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PM O'SULLIVAN: Does beating Kilkenny represent hurling’s biggest challenge?

Friday, May 27, 2016

Last weekend’s hurling was a severe disappointment but not without its revelations, writes PM ’O Sullivan

TONY LEEN: Jose Mourinho: A huge personality for a huge club

Friday, May 27, 2016

Manchester United has appointed a wounded animal with a ferocious appetite to prove some people wrong, writes Tony Leen

MICHAEL MOYNIHAN: A Bronx tale. Or two.

Friday, May 27, 2016Letter from New York

In the yellow taxi - literally - from JFK when the text comes through.

BRENDAN O'BRIEN: Why it’s vital the GAA must stop clinging to the past and embrace the future

Friday, May 27, 2016Brendan O'Brien

Not everyone in the GAA community is happy with the fact that Bruce Springsteen’s gigs at Croke Park tonight and on Sunday have caused Championship games to be shifted around the calendar, but you have to hand it to the Boss in that he rarely lets the crowds down. Three-hour sets are de rigeur and an iconic play-list is routinely swept through for effect, writes Brendan O’Brien

PAUL ROUSE: Real Tennis: Without a place to play, any sport will wither and die

Friday, May 27, 2016Paul Rouse

IT IS the 26th of May 1890.

JOHN MCHENRY: Rory McIlroy’s putting woes a godsend to Jordan Spieth and Jason Day

Thursday, May 26, 2016By John McHenry

If there’s one part of Rory McIlroy’s sensational game that most often lets him down, then it’s his putting and last week was much of the same, writes John McHenry.

KIERAN SHANNON: GAA too self-congratulatory on progress as children still lack action

Tuesday, May 24, 2016By Kieran Shannon

This week’s column is not about what transpired at the weekend in Thurles, or Croke Park, or Celtic Park either. The setting was one of the thousands of quiet fields that help make the GAA what it is; the event, an U10 camogie blitz featuring five or six neighbouring clubs, one of which my daughter plays for.

JOHN FOGARTY: 10 facts that haunt the Cork hurlers

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Leaving Semple Stadium around 8.30pm on Sunday, the scoreboards at the Killinan and Town Ends still carried news of the day. They in themselves were damning enough of Cork’s performance but when put into context their display becomes a whole lot worse.

DONAL O'GRADY: Cork lost because of fundamental failures

Tuesday, May 24, 2016By Donal O'Grady

Tipperary’s superb first touch, commitment, control of the midfield/halfback area and the slick movement up front of John ‘Bubbles’ Dwyer, John McGrath and Seamus Callanan posed massive challenges for Cork on Sunday.

DAVID SHONFIELD: Louis Van Gaal was never going to be a quick fix

Tuesday, May 24, 2016By David Shonfield

A lot has changed in the two years since Manchester United appointed Louis Van Gaal, but one thing has not: The man himself.

JOHN MCHENRY: Rory McIlroy’s bomb into 16th one of the greatest shots I’ve seen

Monday, May 23, 2016By John McHenry

At times yesterday at the K Club, you might have got the impression Rory McIlroy was annoyed by what the weather was doing to his tournament, but the on-off nature of this Irish Open only added to the drama on a day McIlroy struggled for so long to find the killer punch that would secure him his first title.

MICHAEL MOYNIHAN: The tragic tale of Adrian Doherty - a lost football genius

Monday, May 23, 2016By Michael Moynihan

You may be aware of a new book on the shelves by Oliver Kay about Adrian Doherty, the Northern Ireland youngster who impressed at Manchester United before dying tragically young.

LARRY RYAN: Cork-Tipperary legend won’t survive many days like this

Monday, May 23, 2016By Larry Ryan

The day hadn’t decided yet. In Cork, optimism leaked through the curtains early. On Twitter, Jerry Buttimer used new Senate powers to annoint Tipp-Cork the start of summer.

ANTHONY DALY: Munster championship has to be about more than yesterday’s turn-off

Monday, May 23, 2016By Anthony Daly

I’ve often wondered about GAA teams’ approach to big games when compared to the marquee rugby sides. The GAA boys tear out of tunnels like they’ve just broken out of prison after being locked up for 20 years. The rugby boys walk out, often holding the hands of mascots, appearing like they’re heading for a tea-party before turning into savages.

LARRY RYAN: Beware a Cork display of modesty

Saturday, May 21, 2016Larry Ryan

I can trace, to the hour, when it became evident that the current Cork crisis would cut very deep. But we’ll come back to that.

ANTHONY DALY: Dónal Óg Cusack was shouting: ‘We are Cork, boy, we are Cork’

Saturday, May 21, 2016Anthony Daly

Cork teams always had the ability to turn the bookies into fools. They had an arrogance and strut about them. But that swagger is gone for a bit, writes Anthony Daly.

PAT KEANE: The Gurkha adds further intrigue to Derby picture

Saturday, May 21, 2016By Pat Keane

Just when we thought it was safe to assume Aidan O’Brien’s three-year-old colts were rather ordinary, along came The Gurkha last Sunday to land the French 2000 Guineas by five and a half lengths.

DONAL O'GRADY: How Tipperary will create space to go for the jugular

Saturday, May 21, 2016By Donal O'Grady

A lack of defensive fundamentals, rather than opponents’ creativity, often decides a game. Cork must be robust but flexible at the back in Thurles, writes Donal O’Grady.

LIAM MACKEY: Cork-born commercial director Ian Flanagan loving Leicester’s champagne season

Saturday, May 21, 2016 Liam Mackey

Ian Flanagan, the Cork-born commercial director of Leicester City, allows himself a chuckle when I put him on the spot.

DARA O'CINNEIDE: It’s time Derry stopped playing the blame game

Saturday, May 21, 2016By Dara Ó Cinnéide

In the seven weeks since their last competitive game (a six points defeat against Armagh), have Derry come up with something that will put Tyrone on the back foot?

JOHN MCHENRY: Rookies must learn lessons on road from amateur to pro game

Saturday, May 21, 2016By John McHenry

It’s a road well-travelled, but the life of a rookie transitioning from the amateur to the professional ranks, like we see with our own Paul Dunne and Gary Hurley this week, is tumultuous at best.

RONAN O'GARA: You don’t have to lose one first. But maybe it helps.

Friday, May 20, 2016

The Racing 92 physio was in tears in the dressing room in Lyon last Saturday. That was Patrice Boutevin’s third European Cup final loss, and while it’s not nice to see adult men broken up, it’s good he cares so much.

JOHN MCHENRY: Irish Open: Cream already rising to the top at the K Club

Friday, May 20, 2016John McHenry

When the K Club was announced as the venue to host this year’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, my initial thoughts were that it was a wonderful opportunity for another Irish victory on home soil.

PM O'SULLIVAN: The Ciotóg Side: Tipperary need elbow grease as much as polish against Cork

Friday, May 20, 2016PM O’Sullivan

Here come the hurlers of Cork and Tipperary, peering around the curtain, all but tiptoeing into the limelight.

BRENDAN O'BRIEN: There’s no safety net on the managerial merry-go-round

Friday, May 20, 2016Brendan O'Brien

Billy Martin once observed the only sure way for any baseball manager to know whether or not he had been fired was to jump in the car and drive to the stadium, writes Brendan O’Brien.

BRENDAN O'BRIEN: Dubai Duty Free’s successful sponsorship can make Irish Open a marquee draw on European Tour

Friday, May 20, 2016Brendan O'Brien

Dubai Duty Free chief Colm McLoughlin believes there are good times ahead for the Irish Open, writes Brendan O’Brien.