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Irish Rowing Championships Review & Results

Skibbereen claimed two senior titles at the Irish Rowing Championships with Denise Walsh and Aoife Casey winning the women’s pair, while the men’s quadruple held off a late charge by a Queen’s/Portadown composite.

Monika Dukarska of Killorglin won the women’s senior single sculls, dominating the entire race, and Cork Boat Club impressed with a fantastic win in the junior women’s eights.

Trinity were also dominant winners in the men’s novice eights, winning by an incredible 11. Clonmel rower, Daire Lynch, claimed not just the club title, but also the intermediate title, in the men’s single sculls.

Commercial had a convincing win in the men’s intermediate eight. UCD led to half way, just holding off Commercial until the closing stages of the race, but Commercial, stroked by Neil Gahan, moved away and won well in an excellent time.

In the women’s novice eight, Trinity won well, and Lee were commanding in their victory in the women’s intermediate double.

Cork Boat Club won the men’s junior 18 coxed four, taking revenge for a beating by Portora in the junior eight the day before and winning by over six seconds. Emily Hegarty took the junior women’s single by a huge margin, and her Skibbereen clubmates, Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll, added to the club’s growing honours list by taking the men’s senior pair.

Commercial are the new Irish Champions of the men’s senior eights after winning a thrilling race during which they were constantly threatened by UCD. In the final 250 metres, UCD made a last effort to catch their Dublin rivals but Commercial persisted and emerged victorious in the finish. The margin was less than a third of a second between the crews in an extremely fast race, with the winning boat completing the 2000m distance in 5.36.892 minutes.

Skibbereen brought their tally of titles for the Irish Rowing Championships to a remarkable 13, with Denise Walsh and Shane O’Driscoll both winning in the lightweight single sculls. Denise was also in the winning women’s senior eight, a composite of Skibbereen and UCC, which claimed the title of Champions of Ireland.  The women’s junior quadruple and the men’s intermediate double titles were also won by Skibbereen.

Marie Piggott of NUIG was a clear winner of the women’s intermediate single, and Cork Boat Club completed a good set of results for them when they won the women’s club eight.

Cork Boat Club’s Amy Mason and Tara Hanlon won the junior pair. Portora won the men’s intermediate pair and NUIG the club coxed four. Commercial led all the way in the women’s intermediate four and had a clearwater margin at the finish.

Results 15th July

Men’s Novice Coxed Fours: 1. Neptune 06:44.559; 2. QUBBC A 06:56.779; 3. QUBBC B 06:57.763; 4. ULRC 07:16.139

Women’s Senior Fours: 1. UCDBC 06:54.652; 2. Skibbereen/UCCRC 06:58.902; 3. DULBC 07:04.715; 4. SMRC 07:16.575

Men’s Senior Double Sculls: 1. Skibbereen 06:32.773; 2. UCDBC 06:34.914; 3. Castleconnell 06:39.727; 4. Shandon 06:41.180; 5. Garda 07:05.056

Women’s Club Coxed Fours: 1. Fermoy 07:16.116; 2. Skibbereen 07:17.631; 3. UCDBC 07:20.881; 4. Cork A 07:26.710; 5. DULBC B 07:45.351; 6. NUIG A 07:50.070

Men’s Intermediate Coxed Fours: 1. NUIG 06:26.811; 2. UCDBC A 06:27.671; 3. SMRC 06:32.937; 4. UCCRC 06:39.921; 5. UCDBC B 06:45.562

Women’s Intermediate Pairs: 1. Cork 07:36.488; 2. Bann 07:37.848; 3. Commercial B 07:51.098; 4. Commercial A 07:56.239; 5. QUBLBC 08:09.911

Men’s Junior Single Sculls: 1. D Lynch (Clonmel) 07:04.040; 2. R Byrne (Shandon) 07:04.462; 3. S O’ Sullivan (Shandon) 07:23.197; 4. N Beggan (Commercial) 07:24.681; 5. M Dundon (Clonmel) 07:30.603; 6. G Morrison (Shandon) 07:31.791

Women’s Junior Double Sculls: 1. Skibbereen B 07:19.682; 2. Bann 07:19.995; 3. Neptune 07:33.305; 4. Cappoquin 07:56.259; 5. Clonmel 08:01.431; 6. Lee C 08:11.260

Men’s Junior 16 Coxed Quadruples: 1. Killorglin 06:39.088; 2. Shandon A 06:42.166; 3. Commercial 06:45.010; 4. Shandon B 06:46.198; 5. Carlow 07:05.777; 6. New Ross 07:07.292

Women’s Junior 16 Eights: 1. Col Iognaid 06:51.723; 2. Portora 06:55.551; 3. Cork 07:21.130; 4. Clonmel 07:25.631

Men’s Senior Fours: 1. NUIG 06:03.081; 2. Commercial 06:05.925; 3. Portora 06:09.284; 4. DUBC 06:16.722; 5. UCCRC 06:24.081; 6. QUBBC 06:27.316

Men’s Club Eights: 1. UCDBC 05:56.392; 2. DUBC 05:58.486; 3. Commercial A 06:00.455; 4. NUIG 06:03.502; 5. Commercial B 06:12.627; 6. Neptune 06:29.284

Women’s Novice Coxed Fours: 1. Neptune A 07:55.460; 2. Commercial 07:59.132; 3. DULBC 08:01.132; 4. NUIG 08:02.257; 5. QUBLBC B 08:03.444; 6. Castleconnell 08:13.992

Women’s Junior Fours: 1. Skibbereen 07:05.645; 2. Shandon A 07:13.661; 3. Galway 07:19.145; 4. Methodist 07:23.442; 5. Portora 07:27.864; 6. SMRC 07:30.880

