Aidan O’Brien on Ballydoyle & the importance of his staff
Aidan O’Brien on his Irish Derby success through the years
Fran Berry sits down for an in depth chat with Aidan O’Brien
Video – Aidan O’Brien on Ballydoyle & the importance of his staff
Leinster Preview, Live Scores & Team News : Louth v Offaly
Offaly and Louth will play the Leinster Senior Football Championship opener this Sunday at 1:30 pm in Pairc Tailteann, Navan.
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE SCORES ON LOUTH v OFFALY
Both sides come into this year’s Leinster SFC after successful National Football League campaigns that saw the two sides win promotion.
Offaly finished as runners-up in Division Three while Louth beat Carlow by eight points to confirm their spot in next year’s Division Three.
Offaly weathered storms from opposition to reach the Division Three final before being swept aside by winners Derry.
Defensive errors were not unfamiliar to John Maughan’s side before the final.
Half-back John Moloney gifted Wicklow a goal early on in the season opener.
Mickey Harte’s Louth will want to force errors like these and have a penchant for goals.
Star player Sam Mulroy has been the biggest danger in attack for Harte’s men and nabbed four goals for the Wee County in their promotion push.
Ciarán Keenan has also impressed in the forward line under Mickey Harte.
The pair will be a handful for Offaly’s defence.
Offaly’s attack has often looked stagnant in periods, in contrast to Louth, and the side has relied on their substitutes on more than one occasion to get them over the line.
Namely, Niall McNamee has underlined his importance to the side.
The veteran forward kicked eight points as a substitute across their league campaign.
However, Offaly’s inability to score from play against Derry may be an omen for the future.
Joe Maher and Bernard Allen offer scoring threats in the starting 15 but it has not been enough this year so far.
Louth’s defence has kept many of their Division Four rivals in check with one exception of Antrim, the side promoted with Louth.
They conceded only 63 points across four games, the least in Division Three North – Sligo and Leitirm conceded more in just three games.
It will be a big test for the impressive Louth defence but if they can hold off the newly-promoted Division Two side, this season will be a huge success.
Team News
Louth
C Lynch, D Corcoran, D Campbell, D McKenny, E Carolan, A Williams, E Callaghan, B Duffy, C Byrne, L Jackson, S Mulroy, C Downey, C Keenan, C Grimes, R Burns
Offaly
P Duncan, J Lalor, E Rigney, N Darby, C Doyle, C Stewart, D Dempsey, P Cunningham, J Hayes, B Carroll, S Horan, A Sullivan, B Allen, C Farrell, R McNamee
Predicted Winner: Louth by 3.
Betting
Offaly 8/11
Draw 15/2
Louth 11/8
Conor Murray new Lions captain
Conor Murray is the new lions captain, Welsh players Adam Beard and Josh Navidi are called up to replace captain Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric.
2021 Christy Ring Cup Preview and Live scores – Derry, Offaly, Sligo, Roscommon and Wicklow
After the draw for each of the annual GAA, Hurling competitions were made in April for the Christy Ring, Joe McDonagh and Lory Meagher Cups.
CLICK HERE FOR CHRISTY RING LIVE SCORES
The start of each competition starts this coming weekend, running from late June to late July.
Kildare won the competition last season after defeating Down 3-16 to 0-22 in November. last year.
Format
- The 2021 Christy Ring cup (Tier 3) will have 5 teams competing.
- There are two groups, Group A consists of 3 teams and Group B with 2 teams.
- Group A will introduce a ’round robin’ format. Each competing county will play one home game and one game away from home.
- The two teams who finish in the top places will automatically qualify for the Semi-Finals, while the team that ends up in third will play in the Quarter-Final.
- Group B will only consist of one game in total. With the winner joining the Semi-Finals and the loser playing in the Quarter-Final.
- The winner of the Quarter-Final will then play in the Semi-Finals, while the loser of the Quarter-Final will be relegated to the Nickey Rackard Cup (Tier 4).
- The ultimate winner of the Christy Ring Cup will then be promoted to the Joe McDonagh Cup (Tier 2) for the following season.
Group A
Group A consists of three teams, Derry, Roscommon and Wicklow.
Derry
The Oak-Leaf County had a satisfactory league run, finishing second behind Kildare and putting some decent performances behind them.
They are not deemed as a potential problem for most teams but they will be hoping to impress.
First Game: Away v Roscommon
Roscommon
The Rossies are coming into this competition with a string of terrible performances in Division 2B.
