National Hurling League Division One Group B: Waterford V Dublin – Dublingaa.ie – February 5 2023

Posted on February 5, 2023 by admin

SENIOR HURLERS DRAW WITH WATERFORD IN LEAGUE OPENER

ALLIANZ NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION ONE GROUP B 

Waterford 2-19 

Dublin 3-16 

By Daire Walsh 

Donal Burke knocked over a late free at Fraher Field in Dungarvan on Sunday to earn Dublin a share of the spoils with Waterford in Division One Group B of the Allianz National Hurling League.

In Micheál Donoghue’s first game in charge of the Sky Blues, Burke registered an impressive tally of 1-7 to supplement a brace of opening period goals from Cian O’Sullivan. Cian Boland (0-3) and Alex Considine (0-2) also made strong contributions and with eight players getting their names on the scoresheet, there will be plenty for Donoghue and his selectors to reflect upon ahead of the visit of Antrim to Parnell Park next Sunday.

Credit must go to Waterford, however, who came away with a point despite losing Jack Fagan and Stephen Bennett to red cards inside the final-quarter. Bennett amassed 2-7 for Deise prior to this dismissal and former Hurler of the Year Austin Gleeson recorded four points as a substitute.

It had been a difficult start to the action for Dublin with Bennett bagging an unanswered haul of 1-2 (two pointed frees either side of a fourth-minute goal from a penalty) during the opening six minutes of the play. Fagan, Tom Barron and Jamie Barron also raised white flags for the hosts, before Burke finally got Dublin up and running just shy of the first-quarter mark with a fine point.

A Joe Flanagan score was cancelled out by another Bennett free, but Dublin fully kicked into life after O’Sullivan followed up a Boland point with a 23rd-minute goal via excellent approach work from Considine. Erin’s Isle wing-back Conor Donohoe brought the gap down to two with an effort from distance and Alex Considine also added to his side’s tally on the half-hour mark.

Three additional frees by Bennett ensured Waterford were four points to the good with the interval fast approaching, only for Dublin to once again rein in their Munster counterparts. A Burke free from 40 metres kept the visitors in the reckoning and parity was restored when O’Sullivan shook the net for a second time on 33 minutes.

It was turning into an edge-of-the-seat contest and the sides were ultimately inseparable at the break following traded efforts from Tom Barron and Burke (1-10 to 2-7).

This nip and tuck nature continued on the resumption with Conor and Donal Burke – from the St Vincent’s and Na Fianna clubs respectively – cancelling out Waterford points. Yet the home team were awarded another penalty in the 47th-minute and Bennett drilled it past Cuala netminder Sean Brennan to enhance his already impressive output for the day.

Considine got Dublin back on track with a point on the stroke of 50 minutes and when Brennan picked out Boland in space moments later, the St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh ace split the uprights to leave the bare minimum between teams.

Gleeson raised a white flag for Davy Fitzgerald’s Waterford at the opposite end, only for the pendulum to swing back in the favour of Dublin. When Boland was hauled down inside the square, the game’s third penalty (and Dublin’s first) was awarded.

Fagan received a black card (to go with an earlier yellow) for his part in this incident and with Burke firing home in clinical style, the Blues found themselves both a point and a man in front.

Bennett was also sent off just beyond the hour, but Waterford were back on level terms when Gleeson – deputising for Bennett – pointed a 65th minute free. Boland and Burke (free) found the range either side of another Gleeson free, only for the Deise to establish their authority courtesy of three points without reply.

The influential duo of Eoghan O’Donnell and Burke were on target during an extended spell of stoppage-time to level matters once again. It looked like Michael Kiely might squeeze Waterford home when he slotted over his second point of the tie, but Burke’s close-in free meant that Dublin came away with something to show for their endeavours.

Waterford scorers: Stephen Bennett 2-7 (2-0 pen, 0-7f), Austin Gleeson 0-4 (3f), Michael Kiely, Tom Barron, Jamie Barron 0-2 each, Jack Fagan, Jack Prendergast 0-1 each.

Dublin scorers: Dónal Burke 1-7 (1-0 pen, 0-5f), Cian O’Sullivan 2-0, Cian Boland 0-3, Alex Considine 0-2, Joe Flanagan, Conor Donohoe, Conor Burke, Eoghan O’Donnell 0-1 each.

Waterford: Shaun O’Brien; Conor Gleeson, Conor Prunty, Shane McNulty; Jack Fagan, Michael Harney, Calum Lyons; Darragh Lyons, Paddy Leavey; Jamie Barron, Reuben Halloran, Tom Barron; Kevin Mahony, Stephen Bennett, Michael Kiely.

Subs: Carthach Daly for D Lyons (17 mins), Austin Gleeson for Halloran, Dessie Hutchinson for Mahony (both 49 mins), Jack Prendergast for Leavey (56 mins), Patrick Curran for T Barron (75 mins).

Dublin: Sean Brennan; John Bellew, Eoghan O’Donnell, Paddy Doyle; Conor Donohoe, Conor Burke, Daire Gray; Fergal Whitely, Chris O’Leary; Donal Burke, Joe Flanagan, Cian Boland; Davy Keogh, Cian O’Sullivan, Alex Considine.

Subs: Ronan Hayes for O’Sullivan (half-time), Paul Crummey for Hayes (40 mins), James Madden for Keogh (44 mins), Cillian Costello for Flanagan (56), Andrew Jamieson-Murphy for Considine (59, blood), Ronan Smith for Whitely (72 mins).

Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway).

