Features

“Try that again and they’ll be having a by-election in Cork.” – Tony Reddin to then Cork TD, Jack Lynch, during the 1950 Munster final.  Since the retirement of Darren Gleeson in 2017, Tipperary have been having trouble nailing down their man between the sticks. This season, Liam Sheedy has juggled between Paul Maher and Brian Hogan of Lorrha. However, …

With the Champions League’s last four decided we analysed each of the teams vying for European glory this season. _____ Liverpool How They Got Here: Liverpool did excellently to negotiate a difficult group containing PSG, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade. The Reds finished second, just ahead of the Italian side on goals scored. They won three games, beating each team …

Last night, Tottenham advanced to the Champions League semi-finals on away goals after a stunning 4-3 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad. The game had absolutely everything from four goals in the opening ten minutes to Raheem Sterling’s late winner being disallowed by VAR for an offside in the build-up. Many people are calling last night’s all English clash …

For all involved in Irish football, the events of the last number of weeks have seen the beginning of a seismic shift in the game in this country. Stellar and commendable journalism from a host of Irish publications, most notably from Sunday Times writer Mark Tighe, has seen a poisoned regime on the brink of a complete and utter overhaul. …

During my chat with Dublin legend, Vinnie Murphy, last week one particular comment stood out. Murphy was reminiscing on 1995 and how Dublin had barely fallen over the line following five years of heartache. According to Murphy, it was a weaker Dublin side compared to the 1992 & 1994 All-Ireland finals, however, the reason they won that year (apart from …

The John Delaney era looks to be over. After weeks of speculation surrounding the much-maligned former CEO turned Executive Vice-President, the Football Association of Ireland released a statement on Monday claiming that Delaney has voluntarily ‘stepped aside pending the completion of an independent investigation’. “The Board of the Football Association of Ireland met in Dublin today. Following that meeting, the …

There’s no way we could compile a list of the greatest individual sporting comebacks and not apply it to team sports. Again, the team here at Pundit Arena HQ sat down to discuss the greatest sporting comebacks by teams. By no means are some of these comebacks as emotional and harrowing as some of the individual achievements of men like …

With the euphoria and nostalgia surrounding Tiger Woods’s victory at Augusta National yesterday to collect his fifth Masters title, it got us thinking… Woods hadn’t won a major since the 2008 US Open with his last Masters title coming three years beforehand. A fall from grace over his personal life saw him slip to golf’s rankings and following a succession …

We’ll start with this as there’s no introduction that can possibly set it up or do it justice. So here goes. “I’d be quite confident that the only thing that you could be accused of is being passionately committed to your job, passionately committed to the survival of the business, that all you were trying to do was do good… …

As the Premier League enters the business end of the campaign, talk will soon inevitably turn to who will win this season’s Young Player of the Year award. This year, there has been a number of standout young performers in the league with a plethora of stars all vying for the title of the league’s best under the age of …

Rory O’Carroll made his Dublin club championship return last night coming in as a late replacement as Kilmacud Crokes defeated Ballymun Kickhams at Parnell Park. It’s a welcome return for the three-time All-Ireland winner who jetted off to New Zealand ahead of the 2016 championship leaving a big hole to fill in the Dublin full-back line. Dublin have continued to …

A stunning strike from Mo Salah helped Liverpool keep pace with Manchester City at the top of the table thanks to a 2-0 win over Chelsea at Anfield. After City defeated Crystal Palace earlier in the day, Liverpool knew they needed to get a result against Chelsea, and showed their title credentials against Sarri’s men. Following a scoreless first half, …

“Vinnie’s going to get you, Vinnie’s going to get you.” Vinnie Murphy recounts a tale of leaving a Kerry nightclub back in the early 2000s shortly after his second retirement from inter-county football. He had taken a team down to play in the famous Páidí Ó Sé tournament and after being hammered by hosts, An Ghaeltacht, they flocked to one …

 “Armagh have the best forward in the country in Ronan Clarke” Ross Carr. The year 2002 saw breakout stars aplenty in the GAA with names likes Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper, Stephen Cluxton and Sean Cavanagh standing out.  However, there was one breakout star that stood tallest in ’02 defeating all three en route to an All-Ireland title and a Young Footballer …

Corofin, NUIG and Galway star Kieran Molloy is no stranger to fixture congestion in the GAA. In the last couple of seasons while representing his club and his college, Molloy has been the victim of an incredibly hectic schedule. In 2018, he played an All-Ireland Club semi-final with Corofin as well as a Sigerson Cup final with NUIG in the …

Richard Barrett sat down with Golfing Union of Ireland’s National Coach, and coach to Shane Lowry, Neil Manchip, to discuss life inside the ropes as coach to some of the best talent Ireland has produced. _____ “My good golf was okay”, Neil Manchip jokes, as he leads me to a quiet corner at the back of the Carton House hotel …

Who would want to be a goalkeeper anyway? A good performance isn’t always worthy of praise while every mistake is carefully dissected under a microscope. It really does takes a special type of breed to go between the sticks.  On Saturday, Westmeath defeated Laois in the Division 3 League final on a scoreline of 1-13 to 0-13. It was a …

Liverpool look to have one foot in the Champions League semi-finals after they eased to a 2-0 victory over Porto in the first leg of their last eight clash at Anfield. Klopp’s side looked impressive against their Portuguese rivals and opened the scoring in the fifth minute after Naby Keita’s strike from the edge of the area took a couple …