Gaelic Games

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Clare forward Shane O'Donnell has described Tony Kelly's brilliant goal in the All-Ireland hurling final against Cork as "incredible".

The Banner captain weaved his way through the Cork defence before producing a superb finish to put his side in front.

It helped Clare to a one-point victory over the Rebels after extra-time in an enthralling Croke Park decider in July.

"It was incredible - yeah, stuff that only Tony can do," O'Donnell told The GAA Social podcast.

"I was standing beside him and had a man on me. I honestly couldn't see anyone around him to pass to. There was no option - I was like 'he's going to have to do something here, don't know what it is but he's going to have to' and he did

"That's not the first time I've been in that situation being like 'I don't know what he's going to do here but he's going to have to pull something out' and he does."

Kelly added four points to his goal against Cork to take the man-of-the-match accolade.

O'Donnell also impressed in the final and he is on the shortlist for the Hurling Player of the Year award, although he jokes that Kelly is ahead of him in the pecking order.

"People say your the best player in the country but I don't feel I'm the best player in Clare. Tony could walk in this room in the next 20 minutes and I could say I'm not the best player in the room.

"You look back at almost every score he scored against Cork. I don't think I could pick another player that could have got them.

"There was some element in each of those scores that required his unique skills to actually execute them."

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Clare star Shane O'Donnell has spoken of the trauma he experienced after being concussed during a training session three years ago.

The Banner forward won a second All-Ireland SHC title in July and is on the shortlist for the Hurler of the Year award ahead of Friday's All-Stars ceremony.

"I've a weird connection in my brain when it comes to concussion," O'Donnell told the GAA Social podcast.

"When I was recovering, for no real reason I just thought about it and I would have tears on my face.

"That was like a strange emotional outburst almost but it was attached to the concussion, which still holds some sort of emotional sway."

There were setbacks in his recovery as O'Donnell first returned to club action.

"I was very tentative about it - I got hit in a game and I was like: 'Was that concussion, was it not?

"This whole fear just sucked me back to where I was a few month before, in the worst of it."

O'Donnell considered not returning to hurling but advice from his girlfriend has helped him recover.

"She said 'the best thing you can do, if you're anxious about going back or have any kind of anxiety or fear then exposure is the solution'.

"'You can't not go back because you'll always have that fear of hurling or sport or being on the pitch.

"That's what basically made my decision - I really have to expose myself to the fear. I'm 100% now."

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Oisin Gallen (Donegal), Rian O'Neill (Armagh), Conor Turbitt (Armagh)

Rian O'Neill struggled to produce his best in the early part of Armagh's championship campaign but his man-of-the-match performance against Kerry which included hitting three points and making a vital soaring catch on his own goal-line in the final play was followed by another impressive final display.

O'Neill is joined in the attack by team-mate Conor Turbitt, who struggled like the majority of the full-forwards in the All-Ireland decider as he was held scoreless, but whose previous scoring tally of 3-22, which included 0-5 against Kerry, warrants his inclusion.

In not a vintage year for full-forwards, Donegal's Oisin Gallen completes the 15 despite the uncharacteristic two crucial missed frees in the All-Ireland semi-final after a hitherto outstanding campaign which yielded 2-33 for Jim McGuinness' side - including 1-15 from play.

Read John's full team selection here

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Rob Finnerty (Galway), John Maher (Galway), Oisin Conaty (Armagh)

Player of the year contender John Maher has to be an automatic choice in the half-forward line where he should be joined by young player of the year nominee Oisin Conaty.

The Tir na nOg man was named man of the match after the All-Ireland Final as he hit three points in a high-octane display.

While GAA superstars David Clifford and Con O'Callaghan are among the forward nominees, it's doubtful they did enough to make the team this year so Rob Finnerty - although he wore Galway's number 13 shirt during the campaign - gets a nod for the remaining half-forward berth.

Finnerty was forced off by injury in the opening 10 minutes of the All-Ireland Final. If he had been able to stay on the pitch, the final outcome may have been very different given the brilliance he had produced previously in the campaign.

