This is a good year for anniversaries in the GAA, who themselves are celebrating their 140th anniversary. The Ladies Gaelic football Association are celebrating their 50th anniversary, while camogie, who stage their three All-Ireland finals next Sunday in Croke Park, are 120 years old.
The Camogie Association, or Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael was set up in 1904. The inaugural match under the new Association took place at a Gaelic League Fair in Meath, between Craobh an Cheithnigh and Cúchulainn. But the first final was not played until 1932 when Dublin beat Galway in the final and 92 years on Galway are also in the final on Sunday when they face Cork, who have won the O’Duffy Cup a record 29 times.
Cork, who had a facile win over Dublin in the semi-final, will probably start as favourites. Meanwhile Galway, who had a hard-fought one-point win over Tipperary in their semi-final, will want to avoid being the third county team to lose a final on three consecutive Sundays.
While Cork has great history going right back to the start of the women’s game, all four of Galway’s wins have all come in recent years; their first was in 1996 when they beat Cork, then came wins in 2013 and 2019, and in 2021 when they beat Cork again. The Cork squad has changed a lot in recent years with most of their dual stars now retired, but the excellent Ashling Thompson is still doing the business at midfield.
The game is very strong in the Rebel County and Cork will also contest the Intermediate final where they play Kilkenny, with winners receiving the Nancy Murray Cup. In the opening game on Sunday Laois and Tipperary will meet in the Junior final, where the winners are presented with the Kathleen Mills Cup. Mills was a Camogie legend, winning 15 All-Ireland titles with her native Dublin.
We had an unforgettable All-Ireland senior hurling final between Clare and Cork. However, the rules are stricter in Camogie where no unintentional physical contact is allowed, in other words, there is no shoulder-to-shoulder tackle as there is in hurling. But the skill levels are high and hopefully we will see another great “hurling/camogie” game to remember.
O’BRIEN SIGNS
FOR EVERTON
EPL club Everton completed the signing of Republic defender Jake O’Brien from Lyon on a four-year deal for reported fee of around £17 million. The 23-year-old Cork-born centre back, made 27 appearances for the Ligue 1 side last season. He made his international debut when coming on as a half-time sub against Hungary in June and won his second cap in the 3-0 defeat to Portugal a few days later.
The Youghal, East Cork, native O’Brien is Everton’s fifth summer signing in the pre-season., he was also a useful hurler and boxer in his younger days. He joined Crystal Palace from Cork City in Feb. 2021. Palace loaned him to Swindon Town and later to Belgian club RWD Molenbeek for the 2022-23 season. In August 2023 he signed for French club Lille making his debut in October 2023 to become the first Irish player since Tony Cascarino in 2000 to play in Ligue 1.
O’Brien said. ‘‘I have been dreaming of this kind of move to the EPL. It’s a very exciting move for me. When the transfer window opened there were other clubs in for me but there was only one club I wanted to go to and that was Everton They have shown the faith in me so now it’s my turn to show why on the pitch.’’
O’SULLIVAN STAYS
IN NORTH CAROLINA
Irish soccer international Denise O’Sullivan has agreed a new two-year deal with North Carolina Courage, ending speculation that she’d join Manchester United. The 30-year-old, who has won 109 Irish caps, had been linked with a move to the Women’s Super League as her most recent contract with the Courage wound down. O’Sullivan moved to the Courage from Houston Dash in 2017 and has been a hugely influential figure ever since. O'Sullivan, who was given the captain’s armband last year, has led the club to seven NWSL trophies during her eight seasons in North Carolina. She was key to the team win the NWSL Championships in 2018 and 2019 with three straight NWSL Shields from 2017 through 2019 and a pair of NWSL Challenge Cup titles in 2022 and 2023, while also helping the Courage claim the inaugural ICC Championship in 2018. O’Sullivan said: ‘‘I am delighted and honoured to extend my time with the North Carolina Courage. When I joined seven years ago, I had no idea how big an impact this club would have on me as a player and a person.’’
CROKER TURNOVER
IS DOWN 20 PERCENT
Turnover at Croke Park stadium declined nearly 20 per cent to €42m during 2023 due to a lack of concerts and events being held at the facility, newly filed accounts show. During its latest financial year, ending September 30, 2023, the directors of Croke Park reported a surplus of €3.2m, which is up from €285,000 in 2022. However, this is largely as a result of a lower distribution to the GAA’s Ard Chomhairle. In 2022, this distribution amounted to €17m, which dropped to €15m last year.
JFLANAGAN TIPPED
FOR KILDARE JOB
Mickey Harte, who abruptly quit as Derry’s senior football manager last month, has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Glen Ryan in Kildare, but it looks very much like the next Lilywhite manager will be Brian Flanagan. The Johnstownbridge clubman was Kildare’s manager when they won the All-Ireland under 20 final last year. He was also involved with Meath club Summerhill as they won the Meath senior championship in 2023. Whoever gets the Kildare job will have to plan without Eoin Doyle who has brought the curtain down on his 13-year inter-county career with the Lilywhites. The Naas clubman captained Kildare for four years between 2016 and 2019 and also represented Ireland in the International Rules series in 2015.
PM TO PUSH FOR
CASEMENT FUNDS
Ulster GAA has welcomed recent positive noises emanating from Britain’s new Labour Government on prioritising the redevelopment of Casement Park. In the latest twist, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reportedly told UEFA that he will push for what the Times of London labelled a “controversial £310 million bailout of Casement Park” to allow Northern Ireland to host games at the Euro 2028. The actual funding shortfall for Casement Park is likely to be considerably less, when you factor in previous commitments from the Stormont Executive (£62.5m), Irish Government (£43m) and the GAA (£15m) amounting to over £120m, or approximately €142 million.
ULSTER’S YEAR
IN FOOTBALL
This has been a great year for the GAA in Ulster, culminating in Armagh beating Galway to win the Sam Maguire Cup for only the second time in their history. In addition to the All-Ireland senior football title, Ulster counties and clubs won practically everything in Gaelic football in 2024. The list of winners reads as follows: National Football League Division 1: Derry; National Football League Division 2: Donegal; Tailteann Cup: Down; All-Ireland Junior Club: Arva (Cavan); All-Ireland Intermediate club: Cullyhanna (Armagh); All-Ireland Senior Club: Glen (Derry); All-Ireland Under 20: Tyrone; All-Ireland Minor: Derry; Sigerson Cup: Ulster University; Colleges Hogan Cup: Omagh CBS.
TOM O’BRIEN, 95
Tom O’Brien, one of the last surviving members of the 1954 Meath All-Ireland winning team, has died at the age of 95. He was the first captain of a Skryne team to lift the Keegan Cup, when the Tara club won the silverware a year after the trophy was introduced. Tom won an All-Ireland Junior in 1952 and two years later starred a midfield in the win over Kerry.
