Eimear Ryan: A GAA winter is a hinge for pause, reflection and considering futures

As we bid farewell to another year, there’s a clutch of players departing the stage, both at intercounty and club level

LIFE BEGINS AT 40: Ross Munnelly of Laois has retired from intercounty duty. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

In the end, last Sunday worked out beautifully. I got to watch the opening half hour (and the first goal) of the soccer match before slinking away upstairs to fire up Ballyhale and Ballygunner on TG4 Player (always more reliable than its RTÉ cousin). Strangely, the tempo of the hurling match felt more urgent than the World Cup final: both teams keenly familiar with each other at this stage, both going at one another hammer and tongs – a stark contrast with France’s cagey approach to defending their title.

It was a match that made you glad to be cozy on a couch watching, but it also stoked the mad desire to immediately run outside for a few pucks (yellow Mikasa gloves mandatory).