Two of Ireland's U20 Six Nations winners are among the four players added to the Munster Academy for next season.

A second-half implosion saw Cork City fall to their fifth league defeat of the season away to UCD last night.

Will Keane has become the first of what Mick McCarthy hopes is a steady stream of Ireland recruits under his reign.

Amid the small battles for points and qualifications, Dave Connell can still stand back and admire the big picture.

Off go the contenders tonight in the League of Ireland, with the Premier Division title race considered the most open for a number of years.

Grotesque abuse hurled at Cyrus Christie online came to the fore this week, the latest example of how football, and sport in general, continues to battle the scourge of racism.

Burnley finished the season with four Irish starters: one of the few highlights for Irish players in the Premier League this season, says John Fallon 

A senior Ireland international has yet to hit the net at Old Trafford this season, but 17-year-old Thomas O’Connor managed it as Southampton caused an FA Youth Cup shock.

Nobody in the ilk of Damien Duff has graced the Ireland squad since the magician retired after Euro 2012, but Daryl Horgan hopes the similarities in appearance noticed by his new teammates yesterday can in some way be replicated in a football sense.

Rassie Erasmus has given Munster’s young midfield hopefuls two pre-season games to stake their claim to a starting place for the new campaign before looking to bring in a more experienced replacement for long-term injury victim Francis Saili.

Connacht Academy players Sean O’Brien and Peter Robb have secured senior contracts with the province.

Connacht’s Eoghan Masterson is the perfect endorsement of a player who is reaping the rewards for his indefatigable determination to play for Ireland.

He’ll be back on the stage he belongs tonight when Everton visit Oakwell in the Capital One Cup but whether Conor Hourihane can stay there while at Barnsley remains to be seen.

FA Cup Fourth Round Replay

Munster look set to lose another back-row forward to Pau with Sean Dougall in line for a move to the French Top 14 hopefuls this summer.

Not even the onset of lymphoma could deter Stephen McPhail from continuing his career and the 35-year-old yesterday agreed a new contract at Shamrock Rovers.

Harry Arter had a premonition he would score against Watford, although it’s doubtful the Bournemouth midfielder could have imagined netting such a stunner in Saturday’s 1-1 Championship draw.

UEFA U19 Women’s European Championship finals:

Ireland U19 1 Serbia U19 3

Everton are raiding the League of Ireland for another starlet they hope can follow the lead of Seamus Coleman.

Cork City 4 Limerick FC 0

Republic of Ireland U19s 2 Romania U19s 2

The first of the two all-Limerick SEAT Munster Schools Senior Cup semi-finals features St Munchin’s and Ardscoil Rís at Grove Island, Corbally today.

Republic of Ireland U19 manager Paul Doolin intends to use the two friendlies against Romania in Cork this week as a dry run for the elite phase of European Championship qualifying.

As born winners, Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane will dig deep to turn around Ireland’s fortunes — which is good news for prospective new talent.

Three points against Romania in today’s Uefa Championship U21 qualifier is the birthday present of choice for Ireland winger Sean Murray.

Reality television is renowned for supplying bursts of fame but Mullingar native Connor Smith has bucked the trend by holding his own for Championship club Watford and the Ireland U21s.

Ireland U19 0 Slovenia U19 3

Ireland U19 manager Paul Doolin wants Uefa chiefs in Serbia next week to protect his players from anything like the racism England were subjected to last October.

Ireland U19 15 England U19 16

Cork Constitution were left stunned by a second-half Old Belvedere blitz at Anglesea Road on Saturday.

Robbie Keane says his status as one of the veterans of the Irish team means he’s relishing playing in the European Championship finals all the more.

Ireland U19 boss Paul Doolin admits he’s disappointed Connor Smith feels “too tired” to feature in the upcoming UEFA U19 elite qualifiers in Portugal.

Munster’s hand has been further strengthened after ten players signed new contracts.

Cork City duo Danny Morrissey and Jason Forde featured for Ireland’s U19s yesterday as they lost to Turkey in their final friendly before the UEFA elite stage qualifiers in May.

RISING Manchester United star Michael Keane last night confirmed his intention to turn his back on Ireland for a switch to his homeland of England.

WHILE Shamrock Rovers boss Michael O’Neill is set to be named the new manager of Northern Ireland, the post he occupied for the last three years continues to remain vacant at Tallaght amid late complications in the Hoops’ bid to land Stephen Kenny as his successor.

THE Football Association of Ireland’s High Performance Director, Wim Koevermans, believes the new U19 national league can help stem a talent drain from soccer to Gaelic football.

IRELAND U19 boss Paul Doolin admitted his charges were beaten 2-0 by a superior Bosnia and Herzegovina side in Plovdiv, Bulgaria on Saturday which leaves them needing to beat Russia tomorrow to clinch their place in the elite phase.

UEFA U19

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND U19 manager Paul Doolin is convinced victory in tomorrow’s last fixture in the pool will seal them a European Championship semi-final spot.

IRELAND U19 captain John Egan called on his teammates to focus on one game at a time as they prepare to get their UEFA Championships campaign under way in Romania.

THEIR name bears that of a town in Munster, and they are referred to as a Tipperary school; yet their premises is located over the border in Offaly and they play their rugby in Leinster.