Latest news with #JohnRussell
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
'Bleak' - Alan Cawley runs the rule over Sligo Rovers' season so far
At the halfway stage of the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division, things are looking rather "bleak" for Sligo Rovers, according to RTÉ soccer analyst Alan Cawley. The table says as much with the Bit o' Red bottom of the table and facing a tough task to scrape survival once the campaign resumes after the mid-season break. The one saving grace for John Russell's outfit is that Cork City are only a point above them in the relegation play-off spot. But Cork, who played well on Friday on the way to taking a point against Shelbourne at Turners Cross, will be hoping that new manager Gerard Nash and his incoming assistant, former Republic of Ireland midfielder David Meyler, can give them a bounce. As for Sligo, while goalscoring hasn't been an issue, other positives have been thin on the ground and the type of summer surge that helped them finish mid-table last season isn't showing much sign of being on the horizon. And former Shelbourne league winner Cawley is not seeing too much ground for optimism as he told this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast. "I think it's fairly bleak when you look at it in terms of the stats and the points, everything is pointing towards relegation sadly for them," said the Sligo native who also spoke earlier in the episode about the experience of attending Saturday's Champions League final in Munich. "They've been poor, very poor. I've seen them in a lot of games recently and they have been poor. "Now, in fairness to John Russell, he lost the goalkeeper (Ed) McGinty, he lost Ellis Chapman who went to Shelbourne, he lost (Niall) Morahan, the spine of the team really, and when you're losing players as good as that and then you're not replacing them, I think it's been very, very difficult for John in that regard." The one "shining light" according to Cawley is young striker Owen Elding who he and former Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers midfielder Richie Towell both picked as their Young Player of the Season so far. "He's been outstanding, seven goals. But if you're relying on a young fella to basically grab you by the scruff of the neck and get you back into games and win you points, I don't think that speaks well of some of the other lads maybe in the squad as well. So it's been really tough for John, it's been really poor overall," he said. At the halfway point of the season, Sligo are the only team to not pick up a win after falling behind, picking up just two points in that scenario and Cawley feels they often leave themselves with too much to do in games. "I think that's been one of the biggest problems in all the games, they don't give themselves a chance in games because they're falling behind through sloppy needless goals and there have been games where they've been two down in a lot of cases after only 15-20 minutes and then they show great heart and desire to chase the game and get themselves back but it all comes a little bit too late," he said. "They've conceded 34 goals as well. Defensively they've been very poor. They've won only one game at home all season and that's really, really poor because whatever about going on the road and trying to pick up points, you need to be trying to make your home place a bit of a fortress and tough to beat and a difficult place for people to go but if you've only won one game all season as well, I don't think that's great. "So it's pretty bleak at the moment it really is. There are allowances in terms of budgets maybe and what (Russell) has lost from last year and not being able to replace that, but still that's probably no consolation to John Russell. He'll still feel they should be higher up in the table. "But the only hope I see is that Cork are in touching distance, only a point ahead of them."
CBS News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Cole Young called up to the Mariners, gets walk-off RBI in MLB debut
Former WPIAL star baseball player Cole Young has made it to the big leagues and had a shining moment in his MLB debut over the weekend. Cole Young, a former standout at North Allegheny High School was called up the MLB by the Seattle Mariners, who drafted Young with the 21st overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. Ranked as the No. 43 prospect in all of Major League Baseball, Young was batting .277 with 57 hits and five home runs in 206 at bats for the Tacoma Rainiers. Young, a second baseman and shortstop, was called up to the big leagues and the moment of his being told about the promotion was captured by the Mariners' social media team. Getting pulled from a game... to find out you're headed to the Show. The moment a dream comes true for Cole Young. #TridentsUp — Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 1, 2025 "I meant to tell you this earlier, but I'm really proud of what you've done and how far you've come," Rainiers manager John Russell said. "Just take that to Seattle tomorrow, okay?" The big moments weren't over yet for Young, however. On Saturday, Young walked off the Twins with a dribbler up the first base line to bring home Miles Mastrubuoni. Cole Young walks it off in his MLB debut! #TridentsUp — Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 1, 2025 According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Young is the second fastest WPIAL player to make it to the MLB when being drafted in the first round out of high school.
