Gaelic Games

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Kildare goalkeeper Mary Hulgraine is this week's guest on The GAA Social as she reveals how her religious faith helped turn her life around following a lengthy battle against alcohol and drug addiction.

Hulgraine will be in Crossmaglen on Sunday when Kildare face Armagh in Division One of the Ladies National Football League.

The podcast explores faith in a modern Ireland and is a fascinating insight into recovery and second chances.

"When I look back and see say 2016, it's a million miles away from where I am today playing football," Mary told Thomas and Oisin.

"My preparation is impeccable [now]. Looking back then, I was drinking the night before an All-Ireland Final."

Hulgraine added that she has to battle against a sense of "shame" that can envelope her when she thinks about those dark days.

"I really do work and praying over it and that shame and condemnation that comes with stuff, I really do have to try and not let that get in.

"That's a battle. That's called spiritual warfare I suppose. It's a constant battle to be like 'I'm not listening to you today'. I have a bit of work to do yet I think."

The Kildare keeper also talks about the role her beloved dog Bailey played in her recovery.

"I was anxious when I wasn't with him. There was a very strong emotional attachment there.

"Someone said 'God brought that dog to keep you going and now he's saying, his job is done…..we're bringing him home'," said Mary of Bailey, who had to be put to sleep last June because of illness.

You can listen to the GAA Social on BBC Sounds, with new episodes released every Monday and Wednesday.

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Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke says his side were punished for giving the ball away at "crucial times" in Sunday's Division One defeat by Kerry.

David Clifford scored three goals as Kerry came from five points down with 13 players to claim a crucial 3-13 to 2-13 win.

O'Rourke said the result was "disappointing" in a wind-affected game at Pomeroy and Clifford was "ruthless" with his hat-trick of goals.

"The effort was very good but it's disappointing we didn't get something out of the game," said O'Rourke.

"Overall, I'm happy with the way the boys dug in after a bad start but I'm just disappointed with the result."

O'Rourke felt Tyrone did not make the most of their wind advantage in the first half and they were made to pay for not being clinical - unlike their opponents.

"We wanted to get off to a good start, but we just didn't seem to have the energy we would have liked and, when we did get the ball up, we weren't linking up as well as we would have liked," he added.

"We knew at half-time, if we got our hands on the ball, we could control it and we would be very much in the game and that's how it turned out.

"I thought with 10 minutes to go we were in a great position, but we just didn't finish it out.

"Very disappointing for the boys because I know the effort they are putting in and they are working very hard - we just aren't getting the results at the minute."

Tyrone, who have one win in four matches, travel to unbeaten Galway in their fourth Division One match on 2 March.

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Holders Armagh claimed a fourth consecutive Division One win as they beat Mayo 2-14 to 1-10 at the Athletic Grounds.

Niamh Henderson scored a goal in each half to help the hosts maintain their winning run.

The Orchard County led 1-11 to 0-4 at half-time after a dominant first half display.

Mayo cut the gap to six at one stage of the second half, before a flurry of late Armagh scores wrapped up the comfortable win.

It was an even start to the game with both sides exchanging early points before the Orchard County rattled off seven consecutive scores to establish control.

Kayla Doherty reduced the deficit with Mayo's first point in 13 minutes, but a delicate lob from Henderson re-established Armagh's healthy advantage.

Mayo fought hard in the second half as an early point and then a goal from Saoirse Lally got them back in the game.

Henderson's goal alongside a number of late scores saw Armagh ease to victory and pick up another two points.

Reigning All-Ireland champions Kerry recorded a third win in a row as they beat Tyrone 4-5 to 1-7.

The game was moved from O'Neill's Healy Park to Garvaghey just an hour beforehand following a pitch inspection.

Kerry raced into an early lead with a Danielle O'Leary goal and points from Mary O'Connell and Niamh Carmody giving them a 1-2 lead in the opening five minutes.

Tyrone fought back with points from Aoife Horisk to close the gap in difficult conditions as the wind had an impact.

The Kingdom got their second goal of the game through O'Leary, who finished into an empty net.

Jaydn Lucey scored the final point of the half to give them a 2-4 to 0-4 at the break.