Men’s Senior Single Sculls: 1. M O’Donovan (Skibbereen) 07:04.162; 2. T Hughes (UCDBC) 07:10.256; 3. S McKeon (Portadown) 07:12.256; 4. C Beck (QUBBC) 07:16.522; 5. A Goff  (UCDBC) 07:21.554; 6. Maher (Commercial) 07:26.882

Results 16th July

Men’s Senior Pairs: 1. Skibbereen 06:30.311; 2. UCDBC 06:33.546; 3. Portora 06:44.968; 4. DUBC 06:57.234; 5. Belfast RC 07:17.454

Women’s Novice Eights: 1. DULBC 07:09.594; 2. QUBLBC 07:27.110; 3. Neptune 08:21.128

Men’s Intermediate Eights: 1. Commercial 05:43.182; 2. UCDBC 05:47.807; 3. UCCRC 05:50.042; 4. NUIG 06:09.902

Men’s Junior Fours: 1. Cork A 06:29.200; 2. Portora 06:35.341; 3. Clonmel 06:40.716; 4. Pres Cork A 06:45.357; 5. St Joseph’s B 06:49.326; 6. St Joseph’s C 07:04.827

Women’s Intermediate Double Sculls: 1. Lee 07:22.252; 2. Bann 07:31.689; 3. DULBC 07:34.830; 4. Belfast BC A 07:38.549; 5. Garda 07:39.143; 6. Commercial 07:44.237

Men’s Club Single Sculls: 1. D Lynch (Clonmel) 07:15.463; 2. K Mannix (Skibbereen) 07:22.307; 3. A Christie (Bann) 07:36.104; 4. S Addison (DUBC) 07:38.448; 5. C Cummins
(Lee Valley) 07:40.120; 6. A Butler (Clonmel) 07:43.011

Women’s Junior Single Sculls: 1. E Hegarty (Skibbereen) 08:05.674; 2. C Feerick (Neptune) 08:13.065; 3. J Vascotto (Castleconnell) 08:15.002; 4. Taylor (Belfast RC) 08:23.002; 5. G O’Brien (Kenmare) 08:29.206; 6. E Cummins (Lee) 08:29.675

Women’s Junior Eights: 1. Cork 06:39.271; 2. Bann 06:44.193; 3. Portora 06:49.287; 4. SMRC 07:01.053; 5. Methodist 07:04.538; 6. Commercial 07:04.928

Men’s Senior Quadruples: 1. Skibbereen 05:59.102; 2. QUBBC/Portadown 05:59.790; 3. Shandon A 06:08.509; 4. Shandon/Carlow 06:38.213; 5. Portora 07:13.636

Men’s Novice Eights: 1. DUBC 06:00.157; 2. QUBBC 06:11.579; 3. UCDBC 06:14.735; 4. Neptune 06:21.861

Women’s Senior Pairs: 1. Skibbereen 07:23.775; 2. UCCRC 07:29.369; 3. DULBC 07:46.166

Men’s Junior Quadruples: 1. Shandon 06:07.970; 2. Carlow B 06:13.361; 3. Three Castles 06:13.799; 4. Lee A 06:17.689; 5. Castleconnell 06:19.330; 6. Commercial 06:42.409

Women’s Senior Single Sculls: 1. M Dukarska (Killorglin) 07:35.069; 2. S McCrohan (Tribesmen) 07:50.320; 3. O Hayes (Skibbereen) 07:57.742; 4. M Pigott (NUIG) 08:18.571; 5. S Bouanane (Fermoy) 08:27.571

Men’s Intermediate Single Sculls: 1. D Lynch (Clonmel) 07:04.573; 2. D O’Connor (SMRC) 07:11.464; 3. S O’Connell (UCDBC) 07:13.636; 4. A Goff (UCDBC) 07:16.276; 5. J McCarthy (Skibbereen) 07:17.855; 6. Beggan (Commercial) 08:21.076

Women’s Club Single Sculls: 1. R Maguire (QUBLBC) 08:15.155; 2. D O’Sullivan (UCCRC) 08:15.640; 3. R Kilkenny (Castleconnell) 08:16.015; 4. C Nolan (Carlow) 08:18.030; 5. A Keating (Skibbereen) 08:22.718; 6. A O’Sullivan Fermoy 08:29.468

Results 17th July

Men’s Lightweight Single Sculls: 1. S O’ Driscoll (Skibbereen) 07:15.482; 2. A Burns (Skibbereen) 07:29.014; 3. O Nolan (Carlow) 07:36.764; 4. C Carroll (Shandon) 07:43.405; 5. N Kennedy (Skibbereen) 07:44.327; 6. H Mahony (QUBBC) 07:51.968

Women’s Junior Pairs: 1. Cork 07:35.640; 2. Bann 07:41.453; 3. Shannon 07:41.750; 4. Methodist 08:05.594; 5. SMRC 08:12.017; 6. Commercial 08:12.501

Women’s Intermediate Fours: 1. Commercial 07:20.348; 2. SMRC 07:24.551; 3. UCDBC 07:26.129; 4. Cork 07:37.301

Men’s Intermediate Pairs: 1. Portora 06:49.900; 2. SMRC A 06:54.369; 3. UCCRC B 07:03.307; 4. QUBBC B 07:07.697; 5. Belfast RC A 07:16.120; 6. NUIG 07:18.463

Women’s Lightweight Single Sculls: 1. D Walsh (Skibbereen) 07:54.535; 2. A Byrne (Carlow) 08:21.130; 3. R Brown (QUBLBC) 08:33.287

Men’s Club Fours: 1. NUIG 06:33.156; 2. Commercial 06:36.828; 3. St Josephs 06:40.109; 4. UCDBC 06:47.515; 5. QUBBC 06:49.016; 6. DUBC 06:50.016

Men’s Junior Double Sculls: 1. Shandon A 06:36.777; 2. Clonmel 06:39.324; 3. Castleconnell A 06:51.168; 4. Three Castles A 06:52.605; 5. Lee A 06:54.512; 6. Shandon B 06:54.668

