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The Irish Sun
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
I swam for Ireland at the Olympics, now I've thrown myself into a completely different pool sport
HER wrist bears the sign that she is an Olympian. The mental scars are elsewhere. Given Erin Riordan did not have the best Olympics experience, returning to the place where she spent most of her time trying to qualify and prepare for the Games might seem an odd choice. Advertisement 3 Riordan represented Team Ireland in the women's 4 x 100m freestyle relay at the Paris Games Credit: Sportsfile 3 She's now turned to a totally different sport 3 She hasn't found the transition to water polo too tough Credit: Inpho But, so far, it is working for the former swimmer turned water polo player, who helped St Vincent's win the Irish Senior Cup this month. The daughter of Irish parents, Riordan was born in Japan and has lived in Switzerland, Hong Kong and the UK. College brought her back to the ancestral home as swimming kept her there. Tokyo was targeted and missed. So, too, it seemed, had Paris, when the 4x100m freestyle relay team of which she was a member of came 17th in the World Championships. Advertisement Read More On Irish Sport Riordan quit but returned when they were bumped up the list because Japan had not met their own national qualifying criteria. It was a far from ideal build-up to competition. She reflected: 'The few months leading up to Paris were probably the most emotionally strained I've been in my life. "Along the way you kind of forget why you're doing it and it becomes, 'I want to make the Games, I want to do this', as opposed to I used to love the sport and I loved getting up at 5am.' Advertisement Most read in Other Sports On the qualification reprieve, she said: 'I think that I had already grieved the loss. 'I had decided, 'OK it's not happening for me, I'm not going to the Olympics'. Wild scenes in Naples as fans celebrate after Scott McTominay wins Serie A for Napoli 'And then two weeks later it was, 'Get back to Dublin, you might be going'. It was a big toll on the mind more so than the body. 'It's not a few months of prep, it's years and years of prep. We tried to get to Tokyo and didn't get it. Advertisement 'I said, 'I'm sticking it out, I'm doing it again', trying to get to Paris. "That was all taken away in one moment and then all given back in one moment, peaks and troughs, and a rollercoaster.' Ireland finished exactly where their qualification ranking suggested they would — in 16th. But the overall experience did not exactly live up to the hype. Advertisement Riordan, 25, said: 'You build it up in your head a little bit and then you get there and you're like, 'Oh my goodness the food is not nice, the hotel is not nice'. 'You walk out and you're like, 'This is it, this is the moment'. And then you're also like, 'Oh this is it?' Two edges of a sword I guess. 'I got Covid when I was over there. I was not well when I raced. 'I tested negative before I raced and tested positive after I raced so I got sent home immediately.' Advertisement NEXT CHAPTER She got the five-rings tattoo soon afterwards and it was not long before she took up a new sport. She said: 'That was something we worked on with the sport psychologist — a plan for after Paris. 'We knew it was going to be my last race, she advised me, 'The Olympic blues, you have to be careful. You're so used to getting all these endorphins from doing sport so if you stop, that's all going to drain out of you plus you've just completed the goal of your life'. 'So she was like, 'You need to have a plan'. The two sports I was looking at were triathlons or water polo but triathlons don't seem that fun. Advertisement 'So I decided to go into water polo which was a weird transition because I'd never done any ball sports, I'd never done team sports. 'It was a bit humbling at the beginning, going from the Olympics to being the very worst on a team that has 14-year-old girls on it but good fun all the same.' St Vincent's are based out of the National Aquatic Centre which meant returning to a venue where she put in the hard yards in pursuit of a dream that did not quite live up to expectations. She said: 'It's fine now but the first time I was walking in I was like, shudders, post-traumatic stress disorder from all the training. Advertisement 'I didn't even want to do the swim sessions with the water polo team. I managed to force myself to do it. 'It's good now, I guess. It's kind of like home even though I didn't want to be there for a while. I get a home feeling from it.' DIFFERENT OUTLOOK That may in part be down to bumping into former team-mates. She said: 'Yeah every now and then and I'd still keep in touch with them. It's funny seeing them do their 6km sessions, enjoy!' Advertisement Training twice a week nicely dovetails with her full-time job with pharmaceutical firm Grifols, although she is also training for the Lisbon marathon in October. She said: 'Before I used to work my life around my sport, whereas now I'm working sport around my life. It's a different dynamic for me. 'I started off not being able to catch the ball. There's a lot of skills you get from doing a lot of sports that are really transferable so I've picked it up a lot quicker than most people would pick it up. 'It's different, even learning tactics and stuff. Advertisement 'I've never really done anything like that, it was just, 'Swim in a straight line and hope for the best'. 'I ended up getting called up for the Irish Senior Cup team. I had more of a minor role. 'I got a bit of game time but we ended up winning which was great. In the next few seasons I'm going to keep going, see where we go.'