Kerry extended their advantage with on 42 minutes with a goal from the Anna Galvin before substitute Rachael Dwyer scored their fourth.

Tyrone kept fighting and got a late consolation goal from Sorcha Gormley.

In Division Two, Monaghan were beaten by Cork, whilst Donegal drew with Roscommon.

In Division Three, Down picked up a two-point win against Louth.

In Division Four, Antrim eased to a 3-8 to 1-10 win against Leitrim to continue their winning start and Derry lost 3-16 to 1-6 against Wicklow.

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Galway made the most of a first-half wind advantage to defeat Donegal 0-21 to 0-14 and maintain their unbeaten start in Division One.

With a strong win in their favour, All-Ireland finalists Galway made a blistering start at Pearse Stadium.

Shane Walsh (two), Conor Flaherty and Matthew Tierney all struck two-pointers inside the opening 15 minutes to open up an eight-point lead.

Robert Finnerty added another two-pointer and Daniel Flaherty landed a point, before Donegal goalkeeper Shaun Patton denied Cian Herron after Galway worked a goal chance.

Finnerty helped himself to another two-pointer before Walsh's set of two kicks from outside the arc and Liam Silke's point moved the hosts 17 points clear without reply.

Jamie Brennan eventually got Donegal on the board in the 29th minute as Jim McGuinness' side finally got a period of possession, and Brennan almost grabbed a goal moments later, but his attempt was cleared.

There was a big talking point in the final play of the half as Matthew Tierney was sent off by referee David Coldrick for a high shoulder charge into Hugh McFadden as Galway went into the changing rooms with a 0-17 to 0-1 advantage.

Donegal fightback falls short

With the breeze now in their favour, Conor O'Donnell got Donegal up and running after the restart with two points, but Shane Walsh hit an immediate response for Galway.

Brennan grabbed his second point and Donegal were denied a goal as Connor Gleeson kept out Domnhall McBride.

Daire O Baoill clawed another two points back for Donegal, but another Walsh point kept the Tribesmen in control midway through the second half despite being down to 13 players following Daniel O'Flaherty's black card.

Odhran Doherty, Oisin Gallen and O'Donnell all landed scores to bring Galway's lead down to 10 points, before Donegal finally took advantage of the new two-point rule as Peadar Morgan's effort reduced that margin to eight.

Walsh's ninth point of the game and a score from John Maher halted Donegal's momentum and, crucially, gave Galway the buffer required to see out the win before Shane O'Donnell, O Baoill and Ciaran Thompson landed consolation points in the closing stages.

Donegal will look to respond against neighbours Derry on 2 March while Galway, who now top Division One, host Tyrone.

Niall Keenan
BBC Sport NI contributor

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Down's relegation concerns in Division Two of the Allianz Football League increased as they were edged out 2-17 to 0-22 by Louth with Cavan boosting their hopes of avoiding the drop by earning a 1-22 to 0-21 comeback win over Westmeath at Mullingar.

In Division Three meanwhile, Fermanagh held on to beat Mickey Harte's previously unbeaten Offaly side 1-13 to 3-6.

The Mournemen started brightly at Drogheda, kicking four two-pointers in the opening 19 minutes to build up a six-point lead.

Louth responded though through the reliable Sam Mulroy and Tommy Durnin's point before the break left just two between the sides at half-time.

Inside 10 minutes the Wee County assumed control with a two-point free from Mulroy quickly followed by a Kieran McArdle goal to put Louth four points ahead.

Odhran Murdock and a couple of points from Conor McCrickard brought Conor Laverty's side back to within one of the hosts but another Mulroy free approaching stoppage time after a two-pointer from Ryan Burns, who netted in the first half, kept the home team's noses in front to the finish.

Down slip into the relegation places with three games remaining two of which are away from home.

Cavan used their numerical advantage to overcome a 12-point half-time deficit in Mullingar.

The Lake County struck five two-pointers in the opening 18 minutes and led 0-17 to 0-5 at the break.

However, Jack Geoghegan was issued a red card soon before the break with Jamie Gonoud black card which allowed Cavan to mount a significant comeback after the resumption.

Three frees from Oisin Brady, one of which was a two-pointer, and a goal from Gerard Smith reduced the deficit to a single point by the hour.

