The Second Captains Podcast

High summer in the GAA, and we were treated to two monsoons in Limerick and Salthill - at the end of which Tipperary were crowned Munster hurling champions, and Galway and Roscommon played out an uninspiring draw. Karol Mannion, Oisin McConville, Liam Griffin and Malachy Clerkin are all on hand to pick out the highlights, including some stunning qualifier wins for Wexford and Longford. Plus there'...

Eoin, Ken and Murph discuss the second Euro semi-final with Philippe Auclair, German handballs, the grim future for the Viking Clap and why Ken is backing Portugal in the final. Griezmann is becoming an all-time legend of French football, but can we now rank him with the greats of world football? Plus there's Pogba's best position, home crowds and German gripes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...

Eoin, Ken, Ciaran and Richie discuss Ronaldo's march of destiny and whether any criticism of the world's richest and arguably most famous athlete must necessarily come from a place of bitterness and begrudgery. Chris Wathan, author of Together Stronger, a book about Wales' golden generation, joins us from Lyon to reflect on last night's semi-final. And we ask Raphael Honigstein if poor underdogs G...

Lionel Messi joining Real Madrid sounds like a pretty big deal, right? Well that's pretty much what has happened in the NBA, with Kevin Durant signing up for US Murph's beloved Golden State Warriors. After an epic day at Wimbledon yesterday Jonathan Liew looks forward to the possibility of a Murray-Federer men's final on Sunday. Plus there's the awkward moment when Ken met Cerys Matthews, supersta...

Richie Sadlier, Ken, Eoin and Ciaran focus on the weekend's quarter-finals at Euro 2016. We discuss whether underdogs are even wanted at this elevated stage of the competition and as Iceland's Euro dream pays a visit to Valhalla, we speak to star of last week's podcast Anton Ingi Sveinbjorsson. Plus there's more Danny Baker tweets, Ireland's physical problems, rooting for Ronaldo, and Ken's vote f...

It was a massive weekend of GAA action, and all denominations are catered for here - Oisin McConville and Micheal Quirke on the Ulster semi-final replays and a stroll in the summer sunshine for Kerry. Eoin Kelly tries to put himself in the shoes of a Galway team that lost again in predictable circumstances to Kilkenny in the Leinster hurling final, plus there's phantom goals, admiring Robbie Savag...

Eoin Reddan retired last Saturday, camped in the South African 22, probing for a late Irish series victory and a slice of history. He takes us back to the day he left Munster, how his dad influenced his career, and tells us the one thing he'd do differently second time round. Shane Lowry has followed Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell and pulled out of the Rio Olympics. Lawrence Donegan tells us why...

With the Quarter Finals looming we go deep on Belgian over confidence, Ronaldo's veins, football in the groin, French pressure, and England's academy generation. Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur gives his thoughts on player power in the Belgian camp, John Brewin previews Poland V Portugal and Ken explains why he thinks Germany will finally get past Italy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...

It was a quite astonishing night of football in Nice last night - Iceland defeat England 2-1, Roy Hodgson resigns in disgrace, and the Viking thunder-clap is heard around the world. We get the Icelandic reaction from writer and historian Anton Ingi Sveinbjorsson, while Jonathan Wilson and Ken try and sift through the wreckage of another English tournament disaster. Plus there's Joe Hart's chocolat...

Eoin and Murph are back in studio after a day-trip to Lyon to see Ireland knocked out of the Euros by the hosts - and today we discuss Ireland's inability to finish off a poor South African team, with Shane Horgan. The GAA season at least has seen a major upturn in drama in the last 8 days, and Oisin McConville is in studio to pick apart Donegal and Monaghan's thrilling draw on Saturday night. Plu...

Ireland made us proud in this tournament on and off the field - we sum up an amazing few weeks for the fans, players and coaches involved. We ask Richie Sadlier, Ken and Philippe Auclair if there was much more the Irish players could have done and just how good are France. Plus there's existential dread, fun pilots, Pogba's physique and making Thierry squirm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

After 36 hours of ecstasy, it's time to turn our attention to France in the last 16 of the Euros. Ken advocates zero changes to the mindset and personnel that did for the Italians on Wednesday night, and we patriotically predict French victory, safe in the knowledge our predictions have been woefully incorrect thus far. Simon Kuper and Jonathan Wilson are also on hand to talk Brexit, banks, FTSE a...

