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The Irish Sun
14 hours ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
History is set to be made in the All-Ireland hurling Championship, one way or another
IT'S time for hurling to steal our hearts again. Football has been getting all the love after another gripping weekend of big-ball action but now it's back to the clash of the ash. Advertisement 2 Cork got the better of Tipp in two of their three meetings this season 2 Kilkenny came out 5-19 to 3-21 winners when they met Dublin in the Leinster Championship Ahead of the All-Ireland semi-finals the numbers game is fascinating. Many feel Liam MacCarthy is Cork's to lose but the Dubs will have other ideas after pulling off the mother of all shocks against Limerick. The Sky Blues haven't beaten the Rebels in the Championship in 98 years — since they won the 1927 All-Ireland final — and haven't reached the decider since 1961. Kilkenny and Tipperary do battle on Sunday. These two are steeped in hurling history, even if they haven't met in the Championship since the Premier won the 2019 decider. Cork have never played great rivals Tipp in an All-Ireland final. All-time Championship top scorer Patrick Horgan has registered 3-42 this season. Advertisement Read more on GAA His nearest challenger on the overall list, Kilkenny's TJ Reid, has clocked up 5-26. Tipp have been waiting six years for glory, Kilkenny have had a decade of drought. Liam has not resided on Leeside in 20 years and Dublin have not been champions in 87 years. A famine will end and the Rebels are best poised to pounce. Advertisement Most read in GAA Hurling Meanwhile, a few of them in Kerry must have read the column last week. Yours truly roared that David Clifford needed help in attack or the summer would be over in the Kingdom. 'Lots of fight' - RTE GAA pundits react to Sean O'Shea's 'very interesting' interview after Kerry dethrone Armagh And Seánie O'Shea stepped up with one of the all-time great Croke Park displays, scoring just the dozen points. Clifford scored 0-7 mind you, but was just one of nine Kerrymen to raise flags in a devastating second half of football. Advertisement Doubters? Jack O'Connor's men silenced them all with 0-14 in 15 minutes to KO the All-Ireland champions. A few of the small-ball counties must have picked us up as well. I had a moan last week about how none of the All-Ireland SHC semi- finalists had opened their doors to the media. Dublin did not play ball — which is a shame ahead of their first last-four appearance since 2013. Advertisement But Cork, Tipperary and Kilkenny welcomed us with open arms. As Frasier Crane would say, thanks for listening.
The Irish Sun
15 hours ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘In our minds every time we take the field' – Craig Morgan reveals Tipperary's biggest motivator Dillon Quirke
THE late Dillon Quirke's presence can still be felt in the Tipperary camp ahead of Sunday's All-Ireland SHC semi-final against Kilkenny. Aged 24, Quirke died in 2022 2 Quirke won the All-Ireland at both Under-21 and minor levels 2 Morgan has played a vital role in Tipperary's journey to Croke Park He was being marked on the day by his friend and Tipp team-mate Craig Morgan. The pair, who were members of the side that won the 2018 All-Ireland Under-21 title, also played together for their county at senior level. Morgan and Quirke met for a coffee the day before the tragic passing, which had a profound effect on the GAA community in Tipperary and beyond. Speaking ahead of the clash with the Cats, Morgan said: 'He's still there in his dressing room. Read more on GAA 'He's still running out the tunnel with us. I know he'll be there on Sunday as well. 'He's in our minds every time we take to the field. It's a privilege to go out, wear the jersey and play for him. He's still a huge part for us on this journey.' Morgan was in the defence alongside Quirke when he made his last appearance at inter-county level as Tipp exited the Championship with a Another couple of below-par seasons were to follow. But a resurgent Premier are bracing themselves for a first outing at GAA HQ since the 2019 All-Ireland final victory against Kilkenny. Most read in GAA Hurling Morgan added: 'You'd like to imagine him there being involved as much as we are. 'He's still part of that team that we had at Under-21 and he was there when the lows were there as well. 'Lots of fight' - RTE GAA pundits react to Sean O'Shea's 'very interesting' interview after Kerry dethrone Armagh 'We don't forget that either. Dillon was there when we weren't winning matches so he's definitely there with us as we're heading to Croke Park.' Now just one step away from a shot at the Liam MacCarthy Cup, Tipp have recovered impressively from a dismal 2024 campaign that saw them fail to win a Championship game. Even in the workplace, Morgan could not avoid the subsequent criticism. He laughed: 'I'm a primary school teacher and I suppose children are probably the most honest people out there. They'll tell you on a Monday morning how you went on a Sunday.' Morgan teaches third and fourth class at Kilruane National School. And he admits that the sense of duty to his pupils helps to keep him in check. He explained: 'It does. I suppose they're looking at you and asking about players on the team. They look at a lot of the guys as role models and that's where they want to be. 'That grounds me back to where I am. I suppose it brings me back to being that age and thinking that I am where I am now and I need to enjoy that as well. 'There are going to be lows but you need to take them and learn. They're things you dream of doing, so you need to enjoy it. The kids are good to remind you. 'It's something they look forward to and that's their dream. You're living their dream really.'