Women’s Club Eights: 1. Cork 06:39.339; 2. Skibbereen 06:42.839; 3. Portora 06:43.495; 4. QULBC 06:48.980; 5. DULBC 06:49.246; 6. Commercial 06:54.199

Men’s Junior Pairs: 1. Commercial 07:00.686; 2. Portora B 07:02.186; 3. Portora A 07:03.905; 4. Pres Cork A 07:04.858; 5. Methodist 07:14.405; 6. Clonmel A 07:17.311

Women’s Junior Quadruples: 1. Skibbereen 06:46.308; 2. Bann 06:53.292; 3. Lee 06:59.527; 4. Workmans 07:15.856; 5. Castleconnell 07:19.418; 6. Offaly 07:21.996

Women’s Senior Eights: 1. Skibbereen/UCCRC 06:24.548; 2. UCDBC 06:29.798; 3. DULBC 06:40.377; 4. SMRC/Commercial 06:50.174

Women’s Intermediate Single Sculls: 1. M Pigott (NUIG) 07:58.822; 2. C Deyermond (Belfast BC) 08:05.010; 3. C Feerick (Neptune) 08:06.401; 4. S Bouanane (Fermoy) 08:07.307; 5. O Forde (Cork) 08:25.214; 6. D O’ Sullivan (UCCRC) 08:42.871

Men’s Intermediate Double Sculls: 1. Skibbereen A 06:33.887; 2. Castleconnell A 06:37.262; 3. UCCRC 06:39.403; 4. Carlow 06:48.356; 5. Sligo 06:48.638; 6. Skibbereen B 07:01.748

Men’s Senior Eights: 1. Commercial 05:36.892; 2. UCDBC A 05:37.220; 3. NUIG 05:44.377; 4. UCDBC B 05:48.205; 5. DUBC 05:52.861

Video – Brilliant interview with horse racing legend Barney Curley

It was a special treat for horse racing fans as renowned gambler and former trainer, Barney Curley, joined Racing tv’s Nick Luck in the Luck On Sunday studio to talk about his life in racing.

Curley became famous for Yellow Sam betting coup which happened at Bellewstown on 26 June 1975, and was orchestrated by Curley, an Irish. By taking advantage of an under-handicapped horse and the lack of easy communications between the Bellewstown racing course and off-course bookmakers, Curley made a profit of over IR£300,000 (€1.7m adjusted for inflation) – one of the largest betting coups in Irish history.

 

Barney Curley lands odds of 9,000/1 four timer to win millions

One of the greatest gambles of all time has been landed in the 6:25 at Kempton. Barney Curley, one of the most renowned gamblers has organised to win four races in one day even though he’s retired.

The legendary trainer has passed his training base onto Des Donovan who has trained two winners today already in Indus Valley 4:25 Kempton(was 20/1 earlier and won at 4/6) and Eye of the Tiger (was 10/1 won at Evens) Another ex Curley horse called Seven Summit won at 9/4 having been 7/1 in the 1:40 Catterick.

All the money went onto Low Key who was 7/1 but won at 4/7 with accumulators, Yankees and Lucky 15s all waiting on the fourth horse.

Liabilities won’t be fully known until later this evening, but it could run into the millions.

Barney refused to comment to the racing post this morning when asked about the gamble and is not known for making interviews.

The four horses were 9,000-1 last night, 44-1 at lunchtime today and SP was 16-1

Galway racing fans will have the chance to meet the great man himself at the John Mulholland and Racing Post Cheltenham Preview night in a few weeks.

Running for over ten years, the night is a chance for people to discuss and debate the chances of various horses chances at the Cheltenham 2014 Festival. The night is run for Barney Curleys charity DAFA which has raised around €200,000 since the inception of the night.

Barney will be the guest of honour and it may be the only place to hear about today’s legendary attempt to replicate the Yellow Sam 1975 gamble-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Sam_betting_coup

 

 

 

 

How the bookies were made to pay

  • 1.30 LINGFIELD Eye of The Tiger, formerly owned and trained by Barney Curley (right), had not run for 481 days. Having his first run for Des Donovan, who used to work for Curley and trains from his yard.
    Racing Post forecast 7-1; Starting Price Evens Fav. Won by nine lengths
  • 1.40 CATTERICK Seven Summits, owned and trained by Curley until April 27, now trained by Sophie Leach. Had not run since June.
    RP forecast 9-2; SP 9-4F. Won by 1½ lengths
  • 4.25 KEMPTON Indus Valley, trained by Donovan, had not run for 700 days. In his four races for Donovan, had been beaten an aggregate of 104 lengths. Never trained or owned by Curley.
    RP forecast 25-1; SP 4-6F. Won by ½ length
  • 6.25 KEMPTON Low Key, trained by Curley’s former assistant, John Butler. Last ran 11 months ago (distant last of seven). Never trained or owned by Curley.
    RP forecast 6-1; SP 4-7F. Won by 1 length

Injury worries for both Kilkenny and Limerick

BOTH Limerick and Kilkenny have injury concerns leading up to their intriguing encounter this Sunday in the All-Ireland hurling quarter-final at Semple Stadium.

FOR UPDATED TEAM NEWS CLICK HERE

Limerick are sweating on the fitness of defender Tom Condon for Sunday’s must-win game, after he suffered a twisted knee during their recent qualifier win over Clare.

However, he has since returned to training this week, with manager John Allen again able to choose from a full-strength squad.
As previously reported by this writer for Sports News Ireland in recent days, Kilkenny’s Brian Hogan will almost certainly miss Sunday’s clash, having suffered a leg injury in a recent club game.

Hogan has been unable to train in recent days, and despite receiving intensive treatment, the former All-Ireland winning captain’s injury has been slow to respond, with Brian Cody concerned over the centre-back’s fitness.

