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Just watched the programme on the millions of pilgrims that go to Medjugorje each year.


Have any of you been ??


What do you make of the whole Medjugorje phenomenon ??


The people who go are totally enthralled by it and seem very sincere.

[It was a sensational win for Portadown, against a Dungannon team which had boasted the best defence record in the Premiership. And it was a personal triumph for Leckey who was making his first start of the campaign.]

Any of you lucky enough to have a wee wager on Portadown today ?      The odds would have been good on Portadown getting a win here but to score 8 against the meanest defence in the Premiership ?   




Dungannon Swifts 2-8 Portadown 


Richard Leckey scored eight goals in Portadown's remarkable win.Leckey nipped in ahead of keeper Alvin Rouse for a 38th-minute opener and turned away from marker Adam McMinn to score again just before half-time.

The tall striker got two more after the break with Gary McCutcheon also striking twice to make it 6-0.

A terrific strike by Kevin Braniff and a shot in off the posy by Wesley Boyle made it eight before Ryan McIlmoyle and Andy Hamilton got late Swifts goals.

It was a sensational win for Portadown, against a Dungannon team which had boasted the best defence record in the Premiership.

And it was a personal triumph for Leckey who was making his first start of the campaign.

Having scored in his last two games as a substitute, Leckey made it three goals in three when he netted the opener form McCutcheon's cross.

He made it two in the 44th minute and then completed his hat-trick five minutes into the second half.

Leckey then scored with a first-time half-volley which went in off the underside of Alvin Rouse's crossbar.

McCutcheon then went through to clip the ball over Rouse and the Scotsman quickly added another.

Braniff then scored with a superb strike from distance before Boyle turned on the edge of the box and, although he did not make full contact with the ball, his shot went in off a post.

McIlmoyle netted from Shane Coney's cross for Dungannon in the 83rd minute and sub Hamilton shot in from 20 yards for the home side.

Denmark offers immigrants €13K to return home
Monday, 9 November 2009
Denmark has agreed to increase tenfold the amount of money offered to immigrants who return home permanently to 100,000 kroner (€13,443.


The centre-right minority government reached an agreement with its key ally, the far-right Danish People's Party, on the issue late last night as part of their 2010 budget negotiations.

A financial incentive of 11,000 kroner had until now been offered to immigrants to resettle in their country of origin.

AdvertisementThe scheme is aimed at immigrants from outside the EU and Nordic countries, DPP deputy leader Peter Skaarup said.


'It in practice targets those nationals from non-Western countries who are struggling to adapt to Danish society and who would be tempted by a fairly significant sum to go back home forever,' he said.


Mr Skaarup said those taking up the offer would receive 11,000 kroner up front. The remainder of the 100,000 kroner would be paid out once they surrender their Danish residency permits, he added.


The agreement also calls for 20 million kroner in aid to city councils in charge of integrating immigrants, to help them 'motivate' foreigners to return home.


According to the refugee, immigrant and integration ministry, some 2,524 people have voluntarily left Denmark since 1997 when the repatriation programme was introduced.

Most of them were from the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Somalia and Turkey.


Immigrants represent 7.3% of Denmark's population of 5.5 million

[the payment was made "to facilitate the development of their independent wealth portfolios".]

Seán Quinn group pays out €200m to his five children



SEÁN QUINN'S five children shared a €200 million payout from the main Quinn Group holding company last year. The group also made a provision for a €126 million write-off of money forwarded to the family by the group and lost in its disastrous investment in the now nationalised Anglo Irish Bank.

This figure brings the total write-off over the past two years to €888 million.
The Quinn family and its businesses are understood to be the largest single customer of Anglo Irish Bank.

Accounts for the Quinn holding company, Quinn Group (ROI) Ltd, filed recently in Belfast, show it made a pre-tax profit of €83 million in 2008, compared with a loss of €425 million the previous year, when it wrote off loans to the family totalling €762 million.

Leaving aside these exceptional items, the group made a pre-tax profit of €466 million last year, and €530 million in 2007.

The group is one of the largest Irish-owned businesses in the State with interests in insurance, glass, cement and the leisure sector.

The €200 million payment to Quinn family members was made in the course of 2008 and was taken from shareholders' funds at the company. Mr Quinn's five children – Colette, Seán Jr, Ciara, Aoife and Brenda – each own one fifth of Quinn Group, which controls the bulk of the family's business interests.

A spokesman for the company said the payment was made "to facilitate the development of their independent wealth portfolios".


Mr Quinn's family holds substantial personal interests outside the group, notably in property. Each of the children, the eldest of whom is 34, owns specific assets in their own right.

