any poll of the top five hurling shocks doesn't include Dublin's 2025 All-Ireland quarter-final victory over Limerick. Dublin were reduced to 14 men when Chris Crummey was sent off after quarter of an hour but the Dubs still somehow managed to produce a stunning performance to beat one of the greatest hurling teams of all time. In terms of memorable moments, Kildare's Joe McDonagh Cup final win over Laois is a close second to Dublin's triumph over Limerick. Biggest disappointment: The All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals have become a needless blight on the championship. Kildare's season was so positive but nobody benefited from the Lilywhites losing to Dublin by 21 points. Tipp beat Laois 3-32 to 0-18 in the other prelim. It was, predictably, a wasted weekend for hurling. And only a tad more disappointing than Galway's lacklustre season. In 2026 I would like to see... TJ Reid in black and amber, Noel McGrath in blue and gold, Patrick Horgan in the blood and bandages. To paraphrase a popular advertisement phrase – when they're gone, they're gone. We have all been fortunate to watch three of the greats display their talents for well over a decade now but there are doubts as to whether any of the trio will remain intercounty hurlers in 2026. For all fans of hurling, let's hope they give it one more year. Dublin's Cian O'Sullivan wheels away celebrating his goal against Limerick in the quarter-final, a result that will stand as one of the great upsets of all time. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Ian O'Riordan Hurler of the year: The seismic shift of second-half momentum in Sunday's final showdown had the last word on this, when Ronan Maher spear-headed Tipperary's ruthless surge for glory. At the same time as the Cork contenders dropped off, Maher's leadership only added to his already all-round superb season. Best game: For all the unease about the Munster hurling final being decided on penalties, who could forget the longest game of the summer as it seemed to stretch forever into the first Saturday evening in June? Countless times, both teams had their opportunity to win, but Cork held their nerve when it mattered most – in the penalty shoot-out. Memorable moment: Any one of John McGrath's goals for Tipperary over the course of the summer could lay claim on this one, but there was something about his movement on Sunday which will live long in the memory. The way he read the ball for his second goal was pure magic. Biggest disappointment: More of the colour and competitiveness appears to be going out of the Leinster hurling championship, and there is no quick or easy solution. Dublin's quarter-final revolution against Limerick offers some hope for next year, but the province needs Wexford to be shining more consistently again, and for Galway to start standing up again for real. In 2026 I would like to see... There has been mention (whisper it Jarlath Burns) of getting rid of the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals, which have become something of an annual mismatch. Either way, there is unquestionably a need and want to stretch out the championship summer by at least another week or two, to give us all more time to breathe. And finally At the start of the year, we asked a selection of pundits and writers to gaze into their crystal balls for the year ahead . Suffice to say, given the season they had endured in 2024 no one plumped for Tipperary getting their hands on the Liam MacCarthy, with Cork being tipped to finally end their drought while Limerick and Clare also featured prominently. What do we know, eh…
Irish Times
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Dublin hurlers leave us lost for words
It's as well Nicky English wasn't lost for words when he was tasked with summing up the Dublin hurlers' momentous win over Limerick , seeing as he's a columnist of ours. But he probably came close. This, he writes, 'was the best Dublin hurling performance in adversity that I've seen ', their team spirit 'immense' in the course of them 'sensationally dumping the most formidable team of recent times out of the championship'. David Byrne was in Croke Park to see 'the hurling shock of the decade' , but Denis Walsh witnessed no such drama at the Gaelic Grounds where Tipperary eased their way past Galway . 'In Tipp's resurgent summer, this was another sunny day,' he writes. And we now know the shape of football's quarter-finals after Monday morning's draw . It followed a weekend of football that Malachy Clerkin likens to 'Willy Wonka's Everlasting Gobstopper machine' , as only Malachy Clerkin can. ' Kerry (easily) and the Dubs (doggedly) disposed of Cavan and Cork on Saturday, Sunday saw Donegal (in a stroll) and Galway (in a dogfight) get past Louth and Down,' he writes. Seán Moran was in Croke Park to see the dogged Dubs get there in the end against a battling Cork side, while Malachy was in Newry for the 'stone-cold thriller' between Galway and Down . READ MORE In the Tailteann Cup, it'll be Kildare v Limerick in next month's final after they saw off Fermanagh and Wicklow, respectively, Paul Keane reporting on the semi-finals, and we also know the line-up for the quarter-finals in the women's football championship after the weekend's action. Kildare produced the biggest upset by beating Ulster champions Armagh – they meet reigning champions Kerry in the last eight. And in his Tipping Point column, Denis looks at the GAA's latest exercises in self-reflection – they've set up a committee to look at the championship's structures and scheduling, and they've launched a major survey on amateurism among members. Our rugby crew have been exceedingly busy wrapping up the Lions' defeat by Argentina on Friday – there's reaction from Andy Farrell , player ratings , Tom Curry's thoughts on it all (hint: he was 'p***ed off'), five things we learnt from the game, an analysis of Fin Smith's performance and a piece on Finn Russell patching up his differences with Johnny Sexton. In football, there was a bolt from the blue on Sunday with the news that Damien Duff had resigned from his position as Shelbourne manager . He'll leave some hole in the League of Ireland . And we also hear from Carla Ward who is in Colorado preparing her Republic of Ireland side for the first of two daunting friendlies against the United States . In racing, Brian O'Connor looks ahead to next Sunday's bumper nine-race card at the Curragh , the highlight the Irish Derby – is that too lengthy a card for one day? – and he has news on the connections of Ireland's latest Group One star, Cercene , considering an ambitious Oaks attempt at the Curragh next month. TV Watch : It's third plays first in the Premier Division this season, Bohemians hosting Shamrock Rovers (Virgin Media Two, 7.45pm), and at 8pm you have your pick of the weekend's GAA highlights on TG4 and two Club World Cup games on DAZN, Seattle v PSG and Atletico Madrid v Botafogo.
