Eilis O'Hanlon: Camogie skorts row was not a battle of the sexes – and victory won't help fill stadiums
Today at 21:30
As surprises go, the decision by the Camogie Association to back down and allow players to wear shorts if they want is right up there with such old reliables as French air traffic controllers going on strike in summer or Michael Lowry topping the poll in Tipperary North.
Ever since it was announced that a Special Congress would be held at Croke Park to bring this fractious dispute to an end, the outcome was always likely to be as one-sided as last Sunday's Munster senior hurling final between Limerick and Cork.
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Irish Daily Mirror
38 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Gerrard's huge net worth and daughter's relationship with Kinahan mobster's son
The most coveted trophy in European club football was on the line over the weekend as Paris Saint-Germain defeated Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Munich. PSG ran out 5-0 winners in Saturday's decider to become only the second French side to win the trophy after Marseille in 1993. A global audience of millions tuned in to witness the highly anticipated showdown, with TNT Sports providing the UK broadcast. Laura Woods led the coverage, supported by an impressive panel of pundits including Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, Karen Carney and Owen Hargreaves. Gerrard, naturally, is no stranger to Champions League glory, having hoisted the trophy as Liverpool's captain following their extraordinary comeback victory over AC Milan in the 2005 Istanbul final, reports Wales Online. An Anfield icon, the former midfielder retired in 2016, drawing the curtain on a career that saw him clinch numerous individual accolades, two FA Cups, three League Cups, a UEFA Cup and a UEFA Super Cup. Since hanging up his boots, Gerrard has transitioned into management, helming Rangers, Aston Villa and Saudi Arabian team Al-Ettifaq. However, he parted ways with the Saudi Pro League side in January. Here's a glimpse into the life of the Liverpool legend away from the pitch: Following a profitable playing career, Gerrard boasts an impressive estimated net worth of around £75 million, as per 888Sports. It's believed that he raked in approximately £22.5 million over his career, which spanned 17 years at Liverpool before he hung up his boots at MLS side LA Galaxy. The 45 year old has also pocketed a tidy sum in management, reportedly earning a whopping £15.2 million-a-year salary while managing Al-Ettifaq. This salary placed Gerrard as the fourth-highest paid manager globally at the time, with only Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone out-earning him. His substantial net worth has been further bolstered by various sponsorship deals throughout his career, endorsing brands such as Adidas, Jaguar and Lucozade. This month, Gerrard marks 18 years of wedded bliss with his wife Alex Curran, having said their vows in a lavish Buckinghamshire ceremony in June 2007. Interestingly, the pair - who began dating in 2002 - tied the knot on the same day as his England teammates Gary Neville and Michael Carrick. Formerly a nail technician, Curran later transitioned into modelling and worked as a fashion columnist for the Daily Mirror and OK! Magazine. Together, the couple have four children - Lilly-Ella, Lexie, Lourdes and Lio. During Gerrard's stint with Al-Ettifaq, Curran and the kids opted for the glitz of Bahrain over Saudi Arabia, living it up in a swanky villa. While helming Rangers, the ex-Liverpool star confessed his missus would have him chuck in football management "tomorrow" to ease the strain on their home life. He poured his heart out on the High Performance Podcast: "There are times when it dominates your life and you can't control that. That's what it is. "But there will be a stage in my life where I have to give it up, for the sake of my family and for myself. To cut it, and live life with a bit of peace. There's got to be a stage of your life where you have calm and peace, but at the moment I don't feel ready for it. "I do still feel full of energy. I do think I can help players. I do see opportunities to have more highs, and buzzes, and adrenaline rushes. "For Alex and the kids, at some stage, I'm going to have to give me self to them, 100%. When that will be, who knows? Alex would take it tomorrow. She'd take it tomorrow." Gerrard went on to add: "Alex is the one who brings me down, when I've come in, and think I'm fantastic. If I've scored a goal, or we've won a game, she pipes me down. "And when you're on the floor, and you're staring at the wall, she's the one who helps pick you up." In January, Gerrard's eldest daughter Lilly-Ella revealed that she is expecting her first child with boyfriend Lee Byrne. The 20-year-old took to her social media with a snap of her positive pregnancy test, captioning the image: "Our little secret. "The best news," she continued. "Mini us is on the way." Her partner Lee is the son of notorious Dublin criminal Liam Byrne, who was sentenced to five years in prison for weapons charges in October 2024. Meanwhile, Lee's grandfather, James 'Jaws' Byrne, who died last year at the age of 77, was a career criminal. Nevertheless, according to LBC, Gerrard doesn't treat Lee any differently than he would anyone else and expressed his excitement at the prospect of becoming a grandad at just 45. Reacting to Lilly-Ella's big reveal, he said: "We can't wait, great news and congratulations - we love you."
