Monthly Archives: April 2016

The Brogans, the O Sé brothers, Eamonn and Neil McGee. What of the McEntees of Crossmaglen, Henry and Seamus Downey, or in Tyrone the Cavanaghs, the McMahons, the Donnellys Mattie and Richie and in Derry the McGoldrick clan? Monaghan’s Kieran and Darren Hughes. It's a feature of the GAA with its family ethos that you often don't see one brother without the other. Sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart. Often one lad suffers in the shadow of his sibling. What with wearing each other socks, lifting the wrong initialled and occasionally even getting a yellow card in the wrong.

Pity the poor Irish mother. Bad enough going through the wringer over one son but imagine having two involved. It was said in Derry that the Downey’s mother could never bring herself to watch Seamus and Henry play. But play they did. Gaelic football and hurling are full of bands of brothers plying their trade. Some are more successful than others. Wrong it is too, to ask one how the other

Club jersey. Wintergreen. Kinesio tape, new boots, the Gaagle Waterbottle, the new Size 5 O’Neills All Ireland; the firm rimmed sliotar and the freshly banded hurl. It's that time of the year again, the club season is getting a head of steam and it's time to celebrate all that we love about the GAA.

The Club Jersey

No team talk worth its salt can be without the manager pointing to the Jersey and exhorting lads to play for it, remembering the lost generations and the heroes of the club that have passed before them. An impassioned oration about