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Irish Times
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
I am still that small tearful boy waiting for Dublin's next sacred hurling final
'Why are you crying?' my mother asked. 'Because Dublin lost,' my 11-year-old self replied. 'But you are Tipp,' she said. 'No, I am not, I am Dublin.' A tearful exchange in the Hogan Stand on the first Sunday in September 1961 at the end of my fifth All-Ireland hurling final. Having attended all but two since, that little boy is still waiting for Dublin's next appearance in the sacred final. We spent every summer on my mother's childhood farm, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in Hollyford, west Tipperary with siblings and cousins. We learned how to milk cows and save hay but when that 'hay was saved and Cork bet' in Munster finals we travelled through west Tipperary following Sean Treacy's hurling club as they challenged for junior hurling glory. We found ourselves in Annacarty, Cappawhite, Golden and Dundrum, where hurling was played to the death. Sometimes the rules were obeyed. Our Uncle Tim, Thady to everybody else, brought six or seven of us to these matches, originally in a horse and trap and later in his upmarket yellow Volkswagen. He was a club mentor walking up and down inside the sideline whirling a hurley above his head, advising friend or foe on the pitch what to do or not do. Sean Treacy's was an introduction to the vagaries of club hurling but the real learning was at the county venues where we grew to idealise hurlers such as Jimmy and John Doyle, Donie Nealon, Liam Devanney, Tony Wall and so many others. But they weren't idealised in 1961. Wall went off injured very early. Devanney moved to centre back and hurled his heart out, preventing the Dublin forwards scoring as much as they might have. He and Tom Ryan won the game for Tipp. Ryan came on as a sub at corner forward. Did he last 10 minutes? No. He and one of our heroes, Lar Foley, got sent off midway through the second half for a shemozzle that I am sure Lar didn't start. This severely weakened the Dublin defence. That Dublin team included Lar and Des Foley, Noel Drumgoole, the Boothman brothers, Paddy Croke, Des Ferguson and the great Jimmy Gray in goal. They deserved to win Celtic Crosses that day. As it was, the two Foleys and Des Ferguson righted that wrong two years later, but in football, a Dublin reality that's repeated to this day. READ MORE Growing up in Mount Merrion, as remote from a hurling stronghold as Fermanagh or Fiji, I had a Wexford-born friend who was a serious hurler. One day in the 1960s he was standing at the top of Mount Merrion Avenue, hurl and kit bag in hand when a car stopped and the passenger window was rolled down. My friend stood back, he was streetwise. The driver asked him where he was going, he stood back even farther and muttered 'Cuala', whereupon the driver said he couldn't believe it, that it was great as in his 40 years living in the area, he had never seen a young lad with a hurley in Mount Merrion or Stillorgan. He didn't know the future was Kilmacud Crokes . When my friend was starring for Cuala and Dublin minors along with the Holden brothers, I was playing Dublin B schools hurling with Coláiste Mhuire. One lad on the team reached inter-county level; the rest of us didn't, which probably explains why in due course he emigrated to Kilkenny. We did reach a final in 1968, which, to the credit of the authorities, was played one morning in Croke Park – my one and only game there, never to be forgotten. Coming off the pitch I was offering autographs but nobody seemed interested. That year a number of us registered as minors with Na Fianna and, to my great delight, our under-18 team was managed by Jimmy Gray, who in the few games I played treated us as All-Ireland material. The years between 1961 and 2010 were not auspicious. But then, in 2011, under Anthony Daly's exciting and enthusiastic management, Dublin won the National league and 30 players climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand to hold and wave the cup to the fans on the pitch and those on the Hill – yeah, there were a few of them up there. A league quarter-final against Tipperary in Thurles in the 1990s also comes to mind. Managers such as Foley, Michael O'Grady, Humphrey Kelleher and others sweated blood for the team; Friends of Dublin Hurling ensured that there were always supporters at away games. Those of us who love Dublin hurling, even if, like me, they are not involved in the club scene, believe that the county's day has to come. Ballyboden St Enda's, Cuala, Kilmacud Crokes and Na Fianna have since 2013, as either county champions or All-Ireland champions, produced magnificent hurlers. A lot is to do with the gene pool, blood and inheritance. I'm blessed that three nephews of mine, but more importantly, grandsons of the Tipperary woman mentioned at the start, have won Leinster minor hurling medals separate from each other. The second, Barry, captained the 2007 team; the youngest, Oisín, won two. There followed for him the heartbreak of losing two minor All-Irelands. Thankfully he continued to play on very successfully at club and