It was almost possible to see Franno and Nick Popplewell trudging behind the posts while a cockerel danced a merry jig and Fred Cogley struggled to make himself heard above the Gallic din.

The rain has cooped up kids in the house of a Saturday morning rather than being out playing sport. But how can we fix it?

Arsenal look every inch the real deal, even if they have not won too many hearts.

An Ghaeltacht chairman Dara Ó Cinnéide expressed brilliantly the truth in the club championships’ often homogenised message.

Even if Ireland don’t qualify for the World Cup, we might see that night in Budapest as part of an historic narrative turning point.

The consolation for fans wearying of their team’s latest omnishambles is that it will soon move on to the next hapless outfit.

People don’t get to choose their endings, true, but how did it come to this for arguably the iconic player of the modern Anfield era?

How much stick can fans reasonably dish out to make themselves feel better?

A bigger World Cup has spread happiness all over the globe .

Ireland are now the poor relations of the Celtic quadrangle, and comparisons with Northern Ireland are not flattering.