The 42 GAA Weekly – Details, episodes & analysis

Ireland awoke this morning to the sad news of Mick O’Dwyer’s death. Few people, be it in sport or any other area of Irish life, have been as prominent and present, as discussed and celebrated, as O’Dwyer over the past half century.

The 42 GAA Weekly relaunches today for the championship, and will broadcast free-to-air from now until the end of the hurling and football championships. Today our GAA journalists Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole join Ronan Early to discuss the scope of what O’Dwyer did – and more importantly how he did it.

What made players from the mid-1970s to the 2010 so react to this man from Waterville? How did his early years in south Kerry imbue him with a determined and innovative mind?

What kept him at the top of his game for so long? And why does his great Kerry team remain the yardstick by which all others are measured?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dublin face Wicklow on Sunday and it could be the first championship game since 2001 that a fit and available Stephen Cluxton is not selected for his county.

Have age and rule changes caught up with him - or will this most diligent and obsessive player find a way to adapt and thrive in the championship of 2025?

Also on today’s pod, are the Cork hurlers worth the hype, or could their manager Pat Ryan be right to have concerns about their second half performance against Tipperary?

And were Antrim right to dig their heels in to ensure their game against Armagh took place in Corrigan Park?

These topics and more will be discussed on GAA Weekly, the podcast which seeks to take a different perspective on our national sports.

Instead of taking an around-the-grounds approach where we try to cover as many games and talking points as possible, we put a sharp focus on two or three subjects - and lean into the considerable experience of our GAA writers Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole to bring as much insight and detail as we can.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole join Ronan Early to explore the extraordinary growth in appeal of the Munster SHC. 

They discuss the format change and rivalries which have led to sellout crowds, huge TV audiences and a succession of thrilling contests. 

Who is primed to emerge from this fraught arena in 2025? And which proud, ambitious counties will be among the dreaded bottom two?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fintan O’Toole and Declan Bogue join Ronan Early ahead of another fight-or-die weekend in the Munster championship.

Fintan argues that the most storied fixture of Cork v Tipp lacks the vitality of some other head-to-heads. But this Sunday in the Páirc looks set to evoke the great days of a time-honoured duel. 

Declan meanwhile runs the numbers on the decline of crowds once you move away from the Munster SHC. He gives his theories on the trend, from the rise of the Covid kids to the decline of straw hat man.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole join Ronan Early to discuss whether the money from Croke Park activities such as concerts is indeed keeping the GAA financially viable, as stated by Jarlath Burns this week.

To what extent should supersonic rock 'n' roll reunions take precedence over thoughts of moving All-Ireland finals into August?

Also, who would be a county manager? We delve into the myriad demands and motivation at play in the scrutinised world of the bainisteoir.

And, the Leinster SFC - is it back? We take a look at its halcyon days and ponder their possible return.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fintan O’Toole and Declan Bogue join Ronan Early to chat about Limerick’s shock and awe and Cork’s no-show. 

The lads also discuss Tipp’s young guns, Waterford’s chances by the Lee and the de-facto Leinster semi-final between Galway and Dublin as well as Davy’s troubles in Antrim. 

Declan assesses the extent of Mayo’s woes and looks forward to Donegal versus Tyrone.  

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As red and green are primed to collide again, Fintan O’Toole, Declan Bogue and Ronan Early chart the small moments that have had big consequences in this duel over the past nine years.

Limerick stole a march on the Rebels in 2017 and 2018 and reigned supreme until 2024, when Cork rose again.

Can Limerick put the red genie back in the bottle? Can Cork drive home their advantage? We discuss another hotly anticipated clash between the southern powerhouses.

Also, can Dublin’s footballers answer their critics? The majesty of the Ulster and Leinster finals - and some ugly scenes around these otherwise life-affirming occasions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Munster hurling championship is all about peril, and we have a stark case of that on Saturday night when Clare and Tipperary face off in Ennis.

A loss for either side will likely mean the end for their 2025 campaign - on May 10. As Jackie Tyrrell said, careers and seasons are on the line here.

On today’s pod, Fintan O’Toole, Declan Bogue and Ronan Early get into the peril that faces both sets of players and management teams. They also ponder the fact that most of the country won’t get to see this do-or-die clash, with it not being on free-to-air television.

In the Ulster championship, Donegal face Kieran McGeeney’s Armagh. Today we put a sharp focus on the All-Ireland champion’s long-serving manager.

We try to get to the nub of how he has been able to inspire such extraordinary levels of loyalty from players, in the good times and the hard.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole join Ronan Early to discuss the travails facing Mayo football - from headline-grabbing debt, to their manager Kevin McStay having to step back for health reasons and, on the field, the upcoming test of Tyrone coming off the back of defeat against Cavan.

Also, rugby writer Ciarán Kennedy joins us to chat about his wonderful piece articulating the pain, but mainly joy, of being a Waterford hurling supporter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode of GAA Weekly, Ciarán, Declan, and Fintan discuss the dynastic hurling duo of Kilkenny and Limerick.

With Limerick seeking their seventh consecutive Munster title, and Kilkenny looking to secure a sixth Leinster Championship, Declan and Fintan try to make sense of these dominant outfits.

Can Limerick and Kilkenny get the jobs done for another year, or can Cork and Galway break these protracted winning streaks?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.