Latest news with #Keogh
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘I wanted my friends to be scared of me' jokes Irish Muay Thai star as he reveals he ‘didn't expect to be a world champ'
TOM KEOGH has been a Muay Thai fighter for longer than he wasn't - and now has a world title to show for it. The Dubliner, 25, won the XFC welterweight title at the New Bingley Hall on May 10 with a second round stoppage of Nathan Bendon. Advertisement 5 Tom Keogh, centre, with his dad Paul, left, and brother Tadhg, right Credit: James Fagan 5 Tom Keogh and his coach Cian Cowley Credit: James Fagan He shows the scars of war in the form of a swollen and bruised calf, and cuts and scrapes on his face. But the Warriors Gym fighter wouldn't have it any other way. He told SunSport: "Nathan Bendon is a legit world champion. He held the WBC Muay Thai world title which is one of the most prized accolades in the sport. "I've always known that I've been able to beat these guys but to be able to beat him the way I beat him was a special thing." Advertisement Read More on Muay Thai In spite of his injuries, Keogh was back in the gym coaching kids on Monday. His newly won championship belt is held within a display, offering a goal that students can look to and work towards. Keogh added: "I couldn't walk on Sunday, the day after the fight. I couldn't really put much weight on my leg but I'm fine now. "I've been walking around teaching the kids, teaching all the beginners and stuff in the gym. Advertisement Most read in Sport "Some of them are a little bit older so they kind of understand the kind of the magnitude of this one in particular. "They just like seeing the cool shiny belt. They feed off the energy and they love it." Cardiff City star Andy Rinomhota posts emotional video after brother dies in first Muay Thai fight Keogh has been practicing Muay Thai for 14 years, starting when he was just 11. His dad, Paul, worked with Tom's coach Cian Cowley in a bakery owned by the latter's uncle in Tallaght. Advertisement When Cowley took over the gym, Keogh's dad suggested the idea of introducing kids classes in order to help pay the bills . Tom and his sister, Sadhbh, were the first two kids to sign up, which came as a relief for a young man who had tried - and failed - to get into boxing . He said: "I begged my mother for probably two or three years to put me into boxing. "When you're out playing football out on the green, there'd be lads around the estate that you know they'd be boxers and you wouldn't slide tackle them because there's a little bit of respect there. Advertisement "I was like, 'yeah, I want a bit of that'. "'I want the lads to be scared of me' is how I was thinking as a kid but my ma was like, 'no way, you are not doing that'. " Funny enough, I've only actually started doing boxing classes in Crumlin Boxing Club with Phil Sutcliffe "I never got to actually do the boxing but who knows? Maybe I'll jump in and have a couple of boxing fights as well." Advertisement "I didn't get the result I set out for which was everyone thinking 'oh yeah, Tom Keogh is a f***ing animal." While Sadhbh did not stick with Muay Thai - despite Tom admitting that she was better than him early on - her brother embraced it. Even so, training and resources were modest, with the gym amounting to a tin-roofed shed. That was their base of operations up until last year, when they were made to leave after the rent was hiked. He explained: "It was just a little shed, basically. It had a tin roof so it was freezing cold in the winter . Advertisement "It just had jigsaw mats on the floor. We were lucky. We had a lot of members that were proper club men and they loved the club, so they provided the bags and stuff." SLOW START Keogh had his first fight when he was 14, but success did not come straight away. Indeed, he lost his first six amateur bouts before entering the C-Class category - full contact combat over five 1.5-minute rounds, with restrictions on elbows and knees to the head - at 16. He tasted victory for the first time at this point before graduating through the subsequent B-Class and A-Class categories. Advertisement All the while, he was picking up more and more tools of the trade and, since turning pro, has amassed a 16-3-2 record , including seven knock-outs. "I didn't care about becoming a world champion. I was like, 'that'd be nice ' and then I was going like, 'ah whatever'. 