Latest news with #Quirke
Irish Daily Mirror
01-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Tipperary captain pays emotioal tribute to Dillon Quirke after All-Ireland-win
Sam O'Farrell paid tribute to Dillon Quirke after captaining Tipperary to victory in the All-Ireland U20 Hurling Championship final on Saturday. The Premier County defeated Kilkenny at Nowlan Park in the decider. Tipp ran out winners by 3-19 to 1-16 thanks to two second half goals from Paddy McCormack before Conor Martin got the third as they lifted the James Nowlan Cup for the first time since 2018, when Quirke was part of the winning team. Quirke died after collapsing during a county senior championship game at Semple Stadium in 2022. The Dillon Quirke Foundation was set up in his memory to raise awareness of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) and fund widespread cardiac screening for young people (aged 13-17) involved in sport. Paying tribute to Quirke, O'Farrell said during his speech after Saturday's final: "On happy occasions like this, there's always some sadness when we think of the people who are no longer with us to celebrate this victory. There's one man in particular I want to mention, who wherever Tipperary hurling teams play will never be forgotten. That man is Dillon Quirke. "An All-Ireland winner at under-21 level in 2018. For the blue and gold, he always played with pride, determination, courage and skill. And it is those qualities that we wanted to bring here today and represent the Tipperary jersey as Dylan did when he played. "Dylan will continue to inspire Tipperary hurlers for many years to come."
RTÉ News
30-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
How a Mullingar sweet shop has embraced viral food trends
When David Quirke opened Sugarplum Sweetery in Co Westmeath just three years ago alongside his wife, Denise, it was partly driven by a desire to balance their healthy restaurant Wholesome, which they'd opened three years prior, with something more "naughty". Creating one of the most viral and coveted sweet treats to hit the Irish food market in years was probably not on their five-year plan. Sugarplum Sweetery, a multicoloured and eye-catching shop in Mullingar, had been drawing sweet fanatics with its selection of gummies and chocolates since it opened, but it wasn't until they launched their take on the viral Dubai chocolate bar that business truly started to boom. "We've always been a social media-led brand", Quirke said at TikTok's 2025 Trend Forecast event in Dublin on Thursday. "Everything we do, we're obviously massively inspired by Willy Wonka, everything is nostalgia-based. When you come to our ship it's all about an experience. It's bringing back in that nostalgia." Heavily inspired by the likes of Roald Dahl, and anything that excites the imagination as well as the stomach, Quirke recalled seeing how the original Dubai chocolate bar by Fix - a thick milk chocolate bar filled with pistachio cream and crispy Knafeh pastry flakes - captured the attention of viewers across the world, before dying down again as homebakers tried their hand at copying the recipe. The couple travelled to Dubai to taste the original, spending a month tweaking their recipe at home to create a version that uses Irish butter and other "secret ingredients". Taking a new product from testing to market is an arduous process, and one made more challenging for the team due to the time of year: "When we seen that there was a massive demand for this, it came around Christmas, which is our busiest time of the year - about a third of your yearly turnover would come in December. To add on [the] Dubai [bar] and a massive viral hit, we had to hire huge amounts of staff so quickly, we had to train them up, we had to expand our kitchens, buy new equipment, and all of that took a few weeks or a few months, but we expanded as fast as we possibly could." Despite this, there was still a four-week delay for customers waiting to get their hands on the bar - something that only added to its appeal. "We thought that might be damaging to the business, that people might not want to wait as long, but it went even more nuts when people were waiting four weeks. Everyone wanted to jump into the queue to get chocolate." Now, six months after the launch, the Sugarplum team is still working 24-hour days. Far from being a one-off viral hit, Quirke believes their take on the pistachio-filled bar isn't going anywhere. "It's all down to reorders. It's something that we feel will still be our number one product in five years' time." Having tasted virality once, it's not surprising then that the team has embraced novelty and catching trends as they come: "You become addicted to that viral nature of it. Even six months on the company is very viral on TikTok and that's down to jumping on every trend that's there." Their latest launch - thick-filled chocolate bars packed with indulgent ingredients - is another response to dessert bars, which have proven popular on social media.