Losing all four league games to Kildare, Mayo, Donegal and group rival Derry.
Anything other than humiliation will go a long way for the blue and yellow outfit.
First Game: Away v Wicklow
Wicklow
Like Roscommon, Wicklow endured a terrible league campaign.
Finishing bottom of their group and having a -88 point difference is a startling reminder off how far they are off in terms of talent.
First Game: Home v Wicklow
Round 1
Wicklow v Roscommon
Round 2
Roscommon v Derry
Round 3
Derry v Wicklow
Group B
Group B consists of two teams, Offaly and Sligo
Offaly
The Faithful County are looking up as a county team, recently gaining promotion to Division 1 with some stellar performances in the league.
Remaining unbeaten and ensuring their 100% record in terms of results, they will be the team to beat.
Sligo
Sligo, have also been on a run of results as of late. Gaining promotion up to Divison 2 with three wins from three.
They may have a tough game ahead of them but they have shown they can match teams at their level on any given day.
Round 1
Sligo v Offaly
Predictions
Winners: Offaly
Relegation: Wicklow
A Twitter List by IrishScoresGAA
2021 Lory Meagher Cup Live Scores Cavan, Fermanagh, Longford, Louth, and Monaghan
2021 Lory Meagher Cup Preview and Live Scores – Teams Cavan, Fermanagh, Longford, Louth, and Monaghan.
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE SCORES FROM THE 2021 Lory Meagher Cup
After the draw for each of the annual GAA, Hurling competitions were made in April for the Christy Ring, Joe McDonagh and Lory Meagher Cups.
The start of each competition starts this coming weekend, running from late June to late July.
Louth won their second Lory Meagher Cup last season after defeating Fermanagh 2-19 to 2-08 in November. last year at Croke Park.
Format
-
The 2021 Lory Meagher Cup (Tier 5) will have 5 teams competing.
-
There will be two groups, Group A will consist of three teams, while Group B will have only two teams.
-
There are two groups, Group A consists of 3 teams and Group B with 2 teams.
-
Group A will introduce a ’round robin’ format. Each competing county will play one home game and one game away from home.
-
The two teams who finish in the top places will automatically qualify for the Semi-Finals, while the team that ends up in third will play in the Quarter-Final.
-
Group B will only consist of one game in total. With the winner joining the Semi-Finals and the loser playing in the Quarter-Final.
-
The winner of the Quarter-Final will then play in the Semi-Finals.
-
The winner of the Lory Meagher Cup will be promoted to the Nicky Rackard Cup (Tier 4) for the following season.
Group A
Group A consists of three teams, Longford, Louth and Monaghan.
Longford
Not much is expected off Longford to go far in a championship season.
They were the whipping boys of their league group, finishing bottom, drawing one and losing three in the process.
First Game: Home v Louth
Louth
Louth comes into the competition as last years winners, defeating Fermanagh and coming off the back of topping their league group.
Winning three games from three, topping the group. They will be one of the top favourites going forward.
First Game: Away v Longford
Monaghan
The Farney Army is not known for its high-quality talent pool of hurling stars.
They suffered a poor and uneventful league run, losing two and drawing one.
Finishing fourth, they will hope to improve as soon as the chance arises.
First Game: Away v Louth
Round 1
Longford v Louth
Round 2
Louth v Monaghan
Round 3
Monaghan v Longford
Group B
Group B consists of two teams, Cavan and Fermanagh.
Cavan
The Breffni men showed an inconsistent run of result during their Divison 3B season.
Picking up one win, a draw and a loss, but managing to finish in second, three points off promoted Louth.
They face Fermanagh in a 50/50 game.
Fermanagh
Like Cavan, the Ernesiders have an almost identical league record.
Picking up the same run of results, but finishing in third. Only behind on point difference.
Round 1
Cavan v Fermanagh
Predictions
Winners: Louth
Relegation: Longford
A Twitter List by IrishScoresGAA
Lions: Japan Side Announced For Murrayfield Clash
Japan have announced their side for Saturday’s Murrayfield warm-up test, the 1888 Cup, against the British and Irish Lions.
Click here for the Lions side, which now includes Justin Tipuric and Tadhg Furlong in the starting XV.
Head Coach Jamie Joseph has named a strong side for his side’s first test since their Rugby World Cup 2019 quarter-final loss to South Africa.
Michael Leitch captains the side as he did for their defeat to South Africa and will start at blindside flanker.
His opposite for their most recent test, Pieter Labuschagne, will don the number 7 shirt for the side.
