Gaelic Games

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Kerry's Éamonn Fitzmaurice has been appointed as manger of Galway's senior footballers on a three-year term.

The Finuge clubman takes over from Padraic Joyce who stepped down after seven seasons in charge of the Triibesmen.

Fitzmaurice won three All-Ireland titles with the Kingdome as a player before moving into management of his native county, guiding them to the 2014 All-Ireland title during a six-year spell which also brought six Munster titles and a National League.

The 49-year-old led Fossa to the 2022 All-Ireland junior club title with a side that contained Paudie and David Clifford, while in September, led his native Finuge to the Kerry premier junior title.

Fitzmaurice was one of the leading members of the Football Review Committee which introduced the new rules to Gaelic football.

"We are delighted to appoint a manager of Éamonn's calibre to lead the Galway senior footballers for the next three years," said Galway chair Galway Paul Bellew.

"Éamonn's record as both a player and a manager speaks for itself, while his recent role as a member of the Football Rules Committee underlined the positive influence he continues to have on Gaelic football.

"I want to acknowledge and thank everyone who took part in the process over the past number of weeks. We now look forward to working closely with Éamonn, the players and the wider team as we begin the next chapter for Galway football.

"Éamonn's management and backroom team will be finalised over the coming weeks."

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Armagh All-Ireland winner Rory Grugan has announced his retirement from inter-county football.

The Ballymacnab club-man made the announcement via his Instagram account, writing: "The greatest honour of my life. Thank you."

Grugan was a key part of the 2024 Armagh team that brought the Sam Maguire Cup back to the county for only the second time, starting the final win over Galway at Croke Park.

This year, he helped Armagh win their first Ulster title in 18 years, playing a pivotal role off the bench in their extra-time win over Monaghan in the decider at Clones.

The 35-year-old made his championship debut for Armagh in a 2013 qualifier win over Wicklow, before going on to make 157 appearances.

Crossmaglen defender James Morgan has also announced his retirement from the inter-county game after making his debut in 2013.

Morgan and Grugan were vital cogs in the side that won Armagh's first All-Ireland Minor title in 60 years when they beat Mayo to lift the Tom Markham Cup in 2009.

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Mayo duo Ryan O'Donoghue and Jack Carney have been nominated alongside Kerry's David Clifford for the 2026 GAA-GPA's Footballer of the Year.

Clifford, who won the title last year, is aiming to be a four-time winner and become a seven-time All-Star at 27-years-old.

An All-Star in 2021, Mayo's Donoghue is nominated after playing a key role in the county ending their 75-year wait for the All-Ireland title.

His team-mate Carney registered six two-pointers during the Championship and also impressed against Kerry in the Croke Park final in July.

Mayo have the most nominations for the All-Star team with 11, while Sam Maguire Cup runners-up Kerry have seven.

There are five players from Dublin nominated, four from Westmeath with Monaghan, Armagh and Louth having three each.

There are two apiece for Roscommon, Cork, Galway and Tyrone, while Donegal have one.

In the Young Football of the Year category, Mayo forwards Darragh Beirne and Kobe McDonald, and Louth defender Dara McDonnell have all been shortlisted.

Footballer of the Year nominees

Jack Carney (Mayo), David Clifford (Kerry) and Ryan O'Donoghue (Mayo)

Young Footballer of the Year nominees

Darragh Beirne (Mayo), Kobe McDonald (Mayo) and Dara McDonnell (Louth)

Football All-Star nominations

Goalkeepers: Rory Beggan (Monaghan), Jack Livingstone (Mayo), Shane Murphy (Kerry)

Defenders: Sam Callinan (Mayo), Jack Coyne (Mayo), Enda Hession (Mayo), David McBrien (Mayo), Donnacha McHugh (Mayo), Jason Foley (Kerry), Michael Breen (Kerry), Jarlath Og Burns (Armagh), Tiernan Kelly (Armagh), Dara McDonnell (Louth), Craig Lennon (Louth), Ronan Wallace (Westmeath), Matthew Whittaker (Westmeath), David Byrne (Dublin), Charlie McMorrow (Dublin), Tommy Walsh (Cork), Niall Devlin (Tyrone), Dylan Byrne (Monaghan)

