WELCOME to the Ulster championship. Welcome to heaven, welcome to hell.
For the next eight weeks the sporting world in Ulster will witness a war of attrition. For some it will be a summer to remember, for the majority another summer to forget. For...>>> more
AT 3.30 on Sunday afternoon the roar of the crowd in Casement Park as referee Jimmy White throws the ball in will signal the start of this year's Ulster Senior Football Championship.
How will it unfold over the next couple of months in venues as...>>> more
The 2008 Ulster championship will soon be upon us. Let's hope that this edition provides more genuine excitement and high quality football than the offerings we have had over the past few years. Of course, the whole idea of what constitutes 'high...>>> more
Whereas Kerry and Cork are having a nice long rest until the final of the humorously entitled Munster "championship", playing games that are less use than a decent training match between their own A and B teams, the Ulster football championship...>>> more
WELL DONE Derry who beat Kerry on Sunday with a masterful display of diligence, obstinacy and a refusal to read any script that would begin with Kerry scoring two goals and controlling the game from start to finish. Their workrate in all areas of the...>>> more
Three of the weekends four national football league finals turned out to be cracking affairs.
Wexford and Fermanagh were going the distance before the Slaneysiders won out in extra time, Westmeath signalled their intentions before the Leinster...>>> more
By Joe Brolly
FOREGLEN is a village where the very mention of the words GPA or player grants is likely to bring the people out in a rash. There are 120 houses in the parish, and though it may be one of the smallest GAA communities in Ireland, it is...>>> more
By Jarlath Burns
Ah...the end of the League. A few weeks of club bliss for county players whose first round games are at the back end of the draw, and then, Whoosh!!! Sand dunes, country parks, hills, mountains, bogs, lakes (a recent innovation, in...>>> more
History has revealed that in any deeply divided society, sport and politics are often intertwined. Throughout the world this has been the case and Ireland is no different.
Ulster has entered a new era of Political stability. But a new debate on the...>>> more
By Joe Brolly
I GOT the Club Derry bowl out on Sunday morning to eat the cereal, but just couldn't get that old kick. Maybe the fun has gone out of it since they won the two All-Irelands. Derryfolk used to be able to poke fun at them, trotting out...>>> more
By Pete McGrath
THE sound of the long whistle at about twenty past three at Casement Park last Saturday afternoon brought a mixture of joy, relief and satisfaction to all connected with the Down U21 squad as it signalled a hard-earned victory over a...>>> more
By Kevin McGourty
Women in sport are increasingly reaching new levels of excellence, and in the GAA this is no different.
This is something many within our association have failed to recognise, and over the past six years the game at the highest...>>> more
By Pete McGrath
JUST when you thought they were about to go away it appears that they are back. Yes it looks as if the International Rules Test matches against our friends from Down Under are about to be resurrected in order to help the Aussies...>>> more
By Joe Brolly
As the league - like an octogenarian couple between the sheets - builds towards its annual anti-climax, the Ulster teams (bar Cavan) are performing strongly.
Derry's only defeat was away to Kerry. Yet despite the fact that we played...>>> more
By Pete McGrath
AS WE enter the dying days of March, Easter has come and gone and this weekend you will lose an hour of sleep during Saturday night. For the GAA follower these are seasonal hints that the National League is finally getting serious....>>> more
By Joe Brolly
Judge Judy, TV icon and presiding judge of the New York District Family court, titled her recent autobiography 'Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining.' Her phrase kept popping into my head when I was reading the new 'Players'...>>> more
By Pete McGrath
THE PHONE call comes from RTE on Tuesday morning. They want me to co-commentate with Micheal (there's only one Micheal) on Saturday night up in Ballybofey. Donegal versus Galway. Should be a good game but it is a long way from home....>>> more
Last year I was given a letter addressed to the Gaelic Football club at Queen's University, and opened it to reveal a personal apology from the former Meath great Gerry McEntee to the ledgenary Sean O'Neill that unfortunately he would not be making...>>> more
BY JARLATH BURNS
columnists@gaeliclife.com
Springtime is just round the corner and all round the country, club players are well into the dreaded pre-season routine where mud, gutters and cold sweat are all you have to look forward to on a dimly lit,...>>> more
BY KEVIN MCGOURTY
columnists@gaeliclife.com
ISN'T TG4 Just class, Not your run of the mill introduction so let me elaborate. Each week either through Laochra Gael or All Ireland Gold the younger generations of our association gets the chance to dive...>>> more
BY THE SLEDGER
columnists@gaeliclife.com
There are few things in life more nerve-wracking than the days leading up to a game with your deadliest rivals.
Yes, exams bring a certain amount of stress; the hours before a first date can cause trepidation;...>>> more
By Joe Brolly
I WAS at a really enjoyable chat show in Newry last week in aid of the Newry Hospice. The debate was excellent and the contributions from the audience astute. Joe Kernan was the star turn. Also on the panel were Dr McKenna Cup winning...>>> more
By Kevin McGourty
For over thirty five years now the announcement of the GAA all stars at the end of each season has become an integral and intriguing part of the GAA calendar.
On various occasions the selection process has spawned controversy but it...>>> more
By Joe Brolly
On the long (but happy) trip back from Antrim's game in Aughrim last Sunday, I was listening to an old interview on RTE radio with John O'Donoghue, the eminent Irish theologian, who passed away a few years ago. In the middle of a...>>> more
By Jarlath Burns
I received a text last week. 'The GAA was set up on 1884 by a man called Cusack and in 2008 another man called Cusack is trying to tear it down'. Cork v Cork; the most contentious, hard fought and bitter of all matches is on for real...>>> more
By The Sledger
Saturday night might be alright for fighting, as Elton John and perhaps Frank Warren might say, but it might not be OK for football.
The National Football League began last weekend with a flurry of evening games across the country, and...>>> more
The powerbag seems to be the latest toy in the market within the GAA circle. It is a must have for every coach and trainer, with the objective being to build power and increase strength.
The powerbag was developed by Dr Mark Belamy. I spoke to...>>> more
Last week I finished reading Charles Dickens' wonderful novel 'A Tale of Two Cities.' It tells the story of London and Paris during the French revolution. The first lines are amongst the most famous ever written and can be used to describe the...>>> more
Over the last week the GAA has shown how ironic an organisation it really can be. On Saturday, the proposal of an U-19 competition to replace minor and U-21 by the player burnout committee headed by Dr Pat O'Neill, was overwhelmingly rejected on a...>>> more
By Alan Rodgers
a.rodgers@gaeliclife.com
CAST your mind back and it always seems to be the case that new inter-county managers get that little extra edge or bring a midas touch when it comes to enjoying significant progress during their maiden...>>> more
