Gaelic Games

Image source, Getty Images

New York Giants kicker Jude McAtamney has admitted he almost did not attend the Rutgers University pro day that ended up landing him a chance to kick in the NFL.

The former Derry GAA underage goalkeeper from Swatragh kicked a field goal and extra point from two attempts in his NFL debut against the Washington Commanders in November.

He joined the franchise as an undrafted free agent after three years in college, the first at Chowan University in North Carolina before a further two at Rutgers.

In his final season at the New Jersey school, however, he was no longer the team's primary field-goal kicker.

With that demotion a "bitter pill to swallow", McAtamney needed convincing to keep chasing his NFL dream.

"The preparations had started for the college pro day, where NFL teams come to your school to watch you, and two weeks before, I was sitting in my apartment in New Brunswick," McAtamney told the GAA Social, BBC NI's Gaelic Games podcast.

"I said to my girlfriend, 'I'm not going to do this, I just don't want to'.

"I was at a point where I didn't think I could. How my college career went, I didn't think on paper it was good enough to impress NFL scouts or coaches."

Ultimately, it was McAtamney's girlfriend who convinced him to attend.

"I was missing home at that point too, which influenced how I was thinking and feeling," he added.

"She told me to just do it, that I'd regret not doing it. Fast forward two weeks and I was in a good space.

"It was do or die. If I didn't kick well that day I wouldn't have had a shot.

"Looking back now, you'd be so stupid to take that opportunity for granted but being on the other side of it was a different perspective."

Listen to the GAA Social, where McAtamney talks about his journey from Swatragh to Giants Stadium.

Image source, Inpho

Confirmation that Derry's Gareth McKinless has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2025 season has been described as "a massive blow" for the Oak Leafers.

McKinless, a 2023 All Star, suffered a cruciate ligament injury during Ballinderry's All Ireland Intermediate Club Championship final.

Speaking on BBC Sport NI's The GAA Social, former Armagh All-Ireland winner Oisin McConville said the player's absence would be keenly felt.

"Derry don't have anyone who can naturally fill that void. They have talented players who can come in and play that position, but they'll miss that bit of experience that he has and those positions he can get into which require a bit of cuteness to get into."

Derry's 5-15 to 1-24 reverse at the hands of Kerry on Sunday made it two defeats from two for Paddy Tally's side in Division One of the Football League.

"I don't think Derry played poorly and I don't think Kerry played out of their skin but if you concede five goals that definitely leaves question marks," observed McConville.

"Some of those goals were definitely avoidable and that's definitely something that Derry need to tidy up.

"And you're pointless after two games which is not ideal territory either. I think Paddy Tally and his team probably need a win at this stage."

A visit of Galway to Celtic Park is next up for the Ulster county.

"I think they've done a lot of good stuff over the last couple of weeks but Division One is pretty unforgiving," added McConville.

"You get over one game and then look down the track and it's another really tough game upcoming.

Image source, Inpho

Antrim hurler James McNaughton says new Saffrons manager Davy Fitzgerald has "brought a new lease of life" to the squad.

McNaughton was named man of the match after contributing a personal tally of 1-14 to his side's 2-25 success over Westmeath at Corrigan Park.

The victory followed an opening day defeat by Dublin at Croke Park the previous week.

"Delighted with it. From the get-go it was all about working hard and the rest would take care of itself and thankfully it did," McNaughton told BBC Sport NI post-match.

"It's tough, the work that Davy's doing with us to get everything right. But it's starting to click you can see and it's bringing us on a lot.

"Once we get it right we'll be hard to stop."

McNaughton added that the importance of getting a win on the board could not be overestimated.

"We set out our stall. After the disappointment of last week today was a massive one for us to get ourselves going, get two points on the board.

"Nothing else really mattered but we wanted to put on a performance. We did that and we knew the win would take care of itself.