Read John's full team selection here

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Paul Conroy (Galway) and Ben Crealey (Armagh)

The first midfield selection is extremely straightforward.

Galway veteran Paul Conroy had a sensational campaign and could in no way reproach himself for the Tribesmen's heartbreaking All-Ireland final defeat as he notched 0-3 from play and would surely have been named man of the match had they managed to win instead of losing 1-11 to 0-13 following their litany of missed chances.

Conroy's midfield partner is Armagh's Ben Crealey whose industry was a feature of the Orchard County's campaign and who produced the best display of the summer when it mattered most as he hit two vital points, helped set the vital goal and also produced a crucial late turnover on Cillian McDaid in an all-action performance.

Crealey's Armagh midfield partner Niall Grimley certainly should have been in the selectors' conversation while the other centrefield nominees were Donegal's Michael Langan, Dublin's Brian Fenton and Louth's Tommy Durnin.

Read John's full team selection here

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And now we move onto the half-back with some more Orchard County representation you'll not be surprised to read...

Dylan McHugh (Galway), Aidan Forker (Armagh), Peadar Mogan (Donegal)

Galway's Dylan McHugh is a certainty for one of the half-back roles after being nominated along with team-mate John Maher and McCambridge for the Footballer of the Year award.

And while he was somewhat subdued in Donegal's hugely disappointing narrow All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Galway, Peadar Mogan's earlier performances surely banked him enough credit to be named in the half-backs.

His all-energy displays were a feature of Donegal's late spring and summer prior to the Galway game with his ability to contribute scores also a boon to Jim McGuinness' side.

Mogan's Donegal team-mate Ryan McHugh and Galway's Liam Silke will also be in the selectors' thoughts but it would seem like an injustice to leave Armagh captain Aidan Forker out of the 15.

Forker's devastation after the Ulster Final was captured as his toddler son tried to console him but he regrouped in typical fashion to lead the Orchard men to the All-Ireland title.

The Maghery club-man stormed upfield to notch two crucial points in the dramatic semi-final comeback win over Kerry and was again on target in the low-scoring decider.

His outside-of-the-left boot strikes over the bar was one of the features of this year's football championship.

Read John's full team selection here

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Next up, it's the full-backs and here's John picks.

Full-backs: Johnny McGrath (Galway), Aaron McKay (Armagh), Barry McCambridge (Armagh)

The full-backs to my mind are the most straightforward of the lines to pick this year although some selectors have opted to put player of the year favourite Barry McCambridge in the half-back line.

McCambridge, who wasn't even a starter for Armagh in the Ulster Final penalty shootout defeat by Donegal in May, shackled key Kerry and Galway forwards David Clifford and Shane Walsh in the All-Ireland semi-final and decider.

In addition to sticking like glue to Clifford, McCambridge also scored the match-turning semi-final goal so his place in the line-up is assured.

It will be a big surprise if he's not joined by team-mate Aaron McKay, who in addition to an outstanding year at the back burst also upfield to palm in the crucial All-Ireland final goal, and Galway's outstanding corner-back Johnny McGrath, who is nominated for the young player of the year award.

If the selectors do opt to pick McCambridge in the half-backs, Kerry's Tom O'Sullivan could be the man to benefit.

Read John's full team selection here

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As it's awards season in gaelic games, our man John Haughey put his name to the players who he feels deserve the accolade of All-Star for 2024.

Let's start with the man between the sticks.

Blaine Hughes (Armagh)

Armagh could well be off the mark early with goalkeeper Blaine Hughes surely the favourite to take the number one jersey after a season where he kept 14 clean sheets in 17 competitive games although the county's defensive systems undoubtedly contributed to this.

Many expected Ethan Rafferty's return to fitness would have resulted in Hughes losing his starting role but McGeeney kept faith with the Carrickcruppen man and that decision was totally vindicated.

It emerged after the All-Ireland Final win over Galway that Hughes had got a bang on his right knee after colliding with team-mate Joe McElroy in the warm-up.

