Updated 17.23pm
LEE KEEGAN IS set to miss out on the upcoming International Rules series against Australia in November due to injury.
International Rules manager Joe Kernan confirmed the news at a press briefing in the Australian Embassy this afternoon.
Mayo defender Keegan is the reigning Footballer of the Year and played for his country in every series between 2013-15.
“He’s carried a wee bit of an injury over from the All-Ireland and just unfortunately won’t be able to make it,” revealed Kernan.
“(It’s) disappointing. He’s just definitely out. I’m sad for him and I’m sad for us that he can’t make it.”
Former All-Ireland winning manager Kernan also stated that Zach Tuohy, Conor McKenna and Pearse Hanley are the three AFL-based players that’ll be included in his squad, leaving 20 spots available.
“I thought it was important because we’re going to Australia to have players in training when we’re out there and the knowledge that they will have.
“We only have 12 of the boys out there that are playing but it was hard to bypass these three guys who played 21, 17 and 15 matches, and were probably three of the best out there.
“Zach Tuohy I know from reports will probably be in the running for player of the year. Now they (Geelong) were beaten last weekend but he’s had a fantastic season. Him and Pearce changed clubs, which Irish lads normally don’t do that but it was for the better of themselves and they both played very well.
“Conor just oozes excitement and the joy of the game, great skill levels. Pace, power and accuracy would be the three things we’re looking for in players.”
The Ireland boss will name his captain and the full 23-man squad in three weeks. Trials began last Friday at the GAA’s Development Centre at the National Sports Campus in Abbottstown and will be stepped up in the coming weekends.
“Last weekend we were short numbers, it was 26. This weekend there’ll be 36. But there’s a lot of club matches on.
“Some of the boys played last weekend with club matches, next week we’re having to step it up and say, ‘Hey boys if you’ve a club match on a Sunday, you still have to be there on a Friday night, you’ll only play one quarter’.
“We have to work with each other but if they don’t turn up, they can’t expect to have a chance to impress.”
Kernan is also hoping to call on members of the Dublin and Mayo teams that contested the All-Ireland finals but is unsure yet of their availabilty.
“I have 8 or 9 from Dublin and Mayo each. There’s some of them waiting to come back with work commitments, there’s 3 or 4 with injury problems and there’s one or two that can’t commit because of work. I’d be hoping at least four from each.”
The 2002 Armagh All-Ireland winning boss is keeping an open mind on his eventual squad selection.
“There’s that many good players in the GAA we’ll not be lacking. They mightn’t be the household names that we might want to take, but all over the years there’s players, and I don’t like saying this, from so-called weaker counties and they’ve excelled in this.
“Years ago it was Spike Fagan from Westmeath, then Leighton Glynn from Wicklow was unmarkable.
“Gary Brennan two years ago saved our bacon with high fielding. If he was 18 they’d be looking at him out in Australia.”
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15 billion for 2 tournaments?
There are actually 3 tournaments (Confederations Cup). Still crazy though!!
Look at that ‘James Hunt’ of a copper on the bottom pic completely drenching the face of that poor woman with pepper spray.
Was that spray really necessary?
Could that poor woman look any more inoffensive or non-threatening?
I’m here in São Paulo (please correct spelling in article) it’s not just the $R3.20 transport cost 20 centavos increase that’s the problem. The problem is the corruption and the money grabbers and the ‘Brazilian way’ attitude that the country stereotypes it’s self on. The young people of this wonderful country have woken up and are trying to show that change is needed! About 3 months worth of brazilians salary is paid to the government, so essentially you work 3 months to pay the president and government!!! The amount of money spent on the world cup is shocking considering you see a lot of people living on the street and kids asking you for food nearly everyday, substandard health care and lack of Education facilities. The World Cup will be interesting to see in Brasil! I’m personally looking forward to it, despite the waste of money it is.
I stopped reading after your pedantic opening sentence
Well if you’ve studied for 4 years to be a journalist you can at least get a spelling right ? Knob
Irish people on the lower rate of Income Tax pay 20% a year, working out at two-and-a-half months per year, not much different to the Brazilian rate – and that’s before you include things like the Universal Social Charge and VAT. Yet we haven’t seen such large-scale processes here. Yet.
I think it comes down to the fact that countries with a Scandinavian society model are happy enough to pay high rates of tax because their public services work efficiently. Brazilians, and Irish people, on the other hand, get the short straw – they resent paying taxes, because many of the public services are simply shoddy. For example, private health insurance, for those who can afford it, in both countries, is a must have if you want to get decent health care.
When it comes to education in Brazil, there is a paradox where the best universities in the country are publicly-funded. But in order for their kids to enter them, parents have to fork out substantial tuition fees to private primary and secondary schools, as there is so little investment in the public education system. Meanwhile, poorer people who want to get better qualifications, end up working full time on leaving school, and studying in fee-paying private universities by night.
As you say Pádraig, the 20 cent price increase was just the tip of the iceberg. Where you at the protests yourself last night?
Can’t wait for the World Cup. South American held competitions never seem to fail to deliver. Come on Ireland!
In the unlikely event that we actually qualify :)
The youths who occupied the Congresso Nacional were more than a few hundred and according to the live News câmeras at the time when they decided to leave they left cleaning what ever mess was left behind with them. There are photos and vídeos all over the internet showing them to number more than 10,000 people.
Regarding the world cup stadiums:
In six years, since the country’s bid, the increase in public spending amounts to 200% – not counting inflation.
Only in the current renovations of the Maracanã, stadium R$ 1,2 billion have been invested, equivalent to 57% of what had been predicted in investment for the 12 stadiums in the initial BID to FIFA in 2007. In a report in April, the state court of public account (TCU) estimated that there had been a US$ 7.1 billion investment in the sector. In the budget presented for the Brazilian candidacy, R$ 2.1 billion was the estimated cost of the creation and renovation of stadiums in the country. This value, which was defended by the government at the time, would come entirely from the private sector. Today, the reality is the state accounts for over 97% of the funds invested in the arenas, and only three stadiums are funded in part by private investment. It is worth remembering that more than half of the money used to build stadiums (US$ 3.75 billion) comes from the BNDES (National Bank of development).
There will be more protests and they are a little misjointed with many demands and aims. They will be successful if the rest of the population joins them (Unions, Poor people, Army and Public servants). Then maybe there will be some change. Looking forward to the next protest as I will be there.
Its the mainstream media’s job to misinform.
From what I understand, when Brazil was awarded the hosting rights of the World Cup, FIFA and the Brazilian government promised that the stadiums themselves would be funded by private investors, while the dividend for the public was to be an increased investment into projects such as improved public transport.
A few years down the line, the private investors had to be bailed out with public money earmarked for public transport projects, as the stadium construction was falling behind schedule. As the construction had to be speeded up, it was then costing more money. There have been allegations of corruption in the tendering process too. So when public transport fares increaded recently without any improvement, this was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
This generation of Brazilians, despite an abysmal public education system at primary and secondary level, are very well informed, while they would have no memory of life under dictatorship. The risk with these protests, perhaps like in Turkey, is that their claims are too disparate and vague, their organisation too haphazard – a politician was complaining that when he offered to meet with the protest leaders to discuss their grievances in São Paulo he couldn’t find a spokesperson/leader.
An analogy could be drawn with Ireland: private investors investing in projects that were “too big to fail” messed up, leading to a government bailout and deteriorating, yet more expensive, public services.
Hah! Get out of this one Blatter and your blazers. Then try and get out if the Qatar one without playing the World Cup in January.