Latest news with #Gartland
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
More Mason Melia magic but how will Spurs pathway impact him?
From the way Mason Melia took his goals on Friday night, it's easy to forget that he's still only 17. The St Patrick's Athletic striker took his brace against Waterford with aplomb, with similarly composed right-footed finishes although his efforts did not prove enough for Stephen Kenny's side who conceded a late equaliser at Richmond Park. Melia is now up to six goals for the season in what, incredibly, is already his third campaign within Pat's first-team. But Saints supporters will know they won't have too many more opportunities to watch the talented youngster in action given he will be at Tottenham Hotspur in January after his big-money move was announced earlier this year. While the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international has thrived playing men's football at such a tender age where results are paramount, how a switch to a Premier League giant affects him will be intriguing given that he will almost certainly play Under-23s football initially where it's not as competitive nor as intense as what he's been used to. It was a topic former Ireland Under-17, Drogheda United and Longford Town defender Graham Gartland pondered on this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast as he and ex-Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk midfielder Richie Towell discussed Melia and more matters from the League of Ireland weekend. "It's an interesting one because he'll go probably 23s' and then (Spurs) will look at maybe a loan and trying to up the level he's playing at, seeing how he adapts," said Gartland, who first saw Melia in action when he was around 14 and later coached against him with Shamrock Rovers' youth teams. "I think where he's got better is with his back to goal. But I also think there's massive improvements when I'm watching him and I'm watching him from a centre-back (perspective)," Gartland added, pointing to how Melia can build on his natural ability to eat up yards of space by fashioning those opportunities for himself more regularly in the first place. "I think all them things he'll add to his game as he goes. He's not going to be the finished article. "He's been playing senior football since he was 16, so I think where his development might go is he might go into a 23s environment and it's not as hostile and it's not as win-at-all-costs as it obviously is at the moment where he's playing at Pat's. "But it might just allow him to work and develop his movement and really hone in on the cleverness of it and the consistency of it, of the, 'I need to be here at certain times, I need to make this run and I need to make a run all the time' and no matter how many times you don't get the ball, you still need to do it. "So I think maybe coming out of that environment where it's win-at-all-costs and he has to perform every week to a learning environment where he can develop these other things might help him a little bit. "But he will stand out for the fact that he has been in a competitive environment (before) he goes over there to the 23s." Ireland Under-21 head coach Jim Crawford discussed Melia's development after again naming him in his squad for a pair of June friendlies: The reason Melia will stand out in an Under-23s Premier League environment at Tottenham is due to how comparatively lacking in aggression and ultra-competitiveness aspects of the academy systems can seem to be in the UK, from Gartland's own experience. "I'm not saying one way is right over the other but I think Mason's going from this ultra-competitive environment to going into 23s where it will be about his development. But he has to keep that edge that he has and that's what got him over there in the first place."
News.com.au
25-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Inner Geelong snapped up in ‘good buy' after first inspection
A local buyer who inspected an inner Geelong home for the first time prior to auction, used the post-auction unconditional period to lob an offer with the sweetener of a short settlement to snap up the property. The purchasers paid $750,000 for the four-bedroom character home at 20 Thorne St, East Geelong, after the home had been passed in at auction. Gartland, Geelong agent Greg Matheson said the deal surprised some people, who he said later told him they would have acted at the level on the two-storey house. But they didn't, and the buyer ultimately timed a run to purchase the home to perfection. 'She went through the property for the first time at the auction,' Mr Matheson said. 'Her offer was under auction conditions, so it was an unconditional offer.' While the buyer had inspected the property prior to the auction, she didn't raise a hand when the auction opened. 'She walked up after it and said I'm going to put an offer in – unconditional, 30 days,' he said. 'Come Monday, it was reverting to private sale, which all of a sudden brings in conditional buyers, who are subject to finance or other conditions.' Mr Matheson said he negotiated to raise the final deal to $750,000. The attraction was the location, he said. 'It's a great pocket of East Geelong and a really tightly-held community. 'It's always been a prestigious location but it's probably one of those that's been mistakenly overlooked for far too long. 'It is such a great spot near the CBD, Eastern Gardens. There has been a heavy focus on Geelong West, Newtown, Manifold Heights and Hamlyn Heights – that side of town. 'She feels she's got a really good buy.' The property went to auction with price hopes from $820,000 to $890,000, after tenants had vacated the home. East Geelong's median house price is $765,000, according to the latest PropTrack data. The two-storey character home offered an appealing entry point to one of East Geelong's most tightly held tree-lined streets where new owners could renovate or extend. The four-bedroom house occupies a 357sq m block with dual-street frontage, paving the way for new owners to add garaging off Winter St. A large north-facing porch adorned with leadlight windows introduces the weatherboard home, which has ducted heating, split-system cooling and solar panels. Inside, the entry level features high ceilings and archways that link the cosy front lounge to a formal dining room with a decorative corner fireplace. Upstairs is a light-filled parents' retreat that incorporates a second living space and a spacious main bedroom with a modern ensuite and a walk-in wardrobe.