Irish Daily Mirror
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Kilkenny v Tipperary: Huw Lawlor relishing semi-final shot at the Premier men
Sunday will only be the second time in his Kilkenny career that Huw Lawlor will face Tipperary in the championship. The first? The 2019 All-Ireland final. He marked Seamus Callanan, who scored 1-2, and the Cats were left way behind on the scoreboard, the first half red card for Richie Hogan helping Tipp to a 3-25 to 0-20 triumph. Quite the baptism. "Yeah, look, obviously it was a tough first year," said Lawlor. "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." He's asked if Hogan's sending off just before half-time, for a high challenge on Cathal Barrett, was the turning point. Kilkenny had led by five points earlier in the half but Tipp were ahead by the break. "Ah look, it's a long time ago now," sighed Lawlor. "It's hard to process it at the time. It was close enough to half-time, you were just trying to readjust and get ready for the second half but I don't think you have too much time to be over-thinking it, really." The full-back has been a rock for Kilkenny, particularly since the Cody dynasty ended and the Lyng era began. He played soccer as a kid and a bit of Gaelic Football, but his first love won out in the end. "It came with time, you have to give up on them, hurling was the easy winner there," he smiled. And the full-back line was almost always home. "I would have started as a corner-back," said Lawlor. "I was fairly small when I was younger so I was kind of always a 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. It's the same with the club and the county, you're trying to approach it the same way. The jeopardy is still there. "Your focus has to be on the team the whole time, I don't think you're going to get any plaudits in terms of scoring or anything as a some lads are, maybe not me! But it's just trying to help the team the best way, but it's the same approach no matter what level you're playing, I think." The 29-year-old has four Leinster titles under his belt and has won two All Stars. Kilkenny have come close to lifting the MacCarthy Cup. That 2019 defeat was the first of three final appearances in the last six years, and they were losing finalists to the Limerick machine in 2023 and '23. That it's old rivals Tipp in their way of another final appearance adds more spice as Kilkenny try to bring a 10-year wait to an end. "Obviously there were huge battles there in the late 2000s and two great teams went at it, and those Kilkenny players are heroes of ours so just trying to replicate that," Lawlor said. "There's huge history there and there's obviously been massive local excitement there naturally. But look, it's a semi-final there. We want to go and win the game, so nothing's changed there." Last year it was Clare who out-lasted the Cats, who had twice put themselves in a commanding position. "Obviously it was hugely disappointing to lose that game," Lawlor recalled. "We put ourselves in a good position and we didn't finish it off. "It's not easy to watch a team go on and win the All-Ireland when they've beaten you, but we could have no complaints. We didn't finish the job and they won it out. "Every time you lose, it's feeding into something inside you that's driving you on. Probably losing would drive you on a lot more than winning would and we're just trying to put that right." Lawlor has been a clinical dietician in St Luke's Hospital for almost four years, having done a masters in nutrition and dietetics in UCD in 2019. He leaves the sports nutrition end of it to Kilkenny's own dieticians, Marie Power and Eimear Nolan. "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 grinned. "I work on the clinical side in the hospital, sports nutrition would be a separate thing really, and the two girls are experts there, so they're brilliant. There's probably been more of a focus on it now, for sure." He smiles at the mention of Kilkenny great Tommy Walsh eating heavily buttered white bread on the day of games. "It didn't do him any harm, I wouldn't be going against Tommy Walsh, that's for sure," laughed Lawlor. "Obviously you hear stories of what lads were doing back in the day, but it's an important thing - you might be talking about that one percent 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." Huw Lawlor was speaking at the launch of the 24th annual Circet All-Ireland GAA Golf Challenge in aid of GAA-related charities at Michael Lyng Motors (Ford) in Kilkenny.
