It’s one of the biggest weekends in the football championship with the first two All-Ireland quarterfinals and Round 4B of the qualifiers taking centre stage in Croke Park.
The Clare footballers will make an historic journey to GAA headquarters to face Kerry, a county all too familiar with the hallowed turf. We catch up with David Tubridy, goal-scoring hero in the Banner’s win over Roscommon, to chat about the rise of Clare football, running a bar and
restaurant in Doonbeg, and stepping out against the Kingdom in Croke Park. Can Tubridy lead
Clare to their first win over Kerry since the famous days of 1992?
In the weekend’s other quarter-final, Connacht champions Galway take on the defeated Munster finalists Tipperary. Much like 1998, Galway have burst onto the scene this year and captured the imagination with wins over Mayo and Roscommon. The Tribesmen were led by Kevin Walsh in midfield in 1998 and he’s on the line this year. We are joined by stars of the ‘98 side Seán Óg de Paor, Ja Fallon and Gary Fahey to talk about Kevin Walsh’s influence on both the 1998 side and this current incarnation.
There are also some big hitters on show in the last round of the qualifiers. Mayo take on
Westmeath and Donegal play Cork with all four counties hoping to claim the last two quarter final slots. Mayo star Diarmuid O’Connor claimed the Young Player of the Year award last season and he shows no sign of slowing down this year. The Ballintubber man takes us inside his home club and talks about the family influence on his fledgling career.
Donegal’s Martin McElhinney has grown used to travelling back home for training and matches
but this Saturday he’ll line out at Croke Park, only a stone’s throw from his home in Dublin. The 2012 All- Ireland winner talks to us about becoming a key member of the Donegal side in the last couple of years. Can Martin help Donegal bounce back from a disappointing defeat to Tyrone in the Ulster final?
We also caught up with a man in the red corner for this game. Professional boxer and proud Cork man Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan has struck a fine balance between boxing training and lining out for his local club, Ballinure, in the Junior Championship in Cork. The former WBO International Middleweight champion talks to us about growing up playing both football and hurling and the joy he gets in representing his local community.
The programme is repeated on Sunday July 31st on RTÉ 2 at 12:55pm.