TWELVE months ago, he talked about the ‘big imponderable’ for Kerry in advance of their All-Ireland football final meeting and whether their freshness or Tyrone’s battle-hardened build-up would be decisive.

I HAVE been asked on more than one occasion over the past fortnight why Ireland would undertake such a hectic schedule at the end of a long hard season.

IT’S not often you see a manager smiling after his team has just been beaten by more than double scores, but that was the case in Mullingar on Saturday evening.

Over a decade ago, Ireland almost pulled off a remarkable victory over the mighty All Blacks. Barry Coughlan recalls the day Ronny Carey almost became a national hero.

LEGENDARY Cork football manager Billy Morgan greeted the final whistle of yesterday’s Munster Final with mixed emotions.

WITH hand on heart James Masters admitted that his last-ditch attempt to secure victory for Cork in yesterday’s highly dramatic Munster football final was right to be disallowed.

THERE were actually two World Cups taking place over the past four weeks: the one in Germany and the one Germany were in.

Midleton 0-12 Blackrock 0-10

SO FIFA’s technical experts bottled the decision to hand Cristiano Ronaldo the prize for the best young footballer at the World Cup.

THE debate on the issue of payments to the Taoiseach has been a fascinating piece of political theatre over the past week.

Cardiff 27 Glasgow 9

At half-time in the Heineken Cup final against Biarritz last May, Munster were 17-10 up. In this extract from Munster Our Road To Glory by Alan English, the men in red give a blow by blow account of the second half.

PETR CECH insists Chelsea’s bad attitude cost them three points at Fulham last season and he is determined not to let it happen again.

FOR a game normally played with the silence of a library, the Ryder Cup yesterday went loud.

It’s becoming monotonous.

ALL afternoon Laois and Mayo traded scores with an abandon normally reserved for youngsters swapping football stickers, but Mick O’Dwyer was certain the result had finally been decided when Noel Garvan launched his third missile between John Healey’s posts.

I LIVE beside the sea, where the arrival of the seasons is announced on the avian public address system.

As Irish airports and airlines virtually resumed normal operations yesterday after the chaos caused by the suspected terrorist attack on several passenger planes, it has to be borne in mind that the spectre of a threat still exists.

One man’s sound reasoning is another’s rant. Here Colm O’Connor remembers those men who lost their rag so memorably at the World Cup.

CARLOW senior hurling manager Eoin Garvey wasn’t surprised at his side’s dramatic victory over Down in Sunday’s Christy Ring Cup semi-final.