Columns - Irish Examiner

Tony Leen

Sports editor and long standing journalst and writer with the Irish Examiner.

Tipperary v Cork - Munster GAA Football Senior Championship semi-final

A strange kind of beauty in Cork's hard work and discipline

Before the door of Dressing Room No 3 underneath Semple Stadium’s Old Stand closed towards us, the first four of Liam Kearns’ words to his numbed Tipperary players seeped out.

Mon, 28 May, 2018

Buckling under the weight of Ireland’s greatest noughties moments

So, sports fans are outraged that Jermaine Defoe is missing from the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award shortlist? (According to click king Mr Google Analytics). Wait til they see this evening what the chainsaw gang in Montrose have done to the array of Ireland’s Greatest Sporting Moments in the 2000s, writes Tony Leen.

Thu, 30 Nov, 2017

No-one in Kerry’s dropping the ball this time

It’s Kerry’s nature to be wary of pats on the back, but in terms of future-proofing the county’s football success, they’re in a good place.

Thu, 17 Aug, 2017

‘Battered’ Cork must earn a fanbase, not expect it

The current reality of Cork football is that they take the wins as and when they come. 

Mon, 12 Jun, 2017

Growing evidence this Kerry crop merit the hype

There's a recurring narrative attaching to this group of nascent Kerry football talents that demands they wipe the floor with anything that crosses their path. Three minor All-Irelands on the trot allied to a clutch of All-Ireland Colleges titles will do that, writes Tony Leen.

Wed, 29 Mar, 2017

Plenty of f’s and effort in Saturday night slugfest

It didn’t require a trained lip-reader to decipher the sentiments of the Kerry players at the final whistle in Tralee, two words repeated and rhyming with book it.

Mon, 20 Mar, 2017

Irish Rowing: For our next trick…

So what happened next? Right after Paul and Gary O’Donovan became rowing royalty with their Olympic medal honesty in and out of the water in Rio de Janeiro.

Fri, 09 Dec, 2016

Classy Dr Crokes can make anyone look bad in a hurry

They have won five of the last seven Kerry football championship, and on days like these, it’s hard to figure how Dr Crokes contrive to lose any game at all.

Mon, 28 Nov, 2016

Hard sells and hard hats at Páirc Uí Chaoimh

They had hard hats and soft figures at the construction site that will become the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh, but the person who will juggle the roster for use of only two pitches may need the hardest hat of all.

Thu, 17 Nov, 2016