Posted in Hurling | Comments Off on National Hurling League Division One Group B: Waterford V Dublin – Dublingaa.ie – February 5 2023

National Football League Division Two: Dublin V Limerick – Dublingaa.ie – February 5 2023

Posted on February 5, 2023 by admin

SENIOR FOOTBALLERS BEAT LIMERICK TO MAKE IT TWO WINS FROM TWO

ALLIANZ NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION TWO 

Dublin 2-17 

Limerick 1-11 

By Daire Walsh 

Dublin made it two wins from two in Division Two of the Allianz National Football League with a nine-point victory against Limerick at the TUS Gaelic Grounds on Sunday.

With a combined haul of 1-13, the full-forward line of Dean Rock, Ross McGarry and Con O’Callaghan led the way for the Sky Blues in the scoring stakes. Brian Fenton also found the net to compliment the green flag effort he mustered in the previous weekend’s narrow triumph over Kildare at Croke Park.

Limerick produced a big second half effort to reduce their 13-point interval deficit and come way with some solace from what was the first competitive game between these two teams in just under 16 years.

Dublin manager Dessie Farrell and selector Pat Gilroy were playing when Dublin defeated Limerick on a scoreline of 0-15 to 0-9 in a March 1993 league clash at the Gaelic Grounds and they watched from the sidelines as their charges enjoyed a powerful start to the action.

After Skerries Harps defender Greg McEneaney kicked an opening minute point, McGarry and Rock found the target to create early daylight on the scoreboard. An All Star nominee in 2022, Cian Sheehan subsequently got Limerick up and running with an eighth-minute point.

Dublin were playing with confidence, however, and reinforced their superiority with two scores on the bounce from Rock and O’Callaghan. Rock was arguably the most experienced player in the Dublin team for this game and he underlined his importance by dispatching a 15th-minute penalty to the Limerick net.

This was the catalyst for a further spell of dominance from the visitors with O’Callaghan, McGarry (two) and Lorcan O’Dell – fresh from his goalscoring cameo for DCU in their Sigerson Cup quarter-final victory against MTU Cork last Tuesday – kicking four points without reply.

Limerick inside forward Adrian Enright eventually brought this scoring sequence to an end, only for Fenton to produce a palmed finish for Dublin’s second goal on 27 minutes. As the half progressed, James Naughton (0-2) and Sheehan did add to Limerick’s tally.

However, thanks to points from Rock, Lucan Sarsfields’ Daire Newcombe and O’Callaghan, Dublin brought a 2-12 to 0-5 cushion into the interval.

Hugh Bourke had been introduced to the Limerick attack during the opening half and he did his chances of future selection no harm with a goal just four minutes after the restart. He also contributed a point that was squeezed in between similar efforts by Naughton and Enright to suddenly leave Limerick just seven adrift on 44 minutes.

Another eight minutes elapsed before Dublin scored again, but once they rediscovered their attack groove, the prospect of a Limerick fightback was ultimately eliminated. Rock (two), McGarry and O’Callaghan amassed four points in as many minutes to give the Sky Blues a commanding 2-16 to 1-8 buffer.

It was almost 15 years ago that Eoghan O’Gara kicked a point on his debut for Dublin in a Division Two league success over Roscommon. His younger brother Killian made his NFL bow against Kildare last Saturday week and registered his first league score in response to a Naughton free.

He joined his Templeogue Synge Street colleague Niall Scully on the pitch upon his arrival in place of McGarry, while another of his club-mates – O’Dell – had started the game before being replaced in the second period. Limerick ended the game with back-to-back points from Naughton and Iain Corbett, but Dublin nevertheless got the result they craved in their bid for an automatic return to Division One.

Next up for Dublin is an encounter against Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on February 19 (throw-in 3.45pm).

Dublin scorers: Dean Rock 1-5 (1-0 pen, 0-4f), Ross McGarry, Con O’Callaghan 0-4 each, Brian Fenton 1-0, Greg McEneaney, Lorcan O’Dell, Daire Newcombe, Killian O’Gara 0-1 each.

Limerick scorers: James Naughton 0-5 (4f), Hugh Bourke 1-1, Cian Sheehan, Adrian Enright 0-2 each, Iain Corbett 0-1.

Dublin: David O’Hanlon; Sean McMahon, Daire Newcombe, Cian Murphy; Lee Gannon, Greg McEneaney, Tom Lahiff; Brian Fenton, Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne; Niall Scully, Lorcan O’Dell, Ciaran Kilkenny; Ross McGarry, Con O’Callaghan, Dean Rock.

Subs: Colm Basquel for O’Dell (45 mins), Killian O’Gara for McGarry (60 mins), Adam Fearon for Gannon (64 mins), Sean Lowry for O’Callaghan (66 mins), Ben Millist for McEneaney (69 mins).

Limerick: Donal O’Sullivan; David Connelly, Sean O’Dea, Barry Coleman; Brian Fanning, Cillian Fahy, Michael Donovan; Cian Sheehan, Iain Corbett; Paul Maher, James Naughton, Gordon Browne; Adrian Enright, Cathal Downes, Davy Lyons.

Subs: Hugh Bourke for Lyons (20 mins), Killian Ryan for Sheehan (half-time), Peter Nash for Browne (59 mins), Tony McCarthy for Donovan (60 mins), Robbie Bourke for Enright (68 mins).

Posted in Gaelic Football | Comments Off on National Football League Division Two: Dublin V Limerick – Dublingaa.ie – February 5 2023

Leinster Schools Senior Cup First Round: CBC Monkstown V St Vincent’s Castleknock College – The Irish Times – February 4 2023

Posted on February 3, 2023 by admin

CBC Monkstown 22 St Vincent’s Castleknock College 12

CBC Monkstown will face Newbridge College in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup quarter-finals after recording a deserved opening round victory against St Vincent’s Castleknock College at Energia Park in Donnybrook on Friday afternoon.

