Friday's GAA In The Papers

Catch up on all the latest news, views and GAA-related rumours in www.gaa.ie's latest daily feature, GAA In the Papers.

The Irish Examiner reports that Cork manager Jimmy Barry-Murphy could face his former St Finbarr’s team-mate John Meyler in his first competitive game in charge of the Rebels.

Mayler’s Kerry face IT Tralee in the Preliminary Round of the Waterford Crystal Cup with the winners due to play Cork in the quarter-finals.

“We played together for around 10 years with the Barrs, football and hurling, and there were a couple of league and championship games with Cork as well, so we certainly aren’t strangers," Meyler said.

"It’s great to see him back with the Cork hurlers. The reports coming out are very positive and it looks like they have some serious training done. Jimmy and Ger Cunningham have been through the mill, they have won All-Irelands, and they know what it’s like to win All-Irelands. They are working extremely hard, which is good for Cork hurling."

Meanwhile, the Connacht club champions, St Brigid’s of Roscommon, have called on the expertise of performance coach Caroline Currid.

Currid worked with the Dublin footballers last year and Tyrone in 2008, and Brigid’s boss Noel O’Brien hopes she can give his side an edge.

You are talking millimetres to get over an All-Ireland final and win a game," said O’Brien in the Irish Examiner. "This year we have brought in a few people. Maybe there is a bit more experience in the physical end of it.

"We have Caroline Currid, who was with the Dublin senior team last year. She has been tweaking things that maybe I wasn’t doing. That has certainly helped, and hopefully will as we go along.”

Galway star Joe Canning has set himself and Galway a target for the year ahead – simply to be playing hurling in August.

In his fifth season with the Tribesmen, Cannning is yet to play in an All-Ireland semi-final.

"You'd dream about those kind of things, playing in an All-Ireland final," he told the Irish Independent. “I am playing senior hurling now for the past four years and I haven't played in an All-Ireland semi-final yet. I haven't played in August yet for Galway. I suppose that's frustrating, but that's life, you have to stay plugging away."

The Irish Times reports that Andy Moran has been included in the Mayo team for tonight’s Connacht FBD League final clash with NUIG.

Moran broke his leg ahead of the International Rules Series last autumn and has been out of action since, but makes his return to the Mayo colours against John Maughan’s students at McHale Park tonight.

Maughan, meanwhile, says there are massive pressures being put on students by inter-county managers at this time of year.

"I've seen huge pressure put on them by inter-county managers. These are young men who don't want to let people down and it's just not fair on them," the former Mayo boss said in the Irish Independent.

"Some county managers are very reasonable and you can talk to them and find a solution.
"But we have had students who have refused to play with us in the FBD this year because they are under such pressure to play for their counties and that's an absolute shame."