The race is on for second
were pulling up exhausted as Derry’s speedsters continued to make 80yard sprints upfield, whether they got the ball or not. Against Dublin’s speed that weapon was neutralised. We were quickly reduced to following them. Our defenders were defending, not attacking, and since we depend on our defenders to create and take our scores, it was game over. In the crowd, we shook our heads as reality sank in. Faster, stronger, more skilful. Dublin 1-16, Derry 1-11.
In Salthill it was the same story, a pitiless destruction of a team that were highly competitive in the All-Ireland final just two years ago. Again, the home crowd was quiet. In terrible conditions, Dublin looked awesome. When they turned to face the gale, it made no difference. Dublin 0-22, Galway 0-14.
Derry have one very good forward, but that is not enough against Dublin. Kerry have one extraordinary forward, the greatest I have seen. I know what you’re thinking, but the essential difference between Con O’Callaghan and David Clifford is that Con is surrounded by brilliant players. Think Mikey Sheehy with a supporting cast of Egan, Bomber, Power, Spillane, Jack O’Shea etc. Meanwhile, David has to do it all by himself. The Dublin team create endless opportunities for Con. If he is covered, Kilkenny or Mannion or Costello or Fenton or McCarthy take them.
In the 2021 final, Kerry ended up kicking huge balls into the 21. Clifford caught them among a crowd of defenders and still scored, reminding me of Art McRory’s immortal line when asked to sum up Frank McGuigan: “You couldn’t give him a bad ball.”
Now that the Dubs have finally
worked out how to limit David, Kerry cannot beat them.
Can anyone else? The answer is no, so there is no point in agonising over this.
What we are left with is a vibrant competition for second place and loads of terrific sub-plots, starting with Jimmy McGuinness’s Donegal coming to Celtic Park in May. Jimmy made muck out of Mickey Harte’s Tyrone team back when Mickey was a Tyrone man.
When Stanley Kubrick made The Shining, one scene alone took 127 takes. Years later when leading lady Shelley Duvall was shown the scene by an interviewer from FandomWire, she broke down and wept. She said: “He made me do it until I knew the scene like the back of my hand and I could make no mistakes with it. You forgot all reality other than what you were doing.”
Which is precisely what Jimmy does with his teams. His Pavlov’s dogs are coming to Celtic Park, and assuming Harte doesn’t get a better offer before then, he better be well prepared.
Other questions: Can Armagh finally win something? Can Star sprinkle enough stardust to lift the mental block that somehow comes with every team that has the words ‘Manager: Kieran McGeeney’ in the match programme? Can Darragh Canavan make the step up to his father’s level? Will Roscommon do the impossible again and win Connacht? Will Shane Walsh return? All great fun.
The trick is to accept we are in Dublin’s golden years. That way, we can get on with enjoying the championship.
Tipperary are on the brink of a first appearance in a senior national camogie decider since 2009, with Galway and Cork also in contention as Division 1A of the Very Camogie League enters its final round next weekend.
Denis Kelly’s squad overcame Kilkenny by 2-12 to 1-6 at Nowlan Park yesterday. Following victories over Galway and Cork, having lost to Waterford, they are now heavy favourites to appear in a national showpiece for the first time in 15 years.
The Déise conceded points in the seventh and ninth minutes of injury-time to fall to a 0-13 to 0-12 defeat to Galway in Loughrea, leaving their aspirations hanging by a thread. In contrast, Galway’s ambitions of a league three-in-arow are alive and a draw next week against Cork will be enough to get them in the decider.
Cork got back on track with a 1-15 to 1-6 triumph over Clare at Páirc Uí Rinn and with their inferior score difference, they must win next week.
ster Championship round-robin. It is a match they can hardly afford to lose, given they face Cork a week later in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The squashed fixture schedule is a challenge for all counties, but it is a particular problem for Clare. Do they throw caution to the wind and go all out to win the county’s first league title since 2016 and only their fifth ever? At least then they have silverware regardless of how the championship pans out. Alternatively, do Clare take the foot off the pedal now, reflect on a good season so far and focus instead on next month’s championship games against Limerick and Cork?
