Arsene Wenger will be down to the bare bones in midfield when he takes his Arsenal side to face Chelsea tomorrow - with Aaron Ramsey not expected to recover from a calf injury in time for the Stamford Bridge clash.

I was in the RTÉ radio booth in the cockpit of the Kinnane Stand yesterday, when the fourth official signalled there would be just one minute of injury-time.

KILKENNY SHC FINAL:

I was chatting to Tom Moloughney during the week, a Tipperary hurling great of the 1960s.

To know where Bubbles came from, best talk to Festy.

My first visit to Semple Stadium was a depressing one that has probably shaped me into the cynic that I am.

Nowlan Park will host the county’s Allianz HL fixtures this spring despite considerable damage to the roof of the Old Stand, Kilkenny chairman Ned Quinn confirmed.

TG4 LADIES SFC FINA:

Stephen Cluxton is one of the most recognisable footballers in Ireland but also the most private

Eddie Lynam has earmarked further Group One targets for his star sprinters Slade Power and Sole Power after both performed with credit in Saturday’s Darley July Cup at Newmarket.

Plans for a super-park in Cork City will be unveiled to the public next week.

Something strange happened in Walsh Park last Sunday.

Denis “Rackard” Coady - Kilkenny team assistant (kitman)

IT’S 1990 since Conor Counihan was last on an All-Stars trip. He earned his ticket to Toronto that time on the strength of Cork’s second successive All-Ireland title and his own back-to-back nomination as the game’s outstanding number six.

ALMOST exactly two years ago to the day, November 18, 2008, on an evening that echoed round the world, the All Blacks came to Thomond Park and in an epic contest, just pipped Munster with a late, late try.

BEFORE anything else, just consider this brief sample of the fare yesterday.

IT’S the All-Ireland championship, but not as we know it.

South Africa captain Chiliboy Ralepelle admits the team’s new players will have to learn the harsh lessons of international tours after their humbling by Guinness Premiership champions Leicester.

OFFALY struck a huge psychological blow against Wexford as they secured Division One hurling for 2010 with victory in yesterday’s NHL Division Two decider at Semple Stadium.

IT MIGHT be pertinent now to return to this corresponding fixture three years ago, to the post-match press conference to be exact, held in a tent at the back of the former West Stand in Lansdowne Road.

The €40m redevelopment of Thomond Park has created additional capacity, corporate options and traffic problems. However, the one thing that mustn’t change is the stadium ‘feel’, says Michael Moynihan.

THE Limerick skyline has been changing over the last 20 months.

I WRITE with profound gratitude for the generous and fair-minded column by Matt Cooper (October 19) on the subject of Irish support for England against South Africa in the World Cup Final.

IT’S six o’clock on Wednesday evening and Richard Kearney is making the first of two visits to Donnybrook this week.

Hughie Morrison is to take the “softly softly” approach with Prince Tamino following his victory in the William Hill Trophy.

WESTMEATH senior hurling manager Seamus Qualter is confident that Kilkenny will not have matters all their own way in Saturday evenings’s Leinster SHC semi-final.

THE BIGGEST weekend of the 2006 GAA calendar looms large on the horizon, but the questions over relegation, promotion and semi-final spots continue to lie in the shade.

Croke Park's Canal End, originally built in 1949, is set to be named after the GAA's first ever president, Maurice Davin.

Toyota Ireland has entered an agreement with the Munster Branch of IRFU for the naming rights of the West Stand at Thomond Park.

THE Leinster Council may consider making contributions to the Dublin and Kildare holiday funds following the massive financial boost gained from the 78,000 attendance at Sunday's provincial football final in Croke Park.