5 Tom Keogh celebrates after winning the WMO Irish welterweight title Credit: Bloody Shamrock "I was just loving training and loving going down and seeing my pals. Advertisement "You're there every single night of the week and training whenever you can if you're off school ." That being said, Keogh was not quite able to obtain the level of reverence among his friends. He remarked: "I didn't get the result I set out for which was everyone thinking 'oh yeah, Tom Keogh is a f***ing animal. "They were going 'Tom Keogh f***ing loses all of his fights!'" Advertisement 'BEST IN THE WORLD' 2025 has been a landmark year. Including the win over Bendon, he has fought four times, winning all four. That included becoming the WMO Irish welterweight champion with a stoppage win over Eric Hehir on St Patrick's Day weekend. A fifth will come against Dano O'Toole on June 14. Advertisement This is the first time that Keogh has ever spoken to a journalist, perhaps alluding to Muay Thai's status as a niche discipline. And Keogh wants to help put it on the map. "We don't get funding from the government so everybody else has to work jobs just to get by. "High level Muay Thai is the absolute s**t. It's the best combat sport for everyone in the world." Advertisement 5 Tom Keogh before his fight against Eric Hehir Credit: Bloody Shamrock 5 Tom Keogh, right, fighting against Eric Hehir Credit: Bloody Shamrock
RTÉ News
15-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Players face 'huge challenge' after axing of men's sevens programme - Rugby Players Ireland CEO Simon Keogh
The decision to end the Irish men's rugby sevens programme will leave players with a "huge challenge" in trying to maintain careers in the game, the CEO of Rugby Players Ireland Simon Keogh has said. On Wednesday, the IRFU confirmed the programme will be brought to a conclusion at the end of the 2024/25 season, with financial considerations paramount, given the backdrop of an €18million deficit for the 2023/24 period. However, former Ireland sevens captain Billy Dardis described the decision as "short-sighted" and "unbelievably deflating". The challenge now for players on the men's programme will be considerable, particularly with a dwindling number of professional teams to choose from. In an interview with RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, Rugby Players Ireland CEO Keogh said the timing of the decision makes it even more difficult for players aiming to pivot towards the XVs format. "It's a huge challenge and particularly the timing, and now you're late in the season and we're in a market that's saturated in players off the back of three teams being liquidated in the UK," he said. "And with the late timing of it, it means that it's going to be a real challenge. The conversion from sevens to XVs is challenging in itself, never mind that they have to go into a market that's pretty challenging. "And where to for these players? Hopefully there's an avenue for them into the professional game because we don't want those players lost out in the game. "We have a player development manager who works solely with these players to hopefully get them an avenue - maybe not just in rugby but outside of rugby so they've prepared themselves the best possible way they can and this is done in partnership with the IRFU to try and get that transition as seamless as possible." However, Keogh admitted that there had been a sense that the writing was on the wall for the men's programme. "To be honest with you, I don't think there's a huge amount of surprise, particularly among the male playing group," he said. "We've kept them informed since January as to the possibility that there's a threat on the programme. "And ultimately that's for a number of reasons. We had a huge change in personnel following the Olympic cycle and then we had a change of personnel which culminated in a lower positioning of our world series which then has an impact on funding. "And then in addition to that and this is probably the [last] straw, it's that there's a change in the World Rugby competition structure which ultimately means halfway through the season we have been relegated. "So if you look at that just in isolation, it's crazy to think in a competition that you could have relegation introduced halfway through a season and that ultimately has an impact on a number of things including the finances, and where we are in Irish rugby evidenced by last year's losses of €18 million, puts us in a pretty precarious position and as a result the sevens programme has been sacrificed."
