Gráinne Delaney gets Laois off to flyer as O'Moore County beat Armagh to clinch premier junior crown
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Irish Times
33 minutes ago
- Irish Times
‘When it comes to supporting club football, Liverpool don't really count as an English team'
You carry them. You birth them. You do your best to raise them well. And then one of them grows up and buys a Carlow GAA jersey. For a moment, I had a small insight into what life must have been like for my lifelong Leeds United supporting dad. He had such high hopes for me, the only one of his children to love sport. But alas. READ MORE In my case, it started with Ray Houghton . Well, specifically, his putting the ball in the English net in Stuttgart in 1988. I needed a team to support, so it was always going to be his. I mean, he scored against England, after all. And so another Liverpool fan was born. My life as a football supporting neutral was over. I should prepare you for some of the hypocrisy that will flood parts of this column. I will support whatever team is playing England. Just like the ABDs, (anyone but Dublin supporters) in this country, every time Dublin is playing. I know they exist. They're often in my Twitter mentions and my Instagram private messages. Sometimes, they're even married to Dubs and have seven Dublin-born and reared children. I've never subscribed to this, 'let's put the past behind us and support our nearest neighbours', nonsense when it comes to England. It's a sport. Sporting rivalry should be lifelong. Yes, of course, I love my English family and friends and want the best for them as people. So do I want their national team to lose miserably? Also, yes. I'm an ABE. But when it comes to supporting club football, Liverpool don't really count as an English team, I tell myself. To get around the hypocrisy, like. Plus, we as a family regularly attend League of Ireland matches, so it's grand. Anyway, back to Liverpool. Or off to Liverpool as it was. I wanted to be a sports journalist growing up. Well, really, I wanted to play for Liverpool. But I couldn't, largely on account of being brutal at football, much as I loved to play it. So I devoted myself to consuming everything I could about football instead. Ireland and Liverpool posters adorned my bedroom wall. Liverpool curtains and duvet covers were my decor of choice. And I was suitably distraught when my mam drew the line at me getting an Ireland football shell suit. I was committed fully to the cause. So, on the August bank holiday, as I flew out to see Liverpool at Anfield in their preseason friendly against Athletic Bilbao, I'm not sure who was more excited, me or the mini-mes who had been reared in the spirit of being Liverpool fans, as the good Lord intended. As is common practice, when I'm flying, I contact the eldest from the plane, just before take-off, to tell her I loved her and where she could find the latest version of my will. I'd scribbled it quickly on a piece of printer paper on the way to the airport and shoved it in the car's glove compartment. I also told her where the car was parked, because that was a headache she could do without, if the plane went down. She questioned the potential legality of the whole thing. But anyway. And off we went to Liverpool. The club shop was the first stop where two eager beavers were keen to get their hands on the new jersey. I could sense my credit card flinch as we walked in the door. And I winced when I saw the price tag. Decisions were made about which player's name would go on the back of their jerseys, and I considered which vital organ I might need to sell to support my children's growing football obsessions, going forward. We'd secured seats in the Kop, this particular adult fulfilling a lifelong dream. And we belted out You'll Never Walk Alone with the best of them. Twenty minutes in, the fans and the players stopped to pay tribute to Liverpool's forever number 20, Diogo Jota, who had died in a car crash alongside his brother André Silva the previous month. It was Liverpool's first home game since his death. A flag hung from another stand commemorating the brothers. Liverpool won their matches. And, to top off the whole experience, we even got to celebrate seven goals (in the Kop!) over the course of the two games. On the way home, little boys chatted about potential future careers as professional footballers, and I explained that while MumBappe may never have got to play football for Liverpool herself, I did once interview Jason McAteer for the paper. Which is kind of the same as being a sports journalist, right?
