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The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Jack O'Connor lets rip at Kerry critics and hints All-Ireland glory could be his last dance
JACK O'CONNOR felt that he had to hit back at the critics as Kerry's season began to come to the boil. Advertisement 2 Kerry manager Jack O'Connor hinted that he may not continue in 2026 2 Kerry manager Jack O'Connor during homecoming celebrations in Tralee after his fifth All-Ireland with the Kingdom Despite a host of his top men being unavailable against the Royals in Tullamore, O'Connor's side faced a wave of criticism inside and outside the county after defeat cost them top spot in their All-Ireland series group. But they responded with an preliminary quarter-final win over Cavan and then produced sizzling displays to see off Armagh, Tyrone and, on Sunday, And after Sunday's masterful display in a decider won 1-26 to 0-19, he said: 'It wasn't about me personally. Advertisement read more on gaa "It was just that we were putting in an incredible effort, everybody, but on the back of one bad day out we were being written off and disrespected. 'Sometimes you just get p***ed off with that because the people who are doing the criticising are most of the time hurlers on the ditch who don't put in the same effort themselves with teams. 'I was just pig-sick of some of the people that were criticising me and the team. Because as I said, that's the easiest thing in the world to do is criticise. 'We were working like Trojans, working like dogs to try and get this right and when you've people throwing out loose comments, it does annoy you. Advertisement Most read in GAA Football 'That was a case of me having my fill of that, saying, 'To hell with this'. That's all I was doing. "I'm normally not like that. You've listened to me a long time, I normally give stock answers at these press briefings but I had reached a point where I was just up to my tonsils with it, you know? 'Sad to see him go' - GAA fans emotional seeing Michael D Higgins attend last men's All-Ireland final as President 'I had a bit of a rant, but sure there is no harm at times to leave off a bit of steam.' Advertisement But O'Shea excelled in the Armagh game, Clifford was everywhere in the final and his brother David was destroying all before him in the run-in, with a host of the county's less heralded stars also hitting peak form in recent weeks. Despite all his panel coming together to silence the critics, O'Connor, 64, admitted after Sunday's win that it could be his last hurrah as boss after winning his fifth Sam Maguire in his third stint in the job. After a tough year, the Dromid Pearses man is not sure if he can do it all over again — but no decision has been made. Speaking yesterday, he said: 'It isn't like I'm playing hard to get. It's not like that. I'm a long time at this now. Advertisement 'I found last year particularly tough, I have to say, and I'm not sure I can put myself through that stuff again because when you reach a certain age, your priorities change a bit. 'There's a lot of other things I like doing. I like playing a bit of golf. I like spending time with my grandson Jack, who's mad for golf as well. He'd be around the lawn with a golf club, learning to swing it. I live in a nice part of the country and I enjoy being out in nature and going out at my old homestead in Dromid, stuff like that. 'We'll see. I'll leave it settle for a couple of weeks. I won't hang people out to dry or keep people hanging on. Advertisement 'I'll have a think about it. I had only one or two hours' sleep last night, so now isn't a great time to be making a decision.' Kerry capped their summer with their best performance of the season on Sunday. They schooled Donegal by ten points to storm over the line as star man David Clifford fired 0-9, O'Shea hit 0-6 and Paudie conducted the orchestra up front. Joe O'Connor scored a smashing goal to cap a brilliant individual display and season, while captain Gavin White was influential from start to finish as Donegal's swift running game never took off. Advertisement From the throw-in, Mark O'Shea got the touch and White picked up and stormed forward to feed Dylan Geaney to score after 12 seconds. The tone was set and Kerry never looked back. PROUD AS PUNCH A proud O'Connor said: 'What pleased me was that on the biggest day of the year, we had probably our best performance. That's what pleased me. 'And what pleased me was the way that the lads took the game to Donegal from the off. 'Gavin winning the breaking ball from the throw-in, driving on, slipping it to Dylan Geaney, a young forward in his first All-Ireland, kicking a great score off his left foot. Advertisement "A young lad in a final kicks a point with his first touch, a lot of good things happening there. 'Our midfielder gets a tap down, playing in his first final, a lot of good stuff happening in that move. That's the start you want. You set the tone, the captain leads by example.' Kerry ultimately thrived under football's new rules this year. They fired five two-pointers to Donegal's none on Sunday, which proved a big part of the difference. O'Connor admits the changes have revolutionised the sport in their first Championship. Advertisement He said: 'By and large, they've got an awful lot right. It's a much more enjoyable product now. 'I would say that it's almost taking the game back to where it used to be where there was a bit more kicking and a bit more space. 'It's still pretty tactical, particularly against opposition that set up zonally, you have to pick your moments and work your scores but it's a far more enjoyable game than it used to be."
