Latest news with #BrianODriscoll
BreakingNews.ie
25-07-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
'Golden couple': Profits soar at Brian O'Driscoll and Amy Huberman's companies
Accumulated profits at the main firm owned by Irish rugby legend, Brian O'Driscoll, last year increased to €10.68 million, new accounts show. Abridged accounts filed by O'Driscoll's O.D.M. and Promotions Ltd to the Companies Office show the company recorded post-tax profits of €217,379 in the 12 months to the end of August last. Advertisement The post-tax profits were down 73 per cent on the post-tax profits of €810,463 for 2023. The decrease is partly explained by pay to directors more than doubling from €212,707 to €446,424 due to the firm making pension contributions of €284,225 into the directors' pension pot compared to a zero contribution in 2023. Cash funds at the company last year decreased sharply from €2.14 million to €795,403 and this coincided with the company making additions of €2.47 million to its financial assets rising from €5.9 million to €8.6 million. The rise in value of financial assets takes into account a write-down of €91,486. Advertisement O'Driscoll is one half of one of Ireland's most high profile couples and separate accounts lodged by his wife, Amy Huberman's ASM Entertainment show that accumulated profits increased to €1.43 million in the 12 months to the end of August last. This followed Ms Huberman's entertainment firm recorded post tax profits of €143,075 and this followed post tax profits of €233,628 in 2023. Cash funds at the company plunged from €1.07 million to €502,239 and this coincided with the company adding €700,000 to its financial assets rising from €178,009 to €906,009. Away from her acting and writing career, Ms Huberman - who featured on Amazon Prime Video's Last One Laughing Ireland in the year under review - continues to be a favourite of companies building their brands. Advertisement Ms Huberman's popularity with the Irish public is confirmed with a combined audience of over 926,000 on the Dubliner's X and Instagram accounts and in March of this year the Dublin woman launched her own wine brand, Ah Wines. The profits at O'Driscoll's ODM and Promotions for 2024 show that O'Driscoll - now 46 - continues to retain stellar earning power - 11 years after retiring from the game of professional rugby. The company has investment properties with a book value of €1 million and a note states that the investment properties are rented residences. The firm has consistently recorded strong profits in recent years and the profits of 2024 and 2023 following profits of €641,383 in 2022, €874,120 in 2021 and €899,710 in 2020. Advertisement O'Driscoll - currently in Australia to watch tomorrow's Lions Test match against Australia - works as a pundit for TNT Sports, Off The Ball and is a HSBC Sports Ambassador. The firm employs three and pay to staff at the company, which includes directors, last year increased from €348,754 to €617,800 made up of wages and salaries of €316,522, pension payments of €284,225 and €17,053 in social insurance costs. The firm's financial assets are made up of €6.4 million in listed investments; €679,906 in participating interests and €1.58 million in other investments other than loans. The €679,906 in participating investments relates to a 33.3 per cent investment in White Water LLC, a New York limited liability company. Advertisement O'Driscoll ended his decorated playing career with Ireland and Leinster in 2014 and the ODM & Promotions Ltd's only other director is O'Driscoll's father, Frank. The two signed off on the accounts on July 15th. O'Driscoll, then aged 22, established the ODM firm in 2001 as part of his bid to capitalise on being the most marketable Irish player of the modern rugby era. During an illustrious playing career, O'Driscoll won one Grand Slam with Ireland, three European Heineken Cups with Leinster and was capped 133 times by Ireland scoring 46 tries.
