So, club month is over. Welcome to hurling month, just as June will be as well.

For something widely described as the worst-kept secret in golf, Pádraig Harrington’s eventual unveiling as Europe’s next Ryder Cup captain surprised us in just how pleasant and important a reminder it was of what a special golf nation this is, and what a special sportsperson Harrington is.

So here we are, the in-between days. The demilitarised zone between the turkey and the New Year bells is the essence of Christmas.

Newbridge or nowhere, Croke Park or nowhere: Kildare appear to be on their way out of the All-Ireland SFC because of a row with the GAA concerning the choice of venue for their All-Ireland SFC Round 3 qualifier against Mayo next Saturday.

Peter Canavan doesn’t hold with the perception that Ulster football is a mess.

Michael Fennelly believes his old comrade-in-arms and current club boss Henry Shefflin has the drive and ambition to make the step up to county management one day.

Live coverage of the provincial senior football championships is likely to be severely dented by the introduction of the Super 8 All-Ireland SFC quarter-final stages and the reformatting of the provincial senior hurling competitions as round robins.

LISTOWEL's Tim Healy was the man adding a bit of gold to the green of Augusta on Masters Sunday.

Larry Ryan writes a strongly worded letter to the week’s sport 

A friendly garda who turned a blind eye to some All-Ireland day speeding helped Chris Kamara make his commentary seat just before throw-in when Jeff & Kammy’s Journey to Croker reached its climax on Sunday.

Crystal Palace are preparing to appoint Roy Hodgson as manager after sacking Frank de Boer following only four Premier League matches in charge.

The loss of Phillippe Coutinho would not be as damaging to Liverpool as was the departure of Luis Saurez in 2014.

This current Galway outfit must be totally tuned in from the first whistle or they can take an awful pasting against Kerry, writes Ray Silke.

it might have been Jim Gavin who appeared in front of the media on Sunday but he could have been mistaken for Little Britain’s Vicky Pollard with his “yeah but, no but” defence of Diarmuid Connolly, writes John Fogarty.

Paul McGinley has outlined his concerns for Rory McIlroy’s Masters prospects next month if the Irish superstar is unable to quieten “the noise” created by his golf date with President Donald Trump.

Thanks to events across the Atlantic this autumn, “normalising” will go down as one of the words of the year. The man who promoted it, New Yorker magazine editor David Remnick, deserves praise for providing an essential tool in describing the GUBU US Presidential election.

Luke Fitzgerald has taken a vocal stance against the IRFU’s policy of recruiting ‘special project’ players to the detriment of native Irish players’ international chances.

We are living in uncertain times.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is Manchester United’s new Roy Keane, not Paul Pogba, argues Graeme Souness.

Niall Quinn has challenged Ireland’s Euro 2016 heroes to build on the success of their French adventure.

Consumer advice with Gráinne McGuinness

James Horan believes his managerial career with Mayo “would have been over” had the team lost to London in 2011.

Saturday night makes one appreciate that the beauty of sport lies part in the fact that there is more to success than money, natural ability and rankings.

Paul Dunne is hoping history can repeat itself with the rookie pro looking to follow in the footsteps of Rory McIlroy by securing his European Tour card at this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Peter McNamara takes a look back at the weekend's GAA action.

Sky Sports has agreed to reschedule their live coverage of two football qualifiers on Saturday week to accommodate RTÉ’s decision to screen the Munster SFC final replay.

In spite of his disappointing performance at Wentworth last week, Rory McIlroy will inevitably be very much the focus of attention at Royal County Down this week. Even so, the fans and television viewers will also keep more than one eye on several other Irishmen, and most especially Darren Clarke, Shane Lowry and Pádraig Harrington.

RTÉ won’t be taking any further action after Joe Brolly apologised for his derogatory comment about commentator Marty Morrissey on The Sunday Game Live yesterday.

We have missed the pageantry badly this last three years. The classic imagery: a small boy’s little face creasing in a flood of tears; an obese, topless man convulsing in triumph.

Jim McGuinness has rejected commentary by Joe Brolly and Jarlath Burns about the state of Gaelic football.

Manchester City have denied making an offer to, or being interested in, Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone.

Referees, opponents and even his Sky Sports hosts were on Jose Mourinho’s target list as he made a surprise appearance on Goals on Sunday.

Claims by the GAA’s hierarchy that the Sky Sports deal has been good for the association have been contested by a leading sports academic, says John Fogarty.

Clare County Board last night unanimously backed a proposal to ensure future All-Ireland championship matches are available free to air.

Arsenal paid a fitting tribute to Thierry Henry, as did a number of his soon-to-be new colleagues, after the former Gunners striker announced his retirement from football on Tuesday morning.