Welcome to tonight’s liveblog. Here’s how the teams have been named to start, but expect some changes before throw-in.
Dublin
1. Stephen Cluxton (Parnell’s)
2. Eric Lowndes (St Peregrine’s)
3. Philip McMahon (Ballymun Kickhams)
4. David Byrne (Naomh Olaf)
5. James McCarthy (Ballymun Kickhams)
6. Jonny Cooper (Na Fianna)
7. John Small (Ballymun Kickhams)
8. Brian Fenton (Raheny)
9. Michael Darragh Macauley (Ballyboden St Enda’s)
10. Brian Howard (Raheny)
11. Ciarán Kilkenny (Castleknock)
12. Niall Scully (Templeogue Synge Street)
13. Paul Mannion (Kilmacud Crokes)
14. Paddy Andrews (St Brigid’s)
15. Colm Basquel (Ballyboden St Enda’s)
Mayo
1. Rob Hennelly (Breaffy)
2. Caolan Crowe (Garrymore)
3. Ger Cafferkey (Ballina Stephenites)
4. Eoin O’Donoghue (Belmullet)
5. Colm Boyle (Davitts)
6. Michael Hall (Breaffy)
7. David Drake (Ballaghaderreen)
8. Stephen Coen (Hollymount/Carramore)
9. Jason Gibbons (Ballintubber)
10. Kevin McLoughlin (Knockmore)
11. Aidan O’Shea (Breaffy)
12. Diarmuid O’Connor (Ballintubber)
13. Jason Doherty (Burrishoole)
14. Andy Moran (Ballaghaderreen)
15. Adam Gallagher (Mayo Gaels)
Diarmuid Connolly is not named in the 26 but he is in Castlebar so could feature at some stage.
It’s being speculated that Lee Keegan and Tom Parsons could be late additions to the Mayo bench.
Lee Keegan is indeed on Mayo squad, while Diarmuid Connolly has undergone a full warm-up and is expected to be on the Dublin bench.
We’ll also be keeping an eye on these games tonight:
Division 1
Monaghan v Tyrone, Castleblayney, 7pm
Division 2
Tipperary v Meath, Semple Stadium, 7pm
Division 3
Fermanagh v Derry, Brewster Park, 7pm
GOAL! Paul Mannion fires in a goal for Dublin inside two minutes!
Paul Mannion. Darren Daly, Michael Fitzsimons, Kevin McManamon and Dean Rock are all in as late changes for Dublin.
Here’s Mannion’s goal:
Paul Mannion opens the scoresheet with this cracker! pic.twitter.com/HhIVZ4J38L
— The GAA (@officialgaa) February 24, 2018
Monaghan 0-3 Tyrone 0-0
Fintan Kelly again for Monaghan.
Mayo 0-1 Dublin 1-1
Kilkenny blazes over from close range.
Mayo 0-2 Dublin 1-1
Lee Keegan slots over for Mayo in his first game of 2018. He only underwent double hip surgery back in November.
Mayo 0-2 Dublin 1-2
Dean Rock swings over after Kilkenny set him through. Electric atmosphere in Elverys MacHale Park tonight.
Monaghan 0-4 Tyrone 0-0
A very slow start by Tyrone as Shane Carey slots over a free for Monaghan.
Mayo 0-2 Dublin 1-3
Mannion takes the direct route to goal and is brought down by Eoin O’Donoghue. Rock does the rest.
Mayo 0-3 Dublin 1-3
James McCarthy hauls down Adam Gallagher, who played in the Sigerson Cup final a week ago. Jason Doherty pops over his second from a free.
Fermanagh 1-6 Derry 0-0
Seamus Quigley bags a goal to leave Fermanagh nine ahead inside 13 minutes.
Here are the highlights from Dublin’s narrow win over Mayo in the ladies football curtain raiser in Castlebar tonight.
WATCH:
— eir Sport (@eirSport) February 24, 2018
Full-time highlights from the Ladies National Football League as @dublinladiesg made it four wins from four with a two-point win over @Mayo_LGFA. #SeriousSupport pic.twitter.com/iyDyAMIDf0
Mayo 0-4 Dublin 1-5
Dublin turn defence into attack and Fenton pops over off the left.