Despite failing to take advantage of an earlier set-piece move, it was Castleknock who took the lead in the fourth minute after inside centre Sam Wisniewski opted for touch off a penalty. Joint-captain Danny Ruane latched on to the back of an ensuing lineout maul to touch down in clinical style.

Ruane couldn’t add the bonuses to his own score, however, and Castleknock subsequently had their lead wiped out on 11 minutes. Matching the efforts of his opposite number, Monkstown number eight Charlie Meagher superbly powered over the whitewash for an unconverted try.

While Monkstown seemingly suffered a setback when blindside flanker Liam Guckian was sent to the sin-bin, they found themselves in the ascendancy upon his return thanks to hooker Luan Moloney’s maul finish on 22 minutes.

CBC were attacking their fellow Dublin school with real confidence and a third try courtesy of lock Rory Balmaine just shy of the half-hour propelled them towards a commanding 15-5 interval cushion.

This left their opponents facing an uphill task on the resumption, but Castleknock received a lifeline on the third-quarter mark. Following a sustained spell of attacking pressure, Peter McEntegart burst over for a five-pointer that was supplemented by a conversion from his midfield partner Wisniewski.

The momentum appeared to be with ‘Knock at this point, but a resolute Monkstown dug deep to deny them attacking territory. Another kick to touch in the closing minutes then edged CBC back into the 22 and when ‘Knock were adjudged to have collapsed a scrum, they were awarded a penalty try that ultimately confirmed their spot in the last eight.

SCORERS – CBC Monkstown: C Meagher, L Moloney, R Balmaine try each, penalty try. St Vincent’s Castleknock College: D Ruane, P McEntegart try each, S Wisniewski con.

CBC MONKSTOWN: D Killeen; S Greany, M Quinn, A Fitzsimmons Nolan, C Traynor Russell; R Mahon, E O’Hanlon; D McGovern, L Moloney, A Bolton; R Balmaine, T Chadwick; L Guckian, L Cahill, C Meagher.

Replacements: N O Campo for Meagher (48 mins); C O’Donnell for Cahill (60); C O’Toole for McGovern (68).

ST VINCENT’S CASTLEKNOCK COLLEGE: B Elliott; D Enright, P McEntegart, S Wisniewski, A Tilly; R O’Connor, L Donohue; R Niland, M Lavelle, B Dowling; C Boyle, W Khwaja; B Foley, C Lennon, D Ruane.

Replacements: O Malone for Foley (32 mins); M Kennedy for Ruane (57); E Brady for O’Connor (65); E Shanahan for Lavelle, C Barrett for Niland (both 68).

Referee: G Sheridan (Leinster Rugby).

Posted in Schools Rugby | Comments Off on Leinster Schools Senior Cup First Round: CBC Monkstown V St Vincent’s Castleknock College – The Irish Times – February 4 2023

Leinster Schools Senior Cup Round-Up: The Irish Examiner – February 4 2023

Posted on February 3, 2023 by admin

Leinster Schools Senior Cup: Roscrea set up Rock quarter-final 

CBC Monkstown emerged as deserved winners over St Vincent’s Castleknock College meanwhile.
DAIRE WALSH

Cistercian College Roscrea will face defending champions Blackrock College at the quarter-final stage of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup after they came from behind to defeat CUS 29-17 in an opening round clash at Lakelands Park on Friday afternoon.

Despite finding themselves 10 points in front early on at the home of Terenure College – thanks in no small part to a try from winger Dan Punch – the side from the Offaly-Tipperary border were facing into a 12-10 interval deficit following a subsequent scoring blitz by their south Dublin counterparts.

However, 19 points without reply on the resumption (including two tries in the space of three minutes by Adrian Dunne) saw Roscrea moving back into the driving seat in advance of a late consolation score from their opponents.

At nearby Energia Park in Donnybrook, CBC Monkstown emerged as deserved winners over St Vincent’s Castleknock College on a final scoreline of 22-12.

While Castleknock drew first blood with a try from No 8 Danny Ruane, Charlie Meagher, Luan Moloney and Rory Balmaine all crossed the whitewash to hand CBC a 15-5 interval buffer.

The pressure was ramped up on them when ‘Knock centre Peter McEntegart powered over for a converted score, before a penalty try on 68 minutes put Monkstown into a last-eight bout against Newbridge College.

2022 finalists Gonzaga College will take on near neighbours St Mary’s College following their emphatic 64-15 success over St Andrew’s College at Castle Avenue. Full-back Hugo McLaughlin helped him to a hat-trick of tries and Paul Wilson (an All-Ireland minor football championship winner with Meath in 2021) also helped himself to a brace as the Ranelagh outfit sent out a serious statement of intent.

Completing the quarter-final draw for this year’s Senior Cup is the mouthwatering meeting of St Michael’s College and Clongowes Wood College.

Posted in Schools Rugby | Comments Off on Leinster Schools Senior Cup Round-Up: The Irish Examiner – February 4 2023

Irish Oscars Odds Piece: Gambling.com – February 3 2023

Posted on February 3, 2023 by admin

Oscars Betting 2023: How Will The Irish Fare?

Daire Walsh

The Academy Awards take place in Los Angeles on March 12 and betting sites are readying themselves for the Irish invasion that is set to descend upon the Dolby Theatre.

When the Oscar shortlist was unveiled on January 24, there was unconfined joy across the Emerald Isle.

Throughout the various categories that Academy voters have to choose from, there were no fewer than 14 Irish nominations – a phenomenal achievement that reflects superbly on the film industry within the country itself.

