WITH THE STRETCH in the evening getting even more grand, we’ve still got plenty of sport to look forward to this weekend. It’s All-Ireland final time in the hurling and football club championships, while the Premier League action continues. There’s more United Rugby Championship fixtures on the way as well as the Super Bowl in the NFL as Cincinnati Bengals take on the LA Rams. The Six Nations continues as Ireland travel to France while there’s golf on the PGA and DP World Tours. Here’s what’s coming up this weekend: Friday 7.50am: Cricket – India v West Indies 3rd ODI, Sky Sports Cricket 8.00am: AFLW – Gold Coast Suns Women and…

Source: The42 WHERE IS BEST to start? Back to October 2004, when the 16-year-old goalkeeper helped his club take the reigning Kilkenny and Leinster champions O’Loughlin Gaels to a county quarter-final replay? Or maybe more recently, that remarkable feat of escapology as the 34-year-old forward smashing in the last-gasp goal that delivered a sensational ending to an All-Ireland semi-final? Two afternoons that have bookended a glittering hurling career for TJ Reid in Ballyhale Shamrocks colours. Tomorrow he steps out in Croke Park, bidding for a 6th All-Ireland senior club hurling medal. Apply some context. Birr and Portumna with four titles apiece, are the clubs closest to that figure. Reid’s brother…

NUI Galway 0-18 MTU Kerry 0-15 (after extra-time) John Keogh reports from Rathkeale NUI GALWAY ARE into the Sigerson Cup following a thrilling 0-18 to 0-15 semi-final extra time win over MTU Kerry at Mick Neville Park in Rathkeale.  Matthew Tierney starred for NUIG with 0-8 from a game that saw four MTU Kerry players sent off. Evan Looney was sent off in regular time, while Dara Moynihan, Jack Savage and Tony Brosnan were all given their marching orders in the late stages of extra time.  Brosnan and Savage scored 14 points for a MTU Kerry outfit that were never able to get any sort of rhythm going throughout.  Brosnan got…

NUI Galway 1-22 Waterford IT 2-13 NUI GALWAY SET up a local Fitzgibbon Cup semi-final clash next week against GMIT thanks to a six-point win over Waterford IT at Dangan tonight, with Evan Niland continuing his immaculate run of form for both Galway and the university by scoring 0-14 over the course of the hour. There was a style and polish to the home side this evening, and who twice looked like they had comfortably shaken off the threat posed by Waterford IT, only for penalty goals from Shane Bennett to drag Fintan O’Connor’s side right back into the contest on two occasions. Ultimately however, the Waterford students simply didn’t…

ON SATURDAY, MICKEY Moran attempts to win a senior All-Ireland final as manager on the fifth time of asking.  The 2020 club final defeat with Kilcoo to Corofin, arrived after Slaughtneil fell at the final hurdle to the Galway side in 2015 and Dr Crokes in 2017. In 2006, his Mayo team were taken apart in the All-Ireland SFC decider by a ruthless Kerry outfit.  There were plenty of successes too. He experienced an All-Ireland win as part of the Derry backroom team 29 years ago, while he led UUJ to Sigerson Cup success in 2008. He brought Sligo to the 1999 Connacht final, Derry to the last four of…

Ballygunner (Waterford) 2-17 Ballyhale Shamrocks (Kilkenny) 1-19 BALLYGUNNER HAVE LONG dreamed of being crowned All-Ireland champions but perhaps they could never have imagined as sensational a way to realise that ambition. Click Here: Shane O’Sullivan celebrates Ballygunner’s win. Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO Two points down, deep in injury-time against the Kilkenny aristocrats of this competition, it appeared as if Ballyhale were set to reign again. But then Ballygunner fashioned a passing move involving Ian Kenny, Paddy Leavey and Peter Hogan to send Harry Ruddle clear from midfield. He approached a crowd of players, let fly from inside the D and the ball nestled in bottom corner of the net. The final…

Results Connacht senior A football final St Jarlath’s (Tuam) 3-6 St Colman’s (Claremorris) 0-9 Munster Corn Uí Mhuirí senior A football final St Brendan’s (Killarney) 0-17 Tralee CBS 0-12 Leinster Corn Uí Dhúill senior A hurling final Good Counsel (New Ross) 1-22 Dublin South Schools 0-14 Advertisement ***** GALWAY’S ST JARLATH’S, Kerry’s St Brendan’s and Wexford’s Good Counsel all celebrated provincial schools senior title wins this afternoon. The Munster final in Fitzgerald Stadium went the way of St Brendan’s in a clash against local rivals Tralee CBS, triumphing 0-17 to 0-12. It was a familiar Munster final pairing, the third time in five seasons the Kerry superpowers had met in a decider.…

Hurling – Ballyhale Shamrocks v Ballygunner, Croke Park, 3pm Football – Kilmacud Crokes v Kilcoo, Croke Park, 5pm  Both live on TG4 ***** 1. Will we get a hurling classic? If a general sense of anticipation builds up before an All-Ireland club hurling final, the game that unfolds has tended to disappoint in recent times. Of course there are gripping stories from the winners’ enclosure and stunning individual displays, but the contests needed to grip neutrals have been missing. Of the last ten campaigns, seven finals have been settled by margins of eight points or greater. How many compelling deciders have there been? The Cuala-Na Piarsaigh two-game saga of 2018…

UL’s David Clifford celebrates with team-mates after their semi-final win. Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO THIS YEAR’S SIGERSON Cup final will be broadcast live by TG4.  Advertisement NUI Galway needed extra-time to book their place in the final with a 0-18 to 0-15 win over MTU Kerry last night.  In the other semi-final, Kerry star David Clifford scored two late points to ensure UL reached the competition’s decider for the first time in 25 years — seeing off 2020 champions DCU.  The sides meet at IT Carlow next Wednesday, 16 February, for a 7.30pm throw-in.  And the game will be available to watch live on TG4. SEE SPORTDIFFERENTLY Get closer to the…

NUI Galway 0-12 UL 1-6 A FIRST SIGERSON Cup title for NUI Galway since 2003 after their powerful start to the second half proved crucial in defeating UL at a rain-lashed IT Carlow grounds tonight. NUIG’s Cathal Sweeney and Eoghan McLaughlin of the University of Limerick. Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO Despite losing Mayo’s Tommy Conroy and Galway’s Sean Mulkerrin to injury in this campaign, the Maurice Sheridan-managed side were deserved winners against UL. Matthew Tierney captains Galway to the Sigerson Cup 34 years after his father played for them in the final. pic.twitter.com/2RB6LfMaA1 — Maurice Brosnan (@m_brosnan) February 16, 2022 Roscommon’s Cathal Heneghan came off the bench to shoot 0-3, in…