The priest officiating at the funeral of a man who was fatally stabbed on the street last week has questioned why people carry knives when they result in so much tragedy.

On what was his 21st birthday, Marcus Lawler came of age in style yesterday by blitzing the field to win the 200m title at the GloHealth National Indoor Championships in Athlone.

A gallery of photographs from the GloHealth Munster Schools Cross Country, held at Tramore Valley Park, Cork City on Thursday, February 11.

Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin will renew their battle for World Championship gold this afternoon after the pair cruised into today’s 200 metres final (1.55pm Irish time, live on BBC2).

Mark English has vowed not to allow his disappointing 800m performance at last night’s Cork City Sports meet affect his European U23 championships gold medal bid.

Mark English is through to tomorrow’s 800m final at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Prague.

Mark English advanced to the 800m semi-finals by running an impressive 1:48.10 at the European Indoor Championships in Prague yesterday.

A blistering opening morning session for the Irish team saw four athletes progress to semi-finals at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Prague.

This should be about Ciara Everard’s hopes for the European Indoor Championships in Prague this week.

Mark English wrapped up his preparations for Prague 2015 by taking the Glo Health national indoor 800 meter title in Athlone I.T today.

Qatar’s Mutaz Bashirm was just centimetres off setting a new World high jump record at tonight’s AIT international arena, as Ciarán Ó Lionáird ran out of gas.

Nottingham 12 Munster A 23

It was always going to be a tough ask for the five Irish athletes to progress from their respective heats on day one of the World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland yesterday, and so it proved, with none of the quintet able to make it to a final.

It will be a tough first day of competition for the five Irish athletes competing at the world indoor championships in Poland today but they all have their personal goals to keep them on track.

Mark English leads a small Irish team to next month's IAAF World Indoor championships in Sopot, Poland.

The head of one of Holland’s leading players’ unions says the growing trend of players being relegated to the reserves amid stalled contract negotiations is a “sickening state of affairs”.

“I’m not finishing fourth,” was Fionnuala Britton’s mantra in the last three laps of the 3,000m final as the teak tough Wicklow woman won a fighting bronze medal yesterday.

Ciarán Ó Lionáird became Ireland’s latest medallist at a major athletics championships, as Brian Gregan’s hopes for glory bit the dust in devastating fashion.

A remarkable opening day for Ireland at the European Indoor Athletics Championships was narrowly denied a golden finish when Derval O’Rourke was edged out into fourth in the final of the women’s 60 metres hurdles.

Sonia O’Sullivan believes success “should be expected” by Irish athletes at the European Indoor Championships, which begin this morning in Gothenburg.

With grown men banging the blue-boarded track and a raucous crowd standing on their feet as John Travers broke eight minutes for the 3,000m, it truly was Super Sunday at the Woodie’s DIY National Indoor Championships in Athlone in a day to remember for Irish athletics aficionados.

Ciara Everard turned mishap into magic at the Athlone Institute of Technology indoor arena yesterday as she sped to a new national indoor 800m record of 2:02.54 and a European Indoor qualifying time (2:03.5) in a incredible weekend for Irish athletics.

Derval O’Rourke had a grin of satisfaction after reclaiming her 60m hurdles title at the Woodies DIY Irish indoor championships at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast yesterday in 8.21 secs — modest by her standards.

Ciara Everard and Laura Crowe combined to produce the most exciting race of the domestic indoor season when they clashed in the 800m at the recent Universities Championships in Nenagh, breaking the U23 record set by Sonia O’Sullivan all of 22 years ago.

IRELAND U20s suffered heartbreak in their opening IRB Junior World Championship clash against England in a thrilling Pool C clash last night.

Ireland U20 15England U20 46

THE Irish Nurses Organisation has accused the Health Service Executive of attempting to threaten and intimidate nurses individually at some hospitals as part of an increasingly bitter row over pay and conditions for nursing staff.

UCD 1-12 Birr 1-7

FOUR athletes made it through to their respective finals and two athletes - Linda Byrne in the steeplechase and Breffni Twohig in the 5,000m - set new national junior records on a great day for the Irish at the European Junior Track and Field Championships in Kaunas yesterday.

Tipperary 0-17 Clare 1-12

THE team for next month’s European Youth Olympic Festival in Lignano was finalised following the Kit Kat Irish Schools Track and Field Championships on Saturday when, despite some inclement weather, all the qualifiers produced some spectacular performances.

Waterford 0-18 Tipperary 1-14