Predictably, X was aflame from Saturday evening on, with hurling fans from Leinster revelling in a side from their province beating one from Munster – and hurling fans from Munster (outside Limerick) not shy about rubbing it in either.
Kilkenny’s four-time All-Ireland winner Paul Murphy probably said it best when he tweeted: “That is one of the greatest victories I’ve ever seen! Commiserations to Limerick but this day belongs to Dublin! Incredible!!!!”
As for where the win ranks, it may be the greatest upset in the history of the championship. Some will point to Antrim’s victory over Offaly in the 1989 All-Ireland semi-final but the Ulster side had beaten Offaly twice in that year’s National League and were given a reasonable chance by the press (“Antrim on the brink – Grafters ready to pounce on unsuspecting giants” read the headline in the Irish Press on the day before that game).
Dublin were available at odds of 16/1 with one bookmaker, and not a single columnist or pundit called the upset.
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“Limerick always come back. They’re seldom surprised, rarely ambushed and they’ll roll on tomorrow,” was Donal Óg Cusack’s prediction – and it was hard to blame him.
On RTÉ television, former Dublin hurler Liam Rushe put the result in context: “To think this morning I was at training and people were asking me would we cover the 12-point handicap.”
McShane will soon be back, just not for Tyrone
Cathal McShane, the 2019 All-Star and 2021 All-Ireland SFC medallist, who opted out of the Tyrone panel back in May having actually started their championship opener, will soon be back in action – but in a different code.
McShane (29) has linked up with Strabane Athletic, who will play in the third-tier Premier Intermediate league for the first time in 2025/26 after gaining promotion from the Ballymena & Provincial Football League.
“Cathal will add to the already strong team of forwards at the club,” Strabane Athletic said in a social media post, with McShane adding: “I’m delighted to be signing with Strabane Athletic, a club I’ve played with in the past and always kept a close eye on, it was brilliant to see the recent success, a real credit to everyone involved.”
“From a personal note I’m really excited to get back playing and do whatever it takes to help drive the club forward and to reach the heights it’s capable of,” McShane said.
Five years ago, McShane was offered a two-year contract with Australian Football League side Adelaide Crows but turned it down to focus on his Tyrone career.
Unlucky for Derry, 13 Division 1 teams proves too many
Derry, as manager Paddy Tally pointed out after their group stage exit, have played 13 matches this season and all were against Division 1 sides.
That seems particularly tough when one considers Louth’s run, which ended on Sunday at the hands of Donegal in Ballybofey.
The Wee County were in Division 2 of the National League, so naturally didn’t play any top-flight opposition there. In the Leinster Championship, which they won, they defeated Division 3 sides Laois and Kildare before seeing off Meath, who were third in Division 2, in the final.
Louth’s All-Ireland journey saw them take on Monaghan, Down and Roscommon, all of whom played Division 2 football this Spring, with Donegal the first Division 1 side they met all year.
Another example came with Cavan versus Kerry – the match was the Breffnimen’s fifth in this championship against Division 1 opponents while the Kingdom are through to the quarter-finals without having faced any.
The ‘Donegal Piper’
At half-time in the Donegal and Louth game, “the Donegal Piper” made an appearance, with footage of him chatting with GAA+ pundits Pádraig O’Hora and Michael Meehan.
The “famous” Donegal Piper was going around hyping up the crowd shouting “Up Donegal”, host Gráinne McElwain explained.
The unnamed piper is, of course, Christy Murray, a native of Raphoe and a permanent fixture at the county’s matches. Murray, who wears full green and gold garb to matches, retired earlier this year after many years teaching music to children.
“It was around the 2000 period when Donegal were starting to go well, I started off and I didn’t have the uniform at that stage. It was just the pipes and a bandanna; I was almost like Rambo,” Murray told Donegal Live.
Word of Mouth
“What a finish by Galway because a lot of their leaders [are absent] – Shane Walsh is not on the pitch, [Cillian] McDaid is not on the pitch, [John] Maher is not on the pitch, Paul Conroy is not on the pitch and [Damien] Comer.” Peter Canavan, on RTÉ radio, was impressed with how Galway closed it out against Down.
By the Numbers: 188
Senior appearances Michael Murphy has made for Donegal.
