On Sunday evening at the Glen’s Blackpool clubhouse, Jerry Galvin of Churchtown, North Cork, handed over the piece of ash, now six decades old, which was once the possession of the former Taoiseach

As the sun beamed down on gleaming tractor cabs the biggest attractions were the icecream vans and frozen yoghurt stalls.

The Government has been called out for its “hypocrisy” for calling on the public to recognise the work of the national services while at the same time not paying the defence forces members “a comparable wage”.

David ‘Stoney’ Burke turns, attention broken. He has a big hurling occasion to mind from between the posts. But the voice is familiar, all too familiar. He scans the bank of wheelchairs at the back of Croke Park’s Hill 16 goal.

Students who recorded a hit single for a school friend fighting cancer have raised a phenomenal €51,000 for charity.

Zinzan Brooke, Irish dancing, Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, and the Haka - all in a day’s work for the GAA in New Zealand!

Mary McGrath is from Ballybrannigan near Cloyne, Co Cork, and is the artistic director of the First Cut Youth Film Festival.

Tralee is buzzing for hoops. The Complex is gripped by Saturday night fever. Even football people are backing the basketball team in their droves and they’re not just following the Star. First cousins Darren and Fergal O’Sullivan are important figures in the Tralee success story. Ahead of tonight’s National Cup semi-final with Pyrobel Killester at the Mardyke Arena, they explain how a town became united behind the Warriors

Retired RTÉ commentator Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh has praised volunteers in organisations across the emergency and voluntary spectrum for their tireless work and commitment throughout the years.

We will probably never again see the likes of Weeshie Fogarty. He was an institution.

There’s still a few days to be crossed off the calendar but we’ll go out on a limb here and suggest that the first September in living memory without a pair of All-Ireland men’s senior finals at its core will come and go without the sky falling in and the very fabric of the GAA having been ripped asunder.

If I mention the race for the Áras, will you turn the page? You won’t? Many thanks.

Public pressure continued to mount on the GAA yesterday with more public figures from the world of sport, politics, and beyond calling on the organisation to allow a tribute match to the late Liam Miller take place at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

“There’s more flexibility in terms of going to weddings and important things like that. I can’t say I’ve met everyone loads in the last couple of months but at the same time, I’ve a little more flexibility.”

Miltown Malbay is guaranteed to be cock-a-hoop next week when the Willie Clancy Festival throws in, but you might mistake it for starting early if hometown man Conor Cleary is part of a first Munster SHC-winning Clare side in 20 years this Sunday.

Yes you could listen to a match while driving somewhere but there are distractions such as other vehicles coming towards you or a shitehawk with italic number plates ‘up your hole’ in the rearview mirror, writes Colm O’Regan.

It’s said if you’re once bitten you’ll be twice shy, so Declan Bonner has reason to be tentative as Donegal head to nearby Celtic Park in Derry well-tipped to win Sunday’s Ulster SFC quarter-final.

Next to Frank Murphy, there are very few who have given as much service to the GAA as Joan Cooney.

The two-point sideline cut still features prominently on the wishlist of inter-county hurlers.

Genius.

Here are all the latest headlines this lunchtime.

Central Council delegates will discover tomorrow if one of Páraic Duffy’s last acts as GAA director general will be a recommended rulebook change to ban testimonials.

Did you manage to change your work-life balance for the better in 2017? Then you could be the new brand ambassador for the Balance Expo.

The Wren’s Day tradition has survived in a particular way in Dingle, writes Majella O’Sullivan

There’s always hope following Mayo. A vicious type of hope that leaves you writhing in your seat, jamming your fists into your eyes as if you’re watching a horror movie, but it’s hope all the same, writes Caitriona Lally.

OF all the tributes paid to the sports broadcaster, Jimmy Magee, the most poignant and most memorable came from former president, Mary McAleese.

A friendly garda who turned a blind eye to some All-Ireland day speeding helped Chris Kamara make his commentary seat just before throw-in when Jeff & Kammy’s Journey to Croker reached its climax on Sunday.

Fans of Soccer Saturday will be excited to know that two of its biggest stars have landed in Ireland.

The idea to erect a statue of Kerry hero John Egan may have culminated with an unveiling in his native Sneem, but it originated in his adopted hometown of Cork.

On the way home from the Gaelic Grounds yesterday, I was snaking my way out the Ennis Road in my car when I saw Conor Hayes at the side of the road.

Patrick McMillan, 25, is a skier from Ogonnelloe, Co. Clare who races for Ireland in Super-G and downhill disciplines. A bad shoulder injury before Christmas means he is missing out this month’s World Championships but he hopes to be back racing in early March and is focused on racing for Ireland at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

The dehumanising of players and match officials by Sunday Game panellists has no place in the GAA, according to Paudie Butler.

Five years ago, Mohammed Thabir arrived in Ireland with his parents and four sisters, via Sudan, having fled war-torn Somalia.

Four familiar voices from the airwaves have landed on the PPI Radio Awards hall of fame.

BROADCASTER Hector Ó hEochagáin is on the move again to celebrate TG4’s 20th anniversary.

It’s almost 30 years since Ray Houghton scored that goal against England in the Republic of Ireland’s first ever game at the finals of a major championship.

From little fighters to lethal strikers — Ireland’s miracle twins, Hassan and Hussein, have been showing off their soccer skills.

Hundreds of people queued to pay their respects as Christy O’Connor Jnr left his beloved Knocknacarra for the final time yesterday evening.