Ó Sé will be part of the coaching staff for the side’s first year in Division Two of the Allianz Football League after six seasons in the third tier.

Head coach Maughan will stay on with the side for the upcoming season, having already spent three years in charge of the Faithful County.

Offaly GAA chairman Michael Duignan confirmed the news to RTE Sport this morning.

“It’s a huge boost and we are delighted,” Duignan said. “We have been speaking to Tomas in the last few weeks. John Maughan already has a very strong management team in place and Tomás coming on board will add to it.

“Tomás is involved with the Glanmire team in Cork and he will be fully committed to them for this season. We look forward to him coming on board with us after that.

“He is one of the greats and as a player he was always one I was most impressed with. I always had great regard for him and we are good friends. He will be a big addition.”

Ó Sé was part of a golden generation of Kerry players in the 2000’s that won five All-Ireland’s in the decade.

The wing-back, who played for An Ghaeltacht during his inter-county career, collected five All Stars in Kerry’s green and gold and was crowned Footballer of the Year in 2009 before hanging up his boots in 2013.

He is lauded by many as one of the best wing-backs of all time and one of the best players to ever play the sport.

With the 43-year-old in its ranks, Offaly will make its first foray into the top 16 of league football in 16 years after achieving promotion following their Division Three semi-final win over Fermanagh.

Ó Sé will have the chance to introduce members of the All-Ireland winning Offaly U20 side to the senior level of Gaelic football during his tenure.

The post Tomás Ó Sé Joins Offaly Backroom As Maughan Retains Top Job appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Tyrone’s camogie team missed out on silverware for the county while their Men’s football side went one step closer to the Sam Maguire.

The goals were crucial with two of them coming from Ciara Delaney, having been set up by player of the match Áine Charlton. Captain Helen O’Malley also raised a green flag but Tyrone almost pulled off a spectacular comeback, getting to within one of the westerners having trailed by 11 but they just could not get over the line.

Mayo led by 2-6 to 0-4 at half-time thanks to Delaney and O’Malley’s majors, the latter part of a run of 1-5 without reply as Tyrone failed to score in the second quarter. When Delaney finished after another strong run by Charlton 15 seconds after the restart, it seemed like curtains.

But with Reagan Fay in inspired form and bringing her tally to eight points, the Red Hand women rallied. Niamh McNulty’s goal after an excellent catch was a real boost but when it seemed like momentum was in their favour, Mayo dug deep and Orla Hession pointed to leave Tyrone needing a goal that they couldn’t get.

Meanwhile, champions Armagh, who beat Clare in their semi-final by 2-13 to 1-6 on Saturday, will play Wexford in the All-Ireland premier junior final at Croke Park on September 12, as a result of the Yellowbellies’ 3-18 to 0-8 victory over Roscommon.

Roscommon had two early chances but two wides resulted and once Wexford got to grips with the excellent opposition sweeper, Rachel Fitzmaurice by playing the wings, they began to make hay.

Megan Cullen got an eighth-minute goal and it was 1-2 to 0-0 at the water break. On the resumption, all the Wexford inside forwards, Emma Tompkins, Emma Codd and Lisa Firman registered points and  Ailis Neville scored to make it 2-7 to 0-1 at half-time.

The Roscommon point came from a long-distance free by Shauna Fallon just before the short whistle.

The Connacht side were awarded a penalty early in the second half but Fallon’s shot was too central and goalkeeper Lara O’Shea was able to make the stop.

With that, any hope of a spectacular comeback dissipated.

When Roscommon removed Fitzmaurice from her sweeping role as they needed to chase the game, it opened space and Wexford profited. Chloe Cashe, who had been kept to a point in the first half, got a goal at the end of an excellent move on 41 minutes and finished with 1-8.

Fitzmaurice and Niamh Watson tried hard for Roscommon but it was all about Wexford, Clodagh Jackman, Aideen Brennan, Cashe, Neville and Cullen among those to shine.