Both strategies carry huge risks.
If Clare win the league but fail to qualify for the All-Ireland series, it will be seen as a hollow victory.
For an older generation of Clare hurling fans, it will resonate with what happened in the 1970s when the Banner won back-to-back league titles in 1977 and ’78 but lost to Cork in the Munster final in the same two summers.
Another 17 years would pass before Clare finally won a provincial title. On the other hand, even if Clare put all their eggs into the championship basket, it does not guarantee them success — and 2024 could end up as another trophyless season which would heap more pressure on Lohan.
Still, it’s been a productive spring for Clare. Without two of their most influential players — Tony Kelly and Shane O’Donnell — they went through the league unbeaten.
They dropped a point against Wexford when they fielded a depleted side, but beating Kilkenny — who had knocked them out of the championship at the All-Ireland semi-final stage in both 2022 and ’23 — was a milestone of sorts.
Speaking after their win in Ennis over the Cats, centre-back John Conlon suggested they wanted to win the league.
“We’re working towards being the best we can be come the championship and if that means winning the league, so be it,” he said. “It’s a national medal that we’d love to have. There are not many medals in Clare and to win the National League, the Munster Championship and the All-Ireland, that’s your goal at the start of the year, to win those three.”
David Fitzgerald continues to grow in stature, Aidan McCarthy and Mark Rogers thrived in the absence of Kelly, Peter Duggan returned, while newcomer Seán Rynne impressed against Waterford.
Like every other county, Clare’s record against Limerick in this decade is poor, though they have done better against them than any of their rivals. Last April in the second round of the Munster round-robin, Clare ended Limerick’s 16-match unbeaten run in the provincial series in a thrilling contest at the Gaelic Grounds.
The sides clashed again — as they had in 2022 — in the Munster final. That decider had been a breathtaking classic, with Limerick prevailing in extra-time. Last year’s re-match wasn’t quite as memorable, though it most certainly should have gone to extra-time, with Clare being denied a legitimate scorable free in the game’s last play after Tony Kelly and Adam Hogan were fouled.
But it wasn’t just a refereeing
error which cost them the game. Lohan’s decision to leave Cian Nolan, a late replacement for injured full-back Conor Cleary, on Limerick’s man of the match Aaron Gillane until the 50th minute was puzzling. By then Gillane had 1-3 to his name from play.
Clare had issues at the other end of the field as well with some wayward finishing, particularly before half-time when they were the team on top.
It wasn’t the first time a lack of depth in their squad cost them. In the 2022 All-Ireland semi-final, John Conlon was injured and Lohan replaced him with a relatively inexperienced defender in Páidí Fitzpatrick. He was hooked at half-time when Kilkenny were 14 points clear and the game was effectively over.
In last year’s semi-final, Clare tried a different approach; they were cautious and defensive in the first half, and it kept them in the game.
But it wasn’t until they threw caution to the wind in the last quarter that they flourished, and they were unlucky not to take the game into extra-time. A save for the ages from Kilkenny All-Star goalkeeper Eoin Murphy from a scorching first-time drive from Peter Duggan meant the game did not go to extra-time.
As Abraham Lincoln said, “The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.”
So for Clare, the struggle continues. Lohan will be mindful that when he played, Clare suffered back-toback hidings in Munster finals and a hammering from Kilkenny in a league decider before reaching the promised land in 1995.
But what happens in the next five weeks may determine how his five seasons as Clare boss are judged.
Donegal rounded off their Division 2 campaign in style with an eight-point victory over Meath, setting a strong tone ahead of their upcoming league final in Croke Park.
Meath took an early lead with a lightning-fast goal by Cathal Hickey, capitalising on a break from Ruairí Kinsella. However, Donegal gradually found their rhythm, with Shane O’Donnell scoring their first point and goalkeeper Shaun Patton thwarting further Meath attempts.