Despite a black card for the Breffni County's Killian Clarke, Raymond Galligan's team finished the stronger with Dara McVeety scoring a crucial late two-pointer.

At Ederney, Declan McCusker and Offaly's Cillian Bourke exchanging first-half goals as the home side led 1-10 to 1-1 at half-time despite having played against the breeze.

The Ernemen made hay in the first half with seven different point scorers.

Dylan Hyland (penalty) and Cormac Egan netted after the resumption to cut into Fermanagh's lead.

The home side managed three points in the second half and went 16 minutes without scoring but Garvan Jones' point in the final minute clinched a vital win for Kieran Donnelly's side who move up to fifth place in the Division Three table - but are only two points behind Offaly who remain in the promotion spots behind leaders, Kildare who have a maximum eight points.

David Mohan
BBC Sport NI contributor at Corrigan Park

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A return to Corrigan Park did not have the desired effect for Antrim on Sunday as they were out-gunned by an impressive Waterford who claimed a utterly dominant 2-23 to 0-11 win in Division 1B of the Allianz Hurling League.

The Déise made good use of the elements in the first period to build a 16-point wind and managed the game well in the second with Antrim never really threatened to get back into it.

It was a disappointing display from Davy Fitzgerald's men who were out-hustled and out-muscled as the visitors came at them with intensity and the result now leaves them in a precarious position in the battle to avoid the drop.

Playing with an extremely strong wind at their backs, Waterford immediately set about building a big lead and had two points on the board within the opening minute.

The lead was three with 10 played before the visitors grabbed their first goal as a superb poc-out from Billy Nolan found Conor Prunty in stride with the ball worked to Kevin Mahony to crack home.

Their second major came six minutes later and from a Stephen Bennett penalty, awarded as he was adjudged to have been clipped outside the area, but deemed a goalscoring opportunity denied and Keelan Molloy would spend 10 minutes in the sin-bin to compound matters.

The scores flowed for Waterford with Jamie Barron and Dessie Hutchinson hitting some beauties, as Antrim only had a couple of James McNaughton frees to show until late in the half when Seaan Elliott had a sight of goal but shot over.

But the visitors had a commanding 2-14 to 0-4 lead at the interval with Antrim's hopes long gone.

The Saffrons made a decent start to the second period with the first four points including one from substitute Eoin O'Neill, but were unable to sustain the momentum with Waterford adapting to playing into the gale, rattling off four of their own to restore to 16-point gap going into the final quarter.

They could have had a third goal only for the crossbar denying Hutchinson, but the game was long decided and petered out late with Waterford home and hosed.

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Chrissy McKaigue says next Sunday's Division One contest in Donegal is now effectively must-win for relegation-threatened Derry but believes they can achieve a surprise victory in Ballyshannon despite Saturday's heavy defeat by Dublin.

McKaigue said that Derry were "never in a position to win" at Croke Park, adding that the 3-20 to 2-12 scoreline "reflected what it was, which was a fairly one-sided game".

Yet he contends his former Oak Leaf team-mates can still avoid the drop, which would be quite a fall after beating Dublin to land the Division One title last March.

"I would still back those players to get points in the next three games but they need to start by getting two points in the next game against Donegal," said McKaigue who was on punditry duty for BBC Sport during the iPlayer coverage of the Dublin contest.

"I still believe the Donegal game is a game that they can see as winnable."

Derry will go into the Donegal contest bottom of the table on one point with their campaign then concluding with a home contest against Mayo before an away trip to All-Ireland champions Armagh.

"This is probably the first performance in the four games where they haven't been really competitive," added former All-Star defender McKaigue.

"They should have won the Kerry game. They should have really won the Galway game at the end of it when you look back on it. The Tyrone game [at the start] maybe just came a wee bit too soon. They just can't throw the toys out of the pram with this one performance."

Even though Derry's championship totally unravelled after their league triumph last year, McKaigue still contends that relegation would not aid the Oak Leafers' chances of contending for the Sam Maguire Cup.

Pointing out that Jim Gavin's Dublin side won the league title on five occasions during their period of championship dominance, McKaigue added: "I just would worry that it's hard to pick up confidence after a poor league campaign.