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Undercooked? Understrength? What shape will Kerry be in come knockout fare?
All-Ireland SFC Group 2: Kerry 1-28 (1-7-14) Cork 0-20 (0-3-14) The concern for Kerry is no longer the extent to which they'll be undercooked and insufficiently scrutinised when pitching up at Croke Park for an All-Ireland quarter-final. The concern now for Kerry is who'll be available when they pitch up at Croke Park. Diarmuid O'Connor's return lasted one game. A groin issue that flared up during the win over Roscommon sidelined him on Saturday and will keep him sidelined for the Meath fixture. Beyond that, who knows. What is known is how shy of championship minutes the midfielder will be whenever his second return materialises. Paudie Clifford's return lasted 31 minutes. After kicking possession into Paul Geaney on the half-hour, Clifford turned to the sideline and raised his hand. He was whipped a minute later. A hamstring problem, we were informed after. Having sat out the Roscommon win because of injury, you'd have to question why he was risked here if not fully right coming back in. Paul Geaney (shoulder) wasn't long out to the line after him, Barry Dan O'Sullivan (knee) already there since the 21st minute after departing very gingerly. Mark O'Shea replaced O'Sullivan and deputised impressively. He won an early second-half Kerry kickout that ended in a Killian Spillane point. He won a Cork kickout that ended with David Clifford converting from outside the arc. He forced Ian Maguire to overcarry for a free Seán O'Shea converted from outside the arc. The problem for Kerry is that they are now threadbare on midfield options and heading in that direction where the half-forward line is concerned. Say that injuries mean Joe O'Connor and Mark O'Shea are the midfield pairing for the Meath game. Read More As it happened: Kerry blow Cork away with impressive second half display Seán O'Brien is then the last remaining bench option behind them and he hasn't seen action since being introduced late in the second half of the Munster semi-final six weeks ago. One wonders if at any point between now and the end of this championship Jack O'Connor will have the opportunity to put out a half-forward line of Joe O'Connor, Paudie Clifford, and Seán O'Shea. Of course, the manager is choosing to view the injury situation as glass half full. 'Mark O'Shea came on and gave us a great platform in the middle, caught some great ball. You lose one man, another man comes in and grows. That's great for the morale of the panel,' said Jack. 'Killian [Spillane] came on at half-time, kicked two great scores. Tony [Brosnan] came on and kicked a great two-pointer. Dylan [Geaney] showed his class when he came on. We needed all them lads.' David Clifford of Kerry celebrates after scoring his side's first goal. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile The first half was a gut check in places for the visitors. Of course, it would have been far more of a gut check if they hadn't been gifted the buffer of an early goal. The irony that after a week in which Micheál Aodh Martin's long kickouts to an overloaded left flank were heavily criticised, it was a short restart to Brian O'Driscoll, intercepted and finished by David Clifford, that undid Martin and Cork. A Clifford point, from another lost Cork restart, assisted in pushing them 1-4 to 0-2 clear on 12 minutes. Playing into a near gale, that was a significant cushion to have constructed. As the half wore on, the Cork restart stabilised. Its Kerry counterpart, meanwhile, wobbled. Five consecutive Shane Ryan restarts were lost. They were not punished, though. Mark Cronin and Mattie Taylor drilled goal chances straight at Ryan. Taylor was later foiled by a Jason Foley hand as he went to pull the trigger. Colm O'Callaghan swung Cork back in front approaching the hooter. Brian Hurley, after the hooter, landed a crowd lifting two-pointer. 0-13 to 1-7 at the break. A three-point lead, such were the elements, was never going to be sufficient. And so that point of view was quickly proven right. The third quarter began with yellow cards to Jack O'Connor, David Clifford, and Brian Hurley, and black to Joe O'Connor and Paul Walsh. The latter four cards were for an unseemly episode that broke out on the way back to the dressing-rooms at half-time. Kerry were back out long before Cork, learned of Joe's black and so had more time to redraw their shape. The third quarter was then taken over by referee Derek O'Mahoney and orange flags. Kerry had kicked seven two-pointers in their six games before Saturday. They kicked seven here in the second half alone. Five of them came in a third quarter that saw an 11-point swing. O'Shea and Clifford swung over frees from outside the arc for Cork breaches of the three-up rule, the kickout mark, and dissent following the awarding of a Kerry free. The latter two, the same as the Cork