The Second Captains Podcast

The Champions League is underway, the RWC 2019 is underway and grunge week is over - its the perfect time to join the Second Captains World Service secondcaptains.com/join .Shane Horgan told us this week that he reckons England are going to win the whole thing, and along with Donnacha Ryan, Eoin Reddan, Gerry Thornley and Mattie Williams, you'll get all the biggest rugby brains giving you the best...

'No-one likes us, we don't care' would appear to be the attitude of some Dublin fans... but is there a silent majority of the country who, while they'd rather see the cups getting shared around a bit, are nonetheless more than willing to give credit where it's due? Oisin McConville and Mike Quirke give us their thoughts on the greatest team of all time, the players and manager that made them, and...

Eoin returns from Seattle, and he's bearing gifts, which translates to both good news and bad news for Second Captains listeners. There is no doubt what the theme is today as the dazzling young stars of Frank Lampard's talent factory blazed far too hot for Wolves to handle. Sam Lee and Jonathan Wilson join us for a closer look at some of the weekend's football. Is there a solution for City's defen...

The Second Captains World Service aches for you. Here is a taste of what you've been missing. Oisin and Mike on Brolly's Licence To Ill, Richie Sadlier on Troy Parrott's rise, Ken on Dubs all Ireland ceremony, and RWC 2019 build up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two weeks ago, Ireland conceded almost 60 points to England... so what the hell are we doing at number 1 in the world rankings? No-one seems to be paying it much heed, least of all here in Ireland, but it suggests we must be doing something right. Eoin Reddan and Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times pick out the best bits from a second win over Wales in 7 days in the Aviva on Saturday, and why after...

If Ireland are Homer Simpson, then Georgia are Homer's assistant and guardian angel Karl, who helps him get promoted to executive in the Dimoxinil episode. Once again they have sabotaged Ireland's opponents and simplified the task of Euro qualification. Tomorrow Ireland play Bulgaria in a friendly that allows Mick McCarthy to look at some of his bench options. We talk about this morning's press co...

There simply is no better time to join the Second Captains world service than the first week of the month, with new editions of both Richie Sadlier's Player's Chair and Ken Early's Politics Podcast, and an Ireland V Switzerland review coming on Friday. Richie was speaking to Paul O'Connell at Electric Picnic last Saturday, and Ken spoke to Richard Seymour, author of a new book called The Twitterin...

Dublin set off yesterday in pursuit of history, trying to become the first team to win the five-in-a-row. They eventually came within one kick of it yesterday evening, before Dean Rock's sideline free-kick dropped short and wide, and condemned us to a replay of yesterday's thrilling All-Ireland football final. Oisin McConville and Mike Quirke were there, loved it as much as we did, and tell us why...

Mane and Salah provided the drama but as far as the title race is concerned, the most significant moment of the Premier League weekend happened elsewhere. Miguel Delaney was at the Emirates to see Arsenal come back to draw with Spurs. Is Unai Emery getting closer to his best first XI, and what bug fixes would Miguel recommend for the latest edition of the MP operating system? Then we’re joined by...

2017 Footballer of the Year Andy Moran has announced his retirement from inter-county football. In a wide-ranging interview for ‘The Players Chair’ with Richie Sadlier on the Second Captains World Service, the man with more appearances for Mayo than any other player has said that having discussed it with James Horan this weekend, he’s made his decision to retire, and has told his team-mates that h...

Ireland suffered a record defeat to England on Saturday, and the rather uneasy rumblings of last week have become fully-realised fears in the eyes of many Irish rugby fans - we press the panic button on today's show. Shane Horgan sees our hopes of winning the World Cup disappearing over the horizon, and he's on with Gerry Thornley to pinpoint the many, many areas for improvement from a shockingly...

The Premier League weekend: David Silva sublime. David Luiz ridiculous. Eoin has some questions - cheap, nasty, and obvious ones. Did Unai Emery play it too conservatively at Anfield? Who was to blame for Crystal Palace's first goal against Manchester United? And are managers seriously going to keep complaining about penalties not given even in the VAR age? We're joined by Mark Douglas to talk abo...

It's been a bit of a roller-coaster year for Tipperary - an All-Ireland win looked pretty unlikely at the end of the league, looked very likely indeed after the Munster championship round-robin, and then after a 12 point hammering from Limerick in the Munster final, it looked a rather remote possibility again. But from the ashes of that chastening day, they came good when it mattered - and in a ga...