Irish Independent
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
June bank holiday in Sligo: Scriptless in Seattle, Sligo Rovers, country music and much more
We've compiled a list of some of the best events taking place this weekend to keep you and the family entertained. See our top picks below. Scriptless in Seattle With a style reminiscent of the beloved show 'Whose Line Is It Anyway,' Scriptless in Seattle offers a unique blend of hilarious sketches, improvised musicals, game shows, film noir, and so much more. No two shows are ever the same, ensuring an evening filled with surprises, laughter, and memorable moments at St Brigid's Hall, Tubbercurry on Monday, June 2. Six years after their 2019 formation, Scriptless in Seattle continues to tour across America and beyond…and they are still flying by the seats of their pants. Come enjoy a show that has not yet been written and even get the chance to steer its direction. Tickets available through eventbrite. Sligo Rovers V St Patrick's Athletic Sligo Rovers will play their final game before the mid-season break at home this Friday, May 30 at The Showgrounds, instead of the usual Saturday evening kick-off. This is due to the mid-season break. Rovers are still bottom of the table after last Friday's defeat to the league champions Shelbourne, and John Russell's side could really do with your support for this game. Show Up and Show Off Hawk's Well Theatre is proud to present Show Up and Show Off, a vibrant celebration of local talent, on Friday, May 30. As a theatre for the people, Hawk's Well is committed to reflecting the rich tapestry of its community. This unique showcase spotlights the creativity and dedication of over 150 participants from the theatre's diverse Community Workshops. Including: Show Up and Show Off is more than a performance; it's a testament to the power of community and the arts. Come and show your support for the performers as they take to the stage. ADVERTISEMENT They have been showing up for rehearsals; now it's time for them to show off their skills! Tickets are available on a pay what you can basis, ensuring accessibility for all. Country music night Enjoy a night of country music at the Coleman Music Centre in Gurteen this Thursday, May 29. With a wonderful line up of acts including Carmel Mcloughlin, Gerry Guthrie, Effie Niell with musicians Brian Kerrigan and Matt Curran, it's sure to be a great night out. Tickets available from the Coleman Music Centre box office. Wine O'Clock Get ready to raise a glass and laugh out loud as acclaimed Irish actress and comedian Norma Sheahan brings her smash-hit comedy show It's Wine O'Clock to the Hawk's Well on Saturday, May 31. Known for her sharp wit, warm charm, and razor-sharp storytelling, Norma takes audiences on a wildly funny journey through the ups and downs of modern life — from motherhood and menopause to health scares and hilarious misadventures — all washed down with a splash (or three) of wine. This riotous one-woman show is the ultimate girl's night out, but everyone is welcome to join the fun. Elevation 'Elevation' by Conor Gallagher opened at the Hamilton Gallery last Saturday, May 24. Elevation started in Spring 2024 with journeys around Teesan, Carncash, Rahabarna and Kiltycooly in north Sligo where there are remarkable views of the Dartry mountains at close range. The show features paintings, photography and prints which are part of Conor's 'Sligo Mountain Series'. Conor's paintings in acrylic with their dramatic monotone blue skies offer a unique view of these familiar locations. These paintings often started in a realistic style and were then de-constructed which involved literally scraping back to the surface. 30+ Bank Holiday extravaganza Get ready for Ireland's most exciting new nightclub experience designed exclusively for the 30+ crowd this Sunday, June 1 at the Garavogue Bar. Dance the evening away to the biggest hits from the 80s, 90s, 00s, and today, all while being transported on a jaw-dropping visual trip down memory lane on a state-of-the-art LED video wall. Hosted by DJ Fergal D'Arcy – One of Ireland's top DJs and radio presenters. Tickets available via eventbrite. For the love of... Art | Fashion | Food | Music Welcome to For the love of... Art | Fashion | Food | Music! at the Hyde Bridge Gallery in Sligo this Saturday, May 31 for a day filled with creativity and inspiration. Enjoy delicious Asian Food, groove to the beats of DJ Doolittle, and explore retro high quality fashion. This in-person event is a celebration of all things beautiful and captivating. Tickets via eventbrite. Join organisers the following morning on Sunday June 1 from 11am to 4pm for a market with pancakes & coffee. Don't miss out on this unique experience that combines the best of art, fashion, food, and music in one exciting location. See you there! Doors open at 5.30pm
Irish Examiner
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Book review: Reinterpreting the Irish Famine as a consequence of unbridled capitalism
