IT Tralee 1-07 - DIT 3-17: A two-goal salvo just before half-time by wing-back Enda Flanagan from Cavan knocked the wind out of IT Tralee last night, as DIT marched on to the semi-finals of the Sigerson Cup.

International Rules demands more skill than Gaelic football, according to Kildare midfielder Kevin Feely.

Kevin Feely doesn’t know what better way to put why he waved goodbye on a career across the Irish Sea.

Paddy Brophy was standing on the fine white sand of City Beach in Perth, the impossibly blue waters of the Indian Ocean stretching beyond the horizon before him, when he arrived at the decision to come home.

Kildare football manager Cian O’Neill has urged supporters to cut Paddy Brophy some slack and give him the necessary time to readjust to life as a Gaelic footballer again.

GPA national executive member Ronan Sweeney accepts players who come home from unsuccessful AFL stints face a challenging return.

This Thursday evening Castleknock play in their first senior football semi-final. Formed in 1998, they truly are the nouveau riche of Dublin GAA. Their story is a heartening one, their defiance to make their presence felt in west Dublin all the more impressive with the mammoth St Brigid’s for company.

Kildare legend Johnny Doyle has challenged the county’s big players to seize the responsibility and take the fight to provincial heavyweights Dublin.

Recently discovered letters show that Tom Barry, the IRA guerrilla leader in the War of Independence, candidly declined to appear at the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising, due to him having fought for the British Army at the time.

Seán Hurley, from Drinagh, was Michael Collins’ brother-in-law and they were also good friends while working in the civil service in London. Hurley then got a job in the fabled Harrods store before he was called back to Dublin, alongside Collins, writes Ray Ryan

The ideals and the courage of Cork men and women who joined the fight for Irish freedom were remembered in a state ceremony yesterday.

Events to mark the centenary of the only Cork man killed during the Easter Rising will also remember his fiancée after fate brought descendants of both into contact this week.

1916 letter provides a link to only Cork man killed in the Rising, writes Niall Murray

Some are household names, others have been overlooked but a move is on to honour, as a group, all those from the West Cork region who fought in Dublin during the Easter Rising.

A series of improvements are being planned for the ambush site in mid-Cork where Michael Collins was shot dead by Anti-Treaty Forces on August 22, 1922.

Cork County Council will host the largest number of events planned anywhere in the country to commemorate next year’s centenary of the 1916 Rising.

As a loyal Kildare servant, Damien Hendy has become accustomed to criticism.

In one of the many great scenes in the film On The Waterfront, Charlie played by Rod Steiger, tells his younger brother, Terry (Marlon Brando) that he needs to be getting up a bit in the world — "You’re getting on. You’re pushing 30. You know, it’s time to think about getting some ambition," says Charlie.

Eamonn Callaghan says Kildare have been forced to view the championship as a completely new season after a disastrous league campaign ended with relegation to Division 3.

This time last year, Paddy Brophy was training in the wind and rain ahead of the O’Byrne Cup final.

Former Kildare underage star Seán Hurley wants to follow in the footsteps of Tadhg Kennelly and conquer the Australia Football League.

Two more young Gaelic footballers are set to leave these shores to pursue a professional career in Aussie Rules.

ALL-IRELAND SFC ROUND 3B

Eleven Irish players, including three members of the Kildare senior panel, are set to take part in an AFL trial event in London this week.

Two players who lined out in last year’s All-Ireland MFC final will be involved in an Easter training camp in London today aimed at making their transition from GAA to the AFL easier.

Kerry are likely to be without Kieran Donaghy until at least the start of the championship after manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice confirmed the Austin Stacks man will play no part in the remainder of the regular section of the Allianz Football League.

Kildare could be about to lose another senior footballer to the AFL, with reports in Australia suggesting that Seán Hurley is expected to join Fremantle in October.

Maybe it was the half-hour or so he took to put the subs through the drills after the final whistle but Jason Ryan was at least able to resort to humour by the time he got round to sharing his thoughts on being sucker-punched.

An excellent second-half performance from Cork gave them a second Allianz Football League Division 1 win as Kildare were beaten at Páirc Uí Rinn today.

ALLIANZ FL DIVISION 1:

CORK

Kildare 1-10 Meath 0-09

Ciarán Sheehan has described his move to AFL outfit Carlton Blues as an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.

Bray Wanderers skipper Danny O’Connor, who sat out Friday’s defeat by Dundalk with a groin injury, will once again be absent when the seasiders face Longford Town in the first leg of the Airtricity League Premier Division/First Division play-off at the Carlisle Grounds tonight (7.45pm).

Castlehaven 0-16 Nemo Rangers 1-11

Kildare stars Daniel Flynn and Sean Hurley are to have trials with AFL clubs.

If you weren’t there, you’d have missed the send-off Joe McQuillan got from St Conleth’s Park on Saturday night.

Colm O’Rourke is usually the safest pair of hands on The Sunday Game, but he crossed the line in an attempt to make a humorous point about the size of Kildare’s players a few weeks back.

It is 11 years since Kieran McGeeney and his Armagh team-mates inflicted a deep wound in the psyche of Dublin football by beating the Blues in a dramatic All-Ireland semi-final.

A number of young players will make the step up to Senior Championship football when Kildare and Offaly meet in this evening's opening Leinster SFC quarter-final at Croke Park (throw-in 5pm).