The Echo Sport Podcast

The Echo Podcast crew wrap up on the Cork GAA season with a look back on the highs and lows of 2025. The focus is on club action, with the Reardens All-Star teams announced in ladies football, camogie, hurling and football. They break down the 15 picks in each code and reveal some of the players who were very lucky not to make the cut. The county champions, St Finbarr's, in camogie and football, É...

The Echo Podcast crew discuss the main issues impacting Cork GAA fans after a packed weekend of action for December, which included three Munster finals, two schools finals in the Páirc and a pair of U21 hurling semis. The major talking point was St Finbarr's loss to Dingle at Semple Stadium where a very harsh call by the ref saw a decision on a free go against Ian Maguire and then the ball advanc...

As we enter the home stretch of the Cork GAA season, the Echo Podcast crew look at the major action at club, schools and third level. There was Junior A joy for the hurlers of Kilshannig and the footballers of Kilmacabea. In a double-header at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the two clubs with that bit more experience got the job done and will move up to Premier Junior for 2026. There was an extra inc...

The Echo Podcast crew review the Cork GAA action and look at the major issues impacting clubs and supporters. All three Cork football clubs got the job done in their Munster semi-final, with Buttevant, Aghabullogue and St Finbarr's meeting Kerry opposition next month. The Leeside winners lived up to their billing as favourites, though Aghabullogue, perhaps understandably, a week after a hurling co...

We're deep into November and despite the biblical rain, but a host of huge games still took place on the Cork GAA front. Ballinora secured their first Intermediate Football title after an absolutely epic showdown with Ilen Rovers. They couldn't be separated in their first meeting and it took extra time in the rematch, Kevin Werner's goal eventually deciding a pulsating battle where Ilen rallied fr...

The All-Stars were dished out on Friday night with Darragh Fitzgibbon earning his third, and Brian Hayes, Ciarán Joyce and Seán O'Donoghue their first each. That haul was a fair reflection of how the season panned out for the Rebels, the league and Munster titles secured but Liam MacCarthy wrestled from their grasp at Croke Park by Tipp. It could have been very different if Cork had landed the big...

The clocks have gone back and the countdown to Christmas has begun but the big games keep coming on the Cork club scene. The Echo Podcast crew reflect in this week's episode on the Premier Intermediate and Intermediate A Football finals and the Senior A Hurling decider, along with the divisional and U21 action. All the marquee matches ended in a welter of excitment, with Ballinora grabbing a draw...

Another bumper weekend of action saw football silverware handed out at Premier Senior, Senior A and Premier Junior level though the Senior A hurling decider will have to be replayed and the Echo Podcast crew reviews the action. Buttevant ended 99 years of hurt to collect an adult county title with a terrific display that left underdogs St Nicks too much to do in the Premier Junior final. The Avond...

Three trophies were handed out on Leeside over the weekend while torrential rain forced the postponement of the Intermediate A and Senior A deciders. Kilbrittain got the sliotar rolling with a gritty win over Glen Rovers, whose second team represented the club superbly in the Premier Junior decider. Just a point separated the sides at full-time, with Kilbrittain lifting the cup on the same day Ois...

All five Cork county football finals are set after a largely brilliant weekend of club action on Leeside, as the Echo Sport Podcast reviews the games.     Newcestown came close to pulling out a massive upset against Nemo when they charged into a seven-point lead midway through the second half, only to fall short by the minimum after extra time. David Buckley's ability to raise orange fla...

We're down to the last 10 clubs hunting the major trophies on Leeside after a cracking weekend of semi-finals and the Echo Sport Podcast crew review all the action.     The Premier Senior games were absolutely riveting, both decided by a puck of a sliotar to leave us with a repeat of the East Cork derby two years ago when Sarsfields beat Midleton.     Both clubs came from behin...

Castlehaven's reign as champions is over after St Finbarr's blasted a remarkable six goals in their Premier Senior Football Championship quarter-final clash.     Steven Sherlock stitched three of them and the margin of victory now makes the Blues the favourites for Andy Scannell Cup. They're still in the hunt for the double too, with a semi-final against Sars on the horizon.   &nbsp...

The Cork club hurling quarter-finals and relegation playoffs didn't disappoint with the Barrs taking the headlines by dethroning Imokilly.     Ger Cunningham's side had shown mixed form in the group stages but with Brian Hayes back as their attacking spearhead, they produced their best when it mattered. Ethan Twomey was superb at the heart of the midfield and their defence was collective...