Irish Daily Mirror
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
'He's still there in the dressing room' Tipp star playing for late Dillon Quirke
Teaching third and fourth class in Kilruane National School, Tipperary's Craig Morgan is never short of feedback. 'Children are probably the most honest people out there,' he says. 'They'll tell you on a Monday morning how you went on a Sunday. 'There's no filter there. They'll ask you why didn't you do this or why did you do that. You'd be thinking about it yourself after.' Last year those conversations would have been more downbeat as Tipp were out of the Championship weeks before the school term ended after a winless campaign in Munster. This year, they've outlasted it by a week or so with an All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny coming up at Croke Park on Sunday. 'You take it on the chin and you get on with it,' says Morgan of the hurling chatter from his students, which is often a regurgitation of their father's opinions. 'We have a life outside of hurling too that we need to get on with. 'Our own families are a huge support to us for the amount of time that we put into it, so there are good people there as well that have your back when things aren't going so well. That's GAA, that's hurling for you.' And going to the classroom from the pitch, Morgan says, helps to keep him grounded. "It does of course. I suppose they're even looking at you and asking about players on the team. They look at a lot of the guys as role models and that's where they want to be. That grounds me back to where I am. 'I suppose it brings me back to being that age and thinking that I am where I am now and I need to enjoy that as well. There are going to be lows but you need to take them and learn from them. 'It's things you dream of doing so you need to just enjoy it when you're there. The kids are good to remind you of that. It's something they're looking forward to in life and that's their dream as well, so you're living their dream really." And, in doing so, he carries the spirit of his late teammate Dillon Quirke, whom Morgan was especially close to and who was playing for Clonoulty-Rossmore against Morgan's Kilruane MacDonaghs when he tragically lost his life in August 2022. 'He's still there in the dressing room. He's still running out the tunnel with us. I know he'll be there next Sunday as well. Obviously he's in our minds every time we take the field. It's a privilege to go out and still wear the jersey. And to still play for him. 'I know even the last day, I was wearing the No 5 jersey with him as well. It's nice to bring it back to earth, I suppose. That he's there with you. He definitely is. He's still a huge part for us on this journey.' This Sunday will be Morgan's first appearance at Croke Park, an honour that eluded Dillon at senior level. 'You'd like to imagine him there being as involved as much as we are. He's still part of that team we had under-21. He was there when the lows were there as well. 'We don't forget that either. Dillon was there when we weren't winning matches so he's definitely there with us when we're heading up to Croke Park.'
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Brian Hogan: 'Kilkenny are much further down the line. There is a bit more pressure on us'
"A clash of the old gladiators." That's how Anthony Daly put it, in reference to the All-Ireland SHC semi-final clash between Kilkenny and Tipperary. Routes have differed for the two. Kilkenny come into this weekend's battle at Croke Park on the back of a sixth straight Leinster title. Tipperary - having finished as the third team to progress through Munster - negotiated the challenges of both Laois and Galway with comfort. For Kilkenny legend Brian Hogan, the conversation in Tipperary may differ from that over the border among Cats supporters. He insists there will be real pressure to deliver when Derek Lyng and his black and amber troops arrive into the bowels of Croker on Sunday. "Tipp are on the crest of a wave now, you think back to last year, the minor win over us in the (Nowlan) Park... they were full value for the 20s win," Hogan said, speaking on Dalo's Hurling Show. "They were a far better side than us this year. That was a good 20s team. "(Liam) Cahill has done a great job with them this year... getting the Tipp public behind. It's a combination of both, the crowd are coming out to support the players and the players are giving them something them something to shout about. "It's an unusual one, it's been a few years since we've met each other at this stage. We (Kilkenny) are much further down the line. There is a bit more pressure on us, from the point of view of where Derek is with this group of players. We need to get over the line. "There was huge disappointment last year after the semi-final, and even more so the following day when Limerick were knocked out. I think the players themselves realised the opportunity lost, having been beaten by Limerick the previous two years. "Not taking away from Clare, who were full value for it, but the chances we left behind us in the first-half, we got no impact off the bench coming into the closing stages, whereas Clare had all the impact." The seven-time All-Ireland winner continued: "I think Derek has learned from that, he's looked to try and strengthen the panel. It's going to be an intriguing battle. I think - based on the experience we have in the group - I'm hoping that will be enough to get us over the line. These games against Tipp take on a life of their own." "Tipp will come up and have absolutely no fear and will be looking to have a good cut off us... but I'd say our lads, you know with the old enemy, there is a huge buzz around the fact that is us and Tipp in the semi-final." Eoin Cody should be fit enough to return to the Kilkenny forward line - a major boost for Lyng - but regardless of who is on the pitch, Hogan noted why the need for a result - and progression to the dance in a fortnight - is greater for his county. "I think there is (Pressure on Lyng), in comparison to Liam Cahill, absolutely, regardless of the result, as long as Tipp give a performance - not that they'd be happy to lose to Kilkenny - but the Tipp public will see progress. "They can see the success with the minors and the 20s and they can see the progress of the seniors this year, relative to last year, they have something to grab onto. The future looks good. "From a Kilkenny point of view, we're at a very different stage. This is a mature team that Derek has had for a couple of years, and yeah, there's pressure. There's pressure every year with Kilkenny. The cliché, you're measured on All-Irelands, that's the reality of it. "It's been a while since we've had one... For sure, there's pressure; that's just the nature of the job. It's no more than the pressure Derek will be putting on himself; he knows the job and the mantle he took up. "You won't get too long without an All-Ireland before the crowd starts to get itchy and starts to turn on you, so it's a big weekend."
