Sport
The Heineken Cup – an Irish success story.
This is the sixteenth year of the Heineken Cup and so far we have had 4 Irish victories. If Leinster beat Northampton in Cardiff’s Millennium stadium tomorrow(Saturday kick off 5pm) that will make it 4 Irish victories in the competition in the last 6 years- two each for Munster and Leinster – an incredible record. [...] more »
“The Olympic Flame will shine a light right across every Nation and Region of the UK…”
The BBC reports the announcement of the first 74 locations on the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Route across the UK – starting at Land’s End, Cornwall, on the morning of 19 May 2012. They have an interactive map too. The torch will arrive in Northern Ireland on 3 June and will travel to Portrush, Londonderry, Newry [...] more »
The missing “unanimous” ICC Cricket Committee recommendation
Both the BBC and the RTÉ reports picked up on Irish cricketer Trent Johnston’s tweet following the ICC Cricket Committee meeting at Lord’s yesterday to note a further development in the ICC World Cup 2015 story. Here’s Trent Johnston’s tweet Unanimous decision by ICC Cricket Committee to recommend to the Chief Exec Committee there be a qualifier for [...] more »
ICC Executive Board to revisit World Cup 2015 decision
As the BBC reports, the International Cricket Council President, Sharad Pawar, has requested the ICC Executive Board to revisit the decision to exclude Associate and Affiliate Members of the ICC, including Ireland, from the Cricket World Cup 2015. From the ICC statement …after receiving representations from the Associate and Affiliate Members of the ICC, the ICC [...] more »
Stand up for the Ulstermen (and the Leinstermen).
With Rory in the lead in the US Masters in Augusta and Ulster in the quarter finals of the Heineken Cup for the first time since they won it in 1999 – it could be a sensational weekend for Ulster sport. … if Ulster beat Northampton (away) on Sunday they will have a home semi-final [...] more »
ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 “will comprise the existing 10 Full Members”
As the BBC reports, at the ICC Executive Board meeting at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai on 4 April 2011 it was agreed that The Executive Board confirmed their decision made in October 2010 that the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand and the ICC Cricket World Cup in England in [...] more »
ICC World Cup 2011: Quarter-finals
The dust has settled on the final games of the opening stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 - Zimbabwe defeated Kenya by 161 runs and the West Indies collapsed against India when in a commanding position. The group tables are now complete and the line-up for the knock-out quarter-final stage is as follows. 23 March Pakistan [...] more »
ICC World Cup 2011: Ireland v Netherlands
Ireland’s final game in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 is underway. Ireland won the toss and decided to field. The Netherlands have set a big total for Ireland to chase with ten Doeschate making 106 run from 108 balls. ESPNCricinfo over-by-over commentary. Netherlands 306 all out from 50 overs. Target 307. Ireland innings Porterfield c Buurman [...] more »
ICC World Cup 2011: Ireland V South Africa
A must win game for Ireland today against South Africa if they are to have any chance of making it through to the knock-out stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. You can pick up the live radio coverage here, along with the BBC over-by-over text commentary. RTÉ coverage here. ESPNCricinfo commentary and scorecard [...] more »
“If the Executive took a needs based approach rather than a politically expedient route…”
As BBC NI political editor Mark Devenport says of the announced Northern Ireland Executive approval of a ”package of circa £138million [to] be used to upgrade regional stadiums at Windsor Park, Ravenhill and Casement Park, and take forward sub regional stadium developments for football.” …one aspect of the announcement which is questionable is its very symmetry. If [...] more »
ICC World Cup 2011: West Indies V Ireland
An important match for Ireland tomorrow, if they’re to progress to the next stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. They face the West Indies in Mohali. It’s a day match so the starting time here is around 4am. Don’t expect live-blogging… RTÉ’s preview focuses on the West Indies coach Ottis Gibson’s approach to the [...] more »
ICC World Cup 2011: India V Ireland
After Ireland’s stunning win over England on Wednesday, today they face India at Bangalore in their third match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. India won the toss and decided to field. BBC scorecard here. ESPNCricinfo over-by-over text commentary and scorecard. Ireland currently 165 for 6 from 39 overs. Stirling bowled Khan for 0 [...] more »
“They can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. Terrific Ireland.”
