PROVINCIAL TITLES HANDED out in the south and east and one of hurling’s aristocrats dumped out in July. Just your average, action-packed weekend of Gaelic games action then. Here’s what happened.
End of an era?
Will Tipperary’s Brendan Cummins be back seen on an inter-county pitch again? The Premier’s rivalry with Kilkenny has defined the past half dozen summers in the hurling championship. On Saturday night the Cats ended their neighbours’ summer with a 0-20 to 1-14 win. Cummins — one of the players of his generation — disappeared down the tunnel in tears. Will he emerge in blue and gold next summer?
Pic: INPHO/Donall Farmer
Heartbreaking picture of the weekend
Kids crying gets us every time. But this young Tipp fan will surely have plenty to shout about in summers to come.
Pic: INPHO/Donall Farmer
Tipp fans, this is what it would look like if Henry Shefflin played for you
Pic: INPHO/Morgan Treacy
If there was a transfer system in GAA, what? The fit-again Ballyhale talisman was introduced by Brian Cody for his first action of the season. It’s good to have him back.
Atmosphere
Nowlan Park was sold out long before Saturday and it was near full — reportedly — an hour and a half before throw in. Listen to how the Noreside crowd greeted the final whistle and the re-start in their season:
YouTube: GAA Matters
Raising the Banner
The other hurling qualifier of the weekend saw Clare get their season back on track after defeat to Cork, with a facile 1-32 to 0-15 victory over Laois. 15 players scored for Davy Fitz’s outfit in total, and that 1-32 is even more impressive given this Laois team had frustrated Galway for long stages in the Leinster championship.
Next up for Clare? Wexford in a few days’ time.
End of an era II?
Will Micko ever don the Bainisteoir bib again? Clare’s footballers bowed out to Laois and the legendary Kerry manager called time on his tenure with the county.
Pic: INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Underdogs come close…
The Waterford footballers were desperately unlucky to get knocked out by a county who have won two All-Ireland senior titles in the last 15 years. But Micheal Meehan’s goal helped save Galway. And Roscommon, after shipping heavy defeats over the past two years to Tyrone, were far more competitive on Saturday in Dr Hyde Park. They could easily have triumphed as well.
Tweets of the weekend…
Codebreakers
Pic: INPHO/Donall Farmer
Dublin footballers Ger Brennan, Stephen Cluxton and Denis Bastick look on ahead of their county’s hurling showdown with Galway in the Leinster championship.
Paging Dr Bob
Dublin bridged a 52-year gap, seeing off the Tribesmen to claim the Leinster hurling title. This is how much it meant to one of those not from the capital, manager Anthony Daly:
If it’s okay for Dalo to cry, then we’ll never be embarrassed watching the first 15 minutes of Up again.
What’s the Irish word for ‘golazo’?
David Burke’s score is going to be on the shortlist for Goal of the Season come the end of the summer. Pick it out.
Minor lillies
Dublin may rout Kildare at senior level but the Lilywhites can turn the tables in the minor grade. They won out by 3-13 to 2-6 in Saturday's Leinster semi-final.
Have you heard the one about the Kerryman who went to the wrong match?
Or maybe this exile watched the win over Cork in Quinn's and walked down the road. Nothing beats being there, of course.
Keep your Hawkeye, Dublin
This Fitzgerald Stadium steward shows why older technologies can still do a job within the Association:
Rebel yell
Cork left Killarney with their much-lamented Killarney record still standing; they haven't won in the championship against the Kingdom there since 1995.
As the game slipped away from the visitors, one fan threw his programme over the hoardings at one of the Kerry players.
Watch the incident here on Vine. We love the double take from player.
Jimmy's watching matches
After taking in games in Clones and Dublin last weekend, the Celtic staffer was back on the road to take in Down and Derry in the qualifiers.
Play of the weekend
You could have had goals from the likes of marquee names, Joe Canning and Colm Cooper. But the defenders amongst us will savour this body-on-the-line block from JJ Delaney:
Gif: Balls
File under: kablamo!
Talking points
- Tipperary are used to negotiating the road to Croker every summer. This year - Eamon O'Shea's first in charge -- it seems they have too many miles on the clock. The Premier boss will have months to ponder just what he needs to do to make next season a longer one. And no doubt there'll be many within the county happy to give him advice between now and January.
- Next weekend then we have a double header in Semple Stadium: Clare v Wexford and Kilkenny versus another noisy neighbour, Waterford. Mouth-watering stuff.
- Dublin's hurlers made history with a win over an off-colour Galway. Which of the two can be seen as Kilkenny's main rivals for the Liam MacCarthy now?
- Is Conor Counihan under pressure? The Aghada man has at times caught flak for not being quick enough to make changes on the line. Yesterday he called Damien Cahalane ashore with the first half well into junk time. Why not wait til the break? The Rebels season is now in the balance; if they produce more of the second-half fare rather than the first, they might yet go far. For Kerry, newbie manager Eamon Fitzmaurice looked right at home in his first senior provincial decider in the Kerry bib.
What did you think?
