Sharlene Mawdsley ‘proud of you every day' as she pays emotional tribute to Tipperary GAA boyfriend Michael Breen
Liam Cahill's men produced a
4
Michael Breen celebrated winning the All-Ireland with girlfriend Sharlene Mawdsley
Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
4
Mawdsley paid tribute to him on Instagram
Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
4
John Delaney, Assistant Treasurer, Tipperary County Board, with Michael Breen and Sharlene Mawdsley
Credit: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
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Irish Olympian, Sharlene Mawdsley, partner of Tipperary's Michael Breen, and Ali Smith, right, celebrate with the Liam MacCarthy cup
Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
After the game, Breen went over to the stands with the Liam MacCarthy trophy to
And on Instagram, the Irish Olympian paid an emotional tribute to the Tipperary corner-back.
Alongside photos of the happy couple after the game, she wrote: "Proud of you every day, but that little bit prouder today"
Fans flooded the comment section to praise the sporting super couple, who were together at the Grand Hotel for the post-match celebrations.
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One fan wrote: "I caaant with you two" while Mawdsley's fellow Olympian Sophie Becker posted: "Awhhh stop"
A third follower commented: "Love this ❤️❤️ UP TIPP , What a match" and a fourth posted: "Ireland's sporting power couple confirmed"
A sixth said: "Awww I was waiting on this photo all day, didn't disappoint xx"
A seventh said: "Ireland's powerhouse couple" and an eighth said: "Two f***in' amazing SuperStars!!!"
Most read in GAA Hurling
The all-star couple have been an
since
shared a pic of themselves at
.
But they have known each other for a whole lot longer judging by a precious
Liam Cahill speaks to RTE after Tipperary GAA win All-Ireland final
The 26-year-old shared a photo collage of the couple, including a throwback photo.
The pic is an eye-catching one, as it showed the 2024 Olympian with brown hair, with the Newport AC export best known as a blonde.
Conveniently, the Ballina man's birthday also fell on Sharlene's grandmother's 90th birthday which yielded a similarly emotional post.
The photograph which signalled that they had gone
But that wasn't the first time she'd been in attendance to cheer on Liam Cahill's side this year.
In the wake of the sprinter's relationship update, her previous matchday experience makes even more sense even leaving aside that she is a Tipperary native herself.
She
Since going official, Mawdsley and Breen have been
on Instagram.
He previously
The Premier hurler has also been a
And when she was
Mawdsley
After the semi-final victory, the corner-back posted a photo on Instagram of them all smiles.
Breen captioned it: "First time in Croke Park is it?" To which the sprinter replied: "And not my last!"
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Irish Daily Mirror
13 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Martin McHugh: All-Ireland final nerves are way worse as a dad than as a player
PART ONE: IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER Once Donegal's 1992 All-Ireland semi-final ended, the players came back home and the fans came back to Earth. Suddenly everyday concerns mixed with an even bigger worry: where would they source a ticket? For Jim and Kathleen McHugh, they had an answer to that second problem but not the first. Read more: Kerry's summer sensation: 'He's the biggest competitor I ever came across' Read more: 'I did see a job for Wexford going…', but 1994 World Cup star isn't ready to end his India adventure just yet With two sons on the Donegal team, they had options: Upper Stand or Lower? Hogan or Cusack? But going to Croke Park left another issue unsolved. Who would milk the cows on their farm? It's unlikely if any of Dublin's players were troubled by this kind of issue but if you are from a rural background, you'd understand the scale of the predicament. Ordinarily, a neighbour would help out. Except this time just about everyone in Kilcar wanted to migrate to Dublin for the day. 'The GAA has been going since 1884,' says Martin McHugh, Donegal's talisman on that All-Ireland winning side. 'And here we were, 108 years later, reaching our first All-Ireland. To say it was a big deal is an understatement. It was huge.' All the more so because no one gave them a chance. 'A funny thing happened on the day of our All-Ireland semi-final,' McHugh says. 'Our performance was so bad that the rumour was the Dublin players left before the final whistle. 