10 players in total who started the Brave Blossoms’ last game will start at Murrayfield.
Keita Inagaki and Koo Ji-Won start on either side of hooker Atsushi Sakate, who replaces the multi-faceted Shota Horie.
Wimpie Wan Der Walt and James Moore are in the second row with Amanaki Mafi in the number eight position.
30-year-old Kaito Shigeno and Yu Tamura fill the scrum-half and fly-half positions.
Centres Ryoto Nakamura and Timothy Lafaele occupy the midfield while 22-year-old Siosaia Fifita gets the nod at 11 alongside Kataro Matsushima and fullback Ryohei Yamanaka.
Super Rugby Aotearoa Rookie of the Year Kazuki Himeno is on the bench with Asaeli Ai Valu and others.
Japan Team To Face British and Irish Lions:
Backs
15. Ryohei Yamanaka (Kobelco Steelers)
14. Kotaro Matsushima (Clermont Auvergne)
13. Timothy Lafaele (Kobelco Steelers)
12. Ryoto Nakamura (Suntory Sungoliath)
11. Siosaia Fifita (Kintetsu Liners)
10. Yu Tamura (Canon Eagles)
9. Kaito Shigeno (Toyota Verblitz)
Forwards
1. Keita Inagaki (Panasonic Wild Knights)
2. Atsushi Sakate (Panasonic Wild Knights)
3. Ji-won Koo (Honda Heat)
4. Wimpie van der Walt (NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes)
5. James Moore (Munakata Sanix Blues)
6. Michael Leitch C (Toshiba Brave Lupus)
7. Pieter Labuschagne (Kubota Spears)
8. Amanaki Mafi (Canon Eagles)
Replacements
16. Kosuke Horikoshi (Suntory Sungoliath)
17. Craig Millar (Panasonic Wild Knights)
18. Asaeli Ai Valu (Panasonic Wild Knights)
19. Jack Cornelsen (Panasonic Wild Knights)
20. Kazuki Himeno (Highlanders)
21. Tevita Tatafu (Suntory Sungoliath)
22. Naoto Saito (Suntory Sungoliath)
23. Rikiya Matsuda (Panasonic Wild Knights)
Denis Leamy Confident of Ireland U20s Defence
Ireland under-20’s Defence Coach Denis Leamy was impressed with the defensive effort the side showed last week and expects more of the same tonight.
Leamy praised the side’s work all over the pitch to keep Scotland at bay.
However, he wished that they did not concede to Scotland, even if it was only once.
“I think, you know, we could have been a little bit better there on that particular try…[but for the] first day out, we [are] happy, and we understand that [Wales] is a different challenge and that there is a lot more growth in us,” Leamy said.
However, the momentum of the win is hugely important for this U20 side, as Leamy added.
The defence coach says it has allowed the side to kick on and move forward.
“Going back to my time in Six Nations squads; getting that first win, getting out of the blocks and that feel-good factor. You know, you are away from home – you are in hotels, you are cooped up a little bit – it just helps so much. It’s so important.”
The former Ireland flanker commended the front row and the back row for their U20 Six Nations opener performances.
Leamy stated that the starting front row against Scotland put in a massive shift while the back row could be seen everywhere.
Regardless, some changes have been made to the side facing Wales tonight with six new faces coming into the starting lineup, including two new props.
Leamy says that this is down to fatigue amongst other things.
“It’s about being sensible and about protecting players as well and using the quality that we have.”
The starting back row from the Scotland game is all on the team sheet but Alex Soroka will be at lock forward tonight.
Leamy noted the versatility of the Leinster academy product and when asked if he saw similarities to Ireland international Tadhg Beirne’s versatility, he responded positively.
The 39-year-old listed some traits that he felt underlined Soroka’s flexibility in the pack.
“Alex is similar – he’s very athletic, he’s a very good footballer, he’s a real point of difference as a jumper, he’s very strong in that lineout in both attack and defence.”
The coach loves his new role with the U20s and says it takes him back to when he was playing.
He cited the likes of Noel McNamara and Trevor Hogan as figures that he has learned a lot from since he was appointed as Leinster’s Elite Player Development Officer in 2019.
Leamy has taken what he has learned from them and his role at Leinster into the Ireland camp in Cardiff.
He encourages players to have the same mentality he did on the pitch but to carry out their tackles in a fair manner.
“We certainly do like players who have an edge and channel it in the right way.”
As for the Welsh side they face tonight, Leamy singled out one player who could make a difference for Ioan Cunningham’s team.