"Davy coming in has brought a new lease of life to everything. I'm excited to see how far we can go. I don't think there's a ceiling there, we just all have to put in the work and work hard for each other."

Image source, Inpho

Oisin McConville says Tyrone could "definitely take something from" their seven-point defeat by arch rivals Armagh in Saturday's Football League Division One game at the Athletic Grounds.

Playing with a strong wind in their favour in the opening half, the All-Ireland champions built up a huge 1-14 to 0-3 lead over the Red Hands at half-time.

Tyrone fought back after the break to reduce their final margin of defeat to 1-23 to 0-19.

For Armagh, it was a first appearance back at their home ground since lifting the Sam Maguire last July and the outcome represented an emphatic response to their opening day defeat by Galway the previous weekend.

"The first half performance was very comprehensive and they [Armagh] have obviously taken a lot of lessons and in the space of a week have really turned that around, former All-Ireland winner McConville said on BBC Sport NI's The GAA Social.

"They will take a lot of heart from that result and the way they played."

"Tyrone definitely will take something away from the game. It did look as though it could get very ugly at one stage and they redeemed themselves a little bit at the end and rescued that, put on a spurt towards the end of the game."

McConville said that second-half revival could be down to a couple of factors.

"There's two ways of looking at that, there's the wind factor and there's also the fact that Armagh may have taken their foot off the gas a little bit.

"It definitely takes something away from it because at one stage, at half-time, that wasn't a score anyone foresaw, wind or no wind."

Image source, Getty Images

Derry manager Paddy Tally said it would "take a wee bit of time to analyse that game" after his team contrived to lose to Kerry in the Allianz Football League Division One contest at Celtic Park.

The Oak Leafers led by five with five minutes left after a Shane McGuigan goal was quickly followed by points from substitute Lachlan Murray and McGuigan.

However, a goal from substitute Paul Geaney gave the Kingdom hope and in an extraordinary closing 90 seconds of action, his fellow sub Donal O'Sullivan netted to get Kerry on terms before Geaney majored again moments later to stun the home supporters as the visitors snatched a 5-15 to 1-24 triumph.

"It was a really crazy game of football," said a rueful Tally after a result which kept Derry without a league point after their defeat in Omagh last weekend.

O'Sullivan's goal came after Derry squandered possession and Kerry's Paudie Clifford then intercepted debutant keeper Neil McNicholl's resultant kickout before the ball was eventually worked Geaney, who netted from close range.

McNicholl plays midfield for his club but was pitched in for his senior inter-county debut in place of Odhran Lynch as Tally opted to work on developing a '12th-man' attacking strategy which had been so effectively employed by Tyrone keeper Niall Morgan against the Oak Leafers in round one.

"We knew from the very start that we were going to have to go with the keeper who was going to come out and add to the team," said the Derry boss.

"In fairness, Neil did very well today. It's a work in progress.

"I'm not going to blame players for it [the late mistakes]. These things happen in games. It's hard on the lads. They know themselves what went on there at the end."

Tally agreed that Derry's next home match against Galway in two weeks is now "so important".

Ciaran McFaul was a late withdrawal from Sunday's side because of a niggle while injured quartet Conor McCluskey, Padraig McGrogan, Gareth McKinless and Niall O'Donnell will not be ready the Galway game.

McCluskey and McGrogan could return to action in late February or early March but Ballinderry duo McKinless and O'Donnell look likely to be ruled out for some time yet.

Image source, Inpho

Holders Armagh made it two wins from two in Division One as they beat Tyrone 0-16 to 0-5 at St Paul's.

Niamh Reel managed 0-8 for the Orchard County as they produced an impressive second half display to secure another win after beating Kerry in their opening game.

Tyrone started well and opened up a three-point lead after 17 minutes, but Armagh finished the half strongly and drew level before half-time.

The Orchard County then took control in Lurgan, landing 11 points, with Tyrone unable to respond as they went scoreless in the half to slip to a second successive loss.

