Squareball - gaa tshirts, gaa t-shirts

Quare bit of stuff. Limerick Captain Deirdre Fitzpatrick - voted best lookin’ captain

The Gala All-Ireland Senior, Intermediate and Junior Camogie Championships were launched  the other day in Croker by Liz Howard, President of the Camogie Association. Liz wasn’t too happy that Adidas had their boot launch the same day over at St Vincent’s and she wasn’t afraid to say it.

But Talking Balls wants to reassure Liz - Be Not Afraid - all the glamour was at Croker, with no less than 27 of the finest examples of Irish womanhood present to launch the Camogie championships. They were accompanied by Gary Desmond, CEO of Gala who we would have featured in Talking Balls except his tie was much too loud.  The good news is that Gala, the Championship’s title sponsor for the past two years, has pledged its support for Camogie for a further three years by renewing its sponsorship of the Gala All-Ireland Championships (Senior, Intermediate and Junior) until 2010.

Reigning Champions Wexford will be joined in the senior ranks by Cork, league champions Kilkenny, Galways, Tipp, Dublin and Limerick.  Meanwhile Talking Balls favourite team Derry are in the Intermediate championship this year and Tyrone are in the Junior. Good luck to Grainne and Grainne and their teammates from all at Squareball.

Sez our Liz, “In 2007 the Gala All Ireland Senior and Junior Camogie finals were the best Gaelic finals of the year. We anticipate a great championship season again this year.”

Speaking at the launch, Gary Desmond, CEO of Gala, never mentioned the tie, but he did say: “This year, we are pleased to announce a new sponsorship deal which will see the Gala All-Ireland Camogie Championships running until 2010. The six-figure sum firmly cements our partnership with the Camogie Association for the foreseeable future.”

The main Talking Balls talking point was the deadly talent on display at Croker and the consensus was that Limerick captain Deirdre Fitzpatrick was the best lookin’ yoke there. But the rest of ye came close lads. Deirdre, if ye’d care to call the office or email us from down there in Limerick, we’ll send you down a Squareball hoodie. Any of the rest of ye, we’ll send a t-shirt if you get in touch. Good luck to all the camogs this summer. We’ll be watchin’, as usual, and Talking Balls.

Thomas Freeman front row - big shorts or just pleased to see us?

Not to be Outdone by the glamour parade over in Croker as the Camogs strutted their stuff, a host of Ireland’s top GAA footballers including Colm ‘The Gooch’ Cooper, Paul Galvin, Michael Meehan, Alan Brogan and James Masters were over at St. Vincent’s to highlight the three top of the range boots in the adidas family and their benefits specific to the Gaelic Footballer.

Also on hand was Mike McGurn, former fitness coach to the IRFU, who took the players and the assembled media through a Skills Challenge, designed to highlight the benefits of each boot to the skills required in Gaelic Football. Each player will wear either adidas adipure, F50.8 TUNiT+ or Predator Powerswerve, depending on their individual style of play. Not on display was the classic Widowmaker, favoured by Junior football corner backs, most effective when caked in mud.

According to the adidas marketing blurb ‘kicking supremo The Gooch is a Predator man, while Alan Brogan wears the F50 - the boot of choice for flair players, and his brother Bernard prefers the new adipure, fittingly, a new classic in the making.’ Sounds deadly. Ironically each of these players has been red carded and/or suspended in recent weeks. Nothing to do with the boots.

The players will also have access to the full range of adidas performance apparel and footwear, including Techfit™, a family of multi-sport garments scientifically proven to enhance sporting performance. These are believed to include a rather louche bathrobe, support pants based on the same technology that brought us the Wonderbra, a manthong whatever that is, and some large baggy shorts for the fella with more firepower under his belt, as modelled by Monaghan’s Thomas Freeman.

Paul Galvin was voted the hottest thing on two legs, so Paul, we have a Squareball hoodie for you if you care to give us a call. For the rest of you lads, we have a t-shirt. Just pick up the phone and ask for it.