Irish Times
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
‘I thought bowling was part of religion' – spreading the gospel of road bowling
'Bowling is bred in our bones and entwined in our lives,' says former Bishop of Cork and Ross Dr John Buckley (85), as he reflects on the game he has played and followed for more than eight decades. A native of Inchigeelagh in Co Cork , Buckley's devotion to bowling predated his religious vocation, and indeed it was when he and his classmates were supposed to be receiving religious instruction that he learned the game. 'Our teacher, Master O'Leary, used to take us bowling on the road west of the village during the religion class – so much so that I thought bowling was part of religion. Both boys and girls were involved – we used to compete with other schools in mid-Cork and we won several competitions.' Buckley's prowess with the bowl (it rhymes with owl) earned him the sobriquet The Bowling Bishop, and he is an eloquent advocate for the sport, spreading the gospel of bowling. READ MORE Like all great games, bowl playing's success owes much to its simplicity: two competitors throw a 28oz iron ball, or bowl, along a three kilometre or so stretch of public roadway, and whoever covers the distance from start to finish in the fewest shots wins the contest, called a score. It all sounds simple, except it isn't – as former All-Ireland intermediate winner and five-time All-Ireland senior finalist, Geraldine Daly from Caheragh, explains as she watches Brian O'Driscoll from Drimoleague take on Clonakilty's Alex O'Donovan in the Munster Junior B final in west Cork. 'It's a power thing – your whole body needs to be in shape, you need strong arms and legs to push out the bowl. Brian O'Driscoll, he isn't a big man, but it's about generating speed, and he generates it through the speed and power of his run into the delivery and the speed of his arm swing.' As O'Driscoll and ciotóg (left-hander) O'Donovan do battle to whoops and cheers along the Enniskeane- Coppeen road in Castletownkinneigh, they, like all 3,000 members of Bol Chumann na hÉireann , are continuing a tradition that goes back at least 300 years. There is debate as to where and when road bowling began, with Cork-born historian Dr Fintan Lane positing a number of theories in his 2005 book, Long Bullets – A History of Road Bowling in Ireland. Alex O'Donovan competes during the Junior B Munster Road Bowling final at Castletownkinneigh. Photograph: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Crowds line the road in Castletownkinneigh, west Cork, for the Junior B Munster Road Bowling final. Photograph: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Crowds watch the Junior B Munster Road Bowling final. Photograph: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision These include that it was an ancient Celtic game; that it was brought in by Dutch soldiers in the army of William of Orange; or that it came in with an influx of British weavers. Lane opts for the last as the most plausible after finding references to road bowling in Yorkshire and Lancashire. The game was once played in all 32 counties but today is found in the strongholds of Cork and Armagh, with smaller numbers still playing in pockets of Kerry, Limerick, Louth, Mayo, Tyrone, Waterford and Wexford. There is a notable difference between playing styles, with Cork players throwing the bowl with a windmill-type swing known as 'hinching', while Armagh players lob it underarm like a tenpin bowler. The Cork hinching style, which is also used by players elsewhere in Munster and in Connacht, allows the player to loft the ball high into the air to clear ditches and dykes, while the Armagh players with their lower trajectory are known for being able to put a spin on the bowl to round bends in the road. The Cork-Armagh rivalry goes back almost 100 years when, in 1928, Cork bowler Timmy Delaney – celebrated in the famous Cork ballad The Boys of Fairhill – travelled north to the Orchard County where he took on Peter 'The Hammerman' Donnelly and won in a famed score on the Knappagh Road. That Cork-Armagh rivalry became even more intense following the establishment of Bol Chumann na hÉireann in west Cork in 1954. And when the great Armagh bowler Danny McPartland travelled south to take on Cork's finest, Mick Barry from Waterfall, in 1964, they drew a crowd of 15,000 to White's Cross. The 'bowl' or 'bullet', a 7-inch, 28oz iron and steel cannonball. Photograph: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Among them was Buckley, then a year shy of ordination. 'Mick Barry was to bowling what Christy Ring was to hurling,' says Buckley. 'He had massive strong wrists, and you wouldn't see the bowl leaving his hands, it was just a blur, but I remember that day at White's Cross, he was trailing Danny McPartland coming up to Mary Ann's pub. 'It's the Stirrup Bar today but that time it was known as Mary Ann's and the pub had to be cleared of imbibers so that Barry could loft the bar – and he did, landing it inch perfect on the road, and he got a sustained tumultuous round of applause, but McPartland fought back with a great final shot to win.' Over the years, changes in Irish society have influenced changes in bowling, with increasing urbanisation forcing many clubs in Cork city to move further out into the countryside, as long-time follower Willie Murphy from Donoughmore in mid-Cork observes. 