"It's not the defeat as such. It's just the manner of it. That can erode a playing group's confidence but hopefully there are enough strong characters in there, Shane McGuigan, Conor Glass, Brendan Rogers who just have to say: 'Lads…..we draw a line in the sand'."

David Mohan
BBC Sport NI contributor

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Antrim manager Andy McEntee cut a much happier figure on Saturday afternoon than six days previously as he watched his team get back to winning ways in Allianz Football League Division Three with their 14-point win over Leitrim.

First-half goals from Marc Jordan, Niall Burns, Dominic McEnhill and Fionn Nagle had Antrim in total control by the midway point and they were able to manage the game out in the second period.

Following a pair of defeats on the road, including last week's 16-point reverse away to Offaly in Tullamore when they finished with 13 men, bouncing back was the objective on Saturday and they accomplished that mission.

"But for eight wides in the first half, we could have been further ahead although it was probably over as a contest [at half-time]. It's tough for Leitrim as they are struggling without a lot of key men, but for us it was just important to get the win," said McEntee.

"We certainly seemed to have a lot more energy about us than last weekend, but relief is the most overwhelming feeling at the moment so it's nice to win."

Corrigan Park has been a happy venue for Antrim in the league following their wins over Clare and Leitrim which is another reason they are adamant that the Ulster SFC quarter-final against Armagh will take place there on 12 April.

At a meeting with the Ulster Council's competitions control committee on Tuesday, Antrim nominated the west Belfast ground as their home venue for the clash with the All-Ireland champions, in keeping with the stance taken by the squad to resist any attempt to take home advantage from them.

However, McEntee insists April is a long way away and a trip to Laois next weekend is all that is occupying his thoughts.

"If you were looking at it last weekend, you wouldn't have said that [it galvanised us]," he said of their stance.

"The truth of the matter is that it's our job to play and the players have made their stance clear. Nothing has changed, so we don't want it to become a distraction. Our job is to play and all we are concerned about is Portlaoise next week."

Watch the highlights as Dublin beat Derry 3-20 to 2-12 at Croke Park in their Football League Division One encounter.

The result leaves Derry sitting bottom of Division One.

Read the report here.

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Derry are still without a win in their Football League campaign as they fell to a 3-20 to 2-12 defeat by Dublin.

The Ulster visitors led by three early in the game at Croke Park before Dublin seized control and Niall Scully netted as they hit 1-7 without reply to hold a 1-10 to 0-6 advantage at the break.

A goal from Brendan Rogers gave Derry hope but Dublin moved clear again with Conor Tyrell and Lorcan O'Dell finding the net.

Conor Glass finished from close range for Derry's second goal, but it proved little more than a consolation for the side sitting bottom of Division One.

Derry prevailed against the Dubs in last year's league final, but this game belonged to the hosts.

They trailed 0-6 to 0-3 before shutting out Derry for the rest of the first half and piling on the scores.

Sean Bugler and Luke Breathnach each fired over two points in the 1-7 blast while Scully's shot hit the underside of the bar and went in for the goal on 23 minutes.

Rogers hit the roof of the net 10 minutes into the second half and it was followed by a Cahir McMonagle point to leave six between the side.

Dublin responded with a goal similar to their opener, this time with Tyrell the scorer and when O'Dell blasted into the net the game was over as a contest.

Glass rose highest to net from Shane McGuigan's inviting pass late in the match but Derry were outclassed on the night and three defeats and a draw leave them fighting against relegation.

Kieran Lynch
BBC Sport NI contributor

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Mayo fought their way back from nine points down to secure a 1-17 to 1-17 Division One draw against All-Ireland champions Armagh at the Athletic Grounds but the visitors will rue missing a late chance to win the game.

After an evenly-contested opening to the game, Armagh found the net through an unlikely source in corner-back Paddy Burns, which put them 1-3 to 0-2 ahead and that laid the platform for a dominant first half.

Mayo struggled for scores, with seven wides kicked, as well as Conor Reid hitting the inside of the post with a goal chance.

The most spectacular moment of the first half was saved right until the end.

The hooter had gone, but referee Barry Tiernan allowed Conor Turbitt a shot from a sideline ball and the 2024 All-Star split the posts with a sublime effort to leave eight points in it at the break.