Midfielders: Jack Carney (Mayo), Mark O'Shea (Kerry), Conn Kilpatrick (Tyrone), John Maher (Galway), Ciaran Kilkenny (Dublin), Michael Langan (Donegal)

Forwards: Darragh Beirne (Mayo), Ryan O'Donoghue (Mayo), Kobe McDonald (Mayo), Jordan Flynn (Mayo), David Clifford (Kerry), Paudie Clifford (Kerry), Dylan Geaney (Kerry), Niall Scully (Dublin), Con O'Callaghan (Dublin), Darragh Heneghan (Roscommon), Diarmuid Murtagh (Roscommon), Sam McCartan (Westmeath), Brandon Kelly (Westmeath), Steven Sherlock (Cork), Stephen O'Hanlon (Monaghan), Ciaran Downey (Louth), Oisin Conaty (Armagh), Robert Finnerty (Galway)

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Mayo and Kerry will face each other in a repeat of the All-Ireland final in an exhibition match at StoneX Stadium.

The game will take place on Saturday, 28 November at Saracens' home ground in Barnet.

Andy Moran's side ended their 75-year wait for Sam Maguire in July with a 1-20 to 1-17 victory over Kerry at Croke Park.

This will be the second time that the county has played in England this year after Mayo faced London in April's opening match of the Connacht Championship in Ruislip.

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Antrim's Maria O'Neill says winning the ZuCar Golden Boot "adds to the year" having been confirmed as top scorer across all three grades.

O'Neill played a pivotal role in the Saffrons' run to the LGFA Junior title, finishing with a haul of 11-20 throughout the campaign, six points more than Fermanagh's Eimear Smyth whose five points in the intermediate final defeat by Roscommon left her on 4-35.

The Moneyglass attacker chipped in with four points in Antrim's victory over Carlow including a last-gasp winner to seal her second title at the grade and make up for last year's final reverse by Louth.

While the top-scorer award is "a wee bonus", the 22-year-old gives credit to her team-mates for putting her into good positions.

"To get the result that we did on the day and now to get the Golden Boot, I'm happy with that," O'Neill said.

"It's almost just like a wee bonus. It's just one of those things where it adds to the year as a whole.

"My scores are just a reflection on the hard work that the rest of the team have put in all over the pitch. The turnovers and everything. I'm doing the easy job here.

"It doesn't matter who scores, as long as there's a score at the end of every play. You have massive players like Lara [Dahunsi] and Orlaith Prenter also contributing to it. There's not too much pressure on me."

Antrim's victory over Carlow also sealed a return the intermediate grade they last competed in during the 2024 campaign.

They will also play Division Two football in 2027 and while it is a step up, reaching the semi-finals of the intermediate championship in 2023 provides confidence they can compete at a higher level.

"Our biggest goal going into next season is to just try our best to compete again, the way that we did back in 2023," O'Neill outlined.

"We are more than capable of playing at that level. From what I've gathered, everybody is coming back and everybody is buzzing to be playing intermediate football and Division Two league as well. Hopefully it's as good a season as last, but everything goes up from here."

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Before the next inter-county campaign, focus is now on the club scene with Moneyglass facing St Paul's in the Antrim senior semi-final on Sunday.

Last year, the St Ergnat's club went all the way to the All-Ireland senior final, only to be beaten by five-in-a-row-clinching Kilkerrin-Clonberne.

"I feel like last season really showed what us as a team are capable of," O'Neill reflected.

"I suppose it has set standards high. If we're not performing, it's like, 'we were doing this last year. What do we need to do to get back to what we were doing last year?'.

"It's one of those things. It is very much an open championship, but I feel like after the successful year last year, we need to keep our standards high. We know what we're capable of and it's just going out and performing on the day."