'Years ago, you had scores on most of the roads leading out of the city, Clogheen and Dublin Hill on the northside, Pouladuff and Lehenaghmore on the southside – you still have bowling out in Curraheen and at the Blackstone Bridge but with more housing on these roads, city clubs are bowling further out now,' he says. Bol Chumann secretary Séamus Ó Tuama and Ból chairman Willie Murphy at the road bowling competition in Castletownkinneigh. Photograph: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Former champion road bowlers Gretta Cormican and Geraldine Daly watch the Junior B Munster Road Bowling final at Castletownkinneigh, west Cork. Photograph: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision UCC academic and Bol Chumann secretary Séamus Ó Tuama agrees. He says that while many of these arteries in and out of the city are no longer viable because of increasing traffic volumes, growing car ownership means people can travel further to watch scores. 'Back in the day, it you had a score in Curraheen on the western side of the city, nobody from Midleton in east Cork would travel, but today with greater mobility you could have a score in Castletownbere almost at the tip of the Beara Peninsula, and you could have people coming from Youghal,' he says. Ó Tuama points too to bowling's popularity among other types of sportspeople – Armagh's footballer Ethan Rafferty is a fine player, as are Kelly Mallon from Armagh and Juliet Murphy from Cork; Cork hurler Conor Lehane bowled as a young lad, as did Everton centre-half Jake O'Brien , from Youghal. Among the first women to leave her mark on bowling was Gretta Hegarty, now Gretta Cormican, from Lyre near Clonakilty, the winner of one World title, one European title and seven All-Irelands. Gretta explains how she took up the game: 'We formed a club in Lyre in 1974 and my brothers were bowling – they would throw practice shots, and I was only eight or nine at the time and I had no choice but to throw the bowl back to them. I took it on and got a real grá for it. 'There was nothing happening for women at the time but there was a festival in Clonakilty, and they introduced women's bowling out the Cottage Road, and they ran a competition and Agnes Hurley and Bridie Hurley and Nora Hurley and myself competed, and that was the start of it.' Since its inception in 1980, the women's competition, the Queen of the Roads, has continued to grow in popularity. Geraldine Daly says: 'When women's bowling started in 1980s, there were only four of five women all over the county, whereas when I came along there was a good spread across all nine divisions in the county, even if there were only one or two in some divisions, but we had county quarter-finals and semi-finals and finals. [ Road bowlers asked to suspend crowded matches after large meeting Opens in new window ] 'And we get huge crowds too for our games. When I played my Munster Senior Final in Lyre in 2008, there was a huge crowd – definitely it was no different to what it would have been if it was a men's final, so the women's game is hugely popular too.' Castletownkinneigh will later this year host the All-Ireland Championships – much to the delight of local club stalwart, John 'Cookie' O'Callaghan. 'We have a tradition of bowling going back over 100 years – the old score used to be from the village of Enniskeane up to the village of Castletown. We're in a remote enough spot here and may be not widely known, so it's a great honour for us to host an All-Ireland,' he says. Castletownkinneigh is one of around 50 bowling clubs in Cork, stretching from the city to every corner of the county as well as those abroad where the Cork diaspora have established clubs in Dagenham in London as well as in Boston, New York, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, Vermont and West Virginia in the United States. Helping to grow the sport at home and abroad are bowlers and bowling fans Eamonn Bowen from Cork and Armagh native Michelle Smith, whose livestreaming of scores via their Road Bowls in Ireland service has 180,000 followers and had 240 million views since 2022. 'You would be shocked where the views are coming from,' says Bowen, 'not just Ireland but all over England and America and Australia, and they aren't all Irish emigrants – we have other nationalities too. They find it unique, and when they ask about it, I say it's like golf – the least number of shots.' Smith adds: 'Bowling is growing in America – Boston and New York compete with each other, and they travel over here for the Novice All-Ireland while there are huge numbers playing in West Virginia – they have their own merchandise, and they drink moonshine before the score!' Gambling is part of the sport for some, with supporters of each bowler sometimes putting up matching sums that can often run into thousands of euro, to create a stake which goes to the backers of the winner. Buckley sums up what bowling means, particularly for Cork: 'It's sort of a subculture around Cork with its own language and traditions: 'Splitting the sop'; 'Keep off his hand' – it's part of our culture for generations, and long may it continue.'