More than six million visitors attended the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. Held in the cast iron, specially-built Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, this global fair showcased the industrial might of the UK, the world's most powerful economy. But it failed to acknowledge the tragedy unfolding within its borders. During the Great Famine (1845-52), at least 1m people died of starvation in Ireland and about 1.5m fled. In 1847, Britain's prime minister, Lord John Russell, likened the spiralling calamity to a 'famine of the 13th century'. For Padraic X Scanlan, this gross juxtaposition of commercial celebration and human catastrophe encapsulates Britain's ruthless attitude to the Great Famine. The historian's central contention in Rot is that Westminster's response to the starvation was defined by its overarching commitment to the principles of the free market. Underlining the book's polemical tone, Scanlan argues that Ireland during the Famine was a laboratory in which the most exploitative aspects of 'capitalist modernity' were unleashed. 'The blight was a consequence of a novel pathogen spreading among fields of vulnerable plants,' he writes. But the famine — a complex ecological, economic, logistical, and political disaster — was a consequence of colonialism. The dependence of the working poor on the potato in pre-Famine Ireland was unmatched anywhere in the world. Many Britons regarded the potato as the source of Irish poverty, associating the food with the lower classes' innate laziness and lack of civilisation. This perspective ignored the transformative effect of the land settlement achieved by Oliver Cromwell's conquest of the country. In pre-Famine Ireland, about 2.7m people (more than 20% of the population) were landless, while only 4,000 people owned almost 80% of Irish land. Successive Westminster administrations viewed the Famine through the lens of eliminating Ireland's dependence on the potato — and an opportunity to civilise its poor. Charles Trevelyan, a treasury secretary who's often portrayed as arch villain of the Great Hunger, characterised the humanitarian crisis as a 'sharp but effectual remedy' to 'cure' the problem of Irish backwardness. Tellingly, he published his account of the Famine in 1848, just over halfway through the event. Scanlan is an associate professor at the University of Toronto. Reinterpreting history is a hallmark of the Canadian's approach and a refrain in the author's two previous books, both of which focused on the British slave trade. Scanlan adopts a similar angle in Rot and balances wide research into the politics and economy of Famine Ireland with unsettling closeups of starvation. From contemporary accounts, we glimpse the extent of the devastation: people eating wild birds' eggs, rotting carrion, grass, moss, dirt, worms, cats, dogs, and rats. But his didactic analysis is a blunt instrument to untangle the complexities of the era. Likewise, Scanlan's suggestion that current societal problems, such as gaping inequality, exorbitant rents, and insecure employment, echo the anxieties of pre-Famine Ireland is a misstep. In 1861, the Irish nationalist John Mitchel wrote: 'the Almighty, indeed, sent the potato blight, but the English created the famine'. Rot revisits the question of British responsibility because 'blame matters'. The British government didn't intentionally starve Ireland during the Famine, Scanlan admits, but 'it was not innocent'. No country in Europe was affected as profoundly as Ireland by the 1840s potato blight. In Belgium, the potato failure caused a severe food crisis, but from 1846 to 1856 the population increased by 200,000. Ultimately, Scanlan identifies the ideologies underpinning Britain's reaction to the Irish Famine as the lynchpin. 'Colonialism and capitalism created conditions that turned blight into famine.' Scanlan's arguments lack the rigour to always convince, but they make Rot a provocative read. Read More Book review: Fleeing Famine and oppression for the land of opportunity
Irish Independent
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Studying on the bus, missing school & training by himself – Sligo Rovers' Conor Reynolds balancing pro football with Leaving Cert preparation
In three weeks time, the Rice College student will know all about a different kind of pressure as he sits his Leaving Certificate exams. The Westport man is currently trying to balance professional football with school and his Leaving Cert studies. It's tough, he admits, but Sligo Rovers' rising star is making it work, such is his determination to do well in his exams, and to progress his football career. Thanks to the support of his school, he misses one day a week in order to attend training with Sligo Rovers, having signed a professional deal with the club last year. And thanks to a supportive John Russell, Reynolds trains just once a week with Rovers so that he can focus on school and his studies. Rice College have made provisions to allow Reynolds to miss one day of school, with the teenager catching up in the evenings when he gets home from training. With whatever free time he has, the Sligo Rovers academy graduate does his own training in the evenings after school. For away trips, he gets off school early, and tries to study on the bus on the way. "It's tough at the moment,' Reynolds said. 'It can be draining enough at times. I feel that they both work well together. With the football you can get your mind off school and when you're doing all your studying you take your mind off football for a while. "It's all about balancing the two, it's been tough but I've really enjoyed it. As it's going on I'm getting used to it. It's only three weeks now. I just have to keep going now. I can't wait to get the exams out of the way. ADVERTISEMENT "I end up missing a full day of school which is tough. The day of school you miss is the toughest one because you have to go home after training and catch up on work, and study for exams on top of it. It's tough, but I like it. I find it nice. I'd hate to be in school the five days a week! 'I would do a bit at the pitch myself. At the moment, it's so limited. You don't have free time. I like it that way.' There are weeks where Reynolds gets to train twice, depending on how the days fall. And there are weeks when there is some sleep deprivation, like last week when he travelled to Tallaght to take on Shamrock Rovers, and got home late before having to get up for school the next morning when his team-mates were able to recover. 