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THANK GAA IT’S FRIDAY

Thank Gaa It's Friday Tyrone’s Ryan McMenamin and Brian McGuigan Image Name: Thank Gaa It's Friday Tyrone’s Ryan McMenamin and Brian McGuigan

Thank GAA It’s Friday is back on your screens for another summer packed with GAA goodness.
Episode 8 comes to you on Friday, August 21st on RTÉ 2 at 9:30pm as we build up to the first
All-­Ireland football semi-­final between Kerry and Tyrone.

The show’s creators bring you the complete weekly GAA package;; containing characters, games,
fascinating stories and communities both at home and abroad.

After lifting the All-­Ireland last year, Kerry’s Kieran O’Leary has missed out on the Kingdom’s
charge for successive football titles after rupturing his achilles tendon earlier this year. It was
Kieran’s late equaliser that secured a replay in last year’s semi-­final against Mayo and we chat to
Kerry’s former captain about the lengths he’s going to in his recovery.

2003 provided a watershed moment in Gaelic Football when Tyrone defeated Kerry in that year’s semi-­ final. Tyrone unleashed the original blanket defence and changed football tactics forever. As the two sides go head-­to-­head in another semi-­final, we caught up with some key architects in the restructuring of modern football. Tyrone’s Ryan McMenamin, Kevin Hughes and Brian McGuigan take us through the historical moment.

St. Brendan’s College in Killarney has provided a footballing education for Kerry’s budding players for decades now. It provided SEVEN players in last year’s All-­Ireland football final panel including James O’Donoghue and Colm Cooper. We visited the school and spoke to teachers Ed O’Neill and Garry McGrath about nurturing this talent. Former pupil and double All-­Ireland winner Killian Burns also spoke to us about his time in the Killarney institution.

We also join Wexford’s young star Conor McDonald as he prepares for the county’s U21 semi-­
final against Antrim. The Yellow Bellies have placed a lot of emphasis on developing youth in the
recent past and McDonald follows in this tradition by passing on his knowledge to the youth of
Naomh Eanna in Gorey. After winning their third Leinster U21 title in a row, can the current crop
finally clinch that elusive All-­Ireland success?

Thank GAA It’s Friday is repeated on Sunday 23rd August on RTÉ 2 at 2:15pm, before the big
game on The Sunday Game.

Twitter: @ThankGAA
Email: ThankGAA@loosehorse.ie