Irish Up For Contention In Several Categories

Nine of these have fallen the way of The Banshees of Inisherin, putting it just behind Everything Everywhere All at Once (which has 11) as the film with the most Oscar nominations.

Outside of Martin McDonagh’s black tragicomedy, Kildare native Paul Mescal is up for consideration in the Best Actor category for his assured performance in the Turkish-set drama Aftersun.

The Banshees of Inisherin won’t be the only Irish film in contention as the Irish-language marvel An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) is one of five to be shortlisted for Best International Feature Film.

Elsewhere – having already secured an Oscar for his work on the previous entry in the series – Richard Baneham is nominated in the Best Visual Effects category for Avatar: The Way of Water.

Jonathan Redmond has secured a Best Film Editing nod for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, while the Northern Ireland production An Irish Goodbye is included amongst a group of five for Best Live Action Short Film.

Farrell And Mescal Up Against Each Other

One of the more interesting aspects to this year’s awards is that the Irish find themselves pitted against each other in a number of categories.

For instance, Colin Farrell and Paul Mescal are both up for Best Actor, with the former being the lead performer in The Banshees of Inisherin.

Farrell appears to be the better placed of the two to succeed with the likes of BetVictor offering 11/4 on him coming away with the gong.

Brendan Fraser remains the favourite at the moment for The Whale, but Farrell certainly shouldn’t be ruled out of the equation.

Given it is just his third feature film, it is a remarkable feat for Mescal to be up for Oscar consideration.

The odds on him sit at 25/1 with Oscars betting sites, but there have been many surprise winners in the past.

Gleeson, Keoghan And Condon In The Reckoning For Supporting Oscars

For Best Supporting Actor, Dubliners Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan are included for their performances in the same film – The Banshees of Inisherin.

Gleeson is 11/2 with Paddy Power to come out on top, while Keoghan is out at odds of 10/1.

However, the signs are pointing towards former child actor Ke Huy Quan picking up the prize for his role in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Thanks to the presence of Kerry Condon in the Best Supporting Actress category, 25% of the acting nominations for this year are Irish talents.

This is nothing short of extraordinary and Condon is currently being valued at 5/2 for Oscar glory.

Although Angela Bassett appears to hold the edge for her role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Condon and fellow nominee Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All at Once) might yet upset the apple cart.

McDonagh Secures Several Nominations

Despite being born and raised in London, Martin McDonagh has been fully embraced by the Irish due to his parents hailing from Sligo and Galway.

He won a Best Live Action Short Film Oscar in 2004 for Six Shooter and he will have three opportunities to add a second one next month.

Nominated alongside Graham Broadbent and Peter Czernin, McDonagh is up for Best Picture with his fourth feature film The Banshees of Inisherin.

It is currently second favourite behind Everything Everywhere All at Once, but could well be worth a punt with William Hill offering odds as short as 7/4.

McDonagh is a bit further down in the race for Best Director with Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert leading the way for the aforementioned Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans) and Todd Field (Tar) also feature highly, whereas there are odds of 12/1 with 10Bet on McDonagh coming out on top.

The hunt for Best Original Screenplay is perilously close, but McDonagh currently has a slight edge over the Daniels (Kwan and Scheinert).

Bookmakers believe he will come away with this gong on what could prove to be a major night of success for his film.

Burwell And Nielsen Continue Banshees Recognition

While neither of them are Irish, Carter Burwell (Best Original Score) and Mikkel E. G. Nielsen (Best Film Editing) are also flying the flag for The Banshees of Inisherin.

Betfair are offering odds of 11/2 on Burwell being honoured, but Justin Hurwitz is the current frontrunner for his work on Babylon.

Just two years ago, Nielsen won an Oscar for Sound of Metal – becoming the first Dane to be awarded for film editing.

He is 11/2 to add a second gong in the space of three years, but Everything Everywhere All at Once and Top Gun: Maverick are leading this particular field.

Coming up behind Nielsen in the pecking order for Best Film Editing is Jonathan Redmond (who was raised in the Dublin suburb of Sandycove) and Matt Villa for Elvis.

Betting apps are offering 20/1 on this duo emerging from a difficult field, so they are very much outsiders.

An Cailín Ciúin And Irish Goodbye In The Running

With odds of 12/1, An Cailín Ciúin isn’t in a bad place when it comes to what is being offered for Best International Feature Film.

Yet given it is also up for Best Picture, All Quiet on the Western Front is an almost unbackable favourite in this category.

At the time of writing, specials betting sites are offering 1/33 on this German production prevailing as the top international feature of the year.

Despite the presence of the Alfonso Cuaron-produced Le Pupille, An Irish Goodbye (for which Tom Berkely and Ross White are shortlisted) is featuring strongly in the pre-ceremony betting.

Bookmakers are offering 11/8 on Le Pupille triumphing, but An Irish Goodbye isn’t too far behind at 9/4 with the same bookmaker.

Baneham A Likely Oscar Winner

There was little surprise when Richard Baneham and his colleagues were honoured for their work on Avatar 13 years ago and the Tallaght man is expected to collect another Oscar in unison with Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett for Best Visual Effects.

Like its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water has been hailed as a technical marvel.

One of the longest odds on it winning the award in this category is 1/7 with Bet365 – a sure sign of how strongly it is favoured.

Posted in Film Review | Comments Off on Irish Oscars Odds Piece: Gambling.com – February 3 2023

Fitzgibbon Cup Group C: UCC V UCD – The Irish Examiner – February 3 2023

Posted on February 2, 2023 by admin

UCC seal convincing win over UCD to clinch top spot in Fitzgibbon group

The Cork college will host ATU Galway in the quarter-finals next time out.
DAIRE WALSH, BELFIELD

UCC 0-19 

UCD 0-13 

UCC will face ATU Galway in a forthcoming Fitzgibbon Cup quarter-final after closing out their Group C campaign with a convincing six-point triumph over UCD at Belfield on Thursday night.