'I got home at about 12.30am but it was nearly 2am when I got to sleep, wired after the game. I was in school then for 8.50am, I was drained after that. But I'm getting used to it now.' Balancing the two has been made possible by a number of factors. The support of his manager John Russell and assistant manager Ryan Casey has been vital, but the co-operation and support of his school and his family have made the balancing act a lot easier. 'I couldn't ask for more, between John and Case and everyone. They've been so accommodating. They've been telling me to take time for the leaving if I need it. They've been so helpful, I couldn't have asked for more really from them. 'The school have been very good. They wouldn't have a problem with it at all, Conor Walsh (Sligo Rovers goalkeeper and Rice College alumnus) might have been training more (with Sligo Rovers) than me but they were very good to him too so it was handy for me then.' Others may ask to take a break from football for the duration of their exams, but Reynolds has no intention of doing so. The long bus journeys to away games in recent weeks haven't been wasted. Thanks to a partnership between the League of Ireland and education provider Grinds 360, Reynolds - and all other academy players - can avail of free access to the online service which provides on-demand educational content to students to assist with school and exams. 'I try and do a bit on the phone when on the bus to games with Grinds 360 app, it's been very good. The league has a sponsorship deal with them, we get it all for free, I get to watch videos and all. That helps. "But it's hard when you're getting ready for a game, thinking about that, study is really the last thing on your mind. I'm trying to do a bit when I'm travelling, but you end up just chatting on the bus and it can be hard to get study done.' The 18-year-old has been a stand-out player for the Bit O'Red since earning his place in the first team this season. Rovers are in a tough patch at present, with just two wins all season, but Reynolds has been a bright light in an otherwise dark season. It hasn't been all sunshine and roses, though, with Reynolds sent off minutes into his first appearance of the season in Turners Cross back in March. Once his suspension was complete, Reynolds came back into the fold and came on for Ollie Denham in the 4-2 defeat to Bohemians at Dalymount Park in April. The Westport man has played seven league games since his return against Bohs, but hasn't been able to complete a full game, largely due to the fact he hasn't been training full-time. 'He's going to be in full-time with us in the summer once he gets his exams done, we think he can go to the top, he's going to be a really top player,' Russell said. 'We've produced a lot of top players over the last number of years, he's the next one on the conveyor belt. 'At the moment he's juggling a lot, he's giving us everything. He's not able to finish the games at the moment, which is a bit of a challenge, he's got a bright future.' Reynolds had to come off during Saturday's defeat to Bohemians suffering with severe leg cramps, after playing at centre-back where he shone yet again. While coming through the academy, the Mayo man regularly featured at centre-back along with right-back. The run of games has been tough on the body for the young man, particularly when he doesn't have the luxury of recovery time like his fellow professionals do. But he's embracing the chaos. 'It's been tough. I'm really enjoying it. The legs are kind of suffering as games go on but the more I'm playing the legs are adapting more to it. "It's about trying to get as much out of a game as I can and then training and trying to build on minutes and hopefully I'll keep getting fitter and keep playing.' With Rovers struggling at the minute, the pitch is where Reynolds is feeling the pressure at the minute. Although, as the exams get closer, and it feels more real, the nerves will kick in. 'To be honest, completely (more pressure on the pitch). The last thing I'm thinking about at the minute (is exams), and it shouldn't be that way. All I want to do is play football and help the team. It's hard. 'The pressure will start to hit me in the next week or two. We finish school in a week and a half. That's when it will properly hit. At the moment it's nearly like a fever dream.' The timing of the mid-season break means Reynolds won't miss any games for the first week of his exams, and he is hopeful that he will be able to play the home game against Waterford on June 14. He won't be finished, but he won't be far off either. And while it's hard at times for Reynolds to focus on his studies when the football season is so intense, it's important to note that this young man is fully intent on doing well in his exams. Reynolds clearly has a big future in professional football, but he is determined to go to college and get a third level degree, too. 'I definitely want to do well in the Leaving. It's been a long year in terms of study as well, trying to do well. The college here in Sligo, the courses are really good so I'd probably like to do something there.' He limped off during Saturday's defeat to Bohemians at The Showgrounds due to cramping, with Harvey Lintott also forced off. Russell finished the game with a makeshift back four, with left-winger Will Fitzgerald having to fill in at right-back and Reece Hutchinson playing centre-back 'Sickening to be honest I now,' Reynolds said of losing the game so late. "I thought as a whole team we played well, and then there's that moment at the end. When you look at it now, it's so disheartening. I definitely thought it was there for us, no words. Completely sickening.' And like his manager John Russell, Reynolds believes the wins will come if Rovers stick together. 'At the moment it's tough. We have to stick together. It's a good group we have and I know we will stick together, and wins are going to come, it's about sticking together, keeping going, which I know we will. Wins are bound to happen then.'
