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The Irish Sun
04-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Kerry GAA icon ‘sets record straight' over Joe Brolly claim after he'd stirred the pot before Armagh game
MARC Ó Sé has "set the record straight" after Joe Brolly cited a text exchange they'd had in his column prior to Kerry vs Armagh match. Prior to the Kingdom Advertisement 4 For good measure he had also branded Kerry's panel 'useless altogether' with the exception of David Clifford 4 Marc Ó Sé felt the ex-RTE pundit used a little too much creative licence 4 Meanwhile Darragh Ó Sé had angered Kerry boss Jack O'Connor with his Irish Times column 4 The drama on the pitch saw Kerry beat the Orchard by 0-32 to 1-21 However, it wasn't only Brolly's opinion permeating the whole way through the article as he referenced conversations he'd had with several Kerry greats such as Ó Sé. The five-time All-Ireland winner has now clarified that the ex- Writing in his own column in "Kerry totally dominated at the weekend, particularly at midfield, and I'll admit that I didn't see that coming. Advertisement Read More On GAA "I outlined to Joe that we had several key guys missing, our midfield pairing is completely different, and I gave good reason behind why I thought Kerry weren't going to win. "I wasn't alone in thinking that. He just wrote that I had said 'Not a hope'. So there's context required with these things. "Tomás (his brother) was more confident than me. He had said if David Clifford performs… but little did we realise what Seánie O'Shea was going to do. "So it says a lot that Clifford could have gotten man-of-the-match just as easily. He recovered so well from a few early wides." Advertisement Most read in GAA Football After the one-sided victory Marc and Tomás' older brother Darragh was clearly the main naysayer that Kingdom boss Jack O'Connor had in mind The 64-year-old vented: 'What's to be gained by slating people? It's the easiest thing in the world. I'm in the business of building people, not knocking people. 'Lots of fight' - RTE GAA pundits react to Sean O'Shea's 'very interesting' interview after Kerry dethrone Armagh 'I'd ask people who are knocking that group and knocking people involved with the group to look in the mirror and say, 'What have you contributed?' 'It's very easy to knock people. Go away and coach a team. Go away and coach a development squad. Go away and coach a minor team. That's how you help Kerry football, not knocking people.' Advertisement A The nine-point loss caused Darragh Ó Sé to claim that "the mood isn't great" in the county as the former Kerry midfielder tipped Armagh to bring an end to their season. O'Connor added: "We think we have a lot of good footballers but sometimes we're being judged on different criteria to other teams. "For example, Dublin got beaten by Meath in the Leinster Championship and I didn't see any ex-Dublin players coming out slating the team or slating the management like we had down south in our county. Advertisement 'There's a sense of commitment to the team and a sense of loyalty to the team. Unfortunately a few pundits down our way let themselves down in that regard.' O'Connor admitted parallels could be drawn with the same stage of the campaign 16 years ago that concluded with him leading Kerry to an All-Ireland SFC title for the third time. His charges will next face Tyrone in a July 12 semi-final with a throw-in time of 5pm.
Irish Daily Mirror
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ger Brennan has prospered where others faltered - he's earned shot at Dublin job
We haven't heard from Ger Brennan yet on the exact reasoning behind his decision to quit Louth, so we can only surmise for now. The likelihood is that, at the very least, he was leaning towards leaving before word emerged on Saturday evening that Dessie Farrell was vacating the Dublin job. Indeed, there's every chance that he may have left Louth regardless of Farrell's intentions. But, however it's all come about, now that there is an opening and Brennan is a free agent, drawing a line between the two is irresistible. Brennan, who turned 40 on the day he announced his Louth departure, will almost certainly be approached by the Dublin county board and, given the dearth of other credible candidates, you'd imagine that the job would be his if he wants it. Yet, it's a reflection how he has done in Louth that the role he is leaving is, strictly in footballing terms, arguably more appealing than that to which he is now being strongly linked. Louth have just won the Leinster title and appear to have enough talent emerging from underage teams to kick on from here. Dublin, meanwhile, are being weakened year on year by retirements, a trend that will likely be maintained this coming winter. And, clearly, the emerging talent is not sufficient to sustain them as a serious force at the back end of the Championship for now at least. But then Brennan has proven himself adept at confounding such perceptions. When Mickey Harte jumped ship to Derry two years ago, the room for further improvement in Louth appeared minimal and, indeed, the likelihood seemed that they would drop out of Division Two and lose further ground on Dublin in Leinster, having been beaten by 21 points by them in the 2023 provincial final. Brennan was taking over from a man who had essentially told the players that juice wasn't worth the squeeze, yet he managed to galvanise them and harness the momentum that had been built under Harte to take Louth to a higher plain again. They were competitive against Dublin in last year's Leinster final and reached the All-Ireland quarter-finals for the first time. This year they won the provincial title for the first time since 1957. There was almost an inevitability about their struggles in the All-Ireland series on the back of such a historic breakthrough, and maybe Brennan, after two full-on years, couldn't summon the energy to take one step back in order to take two forward in reinforcing the side so that they could really challenge beyond Leinster. But the prospect of managing his native county would surely reinvigorate him. Often, managerial appointments owe as much to timing as anything else, and Brennan is hot right now. He may not be when it comes around again. So many ex-Dublin footballers have struggled when managing outside the county, effectively blowing their chances of landing the big job. But Brennan has prospered and has now earned his chance.