Carwyn Tuipolotu has caught the eye of the 57-time Ireland international ahead of the game tonight.
His stature and carrying is something that Leamy feels that his defence needs to shut down, but the Tipperary native also made note of Wales’ system.
“They can go to width, they can go through you, they can go over you so it’s a challenge, but it’s been a brilliant week and it’s been really, really good trying to prep for this challenge and it has been very, very enjoyable – all-in.”
The defence coach clarified that the whole camp has been an enjoyable experience thus far in his opinion.
Leamy feels lucky to be over in Cardiff with the squad after everything that has happened in the world.
He labelled the atmosphere as “light” and said that the squad have even gone for ice creams.
However, he noted that the personnel in the camp know why they are there.
“We’re not here for a party, we’re here to get the job done.”
The game against Wales kicks off at 8:00 pm and will be available to watch on RTÉ One.
2021 Joe McDonagh Cup Live Scores – Kerry v Down, Kildare v Carlow & Down v Meath
We have Hurling 2A Live GAA Scores – Kerry v Down, Meath v Carlow & Down v Meath
Click here for live scores on Down v Meath
Click here for live scores on Kildare v Carlow
Click here for live scores on Kerry v Down
After the draws for each of the annual GAA Hurling competitions for the Christy Ring, Joe McDonagh and Lory Meagher cup’s were made in April.
The start of each competition starts this coming weekend, with the Joe McDonagh Cup, after the COVID-19 Pandemic caused a delay until October 2020.
Antrim were crowned champions after defeating Kerry 1-17 to 0-22 in Dublin in December. last year.
Format
- The 2021 Joe McDonagh cup (Tier 2) will be structured on a ’round-robin’ basis with each team playing each other home and away.
- There are two groups, Group A consists of 3 teams and Group B with 3 teams.
- The winner of Group A and Group B will play against one another in the final, with the winner gaining entry into the Leinster Hurling Championship the following year.
- The bottom team in Group A and Group B will play against one another in a relegation playoff to determine who drops down to the Christy Ring Cup (Tier 3) in 2022.
Group A
Group A consists of three teams, Carlow, Kildare and Westmeath.
Carlow
Tom Mullally was brought in as manager in January 2021, along with selectors Chris Kealy, Joe Nolan and Pat Murphy as part of his backroom staff.
They had a successful league campaign, only finishing behind Offaly in second place.
The fighting cocks last won the title in 2018 with a winning effort against Westmeath at Croke Park.
First Game: Away v Kildare
Kildare
The Lilywhites had a great league campaign, winning all four games and remaining unbeaten.
Boasting an outrageous point difference of +77, they are looking like a strong outfit.
They are coming off the back of winning the Christy Ring Cup after beating down last year.
First Game: Home v Carlow
Westmeath
After a stinker league campaign, finishing bottom of their respective group, losing all 5 games.
Getting whitewashed in all of their games against tough opposition.
Heading into this, they will be one of the favourites.
First Game: Away v Carlow
Round 1
Kildare v Carlow
Round 2
Carlow v Westmeath
Round 3
Westmeath v Kildare
Group B
Group B consists of three teams, Down, Kerry and Meath.
Down
Losing finalists during the 2020 Christy Ring Cup, Down will be looking to go one better this term around.
They had a decent league run, finishing third.
First Game: Away v Kerry
Kerry
Finishing runner up in last years final, losing to Antrim by 2 points, the Kingdom will be back for redemption.
2020 was their first final appearance, and they would be confident to finish the job come July.
First Game: Home v Kerry
Meath
After finishing second in Division 2 a few weeks ago, Meath is looking out of their depth this season.
If they are to put up a good showing, they will hope to start off on a positive note.
First Game: Away v Down
Round 1
Kerry v Down
Round 2
Down v Meath
Round 3
Meath v Kerry
Predictions
Winners: Kildare
Relegation: Meath
A Twitter List by IrishScoresGAA
Softball the new sport of choice for adults in Galway
It may come as a surprise but Softball seems to be the new sport of choice for adults in Galway City with over five teams playing in a new league and the membership growing every day.
The Club has announced it will have its first-ever competitive league commencing on Monday, June 28, 2021, in St Marys College, Galway.
Over seventy players have been divided over five teams, with six male and four female players needed to make up starting team with subs coming in at various times and positions.
Historically Galway Softball Club has only competed in one-day blitzes in Dublin and the sports version of the All-Ireland which takes place in UL every august which is called the IOST (Irish Open Softball Tournament).
