Harte inspired by spirit of Tyrone battlers
No excuses from Tyrone manager Mickey Harte at the end of this drama.
No excuses from Tyrone manager Mickey Harte at the end of this drama.
Playing Dublin in front of a healthy audience in Croke Park with a national title at stake is always a big occasion, but Tyrone trainer Fergal McCann feels it is a "welcome distraction" from the real business of the Championship, when they face All-Ireland champions Donegal in Ballybofey on May 26th.
Paul Finlay has had to exercise patience in his bid to accumulate GAA honours.
Dublin manager Jim Gavin sees Tyrone as strong contenders to lift the Sam Maguire Cup this year, but he's backing his forwards' firepower to bring Dublin their first Allianz Football League title in 20 years at Croke Park on Sunday.
There is a picture of the All-Ireland winning Derry minor team of 2002 that hangs in Eoin McNicholl's home. He isn't one for staring at it, but in the team picture featuring him as goalkeeper, he counts the players that went on to play senior for their county.
Much has been made of the fact that Ulster sides such as Down, Donegal and Antrim have suffered the ignominy of relegation in the Allianz Football League.
Not many managers decide to re-vamp the core of their defence immediately prior to a vital assignment at Croke Park.
Mark Lynch has spent the best part of a decade as a first-choice Derry player but with very little to show for his efforts.
Cavan's championship progress has been dealt a most serious blow with confirmation that Gearoid McKiernan has suffered a cruciate ligament tear.
Armagh manager Paul Grimley has been handed a huge boost ahead of the Ulster Senior Football Championship preliminary round tie against Cavan now that Jamie Clarke is back in the fold.
All-Ireland Intermediate club football champions Cookstown Fr Rocks are bracing themselves for heavy sanctions from the Central Competitions Control Committee.
The self-appointed purists will hate you for saying it, but this Sunday could be the first time in Gaelic games where a major final is decided by the scoring of opposition goalkeepers.
Having already secured promotion back to division two, Monaghan veteran Dick Clerkin is targeting the reversal of a miserable sequence of results at Croke Park. The fact that they face Meath in the Division Three final on Saturday offers symmetry.
Derry star Paddy Bradley has been given the green light to return to football by a knee specialist.
The pain which Down manager James McCartan is feeling following his team's relegation to Division Two has been eased somewhat by a declaration of intent on the part of several of his more established players in relation to the Ulster championship.
Scars on either of Sean Cavanagh's shoulder serve as a constant reminder of the relative brevity of an inter-county career.
Kilkenny manager Brian Cody received the best possible sporting tonic yesterday as he recovers from heart surgery when his side sent out a clear signal that they have no intention of being parted from their Allianz League and All-Ireland titles.
Antrim ladies were rocked by a trio of goals as Offaly took the honours in the Division Four semi-final at Inniskeen, winning 3-8 to 0-10.
Cavan 0-11 Cork 0-15: Triple Ulster champions Cavan were edged out in a drama-loaded crescendo in this All-Ireland semi-final at O'Connor Park, Tullamore.
Cavan's heroic comeback fell just short as Cork held on to book their place in the All-Ireland U21 football final with a 0-15 to 1-11 win.
It hasn't always been a bed of roses
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has confirmed he is keen to retain the services of on-loan Liverpool striker Andy Carroll and hopes a deal can be finalised as soon as possible.
Nicolas Colsaerts and Graeme McDowell contested the final 12 months ago and have set up a quarter-final clash at the Volvo World Match Play Championship after both almost blew massive leads at the last-16 stage.
Ireland and Munster fly-half Ronan O'Gara has announced his playing retirement in order to take up a coaching role with Racing Metro.
Skipper Kieran Read led the way as the Crusaders eased to a 23-3 victory over the Blues at the AMI Stadium.