In Division Three, Monaghan beat Tipperary 0-10 to 1-6, whilst Donegal drew 0-9 to 1-6 with Westmeath.

Antrim picked up their second win in Division Four, as they edged out Fermanagh 3-10 to 3-9.

Niall Keenan
BBC Sport NI contributor

Image source, Inpho

Down produced a stunning comeback not once but twice to come away with a narrow 1-19 to 2-15 win over Cork in the Allianz Football League Division Two contest at Pairc Esler.

Pat Havern's two-point free in the closing stages snatched victory for the Mournemen who trailed by seven points at half-time.

Also in Division Two, Monaghan maintained their winning start with a 2-29 to 2-21 win over Westmeath at Clones but Cavan suffered a second defeat as they were well beaten 3-21 to 0-20 by Meath at Navan.

At Newry, Cork scored five times from outside the arc in the opening period while Chris Og Jones made the most of another Down error to find the net in the opening quarter of an hour.

But Conor Laverty's side were back on level terms come the 50th minute with James Guinness and Havern raising orange flags before the peerless Havern moved outside the 40-metre arc and converted for another two-pointer.

The Rebels arrested their slump by grabbing the next score and Sean McDonnell struck to the net as the visitors opened up a five-point lead.

But Down dug deep once more not conceding from the 55th minute onwards and landed a major of their own with Danny Magill on target before Havern's late clincher.

At Clones, Ryan O'Toole's goal at the end of the first half meant that Gabriel Bannigan's Monaghan side led by six points at the break but they had to withstand a mini-barrage from their visitors at the start of the second period.

However, nine of the next 11 points went the way of Monaghan with Rory Beggan and Stephen Mooney on target from beyond the arc.

Conor McCarthy was tireless throughout racking up a personal tally of 0-7 while clubmate Jack McCarron came off the bench to hit 1-2.

The Breffnimen managed just two points from play in the first half at Navan and went in at the break 1-12 to 0-8 behind.

Gearoid McKiernan was introduced at the interval and he came on to strike three two-pointers which is a positive going forward.

But Raymond Galligan's men were reliant on Darragh Lovett's free-taking and couldn't live with the Royals' forward line.

Ronan Jones bagged himself a second goal to open up a 12-point lead on 57 minutes.

Jordan Morris was soon on hand to add a third green flag for the Royals to secure their first points of the campaign.

A solid afternoon's work saw Antrim get their first victory in Division 1B of the Allianz Hurling League as they ran out 2-25 to 1-19 winners over Westmeath at Corrigan Park.

James McNaughton top-scored with 1-14 for Davy Fitzgerald's Saffrons and although David Williams landed a dozen points for the visitors, this game only ever seemed to be going one way.

Antrim were much improved from last weekend's loss to Dublin as they had much more of a cutting edge and had they been a bit more clinical, their final tally could well have had an even more handsome look, but they will be more than happy with this performance.

Antrim were much quicker out of the traps with McNaughton landing the first of his 10 first-half scores to settle his side.

He was denied a 13th-minute goal from a penalty after Conor Johnston had been fouled as Jack Gillen was equal to the Loughgiel man's effort but Westmeath built into this game with Williams leading their charge.

The hosts seemed to have more answers up top and they opened a six-point gap with Johnston, Eoghan Campbell, Seaan Elliott, Niall McKenna and Niall O'Connor all contributing scores.

Westmeath remained in touch as Darragh Clinton and Mark Cunningham pointed, yet it was McNaughton with late frees to help Antrim into a 0-15 to 0-10 lead at the break.

The second half was something of a slow burner with but 10 minutes in, a Westmeath error was ruthlessly punished by McNaughton who gathered, cut in and buried to the net.

Williams continued to keep his side in the hunt with Darragh Clinton also chipping in but although they got to within six on a few occasions, they got no closer as Antrim gradually pulled further away.