As a result, Hughes kicked the ball out with his weaker left foot on a number occasions in the game but remained as assured as ever in finding team-mates in an all-important aspect of the modern game.

The battle for the goalkeeping jersey is an Ulster affair with Tyrone's Niall Morgan and Donegal's Shaun Patton also in contention but it will be a surprise if Hughes isn't the choice.

Read John's full team selection here

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Malachy O'Rourke says he wishes he was leaving Glen "on better terms" after his hugely successful reign was ended with defeat by Newbridge in Sunday's Derry SFC final.

O'Rourke has overseen the greatest period in Glen's history with his four-year spell in charge yielding three county titles, two Ulster Club Championship wins and an All-Ireland triumph.

But O'Rourke was unable to mastermind a fourth successive Derry title with Ciaran Brooks' injury-time score propelling Newbridge to their first county success in 35 years.

"Fair play to Newbridge, they were up for it on the day and they played brilliantly on the day," O'Rourke told BBC Sport NI.

"The boys showed character, I'm so proud of them, even in defeat because they kept going right until the end and I thought we'd salvaged it at the end.

"It just wasn't to be. We've had a brilliant time, we're disappointed today but that's the way football goes and fair play to Newbridge."

With his time at Glen at an end, O'Rourke will begin preparing for his return to inter-county management with Tyrone, having been confirmed as Brian Dooher and Feargal Logan's successor in September.

But he says he leaves the Watty Grahams club in Maghera with "great memories" after a whirlwind spell that produced their first ever Derry title and a hugely controversial All-Ireland final loss to Kilmacud Crokes before redemption in the 2024 decider against the Dublin giants.

"It's been absolutely brilliant," added O'Rourke.

"The people, all the lads in the club obviously, but the whole community has embraced us and we've had a brilliant time. We have such great memories leaving it.

"It's a pity we couldn't be leaving on better terms but that's the way football goes. We've had a brilliant time and we have loads of memories and fair bit of success behind us.

"It wasn't our day today but I'm sure the club will go from strength to strength, I've no doubt about that."

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Slaughtneil secured a 12th successive Derry Senior Hurling title with a dominant 0-16 to 0-4 victory over Banagher at Owenbeg.

Underdogs Banagher, seeking a fourth title and first since 2005, stayed in touch early on as they trailed only 0-4 to 0-2 after 14 minutes but three Cormac O'Doherty points helped the champions lead 0-8 to 0-2 at the interval.

Banagher scored first after the interval but Slaughtneil responded with seven straight points to put the match to bed as they extended their record-breaking sequence of Derry titles.

Freetaker O'Doherty added five second-half points - including one from play - with Se McGuigan also contributing 0-2.

Slaughtneil's victory sets up an Ulster semi-final meeting with Cushendall on 16 November which will be a repeat of last year's provincial decider when the Antrim champions edged a 0-20 to 2-10 win.

The winners of that game will face Portaferry in the Ulster decider.

The Derry champions won four out of five Ulster titles between 2016 and 2021, with the provincial competition not taking place in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Mickey Graham has joined Padraic Joyce's Galway backroom team just two weeks after ending his short-lived stint as Leitrim boss.

Former Cavan manager Graham took the Leitrim job in August, replacing Mayo legend Andy Moran, on a three-year term, but left earlier this month with Leitrim GAA saying "circumstances beyond his control" prompted his exit.

Following a Galway county committee meeting on Thursday evening, Graham was confirmed as part of Joyce's backroom team with the Tribesmen boss extending his own term until 2026.

Before joining Moran's Leitrim backroom team ahead of the 2024 season, Graham managed his native county Cavan for five years, leading them to a shock Ulster title in 2020.

He was also part of Joyce's Connacht backroom team during last weekend's inter-provincial series at Croke Park, where Gaelic football's proposed new rules were trialled.

Galway selectors John Concannon, John Divilly and Micheal O Domhnaill are also staying on with the beaten All-Ireland finalists, while David Morris has joined Graham on the coaching ticket.