Squareball has just launched its eagerly awaited Championship  Range. Available in over 30 stores nationwide or to order through the internet at www.squareball.com, the launch coincides with the opening rounds of the Championship Season. 

Fashion and GAA in the same breath - changing times indeed, as Squareball markets the sport in a new way, through ultra fashionable eye-catching gear.  

Niall Laird, whose brainchild it is, says:

“People who wouldn’t be caught dead in a GAA replica shirt, are out and about proudly wearing Squareball. The current range has been tried and tested with our existing customers – they told us what they liked and didn’t like right down to the fit of the ladies’ range. The t-shirt prints are stronger and bolder – all this due to fans’ feedback.”  

Launched last year, the hip streetwear-style clothing immediately struck a chord with GAA fans nationwide seeking an alternative to the replica jersey.

Niall, who himself won a Tyrone Senior football championship medal with Omagh St Enda’s back in 1988, has ambitious plans for Squareball: 

“We are trying to capture the enthusiasm and enjoyment that is so much part of the GAA. With all the controversy over the past year with rows at matches, players striking on an off the pitch, pay for play and all the rest of it, the GAA is under the spotlight as never before. Squareball is made for fans by fans – we are a small operation but we think big. We have taken our inspiration from the GAA and the way it has adapted over the years through changing times.” 

He concluded: “A year ago people laughed at the idea of GAA and fashion in the same breath. Our answer is: Why not? If people had taken that attitude over the years the GAA would never have been born, Croke Park would never have been built, we would still ban foreign games and we wouldn’t have seen Croker open for other sports. They’re Changing Times and we’re moving with them.” 

TV3’s Sinead Kissane - Eddie O’Sullivan’s favourite sports reporter

TV3 has announced that it will broadcast matches live on the Internet  as part of the package negotiated with the Powers that Be. TV3 has secured the rights to ten championship games this summer under the deal struck with Croke Park. The web plan has been announced due to reception problems in parts of the North. Still, fair play to TV3 for thinking outside the box.

Last week TV3 revealed details of its coverage which includes an All Star cast of GAA names including Peter Canavan and Joe Kernan. All live matches will be hosted by Matt Cooper. Matt will be joined in studio by three expert panellists for each match including Peter Canavan, Eugene McGee, Senan Connell, Ger Manas, Paul Earley, Daithí Regan, Joe Kernan, David Brady, Liam Hayes, Jamesie O’Connor, Nicky English and Liam Griffin.

TV3’s sports reporter Sinead Kissane - herself from double All Ireland Club Championship winners Ardfert - will be transmitting the atmosphere of the occasion and getting the views from the players and the fans. Sinead gained some notoriety but a lot of respect when she asked Eddie O’Sullivan if he would resign from his position during Ireland’s pathetic Rugby World Cup campaign.

In addition to the live coverage, TV3 will broadcast a new Thursday prime time magazine show “Championship Throw In” from May 29th. The weekly show will provide the first word on the weekend’s Championship action. Championship Live begins on TV3 at 1pm on June 1st with the opening round of the Munster Hurling Championship as Clare and Waterford go head to head in Limerick.

Navratilova - talking balls for a change

The forward who is unerringly unaccurate or the wing-back that bombs forward to shoot with gay abandon, never hitting the target, has always been the focus of derision from unforgiving fans.

“That bollix couldn’t hit a barn door with a bazooka. . .”, “It’s no wonder yer man has no children. . .” etc. Not anymore. The likes of the Fermanagh forwards who kicked so many wides on Sunday could be in for a windfall, and all from an unlikely source.

Yes, if you are a buckle-footed never-to-score tube - despair no-more. Super tennis player Martina Navratilova may have found you the answer. Renowned for her ability to score on and off the court, Czech-turned-Yank-turned-gay-turned-Czech-again Navratilova has come up with a new art form.

She’s been dipping balls in paint and hitting them at a canvas in a technique she calls tennising. She’s out selling the resulting paintings for thousands of dollars. With prices ranging from £1,500 to £126,000 for the largest pieces, Ms Navratilova, who retired from the professional circuit 18 months ago, is hoping to make tennising a second career.

