Features

Déjà vu is not a sense lost on an Arsenal fan. Tearful goodbyes and tarnished legacies, Gunners fans know the revolving door of the transfer market, all too well. When Thierry Henry left for Barcelona he was hailed with “long live the king” chants when Ashley Cole left for Chelsea, calls of ‘Judas’ rang out through the skies of North …

Even the most ardent of Sheffield United fans could not have foreseen the dizzy heights of the Premier League’s top six when the Blades clinched promotion back to the top flight. This time last year, United defeated Ipswich Town to seal their spot back in the Premier League for the first time in 12 years, with Chris Wilder’s infectious style …

A few weeks back we drew up a list of five former inter-county footballers who could have walked onto any county team in their prime.  There was a huge reaction to the five players we chose and while most of you agreed with our selection, there was considerable talk surrounding a few notable exceptions and that the list could be …

Article originally published March 22, 2019. _____ Uncompromising, unforgiving, unrelenting… The great Meath team of the late 1980s is known by many as one of the toughest sides to ever play Gaelic football. With stars like O’Rourke, O’Malley, Flynn, Foley and O’Connell, none epitomised this great team as much as full-back and leader, Mick Lyons. That Meath team of the …

Joe Schmidt’s legacy in Ireland was cemented a long time before he stepped down as Irish Rugby’s head coach in 2019. The New Zealander brought an unprecedented level of success to the nation and raised the standard for all coaches across all sports. However, there is one little pocket of Ireland that Joe Schmidt holds very close to his heart; …

The GAA has been littered with some fascinating tales of comebacks down through the years. Earlier this week, we drew up a list of Gaelic football’s five best team comebacks of the 21st century but today our attention turns to individual comebacks. Each of these individuals were stars of their sport before their careers were seemingly cut short. However, each …

When will sport return?  For a sports-mad country like Ireland, that is a question on many people’s lips at the moment. Of course, there are bigger and more serious issues which are currently being experienced by many people throughout the land. Job losses, pay cuts, financial uncertainty and tragically, the loss of loved ones is prevalent. These are difficult times …

With everything but the supermarket closed at this stage, many are finding themselves at a loose end on a daily basis.  That being said, it does present us with an opportunity to delve into those dusty old bookcases and start reading. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best sports-related books in our collections. Here …

The last decade saw the likes of Belgium and Wales reap the rewards of nurturing a golden generation of players. Both teams had struggled to get to major championships and are now two of the strongest sides in Europe. Irish fans may feel that they could be on the verge of something similar given the talent coming through at underage …

Continuing on with our list of GAA greats, it’s time to look back at the greatest Gaelic football comebacks of the 21st century.  We’ve chosen five games from the last 20 seasons of action where one team looked dead and buried only to rise like Lazarus and advance to the next round of their respective championship. To qualify for our …

“Obviously, 25 years is a long time and everybody has their own recollections of what happened but I just think Shane had one of those games… he probably never had another one like it, put it like that!” Liam Coyle. _____ A quarter of a century later and Shane Curran remembers it like it was yesterday. ‘Cake’ is renowned in …

So many elements go into creating a successful, winning environment in a GAA team. It takes days, weeks and months of dedication, not just from the players and management, but from a host of personnel behind the scenes in the dressing room. From nutritionists to strength & conditioning coaches, every member of a backroom team has an important role to …

Over the course of the last week, you guys have been voting for who you think should be named the greatest ever All-Star midfielder.  After five rounds of voting involving 25 All-Star midfielders, we whittled the selection down to five players who you had been voting for over the Easter Holiday weekend. The list included current Dublin star, Brian Fenton, …

A successful career in the League of Ireland, almost 400 appearances in English football, and a full international for his country, there isn’t much in the game that Shaun Williams hasn’t experienced The times though, they are unprecedented for all, as society continues to tackle the generational challenge that has taken so much of what we love away. In the …

Walking through Inchicore en route to Richmond Park, the vast amount of gardai patrolling the Emmet Road area is striking. For a first-time visitor popping his League of Ireland cherry, this feels strange. Fears are compounded when a cop’s directions lead down a little sideroad that feels like a cross between an alley-way and somebody’s back garden because that’s exactly …

All week long you’ve been voting for the greatest All-Star midfielder in Gaelic football history.  We started with 25 candidates and have whittled them down to just five for this weekend’s final. The final sees a couple of Kerry legends go up against the two Brian’s from Dublin while there is an Ulster GAA icon thrown in to shake things …