Rovers have a genuine task to retain their crown and become only the second team in history to secure four golds on the bounce.

Proof of the unpredictability is evidenced by the diversity of outcomes among switches we’ve chronicled over the past decade.

A veteran of 40 years to the game, fulfilling every role possible, Tom Browne deserved better than what amounted to a public humiliation at Saturday’s FAI annual general meeting.

Barrett shocked his fellow directors last week by announcing his imminent departure after three years.

Any doubts about the readiness of Evan Ferguson and Joe Hodge for senior international service have been quelled since the Premier League resumed, each contributing to their respective team’s revival.

The giddiness that had accompanied Kenny's U21s - with Aaron Connolly, Adam Idah, Michael Obafemi and Troy Parrott as the attacking options - quickly faded

When the club circuit does next pause for breath in 12 weeks, Ireland will embark on a mission to tumble the natural order of the game.

Last Sunday’s FAI Cup final concluded a season that kicked off last February, delivering what many expected predictable outcomes at both ends of the table in each division.

Cork City’s admission last week that exploring the marketplace for backing was the sole viable route to silverware in the domestic game spoke loudly of the realities around ownership.

Every so often, an outsider's opinion gets the dander among League of Ireland folk up and the latest to strike a nerve was Matt Taylor