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BreakingNews.ie
9 hours ago
- Climate
- BreakingNews.ie
Ireland's heatwave comes to sudden end with thunderstorm warning in place
Ireland's heatwave will come to a sudden end on Sunday evening with a thunderstorm warning in place across much of the country. Despite the mercury hitting highs above 31 degrees on Saturday, the weather is set to change as we enter a new week. Advertisement Scattered heavy downpours are expected on Sunday afternoon, with a risk of showers across all parts of the country on Sunday night. In the afternoon & evening showers will develop across Munster, Connacht & western parts of Leinster🌦️ Some heavy & thundery downpours are expected, particularly in Connacht⛈️⚠️ Very warm or hot with highs of 23 to 29 C🌡️ and possibly 30 C🌡️ in the W ℹ️ — Met Éireann (@MetEireann) July 13, 2025 A thunderstorm alert is in operation for Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Connacht until 10pm. Met Éireann is warning of heavy, thundery downpours, which could lead to lightning damage, surface water flooding, difficult travelling conditions and may impact some outdoor events. Rain will continue moving northward on Monday morning and will be followed by sunny spells and scattered showers, Met Éireann said. More heavy and thundery downpours are possible, with highs of 14 to 23 degrees. This week is set to be generally unsettled as low pressure dominates, according to the forecaster. It comes after the highest temperature of the year so far was recorded on Saturday – 31.1 degrees at Mount Dillon in Co Roscommon.
Irish Examiner
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Paul O'Connell on Portugal pasting: "We can only beat what is put in front of us"
A record win for Ireland and a biggest ever defeat for Portugal, but Paul O'Connell was more interested in effort and attitude than any line his team added to the history books in Lisbon on Saturday evening. The 106-7 defeat of the Portuguese by his second-string side made for the biggest ever victory and the most points scored in the history of the men's senior Test team. For the hosts it was a black day in the history less than two years since a breakthrough World Cup. Ireland claimed 16 tries and conceded just the one against a Tier 2 team that was blown away from minute one, and the interim head coach put it that all his side could do was tend to their own garden on the night at the Estadio Nacional. 'Listen, we can only beat what is put in front of us and they have performed quite well against Scotland and South Africa in the last few years so we were ready for a big challenge. And it wasn't about them really, it was more about us. 'It wasn't even about the rugby we were going to play. It was more about our mentality and that was a big part for us in terms of how they prepared and how they played. I was hoping it would be sticky and we would see what we were like. 'Then when we were pulling away I was kind of excited to see what our mentality would be like and how we were going to set our own standards. I was really pleased in that. They didn't care about the scoreline, they just kept playing as hard as they could. 'I love seeing some of the kick-chase stuff late in the game. It really shows the mentality of the players so I was really pleased from that point of view. The scoreline isn't ideal and it's not good for them but I was happy with the mentality.' Captain Craig Casey echoed that. The Munsterman said there was no talk of hitting triple digits at half-time when they led 52-0. And Casey had no idea that Ireland's standing record win at that point was an 83-3 defeat of the USA in New Hampshire in 2003. 'God no, no.' For O'Connell, who also guided the side to a comfortable win against Georgia last weekend, the tour has been proof that there are enough players down the depth chart in Ireland to blossom when offered the opportunity. 'We've seen it on the Emerging Ireland tour, just guys dying for the chance. They will do everything and anything once they get their chance. They are great tourists to coach, guys with an incredible attitude and it's your job as coaches not to 'f' that up.' For Portugal, this shows up just how far behind they are. A side that defeated Fiji in France in the global tournament in 2023 was no match for an Irish side flooded with players looking to make their mark and head coach Simon Mannix made the claim that this was a clear reflection of the road they need to travel. 'Explain it? I'm not sure that I can explain it. If it was a boxing fight it would have been called off at half-time,' said the man who once coached at Munster. 'We have bluffed ourselves in the last 12 months believing that we could perform. 'We're not in a performance space at all, we are in a total reset. We are in a development phase, Portuguese rugby, because of the hole that was left after the World Cup in 2023. We need to do a whole rest on what we are doing as a union, what we are doing with our players. 'We are starting to do that, those processes are in place. It is very difficult to play a Tier 1 nation when 1: you don't have access to your players, 2: the players have had no preparation to come and play this game with no warm-up game. 'And 3: we have had players coming off of ten weeks playing in a local championship that just cannot prepare them for this type of opposition, which is an outstandingly organised rugby team. 'Rather than throwing out excuses, we knew where we were at. Did we think we would be a hundred points worse than Ireland? No we didn't. Are we disappointed? We are absolutely devastated but we will work. Good things will come through if we work hard.'