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Irish singer Orla Gartland 'can't believe' Ivor Novello win
Irish singer Orla Gartland has said she "can't believe" she won an Ivor Novello award following her success at the awards ceremony in London on Thursday night. The Dubliner won the Best Song Musically and Lyrically award for her track Mine, beating the likes of compatriots Fontaines DC and the British acts Raye and Lola Young. Speaking to Oliver Callan on RTÉ Radio 1 this morning after her big win, Gartland said: "I've just woken up and I still can't believe it. "My parents came over for it, I almost didn't want them to come over for it as I felt there was such little chance of winning but I was so glad they were there." When Callan said it was a "lovely thing to win", Gartland agreed wholeheartedly. "It is, it's my first time being at anything like that or having a red carpet experience, but it's a really special one," she said. "The category that I was in is decided by other songwriters, the panel are my peers or people through the generations who are making music, so there's no big corporate aspect to it, it feels like it's actually about the music. I don't know if that's the same for some of the other awards." She also joked that she asked British popstar Charli XCX, who was named Songwriter of the Year at the awards, for a photo but "got rejected". "Not by her, by handlers?", Callan asked in surprise. "She did have some people with her, it was all very chic," Gartland laughed. "I actually really respected it, it was very cool. "There was a red carpet room you got brought into after you win, I wanted to respect her space, so I asked my manager to ask who she was with. She probably would have said yes to her credit." Speaking about the progression of her career, Gartland added: "It's a marathon not a sprint. I've done this job since school and I've never had one big viral overnight rise, it's been really gradual. "I'm very content with that, I'm very grateful because it feels like it's never got bigger than where I'm at. If you do get a moment in the spotlight in this job they rarely come around a second time and I'm glad that all of this is happening at this point and not a few years ago. I feel ready for it." "Playing live shows is a skill in itself, it takes years to become good at that, it's a different set of skills to writing songs. I played The Olympia just over a month ago, which is obviously a dream venue, again I was just happy that that didn't happen sooner. "I felt like the show was at the right level for my name to be on that ticket. I'm very happy with the pace of it all."
News.com.au
13-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Bidders love for bold Geelong renovation rewards sellers
Renovating an old Californian bungalow in a neighbourhood backing on to Geelong's busy rail corridor has paid dividends, even without the luxury of off-street parking. The four-bedroom residence at 128 Verner St, Geelong sparked an auction battle between two bidders that finished $45,000 above the initial price hopes of $1.1m to $1.2m. Gartland, Geelong agent Will Ainsworth said the house impressed the bidders and also had plenty of neighbours mulling their own renovations looking for inspiration. The 337sq m property sold for $1.245m at Saturday's auction. The weatherboard facade was about that was worth saving when the vendors first came across the house in 2018. But after a stylish renovation and extension, the owners and their family have enjoyed the fruits of their labour, working with Geelong Building Company to transform the home. The rebuild included restumping and salvaged character features such as double-hung windows and timber floorboards. The addition of a new open-plan living space at the rear is the game-changer, connecting the three-bedroom home to a private decked outdoor entertainment area and compact garden with convenient back lane access. 'For a house with no off-street parking and almost backing on to the railway line it's a pretty good result,' Mr Ainsworth said. The two groups that fought for the property clearly fell in love with it, he said. 'I guess you can do your mutual-type renovation and hope to appease more people, but that doesn't add the element of scarcity to it. 'This one really set these two groups off in particular, it was a great one. 'We had so many people come through who are thinking of renovating, or neighbours that have been watching them do it over the years. 'We just got so many compliments to the vendors for the good work they've done and the bold ideas they put in place.' Mr Ainsworth said the property centre is the heart of the action, with GMHBA Stadium, the Barwon River and central Geelong all close by. 'Verner St has really come of age. Selling properties there 10 years ago had a little bit of a stigma to it about not being the best part of town. But you put a Verner St address on the market and certainly people's ears prick up. 'And when you get houses like this and over the last 10 years you've gone from a lot of old, unrenovated houses like this, that helps bring the street up.'