Keelan Molloy found his range with a couple and the Dunloy man set up his clubmate Nigel Elliott for Antrim's second goal in the 70th minute.

Westmeath goalkeeper Gillen cancelled this out from a 20-metre free almost immediately, but it was a mere consolation as Antrim banked their first points.

Image source, Inpho

Image source, Inpho

Fermanagh claimed their first win in Division Three this season with a narrow 2-16 to 3-12 victory against Antrim at St Joseph's Park.

After a heavy defeat against Kildare in their opening game, Fermanagh raced into the lead on home soil, with two quick goals.

Antrim, who picked up a win against Clare in their first game, fought back and scored two goals of their own to take a slender 2-6 to 2-4 lead into the break.

The two sides continued to trade points at the start of the second half and it was nip-and-tuck until 55 minutes when the Ernemen looked to be pulling away.

They rattled off four successive scores to stretch their lead in Ederney.

The Saffrons continued fighting and got back to within one point courtesy of a goal on 74 minutes, but Fermanagh managed to hang on for the hard-fought two points.

Image source, Inpho

Kerry hit three late goals to snatch a dramatic 5-15 to 1-24 win over Derry in the Allianz Football League Division One contest at Celtic Park.

Derry looked to have sealed the game in the 64th minute as Shane McGuigan riffled the ball into the bottom right corner of the net to help them move five ahead.

However, a Paul Geaney goal gave Kerry hope before Donal O'Sullivan and Geaney again netted in the closing moments as a shell-shocked Derry remained without a point in Division One following last weekend's defeat by Tyrone.

Jack O'Connor's two match-winning substitutes finished with a combined 3-2 tally.

Derry led 0-13 to 2-5 at the break despite playing against the breeze with Conor Geaney hitting the net twice as he produced a first-half haul of 2-2.

Either side of the interval, the Oak Leafers notched seven points in a row which put them five up midway through the second half.

Brendan Rogers and Dylan Geaney trading two-pointed efforts as both sides notched two scores from outside the 40-metre arc over the course of the contest,

The real drama came right at the death with Kerry fighting back to level the game for the seventh time before McGuigan's major and further scores from Lachlan Murray and McGuigan seemed to have sealed the deal for Paddy Tally's men.

But with 90 seconds left in injury-time, O'Sullivan caught the Derry defence napping and finished to the net to level the game for an eighth time.

The drama didn't end there as the Kingdom poached the kickout of debutant Derry keeper Neil McNicholl before Paul Geaney twisted and turned to fire home the decisive goal.

McNicholl was preferred to regular keeper Odhran Lynch despite playing outfield for his club Glenullin.

Kerry are back in action next Saturday when they welcome Donegal to Killarney after last weekend's game was postponed due to Storm Eowyn.

Derry host Galway in Celtic Park in a fortnight's time hoping to get their first points of the season after two defeats from two.

Image source, Inpho

Jim McGuinness says the attrition brought on players by the new football rules should lead to the amount of substitutes being increased from five to six.

McGuinness pointed to the three Dublin players forced off by hamstring injuries in Saturday's Allianz League Division One contest at Ballybofey as his Donegal side clinched a 0-20 to 0-16 victory in what was their opening game following the postponement of last weekend's scheduled game in Kerry.

"I feel for Dublin. They lost three players with hamstrings. I think that's definitely something that has to be looked at," said McGuinness of the new rules.

"Peadar Mogan would be one of our fitter lads and he was really struggling at the end and we had the five subs on and we couldn't get him off.

"In the first document the FRC [Football Review Committee] put out, there were six subs and I saw that and thought that would be good and would take a bit of pressure off."

Otherwise, McGuinness was reasonably content with how the new rules worked although he did admit his disappointment at his team being caught out on one occasion as they didn't keep three players in the opposition half.

Murphy would have played under old rules

McGuinness resisted the temptation to give Michael Murphy his inter-county return, saying that the view was that the Glenswilly man wasn't yet quite ready for the rigours of a high-octane contest under the new rules.