RTÉ News
11-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Waterford beat Cork to secure Munster final berth
Waterford are through to the TG4 Munster Senior Football Championship final after an impressive win over Cork at Dungarvan GAA Club on Sunday. Two goals in two minutes early in the second half were the key scores as the home side have reached the decider for the first time since 2019. Lauran McGregor and Karen McGrath got the all-important green flags to seal the win for the home side, a victory they thoroughly deserved on the day. They took the lead in the second minute when Aine O'Neill scored, with Chloe Fennell adding a second as the home side were dominating the early exchanges. They thought they had a goal when McGregor scored but it was ruled out for overcarrying. Katie Quirke got Cork's first score, after 13 minutes, from a free, before Kellyann Hogan replied at the other end. Two more from Quirke, both frees, saw the sides level after 20 minutes. Emma Murray put Waterford back in front, with another Quirke free levelling it again. A point from Libby Coppinger put Cork in front for the first time, before Fennell's second had them level again. A great run from Aoife Healy put Cork back in front with three minutes to half time, but a late free from Hogan had the sides level at the break, 0-06 each. Emma Murray put Waterford back in front, before Emma Cleary had the sides level again. It looked like the game was swinging in Cork's favour when Quirke set up Healy for Cork's goal, to make it 1-07 to 0-07. But Waterford broke straight down the pitch with McGregor getting their first goal. Two minutes later and they had their second, with McGregor setting up Karen McGrath to score. Hogan added a point, to make it 2-08 to 1-07 as Waterford had one foot in the final. With 53 minutes gone Waterford got their third goal, with McGregor scoring again as they were now well in control. Cleary pointed for Cork but late scores from O'Neill and Katie Murray secured the win for Waterford as they now face Kerry in the final on 25 May at Mallow. Scorers Waterford: L McGregor 2-1, K McGrath 1-0, K Hogan (1f), C Fennell 0-3 each, A O'Neill, E Murray 0-2 each, K Murray 0-1. Cork: A Healy 1-1, K Quirke 0-4 (4f), E Cleary 0-2, L Coppinger, L Hallihan 0-1. Waterford: K Gardiner; R Casey, E Power, A Murray; C Murray, K McGrath, M Ryan; K Hogan, H Power; L Ni Harta, K Murray, E Murray; L McGregor, C Walsh, C Fennell. Subs: L O'Shea for L Ni Harta (48), A Power for C Fennell (60). Cork: S Murphy; D Kiniry, S Kelly, M Duggan; E O'Shea, S Cronin, R Corkery; M O'Callaghan, A Healy; K Horgan, L O'Mahony, E Cleary; A O'Sullivan, L Coppinger, K Quirke. Subs: A Ryan for K Horgan (ht), L Hallihan for L Coppinger (40), H Looney for R Corkery (41), A Ring for L O'Mahony (48), S McGoldrick for M O'Callaghan (54).
