Tag: Meath Chronicle

  • Ladies showing the way again – 28/10/23

    Ladies showing the way again – 28/10/23

    In various strands of life, Christmas is regarded as the silly season. Referring, of course, to the shopping and spending and socialising that seems to consume the entire month of December, if not beforehand.  In a sporting sense, there are a number of incarnations of the silly season. From the Transfer Windows in soccer to…

  • Not all change is good

    Not all change is good

    Aidan O’Brien recently sent out his 4,000th winner. Yes, that figure includes both Flat and National Hunt. We know, too, that he has seemingly endless resources of the Coolmore ‘syndicate’ backing, no need to labour on the point. Simply because, no matter how impeccably bred a steed may be, their pedigree will count for damn…

  • Each sport must compete for market share

    Each sport must compete for market share

    Over the years, I’ve been very fortunate to meet a host of top sports stars, and befriend quite a few of them. Regular ingesters of content from this keyboard will know the list well. Or some of them. Colm O’Rourke, Graham Geragthy, Noel Meade, Jim Bolger, Trevor Brennan, Sean O’Brien, Peter O’Mahony and Michael Carruth.…

  • The engine can only be fixed with the proper tools

    The engine can only be fixed with the proper tools

    What old style life hacks can you remember from when you were growing up? For example, I know there was a method of mending a puncture on a bike (or wheelchair!) involving washing up liquid. The same substance was also deployed to counteract a disease in rose bushes which I think was called blackspot.  Vinegar…

  • There are none so blind as those who don’t want to see

    There are none so blind as those who don’t want to see

    Con Houlihan, after one of the epic Dublin/Kerry encounters of the 1970s, began his summation of the event thus: “House private, no flowers please’. Now read on… The strange opening was a nod to Con’s “Friend Girl” Harriet Duffin who was a Dub. On the said occasion, his would be the happy half of their…

  • The star pupil has taken over career guidance 

    The star pupil has taken over career guidance 

    In what I think was 2002, the notion landed to get da tickets for the Fairyhouse Easter Festival as a birthday present. Apart from the fact that the day we went was the coldest day I was ever at a sporting event anywhere, the other abiding memory is if Gordon Elliot taking a mount in…

  • Damien P. O’Reilly 1983-2023

    Damien P. O’Reilly 1983-2023

    My late father always reckoned Tom Yourell was one of the best judges of character he ever came across. In other words, if the nearest I ever knew to a grandfather got a vibe about someone, time would usually prove him to be right. It’s something I’d like to think I’ve inherited from the old…

  • Watching, admiring, hoping

    Watching, admiring, hoping

    Did you ever watch somebody, sporting or otherwise, and just get an inkling straight away they were destined for stardom? Off the top of my head I could name a plethora, quite a few of them close to home.  Graham Geraghty and Emma Duggan are two that jump off the page. On a larger scale,…

  • Meath nearly hit a score for every player on the pitch

    Meath nearly hit a score for every player on the pitch

    Meath… 0-28 Tyrone… 0-20 When putting up the ‘Check In’ post on Facebook upon arrival at Pairc Tailteann early on Saturday evening, no secret was made of the reality that one was unsure what, if any, of the sliotar the one seeing eye here would be able to pick up. It being a first match…