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Page 18 - O'Neills Blog
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In the GAA | In the Jersey HQ | February 02, 2017Who is qualified to wear the Wicklow jersey? Some counties have them; others can only look on in envy. Remember the TV series Celebrity Banisteoir? We think turning the tables on their head would be more fun. So we’ve drawn up a Wicklow Celebrity Selection. We reckon as a unit they would pose more than a few problems.
1 Darren Randolph
You need a solid citizen between the sticks and we could look no further than West Ham keeper Darren Randolph to pull on that no 1 Wicklow jersey. Since claiming the national jersey Darren has done his county proud. A real Wicklow mountain.
2 Dustin the Turkey
At corner back we’re going for Dustin, although it’s always risky playing a turkey at corner back in case they get roasted. (Turkey, roasted? See what we did there?)
3 Fr Jack Hackett
At full back and keeping a tidy square, it has to be Father Jack. Striking the fear of God into the opposition 14. The modern game needs characters.
4 Dara Ó Briain
In the opposite corner to Dustin, we’re going for
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In the GAA | In the Jersey HQ | January 20, 2017Planes, Trains and Automobiles
A 29-hour flight or six days on a boat? Which would you choose? Cavan picked the former and Kerry the latter. And the Breifne men made the correct call judging by the outcome, the men in the blue Cavan jerseys making history.
We're talking of course about the 1947 All Ireland Football Final played in the Polo Grounds in New York, the only time the All Ireland Final has been played outside Ireland. At the time, legendary commentator Micheal O’Hehir called it the ‘greatest chapter in Irish sporting history’.
Cavan - A Strong GAA Tradition-Ballyconnell was the first recorded affiliated club in Ulster GAA - they played their first game 7 March 1886.
-Cavan camogie was traditionally strong with forty clubs recorded in the county at centenary Year
-The Anglo Celt cup presented to Ulster council by O'Hanlon family who owned the Anglo Celt newspaper published in Cavan.
-Cavan have won the All Ireland Football Championship on five occasions 1933, 1935, 1947, 1948 -
In the GAA | December 14, 2016Westmeath are at the centre of the Ireland and at the heart of the GAA. Not every county has a trophy cabinet bursting at the seams, but Westmeath are a distinguished county, with many different strands of GAA flourishing. We tested the theory of Six Degrees of separation with the Lake County to see just how much everything is connected to everything else in the GAA.
St Loman’s Mental Hospital
John Heslin is one of the main men for Westmeath, who plays for the St Loman’s Club in Mullingar. As Michael Caine might say, not many people know this but Heslin’s club were formerly known as ‘Mental Hospital’, winning a Westmeath SHC title as 'Mental Hospital' in 1924 before landing a maiden Westmeath SFC title in 1948, beating Athlone by 0-4 to 0-1 in the final. The unusual name is derived from the fact that St Loman's has a long association with St Loman's Hospital, a large psychiatric hospital in the town with a history dating back to the Victorian era. The clubhouse and its superb, modern facilities
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In the Jersey HQ | December 12, 2016The Irish language edition of our 1916 Commemoration jersey marks the significant contribution that Irish language played in forming the opinions in Ireland in the early years of the twentieth century.
The Irish edition 1916 Commemoration jersey is developed in conjunction with Conradh na Gaeilge. This edition of the jersey featuring the Proclamation 'as Gaeilge' commemorates the role of the Irish language and the contribution of the Gaelic League/Conradh na Gaeilge in the events of 1916.
Of the sixteen leaders executed the majority were members of the Gaelic League. Ceannt, Clarke, Mac Diarmada, MacDonagh. O’Hanrahan, Pádraig Pearse, Willie Pearse, Casement, Heuston, Colbert, Daly and Kent were all members of the Gaelic League.
It was one of the key organizations in driving the radical ideas for reinventing and re-energising Irish society in the period building up to 1916.
The Gaelic League, or Conradh na Gaeilge, was founded in Dublin on July 31, 1893 by Douglas Hyde (Dubhghlas
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In the GAA | December 12, 2016Laois is one of the few counties to have featured in All Ireland Finals in hurling and football, underlining its status as a true dual county. Their footballers lost All Irelands in 1889 and 1936, but won the first National League in 1926. 101 years ago their hurlers won the 1915 All Ireland Final.