Dead-ball specialist Darragh Flynn ended the contest with 0-9 to his name, while Shane Barrett (0-3) and Eoin Carey (0-2) also played their part for the victorious Leesiders. Thanks to their status as group winners, UCC will now play host to ATU in the last-eight of the competition.

From a UCD perspective, Galway attacker Donal O’Shea (son of former Tipperary manager and selector Eamon O’Shea) did his best to stem the UCC tide with seven points in the opening period of play. Argideen Rangers club man Dara O’Donovan also featured off the bench for the Dublin college, but they will now face a titanic battle against University of Limerick in their bid to reach the penultimate phase of the Fitzgibbon Cup.

UCD had begun brightly on their home turf with the dependable O’Shea knocking over a brace of frees. However, UCC played with the aid of a strong breeze in the first half and swiftly restored parity courtesy of unanswered efforts by Carey and Ballygiblin’s Flynn.

O’Shea and Flynn went on to trade scores, in advance of the Cork side developing their first scoring blitz of the contest. In the space of just three minutes, Carey, Robert Cotter, Barrett and Flynn (free) all found the range to move four points clear on the first-quarter mark.

UCD were struggling to create scoring opportunities from open play, though O’Shea’s place-ball prowess ensured they remained in touching distance. Another 0-2 salvo by the Salthill-Knocknacarra marksman cut their deficit in half, before Barrett and Flynn confidently restored order at the opposite end.

Two more frees without reply followed from O’Shea, but Flynn’s sixth point of the game meant UCC brought a 0-11 to 0-7 cushion into the interval. St Finbarr’s man Conor Cahalane was on hand to increase their lead moments after the resumption, before UCD finally registered their first point from play via the stick of industrious midfielder Dara Purcell.

A subsequent effort from Cian O’Sullivan suggested UCD were going to find scores easier to come by in the second half, but UCC maintained their own attacking impetus. After Barrett and Flynn converted successive frees, Luke Elliott and inside forward Brian Hayes also split the uprights to move their team seven points in front.

Kilkenny’s Eoin Guilfoyle and Purcell kept UCD within striking distance, but with no score being recorded from the 40th to 51st minutes, the Dublin-based outfit needed a late flourish to have any chance of securing the win they so badly craved. Yet when this lengthy scoring impasse came to an end, it was through yet another UCC free by the impressive Flynn.

Randall Og star Sean Daly became the Cork university’s eighth scorer in the game with a fine point on the run and Flynn raised a white flag once again to give UCC a 0-19 to 0-11 buffer with two minutes of normal time remaining.

Cian Rogers and Purcell (with his third) did strike over a couple of points for UCD in stoppage-time, but in stark contrast to their football compatriots – who needed penalties to see off the challenge of St Mary’s in Abbotstown the night before – this was a relatively plain sailing encounter for UCC.

With a Sigerson Cup semi-final to look forward to against TU Dublin in Carlow next Wednesday, the dream of a colleges double in 2023 remains alive for the University of Cork.

Scorers for UCC: D Flynn (0-9, 8f, 1 ’65’), S Barrett (0-3, 1f), E Carey (0-2), L Elliott, S Daly, C Cahalane, R Cotter, B Hayes (0-1 each).

Scorers for UCD: D O’Shea (0-7, 7f), D Purcell (0-3), C O’Sullivan, E Guilfoyle, C Rogers (0-1 each).

UCC (Cork Unless Stated): B Saunderson; J Boylan (Limerick), N O’Leary, I Daly (Waterford); C O’Brien, E Roche, L Elliott; D Flynn, S Daly; E Carey, D Hogan, C Cahalane; S Barrett, B Hayes, R Cotter.

Subs: G Millerick for Daly (20), P Power for Cotter (42), C McCarthy for Boylan (45), R Fox (Limerick) for Hogan (55).

UCD: E Hogan (Dublin); I Ó hEithir (Dublin), M Walsh (Galway), D Crowe (Dublin); D O’Carroll (Kilkenny), C O Cathasaigh (Dublin), E Geraghty (Galway); D Purcell (Dublin), C Egan (Kilkenny); C Prendiville (Kilkenny), C O’Sullivan (Dublin), D O’Shea (Galway); C Foley (Dublin), J Duggan (Laois), L Murphy (Dublin).

Subs: D O’Donovan (Cork) for Geraghty (30+1, blood), M Twomey (Waterford) for O’Carroll, C Hoban (Kilkenny) for Egan (both h-t), C Rogers (Meath) for Duggan (42), O’Carroll for Crowe (46), L O’Brien (Waterford) for Foley (53).

Referee: J Keenan (Wicklow).

Posted in Colleges GAA | Comments Off on Fitzgibbon Cup Group C: UCC V UCD – The Irish Examiner – February 3 2023

Leinster Schools Senior Cup First Round: St Mary’s College V Wesley College – The Irish Examiner – February 3 2023

Posted on February 2, 2023 by admin

St Mary’s edge out Wesley with late flourish

The teams played out an entertaining Leinster schools battle at Donnybrook
DAIRE WALSH, ENERGIA PARK

LEINSTER SCHOOLS SENIOR CUP FIRST ROUND 

St Mary’s College 33 

Wesley College 28 

St Mary’s College staged a late rally at Energia Park yesterday to defeat Wesley College in the opening round of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup.

Wesley took the lead in the ninth-minute with a converted try from hooker Rian Handley, only for Mary’s to respond almost immediately with a superb solo score by Evan Moynihan.