'Who knows if that is true or not but it fed into the narrative that they were raging hot favourites and we were just there to make up the numbers.' The reality was different. A decade earlier, Donegal had won an Under 21 All-Ireland with seven graduates who'd help the county win just their third Ulster championship a year later. Then in 1987 another crop came along to collect Donegal's second Under 21 All-Ireland. 'In '92, we'd a good balance between young and old. In hindsight, we actually should have won more than we did,' says McHugh, 'because we were better than we thought. 'When we asked Dublin questions, they didn't have answers.' If there was any doubt in his head about how big a deal winning that first All-Ireland was, all Martin McHugh had to do was look at the expression on his parents' faces. Jim and Kathleen had met in London after emigrating in the 1950s. Work then took them to Leicester until the death of an uncle led to Jim getting the call to come home and take care of the farm. McHugh says: 'You know growing up, it was tough. But it was tough for everyone. Everybody around us had little but we all had enough, that kind of way. 'My parents wouldn't have gone to too many of our matches (for Donegal). They wouldn't have had the time because there was always stuff to get done on the farm. So getting down to Dublin for the final, that was a big deal.' So was winning. He got to see his parents an hour after the final whistle. Not many words were said because that generation didn't verbalise their feelings the way people are more at ease at doing so now. And yet they didn't need to. 'You just know,' McHugh says. 'Their faces, ah jeepers, the pride in them. You could see it meant the world to them. Two boys on the side. Daddy had won a County title with Killybegs years and years ago (in 1952). He loved his football and bringing the cup home to Kilcar was unforgettable. 'I'll never forget old people coming up to us. 'Thank you,' they'd say. 'We never thought we'd live to see this day… a Kilcar man in an All-Ireland.' They were the first McHughs to do so. But not the last. Donegal's Ryan McHugh credits Donegal's revival to Michael Murphy and Jim McGuinness' return. (Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne) PART TWO: … AND OF THE SON Martin McHugh was in the press box of the Hogan Stand. Martin McHugh was also in hell. His son, Mark, was on the Donegal team contesting the 2012 All-Ireland final. And it brought things back. 'As a player, I was grand in terms of the nerves,' he says. 'But as a dad, it was way worse. 'You think about it from a totally different perspective. All you really want is that the game ends without any one player making a costly mistake. 'Looking back, Mark had a very good game that day. 'But I won't pretend it isn't tough. I had to take a couple of valium that day to calm myself.' Watching your son in an All-Ireland stirred many memories. The car journeys to training; the anxiety watching them grow through challenges and setbacks; the day he was born; the day he was brought home; the day you realised he loved the game as much as you did. Then there was the fear. What if the team loses because of an error? What if Mark makes that mistake? But mixed with the fear is the pride in seeing your child representing your county in your sport's biggest day. 'You wouldn't change it for the world,' says Martin. But by 2014 there would be change. Mark may not have started that day but Ryan, his younger brother, did - continuing the McHugh lineage. PART THREE: JIMMY'S WINNING MATCHES Two names are synonymous with Donegal's All-Ireland final history: McHugh and McGuinness. The first has supplied five different members of the one family through the county's four final appearances: Martin, James (1992), Mark (2012), Ryan (2014 and 2025) and Eoin (2025). Yet even their contribution has been trumped by one man, Donegal's manager, Jim McGuinness. 'Jim always had a presence, even when he was younger. When he walked into a room, you could sense that,' says Martin McHugh of a person he has seen grow from young tyro on the 1992 panel to messianic leader. 'He is an unbelievable speaker, the sort of person you would walk through a brick wall for. 'We have so much to be thankful for because after 1992 we all thought we would only win one All-Ireland in our lifetimes. 'When he took over the team in 2011, we were nowhere. Then a year later we won an All-Ireland. He has since taken us to our third and fourth finals. When you analyse it, it is a serious achievement, Donegal making four All-Irelands in history, Jim managing us to three of those. 