The 42
a day ago
- Sport
- The 42
LIVE: Portugal v Ireland, Summer Series
If you fancy some pre-match reading, our match preview is available here. The visitors will be strong favorites against a side currently ranked 18th in the world, but Portugal – now led by former Munster backs coach Simon Mannix – will look to play with pace in order to stretch Ireland in the Lisbon sun. It's no secret Portugal did just that to Ireland in a pre-2023 World Cup training game, before they went on to record an historic win against Fiji in the tournament's pool stages. Not all of their playing squad are fully professional, with most playing in the country's domestic league and a few outliers based in French rugby. Portugal have qualified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup but have struggled when asked to punch above their weight. They scored three converted tries in a 64-21 loss in South Africa last summer, followed by November defeats to the USA and Scotland. High-scoring wins against Belgium, Germany and Romania saw them top their Rugby Europe pool, before a semi-final loss to Spain and bronze final defeat to Romania.
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Jack O'Connor pleased with 'rounded' performance but missed chances 'disappointing'
Where the third-quarter filleting of Armagh was 'freakish', Jack O'Connor described this latest Ulster conquest as 'more rounded'. And while a more rounded performance it was, when you scratch away at the surface and move beyond the eight goal chances not taken and eight first-half scoring chances from play not taken, it was again their third quarter lift that proved decisive. After Darragh Cavanan's 42nd minute point pulled Tyrone within one, Kerry went for nine-in-a-row in a 20-minute slow-kill to push their lead into double digits and secure an eighth All-Ireland final appearance on Jack's watch in the process. Tyrone, forgotten about during this third quarter, went scoreless for 22 minutes. 'We got to grips around the middle, that was the big thing,' said Jack. 'No better man than this man here beside me [Gavin White], he won a lot of breaks. That was the thing that was killing us early on. There was a bit of a disconnect between Shane Ryan's kickouts and fellas getting to the pitch of the breaks. We spoke about that at half-time and that was a big factor in the second half.' Jack's not wrong there regarding first-half restarts. Kerry lost five of their opening six. They'd lose two more before the half was out. Tyrone, by contrast, won six of their opening eight. Those stats were flipped on their head in the second period. 'This was a more rounded performance because I thought that third-quarter spell against Armagh was a bit freakish, it was like they just couldn't get their kickout away and we kept the ball up that end of the field. 'I think this was a more rounded performance because Tyrone are very big around the middle of the field, Kennedy and Kilpatrick are big men, they have a lot of targets, and Morgan has a serious weapon of a kickout. 'The two boys, Mark O'Shea and Seán O'Brien, plugged away great for most of the game, and then Joe O'Connor finished up midfield. And what a game Joe had. Powerful game, he is getting better all the time.' Joe, indeed, was back to his Munster semi-final best. The one black mark in the copybook was the third-quarter goal opening he blazed over. One of eight goal chances not converted. 'I know, I know,' replied Jack when this wastefulness was raised. 'Two or three at the back post that looked like tap-ins, it's disappointing because we prided ourselves throughout the league on scoring goals. 'At least we created the chances. Today we were creating goal chances, the last day we were creating two-point chances. I think it's a sign of the team that they recognised what's in front of them, and there was a bit more space inside this time, and they put the ball in and created those chances. 'Sure, look, of course we'd have had an easier afternoon if we'd converted a few of them.' A satisfactory afternoon, nonetheless. The Armagh display no longer sits in isolation. Albeit late in the day, Kerry are finally putting together a body of impressive evidence in this championship. 'There was a lot of noise about our game against Armagh, which meant Tyrone were coming in under the radar. That showed early on. In the first 15 minutes, Tyrone were the better team. They settled quicker and had us in a lot of bother on breaking ball around the middle. As soon as we got to terms with that, I thought the game changed and David's goal settled us. 