The Irish Sun
23-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Darragh McCarthy reflects on Toomevara roots and All-Ireland glory with Tipperary
DARRAGH McCARTHY was pretending he was back in a field in Toomevara as the young forward fired 1-13 in Sunday's All-Ireland SHC final. The 19-year-old starred as Advertisement 2 Darragh McCarthy scored a whopping fired 1-13 in Sunday's All-Ireland SHC final 2 McCarthy during the homecoming celebrations of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champions at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles It capped a sensational debut season for the rookie, who has completed a clean sweep of minor, Under-20 and senior All-Ireland titles. McCarthy fired 0-8 from frees at HQ, but hurled as if he was at home to seal Tipp's 29th crown. He said: 'You're just in the back field in Toome again. That's it really, you're kind of visualising all the practice you've done there in Toome. Advertisement read more on gaa 'You kind of embrace it. My father would always say, 'If you're going into a big crowd or whatever, just kind of take a few deep breaths and take it all in before anything starts'. "That's kind of what I've done and you forget about it all then. 'Like Liam was saying before the game, the goalposts don't move. They're the same. Four lines, two goalposts in a field — it's the same thing really.' And boss Cahill's backing was vital too. Advertisement Most read in GAA Hurling McCarthy picked up his second red card of the campaign when he was dismissed in the All-Ireland semi-final win over Kilkenny, having also seen red against the Rebels in the Munster SHC. And Jason Forde took over the frees before the teen's second yellow card against the Cats. RTE GAA pundit embrace Tipperary captain Ronan Maher after his epic display toppled Cork in All-Ireland final But McCarthy was handed responsibility for placed balls again last Sunday and repaid his manager's faith. That support from Cahill was a huge boost. Advertisement McCarthy said: 'Liam backed me all day after the Kilkenny game. He said, 'You're going to stay on frees'. 'That gives you some confidence coming from the man at the top of it all, giving you that gee-up to say, 'Listen, you're the man to take the frees'. 'But when you had the 40 lads on the panel backing you as well, it gives you so much confidence to go and do what you do in practice every day and go execute there on the big day. 'We believed in ourselves the whole year and it paid off. We really deserved that — all credit to the lads.' Advertisement
The Irish Sun
21-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Tipperary turn Thurles blue and gold as 45,000 fans salute All-Ireland heroes
THE buzz in Co Tipperary reached boiling point as fans welcomed home their newly-crowned All-Ireland hurling heroes. Thousands gathered after their dominant second-half display against Cork in 4 The Tipperary squad and officials with the Liam MacCarthy cup during the homecoming celebrations at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles 4 A young Tipperary supporter during the homecoming celebrations of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champions 4 Tipperary supporters braved the rain to greet their heroes after the All-Ireland win over Cork 4 Tipp saw off Cork a one-sided final to win hurling's most coveted prize Tipp feasted on a catastrophic A massive crowd of around 45,000 packed into Semple Stadium in Thurles to salute the triumphant side on Monday night. And despite rainy conditions fans took to the stadium as the celebrations continued into the week. read more on gaa He said: 'It's absolutely incredible – over 45,000 people here. 'This is the stuff dreams are made of. I'm thrilled to see the Liam MacCarthy Cup back in Tipperary.' Tipp star Jake Morris echoed the players' gratitude for their supporters. Most read in GAA Hurling He added: "It's brilliant – look, the Tipp fans have been so good to us all year. "And we knew that they'd come again tonight to celebrate with us, and really grateful to have them on side with us." RTE GAA pundit embrace Tipperary captain Ronan Maher after his epic display toppled Cork in All-Ireland final The celebrations got under way at around 4.30pm in Semple Stadium. Entertainment was rife in the build up to the event with Seskin Lane, Callini Lua, Acquiesce, and The 2 Johnnies all taking to the stage.
