The 42 GAA Weekly

Fintan O'Toole and Declan Bogue give their immediate thoughts from Croke Park after Donegal outclassed Kerry in the Division 1 National Football League final, and Meath got the better of Cork in the Division 2 decider. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole join Ronan Early ahead of the league finals. But before the lads get into that, they are invited to defend the entire practice of watching sport. Is it a mug’s game? Are you better off playing at your own low level rather than cheering others on from the sidelines? Views are exchanged. One area of agreement is that watching David Clifford is never a waste of ti...

Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole join Ronan Early to look ahead to an action-packed weekend. Fintan argues that this will be the standout day of the intercounty football calendar. Ronan is skeptical - how can you get truly excited about a competition where a leading contender does not want to make the final. Nevertheless there is much to anticipate, including Galway and Dublin’s relegation shootout...

Fintan O’Toole and Declan Bogue join Ronan Early to review the hurling weekend. Declan explains why Cian Lynch should remain in midfield. Fintan ponders Cork’s options for full-back as the Munster championship countdown continues. The Rebels are off to Portugal now, where they may make progress on deciding their championship XV. But what happens on these training camps? Declan gives us the lowdown...

Fintan O'Toole and Denis Hurley give their immediate analysis from the Gaelic Grounds as Limerick get the better of Cork. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pádraig O’Hora tells Declan Bogue about climbing Everest and joy and regrets with Mayo in a searingly honest conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fintan O’Toole and Declan Bogue join Ronan Early ahead of a big league hurling weekend. Cork and Limerick hurlers can meet a maximum of six times in 2026. That’s a lot of familiarity to add to the already close relationship the counties have shared in recent seasons. The Rebels struggled to get close to John Kiely’s all conquering team for years, but since 2023 there has usually been little betwee...

Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole join Ronan Early to chat about the Mayo prodigy’s debut and imminent move to Australia. Where does Kobe stand on the hype scale next to the likes of Eoin Kelly, Joe Canning and David Cliffird? What’s it like for teenagers to shoulder that level of expectation? And in McDonald’s case, how much is his talented and enigmatic father Kieran a factor in the wonder surroun...

Fintan O’Toole and Declan Bogue join Ronan Early to explore what motivates players who manage to keep their intercounty careers going for almost 20 years. Also, the masters of two-point shooting and why there should be more of them. Plus, Kieran McGeeney thinks the contest for kickouts has descended into piggery. Should we be more worried if coaches, who will always seek control, like the new rule...

Ronan Early is joined by Shane Keegan to discuss his role as the Wexford hurling coach under manager Keith Rossiter. The 42 listeners will be familiar with Shane from the Football Family podcast and How to Win at Dominos. Shane made his name as a soccer coach with Wexford Youths and has managed at Galway United and Cobh Ramblers. For the past couple of years he’s been the football and hurling mana...

Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole join Ronan Early to discuss two big personalities in two big jobs: Ger Brennan with the Dublin footballers and Ben O’Connor in Cork. Is O’Connor’s invigorating brand of straight-talking going to endure? Or will he look to curb it slightly so as not to antagonise the faceless power brokers of the game above in Dublin? Can Brennan keep his side in Division 1, win back...

Fintan O'Toole is joined by Denis Hurley from The Echo as the lads give their immediate reaction from Pairc Úi Chaoimh to Cork's League win over Tipp. Rebels boss Ben O'Connor was displeased with the red cards, one for either side. The conversation starts there . . . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fintan O’Toole and Declan Bogue join Ronan Early to consider whether revenge is ever worth it in the short or long term - and swiftly come to the conclusion that, yes, it is. But is a league game in February the right stage for acts of vengeance? Well, judging by a likely record crowd for the league, tens of thousands believe it will do, for now. Will we see a cracker between last year’s All-Irela...

Fintan O’Toole and Declan Bogue look back on the first weekend of the National League campaign, before turning their attention to big upcoming battles between Donegal and Kerry, and Mayo and Dublin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ronan Early, Fintan O'Toole and Declan Bogue look ahead to the beginning of the GAA National Leagues this weekend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fintan O'Toole and Declan Bogue provide immediate reaction to today's two All-Ireland club finals live from Croke Park. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole join Ronan Early to discuss whether there will be a Kerry clean sweep in football titles, or whether St Brigid’s can atone for final defeat in 2024. In hurling Ballygunner take on Loughrea, with the Munster superpower keen to add to their one All-Ireland in 2022, while the Galway champions come into the decider with a sense of grievance due to the suspension of midf...

Fintan O’Toole and Declan Bogue tell Ronan Early about their standout memories of 2025: best games, players, moments and also their biggest disappointments and hopes for next year.  Fintan reviews Ballygunner’s win over St Martin’s. And the lads discuss the chances of a successful appeal for Loughrea’s Cullen Killen, who was red carded in the closing moments of his side’s decisive win over Sl...

Declan Bogue sits down with National Head of Hurling Willie Maher this week. The Tipperary man talks openly about the injury that prematurely ended his playing career, his enduring love of the game and his sense of mission to make sure as many people as possible have the chance to play it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fintan O’Toole joins Ronan Early to delve into the talking points of the weekend, the main one being the controversy over the conclusion of Dingle versus St Finbarr’s. The lads examine the letter of the law and how it was interpreted in those final frenetic moments in a thrilling Munster final in Thurles. Has there been a more stark example of the punishment exceeding the adjudged crime? Is the ru...

Fintan O’Toole joins Ronan Early to look ahead to the weekend’s big games: Ballyhale against St Martin’s, Athy v Ballyboden and the showdown of Dingle and St Finbarr’s. After a couple of hurling weekends which lacked shocks or pulsating contests, Fintan expects an improved spectacle in Croke Park as the Wexford champions try to derail Ballyhale. Awaiting the winners are Ballygunner, who gave an ex...

Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole preview Thursday’s draw for the 2026 provincial championships, and look ahead to the Munster hurling, Connacht football, and Ulster hurling club finals Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following David Clifford’s shimmy into the world of apparel, Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole join Ronan Early to discuss the big questions: Is Clifford cool enough to sell hoodies? If not, then which GAA players are? Is it ever acceptable to wear initialled club gear in non-club settings? Why do managers need to have their job title scrawled on their back? What would happen if they went rogue and...

County finals have yielded to the provincial championships as we move deeper into winter of the split season of 2025. Fintan O’Toole and Declan Bogue tell Ronan Early why this time of year continues to throw up interesting storylines and matches. The hurler of the year 2025 faces the hurler of the year 2024 as Éire Óg Ennis take on Loughmore-Castleiney in the Munster SHC semi-final. John McGrath a...

The ‘Irish experiment’ began in the 1980s and continues to this day, with Kobe McDonald and Ben Murphy the latest promising young footballers to be recruited by AFL clubs. But what makes GAA athletes desirable to professional teams in a different sport? Declan Bogue and Fintan O’Toole join Ronan Early to consider the appeal for the Geelongs and Carltons and Brisbane Lions of this world. Plus, can...