'When I was growing up, it was Dublin and Kerry who were always appearing in finals. Now our name is in the mix. Jeepers, that makes me proud.' Donegal manager Jim McGuinness after the 2014 final PART FOUR: DONEGAL There is no train service to Donegal. No motorway either. The airport is over an hour away from the southern edge of the county where the McHughs live. Emigration was a trauma in the 1950s, The Troubles an even greater wound twenty years later. 'We were deemed to be part of it,' McHugh reckons. 'The old story was that for every ten American tourists who landed into Dublin Airport, nine went south, and the tenth who went north only went there to visit family. 'So, we never received the same amount of tourist trade as other counties on the western seaboard. As a place, Donegal was not commercialised and we are the better for it in many respects. 'You see, we are very proud of our county. We are a likeable sort; we enjoy the craic and have produced some unbelievable people over the years' Packie Bonner, Seamus Coleman, Shay Given. "Daniel O'Donnell and Paul McGinley - whose father is a Donegalman - are two of our biggest ambassadors. 'Everybody rows in behind everybody here. Like, we don't reach too many All-Ireland finals. So it is great for football in the county that we are back in one. For me, it means an awful lot, not just because I have a son on the side but as a football man, as a Donegal man, it's just magical.' He's a grandfather now. Noah, Mark's son, is old enough to understand the value of haggling for a ticket. 'Grandad, I want to see David Clifford play.' McHugh laughed at that one and then he paused to think. His father, a county medal winner; his father in law, Padin O'Donnell, an understated but outstanding full back. "When I started playing, he (his father in law) couldn't watch the matches because of nerves. He'd go out the back of the main stand for a smoke.' Now the circle of life has turned. He is the anxious one now, watching over his boy, Ryan, hoping he joins Mark, James and himself as an All-Ireland winner. 'If you win it, it's unbelievable and if you lose, you have to be there for them, to get in behind them and support them because the few days after will be tough.' And yet when you remind him that tomorrow another McHugh will be on the starting team for Donegal in an All-Ireland final with his club name, Kilcar, in brackets next to that name in the match programme, you can sense what it means. Just like in 1992, when he saw Jim and Kathleen, there are no words. But his face tells you precisely what this means. Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
Irish Daily Mirror
13 minutes ago
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Lions v Australia Live score updates, kick-off time and more for second test
The British and Irish Lions compete in their second test against Australia this morning with a record nine Irish players set to start for the tourists. Andy Farrell is without Joe McCarthy and Garry Ringrose, who were both in line for starting spots while Bundee Aki comes into the starting team. The Lions cruised to a 27-19 victory last weekend in a scoreline that flattered the Wallabies and there is fear that today could be a blowout. However, the Joe Schmidt element always adds intrigue to these occasions. Today's match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is expected to draw a crowd in the region of 90,000 which would be a new record for a Lions Test match. Follow live updates below. Kick-off is at 11pm on Sky Sports. Australia: Wright; Jorgensen, Suaalii, Ikitau, Potter; Lynagh, Gordon; Slipper, Porecki, Alaalatoa, Frost, Skelton, Valetini, McReight, Wilson (capt). Replacements: Pollard, Bell, Robertson, Williams, Gleeson, Tizzano, McDermott, Donaldson. British and Irish Lions: Keenan; Freeman, Jones, Aki, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, Itoje (capt), Chessum, Beirne, Curry, Conan. Replacements: Kelleher, Genge, Stuart, Ryan, Morgan, Mitchell, Farrell, Kinghorn. Referee: Andrea Piardi (Ita) Assistant Referee 1: Nika Amashukeli (Geo) Assistant Referee 2: Ben O'Keeffe (NZ) TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fra) Foul play review officer (FPRO): Marius Jonker (SA) 09:06 Steffan Thomas Join us for live updates as the British & Irish Lions take on Australia in the second Test. Victory for Andy Farrell's men will result in a first series victory since 2013 but the Wallabies should be stronger than they were last week with the return of Will Skelton and Rob Valetini boosting their pack. Today's Test match will be played in front of a crowd in the region of 90,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground which will be a record for the Lions. Farrell has made three changes to his starting XV with Andrew Porter, Ollie Chessum and Bundee Aki coming in. Wales star Jac Morgan has been named among the replacements.
