What we are witnessing with David Clifford is a once in a generation reaction to a phenomenal talentHe now exists in that rarefied air of sportspeople that have a specific pressure only they have to bearThu Dec 01 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Let’s not hear it for the underdogs In the competitions that matter, victory for the underdogs is only positive if I’ve a dog in the broader fightThu Nov 24 2022 - 05:30
Ciarán Murphy: Reading too much into Westport’s wipeout is a fool’s errandThe Mayo outfit’s demolition by Moycullen of Galway last Sunday tells us little about the respective standards of the two counties’ club championshipsThu Nov 17 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: The GAA will always find a way to mess with your plansCiaran Murphy: It’s amazing how much GAA-related business you can miss in a week away – even in in early NovemberThu Nov 10 2022 - 05:00
Ciarán Murphy: Hard to see new GAA media deal being a good one for the consumer What makes the GAA think they can attract floating eyeballs to a streaming service they’ll have to bankroll themselvesThu Oct 27 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Letting referees have their say can only benefit them - and the gameAllowing referees' interactions with players be recorded could be a win-win for the GAAThu Oct 06 2022 - 05:00
Ciarán Murphy: No GAA club will act decisively to stamp out verbal abuse of referees. It just doesn’t happenClubs need to lead the way in discouraging environments that permit both verbal and physical abuseThu Sept 29 2022 - 05:00
Ciarán Murphy: We can’t take motivation of county players for granted when club comes calling Michael Fitzimons and Ray Silke show what is good about intercounty stars lining out for their clubThu Sept 22 2022 - 05:00
Ciarán Murphy: Underdogs unlikely to unearth another Kieran Donaghy any time soon Intercounty selection is far more rigorous and allows fewer talented players to fall through the cracks than beforeThu Sept 15 2022 - 05:00
Ciarán Murphy: Getting a club team out in this weather is no Electric PicnicThe draw of a wet field in Stradbally is lost on many GAA members trying to field teamsThu Sept 08 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Lismore would struggle to find a better club man than Dan Shanahan Dan The Man lines out in Waterford hurling championship at the grand age of 45Thu Sept 01 2022 - 05:00
Ciarán Murphy: Talking coherently on TV is no guarantee of managerial successMany people thought Colm O’Rourke and McStay’s chance to manage their native county had passedThu Aug 25 2022 - 05:00
Stampede of kids towards Clifford warms heart of beleaguered United fanSporting clips on the internet don’t always tell the full story but hard to not to get swept up by themThu Aug 18 2022 - 05:00
Ciarán Murphy: Free-taking at the highest level is the ultimate sporting gut-checkDenise Gaule’s free in last Sunday’s All-Ireland camogie final was the ultimate pressure shotThu Aug 11 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Shane Walsh transfer tug-of-war is a well-worn tale Once Galway's Shane Walsh decided on Dublin move, it is no great surprise he would opt to join a club in the capitalThu Aug 04 2022 - 05:00
Ciarán Murphy: The All-Ireland final is a brutal, cut-throat business‘Try to imagine last Sunday’s game through the eyes of four marquee forwards on display’Thu Jul 28 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Family is family, but Galway football is my closest link to homeFootball is the most potent, emotionally-charged thing linking me to my homeplaceThu Jul 21 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Kilkenny boss Brian Cody a serial winner straight from central castingIf he’s learned anything in 20 years it’s that winning ends the argument. He’ll bank on that against Limerick this SundayWed Jul 13 2022 - 19:00
Ciarán Murphy: Clare right to remember not everything the winners do is perfectWe would all do well to remember the small margins in latter stages of the All-IrelandThu Jul 07 2022 - 05:00
Ciarán Murphy: Penalties a test of skill when the pressure is most intenseBall-striking is absolutely a key skill of the game and credit goes to Galway who did it better than ArmaghThu Jun 30 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Rory Hayes substitution might be GAA’s most effective appeal-deterrent Expecting players to take it on the chin at this stage of the season looks decidedly unlikelyThu Jun 23 2022 - 05:00
Ciarán Murphy: The lure of ‘the day out’ still strong for GAA supportersTicket sales for the All-Ireland football and hurling quarter-finals show that FOMO plays its partThu Jun 16 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: I was wrong about the Tailteann CupThere’s no slick marketing campaign required when those involved buy into the competitionThu Jun 09 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Time for Mayo to round up the posse for one last rideAs Dublin and Kerry loom large once again, Horan’s grizzled heroes can inject some badly-needed romance into the football championshipThu Jun 02 2022 - 05:00