"Probably if we were playing under the old rules, Michael would have been on tonight but we have to be very careful to make sure we're hitting all the targets before we decide to put him into action."

Despite his side's victory, McGuinness wasn't entirely happy with the display, where Daire O Baoill top-scored by notching six first-half points.

"We've a lot to work on. We gave a lot of silly passes away. We lost the ball in transitional moments and we kicked ourselves out of it in the first half.

"We should have had a lot more scores on the board but the big positive would be the resolve that they showed in the second half. They kept the ball better and found a way to keep tagging on scores."

Donegal's postponed game with Kerry has been rescheduled for next weekend which mean McGuinness' side are going to be in action over five straight weekends.

Odhran Crumley
BBC Sport NI Journalist

Image source, Inpho

Take two, year two of Jim McGuinness at Donegal got underway with a 0-20 to 0-16 win over Dublin at Ballybofey.

Daire O Baoill starred for the Tir Chonaill kicking 0-6 including two, two-pointers, while Oisin Gallen continued his fine form from 2024 with 0-4 of his own.

A crowd of 12,560 piled into the Donegal venue with a real mix of anticipation and expectation amongst those in green and gold.

2012 All-Ireland winning captain Michael Murphy was not named in the matchday panel and did not feature despite returning to the fold.

Jim McGuinness's side played with the aid of a strong breeze across the first half and led 0-11 to 0-6 at half-time, despite kicking seven first half wides.

O Baoill landed all of his six points in the opening half as Dublin went 19 minutes without a score as they struggled with the elements.

McBrearty's introduction helps Donegal see out win

Dublin started the second half brightest, kicking three scores in a row to narrow the gap to one with substitute Luke Breathnach impressing alongside familiar names in Ciaran Kilkenny and Niall Scully.

The Tir Chonaill looked to their bench for inspiration and found it in their captain Patrick McBrearty, as he landed three late scores to ease the pressure and guide his side home with the game firmly in the melting pot.

Dublin failed to really take advantage of the elements as the wind appeared to grow stronger as the game progressed.

The victory means that Jim McGuinness remains unbeaten in the league and championship in Ballybofey as a manager.

Donegal now face a tough run of five games in as many weeks after their opener away at Kerry last weekend was postponed due to Storm Eowyn.

They'll head to the Kingdom next Saturday for the rearrange fixture with an important two points in the bank.

Dublin head to the same venue after a week's break in a fortnight's time.

Image source, Inpho

Tyrone boss Malachy O'Rourke said that his side "will learn an awful lot" from their 1-23 to 0-19 defeat against All-Ireland champions Armagh at the Athletic Grounds.

Having beaten Derry in their opening Division One game, Tyrone struggled against the rampant Orchard County, particularly in the first half as they trailed 1-14 to 0-3 at half-time.

The Red Hands improved in the second half and reduced the deficit to seven, but O'Rourke admits their first half display was their undoing.

"They were sharper than us, they were quicker at moving the ball and we made a few mistakes," O'Rourke reflected.

"You have to take the positives, and we will learn an awful lot from that game tonight."

Given that it is still the early stages of the league campaign, O'Rourke did not feel the need to be overly critical of his team, especially given the calibre of opposition.

"Armagh at home, their first game back at home since they won the All-Ireland, they're always going to be up for it," he added.

"Armagh were beaten last week and people thought it was a disappointing performance. It's funny, a team that loses one weekend has a real focus to get back and win the next weekend.

"That is what we will be trying to do, it's just a matter of improving game to game and trying to get the performance levels better and get safe in the division. "

Image source, Inpho

Antrim's Allianz Hurling League Division 1B home contest with Westmeath on Sunday, which will be live on the BBC iPlayer, could prove crucial to both sides' hopes of avoiding the drop to Division Two at the end of the campaign.

Last weekend's defeat by Dublin was not a surprise in what was Davy Fitzgerald's first competitive game in charge of the Saffrons.