The 42
33 minutes ago
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'Coming from Munster, it's all you want to do. It's such a proud club'
IT'S A FRESH, bright weekday morning in Melbourne and the city is alive with people bustling to work. As the rush goes on outside, Alex McHenry is sitting in a quiet hotel lobby, taking a moment to pause and reflect. The former Munster centre will be in the office soon himself, but he's good enough to explain how he has come to live here. At the age of 27, McHenry is an ex-professional rugby player, but there wasn't any dramatic retirement. He came to Australia 12 months ago for an adventure and he's had no reason to go home yet. The Cork man reckons he'll stay for another few years. He's still playing rugby in Melbourne with the superbly-named Power House in the Dewar Shield, the highest level of the club game in this neck of the woods. It was rugby that partly brought him to Australia in the first place, McHenry making a big impact as he helped Easts to win the Shute Shield in Sydney last year. McHenry finished up with Pro D2 side Dax at the end of the 2023/24 season and had spoken to a few other French clubs before he caught wind of Easts needing a centre. His older brother, Jack, was already living in Bondi and McHenry knew a few others in Sydney. Two weeks after chatting to Easts for the first time, they were flying him Down Under. It was only supposed to be for two or three months, but McHenry left knowing that it might be longer. 'It's funny because I was packing my bags to go, and my mum said, 'Why are you packing so much?' and I was like, 'If I really enjoy this, I'm staying.' And he loved it. McHenry moved in with former Munster scrum-half Jack Stafford, who was already playing for Manly in the Shute Shield, and Wexford man Barry O'Connor, who played for the AFL's Sydney Swans. Alex McHenry playing for Easts in Sydney. Easts Rugby Easts Rugby McHenry made a big impact on the pitch, helping Easts to end their 55-year drought by winning the Shute Shield. The Irish centre played with the likes of Charlie Gamble, who impressed against the Lions twice recently, and Waratahs wing Darby Lancaster. And away from rugby, he got stuck in too. McHenry's cousin moved to Sydney 15 years ago and runs a construction company, so he got a job there for six months. 'It was the most humbling thing ever, concreting motorways,' says McHenry. 'I walked onto the site one day and the lads were like, 'You're not cut out for this, your hands are too soft to be here,' but that was a bit of craic and got you by in the off-season.' Just three weeks after he arrived in Sydney, McHenry got a contract offer from third-tier French club Rouen. He had enjoyed his time with Dax and weighed up Roeun's offer, but decided to stay in Sydney. 'I was like, 'Do I keep on chasing this?' I just kind of came to the stage in my career where, yes, you could go back, but you're probably taking a contract that's not worth that much money and it's like, how long are you prolonging the inevitable? 'It was a difficult decision and you probably had sleepless nights over it and still do, but I'm happy with the decision I made.' Advertisement One of the other reasons Australia was so attractive was that McHenry's partner, Louise, was already there. McHenry won the Shute Shield with Easts. Easts Rugby Easts Rugby She was down in Melbourne working as a chemical engineer and so, when the Shute Shield season ended with Easts, McHenry made the move south. They've been together for years, but this is their first time living together. Having seen him move from Munster to Wasps on loan, then onto Jersey Reds and Dax, Louise had decided to do her own thing and head Down Under. Happily, Alex joined her. He now works with tech software company Workvivo, which was founded in Cork in 2017, acquired by Zoom in 2023, has an office in Sydney, but allows McHenry to work remotely from Melbourne. Having earned an economics degree from UCC at the encouragement of his mother, it feels like a better fit than the construction site. Melbourne is also a brilliant city for anyone into their sport. Rugby union in Melbourne isn't as strong as in Sydney and other Australian cities, especially since the demise of the Rebels, but McHenry is enjoying playing with Power House, who have a huge number of Irish players including former Ireland U18 international Cian McGovern. 'It's funny, our changing rooms are in the Grand Prix pit lanes [at Albert Park], so you come out the door and you see where the cars pull in for their pit stops,' says McHenry. 