Both the Irish senior women and men got one of their preferred draw for the Olympic qualifiers as they both face battles with Canada in the next two months for a ticket to Tokyo 2020.

Munster’s new-look brains trust will have little time to brace for their first intensive exam on the back of a Heineken Champions Cup draw in Lausanne yesterday which did the province few favours.

Munster have been left holding the short straw for next season's Heineken Champions Cup with the two-time champions plunged into the clichéd 'Pool of Death' after Wednesday's draw in Lausanne.

Munster received a tough draw against reigning champions Saracens in next season's Champions Cup pool stages.

Ireland’s Thomas Barr has produced his best performance of the season in finishing second at the Bislett Games – as world champion Karsten Warholm sensationally smashed the long-standing European 400m hurdles record.

This weekend Ireland’s show jumping team face their second of four Nations Cup qualifiers when they travel to the Baltic venue of Sopot for the Nations Cup of Poland.

BALLYGARRY House Hotel proprietor and general manager, Padraig McGillicuddy, has the tourism business running deep in his veins.

The world governing body of equestrian sport, the FEI, says that there has been strong interest in the bidding process to stage the 2022 World Championships, with a global spread of potential hosts across four continents which includes venues in 20 different countries.

Paris St Germain's appeal against UEFA's decision to reopen an investigation into the Ligue 1 club's finances has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Caster Semenya's lawyers have accused the IAAF of using underhand tactics to gain public support at the start of their highly contentious dispute at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne this week.

Q: So, what’s going on with this UEFA Nations League. Ireland normally play a qualifier or friendly in early September?

Officials from England and France sold visions of a bright new order, when they took a wrecking ball to the Heineken Cup, writes Brendan O’Brien

New competition, new anthem, new trophy — but more than a touch of the same old story for Martin O’Neill and Ireland in Lausanne yesterday.

Against the lure of leaving for a higher seeded nation in Scotland, Michael O’Neill believes his relevant voice in the Northern Ireland dressing-room was central to him staying.

"You are pitting your wits against two experienced men in Martin O’Neill, and in Roy, who is obviously someone I know well, who was a fantastic player and captain."

Uefa is considering a cap on agents’ fees following a meeting of its Professional Football Strategy Group.

So Martin O’Neill’s new Ireland contract is finally signed and sealed — now the manager waits to see what today’s Nations League draw delivers.

The Republic of Ireland will find out their opponents tomorrow at the draw for the inaugural UEFA Nations League.

North and South Korea have agreed in principle to field a joint women’s ice hockey team during next month’s Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Martin O’Neill’s immediate future, both as manager of Ireland and prospective manager of Stoke City, hangs in the balance as the Premier League club closes in on naming a successor to Mark Hughes.

Cork start-up firms have been urged to enter a programme that could see them receive intensive training from a Boston-based accelerator that has helped raise almost €1.7bn and and assisted more than 1,200 start-ups in the past seven years.

The lawyer of the man who blew the whistle on Russia's state-sponsored doping programme believes anything other than a ban from February's Winter Olympics would "embolden the cheats".

Failure to reach next year’s World Cup has denied the FAI a potential €9m in prize money and allowances, thereby undermining their chances of becoming debt-free by 2020.

The latest Longines FEI world rankings saw Irish riders on the move following the European Show Jumping Championship success last month.

Olivia Mehaffey had a mixed start on day one of the European Ladies´ Amateur Championship in Switzerland, going into this morning’s second round five strokes off the lead.

Some highly-charged racing is in store when the Colours Races — those famous head-to-heads between the crews of Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin — take place on Saturday on the River Liffey.

Rowing Ireland’s High Performance director, Morten Espersen confirmed this week he is resigning from his position, bringing to a close a huge contribution made by the Dane over the past four years. 

Listening to Allison Wagner last week speak about the torment she suffered for many years after finishing second to Michelle Smith, we couldn’t help but think how there was more than one swimmer in that Atlanta pool 20 years ago who sadly lost perspective on what sport is supposed to be all about.

International showjumper Marion Hughes claims that efforts are being made to obstruct the sale of a horse she has a half share in and for which she has had offers of €2m.

“Today was her day,” declared show jumper Dermott Lennon of Loughview Lou-Lou after she carried him to victory last night in the five-star grand prix in Gijon, Spain.

The International Olympic Committee has postponed a decision on whether to ban the entire Russian Olympic team from the Rio Games but has announced a raft of measures in response to Monday’s report of state-directed doping.

Russia has vowed its Rio 2016 hopefuls would “go over and above” demands to prove they are clean of drugs after the bar was raised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The International Olympic Committee has retested 454 anti-doping samples taken from athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, catching 31 cheats from six different sports and 12 countries.

Kevin Pilley takes a cane-twirling, splay-footed stroll through Charlie Chaplin’s former Switzerland home, which has become a museum to the great man.

In this month of commemoration and celebration it is appropriate to recognise the achievements of John Pius Boland.