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How the football All-Stars were picked
34:01|Declan Bogue tells Ronan Early about the debates and discussion behind this year’s awards.This year had 11 first-time winners and eight counties represented in the final pick. Declan, a member of the selection committee, says this year’s deliberations were the longest in recent memory, and explains the thinking behind some of the close calls.He also tells us about award ceremonies of the past and wonders if some of the best parts of the endeavour have been lost to progress, such as hundreds of free cigarettes and trips to far flung destinations.
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Are the GAA really powerless in the face of AFL ambition?
01:01:24|Fintan O’Toole and Declan Bogue join Ronan Early as GAA Weekly returns for the winterDeclan argues that there is nothing the GAA can do to restrict the number of players taking up contracts in Australia. Irish solutions to Irish problems are offered up, while the lads posit that the life of a county player in Ireland is actually pretty good.Also up for discussion: How games are chosen, or not chosen, for Saturday night prime time RTÉ TV slots; what is the split season like for players who have contested All-Ireland finals and then kept winning with the club; and the lengths some people will travel to play in county finals.The lads also run the rule over the new rules on trial in hurling and offer some more radical alternatives.Finally, with a tone of authority born of experience, they explain why Croke Park plays differently.Christy Ring and Mick Mackey - Arthur O’Dea on writing about hurling’s giants
53:25|Ronan Early is joined by Arthur O’Dea, author of the new book, Mackey & Ring.Arthur details the intimidating nature of such an assignment, especially in the case of Ring, a historical figure but still very much a subject of everyday life and thoughts in Cork.He talks about what made both men stand out as special early in their careers, and why both remain a source of fascination decades after their deaths.Arthur also examines the quality of greatness, and why fans revere players in any sport who are willing to go to the very limit of their talent, and then keep going beyond what anybody could have thought possible in their sport.Cork hold on in bruising battle: Camogie final review
23:57|Emma Duffy and Fintan O’Toole join Ronan Early to chat about yesterday’s decider at Croke Park.Has there been an overcorrection in camogie? Where a few short years ago everything seemed to be a free, and now physicality is off the scale - with sometimes dangerous consequences?Does the officiating of head high challenges and collisions need to be more strict? And is there far too much cynical fouling when players have a sniff of goal? Is it time for a black card rule to be introduced?How did Cork gain the impetus in the third quarter after Galway shaded the first half? And how did they let Galway get such a run on them in the closing straight, having led by six points towards the end of normal time? Was Cork’s running game counterproductive at times, especially when they profited with goals by going direct?With these two outstanding sides having contested a third final in a row, is any other team primed to break the duopoly?Either way, these teams have elevated the standards and appeal of the sport, judging by scoring totals, levels of athleticism reached and record crowds paying through the gates in 2026.Farewell Kobe | Camogie final preview | The south-east will rise again
51:37|Fintan O’Toole joins Ronan Early to chat about the big GAA matters of the week.It’s farewell to Kobe McDonald, who has touched down in Melbourne. What position will he play? And can we expect to see him in first team action soon?There is a trio of new managers in the south-east. Henry Shefflin in Kilkenny, Derek McGrath in Wexford and Stephen Molumphy in Waterford. Who is best placed to succeed? And where exactly does the south-east begin and end?Cork and Galway meet for the third year in a row in the camogie decider, with one win apiece. Who can seize the initiative on Sunday?Late drama as Galway secure second All-Ireland title
11:16|Fintan O'Toole is joined by Emma Duffy, who was in Croke Park to witness Galway's dramatic one-point victory over Kerry in the All-Ireland ladies football final.Trying to make sense of the greatest story ever told
58:57|Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole join Ronan Early to grapple with the meaning and emotion so abundant in Mayo’s stunning All-Ireland victory. Has there ever been a more seismic moment in the GAA? Or in Irish sport full stop? While being aware of recency bias, we are scratching our heads. Also, Mayo people’s delight is obvious and palpable, but why has nearly everyone else been so deeply affected by Sam going west? We get into theories ranging from the Seven Universal Plots, and how Mayo fulfilled most of them, to Steve McQueen’s Papillion, who was brutalised but never broken. What will be the lasting repercussions of this victory for the human spirit? Will we see other teams take inspiration and make the breakthrough. And stylistically, are we set for an era of heavy metal football - with younger, lighter, faster, high-pressing players taking prominence as the true possibilities of new Gaelic football become ever more clear?