It will be a tough first day of competition for the five Irish athletes competing at the world indoor championships in Poland today but they all have their personal goals to keep them on track.

Former Ireland international long jumper Ciarán McDonagh will fly to Birmingham this morning to assist the Jamaican Olympic sprinters’ preparations for the London Games.

Gardaí in Dublin are making a fresh appeal to members of the public with information about a double shooting in the capital to come foward.

RISING star Kelly Proper from Waterford lit up the Oval Lingotto arena in Turin yesterday with an inspiring performance during an incredibly successful morning for the Irish.

LIMERICK man Liam Reale added his name to the growing list of qualifiers for the European championships when he finished second in the elite men’s 1,500m race at last weekend’s Boston High Performance meeting.

DAVID GILLICK has not run an indoor 400m since the European indoor championships final in Madrid a year ago, when he stormed home to win a treasured gold medal.

DERVAL O’ROURKE of Leevale achieved her second national record in eight days when she retained her 60 metres hurdles title in a sensational 7.90 seconds at the National Indoor championships at Belfast’s Odyssey Arena yesterday.

Ballymena woman Anna Boyle and Cork's Derval O'Rourke set new Irish senior records at the 2006 Irish Indoor Athletics Championships in Belfast this evening.

FRESH from another national record at Virginia Tech, where he jumped eight metres for the first time indoors to equal his outdoor mark, Ciaran McDonagh will be a top attraction at the national indoor championships at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast over the weekend.

Kilkenny City Harrier Eileen O'Keeffe threw a new national record of 68.14 metres to claim hammer gold at the Woodies DIY Irish Track and Field Championships in Santry today.

CRAIG MOTTRAM may have failed narrowly to break his 3,000m Australian record at the BUPA Cork City Sports but his 7:38.15 ­ an Irish all-comers record - was the performance of the meet on a wet Saturday afternoon at the Mardyke.

The the performance of the day at today's Bupa Cork City Sports came from Australian Craig Mottram in the men's 3000m as he blew away the rest of the field in claiming victory in a time of 7 minutes 38 seconds.

OLYMPIC long jump champion, Dwight Phillips, was among the early arrivals as the stars for tomorrow’s BUPA Cork City Sports at The Mardyke began to assemble yesterday.

BERNARD WILLIAMS, silver medallist in the 200m at last year’s Olympics and member of the USA gold medal winning 4 x 100m relay team in Atlanta will line up in the 100m at the BUPA Cork City Sports on July 2.

DAVID GILLICK will have the A standard for the world championships in Helsinki as his target when he lines up for the 400m at the European Cup in Leiria, Portugal, on the weekend of June 18/19.

Brendan Mooney

Colaístí Na nDéise2-13 Shannon Schools1-11

GARETH TURNBULL claimed the 1,500m berth at the world championships in a spectacular if not sensational final at the Woodies DIY national track and field championships at Morton Stadium yesterday where the Belfast man outfoxed and outsprinted James Nolan in a flying finish to win in 3:40.32.

CIARAN McDONAGH, who has been plagued by injury since he became the first Irishman to long jump over eight metres at the world championships in Seville in 1999, will be back in an Irish singlet at an International meet in Cardiff next weekend.

WITH national champion and record-holder Paul McKee and runner-up Rob Daly opting for the 200m, bronze medallist Antoine Burke will carry Irish hopes in a star-studded 400m at the Dublin International Games tonight.