RTÉ News
30-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Éamonn Fitzmaurice surprised by Jack O'Connor outburst
Éamonn Fitzmaurice was surprised by Kerry manager Jack O'Connor's decision to take aim at his team's detractors following their swashbuckling All-Ireland SFC quarter-final win over Armagh. The All-Ireland champions were sent packing from Croke Park as a devastating 15-minute spell in the second half saw Kerry reel off 14 points unanswered and ensure their passage to the last four despite some indifferent form this season. Addressing the media after the game, O'Connor lashed out at critics both inside and outside the county. "We were being portrayed as a one-man team," he said, while also appearing to have a swipe at Darragh Ó Sé in the Irish Times, who said there was an air of inevitability about Kerry exiting to Armagh at the quarter-final stage. "Dublin got beaten by Meath in the Leinster Championship and I didn't see any ex-Dublin players coming out slating the team or slating the management like we had down south in our county," he added. Speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, Fitzmaurice said given the nature of Kerry's performance, he was taken aback by O'Connor's comments. "I was surprised because generally after a win like that, Jack is effusive," he said. "I'd say on a human level he was hurt. I know he had a small bit of a nibble after the Cavan game last weekend, but he obviously decided this week that he was going to unleash the double barrel. "He had his say, and probably feels better for it today." Having entered the game as underdogs, Fitzmaurice, who led Kerry to Sam Maguire in 2014, says they're was much to enjoy from a Kerry perspective with a return to the capital in a fortnight to take on old foes Tyrone. "It was an amazing performance," he said. "The last few weeks, as it has turned out, has been good for them, because it has brought an edge out in them. "I was proud of the players and the approach of the management team. You could see what it meant to the players afterwards. "The trick now will be trying to get to that level again in two weeks' time." Watch the All-Ireland Camogie Championship quarter-finals with RTÉ Sport. Waterford v Clare on Saturday from 2.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player and Tipperary v Kilkenny on Sunday from 1.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Watch the All-Ireland Hurling Championship semi-finals with RTÉ Sport. Cork v Dublin on Saturday from 4.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player and Kilkenny v Tipperary 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.
Irish Daily Mirror
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Jack O'Connor hits out at Kerry critics and ex-Kingdom players after Armagh win
Jack O'Connor has blasted ex-Kerry players turned pundits, accusing them of 'lacking loyalty to the team.' Speaking after Kerry's impressive 0-32 to 1-21 win over All-Ireland champs Armagh in Sunday's All-Ireland quarter-final, O'Connor hit out at the way his side were written off inside and outside the county. And he challenged those criticising the Kerry team to get involved in coaching instead of sniping from the sidelines saying, 'it's very easy to knock people.' O'Connor said: 'One of the great motivators in life is trying to prove people wrong. We were being portrayed as a one man team. 'I saw somebody writing this morning that the only Kerry player worthy of being called a Kerry player was David Clifford. David is a great player but David would tell you that there was a fair support cast out there today. 'We think we have a lot of good footballers but I think sometimes we are being judged on different criteria to other teams. 'For example, Dublin got beaten by Meath in the Leinster Championship. I didn't see any ex-Dublin players coming out slating the team or slating the management like we had down south in our county. 'There was a sense of commitment to the team and a sense of loyalty to the team. Unfortunately a few pundits let themselves down in that regard.' O'Connor continued: 'I'm not giving out about it from my own point of view. I just gave the example that I never hear Dublin's ex-players slating the team. 'They're loyal to the group, they're loyal to the county and they give their support. What's to be gained by slating people? It's the easiest thing in the world. I'm in the business of building people up. I'm not in the business of knocking people. 'I spent all my life coaching underage school kids, minors, Under-21s, seniors, at every level. I'm in the business of building people, not knocking people. I'd ask people who are knocking that group and knocking people involved with the group to look in the mirror and say, 'What have you contributed? What have you contributed to Kerry football off the field?' You know what I mean? 'It's very easy to knock people. Go away and coach a team. Go away and coach a development squad. Coach a minor team. That's how you help, not knocking people."