Irish Examiner
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Goals key as Waterford oust Cork and reach first Munster decider since 2019
Waterford 3-12 Cork 1-9 Waterford are through to the TG4 Munster Senior Football Championship final after an impressive win over Cork at Dungarvan GAA Club on Sunday. Two goals in two minutes early in the second half were the key scores as the home side reached the decider for the first time since 2019. Lauran McGregor and Karen McGrath got the all-important green flags to seal the win for the home side, a victory they thoroughly deserved on the day. They took the lead in the second minute when Aine O'Neill scored, with Chloe Fennell adding a second as the home side were dominating the early exchanges. They thought they had a goal when Lauren McGregor scored but it was ruled out for overcarrying. Katie Quirke got Cork's first score, after 13 minutes, from a free, before Kellyann Hogan replied at the other end. Two more from Quirke, both frees, saw the sides level after 20 minutes, a position Cork would have been happy with at that point. Emma Murray put Waterford back on front, with another Quirke free levelling it again. A point from Libby Coppinger put Cork in front for the first time, before Fennell's second had them level again. A great run from Aoife Healy put Cork back in front with three minutes to half time, but a late free from Hogan had the sides level at the break, 0-6 each. Emma Murray put Waterford back in front, before Emma Cleary had the sides level again. It looked like the game was swinging in Cork's favour when Quirke set up Healy for Cork's goal, to make it 1-7 to 0-7. But Waterford broke straight down the pitch with Lauren McGregor getting their first goal. Two minutes later and they had their second, with McGregor setting up Karen McGrath to score. Hogan added a point, to make it 2-8 to 1-7 as Waterford had one foot in the final. With 53 minutes gone Waterford got their third goal, with McGregor scoring again as they were now well in control. Cleary pointed for Cork but late scores from O'Neill and Katie Murray secured the win for Waterford as they now face Kerry in the final on May 25 at Mallow. Scorers for Waterford: L McGregor 2-1, K McGrath 1-0, K Hogan (1f), C Fennell 0-3 each, A O'Neill, E Murray 0-2 each, K Murray 0-1. Scorers for Cork: A Healy 1-1, K Quirke 0-4 (4f), E Cleary 0-2, L Coppinger, L Hallihan 0-1. WATERFORD: K Gardiner; R Casey, E Power, A Murray; C Murray, K McGrath, M Ryan; K Hogan, H Power; L Ni Harta, K Murray, E Murray; L McGregor, C Walsh, C Fennell. Subs: L O'Shea for L Ni Harta (48), A Power for C Fennell (60). CORK: S Murphy; D Kiniry, S Kelly, M Duggan; E O'Shea, S Cronin, R Corkery; M O'Callaghan, A Healy; K Horgan, L O'Mahony, E Cleary; A O'Sullivan, L Coppinger, K Quirke. Subs: A Ryan for K Horgan (ht), L Hallihan for L Coppinger (40), H Looney for R Corkery (41), A Ring for L O'Mahony (48), S McGoldrick for M O'Callaghan (54). Referee: Seamus Mulvihill (Kerry).
Irish Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Profit at casino company rises 5.5%
Pretax profit at the Dublin casino business established by the late Richard Quirke last year increased by 5.5 per cent to €8.22 million. Accounts filed by Dublin Pool and Juke Box Company Ltd show it enjoyed the profit increase as revenue dipped marginally from €12.96 million to €12.72 million in the 12 months to the end of June last. Founding shareholder Mr Quirke died on October 5th last and a note with the accounts said Mr Quirke's 'contribution to the development and success of the business is immeasurable'. The company has been renamed Carlton Entertainment business is today run by Mr Quirke's daughter Debbie Lawrence, and its flagship outlet is the Carlton Casino – formerly Dr Quirkey's Good Time Emporium on Dublin's O'Connell Street. READ MORE The directors state the principal activity of the company 'is the provision of diverse entertainment offerings' at a number of venues in Dublin and the €8.22 million pretax profit last year includes a non-cash €3.99 million gain arising from the reversal of an asset impairment incurred before 2023. The profit for 2024 was also boosted by a €979,992 revaluation of a freehold property. The profits for 2024 and 2023 followed €17.79 million in cumulative losses over the preceding four years which coincided with the impact of Covid-19 which shut down the business from March 2020 to August 2021. The losses also coincided with an alleged €2.56 million fraud perpetrated on the business that was first uncovered by Richard Quirke and another director in December 2020. In response to the alleged fraud, the firm hired external forensic consultants and previous accounts filed revealed that 'this led to the identification of unpaid taxation and interest liabilities'. The interest bill from the last number of years paid on overdue tax by the casino and arcade business now totals €2.74 million. This followed €149,350 paid out last year in interest on overdue tax, which followed a fiscal 2023 total of €427,972 made up of interest of €136,221 and a €291,751 penalty on overdue tax. In response to the alleged fraud, the company implemented an extensive and wide-ranging programme of governance and operational improvements. Shareholder funds totalled €29.86 million at the end of last June, with most of the company's wealth concentrated in property with a book value of €28.7 million. Cash funds increased from €4.75 million to €5.43 million. Four directors served during the year and aggregate pay to directors increased from €902,367 to €993,039. Numbers employed remained at 81 as staff costs totalled €5.26 million.
