THE LAST POINT: 2025 a year unlike any other

We're at that time of the year where we started looking back over the past year and in the Observer Sports Department, we're now different as we cast our minds back over the highs and lows of the 2025 sporting year, the oddities that captured our attention and take a brief look at what might lie ahead.

As ever, we've asked around for a few different voices to give us their opinions on the year just ending, a different take from the team here in the Observer  and a  sense of what captured the attention in 2025 and we're rolling out those pieces over the next few weeks as we ease into 2026.

To get us started, I've decided to use this week's column to take a look back on a hectic year for all things Leitrim GAA - normally, I'd spread my net wide and far, taking in a fair few sports and I'll return to other topics in a few weeks but, for a change, I've decided to concentrate solely on the happenings in gaelic games in the county. So here goes!

And, by the way, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone out there!

HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR

The Club Final victories of Leitrim Gaels, Allen Gaels and Aughavas in the Men's game and Glencar Manorhamilton and Drumkeerin in the Ladies were memorable for many different reasons and, to be honest, seeing Leitrim Gaels lift the Fenagh Cup was a transcendent moment for anyone who knows Willie Donnellan!

But I'm going left-field here, very left-field and say that Leitrim's long awaited first win of the year in the Tailteann Cup, in the last game of 2025, was just so heart-warming and deserving for a group of players and management that has been put through the ringer, suffering a year of defeats and calamities that would have crushed the spirit of a less stubborn or motivated team. 

Whatever your views on the 2025 season, this group of players answered a call that many didn't and never shirked the challenge and that is what made the moments on the pitch after the game in Mullingar so special.

LOWLIGHT OF THE YEAR

In past years, this was always a tough one to call but not in 2025 with Leitrim failing to field for the sixth round Allianz NFL Division 3 clash against Fermanagh one that caused consternation, hurt, anger and annoyance. I'm not going to re-litigate the rights and wrongs of the decision but I will say that what I said at the time in this very column still stands as my view - I'd have done everything I could to see the game played but I understand and empathise with the decision taken, even if it was troubling.

That's the nub of the situation and for all the talk of drafting in players to sit on the bench, Steven Poacher's team were in a no-win situation - the over-reliance on U20 players hit the Senior team hard with an impending clash against Galway the following Wednesday, those players not available for the Seniors against Fermanagh.

The sulphur that was in the air following the decision hasn't quite wafted away yet but I can almost certainly guarantee you that Leitrim won't find themselves in the same position in the future so if some good comes out of the whole farrago, then maybe it will be for the best!

I've also got to mention Leitrim Ladies - they endured a pretty rough foray into the Senior championship against Galway, Dublin and Waterford. They did better against Mayo and Donegal but when they look back on 2025, losing the Division 4 Semi-Final to Antrim ranks right up there in the list of disappointments in 2025.

Leitrim manager Steven Poacher and selector Ryan Jones have an over-sized impact on Leitrim GAA in 2025 Picture: Willie Donnellan 

PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

I was going to go with the trio of Jones brothers but I'm plumping for the elder Jones, Ryan. He had a lot on his plate as  selector with Steven Poacher's Leitrim Senior team but  Ryan's impact on Leitrim Gaels was so marked and so definitive that I can't imagine the Fenagh Cup ending up in Leitrim Village without Ryan Jones' leadership and excellence.

I know Leitrim Gaels' addition of Jones brothers is a hot topic but in overcoming all the talk, the articles in the national media and all the hype and hullabaloo in the lead-up to the county final to deliver what, for me, was the decisive performance on the day marks him down as my personality of the year in Leitrim gaelic games.

TEAM OF THE YEAR

Quite a few contenders - special mention for Drumkeerin Ladies in winning the club's first ever Intermediate championship - that Friday in Kiltubrid was a special occasion . But  the nod goes to to St Clare's CS Manorhamilton who won the All-Ireland Schools Senior C title with displays borne of skill, heart and sheer pig-headedness at times - the Manor lads, under the inspirational leadership of  Shane Ward, were a joy to watch and the manner in which they held off Ennistymon Community School in the final in  Tuam makes them my clear choice as team of the year. 

HERO OF THE YEAR

This won't be popular in some quarters but taking on a job at short notice with no time to build a squad and an almost unprecedented exodus of starters from his team, I can't not give props to Steven Poacher. Most would have walked away at various times but the Leitrim manager took on a poisoned chalice and built a team, instilled a resilience and camaraderie that will serve Leitrim well into the future.

PERSON THAT MADE ME GO WOW IN 2025

Barry McNulty - an easy choice only because Barry is already the main man for UCD, Leitrim and Glencar Manorhamilton. From the day  in Ennis when Clare scribes marvelled at his display and wondered if he might be persuaded to move to the Banner county through to his frankly astonishing display against Mayo after a long injury lay-off, it was impossible not to go wow almost every time Barry took to the field - an indispensable figure already for Leitrim.

Special mention for Muireann Devaney for another year of herculean feats for club and county and a player that is simply outstanding while Eilish O'Dowd, switching between codes, won a deserved LGFA All-Star for her  heroics with Dublin - the O'Dowd derby when Leitrim faced the Dubs  was one of those days you can't quite believe!  

ONE THING I’D DO TO MAKE GAELIC GAMES BETTER IN 2026

This is a hard one after the success of the new rules in 2025 but there is one glaring bugbear in the mens and ladies game, and even in hurling, and that is the glut of handpassing. I  understand why coaches and players rely so heavily on the skill - it is the safest way to keep possession but it robs us of the contests that make the game.

The St Clare's CS Manorhamilton team get the nod as John Connolly's Team of the Year Picture: Willie Donnellan

Hard to know how to cure the ills of handpassing - in hurling, it has become almost ridiculous in trying to spot clear separation between hand and striking but cleaning up that particular area and reducing the reliance on the handpass in football would go a long, long way to raising the entertainment level for everyone.  

WHAT ARE THE BIG CHALLENGES FACING LEITRIM GAA IN 2026?

Population and finance - both are linked, a bigger population would give the county more resources and we can't escape the fact that there is a link between expenditure and success on the field. Leitrim have a population time-bomb ticking away with quite a few clubs in potential dire straits in the coming years.

ONE TO WATCH IN 2026

Hard to know who to go for here with young players like Dromahair's McLoughlin brothers, Adam McCormack & Liam Gray  from Rinn Gaels, St Mary's Ben Smyth and Mabel Keane all catching the eye during the year but I've got to go with Glencar Manorhamilton's Jack Kelly - I realise he has already made a big impact but he has the 'je ne sais quoi' that makes you sit up and take notice!