Armagh still looked to be well in the ascendancy as they led by early in the second half but that was until Mayo fired in 1-3 in the blink of an eye, with Davitt Neary finding the net and Ryan O'Donoghue smashing over a two-pointer.

With time ticking away, Mayo took the lead for the first time since the fourth minute through Aidan O'Shea before O'Donoghue put them two ahead. However, Armagh fought back to draw level via Stefan Campbell and a Conor Turbitt free.

The last chance of the game went the way of Mayo goalkeeper Colm Reape in the closing 20 seconds but he pushed his effort agonisingly wide and the sides had to settle for a draw.

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Monaghan's three first-half goals gave them a sufficient cushion to beat Cork 3-16 to 1-15 in the Allianz Football League Division Two game at Inniskeen.

Jack McCarron's seventh-minute penalty put Monaghan ahead and David Garland's major on 20 minutes extended the home side's advantage to 2-4 to 0-2.

Ryan Wylie netted again for the Farney men on 25 minutes and they led 3-5 to 0-5 at half-time.

Monaghan stretched the margin to 13 points by the 54th minute as they 3-12 to 0-8 before Cork hit an unanswered 1-4 which included a Mark Cronin penalty and he went on to finish with a 1-7 tally for the visitors.

However Conor McCarthy and Ciaran McNulty responding with steadying points for Monaghan before Rory Beggan's third two-pointer of the second half rounded off the home win.

Goalkeeper Beggan finished with 0-7 for Gabriel Bannigan's side.

Monaghan's win moves them to six points alongside Division Two leaders Roscommon with Cork remaining in fourth place on fourth points.

David Mohan
BBC Sport NI contributor at Corrigan Park

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Antrim shook off back-to-back losses in Division Three of the Allianz Football League as they romped to a 4-16 to 1-11 victory over bottom-of-the pile Leitrim at Corrigan Park.

The Saffrons' eye for goal shone through with four first-half majors to leave them pretty much out of sight by the half-way point as although Leitrim enjoyed a decent start as they led 0-3 to 0-2 after 11 minutes, Marc Jordan produced a deft finish for the hosts' first goal moments later.

Jordan then turned provider with Niall Burns diving to palm home and the third came as Dominic McEnhill tapped home a rebound after initially being denied by Daire O'Shea.

Antrim could maybe have had more scores in the opening period but for seven wides and a disallowed goal for a square ball on McCann.

However, their fourth major arrived just before the break as Dermot McAleese slipped Fionn Nagle in to finish and help the Saffrons into a 4-7 to 0-6 advantage.

Jack Lenehan had the final say of the first half and first of the second as it became a case of Antrim managing the second period.

Tom Prior and Darren Cox both hit their second scores of the day for Leitrim, but the hosts stretched pulled further clear with McEnhill, Burns, McCann and substitute Ryan McQuillan chipping in.

Leitrim sub Donal Casey grabbed a consolation goal for his team with seven to go, but Antrim were long since out of sight to get back on the winning trail.

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The GAA Congress has voted decisively to back proposed changes to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship format.

Almost 93% of delegates in Donegal Town supported the move which will see the removal of the round-robin stage of the football championship.

The round-robin stage has been criticised for lacking jeopardy and drama. Currently, 24 matches are played across four, four-team groups to eliminate just four teams.

Under the new structure which will be in place from 2026-28, 16 teams will still battle for the Sam Maguire Cup.

They will be the eight provincial finalists, the Tailteann Cup winners from the previous season, with the remainder the seven highest ranked teams in the Allianz Football League who have not already clinched spots.

Round one will see the eight provincial finalists drawn against the other eight teams.

The winners from the round one games will then meet in four games, with the victors from those contests going through directly to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

The first-round losers will be drawn to play in four fixtures and the four winners from those contests going on to play the four teams beaten in the second round of games.

The four winners of those contests will also progress to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

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The first of Saturday's motions in Donegal Town saw a move to clarify the hurling handpass heavily defeated.

The Tipperary motion called for a new rule where players would no longer be able to handpass using the same hand in which they are holding the sliotar.

This was because of the widespread view that players are getting away with widespread illegal handpasses in the modern game.

