Whether you’re a French fan or an Irish fan, this weekend you are going to have to fork out to enjoy the Six Nations clash in Dublin.

Two weeks since the last round of Six Nations games and Ireland’s annihilation of Italy in Rome all but ensured that the vacuum would be at least partly filled by the sort of big picture debate that is only ever held in the absence of any live distractions.

Donnacha Ryan is, as is often the case, in jovial form as he parks his considerable frame into what looks like the smallest of chairs at Carton House. Just named in Ireland’s second row for today’s Six Nations battle with France, the conversation is cheery and wide-ranging.

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IN a world often too glum, in a world where scepticism is increasingly a plausible reaction to nearly any suggestion, we use escapism as a refuge. We use it as a safety valve so we might not, as Col Brandon threatened in Sense and Sensibility, run mad. 

Exotic, crazy, colourful Marrakesh, so many intriguing cultural experiences but for the cook it’s a brave new world of tagines, cous cous, pastilla, meschoi, briouts, tangia.

Leicester City could make another attempt to lure Martin O’Neill from the Republic of Ireland hotseat after sacking title-winning boss Claudio Ranieri 

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It’s unlikely that David Harte and CJ Stander have ever met, but these two very different sportsmen share an unusual distinction.

Paul and Gary O’Donovan remain the two fastest lightweight scullers in the country. 

Pádraig Harrington admits he may need to undergo surgery on a troublesome shoulder injury to ensure he gets back to fitness in time for the Irish Open and the Open at Royal Birkdale.

The Gaelic Players Association has revealed that its players will vote to reject Paraic Duffy’s ‘Super 8’ proposal at Congress, after a poll of members found 70% opposed the proposals, which would see the All-Ireland football quarter-finals replaced by a round robin format from next year.

Kerry delegates have backed Paraic Duffy’s proposed changes to the All-Ireland senior football championship.

Despite spending more on sport (€2.5bn in 2016 vs €2.4bn in 2014), Irish people are spending less time on participating in sport or activity.