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5 days ago | 
irishnews.com | Cahair O'Kane
FOR those that wish to dismiss Conor Laverty’s two-and-a-half years in charge of Down, it’s pretty easy. Progress? Sure they’re back where they started in Division Three next year. Tailteann Cup winners? Down should be winning that, they should have won it the first year and been out sooner. All-Ireland group stage? They got the group of life. Beat nobody. Competitive in Ulster? The only teams they’ve beaten are a shadow Donegal, Antrim and Fermanagh.
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6 days ago | 
irishnews.com | Cahair O'Kane
NEITHER the repeat of the 2024 All-Ireland football final between Armagh and Galway or the clash of Donegal and Mayo will be played at Croke Park next weekend, The Irish News understands. Consideration had been given to putting the latest instalment of the Galway-Armagh rivalry in headquarters as part of a double-header.
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6 days ago | 
irishnews.com | Cahair O'Kane
PADDY Tally had no interest in any kind of moral victory after Derry’s dramatic draw with Galway. It keeps both teams alive in the All-Ireland series. The Oak Leafers will face Dublin in two weeks’ time, most likely in Clones, knowing they need to better Galway’s result against Armagh by at least three points. It’s an ask but on the basis of their performance in Celtic Park, Derry will go there enthused and with renewed confidence. “We should have won that match today. It’s disappointing.
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6 days ago | 
irishnews.com | Cahair O'Kane
All-Ireland SFC group 4: Derry 2-20 Galway 4-14IN the 31 years since Ciaran McCabe stripped Derry of their All-Ireland title, Celtic Park has not seen a game of football like this one. Derry should have won it. They didn’t. We’ll get to the reasons for both. But the spectacle. My God, the spectacle. There wasn’t a huge crowd but the bodies housed in the Tommy Mellon Stand threatened the concrete foundations beneath them for almost every one of the 70 minutes.
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1 week ago | 
irishnews.com | Cahair O'Kane
Christy Ring Cup finalDerry v London (Saturday, Croke Park, 5pm, live on Sport TG4)AFTER 20 laps of the sun, Mark Craig will lay down his armour at 6.30pm today. Internally, he’s been pretty insistent that he’ll hand in his gun and badge when this year is over. He said the same last year. There is still convincing to be done on that front.
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1 week ago | 
irishnews.com | Cahair O'Kane
WHATEVER becomes of Derry’s summer, they’ll finish the round robin series having played four of the country’s top five teams. They’ve faced Donegal and Armagh, with Galway next and then Dublin. Historically, the sight of a Galway jersey has not indicated promise to Derry teams. The Tribesmen have won all five championship meetings, including three All-Ireland semi-finals. How you view Derry’s performances against Armagh and Donegal depends on which angle you decide to look at it from.
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2 weeks ago | 
irishnews.com | Cahair O'Kane
THERE were signs that this seismic Tyrone win was coming. For one, Malachy O’Rourke has always fared well against Jim McGuinness. He became the first manager to record a second championship win over the Donegal boss. Pat Gilroy, James Horan, Eamonn Fitzmaurice, Padraic Joyce and John Cleary are the others, for the record. They ran Armagh to a point in the Ulster semi-final. The All-Ireland champions had needed a last-gasp free to get out of Clones.
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2 weeks ago | 
irishnews.com | Cahair O'Kane
All-Ireland SFC group 1: Donegal 0-20 Tyrone 2-17AS GAA+ tried to get their work wrapped up before going off air, they were surrounded by a group of delirious young Tyrone fans desperate for an outlet. Outwardly, both squads of players dashed from the sodden Ballybofey turf at the final whistle. Donegal were keen to avoid the cold, Tyrone trying not to get too comfortable in the warmth. In many ways, it is just a group game. But in reality, it is far more.
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2 weeks ago | 
irishnews.com | Cahair O'Kane
TOMORROW morning, Charlie Brown and two friends begin the first leg of a six-to-eight-week tour of south-east Asia. Nothing says you’re 22 years of age and going on holiday better than a summer shred. In preparation, he’s dropped from 91kg down to 87kg. A little over a year ago, a nose tube was feeding the Clonduff corner-forward just enough nutrients to stay alive. He was down to 60kg, a little under nine-and-a-half stone in old money.
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2 weeks ago | 
irishnews.com | Cahair O'Kane
AS Gary Lineker delivered his Monday afternoon address to the nation from a weirdly unvarnished space, my mind was cast back to Bellaghy on Friday night. Thousands of people lined the route from St Mary’s chapel to Páirc Sean de Brún. They walked for just under mile in solidarity with the Brown family, who continue to seek justice for Sean and answers for themselves 28 years after his murder.