The Templeogue school added tries through Lucca Jennings and Tiernan O’Shea, before Handley dotted down for a second time to leave Wesley seven adrift (21-14) at the interval.

The Mary’s cushion was then wiped out when the outstanding Handley claimed his hat-trick just two minutes after the resumption and Wesley found themselves back in the ascendancy when Milo Campbell crossed the whitewash on 46 minutes for his side’s fourth converted try.

However, Mary’s regained momentum with another Moynihan five-pointer inside the final-quarter and the decision to go for touch rather than the posts in the 68th-minute paid dividends when a penalty try was subsequently awarded in their favour.

Scorers for St Mary’s College: Tries – E Moynihan 2, L Jennings, T O’Shea, Penalty Try and Con. Cons – C Jacobs 3.

Scorers for Wesley College: Tries – R Handley 3, M Campbell. Cons – C Hempenstall 4.

ST MARY’S COLLEGE: G Foley; J Halpin, T Tourish, E Moynihan, D McNulty; S Ryan, L McGill; T O’Shea, C Jacobs, R Smyth; D Leane, L Policky; J Durkan, L Jennings, A O’Brien.

Replacements: F Devereux, J Gannon, A Holt, O Reid, L Flaherty, G Mulvihill, M Morrissey, S Murray-Norton.

WESLEY COLLEGE: F Nolan; E Pearson, P Collins, J Cazzini, J Roberts; C Hempenstall, J Freyne; S Pedlow, R Handley, R McNeill; F O’Neill, C Collins; M Campbell, A Bennet-Murphy, O Handley.

Replacements: R Price, J Cullen, T Gaughan, L L’Estrange, E Collins, D Gilmore, A Gordon, C Quirk.

Referee: C Roche (LRR).

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Baftas 2023 Odds Piece: Gambling.com – February 2 2023

Posted on February 2, 2023 by admin

Baftas Betting 2023: Who’s Favourite In The Main Categories?

Daire Walsh

It is just over a fortnight until he 76th British Academy Film Awards (also known as the Baftas) takes place and with some heavyweight contenders on display, the ceremony promises to be one to remember.

Serving as a precursor to the Academy Awards in America, the Baftas normally piques the interest of betting sites out there and this year is proving to be no different.

Co-hosted by British acting royalty Richard E Grant and TV personality Alison Hammond, the latest edition of this awards spectacle is set to take place at the Royal Festival Hall on February 19.

This will be exactly one month on from the unveiling of the Bafta nominees by actors Hayley Atwell and Toheeb Jimoh.

By the time the ceremony actually takes place, cinema aficionados will have had ample opportunity to examine the prime challengers for the main Bafta categories.

Banshees Of Inisherin Leading Best Film Race

Understandably, the race for Best Film had lots of tongues wagging, but there is one clear favourite to come away with this particular gong.

Directed by London-born filmmaker Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin has been taking the awards season by storm thus far.

Set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland (the country where both of McDonagh’s parents hailed from), it has garnered considerable critical acclaim and was nominated for no fewer than nine Oscars awards in the past week.

It has gone one better at the Baftas and despite some high-profile competition, specials betting sites rates their chances of success in the Best Film category at 1/2.

While it isn’t quite a formality, it would be a major surprise if Banshees was to be denied this top prize by the Bafta voters.

The biggest threat to their candidacy appears to be the comedy-drama Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Having achieved near-universal praise from critics and audiences alike, it has been given odds of 7/4 in the battle for Best Film.

Despite having the most nominations at the Baftas with 14 in total, All Quiet on the Western Front only comes in at 11/1 for the prestigious accolade of the year’s best motion picture.

Todd Field’s Tár is just behind it at 14/1, while Baz Luhrmann’s intoxicating music biopic Elvis is a rank outsider at 40/1.

Directing Duo The Favourites For Bafta Success

Whereas there are just five nominees for Best Film, there are six options available in the Best Director category at this year’s Baftas.

Technically speaking, there are seven filmmakers under consideration as Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert are jointly credited for their work on Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Because this production was viewed by many as a technical marvel, the directorial duo known collectively as “Daniels” were always going to figure highly in the betting for this category.

At the time of writing, there is Evens available on them being rewarded for their work behind the camera.

The aforementioned Martin McDonagh has a previous Baftas Best Director nomination for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and while he won no fewer than three awards for that film in 2018, he wasn’t honoured for his helming work.

He is set to be a strong contender this year, but is just behind the “Daniels” in the minds of Unibet at 6/4.

Todd Field is back in the limelight with Tár – his first film since 2006’s Little Children – and he is an outside bet at 9/1.

The same could be said for Edward Berger, who is listed a 12/1 for All Quiet on the Western Front.

Meanwhile, there are odds of 25/1 on Gina Prince-Bythewood for her impressive work on The Woman King and famed South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook is coming in at 40/1 for the romantic mystery picture Decision to Leave.

Farrell Out In Front In Battle Of First-Timers

Heading a list of first-time nominees, Colin Farrell is the 4/9 favourite with betting apps to take home the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for his part as Pádraic Súilleabháin in The Banshees of Inisherin.

Having already won the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (he was a previous winner of the same accolade for In Bruges), he certainly seems like the sensible option on the night.

After slowly coming back into the limelight in recent years, Brendan Fraser is a name that is very much back on people’s lips at the moment.

His portrayal of Charlie in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale has been garnering the former star of The Mummy franchise considerable recognition and you can get odds of 9/2 on him securing the Best Actor Bafta.

Playing a real-life figure is a good way to grab the attention of academy voters, but there is far more to Austin Butler’s performance as Elvis Presley than meets the eye.

He is rated at 7/1 with Ladbrokes for his work in Elvis and certainly shouldn’t be ruled out of the equation.