Elsewhere, the talented Áine Magill completed 24 hours she won’t forget in a hurry as she played for Antrim in the intermediate semi-final against Galway and then against Laois in the Tesco All-Ireland B semi final.

She up a star outing for Antrim in their win over Galway by scoring 1-3 from midfield as the Saffrons’ minors as they came out on top of a thriller against Laois by 3-19 to 3-12 to reach the Tesco All-Ireland B final.

Antrim will face Offaly in the final, who defeated Derry by 4-12 to 1-8 in the other semi-final.

The post Mayo Win Nancy Murray Cup After Two-Point Victory Over Tyrone appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE SCORES ON LOUTH v OFFALY

Both sides come into this year’s Leinster SFC after successful National Football League campaigns that saw the two sides win promotion.

Offaly finished as runners-up in Division Three while Louth beat Carlow by eight points to confirm their spot in next year’s Division Three.

Offaly weathered storms from opposition to reach the Division Three final before being swept aside by winners Derry.

Defensive errors were not unfamiliar to John Maughan’s side before the final.

Half-back John Moloney gifted Wicklow a goal early on in the season opener.

Mickey Harte’s Louth will want to force errors like these and have a penchant for goals.

Star player Sam Mulroy has been the biggest danger in attack for Harte’s men and nabbed four goals for the Wee County in their promotion push.

Ciarán Keenan has also impressed in the forward line under Mickey Harte.

The pair will be a handful for Offaly’s defence.

Offaly’s attack has often looked stagnant in periods, in contrast to Louth, and the side has relied on their substitutes on more than one occasion to get them over the line.

Namely, Niall McNamee has underlined his importance to the side.

The veteran forward kicked eight points as a substitute across their league campaign.

However, Offaly’s inability to score from play against Derry may be an omen for the future.

Joe Maher and Bernard Allen offer scoring threats in the starting 15 but it has not been enough this year so far.

Louth’s defence has kept many of their Division Four rivals in check with one exception of Antrim, the side promoted with Louth.

They conceded only 63 points across four games, the least in Division Three North – Sligo and Leitirm conceded more in just three games.

It will be a big test for the impressive Louth defence but if they can hold off the newly-promoted Division Two side, this season will be a huge success.

Team News

Louth

C Lynch, D Corcoran, D Campbell, D McKenny, E Carolan, A Williams, E Callaghan, B Duffy, C Byrne, L Jackson, S Mulroy, C Downey, C Keenan, C Grimes, R Burns

Offaly

P Duncan, J Lalor, E Rigney, N Darby, C Doyle, C Stewart, D Dempsey, P Cunningham, J Hayes, B Carroll, S Horan, A Sullivan, B Allen, C Farrell, R McNamee

Predicted Winner: Louth by 3.

Betting

Offaly 8/11

Draw 15/2

Louth 11/8

The post Leinster Preview, Live Scores & Team News : Louth v Offaly appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The final will be held at Croke Park on Saturday, 19th June at 5:00 pm.

It will be the only National Football League final played before the Championship begins, unless there are any changes.

The fixture will be part of the Government’s pilot testing programme and 2,400 spectators will benefit from that.

Analysis

The two sides have already earned promotions to Division Two after their impressive seasons in Division Three North and South respectively.

Derry capped off an impressive second league campaign under former Fermanagh boss Rory Gallagher with a win over Limerick.

Offaly completed the same feat with their victory over Fermanagh.

Derry will come into the game as favourites after dominating Division Three North, registering a points difference of +41 over their four games.

Their defending has looked well-instructed and orderly.

Furthermore, the pace of Ethan and Conor Doherty troubled opposition defences and will be something to keep an eye on this weekend.

Full-forward Shane McGuigan will be another threat that the Offaly defence will have to deal with.

A 2-26 (32) haul in his first four games of 2021 paints a picture of a man on a mission.

Half-forward Niall Loughlin offers a quality second option for Derry in the final third.

Derry’s blistering attack will go up against an Offaly defence that allowed 59 points across their four games.

