Cristiano Ronaldo will be playing for Real Madrid next season and reports in Spain say Kylian Mbappe could be alongside him.

Ireland skipper Niamh Briggs has told her team-mates to embrace their ‘once in a generation’ chance to win a World Cup on home soil.

Tom Tierney says Ireland’s women’s team will take priceless lessons into next month’s World Cup from their Six Nations defeat to England last March.

Irish hockey had a Saturday to savour as the men guaranteed their place at the 2018 World Cup while the women have to wait a few months but look well set to match their efforts.

Ireland international goalkeeper Darren Randolph has admitted his hopes of playing at next year’s World Cup hopes influenced his decision to leave West Ham for Middlesbrough.

The first thing you notice about the 2017 Open champion is that not much is really noticeable. Jordan Spieth is tall, but not too tall. And he’s a fresh-faced, good-looking lad. But Hollywood probably wouldn’t give him a second glance.

The variety of old tour t-shirts making their way up O’Connell St were outnumbered only by the range of accents heard as the crowd turned towards Parnell St and on to Croke Park.

There was an air of unreality about the whole day. Maybe it was the lack of complaint. There’s nothing normal or natural about it, hearing thousands of people amble about admiring things, especially in Cork.

One state-of-the-art new ground, descended from outer space and come to gracious rest in genteel Ballintemple. 

Shoot-out king David Harte came to Ireland’s rescue to all but assure a first World Cup ticket since 1990 as they battled their way to victory over France at the World League in Johannesburg.

Martin O’Neill has admitted that he is concerned about the outcome of Fifa’s disciplinary probe into the criticism he and James McClean made of the referee after Ireland’s World Cup qualifier against Austria at the Aviva in June. But he also said that he is hoping “the news will be good”.

You are always sent a sign. Mind the generation gap. And I’ve had two recently, writes Larry Ryan.

If the old Páirc Uí Chaoimh had a snag list, it would have extended to reams but few other GAA stadiums could boast as many excellent vantage points, writes John Fogarty.

The IRFU took the decision to seriously assess bidding for a Rugby World Cup having observed the manner in which the 2011 tournament was run in New Zealand and the success the tournament achieved both for New Zealand and the game of rugby worldwide, writes Philip Browne.

Hundreds of people spent thousands of hours developing and constructing the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Here, four of them recount the journey.

Rory McIlroy staged a stirring Open Championship fightback at Royal Birkdale that will send him into today’s second round feeling he can get right among the leaders.

To be sure, Sergio Garcia’s fifth major championship round as a major champion didn’t go quite as well as he would have hoped. 

Rowers Gary and Paul O’Donovan say benefits from sport far exceed the fleeting joy of a big win. Áilín Quinlan reports