Who’s next? Graeme McDowell has followed Rory McIlroy in making himself unavailable for selection for Ireland’s team for the Olympic Games on Rio. Like McIlroy, McDowell has cited fears over the Zika virus as his reasoning for opting out. “I woke yesterday morning to the news that Rory McIlroy had withdrawn from the Irish Olympic […]

11 years ago

Brave man

11 years ago

Legend

11 years ago

Robbie Brady. If you had to pick a player who summed up everything that’s good about Irish football you would pick Robbie Brady. Skill, courage, passing, technique, heart. He has them all. And now is name is there alongside Houghton, Whelan, McGrath and Keane as a legend of Irish football. Brady’s 85th minute header secured […]

11 years ago

The greatest thing you’ll ever hear. That’s not even that big an overstatement. Four minutes into stoppage time Iceland secured their first ever victory in a major tournament and set up a last-16 clash against England next Monday. That’s Iceland, a country with a popular of 323,000 people, in the last-16 of the European Championships. […]

11 years ago

Clearing things up

11 years ago

It’s here. There’s nowhere left to turn now. The next couple of hours will decide Ireland’s Euro 2016 fate. It’s a black and white situation. Win and we’ll go through. Lose or draw and we go out. Martin O’Neill has made four changes to the Ireland team that lost so badly against Belgium as he […]

11 years ago

The only person hoping for a draw

11 years ago

It’s harder to work out how this tournament works than it is to get knocked out of it. The expansion of Euro 2016 to 24 teams from 16 has taken a simple tournament formula and turned into a minefield. For example here is the explanation from Wikipedia of how it is decided who the four-best third-placed […]

11 years ago

It’s crunch time. To have any chance of progressing to the last-16 Ireland must do something they have done only three times in history – win a game at a major tournament. Can Italy in Lille take its place in Irish football folklore alongside England in Stuttgart, Italy in Giants Stadium and Saudi Arabia in Yokohama? […]

11 years ago

He’s on fire, you know

11 years ago

The big man is certainly banging on the door. Shane Lowry was a 100/1 shot to win the US Open but went into the final round on Sunday evening with a four-shot lead. Unfortunately he couldn’t quite do the business and Dustin Johnson instead claimed his first major in dramatic circumstances. Rory McIlroy leads criticism […]

11 years ago

Bit harsh

11 years ago

Tres rapide

11 years ago

Vital skill for a centre-half

11 years ago

Some tasty clashes

11 years ago

Not too shabby

11 years ago

A farce. Whatever your allegiances lie – and most people reading this are probably firmly in the Shane Lowry camp – you have to give everyone a fair chance. Spare a thought then for Dustin Johnson. Leading the US Open on the final round, having closed the gap on Lowry, Johnson is in hot pursuit […]

11 years ago

Unlike Euro 2012, when Kevin Doyle started two of Ireland’s group games, the striker has been reduced to a spectator’s role for Euro 2016. Doyle didn’t make Martin O’Neill’s final 23-man squad for this summer’s tournament in France and he’s watching Ireland’s attempts to make it out of Group E from his home in Colorado. […]

11 years ago

Allegiances switched

11 years ago

Seven inches of Uefa breaches

11 years ago

Limerick lips would have been licked when John ‘Bubbles’ O’Dwyer saw red in the 14th minute for striking Richie English. But the Shannonsiders couldn’t avail of their numerical advantage for the subsequent hour of action as Tipperary’s 3-12 to 1-16 win, and place in the Munster final against Waterford, was confirmed. Michael Breen scored a brace for Tipp before O’Dwyer was given […]

11 years ago

We believe

11 years ago

Icelandic eyes are smiling

11 years ago

It’s a tough job trying to maintain law and order. We all know the Irish fans have been impeccably behaved over in France. While there has been trouble elsewhere, from Paris to Bordeaux wherever the Irish fans have gathered there has simply been drinking and singing, singing and drinking. And a bit more singing and […]

11 years ago

Who do you want to see come in?

11 years ago

The Return of the (Red) King

11 years ago

It’s my final day at Ascot and a horse I’ve been looking forward to running all week is Jet Setting. Purchased for a cool £12,000, this lady was sold for £1.3 million on Monday evening after a super season where she has won the Irish 1000 Guineas. Crucially, she is proven on the softer ground […]

11 years ago

England fans want him out

11 years ago

Billions on the table

11 years ago

The messer

11 years ago

By Andrew Pierse It’s that time of the year again. Golf’s biggest test is back as the 116th US Open returns to the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. There’s been a lot of talk over the last few weeks about how the course has been set-up as the most difficult in major history and all […]

11 years ago

The third day in and we get off to a blink and you miss it start where the fastest two-year-old thoroughbreds in the world blister up the five furlong straight. Wesley Ward’s Red Lodge, the only filly in the field, who broke the track record back in Belmont in America has to be respected after what […]

11 years ago

Is this XV good enough to make it two out of two?

11 years ago

Ah, Roy. Never a dull moment. With 48 hours to go until Ireland’s second Euro 2016 clash against Belgium thing are heating up nicely. Ireland’s performance in the 1-1 draw with Sweden on Monday, coupled with Belgium’s turgid display in their 2-0 defeat by Italy, has caused optimism to rise among Irish fans ahead of […]

11 years ago

Hurling’s world domination continues

11 years ago

It’s a shame this will only be worn for one season

11 years ago

Beautiful

11 years ago

Hard-fought, but deserved win

11 years ago

No need to collect bottle tops or go door-to-door selling tickets. Your club can win €10,000 and all you have to do is buy fuel. Anyone who spends any amount of time in their local sporting club will know that fundraising takes up a hell of a lot of your days. Talking about fundraising, organising […]

11 years ago

Ryan will miss clash with Georgia

11 years ago

The Beast from the East

11 years ago

Lee McLaughlin had been missing since Tuesday morning

11 years ago

Some difficult calls to make

11 years ago

What other fans would help a couple change a tyre?

11 years ago

OK – you’re all caught up with the Euros, for good reasons and bad, but can I just remind you that over the next five days, horses worth tens of millions, from Japan to the Emerald Isle, will be lining up for my favourite racing festival – Royal Ascot. In a sea of Pimms and pageantry, the Queen […]

11 years ago

It’s like a scene from 28 Days Later

11 years ago

Trendsetter

11 years ago

In his second contribution to our Euro 2016 Blog Network, Alastair Gartenberg, Jupiler Pro League analyst for Football Radar, suggests all Belgium’s attacking menace may be undone if Marc Wilmots cannot provide defensive solidity.  One could argue that two wins and a draw from Belgium’s three pre-tournament friendlies was pretty decent preparation, but in fact the games threw up […]

11 years ago

PSG will be struggling

11 years ago