Rory Gallagher may no longer be involved at intercounty level but he is, it appears, making an unlikely foray into punditry.
Gallagher was regarded as one of the leading coaches in the sport before he stepped down as Derry manager in May 2023 after his ex-wife, Nicola, made allegations of domestic abuse. A Police Service of Northern Ireland investigation subsequently brought no charges.
With no involvement in mainstream punditry or intercounty coaching, the 47-year-old has been active on social media, posting short videos commenting on football matters, and has launched a Substack page where he has so far published two articles, one reviewing Armagh v Tyrone and the other previewing Cavan against Monaghan.
“Monaghan,” Gallagher reckoned, “have lost the identity that brought them two Ulster titles and 11/12 years as a strong Division One team ... They now are easy to play against and score against and aren’t as hard working.”
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However, he still fancied the Farney against a Cavan side
“If Monaghan can defend better than they have been, I expect them to win by 3/4 (points) as their best players are better than Cavan’s.” As it turned out, defensively, it was Monaghan’s best showing of the year; they led by three late on and won by seven.
World Games almost upon us
Entries are almost closed for the GAA World Games at Setu, Waterford, on July 13th-16th, with a record 110 teams already confirmed, equating to more than 2,000 players and support staff, who will play 400 matches.
Teams will be in attendance from Iberia, France, Slovakia, Germany, Canada, Argentina, Paraguay, Australia and Zambia, among other countries, including a large cohort from the United States. The last World Games were held in Derry in 2023, while Waterford previously hosted them in 2019.
Some of the American teams are amalgamations and, as such, needed new names; they didn’t disappoint. An Triúr Deirfiúr, Dairy Girls and The Milk Men will all be in attendance along with our personal favourite, the evocatively-titled Rust Belt Banshees.
April fixture anarchy
Is it time the powers-that-be made a virtue of the fixtures logjam in mid-April? While the weekend gone by is not billed any differently than any other in the year, it is unique in that all 32 counties, plus London, Lancashire and Warwickshire, played championship matches in football or hurling or, in the case of 12 counties, both.
Five counties, in fact, played football and hurling championship matches on the same day. Given that it is generally accepted that it’s impossible to adequately promote so many games individually, why not market them collectively as a sort of GAA version of basketball’s March Madness? April Anarchy, anyone?
Or how about, apologies in advance, Massive, Mid-April Split Season Intercounty Viewing Extravaganza? There have been worse taglines ... maybe.
Arise Westmeath
The good times are rolling for Westmeath football. Last year was an annus horribilis in which they lost all seven league games in Division 2, were beaten in the first round of the Leinster Championship, knocked out in the Tailteann quarter-finals and disappointed at minor and under-20 levels, with three wins from eight matches en route to early exits in both.
This year so far, a Westmeath school (Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar) has lifted the Hogan Cup for the first time since 1981, they have beaten Dublin in the under-20 and Minor Championships and have just stunned a fancied Meath in the Leinster Championship.
By the Numbers: 3-12
What Stephen Bennett scored for Waterford against Clare in the Munster Championship. While he finished on the losing side, Bennett outscored the hurlers of Roscommon, Laois, Kilkenny, Kildare, Louth, Derry, London and Cavan this weekend.
Word of Mouth
“Walking, drinking coffee and peanut butter balls.”
Antrim wild man Eoghan McCabe lists his favourite hobby in the programme for their clash with Derry. Favourite food was separate, for the record: “Poached eggs on sourdough, bit of avocado if I’m feeling it.”
