For now, at least, the Limerick hurlers are the dominant force in Gaelic games, having won three All-Irelands in the last four years, and going for three-in-a-row this year, with Dublin footballers at least perceived to be on the wane, even if they could easily rebound to glory come August. The New Year begins with the increasingly irrelevant pre-season provincial tournaments, though Sligo v Leitrim made history as the first indoor game in GAA history, and the much-touted Stefan Okunbor made his senior Kerry debut tonight. By January 30th, the league competitions in both football and hurling will have begun, a variation of Seán Kelly's proposal linking the football league and Championship will be debated at GAA Congress next month, with the inter-county season finished by the unfathomably early date of July 24th.
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And a fairly dramatic action shot from said Kerry game:
https://twitter.com/tonyleen/status/1478825347382665216
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A lot of pressure on the lad.
Dublin start their season on Sunday, away to Offaly.
Also,Kerry legend Pat Spillane's son has declared for Sligo, his mother's county.Comment
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Noteworthy weekend for Kerry hurling - first the county team defeat (an admittedly second/third string) Tipperary, before Kilmoyley conquer the Cork intermediate champs to win a Munster title (winners had previously played at senior level, but had never won a single game in over 30 years).Comment
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One of the joys of watching Gaelic games is having to stand for one of the mist dreary national anthems around being butchered through a public address system from the 1980s.Comment
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Dublin win the first silverware of the season, beating Laois in the O'Byrne Cup final by 1.13 to 0.11. Not vintage Dublin, who played most of the game with 14 men, following John Small's red card, but the likes of Brian Fenton and Ciaran Kilkenny had enough class to see Dublin home. Hard to gauge how good the Dubs are going to be, based on today's performance.
Advice for John Small, when someone hits you off the ball behind the ref's back, make sure the ref's still not looking when you hit him back. Carlow is bloody cold in January.Comment
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Galway won the FBD Connacht League last week, while also today, Kerry won the McGrath Cup final by 12 points against old rivals Cork, and in Ulster's McKenna Cup, Monaghan won their first pre-season title since 2003, with a one-point win over Donegal. Finally, the 39-year-old Kieran "Star" Donaghy continues to rack up honours even in inter-county retirement, as his Tralee Warriors basketball team won the prestigious National Cup.Comment
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The Central Council of the GAA endorses the "Green Proposal" for Championship 2023, which, as it retains a provincial link, should meet the 60% threshold at next month's Congress. Basically, the eight provincial finalists would be joined in the last 16 by the eight best League teams who failed in their province - to illustrate it by way of this year's structures, Kerry, Dublin, Galway and Tyrone are early regional competition favourites, the likely losing finalists are Clare, Donegal, Roscommon and Kildare, with the eight League placings likely to go to Cork, Monaghan, Armagh, Meath, Down, Derry, Offaly and Mayo. These would then be drawn into four groups of four, with the winners reaching the QFs, while the runners-up would meet third-placed teams to decide the final four berths.Comment
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Ballyhale Shamrocks v Ballygunner in the club hurling final. I've been offered a ticket, I'll decide closer to the time whether to go.Comment
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Definitely sounds like an attractive game for the neutral, both teams tend to go all out for goals when they get the chance.Comment
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The nation cheers the abolition of mid-half water breaks, as the maor uisce returns. Also making a comeback this weekend are the London footballers, who haven't played any match since the pandemic began.
Division Four:
Carlow
Cavan
Leitrim
London
Sligo
Tipperary
Waterford
Wexford
Cavan and Tipp should be winning promotion here, though Sligo are always contenders at this level.
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Are London still playing in North Greenford?Comment
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I thought it was just Ruislip, as that's what the ground is colloquially called, but apparently McGovern Park is in "South Ruislip, Oxley Park, Watford", which might make more sense to yourself, at any rate:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGovern_ParkComment
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The good news is that if you or other OTF Londoners do rock up to their games, entry is free.Comment
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Looks like it's by the Polish War Memorial junction on the A40.Comment
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The third tier will be pivotal this season as counties scramble to avoid the new Tailteann Cup for the 16 lowest-ranked teams who don't reach a provincial final:
Division Three:
Antrim
Fermanagh
Laois
Limerick
Longford
Louth
Westmeath
Wicklow
In truth, no team here is obvious second-tier material, but similarly, you could stick a dart to pick relegation contenders.
Promoted: Laois, Fermanagh
Relegated: Limerick, WicklowComment
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Division Two:
Clare
Cork
Derry
Down
Galway
Meath
Offaly
Roscommon
Every year I predict that Cork football is due a revival, and so far they haven't even come close to one! Galway should be easily promoted, but the other spot is wide open, and it looks too steep a division for Offaly here.
Promoted: Galway, Meath
Relegated: Clare, OffalyComment
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Gaelic football must be the only sport where the most competitive format is used for the secondary tournament, which ends with a whimper:
Division One:
Armagh
Donegal
Dublin
Kerry
Kildare
Mayo
Monaghan
Tyrone
Kerry are seeking three-in-a-row but will focus on strengthening the depth of their panel, while Dublin will want to make a statement of intent.
Champions: Dublin
Relegated: Armagh, KildareComment
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Armagh tearing Dublin apart tonight, the cracks from last year are now yawning chasms.Comment
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Very interesting HT score at Croke Park, with Armagh ahead 2-8 to 0-5 - the Ulster side are surrounding the Dubs whenever they enter the final third of the pitch and countering at speed themselves.Comment
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Despite a late home rally, the Orchard County held out reasonably comfortably, on a 2-15 to 1-13 scoreline. Elsewhere, Derry had a surprisingly easy seven-point win over Down in D2, Limerick overcame Longford in the third tier, and in perhaps the biggest shock, London won away to Carlow, by 2-11 to 1-13.Comment
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Unusual weekend in Division One, with the three Sunday games all finishing as draws - Kerry exhibiting the usual failings in Newbridge, going long spells in the second half without scoring, little contribution from the bench, fruitless lateral passing and no defensive tracking of opponents. Monaghan goalkeeper Rory Beggan managed to score a point from play in his side's stalemate away to Tyrone, while Mayo battled back to secure a share of the spoils against Donegal. Elsewhere, Galway hammered Meath, Cork had a surprisingly heavy defeat away to Roscommon, while Waterford achieved a notable draw against Tipperary in Division Four.Comment
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Also, the GAA has introduced a cashless system for intercounty matches this season, with tickets largely sold through Ticketmaster, though for the benefit of less computer-savvy patrons, they can also be purchased through the Centra and SuperValu shop franchises.Comment
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Unsurprisingly, the Kerry v Dublin match this Saturday has already sold out.Comment
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Cork v Kerry in the Munster football championship has been moved from Páirc Uí Chaoimh to Páirc Uí Rinn (formerly the Flower Lodge soccer stadium), due to an Ed Sheeran concert the previous weekend.Comment
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