Former Dublin defender Johnny Magee reckons it could be time for Mayo to engage in black arts again.

The infamous spies who infiltrated Britain in the 1950s and ‘60s came from the wealthy upper classes and went unchallenged in their roles, writes Neil Robinson.

One of the strongest pillars of the GAA is the overriding ethos of ‘what happens on the field, stays on the field’. 

The furore around an alleged All-Ireland final incident between Philly McMahon and Kieran Donaghy was reopened last night after revealing audio emerged from a RTÉ documentary.

Dublin defender Philly McMahon has so far escaped sanction following claims of eye-gouging Kieran Donaghy in the All-Ireland final.

JIM Gavin quickly shot down comparisons between this current Dublin group and those from the glittering era of the 1970s.

Aidan O’Shea maintains he was head-butted by Philly McMahon in last month’s drawn All-Ireland semi-final.

Burnout has become a huge issue for GAA players and few are as qualified to talk on the issue as Dublin defender and qualified strength and conditioning coach, Philly McMahon.

Groggy from the rigours of what he hailed as “the hardest game I have ever played“, Paul Flynn was nothing like the sober man we met after the 2011 final.

Most All-Ireland winning sides have their hard luck stories, those players who for one reason or another didn’t walk up the Hogan Stand steps in September.

Dermot Carlin is hoping he has finally nailed down a place in the Tyrone team, after almost a decade of trying.

The beau monde mannequins of Brown Thomas have entered the realm of contemporary art as the chain turns its windows into galleries for the next three weeks.

Alice in Funderland is the first new musical at the Abbey in 20 years, says Pádraic Killeen

DECEMBER football doesn’t enjoy the most enviable of reputations but the Dublin and Laois champions made light of the heavy and Baltic conditions yesterday to deliver one of the best games seen in the last 12 months.

IT will be a childhood friendship lost in the heat of battle, temporarily at least, at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday. Sligo Rovers’ central defender Jason McGuinness will be eager not to give Shelbourne’s 26-goal striker Philly Hughes a kick — as he hopes to avoid getting one back.

IT’S hardly surprising, given their preeminence in hurling, that Kilkenny supplied the first father-and-son combination in the GAA All Stars scheme.

Dublin are on the verge of qualifying for an All-Ireland final, something the county hasn’t done in 16 years. Paddy Christie will miss out on that experience but his passion for coaching is helping future generations of Dublin footballers win in all kinds of ways, and not just All-Irelands

Tyrone got back on the winning trail at Pearse Park last night and manager Mickey Harte signalled out two players for special praise afterwards.

IT’S an astonishing statement to make but Kevin Nolan delivers it so nonchalantly that it almost loses its colour.

PHILIP JORDAN’S u-turn on his decision to quit could transform Tyrone’s season, according to his half-back partner Conor Gormley.

LEITRIM free-taker Emlyn Mulligan last night revealed he and his team mates visit the grave of former team mate Philly McGuinness on a regular basis.

GAA bosses last night led tributes to a talented young inter-county footballer who died after suffering a bang to his head during a club match.

THE family of a Leitrim GAA star who died last night has ensured his legacy will live on by donating his organs.

Leitrim senior footballer Philip McGuinness has lost his battle to survive following a head injury sustained in a club match on Saturday evening.

AN inter-county footballer is fighting for his life at a Dublin hospital after suffering an accidental head injury in a club game on Saturday evening.

Two men were being questioned today over the murder of the brother of a high-profile supergrass.

The man shot dead at a Limerick petrol station early this morning was the brother of a high-profile state witness, it has emerged.

THE Train Driver, by Kunak McGann (O’Brien; €7.55), is the story of a small boy who loves trains.

THE twin successes of Dublin clubs St Vincent’s last year and Kilmacud Crokes on Tuesday also produced two father-and-son winners in the AIB Club football championship.

THEY haven’t got a pitch, they haven’t got a club house, dammit they haven’t even got a shed they can call their own, no meeting-place of any description.

In a repeat of last year's Munster SHC decider, Cork and Tipperary will contest next Sunday's Waterford Crystal Cup final after wins in the competition this afternoon.

One was a full-back, the other a goalkeeper. Diarmuid O’Flynn brought Fan Larkin of Kilkenny and Cork’s Martin Coleman together.

YOU can't beat breeding, claimed the great Fan Larkin, after yesterday's thrilling Leinster club senior hurling championship final, in Portlaoise.

IT’S déjà vu all over again, as our American friends like to say, as James Stephens of Kilkenny play UCD, Dublin champions, in a repeat of last year’s final.

IT WON’T matter to Athenry or James Stephens, but after three poor contests in succession, hurling needs a good AIB All-Ireland club final today.

LET nobody be under any illusions. The life of an inter-county manager is tough, even tougher at the top.

STILL only the first week of January, and hurling clubs and counties the length and breadth of Ireland are girding themselves for another tilt at their own particular Holy Grail.

KILKENNY’S great family dynasty, the late Paddy Larkin, son Fan and grandson Philly, won 12 All-Ireland medals between them and the added distinction of winning National League and Railway Cup honours.

KILKENNY manager Brian Cody paid tribute yesterday to retired defender Philip ‘Philly’ Larkin for the contribution he made to hurling in the county over the past decade.

GLOWING tributes were paid yesterday to a woman who died after undergoing six liver transplants in 11 years.