RTÉ News
13-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Cork hotel seeks to solve mystery of names on a note in a wall
The Metropole Hotel in Cork city has launched a search for four labourers who were working at the hotel more than 50 years ago and wrote their names on a piece of paper which has been discovered in the bricks of the lobby. The note, on an old piece of wallpaper, is dated July 1969. It is signed "with love from" Tommy Ross (electrician), Jerry Higgins (carpenter), Steve Casey (painter), and John Keogh (plumber). It was placed in the wall of the hotel, which is located on MacCurtain Street in the Victorian Quarter area of the city. It was discovered when a wall in the lobby was demolished during refurbishment works. One of the men, 87-year-old John Keogh, has already come forward after hearing the appeal on local radio this morning. Group Brand Manager for Trigon Hotels, Sandra Murphy told RTÉ's News at One that Mr Keogh got in touch after hearing about the public appeal. She added that she is "delighted" that Mr Keogh had reached out, and that he and his wife Phyllis, will be attending the opening of the new lobby and restaurant in August. "This was like a time capsule that was located in the wall, and these four gentlemen who worked on a refurb back in the summer of 1969 at the Metropole Hotel had obviously placed that it would be found at some point and we're so privileged and so lucky to have located it. "We really wanted to hear stories from people and because it's such a historical hotel that we love hearing the history of the hotel from people who directly would have worked with the hotel or engaged with the hotel in some way. "We are just hoping to get in touch with the other three men, and if not, then maybe their families would come forward and chat to us and share some stories with us as well." Louise McNamara, General Manager of the Metropole Hotel said: "It would be really exciting to hear the stories of the electrician, plumber, painter and carpenter who obviously worked on the lobby in 1969 and to see what they think of the refurb 56 years later."
Sunday World
29-04-2025
- Sunday World
Lorry driver arrested over €720k drugs seizure at Dublin Port held on €8,000 bail
Finnon Keogh, of Flemingstown, Kentstown, Co. Meath, was arrested on Saturday A lorry driver arrested over the seizure of €720,000 worth of cannabis at Dublin Port has been held on €8,000 bail. Finnon Keogh, of Flemingstown, Kentstown, Co. Meath, was arrested on Saturday and charged with possessing cannabis and having it for sale or supply. It follows an operation led by the Revenue's Customs Service and supported by the An Garda Síochána Dublin Metropolitan Region North Central Divisional Drugs Unit. During a search, approximately 36 kg of suspected herbal cannabis was seized. Mr Keogh, who has yet to indicate a plea, appeared before Judge Michele Finan at Dublin District Court yesterday. Garda Alan Wilson said the accused made no reply when charged, and there were objections to bail. However, following defence submissions, bail was set in his bond of €200, but the judge required approval of an €8,000 independent surety. Mr Keogh was remanded in custody with consent to bail and conditions stating that once released, he must sign on twice daily at a garda station, surrender his passport and not leave the jurisdiction. He was remanded in custody with consent to these terms to appear again on May 2. His charges are under the Misuse of Drugs Act, and gardai must obtain directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Sky News AU
28-04-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
ACCC warn businesses on excessive surcharges
Australia's consumer watchdog is urging businesses to review their card payment surcharges to make sure they are in line with consumer law. In a statement, the ACCC urged businesses to check they have adequate disclosures upfront so customers can make informed decisions prior to purchases. A card payment surcharge is usually considered excessive if it is higher than the businesses cost of acceptance. 'Businesses need to ensure their customers know about any card payment surcharges upfront, and that they are only charging what it costs them to accept those card payments,' ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said. Australian Consumer Law prohibits businesses from misleading people about the prices they charge. This means if a business's total charges including merchant services fee and all other permissible costs is 1 per cent and they choose to charge a card payment surcharge, then they can only apply a 1 per cent charge to customers. The consumer watchdog said they were looking to educate businesses to help them meet their obligations. 'We understand that small businesses need to be across a lot of information to comply with all of the laws that apply to their business, however, charging excessive surcharges and not being upfront with customers about pricing can result in small businesses losing customers,' Mr Keogh said. The ACCC urges businesses to check with their bank, accountant or business adviser if they are unsure what their cost of acceptance is. 'It is important for small businesses to ensure they understand their obligations and check their costs of acceptance to know what amounts they can legally charge their customers as a payment surcharge, as well as reviewing how they inform customers of their prices, including any applicable surcharges.' Originally published as 'Misleading': ACCC warns businesses on excessive charges
