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Mary Hannigan: Seán Cavanagh remembers Art McRory, ‘a godfather of Tyrone football’

Kerry women aim to create their own legacy in All Ireland final against Dublin, while Ciara Mageean limbers up for World Championships in Budapest

'I’m so glad I shook his hand,' Seán Cavanagh says of Art McRory who died on Wednesday at the age of 82. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho

Mary Hannigan's face
Mary Hannigan
Thu Aug 10 2023 - 10:21

It was a chance meeting on Tuesday night between Seán Cavanagh and the man who gave him his senior intercounty debut, Art McRory, “a godfather of Tyrone football”. “I’m so glad I shook his hand,” Cavanagh tells Gordon Manning after news had come through that McRory had died on Wednesday at the age of 82.

Cavanagh reflects on his time playing for the Dungannon man who, he says, was ahead of his time. As the statement from Tyrone GAA put it, he “revolutionised” the game in the county and “in doing so made life here so much better for tens of thousands of people... that’s real legacy”.

The Kerry women’s team are aiming to create their own legacy when they take on Dublin in Sunday’s All Ireland final. “Kerry waiting 30 years for anything in Gaelic football seems like an anomaly,” writes Ciarán Murphy of the drought the county has endured since winning their last title.

Dublin’s “drought” has lasted only two years, but for their captain Carla Rowe, that has felt like a lifetime. “2022 was the first year that I’d been on the senior team that we hadn’t got to the All-Ireland final,” she tells Gordon, the shock of missing out driving them forward this time around.

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In rugby, Gerry Thornley talks to 22-year-old Tom Stewart who is still on a high after making his senior international debut against Italy last Saturday, playing alongside Tadhg Furlong and Cian Healy helping settle his nerves.

Another Ulster man, Nick Griggs, became the first Irish athlete to win medals across two different European Championships at under-20 level when he took silver in the 3,000 metres in Jerusalem on Wednesday. But, he tells Ian O’Riordan, he was disappointed not to emulate his gold-winning feat from two years ago, a measure of the standards the gifted runner has set for himself.

Next up for Griggs will be the World Championships in Budapest which start on Saturday week, Ciara Mageean currently limbering up for the same challenge. And fresh from smashing Sonia O’Sullivan’s mile record, she tells Ian that she’s “in the best shape I’ve ever been”.

Leona Maguire is in good nick too, racking up six top-10s this season, including a second career LPGA Tour win. Philip Reid heard from the Cavan woman ahead of today’s opening round at the Women’s Open in Surrey, and he also previews the St Jude Championship where Rory McIlroy and Séamus Power will be in the field this evening.

Telly watch: Leona Maguire, Stephanie Meadow and Elm Park amateur Anna Foster tee off today in the Women’s Open at Walton Heath, the final major of the season (Sky Sports Golf, 11am-6pm). And this evening, Rory McIlroy and Séamus Power will be in action at the St Jude Championship in Tennessee, the first of three tournaments in the FedExCup Playoffs (Sky Sports Golf, 6pm).