Making history

10 years ago

By Mark McGowan On Saturday the riders will roll across the starting line for the 103rd edition of the Tour de France. With a wave of the flag, the starter signals the beginning of three weeks of ecstasy for some, despair for many, and agony for all. For three weeks the brightly coloured peloton will wind across the nation, through […]

10 years ago

Where have they gone? Ryan Giggs made his punditry debut before ITV’s coverage of the Euro 2016 quarter-final between Poland and Portugal. And it was an assured first appearance as the softly spoken Giggs spoke with calmness and intelligence that is often lacking in television punditry. Giggs is expected to announce his departure from Manchester […]

10 years ago

Short skirts and slim jims on court today A rainy Wimbledon so far means there are loads of seriously good clashes crammed in today, although keeping track of the reschedules is tricky.  Brit Johanna Konta is the favourite to beat 2014 finalist Eugenie Bouchard. Since losing out on the title to Petra Kvitova two years ago, […]

10 years ago

Crimes against hairmanity.

10 years ago

Not a fan

10 years ago

Short turnaround

10 years ago

The best tennis player in history will take on Wimbledon’s biggest underdog when Roger Federer walks on centre court with Marcus Willis shortly before 6pm. One has a net worth of $350 million and the other charges £30 per hour for a lesson. And this is what makes the annual spectacle at SW19 so special. […]

10 years ago

Shocked

10 years ago

Women’s singles 6/4 favourite Serena Williams will take to centre court today on her quest to win a 22nd Grand Slam title, equalling Steffi Graph, and a seventh at SW19. She reportedly feels better than when losing the French Open to Muguruza but faces a slippery opponent in Amra Sadikovic, who threw in the towel […]

10 years ago

Sad news

10 years ago

Scenes….

10 years ago

It’s been a bad week for England. The turmoil in the country caused by the decision to leave the EU has now been followed by a humiliating exit from Euro 2016 as England were outplayed and out-thought by a brilliant Iceland side. Within minutes of the final whistle Roy Hodgson announced that he would not […]

10 years ago

What a shock!

10 years ago

Anonymous tip-off

10 years ago

Fifty weeks of waiting and it’s arrived. While it’s possibly too early to pour out the Pimms this Monday, we can get in the Wimbledon mood when defending men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic opens play on Centre Court at 1pm. The world number one faces wildcard James Ward, ranked 177th, and his odds of 1/200 […]

10 years ago

Former UFC heavyweight Ryan Jimmo has died in a hit and run car crash in Edmonton, Canada. The 34-year-old Canadian, who was released by the promotion last year, died on Sunday evening and the city’s homicide unit are investigating the case. According to CBS: “an altercation occurred between the drivers of two vehicles at around 2:15 […]

10 years ago

The bigger picture

10 years ago

There was an early penalty and Ireland finished with 10-men but there was nothing controversial about France’s last-16 victory over Martin O’Neill’s men in Lyon. Certainly it was nowhere near as controversial as the last time the two sides met when Thierry Henry’s handball helped France reach the 2010 World Cup at Ireland’s expense. It […]

10 years ago

Dublin were too good in the end. Meath started brightly in the Leinster Football Championship semi-final at Croke Park but ultimately Dublin were too strong, running out winners by 0-21 to 0-11. Jim Gavin’s side stepped up a gear in the second half and pulled away from Meath to set up a Leinster final against […]

10 years ago

What a difference four years makes. Euro 2016: Ireland reach the last-16 of a 24-team Euros before being knocked out by the hosts France. Euro 2012: Ireland knocked out at the group stage of a 16-team Euros having lost all three matches. Two tournaments, both times Ireland fail to go beyond the last 16, but […]

10 years ago

Head held high

10 years ago

It just wasn’t to be. Ireland’s European campaign is over 13 days after it began in Paris against the Swedes. The fans’ campaign has been going a little longer. Despite leading for 54 minutes in Lyon Ireland ran out of steam, had Shane Duffy sent off and France were deserved winners in the end. You […]

10 years ago

Great atmosphere

10 years ago

Best fans in the world. The build-up to Ireland’s last-16 clash against hosts France in Lyon was dominated by talk of how few Irish fans there would be in the stadium. There were fewer than 5,000 tickets in a 60,000 seater stadium allocated to the Fans in Green, a cause for real concern given how […]

10 years ago

Scrapping

10 years ago

17 fights, 17 wins, 17 knockouts.

10 years ago

He took a different route

10 years ago

Bad day at the office

10 years ago

Great news

10 years ago

“You cannot create more hate”

10 years ago

Making money whilst being patriotic

10 years ago

He almost explodes with joy

10 years ago

What a moment. It was one of many iconic images that came out of Ireland’s stunning victory over Italy in Lille, a win which, in case you somehow missed it, secured a last-16 tie against hosts France in Lyon on Sunday. Roy Keane and Martin O’Neill, the two men who have guided Ireland firstly through […]

10 years ago

Who’s next? Graeme McDowell has followed Rory McIlroy in making himself unavailable for selection for Ireland’s team for the Olympic Games on Rio. Like McIlroy, McDowell has cited fears over the Zika virus as his reasoning for opting out. “I woke yesterday morning to the news that Rory McIlroy had withdrawn from the Irish Olympic […]

10 years ago

Brave man

10 years ago

Legend

10 years ago

Robbie Brady. If you had to pick a player who summed up everything that’s good about Irish football you would pick Robbie Brady. Skill, courage, passing, technique, heart. He has them all. And now is name is there alongside Houghton, Whelan, McGrath and Keane as a legend of Irish football. Brady’s 85th minute header secured […]

10 years ago

The greatest thing you’ll ever hear. That’s not even that big an overstatement. Four minutes into stoppage time Iceland secured their first ever victory in a major tournament and set up a last-16 clash against England next Monday. That’s Iceland, a country with a popular of 323,000 people, in the last-16 of the European Championships. […]

10 years ago

Clearing things up

10 years ago

It’s here. There’s nowhere left to turn now. The next couple of hours will decide Ireland’s Euro 2016 fate. It’s a black and white situation. Win and we’ll go through. Lose or draw and we go out. Martin O’Neill has made four changes to the Ireland team that lost so badly against Belgium as he […]

10 years ago

The only person hoping for a draw

10 years ago

It’s harder to work out how this tournament works than it is to get knocked out of it. The expansion of Euro 2016 to 24 teams from 16 has taken a simple tournament formula and turned into a minefield. For example here is the explanation from Wikipedia of how it is decided who the four-best third-placed […]

10 years ago

It’s crunch time. To have any chance of progressing to the last-16 Ireland must do something they have done only three times in history – win a game at a major tournament. Can Italy in Lille take its place in Irish football folklore alongside England in Stuttgart, Italy in Giants Stadium and Saudi Arabia in Yokohama? […]

10 years ago

He’s on fire, you know

10 years ago

The big man is certainly banging on the door. Shane Lowry was a 100/1 shot to win the US Open but went into the final round on Sunday evening with a four-shot lead. Unfortunately he couldn’t quite do the business and Dustin Johnson instead claimed his first major in dramatic circumstances. Rory McIlroy leads criticism […]

10 years ago

Bit harsh

10 years ago

Tres rapide

10 years ago

Vital skill for a centre-half

10 years ago

Some tasty clashes

10 years ago