July Road: Unique first-half scoring sequence for Cavan in Tailteann Cup

While Cavan were ultimately hanging on at the end to defeat Sligo in yesterday’s Tailteann Cup semi-final at Croke Park, the Breffni men did create history on the double.

Obviously, becoming the first team to reach the final of the new competition was one achievement of note but, in the first half, Cavan scored 11 points and had 11 different scorers, which is surely unique in championship matches at any venue in the country.

Handball-hurling talents

A great day for Clare got even better on Saturday evening when Diarmaid Nash won his first title at the US Handball Nationals in Oregon.

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Just months after winning his maiden All-Ireland Singles crown, Nash defeated Galway’s Martin Mulkerrins in a gruelling 11-9 tiebreaker. Nash himself is a very good hurler, having represented Clare at U21 level; after some years out, he returned to the sport in 2020 and helped his club, Scariff, to an intermediate county title.

One of his clubmates there is Mark Rodgers, a rising star for Clare who is an excellent handballer, with an All-Ireland minor title to his name while Clare senior David McInerney also has a background in the game.

Of course, the most famous handballer-hurler is DJ Carey and Kilkenny have produced another in his ilk in the form of Billy Drennnan, who was the key figure for the Cats in their U20 All-Ireland success this year and has been described by one top handball player as “a handballer from another planet”.

Number

100: Senior appearances Killian Clarke (28) has now made for Cavan following yesterday’s match.

Cork footballers outlast hurlers

So, the much-maligned Cork footballers have somehow managed to outlast their hurling counterparts in their respective championships. Who would have thunk it?

Well, actually, it’s not that unusual. Scheduling is a big factor but in 2021, the hurlers were gone on July 3rd, with the footballers still in the hunt for another three weeks.

In Covid-ravaged 2020, the footballers were in the championship eight days longer than the hurlers. In 2019, the footballers played their last Super 8s game on August 4th, three weeks after Kilkenny had knocked the hurlers out.

One has to go back to 2018, when the hurlers made the semi-final on July 29th and the footballers were beaten in the round 4 qualifier on July 7th, for the last time the roles were reversed.

Quote

Travelling home from Thurles after an Offaly win over Clare in an All-Ireland semi-final – have to remind myself that I’m not 16 any more.

—  Journo, and Faithful native, Pat Nolan reels in the years on Twitter after the MHC semi.

A fashion blast from the past

Séamus “Cheddar” Plunkett standing down as Laois manager brought to mind one of the great fashion-themed features in a regional Irish newspaper in the mid-1990s (there’s a mouthful).

The piece, “Male Order”, appeared in the Leinster Express in 1996. The reporter canvassed a number of local figures. “I go for shirts, black jeans, boots — it has to be boots, even in summer! — and leather jackets,” he revealed.

“I absolutely hate runners ... I hate the image of the shiny tracksuit and runners brigade, even though that’s popular now with Oasis.”

Martin Delaney, Laois minor football captain, disagreed. His team had been given a tracksuit.

“As well as wearing it to training sessions, I’ve also found it good for casual wear,” he said.