As events, and my 12-year-old girl would have it, I’ve just spent back-to-back Saturdays in the Parochial Hall on Cork city’s northside.

A legend lives on. He may be gone, but the unquenchable spirit of Páidí Ó Sé was everywhere during the annual football tournament that bears his name in his beloved West Kerry at the weekend.

Tonight’s quarter-finals of the Connolly’s Red Mills Irish Laurels have an awful lot to live up to after last Saturday night’s spectacular fare, in which Ballymac Vic broke the 28-second barrier with a faultless display.

Ballymac Vic, who was beginning to make a real impact on the Irish Derby when his challenge was cut short at the quarter-final stage, came out on top in the hottest of last Saturday night’s opening-round heats of the Connolly’s Red Mills Irish Laurels at Curraheen Park and he rates nap material to follow up this evening.

The 2012 Connolly’s Red Mills Irish Laurels gets underway tonight and all 11 first-round heats consume the bumper programme.

The final of the Larry Dunne Open 525 headlines tonight’s action and Droopys Cain can justify favouritism in the €10,000 to-the-winner contest.

The dreadful weather conditions yesterday made things difficult for some trainers heading for the English Derby at Wimbledon which starts tomorrow night with 11 Irish runners in action in the first session.

BEYOND the confines of women’s or schools basketball, he may not have instant recognition, but there can’t be many coaches who have made a greater contribution to the sport over the last three decades than Jimmy Diggins of Tralee.

CORK City Sports fans could have the pleasure of seeing women’s hammer star Eileen O’Keeffe in action at this year’s event which takes place on July 3 at the CIT Track in Bishopstown.

TRALEE-based Lee Strand Co-operative has appointed John O’Sullivan as its general manager.

TEAM Montenotte Hotel Cork will go down in the history books as one of the great teams in Irish basketball if they succeed in winning their third women’s National Cup in-a-row on Sunday.

AGRICULTURE has hit an upturn after a period of transition in which the implications of decoupling were absorbed.

LIMERICK hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for favourites in the Kerry Agri Business Irish St Leger and Saturday night proved another tough night for punters.

DAVID McCANN will begin his build-up to a defence of his FBD Insurance RÁS title in Kerry over the Easter weekend, when he lines up as favourite to win the Rás Mumhan, the perfect prelude to Irish cycling’s showpiece.

Brendan Mooney

“HE felt as good as ever,” were the words of Conor Swail yesterday after he won the Dairygold Grand Prix at Millstreet on Windgates King Koal, a horse lucky to be alive.

CLONMEL cyclist Ray Clarke, the former national road race cycling champion, surpassed all expectations and provided a massive shot in the arm for track cycling in Agile, Switzerland yesterday.

CHRIS NEWTON (Great Britain), the world points champion, is virtually assured of overall victory going into the penultimate stage of the FBD Milk Rás.

TOMMY EVANS, riding for the Irish Sports Council team, got the FBD Milk Rás off to a flying start yesterday when he won a two man sprint for stage victory with the young Dane, Ari Hojgaard, into Roscrea and claimed the first yellow jersey of this year’s showpiece.