Prone to error, the Offaly backs will have their work cut out for them if they are to contain the Derry forwards.

Their lapses in concentration against sides such as Wicklow are examples of the holes Derry can expose on Saturday evening.

Joe Maher and veteran Niall McNamee are serviceable scoring options for Faithful County.

The latter has been Offaly’s go-to off the bench and has got some important scores for the side.

However, Offaly’s chances are more reliant on their defence’s concentration.

They could find it to be a step too far against a Derry side firing on all cylinders.

Prediction: Derry by 5.

Odds

Derry 2/5

Draw 8/1

Offaly 5/2

A Twitter List by IrishScoresGAA

The post Preview: Offaly and Derry Battle For Division Three Glory appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

These three games will bring the number of teams in the provincial championship down from 11 to eight.

Kilkenny does not field a team for Gaelic football.

You can view the full draw here.

Leinster Round One

Offaly v Louth

Division Two-bound Offaly will play Mickey Harte’s Louth in Navan.

Both sides have been promoted in the National Football League this season and will want to carry that momentum over to the championship.

Offaly took the top spot in Division Three South after three wins from three and dispatched Fermanagh to win promotion.

They have not yet played the Division Three final against Derry, at the time of writing.

However, John Maughan’s side did not make it easy for themselves.

Fortunately, veteran Niall McNamee took on the role of super-sub as he got Offaly over the line on multiple occasions.

Louth, on the other hand, has improved vastly under Mickey Harte.

A dramatic one-point loss to Antrim in the first round of the National Football League was the only blemish on an otherwise stellar record.

Second-halves become clinics for the Wee County as they cruised to three wins in a row to earn promotion.

Led by captain Sam Mulroy, Louth put on fantastic displays to distance themselves from the competition and take control of proceedings.

Offaly may be the higher-ranked side but an upset is not unlikely.

Prediction: Louth by 3

Wicklow v Wexford

Wicklow and Wexford will go head-to-head in Aughrim in the first round.

Wicklow masterminded the great escape in their relegation play-off against Cavan.

Their 3-11 (20) to 0-18 (18) win over the Ulster champions was their first of the season after a brutal campaign as the whipping boys in Division Three South.

Seanie Furlong’s 2-3 was instrumental in the shock win for Davy Byrne’s side.

I can. He's called Seanie Furlong.

— Ciarán Walshe (@walshec5) June 12, 2021

Wexford had a similarly underwhelming National Football League campaign.

However, their two losses to Carlow and Waterford in Division Four South were much closer games.

Furthermore, the side showed their quality in the Division Four Shield final against Sligo.

John Turbitt hit six points over the bar while Ben Brosnan and Liam Coleman found the net for the Model County.

Their scoring ability will be important in a clash such as this.

Shane Roche could lead Wexford to their first win in the Leinster Senior Football Championship since 2014.

Prediction: Wexford by 1

Carlow v Longford

Carlow and Longford contest the final first-round fixture of the 2021 Leinster Senior Football Championship.

Carlow will want to bounce back after missing out on promotion to Division Three after Louth beat them by eight points.

The Dolman County made it look easy against Waterford and edged Wexford in the South section of Division Four but could not make it count.

However, 61 points from three games is an impressive haul, as well as six goals in the same period.

A stunning comeback against Wexford is the highlight of their season so far.

The Fighting Cock County will look to go one further.

Longford enters the championship side of the season after surviving relegation to Division Four on the last day.

A humiliating defeat at the hand of Rory Gallagher’s resurgent Derry started the year off on a low point.

But a final day with Fermanagh gave the side hope as they almost left Brewster Park with a win in front of spectators.

Longford then brought their A-game to Pearse Park where they dominated Munster champions Tipperary to maintain their Division Three status.

The most impressive part of the win was their solidity at the back as they shut down the Tipperary forwards.

It will be a close game between Carlow and Longford but it could be an entertaining one.

Prediction: Longford by 3

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