SEAMUS McENANEY’S appointment as Meath manager last winter may have stirred up a hornet’s nest at the time — and continues to do so — but ‘outside’ influences haven’t been confined to the man charged with guiding the senior footballers.

JOHNNY MURTAGH missed his two booked rides at Tipperary last night, having failed to arrive back from Heathrow in time.

OFFALY football manager, Tom Cribbin, has questioned the decision to redevelop O’Connor Park in Tullamore when there are no adequate training facilities for the county’s representative teams.

ONE could only shake the old head in disbelief at the end of the Group 2 Futurity Stakes at Fairyhouse on Saturday. It had nothing to do with the fact hot-pot Cape Blanco obliged. That was as predictable as forecasting it will rain and rain throughout an Irish summer.

Roscommon 2-9

TRAINER, Pat Hughes, lashed out at an on-course bookmaker after his newcomer, Farmer Brown, had landed a gamble in the Kevin McManus Champion Bumper at Limerick yesterday.

BRIAN WHELAHAN has yet to decide on his inter-county future with Offaly.

LIMERICK manager Joe McKenna is standing by the team which drew with Tipperary last Sunday for Saturday's Guinness Munster senior hurling championship first round replay at the Gaelic Grounds.

DUBLIN manager Tommy Lyons promised plenty of fun and games at the upcoming training sessions as players will now have to battle for places following the fine displays of the substitutes introduced against Louth in yesterday’s Leinster championship tie.