Four of the five children work within the group.

The accounts for Quinn Group (ROI) show sales rose a shade to €2.3 billion last year, while profits before tax and exceptional expenses related to Anglo and other items, dropped by 12 per cent from €530 million to €466 million, mainly on the back of margin pressures in insurance.

The company indicated on Friday that it was on track to at least maintain profits around this level this year.

In a statement accompanying the numbers, Mr Quinn, chairman of the group, described 2008 as "one of the toughest years I have experienced during 35 years in business".

He said that he was nonetheless "encouraged" by the group's performance, notably the €83 million pretax profit it generated.

The Fermanagh businessman secretly built up a one-quarter stake in Anglo over a period in the run-up to summer of 2008, just as the bank was beginning to fail amid international turmoil in the financial markets.

The holding was accumulated by way of contracts-for-difference (CFDs), special structures that allow investors to bet on shares rising as well as falling and which do not require them to pay for the entirety of the stock up-front.

Mr Quinn subsequently unwound this CFD position, drawing on Anglo funding while converting part of it into a straightforward 15 per cent shareholding in the bank.

The remaining 10 per cent was controversially sold to 10 long-standing Anglo clients in an effort to avoid a collapse in the bank's shares.

The matter has been under investigation by the Financial Regulator and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, amid reports that Mr Quinn's total loan exposure to Anglo could run into the billions.

On Friday, a spokesman for the group said the family has, over 36 years, always repaid its borrowings and "will continue to do so".

In his chairman's statement with the accounts Mr Quinn said "the family's property portfolio outside of the group continues to progress well and some of these investments will rank amongst the best we have ever made, and will go a long way towards recovering the very substantial losses incurred in the stock market over the past few years".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8333198.stm

[The 36-year-old central defender, who has made 661 appearances for the Candystripes, is the first victim of City's cost-cutting measures.]

Hutton poised for Brandywell exit 

Peter Hutton has scored 60 goals for the Candystripes
Derry City captain Peter Hutton will leave the crisis-hit club at the end of the season after being told his contract will not be renewed.

The 36-year-old central defender, who has made 661 appearances for the Candystripes, is the first victim of City's cost-cutting measures. "It was like a bolt out of the blue but I don't hold any grudges," said Hutton.

The former Portadown player has ruled out retirement and he is considering a return to the Irish League.

Hutton, who also played for Shelbourne, had a brief spell at Shamrock Park in 1998.

He added: "Hopefully, I can get an opportunity to keep playing, possibly in the Irish League on a part-time basis.

"I've kept myself in good shape and I intend to continue to look after myself, so I'm not retiring from the game just yet.

"I was informed by Stephen Kenny that my contract would not be renewed and I was disappointed, but that's football."

Hutton and his team-mates have not had their wages paid on time because of the ongoing financial difficulties at the Brandywell.


The club has been very good to me as a player, but the state of the local game is not good at the moment.

Peter Hutton
He is saddened at the club's current plight, which could lead to Derry losing their Premier Division status.

"It's very disappointing that the club is on its knees again," he said.

"I was at the Brandywell in 2000 when the club experienced financial difficulties and, even before that, there were problems when Derry had to go into voluntary liquidation during the 1990s.

"My over-riding feeling is one of sadness. I've been involved as one of the players' representatives in the ongoing discussions with the Board and I've become a bit disillusioned.

"The club has been very good to me as a player, but the state of the local game is not good at the moment and we've come to understand that we are not immune from the difficulties.

"It's certainly been a rollercoaster ride for me but, fingers crossed, people will rally around and the club will return a much better organisation for the changes that will be made."

[Hunt calls Dunphy 'a skinny little rat']

Hunt might have been better advised to let somebody else call Dunphy a skinny, little rat ??

Long road, no turning and all of that.


Hunt calls Dunphy 'a skinny little rat'



Stephen Hunt has branded Eamon Dunphy a 'skinny little rat' after the pundit described Ireland's performance in drawing with Italy as 'shameful'.

Speaking ahead of the final World Cup qualifier against Montenegro, Hunt was critical of a few pundits who, in his words, 'say stuff for the sake of saying it - to be the bad cop.'

However, most of his frustration was aimed at Eamon Dunphy. Hunt explained: 'People in the press write columns. I know one or two of them do it and they generally don't turn up here.

'That's the truth of it but they say things for the sake of it and you think, what are they doing? What are they trying to achieve? Sell more newspapers or get more viewers? It's ridiculous.

'Where do they get their kicks from? And especially Dunphy, he should know better by now. He's a skinny rat, a skinny little rat.'