The IOST has 24 teams from the island of Ireland competing over a weekend, playing 8 games to win the final. Galway Tribes have never got to the IOST final, so hopefully, 2021 will be the year and after playing an unbeaten blitz in Dublin recently expectations are high for a strong performance and some medals coming to Galway. Softball is now an Olympic sport so with a bit of luck, in the future, Ireland will have a team competing and we have a Galway representative.
Galway Softball Pro Joe Naughton “It’s been a very exciting few months for Galway Softball, we had 15 players four years ago and to now have 60 players in a four-team league is just beyond our expectations.
He went on to explain a bit more about the sport “It’s a great game for anyone looking to start playing some sport, we have an age range for 20-55, as its Co-Ed, we have lots of couples and many people playing team sport for the first time, with twelve different nationalities helping the forty Irish form the league it really is a sport for everyone in Galway and of course, there is plenty of team meetings in the pub after matches.”
Galway Softball Club has also secured local sponsorship for the inaugural league with An Púcán, Kennys Bookshop, Irishscores.com, Electrical Mechanical Controls Ltd & Megadale Automation agreeing to name sponsorship of each of the league teams.
Speaking on Galway Softball Clubs announcement, Softball Ireland President Colum Lavery said “We are delighted to welcome the Galway Softball League to the Softball Ireland family. The growth of Softball in Galway has been a joy to watch over the last number of years and the efforts of the club members during the lockdown has been phenomenal.”
Lavery added “Galway have shown that there is a need for and demand for social, co-ed sporting activities post COVID, and we believe Softball offers the perfect mix of social interaction together with both recreational and competitive sport depending on the level you wish to play at. Today is about celebrating the success of Galway Softball Club and celebrating the inaugural league which launches this Monday.“
Speaking about the inaugural Galway League, Vinny McGrane Galway Softball Chairman said “It’s a great day for Galway Softball to be able to announce the inaugural Galway League. Without our sponsors, we would have really struggled to get this off the floor so a big thank you to An Púcán, Kennys Bookshop, Irishscores.com, Electrical Mechanical Controls Ltd & Megadale Automation. The fact that Galway Softball can attract the support of such impressive companies is a great measure of our current success.”
He went on to explain how the recent rise in players happened “There have been huge efforts to make this happen and I would like to thank Softball Ireland for their support over the years, the Galway Sports partnership for their funding, Galway Softball Committee for their many hours spent working on how to get a league going, and all the people that kept the club going since 1998. But most of all the players and coaches who have made this possible.”
Details on teams and fixtures for the inaugural Galway League are available on the club website Galwaysoftball.com and if you are interested in playing details are available there.
Caoimhin Kelleher signs long term deal with Liverpool
Young Irish goalkeeper Kelleher has renewed his contract at Liverpool to stay until 2026
These are all really good signs for the 22-year-old after he played five games last year for the Reds, including two starts in the Champions League.
The shot-stopper from Cork also managed to keep two clean sheets, impressing manager Jurgen Klopp and many of the fans. This led to getting his first international cap for Ireland, coming on as a substitute against Hungary early this month.
Liverpool has made it clear that they do not want to loan out Kelleher this summer. Instead, he would be the backup option to Brazilian keeper, Alisson Becker.
Spanish goalkeeper Adrian has also signed a new deal at the club but after mistakes last season in his four competitive starts, most fans believe that Kelleher is now higher in the pecking order.
Kelleher said about the new contract:
“I am happy to get it over the line and finally done; it was in the pipeline for a few months with negotiations and stuff, so I am delighted to get it done.”
Caoimhin Kelleher:
“I think staying at a club like Liverpool where the quality of training is up there with the best in the world, the standard of players I’m training with and the goalkeepers I’m learning from is the best I can get.” #awlive [lfc] pic.twitter.com/Jx0dQJTs5y
— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) June 24, 2021
Good for Liverpool, good for Ireland
This is also good news for Ireland as we will have another keeper playing at the highest level. He missed out on games for Ireland and Liverpool at the end of the season due to an abdominal tear.
It is expected that Manchester City’s Gavin Bazunu will go out on loan this season so the 19-year-old can improve.
Hopefully, Kelleher will see even more game time this year as he is one of Ireland’s brightest young talents.
Speaking on last season, Kelleher added:
“It was a big year for me in terms of playing the first-team games this year and more important games. Being thrown into the Champions League and Premier League games was big for my development and being able to handle that.”