Irish Examiner
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Five things on Andy Farrell's Lions to-do list
His captain - Maro Itoje or Caelan Doris? Maro Itoje or Caelan Doris? The shoulder injury suffered by Doris has probably put paid to any lingering captaincy prospects and, sadly, perhaps even the tour itself for the no.8. The prognosis does not look too hopeful. Doris had appeared a dead cert for the captaincy but across the last few months those odds lengthened with Itoje making a strong run on the rails. Itoje may only have been England captain since January but he has impeccable Lions' stature as a player, as certain as any player can be of being a test starter. Even without Doris' cruel setback, Itoje had become the prime candidate. Those who argue that Farrell would prefer his familiarity with the Irishman, overlook the fact that Itoje comes from the self-same Saracens' family that shaped Farrell as a union talent. Poised, assured, articulate and committed, Itoje deserves the honour. Leinster's Caelan Doris has picked up a shoulder injury. Pic: Billy Stickland/Inpho The mood music Andy Farrell may have been reared in another code but his spirit is that of a Lion. As a player he was selfless, his first instinct being for the good of the team, an icon even amongst a team of Wigan icons, renowned for the fierceness of his play as well as for the generosity of his character. These are the traits that translate so easily, and necessarily, into a Lions environment. The fact that his management team is heavily Irish is an irrelevance. From Thursday's announcement, Farrell will ensure that everyone considers themselves a red-shirted Lion first and foremost. The coach's personality has already come to bear in his forthright choice of staff, sure in his own mind of what he wants. The fact that he also likes a chat, a bit of music and the occasional beer, means that the trip is destined to be a happy one, results notwithstanding. Outhalf There appears to be a remarkable degree of unanimity among pundits as to the 37 or 38 players who should get the trip. All bar for a couple of positions – out-half and flanker. The fly-half conundrum looked to be clear-cut with Finn Russell nailed on to be the test no.10. That debate has widened as first Sam Prendergast has come into consideration and now Fin Smith. As one Smith has waxed, so another, Marcus, has waned. Factor in Jack Crowley's claims also. And Owen Farrell, son thereof? The nepotism factor has never, ever been an issue for me. If Andy chooses Owen, it would be a logical pick based on his son's form. Owen doesn't have any, so he shouldn't go. But his schoolboy pal and former England teammate, George Ford, has every claim on a spot. No-one should be chosen for their midweek team captain credentials alone but Ford ticks all those boxes. It's a devilishly difficult selection. Russell's form is scratchy, so too that of Prendergast. Saturday's Champions Cup defeat did his cause no favours. My three: Finn Russell, Fin Smith, George Ford. The bolter Do we even need one? It's been a bit of a myth, well as the likes of Derek Quinnell, Jeremy Guscott, John Bentley or Will Greenwood have performed when selected as outsiders. There is one name, however, that is ringing ever louder as the squad announcement hoves into view, that of Henry Pollock, the 20-year-old Northampton flanker who has a minute of test experience for each year of his age. Mind you, he did score two tries after coming on for England in Cardiff. Northampton's Henry Pollock scores a try. Pic: Billy Stickland/Inpho Every time the hype seems to have peaked on the rookie's worth, Pollock's play on the field manages to ratchet it up another level. The prospective Lions back-row cast list is already star-studded. Pollock's performance in the Champions Cup semi-final adds to that lustre. This bolter should get the trip. Don't underestimate the Wallabies You might think there would be little danger of that given the recent up-turn in the Wallabies' form under Andy Farrell's old boss, Joe Schmidt. However, Australia is nowhere near as tough a trip as tours to New Zealand and South Africa, particularly in terms of the quality of the midweek opposition. If the Lions were to rack up some big scores (they posted over a century in the opening game of the 2001 tour) then complacency might, just might seep into the bones of the tourists. A quick flit through the last three Lions test series in Australia, will put paid to any such lazy thinking. 1989 was a nerve-shredder, the Lions recovering from losing the opening test to take the series. 2001 was a 'Matt Dawson critical diary' mess, Justin 'The Plank' Harrison stealing a last-gasp lineout from Martin Johnson in Sydney to win the series. And 2013, with O'Driscoll Selectiongate, was also in the balance until the Lions cut loose in the final test. Wondrously, we can expect more of the same.
