Tyrone to retire McAnallen’s No. 3

The 24-year-old, who died of a rare heart illness two weeks ago, wore the No. 3 jersey last September when Tyrone beat Armagh in the All-Ireland senior football final.
Meanwhile, Tyrone manager Mickey Harte has confirmed that current All-Star Brian Dooher will be the new captain of the reigning All-Ireland champions. Cormac McAnallen had succeeded Peter Canavan and captained his county in their Dr. McKenna Cup Final win over Donegal last month.

EIRCOM UNCERTAINTY
The Eircom League second summer season will kick off on Thursday, March 18, but there’s still a lot of ambiguity about UEFA’s new licensing system. The FAI said they would be seeking a derogation from UEFA to allow clubs who failed to get “A” licenses to play in Europe, but, according to a UEFA spokesman, only clubs with an “A” license will be allowed to play in European competition in the 2004-05 season.
Shelbourne, Bohemians, Longford Town and Cork City will be the Republic’s European representatives next season, but none of them has got an “A” license. To date, Derry City is the only Eircom League club to get an “A” license and if any of the other four fail to progress from “B” to “A” license by May 31, then Derry City, who just avoided relegation from the Premier Division last season, would be entitled to play in Europe.
Meanwhile, we haven’t heard a peep from the Irish League in Belfast on the licensing issue, and while the financial situation in the North is similar to the South, at least all their clubs have their own grounds.

FAI LINES UP POLES FOR TIE
Brian Kerr will shortly be naming his squad for the friendly against the Czech Republic at Lansdowne Road on March 31. Last week, the FAI confirmed another spring friendly for Kerr so that he can assess more young players. The Republic will meet Poland in Bydsgoszcz on April 28. It will be our 22nd senior international against the Poles, who are second only to Spain as our most frequent opponents. Indeed, we have played in seven different Polish towns and our last trip to Bydsgoszcz in May 1981 ended in a 3-0 defeat. It certainly was not a night to remember for Irish goalkeeper Packie Bonner, who was making his debut on what was his 21st birthday. Hopefully our defense will not be as generous this time around.
Meanwhile, new Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez will also be on duty on April 28 when Serbia and Montenegro visit Windsor Park for the first time. The North were beaten by Norway in his first game in charge last month, but at least they broke their scoring duck. The North’s next game is away to Estonia on March 31.

BRADY BANNED
Kevin Brady, the Galway dual player, has been handed a 48-week ban for playing illegally in England for the Birmingham club Sean McDermott’s last year. Brady, who plays for the Kilconly club in Galway, lined out for the Birmingham club in the British senior championship final in November. He had been named in the Galway football team for their opening game in the National League against Meath last month but was withdrawn at the last minute when news of an objection came through from England.
Obviously players cannot play championship games in two different countries in the same year, but it looks like a severe ban at a time when other players seem to be getting away with vicious off-the-ball incidents. The Galway County Board said they will not be appealing the decision and it is now be up to Brady to appeal to the GAA’s “Mercy Committee,” who usually meet on the eve of Congress, assuming he wants to continue playing GAA games.

BELFAST BOXER SAVAGELY BEATEN
A fight between children thath reportedly began two years ago in Belfast was allegedly the reason for the beating handed out to Belfast boxer Eamonn Magee last week. Magee’s boxing career was ended when he was dragged from his car in Belfast 10 days ago and beaten by four men wielding baseball bats. Magee was badly injured and had his left leg broken and he left knee fractured. The 32-year-old said that he wants to stay involved with boxing and would like to train or maybe manage boxers when he fully recovers from his injuries.
One is entitled to ask, what is the country coming to? In Limerick a vicious feud has been raging for months between two families after another row between school children.

GOALIE KELLY QUITS
Former Irish goalkeeper Alan Kelly Jr. has been forced to retire at the age of 35. Kelly, who retired from international football after the 2002 World Cup, was understudy to Packie Bonner at the 1994 World Cup and to Shay Given in 1992, won 34 caps. He injured his finger in a freak training accident at Blackburn Rovers in October and the injury has failed to respond to treatment.
“I made a save in training.,” Kelly said. “My finger got stuck in the turf and my body went over it. I dislocated it and tore ligaments around the knuckle. I had it pinned and had operations but to no avail. It is sill quite sore and it’s a bizarre feeling to think that I have gone from a situation where I was using it to save shots at 80 miles per hour to one where the merest touch causes pain.”
Kelly’s father, Alan Sr., who was born in Bray, was Ireland’s regular goalkeeper from the late 1950s until 1973.

IRISH HAVE HOPES FOR CHELTENHAM
Next weekend the annual Irish exodus to Cheltenham begins. As usual, thousands of Irish punters will put national pride before form and lay thousands of euro on Irish horses at the popular English National Hunt Festival. This will be the last of three-day Cheltenham event. Beginning next year, the National Hunt Festival will go to four days. This year the racing begins on Tuesday with the day’s featured race being the Champion Hurdle. Irish-trained Moscow Flyer will be bidding to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase for the second year in a row on St. Patrick’s Day. And on Thursday, Best Mate, ridden by Killarney-born jockey Jim Culloty, should win the Gold Cup. Florida Pearl, who has been placed in previous Gold Cups, was found to have a ligament problem, last week and is out of the big race this year.

CATS NEED WIN
After losses to Waterford and Galway, Kilkenny will be expected to record their first National Hurling League win of the current campaign on Sunday when they face Laois at Nowlan Park. It’s early days yet, but maybe the Kilkenny mantle is slipping a little. The big game this weekend will be the top of the Div. 1A clash between Galway and Clare at Pearse Stadium, Salthill.

HEFFO GETS DUB HONOR
Former Dublin GAA player and manager Kevin Heffernan is to be awarded the Freedom of Dublin City. The announcement was made last week by Dublin Lord Mayor Royston Brady. “No other Dubliner has done more to encourage young people to participate in sport and stay on the right path,” said the lord mayor.
Heffo was the only Dubliner to be included in the GAA’s Football Team of the Millennium. After a brilliant playing career he managed Dublin and turned an average squad into a team that along with Kerry dominated Gaelic Football for most of the 1970s. Heffernan, from the St. Vincent’s club, later took charge of the Irish team for the Compromise Rules series against Australia. Normally media shy, Heffernan did, however, give a extensive interview to Tom Humphries of the Irish Times recently. Incidentally, one of the perks of being Freeman of Dublin is that you are allowed to graze your sheep in St. Stephen’s Green.

GAA TO SAY NO
Despite the backing of GAA President Sean Kelly, it’s looking increasingly like the motion to open up Croke Park to other sports will not get the required two-thirds majority at this year’s Congress. Recently the outgoing Munster Council Chairman Christy Cooney voiced his disapproval, as did the incoming Ulster Chairman Michael Greenan.
“We are not in the business of housing the homeless,” was the rather unfortunate phrase used by Michael Greenan after taking over as chairman of the Ulster body.
Three years ago, the motion to open up Croke Park was carried by 176 to 89 votes, just one short of the required two-thirds majority. Twelve months later, the motion was rejected by 197 to 106 votes. Many GAA people are annoyed that the government has reneged on its promise of financial support for developing Croke Park. The GAA are still owed half of the