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RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Marie Crowe on raising a sports-mad family and playing GAA
With a young sports-mad family and a full schedule of summer tournaments, RTÉ sports presenter Marie Crowe is busy doing what she loves. She talks to Claire O'Mahony about the importance of sports for young women, as well as everyone else. Chatting to Marie Crowe the day after the All-Ireland semi-final, when Donegal trounced Meath in the football, demands the question: what does she reckon Donegal's chances are against Kerry in the final? "I think if they can stop David Clifford, they can be in with a great chance of winning but I don't know, he's so good, it's going to be very difficult," says the sports presenter, who wasn't at the match on the gloriously sunny Sunday, but was instead at work in the basement of the RTÉ Radio Centre. It's a full-on summer for Marie, who recently returned from maternity leave, after she gave birth to her daughter, Jessie, in March. She and husband Billy Sheehan, who played for Kerry and managed Laois, also have three sons: Timmy (13), Billy (11) and Davie (8). The Clare native is currently presenting the live daily coverage of the Women's Euros, as well as Game On, the sports show on RTÉ 2FM that he presents with Ruby Walsh from Monday to Friday, and then Sunday Sport with Des Cahill at the weekends. "It's busy, but we're used to having a busy life, so it's fine," she says. "I went back to work a little bit earlier than I had anticipated because of the Women's Euros, and I made a decision to work on them. My husband is a teacher, and he's off during the summer, so it's worked out well. "I'm loving the Women's Euros. I'm delighted to be given the opportunity to do something that I really wanted to do and that I have worked hard to get to do, so I will not be feeling bad about having to go to work because I chose to. I love showing the kids as well that it's OK to make decisions and go and do something that you really want to do." Four-month-old Jessie, she says, is an easy baby. "I always say that when I had the three boys together, it was like living in a tornado, and then Jessie is so Zen. She's so good-humoured and laughs all the time. She's brilliant. I would recommend to everybody!" Football Families is the broadcaster's latest project. The new three-part series digs deep into the world of young soccer players, chasing the dream of professional football. It's a behind-the-scenes look at Shelbourne F.C's soccer academy, highlighting the hard work involved and pressures these teenagers are under, as well as the sacrifices that families make to help their children on this journey. The series concept originated with Marie. "I came up with the idea four years ago, when I was watching a series about an academy in the UK. My kids were loving it and really interested in it. We were watching it together every week, which is not a normal thing to do any more, and they were glued to it," she says. "I was thinking there's so many great stories in the teams that they play in and so many brilliant kids and parents making commitments and driving from all over, all wanting to play football. I just thought we don't get to hear enough about young Irish kids who want to go on and be footballers." The series also serves as something of a cautionary tale, because not everyone will be able to turn their dreams into reality and make it at elite level football. "I think it shows it's OK to want it. It's OK to want to follow your dream, and yet you see kids and people that don't make it, and that's OK too. Not everybody can make it, and I think there has to be an understanding that just because you want something, it doesn't mean it's going to happen, and we need to tell those stories as well," she says, adding: "We don't talk enough about failure in life, I think. It's OK to fail – absolutely. You don't have to make the team the first time, second time, third time or ever. It's fun to try and you do learn a lot from trying and following that pathway." She grew up as one of seven children – she has four sisters and two brothers – in Sixmilebridge, Co Clare. Her father was a PE teacher and all the family were involved in sport; Marie played camogie, Gaelic and soccer. After an arts degree, RTÉ GAA reporter Marty Morrissey, a family friend, encouraged her to try to land a position at Clare FM. Years later, Marty "introduced" Marie to her husband Billy Sheehan at their wedding, to the strains of The Sunday Game theme tune. "It was a very GAA wedding," she laughs. After spending two years as a sports broadcaster at the Co Clare station, she moved to the Sunday Independent, joining the paper's sports department. "That's really where I got good training and grounding," she says. "It was a great place to work, and I learned so much from being in the newsroom environment because back then, 2008, papers were so big. It's mad to think how things have changed so much since then." In 2014, she went to the short-lived TV channel UTV Ireland. That closed in 2016, while Marie was on maternity leave, but after that, she joined RTÉ as a sports presenter. Last year, she was the joint winner of the Journalist of the Year Award with Mark Tighe for RTÉ Investigates: Girls in Green, which exposed allegations of predatory behaviour and misogyny in Irish women's football. It was a big moment, but for her, getting the documentary over the line was more significant than the accolade. "Without people telling their stories, there would be no story, so that was much more important. To see those women being able to tell their stories and to know the effect and the impact they're going to have on sport for Jessie and all the girls and boys coming through, that they've made it a safer space, is way more important than anything I could ever achieve from an award perspective." Her three boys are all into sports; was that a given from the outset? "I guess it probably was, and sometimes I wonder about that, if we had introduced music into the house or other hobbies, would they have taken to them as much. But they've always been exposed to the sidelines because I was playing for St Patrick's Athletic soccer team, so they'd always come to matches and training