Telegraph
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Five things that should make Lions fans confident
'It's a weird thing. It shouldn't work. But it does because of the buy-in.' That was Brian O'Driscoll's assessment of the British and Irish Lions in 2017 before he presented those selected for the first Test against New Zealand with their match shirts. Standing on the verge of another series, preparing to take on Australia rather than the All Blacks, the touring team face kinder odds than they did eight years ago. That said, Joe Schmidt is bound to have cooked up cunning plans. Despite five victories from five fixtures and an aggregate scoreline of 42-11 in their favour on Australian soil, the Lions have not had things all their own way. By this stage, though, they have gelled and established attributes on which to hang their hat as a side. Finn Russell: The world's form fly-half? This tour should have quashed any remaining impressions of Finn Russell as an impulsive maverick on the pitch. Serene is probably the best way to describe his tour so far. To borrow cricketing parlance, the Scotland fly-half is seeing it big. Matthieu Jalibert enjoyed a fine 2024-25 campaign with Union Bordeaux-Bègles, while Damian McKenzie, George Ford and Tomás Albornoz have all excelled of late. Russell, however, looks to be completely in tune with his game. His decision-making at the gain-line has been allied with crisp distribution. Take these two clips from the victory over the Reds. Jamison Gibson-Park feeds Bundee Aki at first-receiver and Russell loops around his centres to receive a pull-back from Huw Jones that goes behind Elliot Daly. Russell slows his stride to tempt Tim Ryan and lifts the ball into the path of Duhan van der Merwe as the Reds left wing bites in: Later in the same half, from a similar strike move, Russell has Van der Merwe arriving on his right shoulder again. This time, the pass goes across Van der Merwe to Daly and Tommy Freeman scores: The Lions ran the same pattern in the opposite direction against the Brumbies. Russell works the overlap – which James Lowe would waste – with a rapid take-and-give across the face of Freeman to Blair Kinghorn: Ryan Lonergan, the Brumbies scrum-half, threw something different at the Lions by shooting up to cut off passing lanes. Russell remained entirely unruffled. An expert at deceptive body language, he feigns a looping pass towards the near touchline here before sending Tom Curry into the space vacated by a jumping Corey Toole. That gives Curry time to release the offload: Solid, even stinging defence has been another feature of Russell's displays. Interestingly, tactical kicking has been conspicuous by its rarity. Russell has only put boot to ball 11 times so far and did not do so once against the Reds. The Lions kicked 30 times against the Western Force, but only three of those were struck by Russell. There was a glimpse of how the 32-year-old can tease back-field coverage in Canberra as he dropped to the pocket and pinned back the Brumbies: These days, the ability to control territory in a patient and assured manner is one of Russell's biggest strengths. Expect it to come to the fore once the Tests begin. Jamison Gibson-Park: An ideal foil With Antoine Dupont still recovering from the knee injury he suffered in the Six Nations four months ago, Jamison Gibson-Park has a strong claim to being the best scrum-half in the world. His passing range from the base of rucks and will challenge the Wallabies defence in a different way and give Russell more time. Andy Farrell encourages his scrum-halves to change direction and zip back against the grain on the back of impactful carries. That approach has been prominent for the Lions. Maro Itoje's try against the Reds was a good example… …as was Ollie Chessum's score against the Brumbies: While there has been plenty of width and ambition to the Lions' attack, a short passage against the Brumbies hinted at how they can narrow things up and plough close to the fringes. Gibson-Park is integral, feeding Chessum behind the run of Tadhg Furlong and then launching Joe McCarthy two phases