Ciarán Murphy: Roscommon now have the talent to burst bubbles outside of Connacht The Rossies take great glee in beating Galway but the quality they now possess can bring them furtherWed May 25 2022 - 18:56
Ciarán Murphy: If heroes hang around too long they can end up villainsIt was a tough week for heroes in the Munster championship last weekendWed May 18 2022 - 21:53
Ciarán Murphy: Cavan can set the tone for the Tailteann CupThe best way to prove you don’t belong in the Tailteann Cup is to go and win itThu May 12 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Facing Dublin in Croke Park again doing Meath no favoursRoyal County and Leinster Council should have insisted semi-final game was played at a different venueThu May 05 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Limerick bring fire and emotion, but they don’t rely on itEventually emotion burns itself out - a lesson Waterford, Cork and Tipp already learnedThu Apr 28 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: League final defeats killed the buzz around Galway and MayoBoth counties headed to Croke Park two and a half weeks ago in reasonably high spiritsThu Apr 21 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: There’s no need to fear change, just ask the Galway hurlersNo team has had to roll with the structural punches quite like the TribesmenThu Apr 14 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Waterford and Kerry in different places after league successesLiam Cahill’s side know that a fine league campaign could come undone very quicklyThu Apr 07 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Where’s the transparency about county managers’ expenses?Players must wonder why different rules seem to apply to bosses and backroom staffThu Mar 31 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Galway among a number of counties that can dare to dream just nowWith no giant bestriding this championship there’s no harm in a flight of fancyThu Mar 24 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Antrim fully entitled to home comfort for Cavan clashAttempt to move game from Corrigan Park for sake of a few more tickets was simply unfairThu Mar 17 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Priorities unclear until the GAA gives the Tailteann Cup some loveLimerick and Antrim should fight to get out of Division 3 until Tailteann is worth winningThu Mar 10 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Time to relish the opportunity to see games in the fleshLockdowns proved there are things you don’t get to feel in your gut unless you’re thereThu Mar 03 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Clubs are miles ahead on the inevitable road to integrationThe ‘One Club’ initiative has been a stunning success - it’s time for the rest to catch upThu Feb 24 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Club finals do romance better than most – no matter the datePlaying club finals in January at least grants them the audience’s undivided attentionThu Feb 17 2022 - 06:55
Ciarán Murphy: Who are these lunatics who want to play into the wind in the first half?The bulk of the captain’s work in Gaelic games involves the toss so don’t overthink itThu Feb 10 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: What was the point of spending €96m on Páirc Uí Chaoimh?If a concert trumps the importance of Cork hosting big games, questions must be askedThu Feb 03 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: It’s time to really push on towards a proper dual mandateWe're not talking about a nation full of Slaughtneils and Loughmore-CastleineysThu Jan 27 2022 - 07:49
Ciarán Murphy: Players may want to play games but not two in one dayKerry players Jack Savage and Tony Brosnan drove almost 200km between games last weekThu Jan 20 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: I’m willing to pay more to stream a match than buy a ticketBallyhaunis is now, sensationally, home to the largest sports air dome in the worldThu Jan 13 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: ‘The darts’ isn’t just for Christmas, it’s for lifeWorld Championship bonanza would act like a gateway drug - it’s safer to look awayThu Jan 06 2022 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Christmas the time when, once again, I ask ‘will I go another year?’You’ll be long enough retired but how long can you play and drink with 21-year-olds?Thu Dec 23 2021 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Blindsided by a Super Sunday of Covid, chaos and controversyLoughmore-Castleiney’s woes look small fry compared to the F1 and Munster v WaspsThu Dec 16 2021 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Paul Mannion looks the poster boy for the benefits of club lifeSplit-season opens up a lifestyle debate for players when it comes to intercounty gameThu Dec 09 2021 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Loughmore-Castleiney’s double triumph explains rarity of dual clubsProvincial championship the fall-guy if alternating hurling and football competitionsThu Dec 02 2021 - 06:00
Ciarán Murphy: Born on the right side of the border for Mayo, Colm Boyle will be missedA thunderous footballer, the Devitts clubman hails from a curious part of the GAA worldThu Nov 25 2021 - 06:00
