Shane Duffy was named the FAI Senior Player of the Year for 2017 last night but the big Brighton defender was unable to collect his award in person as the weather took its toll on the annual televised ceremony in RTÉ, with the programme having to be shortened from a scheduled running time of 90 minutes to one hour.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has been suspended from his duties as Sky Sports analyst.

In calling up Declan Rice to his squad for this month’s training camp and friendly in Turkey, Martin O’Neill has stressed that the highly-rated young West Ham defender, who is still eligible to play senior football for both Ireland and England, will not come under any pressure to decide his international future.

“He looks a different player. He’s oozing that confidence now and he looked the real deal today.”

Between a lack of game time at West Brom and the vilification he routinely receives from the stands and on social media, the Premier League must sometimes feel like a cold house to James McClean.

Who knows how much money he would have made, how many caps he’d have earned, how many honours he’d have won, had Colin Healy not had his leg badly broken by an awful tackle when he was just 23. 

James McCarthy has been named in a 34-man Republic of Ireland squad for next month's World Cup play-offs against Denmark.

Mick McCarthy was grateful for a moment of “magic” from David McGoldrick as Ipswich maintained their perfect start to the new Championship season by winning 2-1 at Barnsley on Saturday.

Irish football lore has room for just one one-cap wonder from the Steve Staunton era. And that’s fine by Colin Doyle.

Cork man Colin Doyle hopes that he will be celebrating for real at Wembley today.

When I read a review of Anthony Clavane’s new book last weekend, the sketchy outline convinced me immediately it had to be read.

Ireland U-21 1, Serbia U-21 3: Ireland’s U21 Euro campaign ended on a losing note last night, despite Noel King’s troops taking the lead at the Waterford RSC against a classy Serbian outfit.

Not once but twice has Ireland U21 skipper Tommie Hoban overcome injuries which have threatened to end his career before it can even take flight.

Now that the unthinkable has happened and Meath have lost to Westmeath, is it time to revisit Martin McHugh’s much ridiculed explanation for the decline of Gaelic football in the county?

Families of the 56 football fans who died in the Bradford fire have said the service to mark the 30th anniversary of the tragedy was “humbling”.

FA Cup Quarter-Final

FA Cup Fifth Round: Bradford 2 Sunderland 0: Bradford, a city whose last meaningful flirtation with the FA Cup came some 104 years ago, now stand one victory from a Wembley semi-final after a stunning 2-0 upset of Premier League Sunderland at Valley Parade.

Capitol One Cup semi-final second leg

Cork native Billy Clarke is eyeing a double Wembley trip after helping Bradford City dump Chelsea out of the FA Cup at the weekend.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is looking forward to locking horns with former mentor Jose Mourinho once again – this time with a Wembley place at stake.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is looking forward to locking horns with former mentor Jose Mourinho once again — this time with a Wembley place at Stake.

Chelsea 2 Bradford 4: FA Cup Fourth Round: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has lost faith in a number of his squad players ahead of the club’s League Cup semi-final second-leg with Liverpool tomorrow, after his second-string was humiliated by League One minnows Bradford on Saturday.

Chelsea’s £200m men were sunk by a supermarket shelf stacker who was plucked from non-league obscurity for the princely sum of £7,500.

Andy Halliday was left “speechless” after Bradford City’s shock 4-2 FA Cup victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Cambridge United have been handed a dream FA Cup fourth round tie against 11-time winners Manchester United.

Nine was the magic number for Daryl Murphy this weekend as his brace in the 4-1 Championship win over Leeds made it nine goals in nine games for Ipswich’s number nine.

ENGLAND: Annual sales of vinyl albums have soared past the million mark for the first time in 18 years —buoyed by veteran rock act Pink Floyd.

A goalkeeper in England played on after suffering a suspected broken neck in a collision with a team-mate.

Phil Jones admits Manchester United are still learning Louis van Gaal’s new system but the defender believes their 100% record in pre-season shows they are ready for the new Premier League campaign to start.

After attending Wembley twice in the past year as a mere bystander, Corkman John Egan is two games away from becoming an active participant at English football’s biggest stage.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew, right, has been handed a record seven-match ban — including a three-game stadium exclusion — for head-butting Hull midfielder David Meyler.

Arsenal 4 Coventry 0

Former Ireland B international Lewis Emanuel has been sentenced to eight years in prison for his part in a post office armed robbery in May.

It’s approaching a year since John Egan’s physical and mental pain subsided after a surprise visitor to the Darlington Woodlands Hospital.

There's been a bit of a kerfuffle in the north of England over some football mascot who has quit his job because he's no longer fat.

Clinton Morrison may be in the twilight of his career, but he still boasts to his younger team-mates about when he played in big games for the Republic of Ireland.

Irish players formed central parts in the play- off victories of two sides at the weekend.