Extra.ie
8 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Watch: Roy Keane gets asked would he 'cuddle' Micah Richards
Roy Keane is back on punditry duty for the new Premier League season and is bringing his usual deadpan humour with him. The ex-Ireland icon never fails to crack fans up when he appears on Sky Sports and it was no different for Sunday's showings of Chelsea vs Crystal Palace and Manchester United vs Arsenal. For someone who is usually so serious, Keane always finds a way to provide a laugh in the punditry box. Roy Keane was up to his usual tricks on Sky Sports Super Sunday. Pic: The Overlap/ YouTube After the final-whistle in Chelsea's 0-0 draw at home to Palace, there was a notable interaction between the away side's captain and manager. Marc Guehi was seen ignoring his boss Oliver Glasner's calls for a conversation on the pitch, which has further flamed rumours that the defender could be leaving the club amid links to Liverpool. Glasner looked a bit fed up with Guehi as he walked away and also seemed to point out the snubbing to Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta as he was clapping the away supporters. Micah Richards is no stranger to winding up his fellow pundit. Pic: Visionhaus Mateta was seen looking back at Guehi and remarking something to Glasner who just shrugged his shoulders. However, Keane was quick to jump to the Palace captain's defence and instead took aim at Glasner – and Premier League managers in general – for coming onto the pitch at the end of a game. Keane said: 'Where has this all happened in the last year or two when manager's come onto the pitch and shake hands with everybody and the opposition players? The Corkman usually cracks a few jokes while on punditry duty. Pic:'When a player's just had a tough match, he's physically exhausted, then the manager's like 'come and have a little chit-chat', knowing that there's talk about him leaving. 'As a player you don't want to get involved in that as well and that manager's come up and you're just like 'what's up with ya? Let's just get down the tunnel, if you want to have a chat we'll do it inside'. 'But this idea of managers all wanting to do something on the pitch, that's come in the last few years. 🗣️ "It's like the new garlic bread" Roy Keane's thoughts on that Oliver Glasner and Marc Guehi interaction at full-time of Chelsea vs Crystal Palace…
Extra.ie
9 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Irish rugby's power couples have a ball at Oasis concert
Oasis have brought hundreds of thousands of fans out in force this weekend for their first Irish show in 16 years. Among the waves of people descending onto Croke Park on Saturday night were a few of Ireland's top rugby stars with their other halves. Tickets to see the Gallagher brothers seemed to be like gold dust but it's no real surprise that these lads were quick to get their hands on some. Rob Kearney with his wife Jess Redden at Oasis. Pic: Instagram Brian O'Driscoll and his wife Amy Huberman were out in force as they intended the concert alongside Rob Kearney and his wife Jess Redden. The four were seated beside each other in Croke Park and O'Driscoll made sure to catch Kearney mid-groove as they enjoyed the historic night. He shared a snap of his former teammate on his Instagram story and captioned it: 'Definitely Maybe was still s****ng his pants when this album came out!' O'Driscoll caught Kearney enjoying himself. Pic: Instagram Kearney's wife also shared a couple of photos of the couple at the gig and made sure to let those going on Sunday know that they were in for a treat. She said: 'What a night. If you're going tonight, have the best time – iconic show!' Elsewhere in the packed-out stadium, Johnny Sexton was reuniting with a former rugby rival. Amy Huberman was all set for the gig. Pic: Instagram The ex-Ireland star attended the concert with England international Owen Farrell and each of their wives, Laura Sexton and Georgie Farrell. The four of them posed for a photo which Georgie shared to her Instagram story and Sexton re-shared to his. Sexton and Farrell would have had heated battles on the rugby pitch for many years but their differences were put to the side on Saturday night for the special concert. Sexton and Farrell reunited at the concert. Pic: Instagram Another former Ireland star also managed to make his way into GAA HQ to see Liam and Noel. Cian Healy shared a snap of him and his wife Laura Smith in yet another section of the stadium. The couple posed for a selfie as Oasis lit up Ireland for the first time since 2009. Cian Healy was elsewhere in the crowd. Pic: Instagram It'll be left to wonder however if any of the Ireland stars had any trouble with their tickets, as some fans reported issues on Saturday night, A number of standing section ticketholders have said they were initially let in to Croke Park but weren't given a wristband, which are commonly used by stadiums to identify who is entitled to access into standing areas. They were reportedly then later stopped from entering the standing area because of not having a wristband. This caused delays for fans trying to get onto the pitch and secure a spot to watch the iconic duo. Rob and Jess seemed to have a great night. Pic: Instagram Video footage from the concert shows a large number of fans still streaming onto the pitch after Oasis had already started performing. There were further issues at the other end of the gig on Saturday night, with planned pyrotechnics for the finale not going off 'due to a technical issue'. However, it won't be much of a concern for the tens of thousands of fans descending upon Croke Park for the second sold-out show as fans ultimately reported an unbelievable experience on night one.
