It is not just the playing of the sports, but the manner in which they have colonised so much of American popular culture that matters.

There is a strong pull on the pool. The Shannon flows briskly through the arches of the stunning feat of 19th-century engineering that is the bridge at Banagher

After the establishment of the Irish Free State, visions of independent Ireland involved a country backboned by prosperous farmers. It was this group that was also understood to be the driving force in GAA clubs

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced that line judges will no longer be used at the US Open.

Put simply: it is not the changed rules of the game that has fundamentally shifted the patterns of play, rather it is the changes in equipment and in the medicalisation of sporting performance.

Micheál Martin acknowledged that the provision of PE in Irish schools has been “historically problematic”, and he also made a pledge to Joe Molloy, saying “I will get on it.” 

The broadcast of hurling — unfortunately — was not what ESPN needed to make itself a viable commercial proposition. 

The funding provided by Shane Lowry will be used to support the development of underage activities in the 41 clubs active across Offaly

It matters that the FAI is 100 years old this summer and predates the founding of an independent Irish state. The hope has to be that the FAI uses its centenary to remind people of its contribution to Ireland.

Thirty years ago this week, the Women’s Rugby World Cup was played for the first time. It was only in 1993 that the first international rugby match involving Irish women was played