after that: Intuitive support play in broken-field situations is another asset. Simon Easterby will ask the Lions scrum-halves to be leaders in defence and to maintain width in the front line, with Gibson-Park's kicking also critical. And this is where he and Russell can really confound the Wallabies. In this next passage, Gibson-Park calls his forwards around the corner… …before looking to set up another ruck on the openside: This is a reasonably strong indication that a box-kick is on the way. However, Russell calls for a pass and the Lions open up the pitch, with Kinghorn feeding Dan Sheehan on the near touchline: An explosive charge follows and the Lions are away: The partnership between Gibson-Park and Russell has the hallmarks of a classic Lions connection. If it fires, one imagines, it will steer the side towards a series triumph. An 80-minute scrum For an idea of how dominant the Lions scrum has been, both in the Argentina game and on tour, they have won 10 penalties from 37 put-ins according to Stats Perform – a figure that includes re-sets. Five more put-ins have resulted in tries. Despite understandable teething problems with the set-up, which have led to a few penalties, the Lions should be pleased. One suspects that Ellis Genge and Andrew Porter will form a formidable double-act at loosehead prop. Even if a question mark remains at tighthead, Furlong contributed to a destructive scrummaging display effort against the Brumbies. Barring the Reds match, when it got a little scruffy, the Lions have tended to rip through Australian scrums in the final quarter. Clearly, the Wallabies are likely to offer more resistance. But the tourists should have the tight-five depth to squeeze this area as the 80 minutes goes on. Versatile forwards From the initial squad announcement on May 8, it was clear that Farrell wanted adaptable forwards that would allow him to impart width. Every one of the specialist back-rowers on this tour – Jack Conan, Tom Curry, Ben Earl, Jac Morgan, Henry Pollock, Josh van der Flier – has spent time hugging a touchline. Sheehan has licence to do the same, with McCarthy and Chessum given chances to open their stride as well. Even in the absence of a wrecking ball back-rower, which are reasonably rare anyway, the Lions should have punch and passing expertise in the pods of three and four that set themselves in the middle of the pitch. Genge and Porter are important in that regard. Defensive decision-making around the breakdown has also improved since the loss to Argentina, which was characterised by organisational lapses. The element of surprise Having rejigged his back-five combinations liberally, Farrell has made the Lions a moving target for Schmidt and his analysts. There will be scope to mix things up with the make-up of his match-day 23 as well, either deploying two back-rowers on the bench if a hybrid is picked at blindside flanker or opting for a six-two split of forwards among the replacements. And then there is the concept of layering, which can be applied in various areas. For example, the Lions ran a four-man pod off the second phase following goal-line drop-outs against Argentina. From goal-line drop-outs against the Waratahs, they twice set up a four-man pod before the fly-half, Marcus Smith in this instance, darted to the other side of the ruck with Huw Jones: Against the Brumbies, the Lions were stringing together back-to-back phases with four-man pods. There have also been some intriguing – if messy – line-out plays. Lowe rushed up to join this line-out against the Brumbies, dropping the transfer from Itoje: A midfield switch between Aki and Conan is worth keeping in mind. It was run twice, leading to turnovers on both occasions: But it could be the precursor to something more complex; either a multi-phase strike or a complex wrinkle such as the blindside wing blasting through to take the ball on another angle. Andrew Goodman is renowned for devising strike moves. Farrell will undoubtedly have a curveball or two in store.
Irish Times
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Have your say: What's your favourite Lions memory?