Billed as part of an exciting double-header in Thurles, and preceded by Cork and Waterford at 2pm, both the Treaty and the Cats will hope that their key players will play some part on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Limerick star forward Declan Hannon believes that their recent u21 Munster final loss to Tipperary has given the county a wake-up call.

Hannon was part of the Treaty’s much-fancied u21 side who were hot favourites to ease past the Premier County in their recent Munster final clash, but suffered a huge setback as Tipp recorded a shock win.

“We were just very, very flat, never got going at all and for what reason, I don’t know,” Hannon explained to the Irish Examiner.

“The whole place was still on a high after the Clare win, eight seniors coming back into the 21s, but not one of us performed the way we can. I can’t explain it, we just couldn’t get going at all for whatever reason, they started to score a few points and that was it.”

The young Adare man spoke of the “massive buzz” around Limerick at the moment, with everyone talking about the weekend’s huge fixture.

“We just have to forget about the u21’s, it’s over now, nothing we can do about it so there’s no point in wasting time and energy thinking about it, what we could have done differently.”

“Kilkenny is another massive battle, we’re going to have to knuckle down for that. It’s going to be one of these miracles if we win but sure we’ll be giving it a lash,” Hannon finished.

Irish Sports Calendar for Major GAA, Rugby, Soccer and other Sports dates

So another year has come and gone in the sporting but 2019 looks set to be another massive year of sport. We will take you through below what there is to look forward to in the coming year, it promises to be a good one !

GAA

In the GAA world, Jim Gavin will be looking to guide Dublin to the drive for five All Ireland titles in a row. The pre-season tournaments have already began with the five new rules also in operation. These rules have not yet be decided on for use in the Allianz Football League 2019. THE GPA and the GAA met and have said that a review will take place on the 19th of January. So, we will just have to wait and see until then ! The league will begin at the end of January and finish in late March. April will be once again for club football.

In hurling Limerick the 2018 All-Ireland champions will be looking to retain Liam McCarthy which will be difficult considering the 4 tough games they will face in Munster. They open their account against Tipperary whom have Liam Sheedy back at the helm for 2019.

SOCCER

It was a difficult year for Ireland in terms of performances, but the year ended well for them in terms of securing Mick McCarthy on a two year deal, he will then be succeeded by Stephen Kenny. The appointments will surely rejuvenate the Irish team with a more attacking brand of football promised. There also comes the increasing speculation that Declan Rice will commit to Ireland. If reports are correct McCarthy is also looking to add Patrick Bamford and Nathan Redmond to the squad. Ireland drew Switzerland, Denmark, Georgia and Gibraltar, a group which could of been a lot worse in all honesty. It still will be tough but I honestly think they can get out of the group and qualify if more attacking football is played.

The women’s World Cup will also be played in 2019 in France. The final itself will be played in Lyon on July 7th.

RUGBY

An impressive 2018 for Ireland seen them win the Six Nations Grand Slam, a first series victory in Australia since 1979 and of course that famous win in the Aviva Stadium beating the All Blacks on home soil for the first time mean Ireland are in a good place. The only downside is that Joe Schmidt has decided he will vacate his role after the World Cup in Japan. However, those close to the squad and pundits alike and are not fearful that the Kiwi will relax or that the players will coming into a massive year.

The Six Nations will begin in just over a month, when England come to the Aviva Stadium. Ireland will then travel to Murrayfield to take on the Scots. They will then travel to Rome, before welcoming France to Dublin, before finishing their tournament in Cardif against the Welsh. Ireland will face Wales in two warm up games  at home and away as part of the world cup preparations. They also play have a game with Italy, before travelling to Twickenham for their final warm up game. The trip to Japan will be next for the boys in green. Ireland will be overwhelming favourites to get out of the group,they face Scotland, Japan, Russia and Samoa. The big game no doubt against the Scots on 22nd of September. If Ireland top that group, a quarter final against South Africa or New Zealand awaits.

The women’s Six Nations also kicks off next month. They have home games against England and France at Donnybrook. In club action all provinces are looking at making big impacts in Europe . Leinster face off against French side Toulon on January 12th, the winner there will top the group more than likely. Munster will face Exeter and Gloucester to determine whether they will make the quarter finals or not. Ulster will probably need 10 points from their two remaining games, the games against Racing 92 been vitally important on January 12th. Connacht will come up against Sale in their Challenge Cup encounter with the winner going top of the table.

HORSE RACING

2019 will be another big year for horse racing. The Curragh is expected to open in February, with the first race meeting there to be held on the 13th of April. The Dublin Racing festival gets going in February just five weeks out from Cheltenham. Buveur D’Air for JP McManus is still a massive favourite for the Champion Hurdle, Presenting Percy is a gold cup favourite.

BOXING

It promises to be another big year for Katie Taylor she plans on unifying all four lightweight belts. She defended her WBA and IBF titles in December against Eva Wahlstrom at Madison Square Gardens. It is likely the Bray boxer will face off against Puerto Rican Amanda Serrano who is just one of three boxers to win titles in six divisions. Kellie Harrington will be hoping that she is right as she sets her sights on an Olympic medal after winning a gold medal in the lightweight division at the recent AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. The 2019 World AIBA World Boxing Championships are scheduled to take place in Sochi in Russia.

