Rory McIlroy has never even seen Fota Island, let alone played it. But if the hard work of organisers is anything to go by, he and his fellow players will be wowed not only by the three championship golf courses set in beautiful parkland, but also by the structures in place to make this week’s Irish Open one of the best ever.

Patrick Bevin is the new race leader of the An Post Rás after he stormed to a solo win on the second stage of the race into Lisdoonvarna, Clare, yesterday.

Two men who barged their way into the home of two brothers because they claimed they wanted a “straightener” over a drug debt have been jailed for stabbing the men’s fathers.

The parlous state of Munster Rugby’s finances continues.

An age-old rowing tradition on the famous Lakes of Killarney will be celebrated with a visit, this summer, by crews from famed universities Oxford and Cambridge.

Most All-Ireland winning sides have their hard luck stories, those players who for one reason or another didn’t walk up the Hogan Stand steps in September.

She may be the fastest woman in Ireland but sprint champion Ailís McSweeney was fashionably late for her wedding yesterday.

Tomorrow may tell another tale about their teams but lines can be drawn between supporters of Dublin last September and Mayo this month.

On the homepage of Kilmacud Crokes’ football website, there’s a photograph captioned ‘The Magnificent Seven’.

It promises to be one of the most gruelling editions of the race in recent years and yesterday, at the official launch of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan in Killorglin, a stellar lineup was revealed, with teams from Holland, England, the Isle of Man and France to converge on Kerry over the Easter weekend.

ARMAGH

ALL-IRELAND winning Dublin manager Pat Gilroy caused some surprise by confirming he won’t be replacing his retired deputy Mickey Whelan.

THE Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has launched an investigation to establish the cause of a gas explosion yesterday, which blew the roof off a bottling plant, injuring two workers.

IN this year’s league game, Marc Ó Sé kept Bernard Brogan under lock and key up until second-half injury-time when the Dublin forward scored the winning point.

HE’S a bona fide hard luck story but Paul Griffin doesn’t have a violin.

BOXING. Major championships. Gold medals.

ALAN McCRABBE has fanned the flames of the Hawk-Eye debate by suggesting the GAA are allowing too many old men to act as umpires.

Former captain Paul Griffin could miss Dublin's entire Championship campaign, amid reports of a more serious complication of the cruciate knee ligament injury he suffered last year.

THIS time last year, Bryan Cullen was still struggling to tie his shoelaces but on Sunday the versatile Skerries player will wear the captain’s armband as Dublin get down to summer business starting with Laois at Croke Park.

The versatile Bryan Cullen has been selected to captain the Dublin senior footballers for their 2011 Championship campaign.

DUTCHMAN Bram Imming has the slimmest of margins going into today’s final stage of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan.

PAUL GRIFFIN has come mightily close to landing the overall title at Rás Mumhan on several occasions but the teak-tough Tralee native reckons this year might well be his last chance at the yellow jersey.

DUBLIN boss Pat Gilroy insists there’s no guarantee any of the county’s big-name players will force their way back into his team between now and the start of the championship.

IF the grapevine is to be believed, Kilmacud Crokes have serious injury worries going into this game.

DUBLIN manager Pat Gilroy believes last year’s captain Paul Griffin will return before the end of the Allianz Football League and, potentially, for an AIB All-Ireland Club final with Kilmacud Crokes.

A FOURTH Leinster Club SFC title for Kilmacud Crokes and the sweetest of them all, according to their manager Paddy Carr and captain Pat Burke.

A JANUARY boost, this. Two teams who like to play football and haven’t been prevented from staging training sessions or challenge matches in the run-up to today. Joy!

PAT GILROY fears that continued club success for Kilmacud Crokes could come at the cost of Allianz football league progress for the county.

DUBLIN manager Pat Gilroy has revealed he will embark on staging a second successive season of early morning winter training sessions, starting at 6.30am tomorrow.

KILMACUD CROKES manager Paddy Carr is predicting a “classical final” when his side does battle with Rhode for Leinster club honours.

SOMEHOW, despite everything, Kilmacud soldier on.

KILMACUD CROKES star Ross O’Carroll has admitted his brother, All-Star nominee Rory, will miss the crucial Leinster club semi-final against Garrycastle on Sunday week.

THE most famous victory in the history of the Kilmacud Crokes club?

A STORMING second-half, powered by the magnificence of Mark Vaughan and Brian Kavanagh, sealed Kilmacud Crokes’ seventh Dublin SFC title at Parnell Park yesterday.

PADDY BARNES bridged a 19-year gap in Irish boxing by claiming the gold medal in the light flyweight division, Kilkenny’s Darren O’Neill added silver from Saturday’s middleweight final and three other boxers chipped in with bronze to create Irish boxing history at the European championships in Moscow.

Ireland will be taking home one gold, one silver and three bronze medals from the 2010 European Senior Championships at the Ice Palace in Moscow.

The Irish squad arrived in Moscow this morning ahead of the 2010 European Senior Championships which begins Friday in the Russian capital.

FOUR riders participating in the FBD Insurance Rás spent last night in hospital in Enniskillen after an horrific crash on the descent from Bellavalley Gap that caused the second stage from Dundalk to Carrick-on-Shannon to be declared null and void.