Shocks, drama and records broken - the GAA weekend

4 min read
Shocks, drama and records broken - the GAA weekend - Image 1
Shocks, drama and records broken - the GAA weekend - Image 2
Shocks, drama and records broken - the GAA weekend - Image 3
Shocks, drama and records broken - the GAA weekend - Image 4

Shocks, drama and records broken - the GAA weekend

A look at some of the stories as Gaelic football and hurling produce another weekend of drama.

Shocks, drama and records broken - the GAA weekend

A look at some of the stories as Gaelic football and hurling produce another weekend of drama.

Article image
Article image
Article image

Image source, InphoImage caption, It was all smiles for Down in Letterkenny on Sunday

It's been another weekend of shocks, drama and eye-catching performances across the provinces in Gaelic football and hurling.

Favourites stunned, rivalries renewed and records broken are some of the takeaways as the race for provincial honours stepped up another gear.

Just three weeks into the championship and it already looks set to be one for the ages, so let's take a look at some of the stories from Saturday and Sunday.

Prior to the weekend, we noted the shocks that had already taken place in Connacht and Leinster, with Leitrim beating Sligo and Westmeath stunning Meath.

Munster was having none of it on Saturday with Kerry and Cork sweeping past Clare and Tipperary respectively, so it was over to Ulster.

With Armagh out of sight against Fermanagh at half-time in Enniskillen, that door was also closed despite a spirited fightback from the Ernesiders, so it was left to Down to tear up the script in Letterkenny.

They did just that was a heroic performance, full of energy, drive and courage to take it to the back-to-back Ulster champions.

Although Down were underdogs, they have certainly been on an upward curve and have threatened to take down one of the top dogs for a few years - see Armagh in 2024, plus Donegal and Galway last year.

With Odhran Murdock, Daniel Guinness, goalscorer supreme Miceal Rooney, Pat Havern and the returning Caolan Mooney driving them on, they have blown Ulster wide open and have kept their hopes of playing for Sam Maguire this year on track.

They have Armagh to come next week, a tantalising prospect as Conor Laverty's men seem to have fully rediscovered that Down swagger.

For Donegal, it's back to earth with a bump after their league final win over Kerry. They'll be disappointed their three-in-a-row hopes for Ulster are over, but their eyes are on a bigger prize this year.

Image source, InphoImage caption, McGurn hit 1-12 in Fermanagh's defeat by Armagh

On the subject of Fermanagh's second half fightback, perhaps the standout performance of the weekend was delivered by Darragh McGurn.

With the Ernesiders 16 adrift at the break and staring down the barrel of a real hiding, McGurn came into his own and although the gap was out to 20 at one stage in the second period, Fermanagh reduced that to 11 by the end.

In such a lopsided game, it is highly unusual for a member of the defeated to pick up the man of the match award, but McGurn's exploits were bordering on the outrageous, finishing with 1-12 to his name which included five two-pointers and a sublime goal.

The 27-year-old is yet to savour an Ulster Championship victory, but could not have done more for the Fermanagh cause.

Declan Bonner's men will look at that first half when their shooting let them down with huge regrets, but will take heart for the Tailteann Cup, knowing if they continue to play with the freedom they produced in the second period against Armagh, they can have realistic hopes of silverware later in the year.

Backing up last week's win over Antrim in the Joe McDonagh Cup was vital for Down and they did just that on Saturday with their victory over London which should leave them in a good place for the rest of the competition.

Ronan Sheehan's men were favourites this time, so it was interesting how they would cope with being the hunted rather than the hunter.

Like this article?

Order custom jerseys for your team with free design

Related Topics

Related News

Back to All News