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Irish Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish father's pride with son set to make Wimbledon debut
An Irishman has spoken of his pride as his son prepares to make his debut at Wimbledon. The 2025 iteration of the famous grass-court Grand-Slam kicked off on Monday, and while all eyes will be on the likes of Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz over the next fortnight, for Irish fans, Tuesday could well belong to James Fernandez-McCabe. Fernandez-McCabe, a 21-year-old who represents Australia, will make his Wimbledon debut tomorrow when he takes on World number 58 Fabian Marozsan of Hungary. Ranked 123 places lower, James will have his work cut out for him as he looks to progress to the second-round at the All-England club. Speaking on RTE Radio's Oliver Callan show, Fernandez-McCabe admitted that the whole experience was a bit 'overwhelming', but that the thought of stepping out onto the famous courts gave him 'goosebumps.' James' father, Patrick, is originally from Walkinstown in Dublin. He moved to Australia in 1997 when he was just a year older than James is now, where he married Irene - James' mother. Taking up the sport as a youngster, James' father didn't have the money for top of the range, professional tennis lessons, so YouTube became the starlet's main instructor. James also excelled at other sports but went all in on tennis and is now preparing for the biggest match of his life. "That is my childhood. Maybe it wasn't normal at the time," he said. "It builds character and without it I wouldn't be where I am now. So I'm just grateful. I'm lucky." Speaking about James' early days in the sport, Patrick said "I got carried away early days. I was probably a bit hard on him ... but you do what you have to do."
RTÉ News
14-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Ulster sign fronts rows Rory McGuire and Sam Crean, Connacht's O'Conor moves to Edinburgh
Ulster have signed former Leinster prop Rory McGuire from Leinster and given a permanent deal to fellow front row Sam Crean, who had previously been on loan at the province. Tighthead McGuire joins Richie Murphy's side from the Leinster academy and has made eight senior appearances for the club. Standing at 6'4" and weighing 119kg, the prop has previous history with head coach Murphy, having been a member of the Grand-Slam winning Ireland Under-20 side of 2022. McGuire has played club rugby for UCD RFC in the All-Ireland-League, while studying mechanical engineering. Crean (above) joins the province on a permanent basis, having played twice for the side earlier this season during a short-term loan as injury cover. The 24-year-old primarily plays as a loosehead prop but can also cover hooker. The former England U20 player came through the Saracens academy before gaining minutes with the senior side in the English Premiership and Champions Cup. Ulster Rugby's general manager Bryn Cunningham said: "We are delighted to be bringing in both Rory and Sam this summer. "Both are talented props at good age profiles to develop as players and add competition to our squad. "Rory is a big, physical tighthead prop who will be pushing hard for his opportunity to play more senior rugby. "Richie knows him well from Ireland U20s and we think he is an exciting prospect, who is eager to kick on under Jimmy Duffy. "Sam, after a brief stint earlier this season on loan during which he really impressed the coaches, can hopefully hit the ground running and really challenge both Eric [O'Sullivan] and Callum [Reid] for the number 1 jersey." Elsewhere, Edinburgh have signed Piers O'Conor (above) from Connacht on a two-year deal. The versatile 29-year-old back will move to the Scottish capital this summer. O'Conor started 15 of Connacht's 17 United Rugby Championship matches this season since joining the Galway club last summer following six years with Bristol.
