Big three, big four, two groups of 16, three tiers, and the Super 8. The GAA is all about the numbers at the minute, writes Oisín McConville.

It’s time to take the advice of the five men quoted below and double the guards, writes John Fogarty

Fixtures planning expert Paul Kinsella has warned that alleviating the burden on club players will be considerably more difficult than has been portrayed this week.

Dublin 0-21 Meath 0-11: Paddy Cullen tells a story of a thunderous hit that put Colm O’Rourke to the turf in the last of the four-in-a-row games in 1991.

Hurling Development Committee chairman Paudie O’Neill has slammed the “crazy” practice of third-level colleges enlisting high-profile coaches to oversee their Fitzgibbon and Sigerson teams.

Colm Cooper admits he was disappointed with his performance in the All-Ireland final but is unruffled by the hostile criticism he received in the wake of Kerry’s defeat by Dublin.

On A lonely bench at Belgrave Park in Rathmines he sat one night. All night long.

Tunisia has made its first arrests over the massacre of 38 people, including three Irish tourists, Sunday Game host Michael Lyster has spoken for the first time about his near death experience, and Jean-Claude Juncker, has said he feels "betrayed" by the "egotism" showed by Greece in the failed debt talks Here’s this evening’s irishexaminer.com catch-up.

Now that the unthinkable has happened and Meath have lost to Westmeath, is it time to revisit Martin McHugh’s much ridiculed explanation for the decline of Gaelic football in the county?

Martin McHugh’s infamous ‘two-trick pony’ gibe regarding Colm Cooper has been turned back on him by Meath manager Mick O’Dowd who has labelled the Donegal man a ‘one-trick analyst’.

Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin is an avid GAA fan. He is also the Minister of State for Equality among other titles.

This time last year, the champions of the black card were out in force. With good reason, too. Goals and points were being scored at a rate of knots. It was hailed as the answer to Gaelic football’s ills when in truth it was only a plaster.

As one foxy-headed supremo bowed out from the inter-county fray this week, another is about to make his eagerly-awaited return. 

Sylvester Hennessy crunches the numbers from the weekend’s big Allianz League games in Ballyshannon and Killarney.

UCC 0-13 IT Sligo 0-8

Today: UCC v IT Sligo, Mardyke, 2pm:

IT Sligo and QUB officials have slammed the GAA’s Higher Education committee for claiming both third-level institutions fielded ineligible players in the Sigerson Cup.

The Donegal County Board aim to have a replacement for outgoing manager Jim McGuinness by the end of October.

Another season of intercounty Gaelic football action ended on Sunday but, unlike the fare in the final, these end of year awards wont let you down, writes Michael Moynihan

Kerry’s All-Ireland winning campaign, in manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s second season in charge, was an amazing, transformative journey, according to eight-time All-Ireland winner Pat Spillane.

To find out how a club with just 300 playing members will have five players on active duty in Sunday’s All-Ireland finals, go back to 1979.

Mayo, according to Kerry manager Eamon Fitzmaurice, have all the hallmarks of champions.

Bryan Sheehan is expected to be fit for selection for Sunday week’s All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo.

All Star Kerry forward James O’Donoghue has admitted RTÉ pundit Martin McHugh "did me no favours" with his two-trick pony comment about Colm Cooper.

All Star Kerry forward James O’Donoghue has admitted RTÉ pundit Martin McHugh "did me no favours" with his two-trick pony comment about Colm Cooper.

In October 1983, as she sat down to write her 301st column for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Diane Shah had a dream.

Former Armagh star Oisín McConville, pictured, claims the county’s behaviour has reached a ridiculous level after they pulled out of a scheduled press conference yesterday.

Former All-Ireland winning manager Jack O’Connor reckons Martin McHugh should steer clear of Killarney following his description of Colm Cooper as a "two-trick pony".

You could argue that Brendan Devenney is blinded by county loyalty but the former Donegal player is in ‘no doubt’ they will beat Dublin if, or as many believe, when, the sides meet.

Kerry chairman Patrick O’Sullivan has slammed Martin McHugh’s description of Colm Cooper as a "two-trick pony".

Former Donegal All-Star Martin McHugh has branded Kerry legend Colm Cooper a “two-trick pony” and claimed his 24-year-old county teammate James O’Donoghue is a better player.

For 16 years now, Kieran McKeever has carried a mantle that he doesn’t want any more.

Some might say it was a curse. Before David Coldrick there was Kevin Walsh.

The Heaney house on the Fair Hill in Maghera wasn’t exactly a palatial spread, but it did the job.

As Brian Hurley sits and waits in the IT Carlow canteen for a three o’clock lecture, he admits he’ll miss the place when he finishes up later this year.

Longford man Sean Hagan has been announced as the new manager of the Leitrim senior footballers, following a special meeting of the County Committee last night.

The hows and whys of Mayo’s success in a moment – something to do with being able to sort things out as you go along, basically – but first, the headline news from Croke Park yesterday: Joe Brolly failed to detonate.

Donegal football manager Jim McGuinness has denied reports suggesting that he has agreed to stay on for the final season of his four-year managerial term.

Inter-county footballers have given tentative support to a Champions League-style format change to the All-Ireland championship.

Mick O’Dowd insists he is not bothered by claims his Meath team have become uncompetitive at the top level of Gaelic football.

My first memory of Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta is from 1984, when An Rinn was full of talk about Willie Joe Padden.

If Eamonn O’Hara was feeling a little sheepish after only his second ever appearance on The Sunday Game, it would be completely understandable.