'This is tremendous news for us because Eamonn has been the mainstay of our side for quite a while now. Without him, we would have been but a pale shadow of ourselves.' Sligo PRO Padraic Duffy explains how important Eamon O'Hara's return to fitness is to the Yeats County's hopes of beating Cork this Saturday.
'He (Babs Keating) came back two years ago at a veteran stage to manage Tipperary and created a buzz. It didn’t work out for him. John Leahy and Tom Barry (team selectors) have done their bit. I don’t know what the future is there but that’s all to be discussed.' Tipperary County Board Chairman John Costigan reveals that the futue of manager Babs Keating will be discussed at an executive meeting of the County Board later this month.
'In fairness, they’re two different eras really. There was a lot of talk about the ’96 semi-final and how it turned out but I don’t think it’ll have any bearing this time. It’s two different panels now. I mean I’ve never even played against Meath in my time with Tyrone so it’s a clean slate really for us.' Tyrone's Conor Gormley, who was 16 when the sides met in the controversial All-Ireland semi-final of 1996, believes revenge will not be on the cards in Saturday's clash between Tyrone and Meath.
'We were trying to get over the exertions of Sunday’s win over Galway and now we have to get reorganised quickly for Saturday. It’s tough because these lads are only 18, we were planning for a two-week break but now it’s only six days.' Cork minor hurling manager Don Cronin expresses his disappointment of his side's switch of venue from Croke Park to Portlaoise for their All-Ireland semi-final clash with Dublin this Saturday evening.
'I was brought up there by a fierce nice lad who was only working on instructions. But they wouldn’t let me walk inside the perimeter because I was told that might incite the crowd. But I broke no rule and if common sense doesn’t prevail here, we can forget about it.' Limerick hurling manager Richie Bennis insists he broke no rules despite relocating from his position high in the stand to the substitutes' bench on Sunday, even though he was banned from the sideline.
'I believe, and I have it on good record, that Sligo wanted to get us. So if they wanted to get us in the draw, it means that they are fully confident of beating us. I would think after our display against Louth that they think we are vulnerable and I can’t blame them for that. They work very hard and if you dwell on the ball, they will be onto you like flies around a pot of jam. They really swallowed up Galway that day.' Cork football manager Billy Morgan turns the tables on Sligo ahead of their quarter-final meeting on Saturday.
