Irish News in Sport Blog 2025

GAA 

Club Championships 

Castletown Liam Mellows retained their Wexford Senior Football Championship title with a win over Shelmaliers. The reigning champions controlled proceedings throughout, and although Shelmaliers produced a late scoring surge, it wasn’t enough to threaten the outcome.  

Rathgormack made it 3 in a row in Waterford, defeating The Nire by 2 points. In a closely contested game, the champions showed more composure in the final moments, with crucial points coming through Billy Power and Willie Hahessy. 

Loughrea won the Galway senior hurling championship making it back to back titles. Loughrea fended off former All Ireland champions St Thomas’ in a game that was close but well controlled by the town side. The decisive blow came through Darren Shaughnessy who hit the net and put the game out of sight for Thomas’. 

Cluainín Iomáint capture the Lietrim senior hurling championship in style, stopping Carrick’s surge for 4 in a row. Trailing at half time, Cluainín Iomáint pushed on in the second half through Gavin O’Hagan’s goal to claim their championship win. 

Comeragh Rangers made history as they claimed the Munster senior championship for the first time. The Waterford champions followed up their county success by conquering their province by defeating Southern Gaels. Having won their first ever county title in 2024, the club made up of Rathgormack and Clonea have followed up by retaining their county title and now Munster success. 

 
AFL  

After weeks of speculation, St Kilda have confirmed the signing of Kobe McDonald as a Category B rookie. McDonald has been turning heads in the GAA world with a series of standout performances that drew the attention of the club from Melbourne. The son of Mayo legend Ciarán McDonald, his move Down Under will come as a disappointment to Mayo supporters, who had high hopes for the talented youngster. 

Meanwhile, Kerry teenager Ben Murphy has joined the Brisbane Lions as a Category B rookie. The 18-year-old, who has represented Kerry at minor level, has long been on the radar of AFL scouts. His signing marks the next step in his journey as he makes the switch to professional sport in Australia. 

Soccer 

Sligo native Johnny Kenny was on the scoresheet in Celtic’s 3-1 win vs Rangers in the Scottish cup. Having signed for Celtic in 2022 and spent time on loan, Kenny has produced his best form to date under new boss Martin O’Neill. Kenny has close links to Sligo club Shamrock Gaels who won the senior championship recently, with 3 of his brothers playing on the team.