with me and they'd always be with Billy as well at matches, so they didn't know any different," she says. "But they really enjoy it and they do lots of different sports. Timmy, my eldest, is in the Shelbourne Academy, which the series is about. Two of them had a basketball camp today; one had hurling camp. Timmy has soccer training tonight, and the other two boys are doing the Crumlin Mini World Cup. It's just go-go-go, but it's a choice. "We're happy to facilitate what they want to do because our parents gave us the opportunity to play sports when we were growing up, so we're just kind of giving back. It's full circle really." At the moment, she's doing Gaelic4Mothers&Others, a non-competitive, fun initiative, which sees women playing Ladies Gaelic Football in a social environment. "It's the best thing that I've done," she said. "It's a bit of fun and a lot of craic. You play blitzes and go to tournaments, and we've travelled to New York and Barcelona; we're going to Philadelphia in October." Her 'me time' is watching her kids play sport. "I love standing on the sideline with the buggy and my cup of coffee and just chill out. It's how I switch off," She is well-positioned to comment on the evolution and rapid rise of women's elite sport but there are still many challenges to overcome. The lack of women coaches is one glass ceiling that remains unbroken, she believes. "It's predominantly male, and I think it's because women still put everybody else first. They have to carry the domestic load, so it's hard to make the time to pick up a bag of balls and go coach a football team after they've done everything at home and they've gone to work." The high drop-out rate of girls from sport when they reach their teens is something she'd like to see more research into, and then there's the difficulty for female elite players in growing their fan base. "If we could get more people watching and engaging in women's sport, there would be more financial support going into the top level," she says. With Football Families, Marie says it has been an important project for her, and one that took a huge amount of work. "We need to highlight the importance of football academies because if we don't have kids who want to be footballers, we're not going to have a good Ireland team: we need to develop our footballers and make sure we have enough coming through. "We want memories like Italia '90 and USA '94 because these are all great moments that bring Irish people together, so the more we have of that, the better it will be for everyone."
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Non-committal Jack O'Connor ponders management future after guiding Kerry to another All-Ireland title
Jack O'Connor hinted that he might be bringing his management term to an end after guiding Kerry to a fifth All-Ireland title in three different terms. It's a third treble, following on from successes in 2004 and 2022, after National League and Munster Championship victories earlier in the year. "I'm a long time at it, and I might be passing the baton onto somebody else," he said on RTÉ's Sunday Sport. Pushed as to whether that was the end of his third spell in charge, he added: "That was the plan anyway, so we'll see." Asked again in his post-match press conference, the five-time All-Ireland winner seemed non-committal. "I'm on record as saying it's my last hurrah... But there's no hurry." While O'Connor considers his future, he can reflect on All-Ireland number 39 for the game's most successful county. It's a second in four seasons, and with a cohort of players in their 20s in the panel, there's no reason why the current crop can't add more titles in the years to come. "You can't beat panel spirit. We said what happened to Cork last week wouldn't happen to us." Kerry boss Jack O'Connor looks back on winning the final #sundaygame — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 27, 2025 Kerry burst out of the blocks to take the lead after 13 seconds with a point from Dylan Geaney, with David Clifford's haul of seven points pushing them into a seven-point lead at the break. They always had Donegal at arm's length with Joe O'Connor capping another sensational performance with a goal at the death. And for the manager, it was a performance built on massive spirit within the camp. "If you take the year as a whole, we had a lot of adversity," O'Connor told RTÉ Sport after the game. "We had a lot of injuries, we lost a lot of good men but we had a tremendous panel spirit. "We had men like Mark O'Shea and Seán O'Brien, lads like that that didn't think they'd be near the team, starting midfield in an All-Ireland final for Kerry. "It's the stuff of dreams so I'm delighted for them all. A massive team effort, panel effort, backroom team effort, so I'm thrilled for them all. "We'd two big performances here against Armagh and Tyrone. We felt that we were well tested coming into the game. Maybe the hammering that Donegal gave Meath two weeks ago mightn't have done them the same amount of good that our game with Tyrone did. "We felt we were well tested, we were in great shape leaving the hotel this morning. There was a great atmosphere in the room, just a great anticipation, ready for battle. "The boys fought on their backs out there." Donegal did have periods of momentum in the game but they couldn't get closer than four points in the second half. The gap would have been five at the break only for David Clifford to land a two-pointer with the last kick of the half. "There were times when Donegal looked like they were coming back," O'Connor acknowledged. "I think that two-pointer before half-time was a massive score by David. It was a massive fillip going in at half-time. "We said in the dressing room that what happened Cork last week wasn't going to happen us. We were going to come out and play and we were going to try and win the second half. We did win the second half by three points so overall it was two good halves. "We needed to get our hands on the ball, use up the clock and get a good shot off. Near the end we were able to enjoy the last three or four minutes after Joe got the goal. "I'm thrilled for them all, this was a tough auld year. There were times when we were well tested this year but I'm delighted that it finished like it did."
