Irish GAA
By Aiden Begley

The Tension is Mounting in The All-Ireland

The Gaelic football and hurling championships are now getting to the business end of things with August a pivotal month in the Gaelic Games calendar.
The semi-final line-up has already decided in Hurling, and the quarter-finals are being finalised in football, meaning the quest for the Sam Maguire and Liam McCarthy is picking up pace rapidly.
Since the last issue of The Harp, all four provincial champions have been crowned in Gaelic football with the quarter-finalists almost known.
Galway managed to upset the odds and triumphed over Mayo to become the champions of Connacht. In a game littered with wides, it was the men in maroon who managed to keep their nerve to set up an interesting encounter with Cork in the quarter-finals.
Reigning champions Kerry retained the status quo in the south by eventually defeating Cork in the Munster final after the Rebel county had taken the game to Kerry in the early part of the game, but the Kingdom county eventually pulled through for a quarter-final clash with Mayo – who beat Cavan in a qualifier game – to set up a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland final.
In the capital, Dublin took the Leinster crown after defeating Laois in a thrilling game at Croke Park. With the Dubs taking a five-point lead into half-time, the game looked over.
A second-half comeback by Laois saw the scores level going into stoppage time before the Dubs knocked over a point to secure a victory which looked beyond them at one stage to book a last eight spot, playing either Tyrone or Monaghan.
The battle for the Ulster crown went to a replay with Armagh eventually securing the victory with three players sent-off during a robust game where neither side wanted to taste defeat. The reward for Armagh’s victory is a possible all-Ulster quarter-final against Derry, should they overcome Laois in their respective qualifier game.
Although the championship is still relatively open, Kerry still look like the team to beat and they showed true grit and determination against Cork, by not playing well but still managing to win – a sign of a possible team of champions?
Only four teams are in the vying for the Liam McCarthy cup in Hurling, with some familiar teams in the semi-final draw.
The first semi-final on 14 August sees reigning champions Cork take on Clare at Croke Park. Cork are attempting to keep their hopes of doing a double of winning the football and hurling championships on track after defeating Waterford by five points in their quarter-final clash.
Clare booked their place for a meeting with Cork with an easy victory over last year’s Munster hurling champions, Wexford, with a comfortable 11 point victory setting up the clash to see who will be the first to make it into the final on September 11.
The second finalist will be either Galway or Kilkenny who will battle it out on August 21.
Galway booked their place after a thrilling semi-final clash against Tipperary. The boys from Tipp were leading throughout most of the game and at half-time had a five point lead, and with only 10 minutes to go held a six-point cushion over the Tribesmen.
The tide turned in Galway’s favour when Damien Hayes scored for the men from the West, and they then proceeded to score points for fun, leaving Tipperary shocked and unable to convert any scoring chances that came their way, with Galway holding on to secure an improbably victory.
The cats of Kilkenny are still lurking around in ominous fashion and defeated Limerick by five points to secure a final-four spot, albeit in a rather unconvincing fashion. However, they still remain one of the favourites for the trophy alongside Cork who are aiming to secure back-to-back All-Ireland championships.
See next month’s Harp which will preview both the Gaelic and Hurling finals as the All-Ireland comes to its finale.