Monaghan 0-4 Tyrone 0-2
Hugh Pat McGeary comes in to replace Cathal McCarron on the Tyrone team.
Mayo 0-5 Dublin 1-6
McLoughlin with a lovely score on the run off his weaker right foot. He was set-up by Aidan O’Shea after a fine fetch in midfield.
Monaghan 0-6 Tyrone 0-2
Colin Walshe kicks a fine score to move the Farney four in front.
Kevin McLoughlin straight through the posts on his weak side, Mayo Point! pic.twitter.com/g9hyCNedBj
— The GAA (@officialgaa) February 24, 2018
Mayo 0-5 Dublin 1-7
McCarthy bursts forward and forces a good save from Hennelly, before Kilkenny takes his point.
Mayo 0-6 Dublin 1-7
O’Shea does really well and sets up Coen for his third ever point in a Mayo jersey.
Mayo 0-6 Dublin 1-8
Mannion is a player in top form and he brings his tally to 1-1 with a good score.
Meath 0-5 Tipperary 1-8 – HT
Michael Quinlivan nets a goal for Tipperary right before half-time.
The highlights from the first-half of Dublin-Mayo:
Dublin leading Mayo at the break, watch the Half-Time highlights here on GAANOW! pic.twitter.com/vC1XUWIJYk
— The GAA (@officialgaa) February 24, 2018
O’Shea is booked for a late hit on McCarthy at the start of the second-half. Minutes earlier Adam Gallagher hit a golden chance at goal wide.
Fermanagh 1-14 Derry 3-3
Two goals in a mintue for Derry from Mark Lynch and James Kielt.
Monaghan 0-8 Tyrone 0-8
Lee Brennan levels us up.
Mayo 0-8 Dublin 1-9
In his first league game in almost two years, Hennelly drills over a 45.
Tipperary 2-8 Meath 0-8
Bill Maher lands a fine goal for the Premier, who now lead by six.
Diarmuid Connolly enters the fray alongside Cian O’Sullivan for John Small and Mannion – who hobbles off.
Michael Darragh Macauley has been replaced by Colm Basquel. That’s a triple substitution for Dublin with James McCarthy reverting to midfield.
GOAL! Niall Scully scores Dublin’s second!
Mayo 0-8 Dublin 2-9
Fitzsimons and Rock were involved as the latter teed Scully up to fist into the net.
Mayo 0-9 Dublin 2-10
Rock slips but still managers to swing the free over the bar. Dublin lead by seven.
Monaghan 0-10 Tyrone 0-11
Niall Sludden breaks forward and puts Mickey Harte’s side back in front.
Mayo 0-9 Dublin 2-10
Mayo are really struggling without Cillian O’Connor and Moran kicks a scoreable placed ball wide. Jason Doherty was guilty of a couple of misses from frees earlier on.
Monaghan 0-12 Tyrone 0-11
McManus sends Monaghan in front as we enter the last ten minutes. David Mulgrew is black-carded for Tyrone.
Mayo 0-10 Dublin 2-10
Loftus curls over a free for Mayo. Two minutes of stoppage-time left.
What an achievement . Some great stuff to look for
Delighted. Was a great decision by the IRFU/Nucifora to start taking the 7′s seriously and hopefully now can qualify for the Olympics. COYBIG.
@Elliott Sheerin: It was a questionable decision why it took them so long to get involved in the first place. We were conspicuous by our absence.
@thegreatdefector: And it appears to be to the detriment of the Wolfhounds which is unfortunate.
@thegreatdefector: true but that was decision made by the Irfu before nuciforas time. He brought it back
What an achievement from this 7’s side. In the space of 4 years coming from the lowest levels of 7’s rugby to now having the opportunity to mix it up with the big boys on the biggest stage is an outstanding feat. Everyone behind the scenes deserves a incredible amount of credit for getting this great bunch of players to the top end of 7’s rugby. Conroy is a special talent he’ll give the Fijians, New Zealanders etc some major headaches. On a side note a uplifting day for the Leavy family too, Dan will be so proud of his younger brother. Another Irish team to be very proud of.
@Ian Verdon: well said!