At the age of 73, Bill Nighy finally finds himself in the shake-up at awards season after many years of outstanding work across a variety of mediums.

He is nominated for a Best Actor Bafta for Living and there are odds of 33/1 available on him for this award.

Coming in at odds of 50/1 and 66/1 with BetUK respectively, Irish actors Paul Mescal (Aftersun) and Daryl McCormack (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande) are seen as long shots for the Best Actor prize.

Blanchett Leading Best Actress Pack

One of the most feted stars of her generation, there seems to be very little stopping Australian native Cate Blanchett in the race for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

For her eponymous portrayal in Tár, she is rated as a 4/6 favourite with William Hill.

The nearest challenger to Blanchett appears to be Michelle Yeoh, who was nominated in the same category for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon all of 22 years ago.

The odds on the Malaysian star being the Best Actress winner are a not insubstantial 12/5 with Bet365.

Danielle Deadwyler also features in the reckoning at 14/1 for Till as does Ana de Armas at 22/1 for Blonde.

Viola Davis is a 25/1 outsider for her portrayal of Nanisca in The Woman King and you can get odds of 33/1 on Emma Thompson winning a third Best Actress Bafta for her work as Nancy Stokes/Susan Robinson in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.

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Sigerson Cup Quarter-Final: UCC V St Mary’s University College – The Irish News – February 2 2023

Posted on February 2, 2023 by admin

Penalty shoot-out agony for St Mary’s in Sigerson Cup quarter-final

Daire Walsh at Abbotstown

Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup quarter-final

St Mary’s 1-10 UCC 1-10 (after extra-time, UCC won 3-2 on penalties)

THERE was heartbreak for St Mary’s University College last night as they became the second Ulster side in the space of seven days to lose out to UCC in the Sigerson Cup on a penalty shoot-out at the National Games Development Centre in Abbotstown.

Having produced heroics against Queen’s University just seven days earlier, UCC netminder Dylan Foley pulled off three outstanding saves from the spot on this occasion. Foley’s opposite number Charlie Smyth and Darragh Trainor did rattle the net, but the Belfast side were ultimately denied a spot in the last four.

Following traded scores from Shane Merritt and Mary’s wing-forward Conor McConville at the start of the contest, UCC bagged a goal through Cathal O’Mahony with seven minutes gone on the clock. Cormac Murphy kicked a fine point on the run, before UCC reinforced their authority with consecutive scores by Killian Falvey and Dylan Geaney.

Jude Campbell raised a white flag to leave the northerners just three points adrift (1-3 to 0-3) at the interval though and they cut even further into their deficit on the resumption with a pointed free from goalkeeper Charlie Smyth. This increased the pressure on UCC, but back-to-back points courtesy of Ruairi Murphy and Fionn Herlihy helped to ease any nerves they might have been experiencing.

Mary’s had a similar scoring burst via the boots of Dara O’Callaghan (his first act after coming on as a substitute) and midfielder Michael McCarville, before Bill Curtin strode forward from defence to kick an outstanding point for UCC at a right-hand angle.

Ruairi Murphy was an industrious presence around the middle-third for UCC and he added his second point from distance on the stroke of 50 minutes to offer Billy Morgan’s charges some breathing space.

However, Trainor found the range for Mary’s to leave the tie delicately poised and with more than five minutes of stoppage-time played, Matt Og McGleenan got on the end of a direct ball inside and fired beyond the reach of Dylan Foley.

While O’Mahony edged UCC back into the ascendancy at the beginning of the additional periods, Armagh duo Louis Hughes and O’Callaghan fired over at the opposite end to give Mary’s the lead for the very first time.

This left them with a slender 1-9 to 1-8 cushion heading into the closing 10 minutes of extra-time, but the sin-binning of MacDarragh Hynes did present a temporary numerical advantage to UCC.

Although Mary’s wing-back Danny Magee was also black-carded moments after Hynes returned to the action, they appeared set for a dramatic win when a ’45’ from custodian Charlie Smyth cancelled out an earlier free from O’Mahony.

Yet the latter came to the rescue of UCC with an 86th-minute dead-ball strike and this meant that a penalty battle was required to determine the outcome of the game. It didn’t go their way in the end, but St Mary’s can nonetheless reflect proudly on the gutsy display they delivered over the course of the action.

St Mary’s: Charlie Smyth (0-2, 0-1free, 1 ’45’); C Milne, D Trainor (0-1), MD Hynes; C McGettigan, M McCallan, D Magee; M McCarville (0-1), Cormac Smyth; K Burke, M Og McGleenan (1-0), C McConville (0-1 free); C Murphy (0-1, S Donnelly, J Campbell.

Subs: N Burns for Donnelly (h-t), D O’Callaghan (0-2 frees) for Cormac Smyth (41), S Quigley for Campbell (46), R McGrath for Magee (54), L Hughes (0-1) for McConville (61), McConville for Burns (72), Magee for McGrath (75), Cormac Smyth for McGleenan (77)

UCC: D Foley, M Shanley, D O’Mahony, D Bourke; S Merritt (0-1, 45), B Murphy, B Curtin (0-1); R Murphy (0-2), B Hartnett; J Murphy, F Herlihy (0-1), K Flavey (0-1); M Cronin, C O’Mahony (1-3, 0-2 frees), D Geaney (0-1 free).

Subs: M O’Gara for Flavey (44), S O’Connor for Cronin (59), L Wall for Shanley (65), R Quigley for O’Gara (71), Cronin for J Murphy (81).

Referee: B Tiernan (Dublin).