'Power House is a great club. There's a massive Irish connection there. There's a real family element to the club. It's a step down [from Shute Shield] and has that social element, which is good. 'You probably do miss the higher level, but in terms of club, it's been brilliant.' McHenry in action for Power House in Melbourne. Power House Power House It's a world away from Munster. McHenry came through Christian Brothers College and Cork Constitution, played for the Ireland U20s in 2017 and earned a place in the Munster academy. He was highly rated and though he earned three senior caps, it just never quite happened for McHenry under Johann van Graan. There were times when it looked like McHenry might kick on but with Damian de Allende and Chris Farrell having the centre spots locked down, it was tough. McHenry's only hint of regret is that he didn't have a bit more of a vicious edge in training, but it was a frustrating time as he watched close friends like Shane Daly, Gavin Coombes, and Calvin Nash kicking on. 'I was annoyed because I wasn't playing. You feel like you can offer something and that didn't happen but you make your peace with those sorts of things. 'I had some brilliant years in Munster as well. I'd say I could be one of the most capped A players ever! But you grow up with a group of lads and I'm delighted to see lots of my academy group have pushed on to be internationals now.' His debut for Munster away to Benetton in 2019 when he was still in the academy was the big highlight of that time. McHenry was over in the US with Munster A for the one-off Cara Cup competition when he was called home early to go onto the bench for the trip to Treviso. It should have been purely exciting, but McHenry ended up dealing with lots of stress. 'Because of all the travel, my hips got really tight and they locked up,' he says with a smile. McHenry with Damian de Allende. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO 'I was crocked before the match but they're like, 'Whatever you do now, don't pull out because you're going to get on the pitch, you'll get your debut.' 'I got 90 seconds off the bench, but it was massive, playing with those lads that you grew up with. Coming from Munster, it's all you want to do. It's such a proud club and it's boyhood dream kind of stuff.' His parents, John and Sylvia, were watching back in Cork with Daly's parents. Daly scored his first Munster try as McHenry got his debut. McHenry's parents still have a champagne cork from that night. They're currently over in Melbourne to visit him and Louise, as well as take in the second Lions Test today. 'They give so much,' says McHenry of his parents. 'They came to Jersey a couple of times and they came to Dax last year with my aunt and uncle. They kept being like, 'What's the next trip?'' Now, they're all enjoying Australia. Jack has settled in Sydney, where he plays 'subbies' rugby, and youngest brother Harry has just finished university in Cork. The McHenrys lived in Kildare until Alex was 11 because John, a professional golfer, worked at the K Club but they 'thankfully saw some wisdom' and moved back to Cork, where rugby took over. Playing for Munster was a dream come true, then McHenry played for Wasps on loan in 2021 before joining Jersey when he left his native province in 2022. Sadly, both English clubs ended up going bust. McHenry with his good friend Shane Daly. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO Playing with Dax in the Pro D2 was another fantastic experience for McHenry, who couldn't get over the sight of the club's players smoking cigarettes outside the gym, with the S&C coach sometimes joining them. The rugby was ferocious and fun. Now, he's loving life in Australia. He's had a couple of clubs in Sydney getting in touch and a return to the Shute Shield is possibly on the cards next year. Getting back to that semi-professional level would be welcome. Yet McHenry is slowly starting to feel at ease looking back on his days as a pro rugby player. 'You do have those nights when you relay conversations and think how things could have gone. But that's almost a toxic way to be thinking. I've gotten better over the last few months, I'm really happy with life. 'I've a good job. I want to start saving money to buy a house, or build a family, or to set myself up financially moving forward. Rugby probably wasn't going to do that for me. Not that it's all about finances, but that is important. 'You do your bit, you give your best, but then it comes to this age where you know plenty of lads who do kind of f*ck about and then they're 33 or 34 and going into an entry-level salary. 'It was the right time for me.'
