The Echo Sport Podcast

The Echo Sport Podcast crew break down a thrilling All-Ireland camogie final, look at the future of divisional teams after the latest championship withdrawal and pick the matches to catch in the second round of football group games.

Cork captured the O'Duffy Cup for the 31st time after a gripping game in Croke Park against their fierce rivals Galway. Goals were the key, Saoirse McCarthy and Orlaith Cahalane burying two in the second half, but also the Rebels' second-half attitude when they pushed up the pitch more and tackled with far greater intensity to turn around a two-point deficit.

Sorcha McCartan and Laura Hayes were also magnificent but this was a triumph for the collective as the young guns fired on the big stage. Cork lost five of the starting 15 from 2025 but newcomers like Isobel Sheehan, Meabh Murphy, Millie Condon and Ava Fitzgerald rose to the occasion.

There was just one divisional/colleges match played as UCC had to give a walkover to Carbery, who now progess into the last seven of the Premier SFC proper. Seandún beat Muskerry to earn the right to face Imokilly in the hurling equivalent but serious questions have to be raised about the merits of including representative sides in a competition where clubs are pushed to the pin of their collars.

The clubs are back in the spotlight next weekend when the stakes couldn't be higher, particularly for the teams who were beaten in their opening fixtures.

Among the standout fixtures are St Finbarr's against Douglas, Ballincollig v Knocknagree and Clon-Haven in the same PSFC group, Carbery Rangers and O'Donovan Rossa in a Senior A derby, Uibh Laoire and Bantry at Premier Intermediate and Kilmurry versus Buttevant at Intermediate A.

Now in its fourth season, every Monday, Éamonn Murphy is joined by The Echo team, including Barry O’Mahony, Denis Hurley, Rory Noonan, John Horgan and more to discuss all the latest Cork GAA news on and off the field. You can listen on Echolive.ie/podcast or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Don’t forget to log onto www.IrishExaminer.com as well to catch up on the best inter-county analysis including Dalo’s Hurling Show and The Gaelic Football Show. Plus there's a special digital bundle offer with access to the Examiner and Clubber TV, which streams the best of the Cork GAA club matches.
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The Echo Sport Podcast crew break reflect on a cracking opening weekend of club hurling action that featured a host of Cork stars back in action for the first time since the disappointment of their All-Ireland semi-final loss to Galway.

Mark Coleman certainly came up with a big moment for Blarney when he smashed home a free in the 64th minute for Blarney to beat Castlelyons by a point. Niall O'Leary marked Shane Barrett in a gripping game where former Cork defender Colm Spillane was immense.

Darragh Fitzgibbon's powerful display at midfield for Charleville in their upset over champions and favourites Sarsfields was the standout game. Dominic Foley's side had pushed Sars hard in last year's quarter-final but they showed they're contenders now.

Blackrock's come-from-behind victory over the Glen was also a sensational result, given they were reduced to 14 men when they trailed 0-11 to 0-6 in the first half. Alan Connolly clipped two points from play in added time to secure an unlikely win and he also sniped an opportunistic goal. A big response to the recent criticism.

Robbie Cotter and Tadhg Deasy also impressed and it was notable that Eoin Downey nailed 0-3 from distance for the Glen, who are now under pressure when they meet Kanturk later this month.

Alan Walsh scored a goal and set up two more as Kanturk hammered Fr O'Neill's while Robbie O'Flynn had 0-5 in Erin's Own's Senior A success against Na Piarsaigh. Tommy O'Connell was centre-back as Midleton had a surprisingly comfortable win over a St Finbarr's side that didn't get enough of a return from play from Brian Hayes, Ben Cunningham and William Buckley.

Barry Walsh's 1-4 was key as Killeagh got the better of Fermoy and Bride Rovers' return to the top tier saw them outgun Newcestown, with Brian Roche landing 0-4 but former Cork U20 Cillian Tobin also excelling as sweeper.

Now in its fourth season, every Monday, Éamonn Murphy is joined by The Echo team, including Barry O’Mahony, Denis Hurley, Rory Noonan, John Horgan and more to discuss all the latest Cork GAA news on and off the field. You can listen on Echolive.ie/podcast or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Don’t forget to log onto www.IrishExaminer.com as well to catch up on the best inter-county analysis including Dalo’s Hurling Show and The Gaelic Football Show. Plus there's a special digital bundle offer with access to the Examiner and Clubber TV, which streams the best of the Cork GAA club matches.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Echo Sport Podcast crew break down the opening weekend of Cork GAA championship action where upsets for Carrigaline and Newcestown grabbed the headlines as last year's finalists St Finbarr's and Nemo were beaten.

Carrigaline were mauled by the Barrs in the opening last season and despite trailing early in the second half last Friday night, they pushed on to a win that gives them a great chance of progressing to the knockout stages. Cork footballer Brian O'Driscoll contributed heavily but Éanna Desmond was the star turn to the tune of 0-9 from play.

Newcestown, beaten after extra time by Nemo in last year's semi-final, made no mistake this time. Seamus O'Sullivan nabbed 0-7 while their best-known players Luke Meade and David Buckley were to the fore as always.

There's still plenty of time for the city sides to get back on track and the other member of the Premier Senior 'big three', Castlehaven, got the job done against a youthful Ballincollig despite conceding three goals.

Douglas were emphatic winners over Mallow, Séan Coakley highlighting his Cork potential, and Clon, dark horses in recent years, beat newcomers Knocknagree.