Newcestown shook up the Premier Senior Football Championship in Cork after beating three-in-a-row chasing Castlehaven in the last group game. Jim O'Sullivan's side secured their first victory over the Haven at senior level with a strong finish as Tadhg Twomey and David Buckley shared 0-10 between them. It means Newcestown now face Carrigaline for a place in the semi-finals while Castlehaven must g...

We're down to the knockout stages of the Cork club hurling championships after a bumper three days of brilliant matches with a mix of superb performances and some shocks.     Glen Rovers and Sarsfields served up a top-class Premier Senior encounter live on TG4 despite both teams being qualified beforehand, with young gun Barry O'Flynn's two goals proving critical. Sars now progress to a...

Ahead of The Echo Women's Mini Marathon on September 21, Mary Corcoran meets representatives from some of the charities taking part, including a special Cork lady who completed the marathon to mark her 80th birthday. The Echo Women's Mini Marathon brand-ambassador, Brenda Dennehy joins us in studio to talk about how she first started running, and the unforgettable experience of taking pa...

On this week's podcast, the Echo crew discuss his appointment. The former All-Star forward with Newtown and Cork built up an impressive CV in recent years, coaching Charleville and Midleton to county success, as well as overseeing the Cork U20s' All-Ireland victory in 2023. O'Connor was one of the greatest Cork hurlers of the modern era, winning an All-Ireland as captain in 2004 and Man of the Mat...

Pat Ryan has opted not to take up another term as Cork hurling manager. We review his three-year stint as Rebel bainisteoir, picking out our favourite moments and reflect on how close he came to guiding Cork to All-Ireland glory. We discuss the list of possible replacements, including options outside the county bounds. What next for Cork hurling and how well are they placed for 2026? Plus an in-de...

The Cork GAA club championships are picking up steam and on this week's podcast, we review the second round of hurling and preview a critical three days of football action. At Premier Senior, Blackrock controlled their derby with St Finbarr's, limiting the Barrs' big guns and driving towards an 11-point win while Newcestown dug out a draw. Charleville continue to motor under former Irish soccer in...

Just like the hurlers, the Cork camogie team couldn't add the All-Ireland to their haul of Munster and league titles this season. They also missed a penalty and were reduced to 14 at Croke Park but Ger Manley's side gave a far better performance on the big stage, reflecting the fact they were a puck of a sliotar away from three in a row. We break down the loss to Galway, from the flat first half t...

The top dogs all showed their class in the opening round of the Cork club hurling championship, highlighted by the fact St Finbarr's were always in control against Douglas despite missing Brian Hayes, who picked up an injury on football duty. Ethan Twomey offered a reminder of his quality, as a playmaking centre-back rather than his customary midfield role, and William Buckley, on the fringes of t...

The Cork club championships are back, which offers some respite from the fallout since the hurlers' calamitous second-half collapse to Tipperary. As if the pain of that defeat at Croke Park wasn't enough for Rebels, the aftermath saw a series of WhatsApp messages circulate claiming to explain the performance away through a bust-up between the players. Everyone seemed to overlook the fact Cork were...

We thought it couldn't get any worse than the 2021 hammering at the hands of Limerick but Cork's second-half meltdown against Tipp will leave lasting scars on the Rebel faithful. It was Cork's fifth defeat on the biggest day of the season at Croke Park since their last victory and by far the most devastating. Despite a six-point half-time advantage, Cork wilted in the face of serious Tipp heat, th...

All-Ireland hurling final week is here and The Echo Sport Podcast has you covered ahead of the eagerly-awaited showdown between Cork and Tipperary at Croke Park.     The Rebels are favourites, having wrestled the Munster title from Limerick before their shock quarter-final exit at the hands of Dublin and back on the big stage after last summer's agonising one-point extra-time loss to Cla...

How do you improve on a near-perfect performance? That is the question the Echo Sport Podcast crew tried to answer this week, as they looked back at Cork’s 20-point win over Dublin in the All-Ireland SHC semi-final on Saturday evening. With regular presenter Eamonn Murphy still away – but expected to be fit for the final-preview episode next Monday – sports editor John McHale took the reins, joine...