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Sigerson Cup Quarter-Final: UCC V St Mary’s – The Irish Examiner – February 2 2023

Posted on February 2, 2023 by admin

Sigerson Cup: UCC prevail over St Mary’s on penalties after drama-ridden affair 

Having seen Dylan Foley repeat his heroics against Queen’s University last week in the same venue by saving three penalties from their opponents St Mary’s, Mark Cronin drilled home the final spot-kick to supplement earlier successful strikes by Cathail O’Mahony and Fionn Herlihy.
DAIRE WALSH, ABBOTSTOWN

SIGERSON CUP QUARTÉR-FINAL 

UCC 1-10 St Mary’s 1-10 (UCC won 3-2 on penalties)

Dylan Foley and Mark Cronin were the heroes on Wednesday night as UCC recorded their second penalty shootout win in the space of seven days at the National Games Development Centre in Abbotstown to advance into the last-four of the Sigerson Cup.

Having seen Foley repeat his heroics against Queen’s University last week in the same venue by saving three penalties from their opponents St Mary’s, Mark Cronin drilled home the final spot-kick to supplement earlier successful strikes by Cathail O’Mahony and Fionn Herlihy.

Dylan Geaney and Rian Quigley were agonisingly short of the target either side of Herlihy rattling the net, but the brilliance of Eire Og’s Foley ensured it was UCC who ultimately squeezed into the penultimate rounds.

It was the Leesiders who got the ball rolling in this contest with Mallow’s Shane Merritt superbly splitting the uprights off a long-distance free. Mary’s quickly responded with a place-ball effort of their own from Conor McConville, before UCC once again created daylight between themselves and their Belfast opponents.

A late addition to the starting line-up, Mitchelstown attacker O’Mahony cut inside from the left-wing and proceeded to drill a fierce strike to the bottom corner of the Mary’s net on seven minutes. The game was still very much in its infancy, however, and Cormac Murphy cut through a hole in the opposition defence to kick a fine point for the Ulster college.

Killian Falvey and Dingle’s Dylan Geaney were amongst a healthy Kerry contingent within UCC’s first 15 and they kicked consecutive scores to give their side a four-point lead.

Jude Campbell raised a white flag to leave the northerners just three points adrift (1-3 to 0-3) at the interval though and they cut even further into their deficit on the resumption with a pointed free from goalkeeper Charlie Smyth. This increased the pressure on UCC, but back-to-back points courtesy of Ruairi Murphy and Herlihy helped to ease any nerves they might have been experiencing.

Mary’s had a similar scoring burst via the boots of Dara O’Callaghan (his first act after coming on as a substitute) and midfielder Michael McCarville, before Bill Curtin strode forward from defence to kick an outstanding point for UCC at a right-hand angle.

Ruairi Murphy was an industrious presence around the middle-third for UCC and he added his second point from distance on the stroke of 50 minutes to offer Billy Morgan’s charges some breathing space.

However, Darragh Trainor found the range for Mary’s to leave the tie delicately poised and with more than five minutes of stoppage-time played, Matt Og McGleenan got on the end of a direct ball inside and fired beyond the reach of Foley.

While O’Mahony edged UCC back into the ascendancy at the beginning of the additional periods, Armagh duo Louis Hughes and O’Callaghan fired over at the opposite end to give Mary’s the lead for the very first time.

This left them with a slender 1-9 to 1-8 cushion heading into the closing 10 minutes of extra-time, but the sin-binning of MacDarragh Hynes did present a temporary numerical advantage to UCC.

Although Mary’s wing-back Danny Magee was also black carded moments after Hynes returned to the action, they appeared set for a dramatic win when a ’45’ from custodian Charlie Smyth cancelled out an earlier free from O’Mahony.

Yet the latter came to the rescue of UCC with an 86th-minute dead-ball strike and with the subsequent penalty battle going their way, there was joyous scenes amongst their camp when the game finally drew to a conclusion.

Scorers for UCC: C O’Mahony (1-3, 0-2f), R Murphy (0-2), S Merritt (’45’), D Geaney (f), K Falvey, F Herlihy, B Curtin (0-1 each).

Scorers for St Mary’s: M Og McGleenan (1-0), Charlie Smyth (1f, 1 ’45’), D O’Callaghan (2f) (0-2 each), C McConville (f), C Murphy, J Campbell, M McCarville, D Trainor, L Hughes (0-1 each).

UCC (Cork unless stated): D Foley, M Shanley, D O’Mahony, D Bourke (Kerry); S Merritt, B Murphy, B Curtin; R Murphy (Kerry), B Hartnett; J Murphy, F Herlihy, K Falvey (Kerry); M Cronin, C O’Mahony, D Geaney (Kerry).

Subs: M O’Gara (Kerry) for Flavey (44), S O’Connor (Tipperary) for Cronin (59), L Wall for Shanley (65), R Quigley (Tipperary) for O’Gara (71), Cronin for J Murphy (81).

ST MARY’S: Charlie Smyth (Down); C Milne (Derry), D Trainor (Monaghan), MD Hynes (Down); C McGettigan (Antrim), M McCallan (Tyrone), D Magee (Armagh); M McCarville (Monaghan), Cormac Smyth (Armagh); K Burke (Antrim), M Og McGleenan (Tyrone), C McConville (Armagh); C Murphy (Derry), S Donnelly (Armagh), J Campbell (Tyrone).

Subs: N Burns (Antrim) for Donnelly (h-t), D O’Callaghan (Armagh) for Cormac Smyth (41), S Quigley (Armagh) for Campbell (46), R McGrath (Down) for Magee (54), L Hughes (Armagh) for McConville (61), McConville for Burns (72), Magee for McGrath (75), Cormac Smyth for McGleenan (77).

Referee: B Tiernan (Dublin).

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