Watching Kerry people over the last 3 weeks has been a fascinating exercise. The modern age has been great for the sports fan. There are now a plethora of different platforms to consume GAA content on. Podcasts, blogs, youtube channels not to mention the more traditional avenues. The main take-away from everything I have watched…
After over 18 months, Catherine Costigan is back in the cage this weekend on the KSW card in London’s Wembley arena. I spent an entertaining 90 minutes chatting with Catherine on the phone last Sunday. Costigan is never short of good conversation but I decided to let this one settle for awhile before writing it…
A curious interview. Of course it didn’t help that Ariel Helwani and ESPN treated the roll-out of it, like they were issuing the first dispatches from the Cuban missile crisis. Ariel, lest we forget, was one of the earlier subscribers to the Conor Mcgregor story before the Crumlin native ever set foot inside an Octagon….
Around 1987, I remember an old man in our village died. He was over the 80 mark so the wake was more of a carnival atmosphere than a morose affair. A celebration of a life well lived. The woman of the house, his daughter-in-law, recounted to each new visitor that he passed peacefully in his…
” Tyson didn’t bite Holyfield’s ear because he was this savage or hungry animal. Stop the crap. He was looking for a way to get himself out – because he knew he wasn’t that guy, he wasn’t a Warrior – or a Samurai – and when you’re not “That Guy” Guess what you have a…
This year, Galway celebrates 150 years of horse racing. You might be forgiven for assuming that the Galway Races, like many long running festivals, started from small beginnings. Eh….not exactly……..on August 17th 1869 there were at least 40,000 lunatics on hand to watch the first day’s proceedings. It’s amazing to reflect that this race meeting is…
I spend a good chunk of my working week on the N84. At this stage, I know the road arteries between Tuam and Westport like the back of my hand. On a good day, it’s about an hour’s commute, there’s little in the way of traffic but there is a trade-off in tarmac quality. It’s…
I was hazily reminded of a sporting scene from the 90’s yesterday as I watched Shane Lowry’s homecoming celebrations in Clara, Co. Offaly on the RTE News. I seem to be on a 90’s roll the last two weeks. In the 48 hours after his British Open victory in Portrush, the phrase ” The People’s…
** Update Shane Lowry won the Open Championship by 6 shots. The heftiest and most raucous GAA crowd on the island was in Portrush rather than Croke Park yesterday. What they were treated to was a damn sight more entertaining too. Shane Lowry scythed his way through the field like a scalding hot bread-knife through…
Many people think that Mayo vs Donegal in two weeks time will be the crunch match in this Super 8’s group. Given the psychology of this Mayo team I think that’s probably wrong. Mayo play their fifth game in 4 weeks tomorrow. After the tonking they got in Fitzgerald Stadium last week it will be…
BRAVE Combat Federation’s first-trip to London, in which the promotion will host an exclusive, invite-only event on July 25th, has a few more VIP guests confirmed. The British combat sports community will be gathered at the Copper Box Arena, inside the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, as more big names have been confirmed to attend. After…
I suppose unless you are a Galway GAA fan you won’t remember the specifics of the second half of the 1998 All-Ireland final. Galway started the second half three points down. The short synopsis is that a number of Galway players stood up to the plate in the latter half and in the end Galway…