The Irish Sun
07-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Camogie skort row ramps up as Cork GAA star insists team will wear shorts for final & risk forfeiting title in protest
CAMOGIE ace Ashling Thompson has revealed Cork will wear shorts in a crunch final - as the rebellion against skorts ramps up. Camogie Association rules insist on players wearing skorts - a skirt with a pair of integral shorts hidden underneath. 3 Thompson insists they won't back down and change to skorts - even if it risks the game being abandoned Credit: Sportsfile - Subscription 3 Ashling Thompson of Cork wearing a skort ahead of the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship final Credit: Inpho But many maintain skorts are uncomfortable and deter girls from taking up camogie. Over the weekend, a Leinster senior semi-final match between Now Cork players will refuse to wear skorts in Saturday's Munster senior camogie final. The Read more in Sports And Thompson insists they won't back down and change to skorts - even if it risks the game being abandoned. The six-time All-Ireland winner confirmed: 'What we're going to do is wear shorts and if we're asked to return to the dressing room we won't. 'If that means abandoning the game and handing over the Munster title to 'We're just hoping that Waterford will follow suit. It's not about us versus the association. It's standing up for what's right.' Most read in GAA Hurling A whopping 83 per cent of players voted in favour of having a choice to wear shorts or skorts in a recent survey. But Ms Thompson said that the players' voice is not being heard by the Camogie Association. She explained: 'We're just asking to be heard and to have a choice in what we want to wear and how we represent our counties and our clubs. 'It's about respect and modernising a game that we all love. 'The voices of the people playing it every day are the ones that need to be heard and need to be part of that evolution. 'I just hope that it opens the door for more honest conversations and for decisions that reflect what the players need. 'We're not asking to get rid of shorts completely; it's to have a choice in what we wear. 'A lot of girls are just not comfortable wearing skort in general.' A motion is set be brought to the Camogie Association Annual Congress in 2026 to address the issue. It is understood that the motion could possibly give players the freedom of choice to wear skorts or shorts. But Ms Thompson called for change now. She told RTE's News at One: 'We're really not being heard if we have to wait until next year. It feels like a punishment.' 3 Cork star Ashling Thompson called for change now Credit: Sportsfile - Subscription
RTÉ News
07-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Rachel Graham: Louise Quinn and Niamh Fahey generation should be celebrated
Back in 2006, the Republic of Ireland women's under-19s players and coaching staff all sat down to have their headshots taken by the Inpho photo agency. Nearly 20 years on and if you look through the players in that squad, household names abound. That particular team contained future Girls in Green centurions Louise Quinn, Diane Caldwell and Áine O'Gorman, while Puskas Award nominee and 58-time Ireland cap Stephanie Zambra was another key player in the frame. Quinn called time on her playing career last week as did her long-time defensive colleague, Liverpool captain Niamh Fahey, and the duo stepping away from the scene has fuelled a sense of an era ending in Irish soccer, especially given that O'Gorman and Caldwell have already retired from international duty, Zambra is now coaching at Shamrock Rovers and Julie-Ann Russell has also stepped away from the game. Shelbourne midfielder Rachel Graham, who was part of the aforementioned Under-19s crop in the mid-2000s and went on to represent her country at senior level between 2013 and 2017, told this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast that it was important for her former team-mates to receive due recognition for what they have done for the country over a long span of time. "These players deserve a lot of recognition for what they've done, they should be celebrated," said the 35-year-old, who helped Shels to a 3-1 win win at Treaty United in Saturday's round of SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division action. Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. "They've had great careers, done great performances for Ireland, been so consistent for Ireland. "It's sad to see them go but I do think it's the right time. I just hope that they're really remembered and if they can keep them in the game, brilliant, but if not, celebrate everything that they've done and they've left the jerseys definitely in better places for the ones coming through." Reflecting back almost two decades, Graham offered an insight into the career-long commitment levels that Quinn showed in a timeframe which also saw the Wicklow-born defender establish herself at Arsenal in between spells abroad in Sweden and Italy. "I used to remember, once or twice in camp, we'd go to the pictures in the evening and we'd obviously all have popcorn and pick 'n' mix and Louise is there with her yoghurt and her fruit and her nuts," Graham recalled. "That's the side of something that people don't see. It's all these little decisions that you have to make throughout the day to make yourself the best you can be and that's what she had to do. "She couldn't cut corners, she was someone that every decision she had to make throughout the day was the right one she had to make. "So to do as well as she did, it's a real credit to her because it's something that she had to work really hard for and she made a nice comment in her retirement statement that one of the reasons she played football was to play for Ireland and you could see that in her performances that she had for Ireland. "It was body on the line or it was head on the line and whatever you needed from Louise, she'd be more than willing to do."