However, the manner of the loss was a concern as Antrim suffered what selector Pat Bennett described as a 1-25 to 0-14 "hiding" at Croke Park.

Antrim's performance indicated that the squad are having some difficulty in putting into practice Fitzgerald's preferred direct playing method which is marked different to the short-passing style favoured by previous boss Darren Gleeson.

Bennett had to undertake the media duties last weekend given that Fitzgerald was serving a one-match game for his contretemps during his final match change in charge of Waterford last summer.

However, Fitzgerald will be back on the sideline at Corrigan Park as the Saffrons continue their long-standing rivalry with the Lake County.

Under previous boss, Antrim's most recent meetings saw the Saffrons maintain their Liam McCarthy Cup status in May 2023 as they earned a 4-24 to 1-19 Leinster Championship victory in Mullingar in what was Neil McManus final appearance for the county.

However, Westmeath beat Antrim 2-18 to 1-15 in last year's League as the Saffrons lost all five of their Division 1 games.

The latest rejig to the league format meant the Saffrons maintained Division 1 status despite their losing run but there is genuine jeopardy in this year's Division 1B with the bottom two at season's end dropping to Division Two.

And that makes Antrim's contests over the next two weekend particularly important as they then face Offaly away on 8 February before the two-week break prior to the home game Waterford, who will be huge favourites despite Fitzgerald's inside knowledge on the Deise men.

Antrim's hopes of maintaining Division 1 hurling will surely go down to the final two fixtures as they play in Carlow on 2 March and host Laois a week later before sitting out the final round in the seven-team division as the other six sides are in action.

Westmeath are under new management with Seoirse Bulfin having taken over from Joe Fortune this season but gauging their form is not easy after their scheduled home opener against Laois was postponed.

Image source, Inpho

All-Ireland champions Armagh will aim to regroup from last weekend's opening defeat in Galway by accounting for their traditionally biggest Ulster rivals Tyrone in Saturday's Allianz Football League Division One game at the Athletic Grounds (18:00 GMT).

Armagh started promisingly at Salthill but struggled badly for scores in the closing 50 minutes as they ultimately finished with 14 players after Niall Grimley's red card.

Grimley is replaced by Jarlath Og Burns with All-Ireland final starter Paddy Burns and Cian McConville taking over from Shane McPartlan and Jason Duffy as Kieran McGeeney names nine of his Sam Maguire Final winning side but is again without Rian O'Neill.

Tyrone go into the game boosted by their opening home win over Derry when Niall Morgan's 'fly goalie' role proved particularly effective.

Five players - Tyrone men Padraig Hampsey, Kieran McGeary, Peter Harte and Michael McKernan plus Armagh's Greg McCabe - were sent off in the last Athletic Grounds League meeting between the sides in 2022 following a brawl as the home side recorded a 2-14 to 0-14 victory.

A year later, Tyrone's round-seven 0-18 to 0-16 victory at Healy Park guaranteed the Red Hands' Division One status and relegated Armagh in the process.

After their scheduled opener in Kerry was postponed, Donegal open their Division One campaign on Saturday night in Ballybofey (19:30) against a Dublin side that edged out Mayo at Croke Park a week ago.

The big talking point going into the game will be whether Jim McGuinness opts to pitch in Michael Murphy after the Glenswilly man's two seasons away from inter-county football.

The Paddy Tally factor will provide the intrigue as Derry aim to open their league account against his former team Kerry in Sunday's Division One contest at Celtic Park (12:30).

Neither squad has yet been announced but David Clifford is not expected to make the trip north.

In Division Two, Down will hope to regroup from their high-scoring defeat by Roscommon when they face Cork at Pairc Esler (13:00) with the Monaghan v Westmeath (14:00) and Meath v Cavan (14:00) clashes also taking place on Sunday.