county level. He is a hero to my grandson Matthew, who a few weeks ago in a Crokes under-nines mini All-Ireland series scored an almighty goal that John Hetherton successfully emulated in that surreal Dublin quarter-final win over Limerick . John Hetherton scores Dublin's first goal against Limerick during the GAA All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final at Croke Park on June 21st. ©INPHO/James Crombie [ Dessie Farrell played a diminishing hand well, but Dublin will continue to struggle at the top table Opens in new window ] It was a joy to observe in 2013 that Dublin had an outstanding team after the League win in 2011. Kilkenny came from behind to draw the semi-final in Croke Park. I was upset that the replay was on the following Saturday in Nowlan Park, as we were booked for a Rod Stewart concert in the RDS that evening. Trudging off to Ballsbridge, earphones plugged in to RTÉ, I was oblivious to the performance on stage and absorbed by the commentary. When Dublin scored a goal in the final minutes that essentially sealed victory, I jumped to the sky and cheered as Rod did his thing. Neither he nor those around me had any idea what was going on but my bum met the seat before they could call the stewards to remove me. Thankfully my son was at the match in my stead. A highlight of Dublin winning the final a fortnight later was that the Leinster Council president invited Gray to present the cup to the winning captain, Johnny McCaffrey. Dublin's captain John McCaffrey leads out his team for the Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Semi-Final Replay against Kilkenny in 2013 ©INPHO/James Crombie What's to be said about the semi-final against Cork that year, except that Dublin had the winning of it – and of what would have been the subsequent final against Clare – but for Ryan O'Dwyer being sent off after a second yellow card with some time to go. All Dubliners have their views on the first yellow – it shouldn't have been awarded. What a final it would have been, Anthony Daly v Davy Fitz with the smart money on Daly. It wasn't to be. We have a repeat of that semi-final on Saturday evening. Cork again are favourites but I dream Dublin are halfway to winning – it is July, the hay is saved and maybe the Tipperary woman who imbued this love for hurling in us may gently turn in Shanganagh soil, Cuala territory, and say 'Come on Dublin, bate Cork'. Andrew O'Rorke is a former legal adviser to The Irish Times
The Irish Sun
01-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
The best horse in the world absolutely smashed in for £1million race as bookies fear gigantic payout
A MASSIVE gamble is building on the world's best horse - as bookies fear a punter onslaught at Sandown on Saturday. John & Thady Gosden's outstanding four-year-old Ombudsman has an official rating of 128. Advertisement 1 Ombudsman was crowned best horse in the world after his awesome Royal Ascot win - and is being backed to repeat the feat in the Coral-Eclipse Credit: Reuters No other horse on the planet can match that. And, worryingly for his rivals, Thady says the Godolphin-owned colt is getting even better. Ombudsman left his rivals for dead with a devastating turn of foot in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot last month. And Paddy Power report it being one-way traffic in the betting ahead of the £1million Coral-Eclipse. Advertisement Ombudsman is all set to run - renewing his partnership with William Buick despite his 2,000 Guineas winner Ruling Court being among the list of potential runners too. Victory for Ombudsman, who Paddy think could go off odds-on having been pumped in from 13-8 to 11-8 to evens, would be a killer for bookies. They enjoyed a stellar Royal Ascot with a number of fancied runners getting turned over, memorably thanks to big-price winners such as 33-1 Cercene and 25-1 Time For Sandals. But punters will be baying for blood in the 1m2f Group 1 at the Surrey track. Advertisement Most read in Horse Racing Paddy's Paul Binfield said: "Ombudsman has really been the only horse that anyone has wanted since we adjusted the market at the five-day stage, arguably because of doubts about some of his possible rivals actually turning up on the Esher slopes and it's now very possible that he'll go off a shade of odds-on on the actual day." Race sponsors Coral currently hold the biggest price at 6-4 but that has been clipped in too. The firm's David Stevens said: "Although we don't yet know the final line-up for Saturday's first ever £1m Coral-Eclipse, we do know it's all systems go with Ombudsman. "And following his impressive Royal Ascot victory, he's the clear pick with punters at this stage." Advertisement Thady, who trains alongside his legendary dad John, was confident in the colt's ability speaking on Tuesday. He said: "He has come out of Royal Ascot in very good order and only had one run beforehand this season at Sandown in the Brigadier Gerard when he was second to Almaqam. "He hasn't had a hard season or really a hard career so far so we thought why not go for this? "The Prince Of Wales's was a very tough race with a lot of Group One horses in there. Advertisement "He is still relatively inexperienced