Irish Sporting Calendar 2019

10-13 & 17-20 January: Final rounds of Champions/Challenge Cup group games

24 January: Thyestes Chase (Gowran Park)

26-27 January: Start of Allianz Football and Hurling Leagues – the first of four ‘double’ weekends

1 February: Ireland v England (Womens Six Nations)

2 February: Ireland v England

2/3 February: Dublin Racing Festival

2/13 February: Champions League resumes

8 February: Scotland v Ireland (Womens Six Nations)

9 February: AIB All-Ireland hurling club semi-finals

9 February: Scotland v Ireland (Men’s Six Nations)

15 February: Airtricity League begins

16 February: AIB All-Ireland football club semi-finals

23 February: Italy v Ireland (Women’s Six Nations)

24 February: Italy v Ireland (Men’s Six Nations)

24 February: Carabao Cup final

9 March: Ireland v France (Women’s Six Nations)

10 March: Ireland v France (Men’s Six Nations)

12-15 March: Cheltenham Festival

16 March: Wales v Ireland (Men’s Six Nations)

17 March: Wales v Ireland ( Women’s Six Nations)

17 March:  AIB Club Finals

22 March: Euro 2021 Women’s qualifying draw

23 March: Euro 2020 qualifier – Gibraltar v Rep of Ireland

26 March: Euro 2020 qualifier – Rep of Ireland v Georgia

24 March: U21 Euro 2021 qualifier – Rep of Ireland v Luxembourg

24 March: Allinaz HL Division 1 final

24 March: Littlewoods Ireland camogie Division 1 final

31 March: Allianz FL Division 1 & 2 finals

29-31 March: Champions/Challenge Cup quarter-finals

28-30 March: Champions/Challenge Cup quarter-finals

4-6 April: Aintree Grand National Festival

11-14 April: US Masters

20 April-6 May: World Snooker Championships

21-23 April: Fairyhouse Grand National Festival

30 April-4 May: Punchestown Festival

3/4 May: Pro 14 quarter-finals

4-5 May: Newmarket Guineas Festival

4/5 May: Ladies FL finals

5 May: Start of the Championship – Galway and Mayo footballers heading to London and New York respectively

11/12 May: Start of Leinster and Munster hurling round-robin

10 May: Challenge Cup final

11 May: Champions Cup final

12 May: Premier League finishes

16-19 May: US PGA Championship

17/18 May: Pro 14 semi-finals

18 May: FA Cup final

3 May -19 May: UEFA European Under-17 Championship

24-26 May: Curragh Guineas

1 June: Champions League final

1 June – Epson Derby

7 June: Euro 2020 qualifier – Denmark v Rep of Ireland

7 June – 7 July: Women’s FIFA World Cup

9 June: Nations League final

10 June: Euro 2020 qualifier – Rep of Ireland v Gibraltar

l16 June: Connacht football final

18-22 June: Royal Ascot

22 June: Munset football final

23 June: Leinster and Ulster football finals

27-29 June: Curragh Derby Festival

29 June-21 July: Tour de France

30 June: Leinster and Munster hurling final

1-14 July: Wimbledon

4-7 July: Dubai Duty Free Irish Open

13/14 July: All-Ireland hurling quarter-final and start of the Super 8s

20-21 July: Curragh Oaks Festival

27/28 July: All-Ireland hurling semi-finals

29 July-4 August: Galway Festival

30 July-3 August: Goodwood Festival

10/11 August: All-Ireland football semi-finals

10 August: Ireland v Italy ( Mens RWC Warm Up)

7-11 August: Dublin Horse Show

16-25 August: EuroHockey Nations Championship

18 August: All-Ireland hurling final

21-24 August: York Festival

24 August: England v Ireland (Mens RWC Warm Up)

31 August: Wales v Ireland ( Men’s RWC Warm Up)

1 September: All-Ireland football final

5 Sept: Euro 2020 qualifier – Rep of Ireland v Switzerland

6 Sept: U21 Euro 2021 qualifier – Rep of Ireland v Armenia

7 September: Ireland v Wales (Men’s RWC Warm Up)

8 September: All-Ireland camogie final

10 Sept: U21 Euro 2021 qualifier – Sweden v Rep of Ireland

14 Sept: EA Sports Cup final

14-15 September: Irish Champions Weekend

14 September: Doncaster Leger

15 September: All Ireland women’s football final

17 Sept: Start of 2019-20 Champions League group stage

22 September: Ireland v Scotland (8.45am) Mens RWC

28 September: Japan v Ireland (8.15pm) Mens RWC

 3 October: Ireland v Russia (11.15am) Mens RWC

6 October: Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe

10 Oct: U21 Euro 2021 qualifier – Rep of Ire v Italy

12 October: Ireland v Samoa (11.45am) Mens RWC

12 Oct: Euro 2020 qualifier – Georgia v Rep of Ireland

15 Oct: Euro 2020 qualifier – Switzerland v Rep of Ireland

15 Oct: U21 Euro 2021 qualifier – Iceland v Rep of Ireland

19/20 October: Quarter-finals Mens RWC

19 October: British Champions Day

25 Oct: Airtricity Premier Division ends

26/27 October: Semi-finals Mens RWC

1-2 November: Breeders Cup

2 November: World Cup final Mens RWC

3 Nov: Men’s & Women’s FAI Cup finals

14 Nov: U21 Euro 2021 qualifier – Armenia v Rep of Ireland

18 Nov: U21 Euro 2021 qualifier – Rep of Ireland v Denmark

22 Nov: Euro 2020 play-off draw

 1 Dec: Euro 2020 qualifying draw

26-29 December: Leopardstown Festival

 

Video – A P McCoy wins on last ride as Professional

AP McCoy who retired at the end of last season, made a comeback on the flat today to record a win on his last ride as a professional on GANNICUS for Brendan Powell.

20-times champion jump jockey A P McCoy’s final ever ride proved to be a winning one as he steered Gannicus (7/2 favourite) to a two-length victory in the Clipper Logistics Leger Legends Stakes. McCoy showed how sorely he is missed in the saddle since retiring in April by moving stylishly into the lead with two furlongs to go before keeping the four-year-old up to his work in the final furlong.

McCoy said: “Everything went to plan and we won so it was great. It was grand. He travelled very well and I got a good position on him and he kept on finding for me. He has run over at least a mile and a quarter, so there was a good chance he was going to stay.”