It's a scoreline and a performance that will live long in the memory. We discuss Shane Long's crazy eyes, Wes' redemption, and the moment between Robbie Brady and his family that will be an iconic moment for this generation of football fans. Martin O'Neill's bravery in selection was utterly vindicated. Ken talks to Jeff Hendrick, Wes Hoolahan and James McCarthy in Lille, Richie Sadlier joins us in...

It's the morning of our final group game, and the hopes and dreams of pre-tournament have been replaced by a sense of foreboding. Antonio Conte has promised no favours, our team's confidence is fragile after Belgium, and there's uncertainty over team selection... so JOIN THE PARTY HERE!! Ken, Eoin and Murph search for reasons to be cheerful, and Emmet Malone reports from the team camp ahead of ton...

Wales march into the next round of the Euros as group winners, and their all-action style, powered by player of the tournament Gareth Bale, has comprehensively won Eoin over. We speak to Welsh legend Dean Saunders. Sid Lowe talks to us about Spain and Pedro throwing his toys out of the pram, plus there's Ken's first negative experience of the French transport infrastructure, humiliation in front o...

It was a sporting weekend of unremitting torture for most fans - decisive defeat at the Euros, late anguish in Johannesburg, and final round heartbreak for Shane Lowry at the US Open. And yet Murph can see an upside - Galway hero Paul Conroy joins us to talk about their come-from-nowhere win over Mayo on Saturday night. Malachy Clerkin talks golf lunacy and Dustin Johnson's brain, and Gerry Thornl...

Richie Sadlier joins us in studio to try and rouse some optimism ahead of Wednesday night against the Italians. We hear the 12 year old reason why Italy might have no wish to help out Sweden courtesy of Gabriele Marcotti, and we pray for the sort of Italian disrespect for the tournament's integrity by debating how many of their best players they're going to drop. Plus there's Presidential protocol...

After a painful 3-0 defeat to Belgium, Eoin Ken and Murph wonder if Ireland were just 'beaten by the best', or can we, as a nation, find some scapegoats, hard luck stories, or a referee to hate. Plus there's false positivity, admitting you're wrong, and why Eoin McDevitt is such a great example to all the overpaid footballers out there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a huge weekend for Ireland, as we face into our game against Belgium in Bordeaux tomorrow, and the Belgians are apparently in turmoil, at war with themselves and a tactical shambles. Can we take advantage? Richie Sadlier is in studio, and has brought a new four-legged friend... Ken was in Lens for England-Wales, and we talk Rooney, Hart and Bale. Michael Walker tells us about Northern Ireland...

England and Wales is one of the tastiest games of the group stages, and to Ken, Eoin and Murph's delight Wales know how to press the English panic button. Ahead of Saturday, we take a look at the most infamous game in Ireland and Belgium's shared history - the World Cup qualifier in 1981 that saw Ireland robbed by a Portuguese referee. 20 years later author and sports journalist Paul Howard tracke...

Paul McGrath joins Ken, Eoin and Murph to continue our coverage of Ireland in our daily Euro 2016 podcast, and one of Ireland's greatest ever footballers is bullish about our chances of handling Romelu Lukaku and company on Saturday. We get the Welsh view from Tom Williams of AFP as Gareth Bale channels his inner Warren Gatland and needles the English ahead of their match tomorrow, and there's als...

It was a positive start to the Euros for Ireland, with Wes Hoolahan's goal and performance the highlight in our 1-1 draw with Sweden. Ken is in Paris, having sampled a night with the Irish fans, which he assures us was part of a wider study on fan behaviour throughout the tournament...Richie Sadlier joins us in studio and we discuss Jeff Hendrick's coming of age, Jon Walters injury, what exactly i...

It was as if the world of sport realised that it needed to up it's game to get any attention as the Euros kicked off... and both the GAA and rugby action at the weekend was pretty entertaining.14-man Ireland recorded a stunning first ever victory over the Springboks in South Africa, while our u-20s beat New Zealand in similarly emphatic style. Tipperary hammered Cork, Donegal opened up their summe...

Eoin, Ken, Ciaran and Emmet Malone look forward to Ireland's Euro 2016 opener against Sweden, and back to the European festival or tear gas that took place in Marseille over the weekend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Euros are finally here, and we have the first of our daily shows throughout the tournament. Ken Early is in Marseilles, uncomfortably close to the Queen Victoria pub, the unofficial England football supporters' HQ. Dion Fanning tells us why Ireland have taken the day off today, and Michael Walker is with Northern Ireland. Plus there's a scumbag of the week, and the giant dildo UEFA had to dist...