Brilliant Bohemians smashed Dundalk’s domestic 31-match unbeaten run last night to all but secure their place in Europe next season.

The Ballintubber clubman made his championship debut against New York in 2014 and crowned the occasion with a goal as they cruised to a 4-18 to 0-8 win.

John Fallon Denmark’s Henrik Dalsgaard is expecting Mick McCarthy to enrich Copenhagen with an entertaining Ireland side for their crunch Euro meeting in June.

The FAI have confirmed they’ve secured 500 tickets for Irish fans planning to attend Mick McCarthy’s first game back at the helm against Gibraltar on March 23.

Shane O’Donnell will be back in a Clare jersey far sooner than envisaged with confirmation that the 2013 All-Ireland final hero will be lining out for the Banner County in the Aer Lingus Fenway Hurling Classic in Boston on Sunday.

In sharp contrast to the scarcity of strikers in the Ireland squad, John Egan knows he’s a victim of the riches in the central defensive department.

Hail, hail King Kenny.

Twenty years after their on-field tension rivalry ended, Ian Wright insisted his summer squabble with Roy Keane on the pundits’ couch at the World Cup hasn’t dimmed his respect for the Corkman.

Toulouse’s new captain Julien Marchand is hoping to crown a week where he was called into the French senior squad for the first time by ousting European champions Leinster on Sunday.

As Irish football slips further into crisis, U21 boss Noel King insists the public ought to lower their expectations when it comes to how the FAI’s international teams fare.

Here's your lunchtime bulletin.

Here's your morning bulletin.

A humid Saturday morning and clearly it is moving day in Lourdes. Dozens of buses clog the narrow streets of the town in the Pyrenees, hazard lights on as people are wheeled or carried from their hotels, others moving with a pep in their step as if the visit to the Marian shrine has uplifted them.

The prospects of Declan Rice reaffirming his allegiance to Ireland are rapidly receding after bookmakers last night stopped taking bets on the West Ham United mainstay defecting to England.

Racing 92 have poured cold water on a possible move to sign Conor Murray when his IRFU expires after the World Cup next year.

U17 International Ireland 4 Turkey 1

Snippets of last night’s display in Poland offered encouragement for Ireland’s Nations League rescue mission yet the questions about Martin O’Neill’s leadership won’t dissipate.

Conor Shaughnessy believes the Ireland U21 team can provide a much-needed lift to the Irish football scene when they face Germany in a crucial European qualifier tonight.

Whatever this was, friendly or competitive fare, it was carnage. And who’s to say it will get any better?

Shamrock Rovers will receive a League of Ireland record fee if goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu plays for Manchester City’s first team or the senior international team.

The announcement that Wales will provide warm-up opposition for Ireland ahead of next year’s World Cup will bring back bittersweet memories for Tommy O’Donnell, as his hopes of featuring in the 2015 tournament ended in one of those games.

As Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane pitch into battle tonight without the services of disenchanted Harry Arter, former Ireland boss Mick McCarthy is calling on him to mount a reconciliation bid.

Conor Hourihane is long used to the constant comparisons to Roy Keane and he has no hesitation in sharing his fellow Corkman’s view that he had to break the Dublin monopoly to find his way up the Irish ladder.

Q: So, what’s going on with this UEFA Nations League. Ireland normally play a qualifier or friendly in early September?

Ciarán Clark admits the decision by his Ireland teammate Declan Rice to stall his international career came as a major shock.

Harry Arter has made himself unavailable for Ireland’s Nations League opener against Wales on Thursday, as the fallout from his disagreement with Roy Keane intensifies.

Connacht 26 Glasgow Warriors 27

Munster have the best record of the Irish provinces on the opening day of the league and Johann van Graan will be hoping to maintain that when they kick off their PRO14 campaign at home to the Cheetahs today at Thomond Park.

Connacht’s decline after winning the PRO 12 title in 2016 started immediately in the first game of the defence of the crown when they fell to a record 41-5 loss to Glasgow Warriors at the Sportsground.

Republic of Ireland 4 Northern Ireland 0

The arrival of Simon Zebo and Paul O’Connell in Paris this summer may have grabbed most attention but another former Ireland international Donnacha Ryan is determined to make a mark in the French capital this season.

Declan Rice has not been included in England’s squad for next week’s Nations Cup clash with Spain at Wembley, with manager Gareth Southgate saying that Rice has a “really difficult decision” to make about his international future.

Had things gone the other way in her sliding doors moment five years ago, Claire O’Riordan might’ve been part of Limerick’s GAA set-up rather than marshalling Ireland’s defence in tonight’s concluding World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland (Tallaght, 5.30pm, live on RTÉ2).

International football is these days resembling a transfer market and this time Martin O’Neill is nursing the bloody nose.

Connacht lock Ultan Dillane says that his primary task is performing for the province rather than dwelling on trying to get back into the Irish squad.

The prospect of a shock victory was but a false promise when Ireland took a 12 points lead into the break in the opening match of the World Rugby U-20 Championship in Perpignan.

Martin O’Neill needs firepower up top — and quick, writes John Fallon.

Leitrim’s hopes of avoiding being the first side to lose a championship match to New York have been boosted by some west of Ireland weather which is forecast for the opening round of the Connacht SFC at Gaelic Park tomorrow.

Rassie Erasmus is charged with reviving Springbok rugby, but he says part of him will always be in Munster, writes John Fallon

CJ Stander said that it will be a dream come true this evening when he leads Munster out on the pitch where he played as a child in South Africa.

Like much of last season, there was an element of farce to the FAI’s launch of the women’s league yesterday ahead of the first series of games this weekend, writes John Fallon.

Kevin Long is the only Corkman in the Ireland squad to grace the Premier League this season, but his journey from the Connolly Road to Turner’s Cross, and further afield to Burnley’s Turf Moor, has taken in a multitude of highs and lows. 

Off go the contenders tonight in the League of Ireland, with the Premier Division title race considered the most open for a number of years.