After a slow start, Donegal surged ahead with a flurry of points, showcasing their dominance in both attack and defence. Oisín Gallen particularly shone, weaving through Meath’s defence for several scores.
Despite Meath’s efforts, including scores from James Conlon and Keith Curtis, Donegal maintained control, leading 0-10 to 1-3 at half-time.
Donegal would firmly stamp their mark on the game when Jamie Brennan fired to the Meath net for Donegal’s goal.
Thompson and Gallen put double figures between the sides as Donegal dominated every area of the second half.
Conlon, Curtis, Danny Dixon, Aaron Lynch, and Donal Keoghan would all add second-half scores to put some credibility in the scoreline, but it never panicked Jim McGuinness or his side as they ran out worthy eight-point victors on the night — despite finishing with 14 players following a Caolan McGonagle black card.
Fired-up Fermanagh went down fighting as they repeated their 2023 NFL victory over a listless Cavan side. The Ernesiders couldn’t escape the relegation trap door but their zest, opportunism and spirit augurs well for their upcoming Ulster SFC campaign.
Garvan Jones hit three classy points from play as Fermanagh opened up a 0-5 to 0-3 lead with 28 minutes on the clock.
Jones turned Fermanagh’s flickering light into a flame before the interval when his floated effort over Cavan’s full-backs found Seán Cassidy who hit the net for 1-6 to 0-4 half-time lead.
The outstanding Jones then netted in soccer style after being set up in similar fashion by Lee Cullen in the 43rd minute.
Jones’ goal made it 2-8 to 0-5 but Cavan belatedly made a game of it and an incisive move by Ciarán Brady paved the way for Paddy Lynch to goal with a rasping shot.
Moments later, Fermanagh eyed a third goal but Gary O’Rourke held on to Conor McShea’s fly-kicked effort.
Back came Jones though with a timely point but the leaders missed a glorious chance of sealing the deal in the 58th minute when making a hash of a three-on-one with the ball being fisted wide after a breakaway attack.
Cavan beavered away to the death but to no avail with star man Jones appropriately notching the final score of the game.
A dramatic Armagh rally rescued a draw from their trip to Cork with stoppage-time points from Aidan Nugent and Oisín Conaty.
The Rebels had trailed until second-half goals from Chris Óg Jones and Luke Fahy — the first green flags Armagh had conceded all year — turned the tide but Rory Grugan’s 69th-minute strike brought Armagh back within one.
Conor Corbett added a point but it wasn’t enough. Cork still had the final shot from Steven Sherlock but his left-footed effort faded inches wide. It meant already-qualified Armagh advanced to the final behind Donegal in second, while the Rebels finished fourth to copper-fasten their place in the top 16 for Sam Maguire football.
Cork had a strong wind at their backs in the first half but Armagh scored the first goal in the 19th minute when corner-back Peter McGrane palmed home.
It was 1-9 to 0-9 at half-time but the sides were back level in the 43rd minute thanks to a rasper to the roof of the net off the outside of Jones’ boot. A late handling error by Micheál Aodh Martin under Nugent’s dipping shot allowed Grugan to find the net and maintain Armagh’s unbeaten record.
Ryan Burns was the hero as his 1-2 salvo saved the Wee County from relegation via a third victory of their Division 2 campaign at Netwatch Cullen Park.
Burns landed two points in the second half and combined effectively with captain Sam Mulroy as Louth condemned Kildare to a seventh defeat of the programme, ensuring they finish the league term without a point for the second time in seven seasons.
Having been tied at 0-6 to 1-3 at the interval, a strong surge in the third quarter by Louth’s key attackers opened up a gap that Kildare never looked like plugging despite a late revival.
The hosts had the better of the early exchanges but were caught out at the back on 14 minutes as Burns slipped in behind Ryan Houlihan, collected Conall McKeever’s pass over the top and slotted beneath Mark Donnellan, giving Louth a 1-1 to 0-2 lead and moving himself past the 100-point mark in the National Football League.