Where does handball go from here?

Last week was an extraordinary one for Irish sport. The rugby Grand Slam and Rory McIlroy winning in America followed a Cheltenham Festival where the Irish dominated the English in race after race, writes Paul Rouse.

There must be serious doubts whether the horses are conscious of their great good fortune to be born Irish – how much do they know about the great history of their people?

And what of their religion? Back in 1907 (when the British Empire was at its zenith and any Irish success over England or in England was seized upon and celebrated with zeal), ‘Orby’ became the first Irish-trained horse to win the Derby at Epsom.