RTÉ News
07-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
RTÉ GAA Podcast: Tipperary and Cork set up all-Munster All-Ireland final
Shane McGrath joins Jacqui Hurley and Rory O'Neill to look back on All-Ireland hurling semi-finals weekend. Tipperary's resurrection is almost complete as the team comes from last in Munster in 2024, to the All-Ireland final later this month. Cork are their opponents in the final after putting in a slick performance to dismantle Dublin on Saturday. Watch the Tailteann Cup final, Limerick v Kildare, on Saturday from 2.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentary on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 Watch the All-Ireland Football Championship semi-finals with RTÉ Sport. Kerry v Tyrone on Saturday from 4.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player and Meath v Donegal on Sunday from 3.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow live blogs on and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentaries on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 10.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
RTÉ News
04-07-2025
- Climate
- RTÉ News
Camogie quarter-finals: All you need to know
SATURDAY Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior quarter-final Clare v Waterford, Croke Park, 2.30pm Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior relegation final Derry v Wexford, Darver, 2pm SUNDAY Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior quarter-final Tipperary v Kilkenny, Croke Park, 1.15pm TV Live coverage of both quarter-finals on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. ONLINE Score updates and match reports available on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News app. RADIO Score updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport. WEATHER Saturday: Mostly cloudy on Saturday with patchy outbreaks of rain and drizzle. While a few bright spells will develop, it'll stay rather cloudy overall. Highest temperatures of 16-22C, warmest in the south and east, where it will feel quite mild and humid. Sunday: Cloudy to begin. Brightening up through the afternoon and for the evening with sunny spells and scattered showers. Highest temperatures of 14-19C. Clare v Waterford Waterford go into this as favourites, as regulars at this stage of proceedings and with most of the panel having been involved in the All-Ireland final two years ago. Those that weren't have played in All-Ireland minor finals. Clare are in the second year of a rebuild, and making the last six after reaching the 1B league final is considerable progress for John Carmody's young squad. Beating Wexford and drawing with Limerick enabled them to progress on score difference but they will need to improve on a 20-point defeat by Tipperary last week to advance. Ahead of quarter-final weekend in the camogie championship, @MartyMofficial spoke to some of the players who will be involved — RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) June 30, 2025 Waterford had a change of management after the league, with coach Mick Boland taking over from Jerry Wallace. They didn't lose a game in Munster or All-Ireland Championship, a run that included a first ever championship win over Kilkenny, until last weekend's late collapse in Athenry, when they conceded the last six points to Galway, having been level with four minutes of regulation time remaining. That defeat cost them a direct route to the last four but they have a second bite of that particularly cherry. The Banner will look to O'Loughlin, Clare Hehir and Ziyan Spillane to provide leadership, and their defence in particularly will be tested by a high scoring Waterford attack in which Niamh Rocket is excelling, along with former player of the year Beth Carton and Annie Fitzgerald, with Lorraine Bray provides the energy from the middle. Derry v Wexford Wexford would probably have had designs on a place in the knockouts stages, but find themselves in a relegation final. Having lost to the Clare, the wheels really fell off the wagon after falling short against Limerick. There were two heavy defeats by Tipperary and Cork and the only positive you could find was that they knew their fate before last weekend's loss to the Rebels. Derry were down 10 first-team players from last year, when they retained senior status comfortably, so were up against it from the start. They gave up four goals in the Division 2 league decider against Offaly and that defensive frailty left them vulnerable against Waterford, Galway and Kilkenny. Neither side can be full of confidence but in a one-off game to determine relegation or salvation, the team that can park recent history the best will survive. Tipperary v Kilkenny These old rivals