Irish Times
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Leinster pales in comparison to spectacular Munster decider
Some weekend, that. Top billing? You'd be torn between Carlos and Cork, the former, Señor Alcaraz, for his astounding comeback against Jannik Sinner in the French Open final, the latter, the hurley-wielding Rebels, for their part in a Munster final that won't soon be forgotten. 'Everything about it was staggering,' writes Denis Walsh of the game at the Gaelic Grounds. ' The suffocating intensity, the twists, the spectacular scores and the crazy misses.' It was, says Seán Moran in his match report, 'a smouldering, frantic affair' , one that was decided by the first ever shoot-out in a provincial final. As Ian O Riordan puts it in his round-up of the weekend's hurling , nothing Kilkenny and Galway could produce on Sunday was ever going to outdo what was served up the day before. Nicky English agrees. The Leinster decider was, he writes, 'a pale imitation of the Munster final' , but while Kilkenny prevailed, he's not convinced they are contenders this year. They did, though, survive a late Galway rally to win their sixth successive Leinster title , Ian in Croke Park to witness their triumph. Paul Keane heard from Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng after, and Paul was on hand too earlier in the day to see Kildare produce a breathless second-half display against Laois in the Joe McDonagh Cup. READ MORE There wasn't too much drama in the Tailteann Cup, the form guide holding as Sligo, Wexford, Offaly and Westmeath all progressed , but there was plenty of it on the opening weekend of the women's football All-Ireland championship, Dublin and Meath both needing last second equalisers against Waterford and Armagh, respectively. Kerry opened the defence of their crown with a win over Mayo in Tralee, while last year's runners-up Galway saw off Tipperary in Tuam. Denis, meanwhile, previews RTÉ's five-part series on the history and nature of Gaelic football , the first episode of Hell for Leather airing tonight. Its timing, he says, 'couldn't have been more opportune because this has been the most spectacular football season in living memory' – thanks in no small part to the new rules. In rugby, after enduring three straight URC semi-final defeats, Leinster finally broke the code, comfortably beating Glasgow on Saturday to set up a meeting with the Pretoria Bulls at Croke Park in next Saturday's final. Gerry Thornley reports on the game and hears from Leo Cullen and Jack Conan , while Johnny Watterson analyses a performance that was far superior to Leinster's last outing . And in racing, Brian O'Connor looks back at Lambourn's Epsom Derby success , one that gave Aidan O'Brien a record-extending 11th win in the classic. Lambourn is now odds-on to become the 20th horse to complete the Epsom-Curragh Derby double at the end of this month. TV Watch : There are highlights from the GAA and rugby weekends on TG4 and RTÉ 2, respectively, at 8pm, while the pick of the night's football action is Wales' World Cup qualifier away to Belgium (Virgin Media Three, 7.45pm). And at 9.35pm, there's the first episode of Hell for Leather, a history of Gaelic football, on RTÉ One.
Irish Times
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Live GAA updates: Cork look to halt Limerick's drive for seventh consecutive Munster title
Saturday's fixtures Munster Senior Hurling Final: Limerick v Cork, Gaelic Grouds, 6pm Tailteann Cup: Offaly v New York, O'Connor Park, 2pm Westmeath v Laois, Cusack Park, Mullingar, 5pm 3 minutes ago Here is how Seán Moran has called today's Munster SHC final: 'If the intrigue surrounding the counties' earlier meeting centred on how convincingly Limerick could regain their form of old and how successfully their opponents could iron out troubling inconsistencies in their performances to date, the resolution made tough viewing for Cork.' [ Munster SHC final: Limerick look too far ahead to be caught on this occasion Opens in new window ] 10 minutes ago Good afternoon and welcome to our live blog for today's eagerly awaited Munster senior hurling final between Limerick and Cork at the Gaelic Grounds. This one has all the ingredients to serve up a classic. It's Gordon Manning here and I'll be keeping you updated on all the action from Limerick. Seán Moran and Denis Walsh are both in place at the stadium so we'll be getting their thoughts and all the latest team news from the Gaelic Grounds. So put the kettle on, open the good biscuits and get ready for an evening of high entertainment and drama.
