ALL that was missing from last weekend’s All-Ireland football semi-final was Jim McGuinness’ trademark jet black curls and goatee, thus giving our commentators their archetypal GAA arch villain!

WATCHING the All-Ireland minor football semi-final between Tipperary and Roscommon from the Croke Park press box last week, a number of thoughts were floating around in my head.

‘TO tweet, or not to tweet, that is the question…

IN 2002, a director of Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia received the most expensive speeding ticket in history.

IF the recent soap opera starring Rupert Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks has taught us anything, it is the sheer power and influence the media has on shaping opinions of societies.

PROMISES made on live television are best kept, and if you tell Marty Morrissey you’re going to do something, it’s akin to (in GAA terms) giving Michael Corleone your word.

STAGS, funerals, weddings, and nature are just some of the obstacles county fixture committees are asked to overcome when scheduling hundreds of games for thousands of players every year.

READING the introduction to the official GAA guidelines, you will find the following: “The primary purpose of the GAA is the organisation of native pastimes and the promotion of athletic fitness as a means to create a disciplined, self-reliant, national-minded manhood.”