got off to chastening starts but rebounded well to get to this juncture. They both began the year without a number of familiar faces – Mary Ryan, Cáit Devane and Nicole Walsh for Tipp, the Walsh cousins Miriam and Grace and Julianne Malone for Kilkenny – but their production lines ensure that they should always be competitive. Kilkenny fell to a first ever championship loss to Waterford but beating Dublin, who defeated them in last year's All-Ireland quarter-final, meant they were going to advance from their group. They went toe to toe with Galway in the first half before falling away, but Tommy Shefflin has been working on some different set-ups, including playing Katie Power in a deeper role and the Noresiders should be getting closer to gel now. A second Croke Park defeat in a row would be tough for the Stripeywomen to take, but Tipp will start as slight favourites. They lost by 18 points to Cork, which must have been a huge shock but their attack really clicked into gear subsequently against the Wexford, Limerick and Clare. It was a good response as they became accustomed to being without cruciate victims, Eimear McGrath and Clodagh Quirke. With Grace O'Brien, Karen Kennedy, Karin Blair and Mairéad Eviston standing out, they racked up 15-62 in the process of securing the runner-up berth behind the All-Ireland champions. Apart from Power, Kilkenny can look to the likes of Laura Murphy, Caoimhe Keher Murtagh Aoife Prendergast.
RTÉ News
28-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
The Saturday Game verdict on Meath v Galway and Armagh v Kerry
Conor McManus and Enda Smith were in agreement on which teams would progress to the All-Ireland SFC semi-finals when they previewed Sunday's action at Croke Park on The Saturday Game. Meath and Galway do battle in the first encounter in Sunday's double-header at headquarters. "It's hard to look past Galway," McManus opined. "They have been under the cosh in quite a few games, have been on the brink of exit. "Nobody has managed to put them out and I think that will make them stronger. "They have been in big games in the latter end of the All-Ireland series in recent years. "They are very hard to beat. The team that beats Galway will have a day's work over them. You would have to fancy Galway." Smith said "Meath have shown great signs of progression throughout the year. If they do lose, it's hard to know whether it will be a positive year for them. They beat Dublin and Kerry but they will look at the Leinster final as the one that got away. "Across the pitch you look at Ruairí Kinsella, James Conlon and Matthew Costello, they have been chipping in with huge scores all year. "They will be a test for Galway but I do see Galway pulling through." Conor McManus and Enda Smith give their verdicts on Meath v Galway and Armagh v Kerry. Follow the action from 1.15pm on Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player and listen to commentaries on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 28, 2025 Armagh v Kerry is the main event for most neutrals and the Roscommon player said: "It's hard to know where Kerry are at, even coming up to a quarter-final stage. "They had a comfortable win last weekend against Cavan, but Armagh so far this year have looked every inch All-Ireland champions. "They've worn that badge of honour throughout the year. They've looked strong and they've added more players to the strength in depth that they already had. "Even losing Rian O'Neill at the start of the year, and I know he's come back in, but they have looked really strong and it is hard to look beyond them with Kerry's injuries and the way Armagh are going at the moment." McManus, while wary of the Kingdom's attacking talent, also came down on the side of the Orchard County, saying: "You can't discount a team that have the two Cliffords and Seanie O'Shea; you simply can't. So, yes, they certainly have a chance. "But it's around midfield that you'd imagine they are going to struggle. "Diarmuid O'Connor is a huge loss and just the form that Armagh have been in all year probably edges them ahead of Kerry at the minute. "Stefan Campbell not being available to Armagh is definitely a loss. His impact off the bench is nearly guaranteed at this stage. Every day he comes on, he gives you one or two scores; he's setting up scores. "For them not to have him to call on in the last 20-25 minutes is definitely a loss to Armagh, but still, you'd imagine Armagh will shade this one." Watch two All-Ireland Football Championship quarter-finals, Meath v Galway and Armagh v Kerry, from 1.15pm on Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentaries on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 10.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
