With the All-Ireland hurling and football finals completed now it’s the turn of the women to take centre stage at Croke Park. On Sunday next Croke Park will stage the three Camogie finals and the following Sunday it will be Ladies football big day with their three finals being played at GAA headquarters.
Sunday next is certainly a big day for Waterford as their senior Camogie team will compete in the All-Ireland final for the first time since 1945. Seventy-eight years ago there were a lot of disagreements in Camogie. Dublin, who dominated the sport in that decade, pulled out of the championship in 1945 in a row over male officials. At that time there was also a ban on field hockey players (part of the general ban on “foreign” games). There were official and unofficial championships with Antrim beating Waterford in the official 1945 final, which was played in Cappoquin.
The Déise women have been threatening a breakthrough in recent years having fallen short at the quarter-final stage in 2020 and 2021. They made it to the All-Ireland semi-finals last year, but were beaten by Cork. And it’s Cork, who have won the O’Duffy Cup 28 times, who will be their opponents in Croke Park on Sunday. The Rebelettes ended a run of eight consecutive defeats to Galway when they beat the Tribeswomen by three points in the semi-final in Nowlan Park. I’m a big fan of Cork’s Ashling Thompson, who is coming back from injury and has been used as a sub in recent games. But Cork now have new stars in Saoirse McCarthy and Libby Coppinger.
Cork’s Aisling Thompson sees a point go over against Limerick in a league game early last year. Inpho/Ken Sutton
Waterford beat Tipperary by one point in their semi-final where Beth Carton scored eight points for the Déise. Seventy years is a long time for Waterford to wait for a final and all neutrals will be hoping they lift the O’Duffy Cup for the first time on Sunday. Derry and Meath will play in the Intermediate final, while Clare and Tipperary will contest the Junior final, which will be played as curtain-raisers to the senior final, which throws-in at 5 p.m.
CITY VS. GUNNERS
AT WEMBLEY
At the end of the last season’s EPL Manchester City had 5 points to spare over Arsenal. But for long periods through the season it looked like The Gunners, playing attractive football under new manager Mikel Arteta, might deny City a hat-trick of titles. A few results at the end of the season went City’s way and they were crowned champions. Traditionally it’s the EPL champions versus the FA Cup winners, but City also won the FA Cup last season, beating United at Wembley last June, so it will be City versus Arsenal in the Community Shield Final at Wembley on Sunday. The fixture was first played in the 1908-09 season, replacing the Sheriff of London Charity Shield. The Charity Shield is not much of a guide to the season ahead; last season Liverpool beat City 3-1, but the Pool had a poor season. The 2022 final was played at Leicester’s Filbert Street as Wembley was needed for Women’s European Championship.
UNITED AT AVIVA
No doubt it will be a full house at Wembley and a full house is also guaranteed at the Aviva in Dublin on Sunday where Manchester United play Athletic Bilbao in a friendly. Tickets for the game sold out in a few hours when they were put on sale last month. We know that Bruno Fernandes has replaced Harry Maguire as the new United new captain and I reckon that 99 per cent of the crowd on Sunday will be supporting the Reds. The English Championship also gets under way this weekend. Sheffield Wednesday play relegated Southampton on Friday night and there are a full series of games on Saturday.
PROP FURLONG
‘RARING TO GO’
Irish prop forward Tadhg Furlong, who struggled with injuries last season, says he is looking forward to the Rugby World Cup warm-up games which begin with a game against Italy at the Aviva on Friday next. Furlong says he is confident the calf and ankle injuries that disrupted his campaign last season won’t be an issue ahead of the world cup. Furlong said: ‘‘At the minute, touch wood, I’m fit and raring to go. I was half in rehab, half in training camp, but in the last two weeks I was fully back in the team. I feel good, in pre-season you tend to feel good anyway because there is not a whole lot of contact to ding you up. I had a good few issues around the calf/ankle, and we cleared up all those, I came back in midway through the Six Nations and then I had a completely different one at the end of the season.’’ Ireland’s opening game in the World Cup is on Sept. 9 against Romania in Bordeaux.