Cill na Martra took down Carbery Rangers in the collision between the two favourites at Senior A, while Éire Óg and Kanturk also underlined their title credentials. The performance of the weekend came from Fermoy, who were six points down with five minutes left against Naomh Abán and kicked seven without reply to win. Dohenys also roared from 11 down to draw with Aghabullogue while Newmarket put up an impressive tally in defeating Skibb.

Can the hurling action across the August Bank Holiday weekend match the entertainment? With Midleton against the Barrs and Glen taking on Blackrock, there are some crackers on the horizon.

We also salute Mayo, All-Ireland champions for the first time in 75 years who ended their final curse, despite going 1-5 to 0-1 down after 16 minutes. Unreal.

Now in its fourth season, every Monday, Éamonn Murphy is joined by The Echo team, including Barry O’Mahony, Denis Hurley, Rory Noonan, John Horgan and more to discuss all the latest Cork GAA news on and off the field. You can listen on Echolive.ie/podcast or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Don't forget to log onto www.IrishExaminer.com as well to catch up on the best inter-county analysis including Dalo's Hurling Show and The Gaelic Football Show.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Echo Sport Podcast crew head into club championship mode but first, there's a look at the All-Ireland hurling final.

Limerick returned to the top of the pile in emphatic fashion, easily dismantling the Galway system of counter-attacking that derailed Cork in the semi. The Tribe's lack of nous and experience against Limerick's intensity and high press was telling. So how did Cork not keep their eyes on the sliotar to have another crack off the green machine? It's all about intensity, attitude and hurling to your strengths.

The All-Ireland football final takes place next Sunday, where it's difficult to look past yet another Kerry victory over Mayo. However, the focus on Leeside will be on the club scene.

It's the first round of the club football championships and we look at the teams to beat in each grade.

St Finbarr's, so narrowly beaten by Dingle in the Munster final last winter, have to be favourites but they did endure a fairly indifferent league. The key for the holders is how fresh their inter-county contingent, particularly Steven Sherlock, Ian Maguire, William Buckley and Brian Hayes will be.

Do Castlehaven have another kick in them? They edged out Knocknagree, a quality addition to the top tier, in a brilliant league final recently. Clon remain the dark horses but all three of those clubs, along with Ballincollig, semi-finalists last year, are in one stacked group.

Carbery were impressive in the divisional section while Douglas had a solid league and Carrigaline have the physicality and firepower, highlighted by their Division 2 league triumph, to impact. Newcestown pushed Nemo all the way to extra time last season. Can they push on from that outstanding campaign?

Outside of the Premier Senior Championship, we look at the matches to catch on the opening weekend.

The most likely county champions are picked across all the levels, Premier Senior, Senior A, Premier Intermediate, Intermediate A and Premier Junior.

Now in its fourth season, every Monday, Éamonn Murphy is joined by The Echo team, including Barry O’Mahony, Denis Hurley, Rory Noonan, John Horgan and more to discuss all the latest Cork GAA news on and off the field. You can listen on Echolive.ie/podcast or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Don't forget to log onto www.IrishExaminer.com as well to catch up on the best inter-county analysis including Dalo's Hurling Show and The Gaelic Football Show.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Echo Sport Podcast crew reflect on how the inter-county season panned out across both codes before we launch into a bumper three-and-a-half months of the best club action in the country.

With just one All-Ireland final reached, even if it did see the minor footballers rally from nine points down to wrestle the Tommy Markham Cup from Tyrone in a stone-cold classic, the 2026 campaign has to be classed as a disappointment.

Keith Ricken's U17 side were also the only Cork team to lift a Munster title, with the minor and U20 hurlers losing provincial semi-finals and the two senior teams falling to their great rivals Limerick and Kerry. It's no coincidence that those two counties are now in the All-Ireland final and firm favourites to return with the biggest prizes of them all.

The most galling disappointment was the hurlers' heavy defeat to Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. Here on the podcast, we were extremely wary of the Tribe threat, given their excellence in the Munster final and how fortunate Cork had been to beat them in the league, but certainly it was a massive upset and particularly cruel on the Rebel faithful who had to witness another second-half fadeout.

On this show, we ask the key questions that Cork will have to answer from here. We look at what young players could be brought in to add further depth to the squad, with Timmy Wilk and Jack Leahy among the standouts. We also discuss how the Rebels can change their tactical approach and if there's an outside coach Ben O'Connor could add to his backroom.

On the football front, reaching an All-Ireland quarter-final and gaining promotion was certainly progress but there's a feeling of a missed opportunity after seeing Mayo power past Louth into a showdown with Kerry. John Cleary's side had enough chances to defeat the Connacht side two weeks ago.

At the same time, they still need to mix up their approach on the pitch, look to feed their forwards a bit quicker when they're on top in midfield and a find a couple of scoring options for an attack that relies too heavily on Steven Sherlock and Chris Óg Jones.

Now in its fourth season, every Monday, Éamonn Murphy is joined by The Echo team, including Barry O’Mahony, Denis Hurley, Rory Noonan, John Horgan and more to discuss all the latest Cork GAA news on and off the field. You can listen on Echolive.ie/podcast or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Don't forget to log onto www.IrishExaminer.com as well to catch up on the best inter-county analysis including Dalo's Hurling Show and The Gaelic Football Show.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.