RTÉ News
22-04-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
'Fractured' Irish football caught Marc Canham by surprise, says Graham Gartland
Graham Gartland believes Marc Canham was not fully prepared for how "fractured" the game is in Ireland when he took on the role of the FAI's director of football. Having previously served as the English Premier League's director of coaching, Canham arrived here in June 2022, effectively replacing former high performance director Ruud Dokter. Canham's title was changed to chief football officer in September 2024 in what was viewed as a vote of confidence from the FAI in the 42-year-old's capabilities. He was central to the appointments of men's boss Heimir Hallgrimsson and women's head coach Carla Ward. The Englishman's most significant and far-reaching impact, however, arguably came with the publication of the FAI's Football Pathways Plan, which aims to align the football calendar and improve the overall health of the game here from the grassroots up. There has been, and continues to be, some resistance to the vision outlined in the document, but Canham won't be here to see it through, confirming on Tuesday he intends to return to England with his family. "My initial reaction was, I was surprised to see him go," said former Shamrock Rovers and Drogheda United defender Gartland. "Obviously they put a lot of things in place the last few years and they're pushing the Government to give them funds, so I thought he would have seen that through. "That fact he only done an interview there recently, talking about building for the future, there was an element of surprise he has left. There's also elements that, he's been here three yearss, he's fighting so many fires on all different fronts and he's probably thinking, 'my family mightn't have settled', and he's probably just decided, 'well I might be better off if I just return home'. "He's obviously made that decision. He's said it's for personal reasons, you have to respect that as well and take a man on his word." "Securing funds for the FAI from the government is the biggest thing because it allows us to do all the other things." Canham has come under fire a few times during his tenure. The process to replace Stephen Kenny was drawn-out and confusing, with mixed messages around the timeline of an appointment. Recently, his handling of Colin Healy's exit from the Republic of Ireland women's backroom setup angered some of the players, with Denise O'Sullivan saying the association's treatment of Healy "lacked class". Gartland said Canham did not handle every situation as well as he could have, but he has weighed unin behind the principles laid out in the Football Pathways Plan. "Everything needs to be aligned in the country for the country to succeed in football terms," he said. "The national league in this country isn't aligned with what the schoolboys and what that section does. We're one of the only countries in Europe to not be aligned. If all these other top countries are doing these things, why can't we replicate that? "So I think for him to implement that is the right decision. There's still work to be done in terms of facilities, I think there's still work to be done in terms of infrastructure around academies. That's why I believed he was going to see it through. I'm surprised that he hasn't. "Obviously implementing that has upset a few people but it doesn't mean it's the wrong thing to do. It's one of the ways we can try and make Ireland a successful nation in football terms, by producing our own players, qualifying for tournaments and having a real football industry in this country. We've a good bit to go on that." Canham will stay in his position as the FAI conducts a handover, potentially to an interim chief football officer before they find a permanent successor. Whoever that is, Gartland says they must be aware of the landscape they're coming into, and continue to push for crucial government funding. "I don't think Marc Canham realised how fractured Irish football was before he took this job, and all the diffrent entities and what he has to deal with, whether it's people getting on to him for not doing this, or certain things... I don't believe he realised it was as fractured as it actually is," he added. "Securing funds for the FAI from the Government is the biggest thing because it allows us to do all the other things. It allows us to implement money into the academies, it allows us to fund the youth teams in the FAI, the underage sections, it allows us to put money into infrastructure. "But that's the hardest bit because why would the Government give money to the FAI when they've already bailed them out? It's such a hard job to go to somebody who's already bailed you out and go, 'actually could you give us a bit more funds?' It's very hard because you've no leverage in that situation. "Negotiating with someone who's already done you a favour is a really tough thing to do."