The 42
29-06-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'What's to be gained by slating people? It's the easiest thing in the world' - Jack O'Connor
YOU CAN HAVE your 38 All-Ireland titles, but you can never rely on that muscle-memory as much as proving people wrong. And in Kerry, that frequently means your own people. While most counties can count on a fairly partisan media, that's not always been the case with Kerry. And Jack O'Connor in particular. The Dromid man left all in no doubt where the motivation for their nine-point win over Armagh came from. 'Look, one of the great motivators in life is trying to prove people wrong,' he explained. 'We were being portrayed as a one-man team. I saw somebody writing this morning that said the only Kerry player worthy of being called a Kerry player was David Clifford. 'Now, David is a great player but David will tell you that there was a fair supporting cast there today. We think we have a lot of good footballers but I think sometimes we're being judged on different criteria to other teams.' He continued, 'For example, Dublin got beaten by Meath in the Leinster championship and I didn't see any ex-Dublin players coming out slating the team or slating the management like we had down south in our county. There's a sense of commitment to the team and a sense of loyalty to the team. Unfortunately a few pundits down our way let themselves down in that regard.' Asked if criticism from within was something that you sign up for as a Kerry manager – O'Connor did detail the sense of isolation he felt in his first spell in charge in his autobiography 'Keys To The Kingdom'. He wasn't buying it though. 'I'm not giving out about it from my own point of view. I just gave the example that I never hear Dublin's ex-players slating the team,' said O'Connor. 'They're loyal to the group and they're loyal to the county and they give their support. 'What's to be gained by slating people? It's the easiest thing in the world. I'm in the business of building people up. I'm not in the business of knocking people. 'I spent all my life coaching underage school kids, minors, Under-21s, seniors, at every level. I'm in the business of building people, not knocking people.' He added, 'I'd ask people who are knocking that group and knocking people involved with the group to look in the mirror and say, 'What have you contributed? What have you contributed to Kerry football off the field?' Advertisement 'You know what I mean? It's very easy to knock people. Go away and coach a team. Go away and coach a development squad. Go away and coach a minor team. That's how you help Kerry football, not knocking people.' O'Connor drew comparisons with Kerry's run of form this year, until their transformation here, with the 2009 season; when they lost a Munster semi-final replay to Cork before struggling past Longford, Sligo and Antrim before walloping Dublin in the 'startled earwigs' quarter-final and a 17-point win that propelled them onto Sam Maguire success. Shane Ryan celebrates. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO 'Look, when everybody even down in our own county was throwing in the towel with us, I said in the dressing room after the Cavan game, 'Lads, I've been here before where we've been completely written off.' 'And a Kerry team written off in Croke Park are dangerous because it just takes a bit of the heat off. It allows them to play with a kind of freedom and abandon. That's what you saw there today. 'Maybe it was very tough for Armagh. Our mantra this morning was, 'We have to flip the script. The script has been written that Armagh have this game won and we have to flip that script.' 'Every breaking ball you win, every turnover you win, every score you get is a chip off the block there and it's a way of flipping that script. We did it block by block.' How best to describe their purple patch? Let's go for the raw data. From the 43rd minute to the 56th minute, Armagh had 14 kickouts. They won three of them. They sent two over the sideline and Kerry pinched nine of them. They scored 0-13. It was a bloodbath. 'We felt we were going to give a big performance. We felt we were going to give a really big performance. We had no idea where that would take us. You don't know,' said O'Connor. 'I mean, you see the teams up in Ulster and they're knocking lumps out of each other and playing very high-calibre games. People dismissed our games against Cork in the Munster Championship and in the round-robin series. 'We thought Cork were a good team. We thought Cork against Kerry in Páirc Uí Chaoimh are a right good team. They're big, they're physical, they left their mark on us, they toughened us up, they hardened us and we lost a few players up there. But I think people misread our situation. They dismissed Cork a bit and maybe they just misread the situation a small bit.' David Clifford. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO He added, 'I don't think too many people outside the camp saw that performance there. But we were very, very determined. There was ferocious determination in the camp that we weren't going to let the season fizzle out after the Meath game. Related Reads Kerry knock Armagh off their perch as they dump champions out of race for Sam 'We're probably the only group in the country that thought we could make it this far' Tyrone take major step, dominant Donegal, Monaghan's second-half struggles 'It may have been difficult for Armagh not to listen to the outside noise where we were being written off and they were being written up. We know we have players who can perform here. 'The game Seán O'Shea had there, when that was a game in the first half and halfway through the second half, that man put in some display. I don't know what he finished up with. But him and David, David was really good again. 'Paudie coming in at half-time, he's a high-calibre player and it just gave everybody a lift. Once he got the ball in his hands, you knew he was going to do something with it. 'It's funny the way things happen. But we were fairly sure leaving the hotel this morning that we were going to give this a real rattle. We just need to steady up now and get our feet back on the ground. 'It's a big performance and a big Kerry support came up and backed the team, which is great. We love seeing that because a lot of people had us written off during the week. But obviously the supporters felt there was another kick in the team. 'They've seen it happen before. They saw it happen in 2006, they saw it happen in 2009. Kerry is a proud county and we weren't going to fizzle out of the Championship without a hell of a fight. We saw that fight out there today.' So now for Tyrone. No lack of motivation there. It would appear Paul Geaney is not far off a return. Tony Brosnan and Diarmuid O'Connor too. Tom O'Sullivan had to leave the field injured. That will all become clear in the early part of the week. All eyes will now be turned on the Kerry pundits on the week ahead. * Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