Whether you’re gloating or, like Alan, you somehow missed my ‘excited’ live-blogging of the match [*ahem* - Ed] enjoy the highlights from the final 17 overs of Ireland’s historic win over England in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Group B match yesterday. [While you can... - Ed] As the Guardian’s Kevin Mitchell says What happened in [...] more »
ICC World Cup 2011: England V Ireland
The Ireland cricket team look set to face a daunting total in their second game of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in Bangalore. England won the toss and elected to bat. Currently they’re on 211 for 2 with 15 overs left to bat. You can pick up the Test Match Special radio coverage here. ESPNCricinfo [...] more »
ICC World Cup 2011: Bangladesh V Ireland
The Ireland cricket team open their ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 tournament today against Bangladesh at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Bangladesh. Bangladesh won the toss and decided to bat. Concern about the Bangladeshi openers may have been justified, but a discplined Ireland managed to bowl them all out for 205 runs, in 49.2 [...] more »
“It is pure frustration that for five years we have been led along with a bit of string.”
As Gonzo noted back in December IF this contrite statement is anything to go by, DUP Sports Minster Nelson McCausland must have hauled Sport NI chief executive Eamonn McCartan over the coals for listing off on TV reasons why we weren’t attracting Olympic interest. McCartan told the BBC that no Olympic teams had committed to [...] more »
When two (Celtic) tribes go to war
The good relations that traditionally mark Irish-Welsh relations will be under strain this weekend as the homespun-talk-themselves-down Munster take on the brash-talk-themselves-up Ospreys in Saturdays crucial (rugby) Heineken Cup match. Relations have been poor for a number of years since the Ospreys counter-cited Munster player Marcus Horan for racially abusing one of their players – [...] more »
Graeme McDowell for Sports Personality of the Year
Great news for a freezing Monday morning! Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat from the faltering Tiger is just the right move to boost the Portrush boy’s chances in BBC Sports Personality of the Year. (He made it to captain of Golf at my old school, you know). more »
Come off it England!
Yet again the messenger is blamed for the message. Fuelled by that strange English sense of entitlement, the English bidding team have descended to blaming Panorama and the Sunday Times for what their media supporters oddly call their “humiliation”. If FIFA are corrupt and it was the Beeb wot lost it, where’s the humiliation? If [...] more »
Autumn Internationals
Has anyone else a bad feeling about these? Here’s the fixtures: more »
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Books
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Hearing the Other Voice from the Grave: Why Should we Listen to David Ervine’s Stories?
Ed Moloney’s Voices from the Grave: Two Men’s War in Ireland has received considerable attention in the press and in the public realm since its publication earlier this year. Although the book relates the experiences of the Provisional IRA’s Brendan Hughes and the PUP/UVF’s David Ervine, much of the discussion has focused on Hughes’ stories [...] read our review » -
A New Vision for the Catholic Church – Book Review
The oft-quoted verse from the book of Proverbs, ‘where there is no vision, the people perish,’ (chapter 29, verse 18) opens a new book by Gerry O’Hanlon, A New Vision for the Catholic Church: A View from Ireland (Columba Press, 2011). That verse could be considered an apt summary of the current state of the [...] read our review »
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Of the Old North and other Vanished Kingdoms..
I’m currently trawling through Norman Davies’s fabulous new tome – “Vanished Kingdoms” – Five stars in the (London) Telegraph’s review from Ben Wilson: All the nations that have ever lived have left their footsteps in the sand,” writes Norman Davies. “The traces fade with every tide, the echoes grow faint, the images are fractured, the human [...] read our review »
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