free brought forward 50 metres following a Seán Walsh kickout mark, were questionable and completely lacking in common sense. Their resources further thinned and a third consecutive double-digit victory recorded, Kerry remain in pole position for direct progress to the last eight. Cork, winless since April 5 and winless in five of their last six championship outings, have 70 minutes against Roscommon to rescue their summer. Scorers for Kerry: D Clifford (1-8, tp, tp free, 0-2 frees); S O'Shea (0-9, 3 tp frees, 0-3 frees); T O'Sullivan (tp), P Geaney, T Brosnan (tp), K Spillane (0-2 each); G O'Sullivan, P Clifford, D Geaney (0-1 each). Scorers for Cork: B Hurley (0-7, tp, tp free, 0-2 frees); M Cronin (0-5, 0-4 frees); P Walsh (0-3, tp); C Óg Jones (0-1 free), C O'Callaghan (0-2 each); R Deane (0-1). KERRY: S Ryan; T O'Sullivan, J Foley, D Casey; B Ó Beaglaoich, M Breen, G White; J O'Connor, BD O'Sullivan; G O'Sullivan, P Clifford, S O'Shea; D Clifford, P Geaney, M Burns. Subs: M O'Shea for BD O'Sullivan (21 mins, inj); D Geaney for P Clifford (31, inj); K Spillane for P Geaney (HT, inj); T Brosnan for Burns (59); T Morley for Ó Beaglaoich (66). CORK: MA Martin; S Brady, S Meehan, D O'Mahony; B O'Driscoll, M Shanley, M Taylor; I Maguire, C O'Callaghan; S Walsh, P Walsh, S McDonnell; C Óg Jones, B Hurley, M Cronin. Subs: S Powter for Meehan (43); R Deane for McDonnell (50); C O'Mahony for B Hurley (60); L Fahy for Taylor (65); E McSweeney for P Walsh (66). Referee: D O'Mahoney (Tipperary).
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
More than half of funded staff posts in endometriosis clinics unfilled, new figures show
More than half of the staff posts funded in clinics for endometriosis , a debilitating gynaecological condition , are currently unfilled, new figures show. Endometriosis is a chronic disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It affects about 10 per cent of women and girls of reproductive age globally. There is currently no cure for endometriosis and treatment is usually aimed at controlling symptoms, which include severe, life-affecting pain during periods, sexual intercourse, bowel movements and/or urination. It can also cause chronic pelvic pain, abdominal bloating, nausea, fatigue, and sometimes depression, anxiety, and infertility. The Government has established two supra-regional endometriosis centres at Tallaght University Hospital and Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH), supported by regional endometriosis hubs in each of the six maternity networks. READ MORE According to staffing data obtained by Labour's health spokeswoman Marie Sherlock in response to a parliamentary question, of the 50.2 whole-time equivalents funded for these clinics, 24.6 of these roles are filled. Tallaght has the highest staffing numbers, with 11.6 funded posts, of which 9.6 are filled. In CUMH, there are 12.6 funded posts, of which three are currently filled. The National Maternity Hospital in Dublin has five funded posts, none of which are filled. Three of the five posts in both the Rotunda Hospital and University Hospital Galway are filled. The Coombe has staff in four of the six posts, while University Maternity Hospital Limerick has two of the five posts filled. Ms Sherlock said it takes women 'an average of seven years to receive a diagnosis' of endometriosis, describing the situations as 'utterly unacceptable'. 'In the meantime, women are left to suffer with debilitating pain, chronic fatigue, damage to internal organs, and fertility issues. The cost of this delay is enormous,' Ms Sherlock said. She said the revelation that only half of the hubs are properly staffed raises serious questions about the Government's commitment. 'How can these services be expected to deliver for women if they are not even adequately resourced?' she asked. A Health Service Executive (HSE) spokeswoman said funded posts include a range of consultants across various specialities, women's health physiotherapists, dietitians, psychologists, specialist nursing staff and healthcare assistants. 'Recruitment of the posts funded across services is ongoing to further develop endometriosis specialist services,' the spokeswoman said. 'It is not possible for the HSE to provide a definitive date as to when all posts will be filled given the nature of recruitment processes including availability of required skilled personnel in the employment market, [the] suite of employment checks that must be undertaken pre appointment, including Garda clearance, professional and academic qualification verification and reference checks, and leave notification of successful candidates to existing employers.' In March 2023, the department announced the development of the National Endometriosis Framework. The HSE said publication of the framework is pending further engagement with the Irish Medical Organisation on the role played by GPs in implementing the model of care.