The Nineties Minors
The 2000s golden generation from Laois was based on a series of top class minor sides that contested three All Irelands from 1996-1998, winning two. They were managed by Gabriel Lawlor and threatened to dominate on into the senior grade. Classy Laois footballers from the noughties era include the brilliant Beano McDonald, Padraig Clancy, Fergal Byron, Joe Higgins and Tom Kelly to name a handful. They won a further minor championship in 2003, adding more talent to the senior panel. The players of the era may have a few regrets in looking at what u18 rivals Kerry and Tyrone achieved but their Leinster championship was a significant breakthrough in a highly competitive province
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In the GAA | November 10, 2016As the Club Championships progress through the winter, a cast of inspirational, rock solid and at times hoary old club characters emerge from the shadows to don their bib and do their club duty. As the saying goes, everyone has a part to play, no matter how big or how small.
Bainisteoir
He’s the man, wearing that Bainisteoir bib carries a weight all of its own. Got the world upon the shoulders or the unbearable lightness of being successful. Bestriding the touchline like a colossus as the saying goes. There’s different species of bainisteoir, the Davy Fitzgerald living every moment with the lads out on the pitch, heart on sleeve, pucking and kicking every ball. Or the more inscrutable like a Cody or Mickey Harte, hands thrust deep in pockets or gripping his chin in brow furrowed contemplation. In the club championship you never know who you’d see on TG4 on a Sunday doing the rounds. Some of them even have the Gilet, with the famous inscription on the back. Bainisteoir.
Maor Foirne
The
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In the Archives | October 24, 2016This Saturday, October 29, a group of fifty Gaelic footballers, hurlers and camogs representing GAA clubs from Derry and Donegal, as well as a local youth training organisation will set off for China and the Asian Gaelic Games.
They are travelling as part of the Live Life Lisa Foundation to celebrate the life of 22-year-old Lisa Orsi, the young Singapore Lions player, who died in March 2015.
Lisa Orsi passed away in March 2015 after suffering extreme high altitude sickness on a volcano trek in Indonesia. Lisa was a physio working in Singapore, and originally a player with the Ardmore GAA club in Derry, she played football for the Singapore Lions club and had been part of the Asian Championship winning team in 2014. The Cup was renamed in her memory.
Following her untimely death, her organs were harvested and donated to help save the lives of others. Her father Dennis paid tribute to his daughter at the time saying: “Lisa was extremely fit. She enjoyed her nights out, she enjoyed a pint
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In the GAA | October 21, 2016More than ever the GAA is going global. With the growth of the World Games and new clubs popping up wherever two or three Gaels are gathered, the Association has never been stronger outside Ireland, offering a home from home for Irish abroad and new sporting opportunities for the communities where they find themselves. And, wherever the GAA is, O’Neills are, proud to be associated with new and established clubs worldwide. Here we present a focus on five of our partners worldwide.
Connemara Gaels
Connemara Gaels has long been one of the first posts of call for the Irish emigrant landing in Boston. Given the name of the club and its history it has a particular resonance for folk of Galway and Mayo stock. Founded in 1961 the club is one of the oldest in the US.
The Gaels won the North American Football Championships in 1973 and they have a fair few Boston championship titles under the belt. The Club was founded in Doggins pub in Southie and have built a strong reputation. This year they
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In the Archives | October 17, 2016“Then his warriors laid him in the middle of it,
Mourning a lord far-famed and beloved...
...They were disconsolate
And wailed aloud for their lord's decease”.
From The Funeral of Beowulf, Seamus Heaney
Voices cracking with emotion, former teammates and opponents paid tribute to their fallen comrade Anthony Foley.
Ronan O’Gara, Peter Stringer, Will Greenwood, Martyn Williams, on-field friends and foes respectively talking of this stellar rugby human being. Brave, fearless, intelligent and humble.
The heartrending posts from men who soldiered in the fields of France, in England, Scotland and in the cathedrals of Irish sport, in Croke Park, Lansdowne Road and his spiritual home, Thomond Park.
Most of all, thoughts go out to Anthony's wife Olive and their two young sons, Tony and Dan. His dad Brendan and mum Sheila, and his sisters Rosie and Orla.
One of the most poignant images of recent days show Anthony standing helping his son attach the straps on his hurling helmet at Smith O'Brien's