THE end of the year always seems an appropriate time to come to conclusions and to make predictions, but as 2024 moves into 2025 uncertainty seems the over-riding feeling.
Cast your mind back to the start of 2024 and the widespread expectation would have been for Limerick to continue their domination of the senior hurling scene and for either Dublin or Kerry to end up on top in Gaelic football.
Instead, we had Armagh emerging as unexpected winners of the Sam Maguire Cup, while Clare won a classic contest against Cork to collect the Liam MacCarthy Cup.
The only big winner in the GAA that we should have been absolutely sure about was Errigal Ciaran in the Ulster Club SFC.
After all, given that Armagh had bridged a 22-year gap to win the All-Ireland, it was obvious then that the Ballygawley men would become provincial kings for the first time since 2002.
Pundits and supporters love to look for such patterns and sometimes they’re as much use as all the other analysis and studies undertaken before big games.
There definitely seemed to be some sense of ‘destiny’ about Errigal’s progress, especially in the way they edged past Clann Eireann in the Ulster semi-final and then Kilcoo in provincial decider. Both those teams had a player sent off, both still had enough opportunities to win the game, but it did appear that Errigal’s name was on the trophy.
Like Errigal in Ulster, Armagh’s All-Ireland was a triumph for perseverance (and also having a lot of very good players).
The Orchardmen truly did seem cursed, losing a second consecutive Ulster SFC Final in a penalty shootout, having exited their previous two All-Ireland championships by the same method.
Yet Kieran McGeeney’s men picked themselves off the floor after suffering another brutal gut-punch in that Ulster final loss to Donegal and proceeded to prove themselves winners, not losers.
Clare’s boss Brian Lohan had shipped almost as much criticism in recent seasons as Armagh’s ‘Geezer’, but he too proved the doubters wrong.
Looking ahead to 2025 in Gaelic Football, there’ll be more guesswork and speculation than ever.
Armagh obviously weren’t far ahead of Galway, or Kerry, or Donegal, and all those All-Ireland semi-finalists in 2024 will set their sights at least as high as that in 2025. So too will Dublin, even after the retirements of all-time greats Brian Fenton and James McCarthy.
Derry and Tyrone, both under new management, will believe they have the players to challenge at the top.
And, who knows, maybe 2025 will be Mayo’s year.
On top of that bunch of contenders, there are also the new rules, aimed at creating more open, attacking games. With no pre-season competitions in which to experiment, the adjustment period to the new look of Gaelic football will continue well into the League, and might have a knock-on effect for Championship performances too.
Hurling doesn’t have that seismic shift of new rules to unsettle the landscape, but there are still a few contenders for the big prize.
Clare are there to be shot at now, and their neighbours Limerick will be determined to regain the crown. Cork are right up there too, Galway always have the talent – and then there’s Kilkenny.
Rather remarkably, it’s getting on for a decade since the Cats added to their record tally of 36 All-Ireland crowns. They have lost four finals since then, including in 2022 and 2023, and have the advantage of starting out in Leinster rather than the Munster minefield.
The openness in Gaelic games could also be reflected in soccer in 2025, even though association football presented a very different situation in 2024 compared to the GAA.
Manchester City completed an unprecedented four-in-a-row in the English Premier League while Real Madrid won their umpteenth Champions League, edging out City on penalties en route.
On the international front, England’s wait for another tournament success went on, extended by Spain defeating them in the Euros final.
In the Irish League, Larne looked like the new dominant force, retaining the title and then making history by becoming the first Northern Irish side to qualify for a group stage – and all the financial benefits that will bring.
Yet the second half of the year has been extraordinary, particularly in England.
Manchester City have already lost twice as many league matches as they did all last season and we’re only halfway through. At one stage they were so bad they even lost to Manchester United – at home.
Larne are currently languishing in the lower half of the table, albeit with plenty of games in hand, as they struggle to cope with the demands of many more matches.
Even Real Madrid are taking their classic ‘rope-a-dope’ approach to the Champions League to a new level, although you still wouldn’t rule them out of contention for the trophy.
Liverpool are being prematurely crowned by many as English champions, but being top at Christmas is actually a bad omen for the Reds. They’ve been there seven times in the Premier League era and only taken the title once, in 2020.
Having said that, the last time their arch-rivals Manchester United were in the bottom half of the table at a year’s end, Liverpool went on to win the League – although that was back in the 1989/90 season.
The look at the top of the table in England is reminiscent of the late Seventies, with Nottingham Forest up there in second spot. There’s another echo from that decade, but the prospect of relegation for the biggest club in Britain, Manchester United, really is too ridiculous to contemplate… isn’t it?
In conclusion, whatever 2025 brings in sport, I wish you well.
