This column is in confessional mode today. After a trend, I wish to confess in public to having endured a traumatic experience in my past, writes Michael Clifford.

Last week was an extraordinary one for Irish sport. The rugby Grand Slam and Rory McIlroy winning in America followed a Cheltenham Festival where the Irish dominated the English in race after race, writes Paul Rouse.

Sporting fame allowed him to belong. But despite enjoying a varied career full of celebrity and success, Jason Sherlock retired feeling a failure. A deep thinker, his views on Gaelic football left him frustrated by his and Dublin’s underachievement. But now, as Jim Gavin’s coach, everything has come together and finally makes sense

It’s a decade since soccer made its Croke Park debut when Ireland faced Wales but the occasion didn’t have the same impact as rugby’s appearances at GAA HQ.

I was 23 when first nominated for an All-Star, the Sparrow, Ger O’Loughlin, and myself heading to the Burlington together for one of the biggest nights in the GAA calendar.

England Women 13 Ireland Women 9: The Ireland women’s team were left regretting their inability to cash in on their best period of dominance as Abbie Scott’s second-half sucker punch try denied Tom Tierney’s side an historic Twickenham win.

Kieran Shannon looks back at three epic encounters on Sunday, June 26, 2011 that proved to be momentous moments in shaping the destinies of three provincial championships.

It was hard to know which prompted the greater sense of outrage last Saturday night: the way Dublin and especially Derry went about the joyless business of trying to get a result in Croker or Jarlath Burns declaring via Twitter that the game signalled ‘The death of Gaelic football’, writes Kieran Shannon.

On a number of levels, what a lovely surprise that was to see Mr Damien Duff turning up all hale and hearty on RTÉ’s ‘Soccer Republic’ the other night.

WITH the daffodils just popping up now among the anemones and snowdrops in its front drive, and under old chestnut trees, Woodville House is a River Blackwater treasure, and an early-season Munster market arrival.

Las Vegas will trump Croke Park as the venue for “The Notorious” Conor McGregor’s Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title showdown against Jose Aldo. 

Early this morning Conor McGregor earned himself a featherweight title fight with his victory over Dennis Siver in Boston, but the UFC have ruled out his dream venue for the bout - Croke Park.

Conor McGregor's teaser tweet sends MMA fans into a fervour.

Before Kerry faced Galway in Croke Park, their coach was scraped up, stretched out, then eased across the back seat of a car.

"Let’s have some new clichés," film producer Samuel Goldwyn once demanded.

This weekend three years ago Kevin Cassidy played in the infamous/immortal Donegal-Dublin All-Ireland semi-final. He did not know at the time it would be his last game for the county. But since his fallout with Jim McGuinness life went on, and he moved on.

If there was one blot in Cillian O’Connor’s copybook last Sunday it was his missed goal chance in the first half. In a period where Kerry dominated, it may have arrested all the good work Mayo’s opponents had been doing.

Niall Horan is planning a joint 21st birthday party with Liam Payne.

My husband is an Olympic sailor and occasionally he runs with me, but he isn’t much of a runner.

St Vincent’s 2-14 Ballinderry 1-13

AIB ALL-IRELAND CLUB JFC FINAL:

Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore has vowed to make it to an All-Ireland final before he dies.

CORK PREMIER IHC FINAL:

GAA rivalry has long pitted parish against parish and turned county against county, but it was impossible to distinguish friend from foe at the funeral of Dublin football hero Kevin Heffernan.

In many ways it was a no-win job.

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

Fair play to Ciarán McDonald anyway.

Mayo manager James Horan has promised his team will be “fresh and hungry” for tomorrow evening’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Down at Croke Park.

John Galvin has given his footballing life in the pursuit of glory with Limerick but now, with Croker in sight, the cruciate ligament injury victim will be forced to watch his teammates from the sidelines.

IT seems unlikely but it could be argued that Cavan’s momentous Ulster U21 championship win in April was first formulated on the rock-hardplaying fields and in the bohemian bars of the west coast of America last summer.

GAA chiefs have denied official Pat Fox has been sidelined from refereeing matches for refusing to upgrade a yellow card to Tyrone’s Ryan McMenamin against Donegal last month.

A selection of quotes from the former taoiseach, compiled by Political Correspondent Conor Ryan

A LOT of house, a lot of history (try 250 years!), and a good modicum of land comes with Lisnabrin house at Curraghglass, near Tallow in west Waterford.

DESPITE Ireland’s Six Nations clash with Wales being six weeks away, Warren Gatland has already started the mind games by claiming that Croke Park is not as intimidating as everyone seems to believe.

WITHOUT question, Leinster’s finest hour.

ONE of the most enduring mysteries in cinematic history has been solved.

Michael Caine has revealed all about the ending of his cult film 'The Italian Job' - solving a 40-year-old mystery that has baffled fans.

NEW Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has pencilled in a second friendly for the end of May, it was confirmed last night.

LIMERICK’S best known Dublin-based fan, Charlie Chawke is in for a mouth-watering mix of soccer and hurling this weekend — and has promised his native team a special trip if they are victorious.