Half an hour or so after Russell Rovers' defeat at Croke Park, Michael Mannion was still struggling to find the right words to explain it all away.

Conahy Shamrocks won their second All Ireland junior hurling club championship title today at Croke Park.

IT Carlow made a winning start to their Fitzgibbon Cup campaign as they defeated UCD by seven points in their Group D clash at Billings Park.

Three first-half goals laid the foundations for a comprehensive victory for Kilkenny side Conahy Shamrocks against Derry’s Eoghan Rua at Inniskeen.

Ballyhale Shamrocks’ Joey Holden admits he is getting to grips with the scheduling of their AIB All-Ireland club semi-final with Slaughtneil.

Munster counties increased their spending on team preparations by almost 20% in 2019.

Tullaroan made sure of a silver finish to 2019 as they added the Leinster intermediate club title to the trophy cabinet.

A stag party from Co Clare turned sour when one of the visitors to Cork City — an off-duty garda — was knocked unconscious in an unprovoked attack.

Legendary actors Liam Cunningham and Patrick Bergin are among a number of stars lined up to appear at a special event which will take place on Spike Island in Cork harbour next month.

Evan Shefflin’s 17th minute goal proved crucial as it helped Kilkenny to a two-point victory over a battling Wexford side in this exciting Leinster U20 HC final at Innovate Wexford Park yesterday evening.

Whatever the turn of events against Tipperary, Laois will still fill a few seconds when the All-Ireland hurling championship comes to a halt next month and the TV montage used to sum it all up is assembled out in Montrose.

Laois delivered a strong second-half display to deliver Joe McDonagh Cup silverware at Croke Park this afternoon.

Management at the Oberstown Children's Detention Centre says it has made "sustained improvements" in the past year.

Patrick Bergin is back in Cork with an almost- forgotten play he discovered by the brother of one of the 1916 leaders, writes Esther McCarthy.

All your arts and music news.

A boy detained at Oberstown Children Detention Centre has lost his High Court challenge over being subjected to a "separation" period following an incident involving an eight-hour "standoff" between several detainees and staff.

Workers will be hit by lower wages, higher prices and decreases in employment rates in all Brexit scenarios.

The ESRI has found the economy will take a hit of 4.8% over ten years in a no deal scenario - or 2.6% if there is a deal.

Detainee caused €17k damage, hit director in head with metal bar

A teenager who hit the director of a children's detention centre on the head with a metal bar and smashed up the centre has been jailed for four years.

Carlow recorded their first ever away win in Division One hurling today, and they couldn’t have done it in more dramatic circumstances as they came from 11 points down to outfight Offaly in Bord na Móna O’Connor Park, condemning the Faithful County to relegation to Division Two next year.

Limerick posted a predictably straightforward victory in this Allianz Hurling League Division One quarter-final on Saturday evening.

Offaly’s two top forwards Joe Bergin and Shane Dooley hit a combined 4-4 as the Faithful County claimed their first Allianz Hurling League 1B points of the campaign with a deserved victory over Carlow in a game which started in a downpour and ended in a snowstorm at Netwatch Cullen Park.

OFFALY'S two top forwards Joe Bergin and Shane Dooley hit a combined 4-4 as the Faithful County claimed their first NHL Division 1B points of the campaign with a deserved seven-point victory over Carlow in a game which started in a downpour and ended in a snowstorm at Netwatch Cullen Park.

A first-half blitz from Laois saw them claim a crucial Allianz Hurling League Division 1B win over Offaly on Saturday night.

An 82nd-minute penalty from Chris O’Leary gave UCC a dramatic win over DCU in a tense Fitzgibbon semi-final tonight. Tom Kingston’s side held on, despite a late, late penalty appeal from their opponents, to celebrate a first final appearance in six years.

Last years’ beaten Fitzgibbon Cup finalists DCU Dóchas Éireann had to grind out a two-point victory over a battling home side at Carriganore, Waterford.

On the morning of November 28, 1881, the people of Dursey Island, Co Cork, looked out on the Calf Rock to an extraordinary sight. The tower of the lighthouse was gone, swept away in one of the most severe storms of the century. The lighthouse had been constructed in 1866 with its light 136ft high.

A powerful display from TJ Reid helped Ballyhale Shamrocks end Dicksboro’s reign as Kilkenny senior hurling champions.

DUBLIN 2-24 OFFALY 0-13: On the darkest of days for Offaly hurling, not even Our Lady of Consolation church next to Parnell Park could offer any sort of silver lining.

Chicago, New York, San Francisco… Kieran Bergin has watched Tipperary games from some unusual places and last Sunday he added Cork University Hospital to the list, his wife Aishling delivering Cillian.

With a 63% increase in employment in the last five years, and 13,000 workers currently employed in 61 IDA-supported companies, Cork is positioning itself as a city of tech supremacy.

There were no major shocks as the Tipperary SFC got underway, with holders Clonmel Commercials and leading rivals Loughmore-Castleiney among those recording first round victories.

A late flurry of scores from Laois masked the dominant nature of Offaly’s performance at

Dublin 1-15 Offaly 2-25: Kevin Martin reckons resurgent Offaly can be ‘quietly confident’ of keeping their winning run going at the expense of old rivals Limerick.

Offaly 2-25 Dublin 1-15: Talisman forward Shane Dooley crowned his 100th Offaly appearance with 1-5 as the Faithful County pulled off a surprise Allianz hurling league win.

At this time of year when you’d nearly get the impression that every county player would rather he was anything else, it’s worth bearing in mind that there have been some players that we haven’t heard complain about their plight.

The all-consuming nature of inter-county life finds itself front and centre once more. Burnout tends to dominate GAA discourse this time of year, but the tales of Kieran Bergin and Joe Sheridan have overshadowed however many emerging talents are being pulled here, there and everywhere.

At a time of great volatility in the world, there is considerable comfort in the few reliables we encounter during this extended period of reflection in the GAA calendar.

John McGrath has painted a different picture of life in the Tipperary senior hurling camp to the bleak portrait painted by Kieran Bergin.

Handcuffs are only used on young offenders held in the Oberstown child detention facility in extreme circumstances, its director has insisted.

The IFA is seeking more gardaí and patrol cars in rural Ireland in the wake of a weekend attack.

Owen Mulligan’s admission he didn’t deserve his third All-Ireland medal in 2008 isn’t the only example of a player reluctant to lay claim to an All-Ireland title.