Funeral arrangements have been announced for tragic mother of three Marie Downey and her infant son Darragh, who both died at Cork University Maternity Hospital, four days after little Darragh’s birth.

The inter-county training ban is under question as six of next year’s 10 Liam MacCarthy Cup teams will be permitted to return to collective training before their official start dates.

Keith Earls will save dwelling on past glories for when the boots have been hung up for good. In the meantime, the medals will stay locked away as the Munster and Ireland wing targets further joy and more silverware for province and country.

JP McManus has set out his formula for how to operate a five-star hotel using the winning team culture centred around sports.

It was Declan Hannon who said it, sitting in the victors’ banquet with the Liam MacCarthy Cup in front of him: ‘We’ve all marched behind the band out the back garden when we were four, five, six years of age.’

The year ends with an eight, Galway are reigning All-Ireland champions, there’s a McInerney in the half-back line and a Cooney in the half-forwards.

All-Star Galway defender Padraic Mannion has confirmed that All-Ireland winning colleague Jonathan Glynn will be available for their defence of the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

Galway’s Rebecca Hennelly will relish this week’s historic camogie All-Star tour in Madrid, Spain, more than most. 

GAA director general Páraic Duffy and president Aogán Farrell are confident the prospect of home games will ensure Waterford make Walsh Park a viable venue for Munster championship hurling in the coming years.

Cathal Barrett will do “whatever it takes” to regain his place on the Tipperary hurling panel, his club’s chairman, Tom O’Dwyer said, after the Holycross-Ballycahill player was dropped from the county set-up for disciplinary reasons.

GAA management committee member Liam Sheedy says there is serious appeal around the possibility of all Liam MacCarthy Cup teams enjoying home games.

Wexford have gambled by hiring Davy Fitzgerald, writes PM O’Sullivan.

Having looked likely to develop into a most frustrating sort, Swamp Fox is beginning to look like a professional winner, and the four-year-old produced another tremendous display to rout the opposition in the featured Liam Healy Memorial Lartigue Hurdle on day three of the Listowel Harvest Festival.

Ken McGrath has spoken of the depth of gratitude he feels towards those who supported him and his family as he battled back from a brain haemorrhage in 2013.

All-Ireland fever has gripped Co Galway for the last two weeks since Anthony Cunningham’s troops wrapped up their place in today’s hurling decider.

On the first Sunday in September, 31 men will take to the pitch in Croke Park to entertain us in the All-Ireland senior hurling final. 

Eamonn Kelly has cited travel and other hurling commitments as the reasons for his decision to step down as Kerry manager after two seasons.

Long-serving county secretary Frank Murphy wasn’t gazing into a crystal ball when he sat down to prepare his annual report for the 1989 County Board Convention.

The GAA is encouraging players to begin the New Year on a healthy note as part of its Off the Booze and On the Ball initiative.

Cork 2-23 Clare 2-18

Westmeath 2-22 Kildare 2-13

You could hardly call the face-off between Westmeath and Kildare the £100 million game like they tend to call the English Championship play-off final in Wembley, but it’s actually hurling’s equivalent.

Record-breaking jockey AP McCoy was named RTÉ Sports Person of the Year for 2013 on Saturday night.

Former Clare manager Ger Loughnane has told the All-Ireland winners they won’t be considered a great team until they lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup again.

Clare have crowned their All-Ireland title with an impressive haul of eight All Stars - three backs and a trio of forwards as well as the two midfielders.

Davy Fitzgerald is set to remain as Clare senior hurling manager for another three years following last night’s county board meeting.

Clare Senior Hurlers visited Crumlin Children's Hospital this morning with the Liam MacCarthy Cup ahead of their Homecoming celebrations in Ennis tonight.

Clare 5-16 Cork 3-16

Anthony Daly, who captained Clare to two All-Ireland SHC crowns in the 1990s, cannot wait to see how the tactical tug-of-war plays out in Sunday's All-Ireland SHC final between Clare and Cork.

Dublin hurling sharpshooter Paul Ryan has downplayed any talk of a potential All-Ireland senior double for the capital, insisting it would be "stupid" to look beyond both teams' next matches.

GAA director of games administration and player welfare Feargal McGill doesn’t expect the new five-person limit on sideline team personnel to change.

Pat Horgan has been forced to pull out of this Saturday's Hurling/Shinty International second Test against Scotland in Ennis.