Letterman reveals 'sex blackmail' 

David Letterman: "This whole thing has been quite scary" (footage courtesy of Worldwide Pants)

US chat show host David Letterman has confessed during a recording of his show he has had sexual relationships with female members of his staff.

"I have had sex with women who work for me on this show," he told an audience in New York, saying an attempt had been made to blackmail him over the affairs.

Letterman said "a guy" had threatened to expose the relationships unless a payment of $2m (£1.2m) was made.

CBS, which broadcasts Letterman's show, said an employee had been arrested.

It said the man, who has not been officially named, works on the true-crime show 48 Hours and had been suspended pending the results of the investigation.

The man was arrested on Thursday on charges of attempted grand larceny, CBS said.

Letterman, 62, married long-term girlfriend Regina Lasko in March. They have a six-year-old son.

'Terrible things'

"I have a little story I have to tell you," announced Letterman on Thursday, saying he was first approached by the alleged blackmailer three weeks ago.

He said he had got in his car early one morning to find a package with a letter containing proof of the "terrible things" he was said to have done.


David Letterman said he had handed over a "phoney" cheque for $2m
The letter, he said, was from a man who threatened to write a book and screenplay about the veteran broadcaster unless he was given money.

On the advice of his attorney, Letterman said, he had contacted prosecutors at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

As part of the investigation, he continued, he had issued a "phoney" $2m cheque to the person allegedly attempting to extort him.

"This morning I did something I've never done in my life," said the broadcaster. "I had to go downtown and testify before a grand jury."

In his testimony he acknowledged he had conducted sexual relationships with members of his staff.

"I had to tell them all of the creepy things that I had done," he said.

He did not say when the relationships took place or how long they lasted.

'Bizarre experience'

"The creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show."

Letterman said it had been "a very bizarre experience" and that he did not "plan to say much more on this particular topic".

"I felt like I needed to protect these people," he said. "I need to protect my family. I need to protect myself [and] hope to protect my job."

David Letterman has presented The Late Show on CBS since 1993.

Prior to that he hosted a late-night talk show on rival network NBC.

After Letterman's comments, CBS said the presenter had addressed the issue during the show, and that it "believes his comments speak for themselves".


US MEDIA REACTION

While Letterman seems to be in no immediate risk of losing either his family or his job (ratings from last night's telecast will likely be stratospheric), his troubles may not be over. Having sex with people who were his employees or whom he managed could leave him, or CBS, open to a sexual-harassment lawsuit. It's certain the comedian has given the network's lawyers plenty of reasons to be up at night.

Time magazine's Belinda Luscombe wonders what the wider fallout may be for Letterman.


What we don't know, of course, is whether Letterman simply had consensual relations with a fellow grownup at a time when both were free agents or whether other factors were at play, like age or job description. We may never know, and frankly, it would be none of our business except that sometimes this stuff slips out and, okay, we love it when that happens. In any case, Dave's performance last night ensured extortion will not be the main story here.

The New York Daily News's David Hinckley thinks Letterman's sex life has become the chief focus of interest.


He's a famous, rich and, to some, charming man - the fact that he screwed staffers should raise serious ethical questions, like "Did he use his power and influence to take advantage of the women?" Even if he didn't do so intentionally, it's certainly possible that's the case and he's just as guilty as those he's lampooned. But perhaps we should give him some wiggle room here.

Gawker.com's Andrew Belonsky wonders if the public will see Letterman as victim or hypocrite.


I don't know where to begin with David Letterman's bizarro, play-it-for-laughs on-air admission that he had sex with staff members. On the one hand, good for him for telling a fairly unvarnished account of being blackmailed by a Connecticut man for $2 million and admitting to the "creepy things," as Dave kept putting it, the blackmailer was threatening to take public. On the other hand: Couldn't somebody have gone out between the first and second act and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Letterman is about to talk about something very difficult and though you might be tempted to laugh, please don't."

TV critic Aaron Barnhart, on his blog TVbarn.com, finds Letterman's comic approach unnerving.

Personally I think there's a lot of merit in this. What do you think ?

Kennelly reveals retirement fund talks with GAA


By Brendan O'Brien

Friday, September 18, 2009



TADHG KENNELLY has approached the GAA about setting up a retirement fund for inter-county footballers and hurlers similar to that in operation by the Australian Football League.



The money for the Aussie Rules fund comes from the players' association who themselves receive agreed payments from the AFL based on the league's income from television rights.

As it currently stands, AUS$15,000 (€8,886.83) is put aside for AFL players for every season they play but the figure is based as a percentage of the league's income and so has been rising steadily for years.