“Just like when I first started playing tennis, I wasn’t thinking ‘I will make my life out of this’. I thought we’d just hit a couple of balls. But it takes on a life of its own. It should be a multimillion- dollar business in a couple of years. Not for me, but for Juraj.”

The idea came about after Mr Juraj Kralik became interested in recording tennis matches on canvas by looking at the marks left on clay courts by shoes and balls after a match.

Talking Balls is investigating the introduction of a new sort of ball-stop at venues such as Brewster Park, Casement and Parnell Park so that we can sell a true and accurate record of teams’ profligacy in front of goal. Now fans will be able to buy an actual visual record of their team’s wasteful shooting. Hey, we may even make up a few t-shirts and sell them.

Not only does the Irish News walk the walk in terms of Ulster football, it can also talk the talk. On Thursday night the Marketplace Theatre in Armagh - itself a tremendous venue and a jewel in the crown of the city - played host to the a great evening’s craic altogether.

Hosted by the extremely well-informed Joanne Cantwell of RTE’s Sunday Game, the event featured former Tyrone player and well-known GAA lawyer Fergal Logan; Armagh’s All-Ireland winning ‘keeper, raconteur and professional South Armagh-man Benny Tierney; the Irish News’ own GAA feature-writer Paddy Heaney and Kerry’s triple All Ireland winner and former captain Dara O’Cinneide. Shepherded round the topics in hand by the attractive wiles of Joanne Cantwell, the four lads gave a highly entertaining discourse on the strengths and weaknesses of Ulster football before deciding almost to a man that Kerry would be hard to beat this year in their hunt for three-in-a-row.

Among the topics under the spotlight were the deliberations of the DRA - itself a good check and balance on the rule making of the Powers that Be, according to Fergal Logan. He added that the DRA and its deliberations are all part of the controversy and craic that adds so much to the GAA as we know it. On Monaghan’s prospects this summer Paddy Heaney was quite forthright - he reckoned that last year’s quarter final was about the limit of their potential he added that you ‘can’t win a derby with a donkey.’ Somehow we think his Maghera-Matter-of Factness which has a fair ring of truth, may not go down so well in Blayney, Clones and Carrickmacross. Could be an interesting reception for Paddy down those parts this summer. Then again he could be right. On Down football Heaney also prescribed the problem as he saw it - blanket attack with little or no concern for defence - hence a fraught trip to Omagh is on the horizon.

Dara O Cinneide was asked about Galway’s prospects. At best he was dismissive - at worst he could barely contain his laughter. ‘Galway’ he said ‘play a game where you throw in the ball and there’s a shootout. Kerry usually win those.’ O Cinneide was highly respectful and complimentary to Armagh and particularly Tyrone for the way they set about the job and beat Kerry in 2002, 2003 and 2005. There were some forthright views on the current state of Antrim football amidst rumours of walkouts etc. Interestingly,  CJ McGourty’s father was apparently in the audience and allegedly did not share the view that four St Galls men had walked.

Finally, in case you’re interested - Benny Tierney acted the wag throughout, as usual  He’s the sort of cub he would love to teach - the wee ginger haired bollox down the back with an opinion on everything, who never sits still or shuts the f*** up.

Fair play to John Brolly and the lads at the Irish News for putting on such an enjoyable event - the full crowd seemed fully appreciative. For our part Squareball was out in force - there was a voucher for everyone on the audience, some £50 vouchers  in the raffle and some goodies for the panellists. Benny Tierney was greatly taken with his Excessive Fist Passing Can Cause Blindness t-shirt, promising to try it out as soon as he got home.

As part of our job in taking Squareball to the masses nationwide, we have arranged a range of advertising and promotional work throughout the summer. We are delighted that the Leinster Council have agreed to run a regular extract from our popular Talking Balls column in the majority of their Championship programmes this summer. This coverage comes on the back of our advertising deal with Leinster.

Already in last Sunday’s programme fans of Wicklow, Carlow, Meath and Kildare had the opportunity to take in some Talking Balls between matches or during breaks in the play. If you’re out and about this summer at matches in Leinster - look out for Talking Balls - we’re looking out for you. Negotiations are ongoing with other programme editors so spread the word. . .