Tadhg Furlong at a recent Irish training session at the IRFU High Performance Centre, Abbotstown, Dublin. Inpho/Dan Sheridan
LONGFORD’S
BIG PLANS
Longford GAA have taken a hugely positive step forward in the development of a new €1m Centre of Excellence at Pearse Park. They have purchased 32 acres of land adjacent to the grounds on the outskirts of Longford Town at an auction recently. Longford chairman Albert Cooney said the development is for future generations of male and female players in the county. He said: “The support received from our fundraising committee, Club Longford, was invaluable. We are also grateful to the officials and committees in Croke Park and the Leinster Council, whose advice, assistance, and support was crucial in delivering on what is the start of a very exciting venture for the county.’’
PROFITS FOR
O’DRISCOLL
It looks like former Irish rugby captain Brian O'Driscoll isn’t just a winner on the pitch, as the latest recorded figures show that profits at a firm owned by the former Leinster and Ireland international increased to € 9.66 million in 2022. According to accounts filed by ODM & Promotions Ltd recorded a €641,383 profit after tax, that’s despite the fact his earnings appeared to have dropped by more than a quarter last year. The biggest impact on his earning power was a €91,826 drop in the value of the firm's tangible assets. But records also show that cash funds were up by more than €195,000 from €1.66million to €1.85million.The company’s investment properties are worth €1.78million and are listed as investment properties that are rented out. Brian established ODM & Promotions Ltd in 2001 when he was 22 in a bid to capitalise on being the most marketable Irish player of the modern rugby era. The 44-year-old’s coffers have consistently recorded strong profits each year, and Brian and the only other director, his father Frank, signed off on the most recent accounts on July 6.
CAVAN SHORT LIST
Current Cavan senior captain Raymond Galligan, Micheál McDermott and Jason O’Reilly are the three candidates on the short list to replace Mickey Graham as Cavan manager. Graham stepped down as the Breffini senior manager a few weeks back, having been in charge since 2019. Galligan become Cavan’s regular goalkeeper in recent years after starting his county career as a forward. He captained Cavan to Ulster senior football glory in 2020 and won an All-Star award that year. McDermott is a former Clare senior football manager and guided Ramor United to senior football glory in Cavan in 2016. O’Reilly famously scored a goal in Cavan’s 1997 Ulster final success against Derry, while his post-playing career saw him manage Cavan Gaels to a county senior final win and he also worked alongside Terry Hyland in Leitrim.
BONNER SUGGEST
CELTIC LOI FEEDER
Packie Bonner, the former Celtic and Ireland goalkeeper believes that Celtic should explore taking over a League of Ireland club as a feeder operation. The Donegal-born keeper made the comments on the club’s official podcast. Bonner, now an independent member of the FAI board says that Celtic should follow the route of Manchester City, the most high profile multi-club structure, by assuming control of an Irish club. Bonner said he has mentioned the idea to Dermot Desmond, who has personally entered into the Irish market to buy a 25 per cent share of Shamrock Rovers. Bonner said: “I have been talking to Dermot a few times I mentioned that we should have a club over there. I know we’ve got a connection with Rovers through what Dermot doing. But I think should have a club in the League of Ireland and run the whole thing. Man City do it all over the world, why can we not do it?"
BOSS'S RETURN
IS EXPECTED
Discussions are reported to be underway about Bruce Springsteen playing at least one GAA stadium next year. The Boss and his E Street Band are expected to return to Ireland in May 2024. Springsteen played three sold-out nights in Dublin’s RDS this past May 5, 7 and 9 as part of a world tour, the group’s first concerts since February 2017. Cork’s Páirc Uí Chaoimh and Kilkenny’s Nowlan Park have been mentioned as potential venues. Springsteen last played the Cork and Kilkenny venues in July 2013 when he gave two performances in each stadium. If the concerts go ahead, clashes with the provincial senior championship games are expected to be avoided. Neither Croke Park or Páirc Uí Chaoimh hosted a concert this year.
