Former Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice has clarified his comments about abuse of the head injury rule, remarks that produced a furious response among Mayo supporters.

Éamonn Fitzmaurice might not be pacing the Fitzgerald Stadium sideline this Sunday but for many in Mayo he might as well be.

Galway’s Ronan Mullarney will take a healthy four-shot lead into today’s second round at the Flogas Irish Amateur Open Championship after setting the pace with a course-record and career-low 62 in Sligo.

A fantastic first-half strike from former Cork City striker Mark O’Sullivan proved the difference as Avondale United lifted the FAI Intermediate Cup for the seventh time in 14 years.

Tramore’s Robin Dawson stamped his authority on the Radisson Blu sponsored West of Ireland Amateur Open when he fired a championship record equalling 64 to take a three-stroke lead after the first qualifying round at Rosses Point yesterday.

Although it wasn’t widely identified as a trend — more reported as a series of unrelated events — an intriguing development in 2017 was the signing by the managers of the country’s top four football teams to stay on until 2020, writes Kieran Shannon.

Eugene Lavin knows relegation, the reality and the fear of it. There was the relegation play-off defeats to Armagh and Kerry 30 years ago. Hazy in his recollection now but it was the loss to Kerry in Ennis that saw them drop from the top flight.

In the days before last year’s football final, an extraordinary thing happened that would change the Examiner forever — the great Knowledgable Noel got it wrong.

Advantage Kerry is Eoin Brosnan’s assessment of their delicately balanced All-Ireland semi-final replay with Mayo — even if he knows the Kingdom have already used up their get-out-of-jail card last Sunday.

Chemistry student Peter Kerr is hoping he can come up with the magic formula and win his maiden championship after leading the qualifiers for the matchplay stages of the AIG Amateur Close at Galway.

Golf

What is it with Mayo and their management? They continue to display an incredible propensity for making things as difficult as they can for themselves.

Speaking on Newstalk on Wednesday, David Brady hit the nail on the head when he disassociated Mayo’s 2014 semi-final replay loss to Kerry from the 2006 All-Ireland final defeat.

Eleven years after delivering a Footballer of the Year season almost out of nowhere and destroying Mayo in an All-Ireland final, the same question is being asked about Kieran Donaghy — who do Mayo have that is capable of marking him?

“As individuals, we have the best players in the country,” declared Jamie Clarke last Saturday.

Concerted campaign or just a confluence of opinions?

The AIG Senior Cup returned to Rosses Point on Saturday night as Co Sligo reclaimed Irish club golf’s blue riband title with a dramatic final victory over Leinster’s Castle at Carton House.

The Mayo County Board have acceded to a request by senior manager Stephen Rochford to postpone club championship games fixed for this weekend until the week after the September 18 All-Ireland final, writes John Fogarty of the Irish Examiner.

Other than how referee John O’Brien could have got it so wrong on Saturday, the most pertinent question arising from the Christy Ring Cup final surrounded the role of HawkEye in Croke Park. 

Kildare 2-14 Cavan 2-12

David Brady believes his fellow Mayo man Cillian O’Connor would be receiving more praise were he from another county.

We’re still punch drunk from the latest round of Galway hurling cliche bingo… consistency.... never know which Galway will turn up… can they put two performances back to back… where should they play Joe Canning?

Young musicians will be hoping to sail through the first auditions of their kind in Ireland today in the hope that their cruise ship comes in.

Dundalk’s Caolan Rafferty claimed the bragging rights after the first round of strokeplay at the Radisson West of Ireland Golf Championship at a windswept Rosses Point yesterday.

Tramore crowned a remarkable week for Munster golf clubs at the AIG Cups and Shields national finals when they claimed the Senior Cup at Carton House.

Weekend wins for Rosslare in Irish Senior Cup Leinster section and Warrenpoint in the Barton Shield in Ulster have confirmed the field for the national finals of the AIG Cups and Shields at Carton House, Kildare next month.

Former Mayo midfielder David Brady has labelled Cork’s Brian Cuthbert and Ronan McCarthy’s claims that the Connacht champions are tactical foulers as "naive" and "desperate".

Former Connacht and Ireland fullback Gavin Duffy is training with the Mayo senior footballers, and stood out after just one session, according to former Mayo star David Brady.

Kieran McCarthy defends his title against another high-class field in the Munster Stroke Play Championship at Cork Golf Club tomorrow and Sunday.

Dungarvan’s Kevin Stack and West Waterford’s Gary Hurley kept Munster interest alive in the Radisson Blu sponsored West of Ireland Championship at a sun-kissed County Sligo.

Local teenager David Brady made a sensational debut in the Radisson Blue sponsored West of Ireland Championship when he racked up nine birdies in a seven under par course record 64 at Rosses Point.

This past weekend was spent in the company of a gaggle of St Brigid’s and St Jude’s members.

IT’S not like it hasn’t happened before. It’s not as if it was the biggest demotion of the day in the world of sport either. But Kieran Donaghy’s axing from the named Kerry team for Sunday’s Munster final has raised a variety of questions.

Tyrone 1-27 Offaly 0-8

In the lead-up to any stressful event, it helps performance significantly to take a few minutes aside and define yourself as something other than as a sportsperson or student.

Without a doubt it was playing London in 1996.