It's Monday, so it's time to talk about VAR. Ken defends himself against the "gammon" accusations and explains why his critics are wrong. In between there is some time to discuss the details of how Man City took Spurs apart. We also talk about Frank Lampard's downbeat and strangely detailed assessment of Chelsea's draw at home to Leicester, and generally incorporate a range of up to date movie ref...

Q: What do Derek McGrath, Ric Flair, the Mighty Magyars and Eoin tanking a Peter O'Mahony interview have in common? A: THIS WEEK ON THE SECOND CAPTAINS WORLD SERVICE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On a balmy September night in September 2011, Eoin stood outside Mulligan’s on Poolbeg Street basking in the celebrations of Dublin’s first All-Ireland title in 16 years. More than that, he was basking in the love being shown by supporters from other counties who seemed genuinely happy for the Dubs to have their day in the sun. Fast-forward to 2019 and with Dublin on the brink of 5-in-a-row, it’s...

Manchester United destroyed Chelsea at Old Trafford, with Daniel James' emotional celebrations reminding the crowd why they love football in the first place. It meant Frank Lampard started with the worst result of any Chelsea manager in the Premier League era, and there have been quite a few Chelsea managers. Is the selection of young players just a political ploy, as Jose Mourinho seems to think?...

Whether or not the Community Shield counts as a trophy, it's become plain that there are no friendlies any more when Manchester City play Liverpool. We talk about how the teams seem to be shaping up, the relevance of the old wisdom that you should buy when you're strong, and touch on a few other issues in the soon-to-shut transfer window. Miguel Delaney joins us to talk about the importance of yes...

It's August 1st, which means this is the PERFECT time to sign up to the Second Captains World Service!! Sign up today, and you get maximum bang for your (5) buck(s), and to pique your interest, have a quick listen to this - as Murph gets humiliated by Oisin McConville, Stephen A Smith outlines how Eoin could get even more militant with those of you hesitating before signing up to us, and a clip fr...

Robbie Keane is not in the mood to reminisce. Funny? Funny how? Arsenal have found some spare cash, or at least some sellers willing to discuss terms. We also talk about why Gareth Bale is not going to China, and whether Real Madrid's technical committee has ever seen Paul Pogba play. Also today, Gavin Cooney of the42 joins us to talk about what happened over the weekend at the FAI AGM - where Don...

There really isn't enough time between All-Ireland hurling semi-finals to digest the full magnitude of what went on this weekend, but we'll give it a shot today, as we try and sort out just how we're left with a fifth Tipperary/Kilkenny final in the last 10 years. Michael Duignan and former Kilkenny legend Brian Hogan are magnanimous as Eoin admits that - yes, hurling folk DO bang on a bit about i...

The Open came to Ireland for the first time in 68 years, and the Claret Jug will stay in Ireland, after Shane Lowry's extraordinary 6-shot win over the field at Royal Portrush yesterday. We salute a man we can all say is as nice as he appears on TV, with Malachy Clerkin and Lawrence Donegan. We also lament the fact that just 24 hours after his success, Shane has already been usurped... by his own...

It's been another turbulent weekend for the FAI - but on the field maybe there are some signs that Irish football's fortunes are looking up. Meanwhile Premier League clubs have been touring some humid and not-so-humid locations, aiming to boost fitness levels and bank balances, with varying degrees of success. Sid Lowe joins us to talk about the increasingly hostile stand-off between Real Madrid a...

It was a stunning weekend of sport, which had all the hallmarks of summer - Wimbledon finals in baking heat, GAA in front of massive crowds, with an added soupçon of Cricket World Cup final madness. At the end of it all we have Novak Djokovic as Wimbledon men's champion - but why is he so unpopular? Caitlin Thompson of Racquet magazine answers that question in pretty emphatic style. We have Oisin...

It was a sunny Sunday when for once football was pushed into the shadows - but nobody keeps this baby in the corner for long. La Liga clubs have been the most active in the summer transfer market so far. Has there been an outbreak of caution in the Premier League or is everyone just waiting until the last minute to lose their minds? We discuss Manchester United's reported interest in Harry Maguire...