However, the motion was heavily defeated as it received only 32.4% support - well short of the 60% majority required for a rule change.

A motion proposing that, in order to play inter-county championship football, a player must have played in four club league games in the same calendar year, was withdrawn after a long debate.

Cork GAA chief executive Kevin O'Donovan described the motion as "unworkable and unenforceable" although this was rejected by the motion's primary advocate former Dublin player Noel McCaffrey, who was speaking on behalf of the Clontarf club who submitted the motion.

GAA president Jarlath Burns then suggested that McCaffrey should withdraw the motion with a view to amending it for next year's Congress and this plan was agreed.

A motion calling for All-Ireland Senior Finals to go to replays if teams are level after normal time and for provincial finals to be replayed if teams are level after extra-time - thereby avoiding penalty shootouts in provincial deciders - was withdrawn and deferred to a Special Congress.

Donegal chairperson Mary Coughlan spoke out against penalty shootouts in provincial finals even though her own county won last year's Ulster Final against Armagh in that fashion.

Disciplinary bodies motions passed

Two motions intended at giving increased authority to disciplinary bodies were easily passed with committees now having the discretion to enforce additional suspensions for category three or category four offences.

Disciplinary bodies will also have the power to impose additional one-game bans for hearings deemed to have had no prospect of success or regarded as an abuse of process.

A motion proposed by former Wexford hurling manager Liam Griffin saying that it should be mandatory for all clubs to field hurling teams between the Under-7 and Under-10 grades was withdrawn after Griffin said he was content to let the Hurling Development Committee to take the lead on the issue.

A motion calling for GAA clubs to be allowed to permit other sports and community groups to use their facilities received only 52% and short of the necessary 60% to enact change.

Another motion which fell narrowly short of the 60% mark was a Sligo call that the stipulation which only allows clubs to propose changes to playing rules every five years should be removed.

The motion received 57.6% support - just 2.4% short of the required figure.

New York hurlers will be admitted into the Lory Meagher Cup after receiving support from 76.8% of delegates.

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The venue for Tyrone's Allianz Football League Division One contest against Kerry on Sunday has been changed from Healy Park in Omagh to Pomeroy.

A Tyrone GAA statement on Saturday morning confirmed the venue change although gave no reason for the decision.

The throw-in time for the crucial Division One fixture remains 13:45 GMT.

Tickets already purchased remain valid for the game.

Both sides go into the crucial contest on only two league points from their opening three games.

Fermanagh's Division Three contest against Offaly has been moved from Brewster Park in Enniskillen to Ederney. The throw-in remains 14:00 GMT.

The Division Four game between Wexford and Oisin McConville's Wicklow has been postponed.

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Antrim hurlers boss Davy Fitzgerald said that his former team Waterford will come "all guns blazing" to Corrigan Park for their Division 1B meeting on Sunday.

The Saffrons have won just one of their three games under Fitzgerald, who decided against renewing his contract with Waterford to take on the Antrim job.

And he believes that will add more needle to the game which is being streamed live on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website.

"I'm pretty certain Waterford will come with all guns blazing, I know they have a few guys back from injury and they'll make a difference," Fitzgerald told BBC Sport NI.

"The fact I was their manager last year and didn't stay on for another year or two, I think they'll come wanting a result."

Fitzgerald, an All-Ireland winner with his native Clare as a player and a manager, explained that he has a number of injury concerns ahead of the home game.

Defender Paddy Burke is missing whilst half forward Niall McKenna is out for an extended spell.

"Paddy played the last two games not right so we've had to stop give it a break and see if it can heal," Fitzgerald explained.

"Niall McKenna will be out for at least six weeks, Conor Johnston, I don't think he'll make it back in time, he might make the bench. That's three big loses for us, but there's no excuses, let's look for a performance."

Fitzgerald admitted after their 2-26 to 0-17 defeat by Offaly a fortnight ago that Antrim were in a relegation battle.

He wants his side to aim for a complete performance against Waterford as they try to pick up a morale-boosting victory.

"The big thing for us is in two of the three games we've played we've petered out badly after 30 minutes and we've got to try sort that out," he added.

"The lads know we have to bring a lot more fight than we have brought. The hurling side of things will come, they're good hurlers, but I want the fight there every week."