Was Cork’s dramatic fightback to snatch a ninth All-Ireland senior title in ten years the moment Ladies Football moved in from the margins? Coach Eamonn Ryan debates the past, the present and the future.

A word to the wise: The final say on sport in 2014

Now that the Premier League is officially at its halfway point, what better time to dole out some festive imaginary awards?

Injury. For professional sports people, it is both the bogeyman outside the window and the wolf at the door.

Sitting in the stand in Semple Stadium as Cork and Tipperary contested a wondrous draw in an electric atmosphere back in 1987, I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like if rugby was the number one sport in Ireland, writes Donal Lenihan.

I lunched last Sunday with a gargantuan guzzler and bon viveur who announced his plans to take a sleeping pill tonight and retire early. New Year’s Eve is funny.

Personal reflections from Irish Examiner sports writers, with some 2015 wishes and predictions to boot.

 Des O'Driscoll rounds up the top 10 talking points of TV this year.

It's the social media sensation that presidents, taosigh, astronauts, sportstars and even grannies couldn't resist, says Kelly O'Brien

After all the months hearing about them, reading about them and buying them, finally, over the last few days, we’re guessing you got round to actually reading some sports books.

A look back at the spring and summer of 2014

This was the year in which Arsene Wenger thought he had scaled the mountain, only to find an even larger peak standing in his path.

You could have been forgiven for thinking match-fixing had gone away.

The Golden Age of Football...now when was that exactly?

EVERY year at this time I go to very considerable lengths to tell you what you can expect in the coming year.

The immediate rawness of the defeat might have faded but, even a couple of months after Cork City saw the league title slip from their grasp on the last night of the season at Oriel Park, manager John Caulfield still has to pause for thought when asked if his dominant feeling about 2014 is one of quiet satisfaction at a second-place finish and a return to Europe or haunting disappointment at the thought of the one that got away.

This year has been a mixed bag for Irish players based in Britain and beyond.

Magic Moment: For a very literal answer, I would look to a spellbinding sequence from Ganesh Versus the Third Reich, a show by Australia’s Back to Back Theatre company that was one of several from Down Under during the Dublin Theatre Festival.

The acclamation for Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has been loud and unanimous through recent weeks, with most Blancos directors, fans, players and pundits conveniently forgetting their regular misgivings about the Italian throughout an ultimately historic 12 months.

Fernando Torres’ Chelsea career is officially over after the Premier League leaders announced he is to make his loan move to AC Milan permanent next month.