The Division Three games include Sunday's Ulster derby between Fermanagh and Antrim at Ederney (14:30) with the Ernemen having been well beaten by Kildare last week as the Saffrons held on to beat Clare at Corrigan Park.

Armagh (v Tyrone): B Hughes; T McCormack, B McCambridge, P Burns; Connaire Mackin, A Forker, G McCabe; B Crealey, J Og Burns; O Conaty, R Grugan, Darragh McMullen; C McConville, A Murnin, S Campbell.

Subs: E Rafferty, G Murphy, C O'Neill, F O'Brien, S Conlon, C Turbitt, R McQuillan, J Duffy, C O'Hanlon, J Hall, S McPartlan, C McArdle, S Gaffney, Darren McMullan, S Renaghan, P Gaffney, J Donnelly, J Burke, F Woods, K Laverty, T McKavanagh, A Cullinane.

Cavan (v Meath): G O'Rourke; N Carolan, B O'Connell, J McLoughlin; P Faulkner, D McVeety, O Kiernan; K Clarke, E Crowe; Ciaran Brady, G Smith, L Molloy; R O'Neill, J Smith, S McEvoy.

Subs: N O'Donnell, C Reilly, L Fortune, P Smith, C McKeogh, R Donohue, R Curran, T Madden, Conor Madde, TE Donohue, D Lovett.

Image source, Inpho

Former Donegal star Karl Lacey's time as Kilcoo manager has ended.

The 2012 All-Ireland winner took over as Magpies boss in 2023 and led them to back-to-back Down SFC titles.

However, the four-time All Star was unable to guide the club to an Ulster crown, losing to Scotstown in the 2023 quarter-finals and Errigal Ciaran in last month's decider.

Prior to his Kilcoo reign, Lacey was the head of Donegal GAA's academy but quit in February 2023.

The Four Masters club-man was also linked with the Derry job before Paddy Tally was appointed in November.

Kilcoo have won six Down championships in a row. They also lifted Ulster titles in 2019 and 2021 and won the All-Ireland title in 2022 under Mickey Moran.

Image source, Oliver McVeigh

On this week's GAA Social podcast, Thomas and Oisin talk to famed GAA sports photographer Oliver McVeigh.

Despite a lifetime covering GAA, one of his most recognisable photos came during an infamous moment in European rugby history.

In December 2009, Stade Francias were in Belfast facing Ulster when, after the game, Ireland international Stephen Ferris alleged he had been gouged in the eye by France international David Atoub.

"I was the only photographer who picked it up," McVeigh said on the GAA Social podcast.

"There was a scuffle, not something you see often in rugby, in fairness and being a GAA man, you just rattle off and see what comes next.

"I've a picture of Ferris getting up and you can clearly see Ferris going 'I've been gouged in the eye, I've been gouged in the eye.' You can tell from the distance."

McVeigh said he didn't realised he had captured the image until after the game when he became aware the incident would be escalated.

"We went in after the match and were going through the pictures, and somebody says Stephen Ferris is going to the citing officer about being gouged in the eye.

"I quickly go through my photos and the UR [Ulster Rugby] photographer was next to me.

"This (photo) pops up and he goes, 'Wow, look at that, that's unbelievable.'

"David Humphreys was the team manager and asked if he could use it and I said go ahead use it wherever you want."

Atoub unsuccessfully tried to contest the ban, which was the second-longest in rugby history for an eye gouge at 70 weeks, and McVeigh's image had to be checked that it was authentic.

"He tried to say he didn't do it, tried everything. My pictures had to be sent off to see that they were authentic.

"He got a 40-page document done to say it was the wrong angle and this, that, and the other.

"I have a Google alert on my phone for Atoub. Every time he's on the internet, I can see what he's saying.

"He said it cost him 100,000 euro in wages and sponsorships and things."

Listen to the GAA Social here, where McVeigh talks about some of his most famous images and about his brother, Columba, who is one of the Disappeared from the Troubles.