The Irish Sun
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
BBC presenter and GAA star shares heartbreak of miscarriages and failed IVF in powerful podcast discussion
BBC sports presenter Thomas Niblock has opened up about the heartbreak he and his wife Kirstie have experienced through multiple pregnancy losses. The popular broadcaster revealed the couple have suffered three miscarriages. Advertisement 2 Johnny Glynn of New York revealed his personal heartache in a recent discusiion 2 Oisin McConville, Johnny Glynn and Thomas Niblock opened up on the GAA social podcast Credit: x - @thomasniblock He shared their emotional journey during an episode of the The conversation spurred former Gynn, who is based in New York, revealed that his wife Serena has endured failed IVF rounds and miscarriage heartbreak of their own. Glynn initially retired from inter-county hurling in 2020 after he had had enough of commuting from New York to play for the Galway senior hurlers. Advertisement read more on gaa He briefly returned for Galway 2024 under Henry Shefflin, before returning to represent New York. The player also represented New York in the Connacht football championship in their first-ever championship win against Leitrim in 2023. The 31-year-old captained New York to Former Armagh star Oisin McConville described the episode as a privilege to be part of as both men spoke candidly about loss and grief. Advertisement Most read in GAA Hurling Before Glynn shared his experiences, Niblock opened up about nearly losing his wife during a pregnancy complication. He stated: 'It is not an exaggeration - my family and friends would know this - we were very close to losing Kirstie. 'That shapes you. When you go through something like that, your priorities change. You still want to have children, of course, but when you come that close to losing the person you love, that becomes everything.' He explained that while IVF might be a future option for them, they're still on the path of trying to figure things out with wife Kristie. Advertisement Tipperary GAA star 'had to do live apology on RTE' the day after cursing during All-Ireland interview - He revealed: 'She's a strong person with a good head on her shoulders,' Niblock said. 'But it's still heavy. I'd feel like a hypocrite not putting myself out there, even if it's a bit weird to talk about.' Glynn's experience echoed those sentiments. 'We've had miscarriages. We've had an ectopic pregnancy. We've done multiple rounds of IVF. 'We've just finished our fifth round of IVF transfers and they've all failed so far. Honestly, I don't know how we'll get there - but I know we will. Advertisement 'If one day we have healthy kids, I'll take all these tough years. We'll be fine because we've got each other.' He added that further heartbreak was watching his wife in pain. Glynn adeed: 'It's the one thing I can't fix. And that's a f*****g killer." The pair also reflected on moments where people casually asked them when they were having children. Advertisement Niblock recalled that he fronts up about the past heartbreaks. He added: 'To be honest, we've had three miscarriages.' 'Their face just drops. But I think that's important.' 'When you're in the middle of it, and you don't have kids - you're in a very different place. And the truth is, we don't talk about this enough. It's not normalised. And I include myself in that.' Advertisement He ended with an emotional message as he revealed some different paths that he and his wife may take. 'We're still clinging on to hope - and hope is a powerful thing. If that was gone, we'd start looking at other paths, maybe adoption or fostering, or accepting life without children. 'But whatever happens, me and Kirstie will have a brilliant life. As long as she's there - that's what matters."