and that was his first run in a Group One. "We always thought he had the potential to be a horse of the class he has turned out to be and we found that out on the day at Ascot. "He had a few traffic problems at Ascot but luckily has that turn of foot that Night Of Thunder seems to give them and he picked up really well. "He has plenty of speed – he's always had it. He has improved with every start and got the mile and a quarter well last time." Advertisement Coral-Eclipse odds via Coral 6-4 Ombudsman 9-2 Sosie 13-2 Camille Pissarro 8-1 Delacroix 9-1 Almaqam, Anmaat 11-1 Ruling Court 14-1 White Birch 20-1 Stanhope Gardens 33-1 Hotazhell 66-1 Expanded FREE BETS - GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. You should be aware brands pay fees to appear in the highest placements on the page. 18+. T&Cs apply. . Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: Read more on the Irish Sun Establishes time and monetary limits before playing Only gambles with money they can afford to lose Never chases their losses Doesn't gamble if they're upset, angry or depressed Gamcare – Gamble Aware – Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here. Advertisement
Scottish Sun
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
The best horse in the world absolutely smashed in for £1million race as bookies fear gigantic payout
His trainer sounds bullish of an even better performance BUD LIGHT The best horse in the world absolutely smashed in for £1million race as bookies fear gigantic payout Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MASSIVE gamble is building on the world's best horse - as bookies fear a punter onslaught at Sandown on Saturday. John & Thady Gosden's outstanding four-year-old Ombudsman has an official rating of 128. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Ombudsman was crowned best horse in the world after his awesome Royal Ascot win - and is being backed to repeat the feat in the Coral-Eclipse Credit: Reuters No other horse on the planet can match that. And, worryingly for his rivals, Thady says the Godolphin-owned colt is getting even better. Ombudsman left his rivals for dead with a devastating turn of foot in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot last month. And Paddy Power report it being one-way traffic in the betting ahead of the £1million Coral-Eclipse. Ombudsman is all set to run - renewing his partnership with William Buick despite his 2,000 Guineas winner Ruling Court being among the list of potential runners too. Victory for Ombudsman, who Paddy think could go off odds-on having been pumped in from 13-8 to 11-8 to evens, would be a killer for bookies. They enjoyed a stellar Royal Ascot with a number of fancied runners getting turned over, memorably thanks to big-price winners such as 33-1 Cercene and 25-1 Time For Sandals. But punters will be baying for blood in the 1m2f Group 1 at the Surrey track. Paddy's Paul Binfield said: "Ombudsman has really been the only horse that anyone has wanted since we adjusted the market at the five-day stage, arguably because of doubts about some of his possible rivals actually turning up on the Esher slopes and it's now very possible that he'll go off a shade of odds-on on the actual day." Race sponsors Coral currently hold the biggest price at 6-4 but that has been clipped in too. The firm's David Stevens said: "Although we don't yet know the final line-up for Saturday's first ever £1m Coral-Eclipse, we do know it's all systems go with Ombudsman. "And following his impressive Royal Ascot victory, he's the clear pick with punters at this stage." Thady, who trains alongside his legendary dad John, was confident in the colt's ability speaking on Tuesday. He said: "He has come out of Royal Ascot in very good order and only had one run beforehand this season at Sandown in the Brigadier Gerard when he was second to Almaqam. "He hasn't had a hard season or really a hard career so far so we thought why not go for this? "The Prince Of Wales's was a very tough race with a lot of Group One horses in there. "He is still relatively inexperienced and that was his first run in a Group One. "We always thought he had the potential to be a horse of the class he has turned out to be and we found that out on the day at Ascot. "He had a few traffic problems at Ascot but luckily has that turn of foot that Night Of Thunder seems to give them and he picked up really well. "He has plenty of speed – he's always had it. He has improved with every start and got the mile and a quarter well last time." Coral-Eclipse odds via Coral 6-4 Ombudsman 9-2 Sosie 13-2 Camille Pissarro 8-1 Delacroix 9-1 Almaqam, Anmaat 11-1 Ruling Court 14-1 White Birch 20-1 Stanhope Gardens 33-1 Hotazhell 66-1 Expanded FREE BETS - GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. You should be aware brands pay fees to appear in the highest placements on the page. 18+. T&Cs apply. Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: Establishes time and monetary limits before playing Only gambles with money they can afford to lose Never chases their losses Doesn't gamble if they're upset, angry or depressed Gamcare – Gamble Aware – Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