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Camogie players don shorts in protest against skorts diktat
Players say skorts are uncomfortable and deter girls and women from taking up camogie, a female version of the Gaelic game of hurling. Players say skorts are uncomfortable and deter girls and women from taking up camogie, a female version of the Gaelic game of hurling. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho/Rex/Shutterstock They are called skorts – a portmanteau of shorts and skirts – and the Irish camogie players who are obliged to wear them have had enough. Players from Dublin and Kilkenny instead wore forbidden shorts before a provincial game on Saturday, in a coordinated protest that has won support from politicians and commentators who say the dress rules for the female-only sport are archaic. Advertisement The players say skorts are uncomfortable and deter girls and women from taking up camogie, a female version of the Gaelic game of hurling, but the sport's ruling body insists upon the garment, which is considered more feminine than shorts. Niamh Gannon, the captain of Dublin's camogie team, told RTÉ: 'Players have spoken out about the effect this has had on their mental health, just in terms of not being comfortable or confident seeing pictures after games of themselves in skorts. 'And there are young girls, who have said that they've stopped playing camogie because they don't feel comfortable. In no other area in our lives are we told that we have to wear something that resembles a skirt.' After years of complaints about rule 6(b) of the sport's code, which says players must wear a 'skirt/skort/divided skirt', Dublin and Kilkenny players turned up at their provincial Leinster semi-final in shorts. After the referee threatened to abandon the game, they changed into skorts. But the protest has ignited wider calls for the Camogie Association of Ireland to drop the rule. Advertisement Simon Harris, Ireland's tánaiste, said on X: 'Rules forcing camogie players to wear skorts while playing are archaic. Players have made their views clearly known.' Alan Kelly, the chair of the Irish parliament's sports committee, said he would like to invite the Camogie Association to address the issue before the committee. He said: 'It's bananas that in today's day and age there are rules forcing our camogie players to wear skorts rather than their preferred choice of clothing when playing matches. 'We can't continue to ignore this. No sportsperson should have to tog out in gear that's unsuitable and uncomfortable.' The hybrid garment comprises an overlapping fabric panel over tight, compressor-type shorts, giving the impression of a skirt. In a recent Gaelic Players Association (GPA) survey, 70% of respondents cited 'discomfort' while wearing skorts and 83% wished to have a choice between shorts and skorts. Advertisement Aisling Maher, a co-chair of the GPA, said she loved the game but skorts were unfit for purpose. 'In no other facet of my life does someone dictate that I have to wear something resembling a skirt because I am a girl. Why is it happening in my sport?' she said. Camogie players at London's Gaelic Games Association club Thomas McCurtains launched a Shorts Not Skorts campaign in 2023. But a majority of delegates at the Camogie Association of Ireland's annual congress last year rejected two motions to amend the rule. In a statement on Sunday, the association said a democratic vote had retained the rule and a working group was examining playing wear. It said: 'A wide range of national and international manufactured skorts have been sourced. Testing of these skorts for comfort, fit and design will begin in mid-May and will include adult and juvenile players from club and county teams, as well as referees.'