The jockey was quick to pay tribute to Jack Berry and the Injured Jockeys Fund. He added: “Look this is for a great cause, fair play to Jack Berry for asking me to ride as that is why I did it. He has raised a lot of money and done a lot of hardwork for the Injured Jockeys Fund. This victory is for the Injured Jockeys Fund but also for Jack Berry.”

Trainer Brendan Powell was ecstatic to have provided McCoy with the winner. Powell said: “It is unreal. A P has now ridden 46 winners for me. The horse won the other week at Brighton, but that was only in a five-runner race, so you just wonder whether he’ll be able to handle a race like this but it couldn’t have gone any better.

“He only won by a short-head last time and I thought the handicapper would put him up more. However, he only stuck him up 1lb to 70 so this was the only horse I could run in the race as it is a 0-70 classified so we were lucky that he was just able to get in here. I was just hoping something wouldn’t come and nab him but when A P gets to the front, it is hard to get by him.

“They probably got there too soon but I said to A P that when he gets in front, he just does enough but actually when he got to the front today, A P gave him a crack that made his mind up and he kept on finding.

“Me and A P go back a long way so it’s nice. That gave me a real thrill and for that to be A P’s last ride it is brilliant. I gave A P one of his last rides at Ayr on Scottish National day and that horse disappointed so fair play to this horse for doing it. It has worked out great and more than anything for Jack Berry’s charity. You couldn’t have asked for a better result.”

£10,000 total prize fund. For 3yo+, rated 0-70, 1m (str). Weights: 3yo 11st; 4yo+ 11st 5lb. Penalties after August 29th, a winner 6lb. Penalty value 1st £6,469.00 2nd £1,925.00 3rd £962.00 4th £481.00

1) GANNICUS (Winterbeck Manor Stud) Brendan Powell tp4-11-05 A P McCoy [7] 7/2f
2) NEXT STOP (S Hussey) David Nicholls 4-11-05 Billy Newnes [19] 16/1
3) BIG STORM COMING (Fishlake Commercial Motors) Ruth Carr 5-11-05 Luke Harvey [10] 20/1
4) SWORDBEARER (Catherine Wills) James Fanshawe 4-11-05 Gay Kelleway [3] 9/1
5) DARK AVENGER (USA) (Michael Buckley) Jamie Osborne 3-11-00 Jimmy McCarthy [16]
6) RELIGHT MY FIRE (Jonathan Gill) Tim Easterby 5-11-05 Kelly Harrison [5]
7) FIDELMA MOON (IRE) (The Mount Racing Club) Karl Burke 3-11-00 Kevin Darley [6]
8) CLIFF (IRE) (W Burton) Nigel Tinkler 5-11-05 Kim Tinkler [12]
9) LONGSIDE (Park Lodge Racing) James Eustace 3-11-00 Willie Supple [2]
10) PIVOTMAN (Wreglesworth) Mick Easterby tb7-11-05 Ollie Pears [13]
11) COMMISSAR (S Hassiakos) Ian Williams tp6-11-05 Johnny Murtagh [4]
12) WORDISMYBOND (T Wellard & Partners) Peter Makin 6-11-05 Jim Culloty [14]
13) REGAL WAYS (IRE) (S Counsell) Mark Johnston 3-11-00 Dale Gibson [8]
14) BEST TAMAYUZ (Paul Dixon & Partners) Scott Dixon h4-11-05 Gary Bardwell [15]
15) GEORGE BAKER (IRE) (George Baker & Partners) George Baker 8-11-05 Michael Hills [9]
16) LOTHAIR (IRE) (Mrs J Porter) Alan Swinbank 6-11-05 Rodney Lappin [11]

16 ran
Time: 1m 39.17s
Distances: 2, hd, 1½, 1½, ¾, 3¾, 3½, 10, ½, 1¼, 5, 2¾, 1½, ½, 12
Breeder: Winterbeck Manor Stud
Breeding: b g Phoenix Reach (IRE) – Rasmani (Medicean)
Tote Win £3.90 Place £1.50 £5.30 £6.30 Exacta £83.80

A P McCOY
Born: May 4, 1974 Background: Record-breaking 20-time champion Jump jockey. Rode 4,357 winners (including nine on the Flat) before today – now 4,358 (including 10 on the Flat). McCoy broke Peter Scudamore’s record of 221 Jump wins with 253 successes in the 1997/78 season. In 2001/02, he surpassed by 20 the previous record of 269 winners in any season set by Sir Gordon Richards on the Flat. He became the most successful Jump jockey of all time when passing Richard Dunwoody’s tally of 1,699 winners in August, 2002. In April, 2004, he accepted a retainer from J P McManus and rode for the owner, whose principal trainer in Britain is Jonjo O’Neill, until his retirement. McCoy was awarded an MBE in the 2003 Queen’s Birthday Honours and an OBE in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours. He was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2010 – the only person in racing to achieve this feat. He equalled and passed former trainer Martin Pipe’s win total of 4,191 in July, 2014. Retired April 25, 2015 when gaining his 20th successive Jump jockey title. First Winner: Legal Steps – Thurles, Ireland, March 26, 1992. First winner in Britain: Exeter, Chickabiddy, September 7, 1994.
1,000th Jumping Win: Majadou, Cheltenham, December 11, 1999.
2,000th Jumping Win: Corporate Player, Wincanton, January 17, 2004.
3,000th Jumping Win: Restless D’Artaix, Plumpton, February 9, 2009.
4,000th Jumping Win: Mountain Tunes, Towcester, November 7, 2013.
Big Race Wins Include: Champion Chase (2000 Edredon Bleu), Champion Hurdle (1997 Make A Stand, 2006 Brave Inca, 2010 Binocular), Gold Cup (1997 Mr Mulligan, 2012 Synchronised), Grand National (2010 Don’t Push It)

Five reasons Manchester city will beat Liverpool to Premiership title

As we head into the final stretch of the season, people are going to be wondering whether it will be Manchester City or Liverpool who will be taking the title at the end of it. I reckon that it is going to be Manchester City walking away with the title in a few months, and there are five reasons why this is the case.