Playing is only part of it.

The Sunday Game - unique advertising opportunities available

Viewers of the Sunday Game - already almost as disoriented as the presenters over the new space age set - experienced severe bouts of vertigo the other night as the latest camera angle was a vertical shot downwards onto the heads of Tommy Lyons, Tony Davis and Pat Spillane. The new camera angle was said to be deployed to show off the respective pundits’  most flattering side and save viewers having to look at them as they talked the usual balls. At least it wasn’t a shot of Spillane’s rear end - the source of most of the content on the show.

It has however prompted speculation that RTE will be able to sell advertising space on the heads of some of the more follicly challenged members of the team, with Cyril Farrell’s cranium believed to be a particularly lucrative location of advertising real estate. For our part Squareball has put in a request offering  a significant sum of money if Spillane will shave off the haystack and let us stamp Squareball on his head for those lucrative vertical camera moments. Either that or we’ll be lookin’ Joe Brolly to wear one of those swimming caps you get in posh hotels again with Squareball in full view.

Meanwhile up on the high stool at the rear, Joanne Cantwell and Anthony Tohill chatted each other up nonchalantly in the manner of two affluent strangers that had just met in a city centre bistro but obviously had something in common.

We can’t wait to see TV3’s coverage - if we get the aerial fixed that is - but it has to be better than this.

Communication’s the name of the game

Whilst browsing about in cyberspace, as you do, Talking Balls was greatly taken with the news that the Gaelic Players Association - that’s the GPA of course - is offering media training for players.

According to GPA chief Dessie Farrell - himself well house-trained in the ways of the media: “Our players need to communicate effectively on a daily basis and the Communications Clinic can help them achieve this.” Never will the call for low ball be the same again. Indeed, how many different ways can you ask for bottled water or a quick protein shake. Communication’s the key.

Ostensibly the training will help players with after dinner speaking, job interviews, negotiations and other facets of communication. The training will be offered by the Communications Clinic - the Ballsbridge based consultancy whose strapline is ‘unlocking potential’. Employees at the self styled ‘workaholic’ agency include well-known PR guru Terry Prone and uber-respected sports psychologist and All-Ireland winner Enda McNulty.

We decided to investigate and nearly gagged when we came upon a website for an outfit called the Communication Clinic that offered professional help to people on how to swallow. Surely this was the wrong place altogether? Indeed it was.

Anyway, you heard it here first. In future when any players are caught playing nude pool, or go on strike, get into a row in a Tipperary hotel, or are accused of batin the shite out of someone outside a nightclub, or go on the beer for a week and get caught, or get caught in flagrante with a ladyboy on the team holiday in Thailand - we can all look forward to a highly polished media performance. Likewise after match interviews may never be the same.

Obviously the lads done well!

Kerry in the Algarve - stiffer battles ahead

Big Kerry forward Kieran Donaghy was frothing about the facilities and benefits he and his Kerry teammates encountered during their week in the Algarve recently.

All the rage amongst the GAA cognoscenti this summer, it is understood Kerry didn’t just work on their farmers’ tans and test the elastic on their speedos. Sez Kieran: “It was a great week of training in Portugal because it brought us all together for six days. We had three sessions a day and shook the cobwebs off us after our league final defeat to Derry,”

“It was also because we had all the players back that were injured throughout the league so we had a clean bill of health for the week in Portugal so everyone is nearly one hundred percent again.

“Portugal was massive with all the facilities out there as we did weights, pilates, we did field sessions, we had meetings where we trashed everything out so, from every point of view, it was a very beneficial week all round.”

Interesting to see that they practised a bit of trashing according to Donaghy. Maybe that’s preparation for stiffer battles ahead.

Talking Balls understand the Kerry team also played a challenge match against a gather up of local Algarve folks. It is believed this was the perfect build up match for the sort of challenge the Kingdom will encounter when they play Waterford or Clare in the Munster Football Championship on 15 June.