Brilliant Bohemians smashed Dundalk’s domestic 31-match unbeaten run last night to all but secure their place in Europe next season.

Jack Byrne is in his Shamrock Rovers strip at the Aviva Stadium but there’ll be no football kicked here today.

A bad season got worse for Cork City as they crashed out of the FAI Cup at Eamonn Deacy Park tonight.

A hat-trick from Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe, coupled with a shambolic defensive display, saw Cork City’s season plunge to new depths at Turner’s Cross last night as Derry City ran riot to inflict another painful defeat in what is turning out to be a shocking season for last season’s runners-up.

A bore fest rather than a score fest, Ireland once again made heavy weather of seeing off Gibraltar.

It was quarter-finals night in the EA Sports Cup tonight.

From very hard-earned experience, football managers tend to be pragmatic people so, painful though it has been for John Caulfield to part company with his beloved Cork City, it’s probably fair to say that he would hardly have been completely shocked by the timing of his exit.

Shamrock Rovers have seen their lead at the top of the SSE Airtricity Premier Division shorn to four points.

There used to be a sign in Dalymount Park that read, “Stay off the pitch — the club can’t afford the fines and neither can you.” The self-effacing humour meant the sign hit home more than the sombre PA announcements before matches you hear nowadays, but recent events have brought the issue of football fan behaviour back in the spotlight and it’s no laughing matter.

Ahead of today’s curtain-raising President’s Cup against Dundalk (Turner’s Cross 5.30pm), Cork City boss John Caulfield tells Liam Mackey why he’s excited but also worried about the season ahead

Damien Delaney has started pre-season as a Waterford player determined to learn the lessons from a challenging six months at Cork City which saw the 37-year-old “hit a brick wall”, as he puts it, before eventually parting company with his hometown club in early December.

League of Ireland champions Dundalk will begin their title defence against Sligo Rovers at home on Friday, February 15.

Supple had earned a call-up to the Ireland squad earlier this year.

They’ll meet again and we know where and we know when.

Alan Bennett has dismissed criticism of Cork City’s style of play, pointing out that the 1-1 draw with Bohemians in Dalymount Park on Sunday means the club remains on course to extend its recent dominance of the FAI Cup.

Premier Division top spot going into the mid-season break is what’s at stake in the SSE Airtricity League this evening as leaders Cork City host Bohemians, while Dundalk, just a point behind the defending champions, travel to Derry.

Boosted by his team’s first back-to-back league victories this season, manager Keith Long is calling on Bohemians to “have a go” against league leaders Dundalk at Dalymount tonight.

Bohemians 1 Bray 0... Dinny Corcoran’s injury-time strike was enough to earn Bohemians their first win of the season as they triumphed 2-1 over bottom side Bray Wanderers at Dalymount Park.

Cork City 3 Bohemians 0

Sky Sports have put tomorrow’s meeting of Manchester United and Liverpool at the centre of what they are calling ‘Rivalry Weekend’.

Defender Ryan Delaney will make his final appearance at Turner’s Cross for Cork City on Friday night after manager John Caulfield confirmed the defender is on his way back to English Championship side Burton Albion.

When Cork City pitched up at Dalymount Park for their 30th league game of this 2017 campaign it marked four years to the very day since he had claimed the title with St Patrick’s Athletic thanks to a 2-0 win over Sligo Rovers in Inchicore.

The Leesiders will have to wait to claim the League.

Back when Stephen Kenny last faced Rosenborg in the Champions League as manager of Bohemians in 2003, the Norwegians were the team most League of Ireland sides wanted to emulate.

As the League of Ireland season kicks off tonight, all eyes will be on Dundalk’s four-in-a-row title quest even if the manager with history in his grasp won’t countenance personal accolades.

Ray Brady, former Ireland international, has passed away at the age of 79.

Shelbourne are to share Dalymount Park with Bohemian FC.

Bohemians 0 Dundalk 2: A brace from Daryl Horgan gave table-toppers Dundalk the points from this keenly-contested encounter at Dalymount Park against a Bohemians side who have now lost three league games on the trot.

For Dalymount Park, the fervent hope must be that we can soon be calling it the once and future home of Irish football.

Q&A

I have to say that Twitter comes into its own on sad occasions such as the passing of the great Ray Treacy and I’m sure it must come as some considerable consolation to his nearest and dearest to see the outpouring of affection and admiration on the internet which has shown no sign of drying up since the shocking news of his death emerged.

Missing out on last night’s 1,000th Cork City league game was all the more painful because my first ever Cork City league game was also a win over Galway United at Turner’s Cross.

Under new manager Keith Long, Bohemians have hit pre-season running, something veteran striker Jason Byrne admits he’s feeling in his old legs.

Roy Keane shares Niall Quinn’s disappointment at Stephen Ireland’s international exile — insisting representing Ireland should rank as the high point of a player’s career.

A redeveloped Dalymount Park being shared by Bohemians and Shelbourne — that’s John Delaney’s vision of what would constitute part of the legacy of Dublin’s hosting of games at the Euro 2020 finals.