John Egan, Enda Stevens, David McGoldrick, and possibly Scott Hogan will be plying their trade in the Premier League next season after Sheffield United secured promotion to the Premier League this weekend.

Donegal waltzed back to the top flight of the Allianz League with a comprehensive 13-point win over a listless Kildare at Fr Tierney Park in Ballyshannon yesterday.

Potential Ireland recruit Patrick Bamford continued his recent rich vein of form on Saturday, netting an early winner as promoting-chasing Leeds won 1-0 at Bristol City.

One of the best remaining, compact prime redevelopment sites in Cork city has been sold for over €7 million, for 0.63 of an acre, or for the equivalent of €11 million per acre, to Dublin-based purchasers.

Saturday was a landmark day for Adam O’Reilly as the 17-year-old from Mahon in Cork city made his Preston debut in the 1-1 draw against Aston Villa.

Kildare 1-16 Longford 1-13

Derry 2-14 Kildare 2-22

Kildare claimed their first win in 12 months, with a richly deserved eight-point qualifier win over Derry.

Inter-county managers like to have every last detail relating to their team planned and prepared as best they can. Kildare’s Cian O’Neill is a self-confessed ‘data geek’ and someone who prides himself on the small details, so you can be sure that he steps through every part of gameday in his head in the lead-up to a match.

Ahead of what’s expected to be a tense Connacht quarter-final between Mayo and Galway on Sunday, a warning has been issued that footballers involved in melees in this year’s championship will be sent off.

An enterprising group of secondary school students in Tipperary have designed a gumshield-storing glove suitable for Gaelic football.

It's safe to say Patrick McEleney didn’t know much about this debut goal...

While Sean Maguire’s brace in Preston’s 3-1 Championship win at Bolton was the main Irish storyline from Saturday, Patrick McEleney will also have fond memories of a weekend where the weather wrecked havoc with the sports programme.

Negativity, according to new GAA president John Horan, attracts more attention than positivity so it was with extra emphasis that he delivered a plea to Congress delegates on Saturday.

Donegal 1-16 Kildare 3-7: Donegal’s poorest performance of Division 1 this term was still enough to post a first win, at Kildare’s expense.

Donegal came through something of a must-win to give themselves a fighting chance of Division 1 survival at Kildare’s expense at Ballyshannon.

John Divilly on the takeaways from the opening weekend of league action.

Dublin 2-17 Kildare 2-10: All-Ireland champions Dublin shrugged off a sluggish first half to make a winning start to their Division 1 campaign in Croke Park this evening.

Hell hath no fury like a player scorned! Last season Aiden McGeady re-ignited his club career during a loan spell at Preston, finishing the season as their player of the year. That form earned him a permanent move to Sunderland in July.

As he prepares for the Championship kick-off on Saturday with Preston, Sean Maguire says that Cork City turned him into the striker he is today

Sean Maguire, who scored an eye-catching solo goal on his debut for Preston in a friendly against Burnley on Wednesday night, has expressed delight that he was able to take up at Deepdale where he left off at Turner’s Cross.

Aaron Cunningham claims Clare must beat Tipperary in Saturday’s All-Ireland quarter-final for this season to be even considered a good one for the county.

The Dubs will be a different story altogether in the decider.

As is the case in life, timing is everything in sport. And with Martin O’Neill set to name his squad today for the crucial World Cup qualifier with Wales on Friday week, Daryl Horgan could scarcely have picked a better time to produce a virtuoso display.

Having failed to go the full distance in the opening two rounds of the World Rally Championship, the Irish duo of Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Citroen DS3 WRC) seek better fortune on this weekend’s Rally Mexico, the first gravel event of the year. 

There isn’t a seat to be got at Deepdale for today’s FA Cup tie but Preston North End’s Cork native Alan Browne feels the middle of pitch is the best possible place for him against Arsenal’s galaxy of stars.

A year that featured the glorious high of scoring Ireland’s winner against Italy in Lille ended in frustrating fashion for Robbie Brady as the Dubliner was sent off in Norwich City’s 0-0 Championship draw at Brentford on Saturday.

Camelia De Cotte emerged as the shortest-priced runner at a well-attended meeting at Tramore, winning the opening tramoreracecourse.com Mares’ Maiden Hurdle in the manner expected of a 1-5 chance.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Preston boss Simon Grayson slammed Jermaine Beckford and Eoin Doyle for their "absolute childish behaviour" after the North End team-mates were sent off following an angry exchange with each other in the defeat at Sheffield Wednesday.

Westmeath 1-12 Kildare 1-11: Shot down in spring, but singing in summer. Such is the way of Westmeath under Tom Cribbin these last couple of seasons.

On a night when the classy four-year-old Let’s Dance justified 1/12 favouritism in the opener, the Tom Gibney-trained Ah Littleluck captured the featured Brenda Anderson Memorial Cup Rated Novice Hurdle in Sligo last night.

Kildare 0-9 Wexford 0-8: Cian O’Neill’s response when asked if this felt like a win, was telling.

Kildare will be without team captain Eoin Doyle and Daniel Flynn for their Leinster championship opener against Wexford tomorrow week, while Niall Kelly faces a race against time to be fit.