 

Manchester City ‘bested’ Liverpool

 

In my opinion, and probably the opinion of many of the top rated betting sites out there, is that the winner of the title was down to whoever won the match out of the two teams. After all, if you win a match over your opponent, then you instantly have a two-point lead over them.

 

A few short weeks ago, Manchester City handed Liverpool their first loss of the season. It seemed to start a chain reaction too, as Liverpool lost their next game as well. Although, more on that in a short while.

 

Since Manchester City have these two points over Liverpool, Manchester City can afford to drop one or two points over the course of the season, and even if Liverpool and Manchester City perform similarly to one another for the rest of the games, City could still be walking away with that title.

 

If that match had ended up as a draw, I would have completely changed this point.

 

Liverpool will get too comfortable at the top-notch

 

As I write this article, Liverpool are sitting at the top of the Premier League with 54 points to Manchester City’s 50 points. This means that there is more than a win separating the two of them.

 

The problem is, and we have seen this time and time again, that when a team ends up with a huge buffer at the top of the table, they start to get a little bit too ‘confident’ with what they are doing. When you become too confident, you become a bit more experimental, and it could mean that you end up dropping points.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I do not think that Manchester City are going to be closing the gap with Liverpool too soon, and it will probably happen within the last month or so of the season, but I do think that they are going to close that gap, and they may end up taking the title by only one or two points.

 

Liverpool are not performing well

 

At the time of writing, Liverpool are fresh off losing two matches in a row. This is awful for a team which was unbeaten for the season to date. Tomorrow, they are facing off against Brighton, however, it already seems as if they are getting the excuses in for a loss.

 

Brighton are not a shabby team by any stretch of the imagination. They do not have the huge funds available that the larger teams in the Premier League have. However, they always seem to give the big teams in the league a run for their money.

 

By the time you read this, you will probably know exactly how that match has gone. If Liverpool do not ‘demolish’ Brighton, who they really should be beating, then it is really going to set the tone for the rest of the season. It is demonstrating that Liverpool may have fallen off a little bit. Sure, they may regain their composure, but who knows whether they are going to be able to regain it before Manchester City catch them up.

 

Manchester City have more money

 

We are now in January. This means that all the teams are now starting to spend cash in the last transfer window of the season.

 

The problem for Liverpool is that Manchester City have a seemingly endless pot of cash. Liverpool do not.

 

Manchester City can afford to take risks with their players. They will be able to get their hands on players who Liverpool will never be able to afford. Manchester City could afford to replace their entire team if they felt that it would help them win the Premier League. Liverpool could afford to replace just one or two players. Now, obviously, Manchester City are not going to be replacing their entire team, but it does go to show the gulf in cash the two players have.

 

In January, I reckon that Manchester City are going to be spending a lot of cash on boosting their team. I mean a lot of cash. Liverpool may have one or two crafty purchases, and that is it.

 

Manchester City have more squad depth

 

Manchester City simply have more good players to choose from. This always helps. If Liverpool lose a good player, they are going to struggle. Manchester City could deal with countless injuries and still come out laughing at the end of the day.

 

Relegation should herald a new start for Ireland

The Irish national team are currently at a crossroads. They were thrown head first into one of the most difficult groups in League B of the UEFA Nations League in the competitions inaugural edition. Facing the likes of Wales and Denmark was always going to be tough. 

 

The Welsh and the Danes are currently reaping the rewards of a solid generation of talented players. The Danes managed to make it to the knockout stages of the World Cup in Russia last summer, while the Welsh went on an extraordinary run to the semi finals at 2016. 

 

Both sides have a range of quality that Ireland can only dream of at the moment. Wales employ the likes of Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale as well as Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey, while Denmark can rely upon Premier League players in Christian Eriksen, Kasper Schmeichel and Andreas Christensen.

 

When you look at their group opposition, the philosophical differences in approach are markedly different. Ryan Giggs in his short managerial career has proven to be a worthy disciple of his old mentor Alex Ferguson in his willingness to foster and support youth by giving them game time. 

 

The same can’t be said of Martin O’Neill and assistant manager Roy Keane. Keane, once a teammate of Giggs knows the importance of giving youth a chance. He was one of the senior players who would go on to captain Manchester United through a number of rejuvenating and rebuilding processes which brought in new blood. 

 

Ireland can’t yet call on world class talent, but then they can’t rely on the tried and tested ageing acolytes that O’Neill still seems to favour. O’Neill has already announced his provisional 36-man squad for the friendly against Northern Ireland on Thursday 15 November and the final Nations League match away to Denmark the following Monday.

 

National team mainstays Shane Long, Jonathan Walters and Stephen Ward have all dropped out due to injury. But what else do they have in common? They all have a wealth of experience with over 50 caps, but they’re also all over 30 and coming to the end of their careers. A sea change needs to occur, and this is the perfect time for it to happen.

 

The Nations League has proven to be a success for fans and teams alike so far in that it’s displayed real competitive matches as opposed to bore-all friendlies. The competition also pits sides against more evenly matched opposition, allowing teams the opportunity to improve on more equal teams. 

 

Ireland have so far struggled in the competition. In fact, they’ve been struggling for some time. The last eight matches have racked up five defeats, two draws and a solitary win against the USA in a friendly. It simply isn’t good enough.

 

But it’s not just leadership and the personnel that need to be judged, but also the strength of opposition. It’s looking likely that Ireland will be relegated to League C of the Nations League. They still need to face Denmark, but the showdown match up will be when Wales and Denmark meet to decide who wins the group. It’s unclear which way the match will turn and consulting Nations League betting tips like this one favour a Wales win at home, but it’s a tough one to call. That’s why it’s the perfect opportunity for an Asian Handicap bet which is fully explained and covered in this Asian Handicap betting guide. 

