Search Results for 'Pearse Stadium'

It was a pleasure to have been in Pearse Stadium last Sunday to watch the brilliant display of forward play by Caltra’s Michael Meehan.

Galway 1-16

A winnable game it certainly is, but that simply adds to Galway's pressure on Sunday. A fortnight ago when Kilkenny thumped the maroons on a grim afternoon at Pearse Stadium, Galway were forced to deal with the usual pessimism that accompanies such a hiding.

I have fond memories of the summer of 1985. The Mayo football team was managed that year by Liam O’Neill. He was an excellent manager and coach, a driven man who really wanted nothing more than a Mayo team to express themselves in a meaningful way on the national stage. The former Galway player left no stone unturned in generating a self belief in the players in order to shake off a perceived mental weakness of the Mayo team back then. He was working with the nucleus of an All- Ireland winning under-21 team that had claimed the title in 1983. We were blessed at the time with a number of great footballers, players like Willie Joe Padden, TJ Kilgallon, Martin Carney, Eugene Lavin, Frank Noone, Jimmy Burke, and Jimmy Browne to name just a few, all talented footballers that in hindsight should probably have won lots more. We lost the Connacht final in the old Pearse Stadium in 1984. I remember big Tom Byrne scoring what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate goal in the dying minutes of that game that would surely have won us the final, but for some reason the goal was disallowed by the referee Mickey Kearins, he of Sligo fame.

It is suggested that trying to retain a title is one of the most difficult things to do in sport. Tyrone kick- started their campaign last Sunday and provided their thousands of supporters with sufficient evidence to suggest that they just might have to plan for a long summer following the Red Hand up and down the country after their very creditable dismantling of the current Ulster champions Armagh. The GAA hierarchy have been keeping their fingers crossed for some quality football after the debacle between Monaghan and Derry, and they got it. This was a great game of football, played by two quality teams and both teams deserve credit for contributing to a wonderful afternoon’s entertainment that made for compelling viewing.

Galway 1-14

Two restorative victories mean hope is coursing through Galway’s system again, but with challenges arriving thick and fast there is little time to reflect on the positive recent tidings. Wins over Munster opposition usually satisfy, and the manner in which Galway eked out results against Limerick and Waterford certainly augurs well. Nonetheless a frenetic spring schedule ensures Galway must be primed for another battle this Sunday when Tipperary enter Salthill for a match that ought to be revealing.

Is the National Hurling League losing its appeal? I don't usually start off my column with a question, however, with five rounds gone you could count on one hand the number of competitive games that have been played.

Tipperary 1-17

Denis Walsh the new Cork manager must have wondered last Sunday evening what the hell he’d let himself in for, after Kilkenny had subjected his side to their heaviest defeat for many a year.