'This is a mature team. Most of the boys are of a good age. They are in their mid-to-late 20s. Mature lads, and I think that was a mature performance. We slowed it down when we had to and sped it up when we had to. We kicked the ball through the lines well today. Found David in one-on-one situations, and that is always good for us.' Paul Geaney (shoulder), for the second game in succession, was an unused sub. Diarmuid O'Connor (shoulder), for the second game in succession, didn't tog. Tom O'Sullivan (calf) also sat this one out. The bottom injury line from Jack was not to rule out any of the three for involvement in a fortnight. 'Paul, in an emergency, could have been put in today. We just would want to make sure he didn't have a reoccurrence of the injury. He'll certainly be available to play in the final. 'Tom is giving himself a big chance of being available. Whether that transpires or not I couldn't tell you. And Diarmuid is tipping away and hoping to get into the fray. He's done bits and pieces since the Cavan game. So, I wouldn't rule any of the three of them out now.' Staying with the next fortnight, it is among Jack's favourite times of the year, if not his favourite. 'There is nothing like the two-week... it used to be three or four weeks to an All-Ireland final in the old days, but it'll be a great two weeks. There is always a great buzz around the county. Really looking forward to it now.'
Irish Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
David Clifford's 1-9 sees Kerry into All-Ireland final with room to spare over Tyrone
All-Ireland SFC semi-final: Kerry 1-20 Tyrone 0-17 On the hottest day of the year, Kerry got the job done long before the final whistle to qualify for a third All-Ireland SFC final in four years. Tyrone were reduced to booming in long, hopeful balls during the closing stages after Kerry made a decisive move in the third quarter of this semi-final to drain all hope from the Ulster side's challenge. Kerry celebrated briefly at the final whistle but many of the players were off down the tunnel before Joe O'Connor had even finished his man-of-the-match interview along the Hogan Stand sideline. The Tyrone players lingered on the pitch until they were accompanied only by some of the panel's young children and a crafty flock of ravenous seagulls who descended upon the stadium to feed on whatever parcels of food had been left behind from the departed 62,434 spectators. READ MORE For most of the afternoon the Tyrone forwards had been forced to live off scraps, while at the other end of the field David Clifford was in gluttonous form, finishing the game with 1-9 and ensuring Pádraig Hampsey will spend a few nights seeing the back of his Kerry jersey in his nightmares. [ Kerry 1-20 Tyrone 0-17 - As it happened Opens in new window ] Kerry led 1-9 to 0-9 at half-time, having played with the breeze in that opening period, but they won the match in a commanding second-half display. Darragh Canavan kept Tyrone in the contest with four points – including one two-pointer – during the opening 10 minutes after the restart. However, from the 43rd to the 63rd minute Kerry outscored Tyrone 0-8 to no score to lead 1-20 to 0-13. Tyrone kicked five successive wides in a six-minute period during that spell, too, and with each miscued effort the energy visibly drained from Tyrone's challenge. Four of their starting six forwards had been taken off by the end. Even coming down the home straight, Kerry's energy and desire were impressive – Brian Ó Beaglaoich put his body on the line to make a superb last-ditch diving block on a Niall Devlin shot. A Tyrone goal wouldn't have made any difference to the outcome, but Ó Beaglaoich's willingness to make that block offered an insight to Kerry's mindset. And though the final 10 minutes played out more like the end of a one-sided league game than a closely contested All-Ireland semi-final, Tyrone had actually laid the foundations for a possible upset in a decent first-half showing. Jason Foley of Kerry attempts to block an effort from Tyrone's Eoin McElholm during the semi-final at Croke Park. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho There were significant changes made to both teams before throw-in, with Paudie Clifford and Mark O'Shea starting for Kerry while Micheál Burns and Conor Geaney dropped to the bench. Eoin McElholm and Ben McDonnell came in from the start for Tyrone with Rory Brennan and Peter Harte making way. The announcement of McElholm's inclusion – his first senior championship start – generated a huge chorus of cheers from the Tyrone fans inside the stadium. Dylan Casey immediately picked up McElholm while Paul Murphy marshalled Canavan and Jason Foley marked Darren McCurry. At the other end of the field Hampsey was given the onerous task of tagging David Clifford, Cormac Quinn picked up Dylan Geaney while Devlin marked Paudie Clifford. Such was the heat in Croke Park that several players carried ice packs as they walked the pitch for the pre-game parade, Mattie Donnelly dabbing the back of his neck as the band marched down by the Cusack Stand. But Tyrone started like a group of players with ice in their veins – McElholm taking to the moment like a seasoned veteran as he danced inside the Kerry defence to feed Ciarán Daly for his side's opening point in the fourth minute. That made it 0-1 apiece after O'Shea had popped over an early point following a foul on David Clifford. Even in those opening stages, Clifford looked dangerous. But Tyrone were the better team in the opening quarter of an hour and a nice left-footed point by McElholm put them 0-5 to 0-2 ahead. They had also created two goal chances, the second of those saw Shane Ryan save well from Darren McCurry, though the shot was hit at a nice height for the Kerry goalkeeper. Tyrone also turned over Kerry's first four kick-outs. But the Munster champions simply refused to get flustered. O'Connor was doing brilliantly driving forward from the middle of the field and as the game progressed the clearer it became that Hampsey was struggling to get a handle on David Clifford. Not that it was all the Tyrone defender's fault, he was left exposed too often. But before Clifford netted his 29th-minute goal, it's fair to say many in Croke Park felt such a score had been coming. Kerry's Joe O'Connor celebrates scoring a point. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Mike Breen was allowed saunter up the field unchecked and gave a lovely weighted handpass inside to Clifford. The Fossa man still had a bit of work to do but used his trademark bounce deftly to buy some extra space and evade Niall Morgan before placing the ball to the back of the net. Morgan made some fine stops during the game but Clifford's genius with the hop was fitting of the occasion. Tyrone probably weren't too disheartened to only go in three down at the break because they had the wind to come in the second half. Canavan reduced the gap to two inside the opening minute and when he added a two-pointer soon after it appeared a gripping climax might be in the offing. Kerry had other ideas though. It was too warm for such drama so instead they shifted through the gears and got back safely down the road with little fuss. Tyrone's attack started to malfunction, too, during that second half. McElholm, Daly and Seánie O'Donnell had been lively and productive in the first half but their influence on the game waned and all three were eventually hauled ashore. Kerry had repelled Tyrone's early onslaught. Tyrone couldn't do likewise when the Kerry one followed. The Kingdom now await the winners of Sunday's semi-final between Donegal and Meath. It'll be a green and gold decider, either way. The writing of Kerry epitaphs seems a lifetime ago now. KERRY: Shane Ryan; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Mike Breen, Gavin White; Joe O'Connor (0-0-2), Mark O'Shea; Seán O'Brien, Seán O'Shea (0-0-3, 2f), Graham O'Sullivan (0-0-1); David Clifford (1-1-7, 0-4f), Paudie Clifford (0-0-2), Dylan Geaney (0-0-1). Subs: Killian Spillane (0-0-2) for Geaney (48 mins); Evan Looney for Casey (58); Tadhg Morley for Breen, Micheál Burns for O'Brien (both 62); Tony Brosnan for P Clifford (65). TYRONE: Niall Morgan; Cormac Quinn, Pádraig Hampsey, Niall Devlin; Ben McDonnell, Peter Teague, Kieran McGeary (0-0-1); Brian Kennedy, Conn Kilpatrick; Seánie O'Donnell (0-0-2), Mattie Donnelly (0-0-2), Ciarán Daly (0-0-2); Eoin McElholm (0-0-1), Darren McCurry, Darragh Canavan (0-1-5, 0-2f). Subs: Michael McKernan for McDonnell, Mark Bradley for McCurry (both 48 mins); Peter Harte for Daly (52); Ruairí Canavan (0-1-0) for McElholm (56); Michael O'Neill for O'Donnell (67). Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan).