@Ian Verdon: couldn’t have said it better myself. Some fantastic players on that team. They were solid throughout in what is a very difficult tournament. Some set of wheels on Conroy, can’t wait to see them against the big boys.
Fantastic achievement after years of grafting and the heartbreak of a last-minute qualifier loss in 2018. The Irish team showed real resilience to overcome a very physical German team in the semi-finals and great defence in the final.
The World Sevens Series is a great watch, even without Ireland in it, so it’s good to see us join the party while creating more opportunities for players to play rugby professionally in Ireland.
Can we now have a domestic program put in place to develop kids please. No underage competitors for youths currently.
@kieran horgan: lovely idea but where do you get coaching resources from and how are you going to manage the conflict at club level where clubs are struggling to fill underage sides at 15.
@Michael Murray: from what I see of clubs at home a lot of underage competitions finish in March. Why not use rest of March and April to play provincial 7s competitions and perhaps end it with an All Ireland 7s festival to go alongside the Kinsale 7s on May bank holiday if there was room there.
@Brendan ‘fox’ O’ Sullivan: was gonna say this. A lot of people play league in the off-season in order to keep playing rugby. 7s is far more entertaining than league and could easily overtake it as a summer time game.
@Brendan ‘fox’ O’ Sullivan: March April May or else play festivals during summer. Plenty of options.
@Michael Murray: How many clubs are struggling to field at 15s level? 7s should be used to develop players as well and could be excellent way in Dublin for clubs to keep ties with kids who normally while in secondary school if in likes of Blackrock, Terenure etc will rarely play club rugby if ever
Deadly!!
Great result for Ireland, will be brilliant to see them play on the big stage from next year. Here is hoping they continue to develop the 7s game with the provincial academies in Ireland. They will need to develop a strong squad to last through a full season. I remember seeing Adam Byrne play a 7s tournament in Dubai a few years ago he was immense, the 7s can really be beneficial for young players. Have been to the Dubai 7s twice and it is a brilliant weekend Hong Kong is definitely on the bucket list
@Brendan ‘fox’ O’ Sullivan: Do you think the IRFU will push for Dublin to be a host nation sometime in the future. It seems like a tournament that would be well received and attended in Dublin for the Irish and the visitors.
@David Staed: I think the cities for the next 3 year’s have been locked in but definitely after that. I watch a lot of 7s and atmosphere looks great in each city it goes to.
Forward to now with the World Series
Such a tight game against Germany and then a bit of a mismatch in the final!
Well done lads.
@gavin cooney , lazy journalism for your description under the articles picture . The “teammate” in question is Harry McNulty a player who has been there from the very beginning hence why I would imagine he is so emotional, he also scored in the game .
@Luke O’Mahony: you spelt Foster Horan wrong
Ireland should put more focus on the 7s, its an Olympic sport and given our long history of failure at 15 a side rugby on a global level maybe we need to take a fresh approach. Next aim for these guys is Olympic qualification which is actually very difficult given the system that is in place. It would help if England could make it into the top 4 of the World Series as we wouldnt have to compete against them for the only European spot but the likelihood is that we will be up against themselves, France and Spain for that spot as well as teams like Germany and Russia
@Frank Scanlon: Frank, Ireland have a long history, over 100 years, of success in what you call 15 a side rugby.
@Locojoe: I said success on a global level, please point out what Ireland have achieved on a global scale in 15 a side rugby? Never made it beyond World Cup quarter finals, the only major rugby playing nation never to do so, even Argentina which could hardly be considered a rugby nation have made a couple of semis. Our record is embarassing. Better to invest in 7s from the ground up, get more kids playing it instead of 15 a side, its far better to watch anyway and maybe we might win something
@Frank Scanlon: so making a quarter final in a World Cup isn’t an achievement? You do know only 4 country’s have ever one the World Cup in its entire history, as well as Guinness Book of Records proving New Zealand are the most dominant team of any professional sport in the world.
I can remember when i was younger i wanted to play it but there was literally nothing in place. It looked like a good challenge but i was the only person i knew who wanted to play
Found this link to the match https://youtu.be/bJNnECd-iBk
@Accounting Pro: sorry this is better https://youtu.be/DEyBc5YjxKQ