Did you ever notice how nearly every Irish function ends up in a sing-song? Wedding, christening, significant birthday, even a funeral, it doesn’t matter. And nobody escapes the crooning call. If one is pressed into action Beautiful Meath or The Wild Rover are the go-to solutions. Others could be attempted, but perhaps best to leave… Read More No need to ask Neil Diamond’s question!
These are my Racing selections for 2018/’19. PAT’S PICK (NOEL MEADE) BRACE YOURSELF (NOEL MEADE) SUPER FOLIO (NOEL MEADE) BLACKBOW (WILLIE MULLINS)
Did you ever consider some of the phrases we all use, maybe in the course of a day, in a throw-away fashion that, well, we don’t afford a thought to? Lately, two have been to the forefront of thoughts here: the importance of not taking anything for granted in life and, from a more personal… Read More Fortitudo in Adversis
Visitors to this space, or indeed sports aficionados of a certain vintage, might recall a time when Eurosport was the only such channel available with ‘mainstream’ television broadcasting. That is, if one was lucky enough to have ‘all’ the ‘normal’ television stations. Now read on…
Trying to stave off cabin fever due to a snow storm gives a body time to think. Too much of it in fact. Primarily, thoughts turned to the last time these wheels were housebound in such circumstances. Most poignantly, that the two lieutenants who did most to aid escapism in what I think was 2010… Read More More Paul Brady than Christy Moore!
When thinking back to my school days, it often occurs to me just how fortunate we were. Not just in terms of actual schooling but – equally as importantly from a personal perspective at least – that there was such a strong sporting ethos therein. It helped, of course, that Willie Lyons, who looked after… Read More A big occasion under the Friday night lights
Whilst paying tribute to John Reilly a while ago, mention was afforded to the 1997 season. Specifically, that at the time our club had very talented underage teams in both codes. The thing was, as so many of our teams across different grades qualified for finals, the U-21 hurling decider against Boardsmill ended up being… Read More The direction may be right, but treading warily will be advisable
RED JACK (NOEL MEADE) – Below STONEFORD (NOEL MEADE) KIRWANS LANE (NOEL MEADE) NEXT DESTINATION (WILLIE MULLINS)
It can be attested to all too easily, having an occupied mind can be essential. An idle mind can cause problems. It’s the type of thing that usually leads to the phenomenon known as the ‘silly season’. Now, obviously, in sporting terms, it besieges different disciplines at various times. For example, during the two and… Read More ‘Silly season’ invading several sports
Debate and rancour surrounding GAA fixtures has a lifespan as flexible as time itself. No matter what new systems are trialled – and no matter how convoluted they seem to be – the business end of club competitions in most counties seems to boil down to this time of year. Which leads to the type… Read More The mother and father of good weekends!