As Andy Farrell's side gear up for the Test series against Australia in the coming days, we're casting our minds back to great moments from the past. What are your favourite, or least favourite, memories and stories from Lions tours down the years? Waltzing O'Driscoll in 2001? Jeremy Guscott's drop goal in 1997? Seán O'Brien's try against the All Blacks in 2017? Any others that instantly spring to mind? You can let us know what you think using the form below. Please limit your submissions to 400 words or less. Please include a phone number for verification purposes only. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, please indicate this in your submission – we will keep your name and contact details confidential. We will curate a selection of submissions for an article but please note we may not publish every submission we receive. READ MORE
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Farrell will churn up the Lions playing pool with instant intensity'
"You realise what comes of making a decision like this is all the periphery stuff, not the rugby decision. It becomes a major story for 48 hours and a big debate."That is the process I have gone through, but I would hate to think we made calls based on trying to avoid any criticism or [gain] public popularity."They could easily be the words of British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell, standing by the decision to call up his son they come from 12 years earlier. A man in the same job, in the same city, but in a different era, with a different then it was Warren Gatland defending his dropping of Lions legend Brian O'Driscoll for the series decider against the Wallabies. He installed Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies - the midfield he knew and trusted from his day job with Wales - in O'Driscoll's calls are invariably controversial. The quality and quantity of those ignored is too great for these decisions to be easily accepted by the debate around Owen Farrell's call-up, like O'Driscoll's dropping, is turbo Farrell's harshest critics will claim that, regardless of Owen's on-pitch pedigree, blood ties have played a and Owen are close. Andy was 16 when Owen was born. As a child, Owen would kick a ball about on the sidelines as his father captained Wigan. As a teenager Owen made his first Saracens appearance in a pre-season friendly against Western Force, replacing his father off the Owen's career has grown, Andy's words about his son have become careful and in 2023 he let his guard down after World Rugby attempted to reinstate a red card that would rule Owen out of some of England's Rugby World Cup campaign."When you're talking about somebody's son and asking the question, it's always going to be flawed," said Farrell, qualifying his opinion before describing the disciplinary process against Owen as "a disgusting circus". There will be certainly be enough hot air expressed over Owen's Lions call-up to fill a big top or case against is clear. Owen is short of form, fitness and top-level last game was two months ago, when he was forced out of Racing 92's defeat by Lyon. His last Test rugby was nearly two years as part of England's run to the France 2023 most recent club campaign was interrupted by injury, with a groin problem restricting his game time and place having flirted with relegation, finished 10th in the Top with the likes of Tom Scotland's Jordan and Wales' Blair Murray - both geographically closer, fitter, and less controversial - has Andy disrupted the Lions' Test preparations with the furore that will accompany Owen's call-up?Perhaps because that disruption is exactly what Farrell thinks the tourists allowing for another curveball call, Owen's chances of making the Test 23 are surely Russell seems secure as the Test 10 - Fin Smith is more likely to deputise for the Scot. Both are better suited to the more expansive style that Farrell has so far attempted to inside centre, Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu offer a ball-carrying threat that Farrell, certainly at 33, doesn't. To include Farrell there would mean turning tactics on their head as the bench, Marcus Smith's ability to cover full-back, with Blair Kinghorn and Hugo Keenan undercooked as yet, and fly-half looks more Farrell does offer though is an instant injection of intensity, just as the Wallabies bound into half-time of one match of the Lions' last visit to Australia, Alun Wyn Jones asked the great and the good huddled around him why the 21-year-old rookie in their midst was the one shouting loudest and asking most on the Sexton was on that tour. And was equally October, before being included in Farrell's Lions coaching staff, he gave an interview to the Times newspaper, saying he would still have Farrell as his Test 10 for the 2025 tour."He's one of the best team-mates I've ever had," Sexton said."He's one of the best players I've ever played with. Who do you want in there when the going gets tough? Test-match animals."Every player who has shared a dressing room says the same. Farrell's appetite for the contest is insatiable. His drive to improve standards is constant. It isn't always easy to have him as a team-mate. But winning isn't easy perhaps, Farrell Sr senses things have been over-easy down under."Unacceptable" was his verdict on the loss to Argentina, while slow starts and lost collisions against the Western Force and Queensland Reds suggest a side still short of a ruthless Owen Farrell into the playing pool will certainly churn things insisted in Thursday's news conference that Owen was a contender for a Test spot."If he didn't have a chance then what is the point, everybody should be competing," he in his second breath, he focused on the intangibles that might be his greatest influence on the fate of the series."Along with that, there is the experience he brings, the support that you need for the group and how you make the room feel," Andy ripples on the rest of the 37 players are hard to Russell, who might reasonably have expected to be out of assistant coach Sexton and Farrell's shadow on this tour, feel any creative tension at 10?Will Maro Itoje's leadership be affected by the return of the man who was his long-time captain for both club and country?Will Owen himself, having stepped away from Test rugby after the scrutiny and jeers of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, enjoy the Aussie humour inevitably heading his way?The Lions drama just got a new character - and a whole lot more intriguing.
