Growing up I wanted to digest anything about sport that I could, from watching games live and on tv, reading the daily paper from back to front and of course tearing into the most recent sporting autobiography to hit the shelves, says Louise Galvin. Over the years, some of the latter have left me a little dissatisfied on reaching their conclusion.

I recently attended insightful seminars on the topic of leadership. 

FAI chief John Delaney and Ireland team manager Martin O’Neill were among the mourners yesterday at the funeral Mass for Milo Corcoran, a former FAI president who leaves “many, many legacies”.

Imagine a national sports body at odds with its constituent parts about money.

More than six out of 10 people in Ireland are not getting enough sleep. Seven hours sleep is recommended but 64% of adults get less, and 22% are not going to bed until after midnight on weekdays.

Rob Heffernan will be making a short stopover in Cork on Tuesday evening as he attempts to defend his Cork City Sports 3,000m race-walk title.

Derval O’Rourke and Ciarán Ó Lionáird have expressed disappointment at the level of funding they are set to receive in 2014.

Ireland have secured league one status at the European team championships finishing seventh overall.

Ireland are well on course to retaining League One status the European team championships, held in Dublin today.

Derval O'Rourke and Fionnuala Britton will lead a weakened Irish team in the European Team championship next week.

Irish plans for the Olympic Games in Rio have been ongoing since early this year, according to the Irish Sports Council’s performance director Finbarr Kirwan.

After all that controversy, all those appeals, all that furore, Ireland’s 4x400m were well off the pace in their heat yesterday.

Joanne Cuddihy (Kilkenny City Harriers) broke camp from her training base in Spain to underscore her consistency and current good form at Cork City Sports at the CIT Stadium last night with third place in the women’s 400m.

Ciarán Ó Lionáird will be the star attraction for Cork in tonight’s 61st annual Cork City Sports with the Macroom native a strong contender in the iconic mile distance, writes Conor George of the Evening Echo.

Ciarán Ó Lionáird will turn to his home track and the support of the home crowd at the CIT Stadium in Bishopstown this evening (6.30pm) to launch the final phase of his Olympic build-up in the featured Cork City Sports Cork Airport Mile.

The controversy surrounding the Irish women’s 4x400m relay team may yet run through until next Monday – four days before the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony – after confirmation yesterday of the details surrounding Catriona Cuddihy’s appeal.

Jason Smyth’s attempts to become the first individual athlete to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic games came to an end in Santry Stadium today, but it was the extent of a possible injury to Derval O'Rourke that occupied Team Ireland's minds.

The Woodie’s DIY National Championships take place at the Morton Stadium, Santry this weekend.

Ireland’s 4x400m relay women were officially confirmed as London 2012 Olympians by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) yesterday.

There was no joy for Ireland’s two finalists at the European track and field championships in Helsinki yesterday as Brian Gregan, hit by a groin spasm 80m into the men’s 400m final, faded in the closing stages of the race and Jessie Barr, trying out a new stride pattern, never got into a striking position in the women’s 400m hurdles final.

A groin injury ruined Brian Gregan’s hopes of a medal at the European Athletics Championships, with a brave performance seeing him struggle over the line after being in the top three throughout the 400m final in Helsinki.

Paul Hession has qualified for tomorrow's final of the men's 200m at the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki.

Paul Hession has breezed through to the semi-finals of the men’s 200 metres at the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, but for Steven Colvert there was the frustration of becoming the latest athlete to fall foul of the Olympic Stadium’s infamous tight lanes.

Brian Gregan will line up for today’s final of the men’s 400m at the European championships in Helsinki as a live medal hope after another impressive performance in the semi-finals that saw him claim automatic qualification by finishing second.

Another sensational day in Helsinki has seen three Irish athletes qualify for finals at the European Athletics Championships.

There was a mix of joy, drama and heartbreak for the Irish athletes in action on the opening day of the European track and field championships in Helsinki yesterday.

It has been a mixed start for the Irish on the opening day of competition at the European Championships in Helsinki today.

Jessie Barr and her brother Tom will have an eye on Olympic qualification when they line up for their respective first round heats of the 400m hurdles at the European track and field championships in Helsinki today.

The Irish women’s 4x400m relay team got a timely boost on the eve of the European championships when they dominated the women’s 400m in Nivelles, Belgium, at the weekend.

Olympic team manager, Patsy McGonagle, predicts Ireland could have 24 athletes at the London Olympics.

OLIVE LOUGHNANE (Loughrea AC), silver medallist in the women’s 20k walk in Berlin two years ago, will lead the Irish team into the World Championships in Daegu, Korea, at the end of the month.

RUAIRI FINNEGAN (Letterkenny AC), a finalist at the world youths championships a couple of weeks ago, claimed the gold medal in the 1,500m at the European Youth Olympics in Trabzon, Turkey, yesterday.

BRIAN GREGAN took his career to anew level with asilver medal in the men’s 400m at the European U23 championships with a new personal best time of 46.12 secs in Ostrava on Saturday.

Ireland's athletes are 10th of the 12 competing nations after the opening day's events in the European Team Championships 1st League in Izmir, Turkey.

ALISTAIR CRAGG joins the international stars at Cork City Sports at The Mardyke tomorrow week.

SUZANNE HUET (Dundrum/South Dublin) achieved her qualifying standard for the European junior championships when she won the 5,000m in 16:52.67 at yesterday’s national junior and under-23 championships in Tullamore.

Athletics Ireland have announced their team for the upcoming European Junior Championships in Holland.

AFTER a weekend that has given much promise for the rest of the season, Derval O’Rourke will be back among the best 100m hurdlers in the world at the Grand Prix 1 meeting in Lausanne tonight.

THE Irish women’s athletics team have retained their first division status in the European Cup.