Barrister Damien Keaney told Judge Jacqueline Linnane today that he was in the High Court two months ago when Niall Kelly, whom he recognised, had turned up in the wig.

Twelve months ago against Mayo in the famous ‘Newbridge or Nowhere’ Qualifier, quality Kildare forwards like Niall Kelly, Paddy Brophy, Paul Cribben, and Daniel Flynn were inspirational.

One week after the width of the goalpost saved Kildare from Leinster championship elimination at the hands of Longford in Tullamore, the two sides returned to Bord na Móna O’Connor Park and played out a game that couldn’t have been any more of a contrast.

Kildare are heading into a Leinster opener as favourites, but Cian O’Neill accepts his group have a difficulty with expectation.

A book that was rejected by 13 separate publishers — The Lost Soul of Eamonn Magee — has won the 2018 eir Sports Book of the Year award.

Eir Sport have announced the longlist of 23 nominees for the eir Sport Book of the Year award.

Two books by pioneering female sports stars are included on the six-book shortlist.

In the end, it was all too comfortable for Kerry. But it mattered little, the result they needed from Pearse Stadium didn't materialise.

Kerry have turned to the ultra-experienced Kieran Young to lock down the centre of defence for their crucial Super 8s clash with Kildare.

Latrobe, the outsider, nosed himself in front with two furlongs remaining in Saturday’s Irish Derby classic at The Curragh. He beat the unrelenting Rostropovich by half a length in the premier Flat race.

It will take “some time” for people with a critical viewpoint inside An Garda Síochána to be fully accepted as “constructive and loyal members”, the organisation’s audit body has said.

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.

There was “very little documentation” provided to justify continuing a multimillion-euro contract for the provision of IT services to An Garda Síochána, the Public Accounts Committee heard yesterday.

It’s Gold Cup day in Punchestown and while I don’t know if we’ll have the race we had last year, with Sizing John, Djakadam and Coneygree providing a brilliant spectacle, it’s still a great race.

Kerry 0-19 - Kildare 0-14: A first win in four games. A first victory on home soil since January 28 and a first clean-sheet since July of 2017. Significant daylight put between themselves and the relegation zone. All in all, not a bad evening’s work for Kerry.

Kerry 0-19 Kildare 0-14: A sixth consecutive league defeat means Kildare will spend next spring in Division 2.

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.

David Walliams will also recive the ‘Bord Gáis Energy International Recognition Award on the night.

Jamie Clarke was in sublime form as Armagh marched into next Saturday’s All-Ireland quarter-final against Dublin or Tyrone.

THE PAC v O’Sullivan fight has gone the full 15 rounds. But at the end of it, the Garda Commissioner is still standing in the ring, writes Cormac O’Keeffe.

A detailed Dáil report into the garda college financial scandal is set to be published next Tuesday — and will severely criticise garda commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan over her handling of the affair.

One of the country’s most senior civilian gardaí has claimed he was subjected to a “whispering campaign” for highlighting the garda college financial scandal and that colleagues who raised similar concerns risked being demoted.

The Garda Ombudsman (Gsoc) is set to bring in outside financial investigators and take on more staff to carry out a probe into suspected fraudulent activity involving a secret Garda account.

A Garda manager threatened the internal auditor who uncovered the Garda college financial scandal with legal action if he did not remove key findings from his report into the case.

The Garda Ombudsman will need “extra resources” to conduct an investigation into suspected fraud involving a secret garda bank account, sources have explained.

The Garda Ombudsman has been asked to investigate suspected fraudulent activity involving a secret bank account held in the name of former gardaí.

Fresh controversy has enveloped Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan after she was criticised by the State’s financial watchdog for failing to mention possible financial irregularities at Templemore Garda College in a formal accounting notification to him.

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan blocked attempts by the State’s auditor to gain access to minutes of senior management meetings of the force, it can be revealed.

Leo Varadkar has issued a thinly veiled threat at Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan, saying people losing their jobs over scandals “needs to happen a little bit more in the public sector”.

The financial crisis at the Garda College has deepened after serious concerns emerged over the tax compliance of its accounts and fears over hundreds of cheques given to gardaí for unvouched expenses.

Two civilian members of the gardaí have directly contradicted formal evidence by Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan, insisting she knew about the Garda college financial scandal a month earlier than previously claimed.

Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan was urged to tell the Justice Minister of financial irregularities at Templemore training college as early as the middle of July 2015, a committee has heard.

The head of the gardaí’s internal audit unit has said his “direct superiors” tried to block a probe into the Garda college scandal, “withheld” information and tried to “undermine” his position when the inquiry began.

Fresh Garda documents sent to the Public Accounts Committee reveal deep divisions among senior civil servants within An Garda Síochána.

The Public Accounts Committee, examining a series of financial scandals at the Templemore Garda College, are to grill eight civilian members of the force next week — without Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan being present.

Taking over Justice in 2014, Frances Fitzgerald was seen as a safe pair of hands. A series of scandals has since tarnished her reputation, writes Political Editor Daniel McConnell

The deputy Garda commissioner in charge of the Garda college when concerns about financial mismanagement were first raised also sat on the external audit committee overseeing financial practices.