ONE OF THE greatest rivalries in Irish sport is renewed this evening. The greatest in ladies football, without a shadow of a doubt, anyway, as arch-rivals Cork and Dublin enter familiar territory; battling it out for silverware on the biggest stage. Cork captain Martina O’Brien and Dublin’s history-making skipper Sinéad Aherne. Source: Brendan Moran/SPORTSFILE Croke Park hosts the Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 1 final [throw-in 7.30pm, live on TG4], in a move away from its traditional Parnell Park stage. But  untraditional, or unconventional, has been the running theme of the last 15 months. For the second weekend in-a-row, fans will be present at Gaelic games HQ once again,…

Updated May 10th 2021, 7:18 PM SLIGO FOOTBALLER NEIL Ewing has announced his retirement from the senior inter-county game. The 33-year-old defender started out in 2008 and featured in three Connacht finals. Success eluded him in those clashes against Roscommon in 2010 and twice against Mayo (2012 and 2015). Ewing outlined how injury had been a reason behind his decision to bow out. “Dodged injury for a long time but luck couldn’t last forever. At the minute the body is not willing to do what the heads is telling it. It was a childhood dream to pull on the Sligo jersey. An honour to have enjoyed the opportunity to do…

Mayo 2-15 Galway  2-14 Stephen Glennon reports at MacHale Park AN UNANSWERED 1-4 in the closing five minutes saw Mayo claim the bragging rights over neighbours Galway in this pulsating Lidl National League Division 1 derby at MacHale Park. Mayo’s second goal from a Rachel Kearns 55th minute penalty re-ignited her side’s challenge before Kearns and substitute Deirdre Doherty kicked two frees in the final minute to overturn an earlier six-point deficit and secure a dramatic victory for the home side. It was Mayo, bolstered by the return of Fiona McHale and the Carnacon contingent to the squad, that made the better start in the contest, with Maria Reilly netting the opening…

LIMERICK HAVE CALLED up four players to their squad for the 2021 season while All-Ireland winning defender Paddy O’Loughlin has dropped out of the setup ‘for personal reasons for a while.’ John Kiely’s team commence their campaign next Saturday in the Gaelic Grounds against Tipperary after a terrific 2020 season that yielded All-Ireland, Munster and league triumphs. They are currently operating with a 38-player squad, youngsters Colin Coughlan (Ballybrown) and Cathal O’Neill (Crecora-Manister) both joining for the first time. The pair are Leaving Cert students who won Munster minor medals in 2019. O’Neill is a highly-rated attacker who scored 0-9 in that provincial final win over Clare while Coughlan is…

IT’S 22 MONTHS since Kerry mounted the second-half fightback that took down Tyrone by three points in an All-Ireland semi-final in Croke Park. Source: James Crombie/INPHO It’s 16 months since Tyrone held off Kerry by a point to win a league encounter in Edendork. A pair of tight contests. A success for each side. The background as they approached yesterday’s meeting in Killarney. How then to explain the 16-point hammering that Kerry handed out in the latest clash? How do you account for the six goals that Kerry posted? How much value can be placed on it, with the summer examinations in mind? Kerry knew that winning this league semi-final…

CORA STAUNTON HAS been included in the 2021 AFLW Team of the year after another impressive campaign with the Greater Western Sydney [GWS] Giants. The four-time All-Ireland winner is named among the forwards who made the shortlist, averaging 10.3 disposals, and kicking 10 goals for her club this year. Staunton, 39, who first joined the Giants in 2017, has consistently been a standout performer since her move Down Under. She capped off her debut season by picking up the Giants’ Goal of the Year award. She then suffered a career-threatening triple-leg-break injury in 2019 but managed to make a full recovery the following season and has continued to make a…

Dublin 6-15 Waterford 2-12 HANNAH TYRRELL MARKED her return to inter-county football in style this afternoon as the Irish rugby international hit 1-5, as reigning All-Ireland champions Dublin convincingly defeated Waterford in Parnell Park. In a game that was dubbed a dress rehearsal for the championship, Dublin welcomed back Olwen Carey, Siobhan Killeen, and fresh from their endeavours in Australia, Lauren Magee and Niamh McEvoy. Waterford did get off to a quicker start and dominated early possession, Maria Delahunty hit one from play and converted a free. Early Dublin efforts skimmed wide of the post but they opened their account for 2021 with a Sinead Aherne free after Niamh Hetherton…

IN THE 50th minute of Sunday afternoon’s game, Páidí Fitzpatrick was summoned to the sideline at Semple Stadium. The Clare defender gestured with his fist as he ran off, saluting David McInerney who was coming on as a replacement. The message was clear. He had put in a huge shift to help establish a winning platform for his team as they were nine points clear. Now the focus shifted to supporting the rest of the team as they attempted to finish the job. Ultimately Clare were successful by four points. It was a victory to savour for their team to kick-start the 2021 ambitions but for Fitzpatrick it held a…

MORE IRISH PLAYERS have earned new Australian Football League Women’s [AFLW] contracts as the focus switches to next season. Click Here: Germany National Team soccer tracksuit Mayo and Cavan stars Sarah Rowe and Aishling Sheridan have committed their immediate future to Collingwood, putting pen to paper in recent days. Yesterday, Rowe was one of six players to have a new deal announced, signing on until 2023. The 25-year-old recently completed her third AFLW campaign, playing seven goals across an injury-hampered season, while kicking one goal. Having undergone shoulder surgery as the curtain came down on the 2021 season, Rowe stayed on in Australia to rehabilitate, missing the Green and Red’s…

REIGNING CORK SENIOR hurling kingpins Blackrock will take on last year’s semi-finalists Erins Own after this evening’s draw for the 2021 club championships in the county. On the day that adult club players received the green light to resume training in pods of 15 from Monday 10 May and can play games from Monday 7 June, the championship draws for the year ahead took place in Cork. In the hurling Blackrock, who ended an 18-year wait last October for senior hurling glory, will meet Erins Own along with city rivals St Finbarr’s and last year’s senior A winners Charleville in their group. Last year’s beaten finalists Glen Rovers will take…