 

Being relegated to League C would have its benefits. It would give the Ireland team chance to breathe against easier opposition, something they haven’t had the luxury of in some time, which the results clearly reflect. 

 

The lower league is home to the likes of Israel, Scotland, Greece, Norway and Serbia. It would be a proving ground for new tactics, new ways of thinking, but it would also be a proving ground for youth. 

 

All the tools are there to make the transition to a younger and more forward looking side. Martin O’Neill has called up three uncapped players in Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, Hearts loanee Jimmy Dunne, Rotherham’s Ryan Manning as well as Southampton’s Michael Obafemi. 

 

There’s a wealth of experienced 20-somethings who have already become mainstays of the national side. It wouldn’t take much to dig into the national youth sides which have a number of gifted and eager youngsters brought up in top academies in England and still learning their trade in England’s leagues. 

 

For a full range of betting tips and betting guides covering international and domestic football, as well as betting guides and betting site reviews make sure to visit BetBlazers.com.

 

Headcases – the improvement in dealing with concussion in Irish sport

The identification and treatment of concussion in contact-related team sports has improved dramatically over the last decade. The day of the coach running onto the pitch and asking a player “how many fingers am I holding up?” are thankfully long gone.

However, progress and education of coaches and medical staff involved with both professional and amateur teams continues to be a work in progress for the main sporting bodies in this country.

The Headway association in the UK that deals with various brain injuries have been to the forefront of creating awareness around the topic, while the 2015 movie starring Will Smith ‘Concussion’ dealt with the topic from the perspective of the risk of repeated undiagnosed traumas to the head area and leading to long-term effects know as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Irish doctor and former rugby International Dr. Barry O’Driscoll has also been a vocal campaigner on the topic “What has become increasingly indisputable over this period has been the potential short, medium and long-term brain damage from concussive episodes, most of which present with mild/moderate transient symptoms or signs.”

The approach to Concussion among the major sporting bodies in this country is now in line with best international practice and medical advice on how to try to identify and deal with suspected concussion incidents.

By its very nature the sport of rugby has a higher frequency of physical contact than most other team sports. The number of hits a player makes and receives in a  game means that the risk of trauma to the head is greater than in other team sports.  The IRFU have been leading the way on the topic and have a stringent HIA (Head Injury Assessment) protocols to identify if an injury has occurred and a stringent procedure before a player can return to action. This return to play is governed by a graduated return to play plan. The IRFU have developed separate plans for the professional and amateur games.

In recent seasons there has been an increasing awareness of how to identify and treat any potential injuries as soon as they happen. The IRFU and their medical experts have put a system in place to check players as soon as there is any suspicion that they may need medical intervention. If a head impact is spotted by the pitch side doctor or the team physio or the match doctor then the player is removed from the pitch for a minimum of ten minutes while a HIA assessment is carried out.

At a professional level, this assessment requires the establishment of a baseline performance level for each player. This measures the player’s ability to recall information under normal conditions. These measures are then used as a benchmark to check a player against when there is a suspicion of the player being concussed. The normal balance and fitness levels are also established at this stage to measure performance during the return to play procedure. This is a five stage process which goes from complete rest from all activities via gradual steps before a full-contact session. A player cannot progress to the next step until they a symptom-free at the current stage.

The amateur game has a similar plan over six stages and they have produced video guides and handouts for clubs and players to follow in order to prepare a player for return to action.

There also has been a cultural change among players. No so long ago players would proudly re-tell anecdotes of not remembering scoring an important match-winning score after an earlier bang on the head. Perhaps the most well know of these is Moss Finn’s post-game testimony of Ireland’s 1982 win over the Welsh at Lansdowne road. “I scored two tries, but can’t remember them. I finished the match, was taken away to St. Vincent’s hospital and spent the night there. The highlights come on the tv in the room. I sat there watching myself score two tries I had no memory of scoring.”

It was an era when players ‘heroically’ would have refused to come off after staggering around for a few minutes because they couldn’t be seen to let their team-mates down. Concern for their own personal safety was often placed a distant second to the good of the team. Now there is an acceptance amongst players that if they tried to remain on the pitch they would be letting their teammates down as they would be slower to react, and more likely to have poorer positional awareness.

 

 

 

Campaigns such as Headway’s “If in doubt, sit it out” fronted by former English captain Lewis Moody have helped change the mindset of players in rugby.

Soccer is another sport that has become increasingly aware of its responsibility to its players in protecting them from the risks of concussion.

According to the FAI on their website “Concussion can be defined as a brain injury that arises from trauma to the head, neck or through an impulsive force to the head from elsewhere in the body.”

The FAI’s website states that any player with a concussion or suspected concussion should be removed from the field of play immediately and safely, and should not return to play, training or other physical activity on the same day.

The GAA have an upcoming Symposium on Concussion at Croke Park in November, and this is their third annual event dealing with the topic.

In the words of their own press release  on the topic from their first event in 2016: “Leading concussion experts from UPMC in the United States, Bon Secours Health System in Ireland and sporting figures from the GAA will join together for a ground breaking symposium which will share nationally for the first time the best practices, protocols and treatment of concussion today.”

It’s not just team sports that have concussion risks associated with them. Boxing has long been linking with repetitive head trauma’s and has stringent guidelines for return to fighting after a knockout blow to the head. Irish Boxing follows AIBA protocols for all fighters.

Thankfully modern sportsmen and women are offered far better protection from their governing bodies than was the case even a decade ago and awareness amongst the general public is vastly greater too.

Mayo v Galway team news and betting

The first big match between two footballing giants takes place on Sunday in MacHale Park with plenty at stake for both sides as Mayo play Galway

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