Christy Ring and Gaelic football: An accidental if eventful, relationship
Ring scored two goals on his St Nicks debut after showing up among the crowd. On Friday evening June 18, 1948, St Nicholas faced UCC in the second round of the City Division Junior Football Championship at Douglas. St Nicks brought the bare 15 players to the game and trailed the College side by 4-1 […]
St Patricks Boys National School, Brian Dillons Hurling and Football Club and their entwined history
On the 29th of November 1937, almost 75 years ago, 261 boys came to school at the old St Patricks Boys National School at St Lukes Cross, Cork. When everyone was settled down and accounted for, the boys and their teachers marched up the Ballyhooly Road to the new school that had been built in […]
St Nicks v Na Piarsaigh Cork County Senior Football Championship Relegation Playoff – Part 2 the fall out
Writing last week’s column about the legacy of Gaelic Football in both the St Nicholas and Na Piarsaigh clubs did nothing to purge the feeling of impending doom I felt about last Saturday’s relegation play-off between the two sides. This was Russian Roulette GAA style, and my club St Nicks was one shot away from […]
St Nicks v Na Piarsaigh Cork County Senior Football Championship Relegation Playoff. Part 1 – The Build Up
In or around 7pm next Saturday, barring a draw in Páirc Uí Rinn, the north side of Cork city will find that it has lost a senior football club. This is because St Nicholas and Na Piarsaigh will face each other in the relegation play-off of the Cork Senior County football championship. I have been […]
Lessons from the All-Ireland Football Final
Because life is a cycle, the Sunday Game programme had hardly finished last Sunday night when the thoughts of the majority of the viewers were all ready concerned with the most enduring of all GAA questions; who’s going to win the All-Ireland next year? In life’s cycles there are more followers than leaders, therefore the […]
A Brief History of Donegal
As we head towards next Sunday’s All-Ireland football final it struck me that very little is known in this part of the country about Donegal, and Donegal football. Cork people have strong opinions about other counties. In most conversations concerning the inter-county affairs of the GAA it is quite normal to hear phrases like “That’s […]
Mayo’s All-Ireland semi-final win was due to Dublin’s loss of Mickey Whelan
I got a text message not long before half time of last Sunday’s All-Ireland football semi-final between Dublin and Mayo. “Mayo bossing it big time” the message read. The Mayo team were bossing it – at that stage of the game. I thought about my answer for a few seconds before replying, “Dublin are really […]
John Gildea A Tribute
John Gildea RIP I was deeply upset to hear of the death of John Gildea of St Finbarrs Hurling and Football Club last week. I first met John in 1995 when I was coach to the Cork City under-16 football team. John was one of several players on the panel from the St Finbarrs Club. […]
Ever wonder what it is like to be a coach with a GAA Development Squad?
That growing phase is remarkable. We said farewell to the faces we had become familiar with in November. When we met again in mid-February they looked completely different. In November the average height was about 5ft-4in and I’d say the average shoe size was about size five. In mid February the average height was about 5ft-8in and the shoe size was nearer size 8…
The fear of success
Then one day, I decided to see what would happen if I stopped.
As I approached the gate the dog appeared and got into the ready position. Once I was passed the gate it took off after me, barking and snapping as usual. I led it on for 30 metres. Then I stopped the car and turned off the engine.
The dog stopped running. It stopped barking too.