Kennelly explained in today's Championship '09 All-Ireland SFC special: "If you play 10 years you get a lump sum of a $AUS150,000 (€88,874.52) payment when you are finished. Like, Darragh O Sé has played 15 years of football and it's something you could do. No-one in Ireland would complain if you gave him 10 grand.

"It would still be far off what he has lost from playing the game. It is more of a thank you than anything else."

Asked how the GAA reacted when such an initiative was put to them, Kennelly replied: "Not bad."

But such a suggestion is likely to ruffle more than a few feathers at all levels of the association. The GAA is currently in negotiations with the GPA over official recognition and both have very different ideas on how the players' body would be funded. Croke Park officials have already rejected the GPA's proposal that they be guaranteed a fixed percentage of the GAA's national annual commercial income.

Kennelly's idea of a retirement fund would be interpreted as another step towards the erosion of the amateur ethos by some members – even pay-for-play in a different uniform.

"I don't think the game itself will ever go professional," said Kennelly. "Nor should it. I've seen the game the way it is set up in Australia. There is no loyalty.

"As long as players aren't out of pocket because they are missing a Friday afternoon out of work, because they have to be here and there doing this and that. That's the big thing."

Kennelly has himself spent six years playing in the AFL with the Sydney Swans and will therefore be eligible to a tidy sum when he finally confirms his retirement from the oval ball code.

As it is, he is still a registered Swans player and speculation as to his intentions post-Sunday continue to circulate as he prepares for his first All-Ireland SFC final.

Sydney coach Paul Roos will be in Croke Park this weekend, along with a number of others from the Swans family, and he has continually declared that the door remains open to the Listowel man.

For now however, he has promised that the subject is out of bounds.

"I've made a commitment to myself and loosely to Tadhg, through his girlfriend, that it's not something I'm going to bring up," Roos said yesterday. "I want him to have a successful game and to really focus on his games and his dreams.

"If at some time in the future he wants to bring it up, I'm certainly happy to talk and see where he's at and where his body is and what he's thinking."

Kennelly himself has been able to see the funny side of the speculation. Having spent seven years in Australia, where he was continually being questioned about a return to Ireland, the tables have certainly turned.

"No-one wants me," he joked. "I think it's stemming from Roosy being asked questions all year, about would he like to have me back and he has just been saying, 'of course I'd love to him back if he made a phone call'.

"People in the media have been reading that wrong and saying I am going back. I have been in touch with Roosy probably once every two or three weeks because I'm ringing him about the team, about his family, asking 'how are things with everyone over there'.

How Kerry fare on Sunday could colour his judgment but it is interesting that both Kennelly and Roos pinpointed his physical well-being when discussing any possible return to 'footy'.

"If I went back playing AFL football, this year will have been a blessing for me because it's given my body an opportunity to recover," he said.

"The game itself is physically demanding. You play 22 games, every weekend, run between 20 and 25 kilometres a game and you are getting tackled. It takes you three or four days to get over a game. The next day you are in bits. I find it hard to walk to the car.

"I've got to think about that. Do I want to put my body through that again? My first seven, eight years were fantastic. Everything was rosy but then the last two years, everything just led on to another, which often happens with injuries.

"I didn't enjoy my time then. In my last two-and-a-half years there I didn't play a game better than 75% fit. It was very frustrating to play games like that. You know what you want to do but you can't do it and that's why this year has been a blessing. The demands of training all day every day are not there. The intensity of the training is very similar but the amount of it is less."

There have been a few defections from SF in the past couple of years. Another councillor, this time in Fermanagh, has jumped ship. Theresa Ferris sparked debate within the party recently when she said that the party needed to examine why it was that they were losing voters in the Republic of Ireland.

Or is this just a blip ?

What do you think ?


Sinn Fein councillor quits party 

Domhnall O Cobhthaigh is leaving Sinn Fein to join the Socialist Party
A Sinn Fein councillor has announced his defection to the Socialist Party.

Domhnall O Cobhthaigh is the third Sinn Fein member of Fermanagh District Council to leave the party in the space of two years.

He was co-opted to fill the seat left by Poilin Ui Cathain who quit in March 2007 over Sinn Fein's decision to support the police.

Sinn Fein is seeking to co-opt another party member to replace Mr O Cobhthaigh on the council.

Local Sinn Fein MP Michelle Gildernew said they wanted to "avoid a by-election that would cost ratepayers £30,000".

"While I disagree with the arguments put forward by Councillor O Cobhthaigh and am disappointed to lose Domhnall from the team in Fermanagh, I respect his decision to step down from the council and resign from the party," she said.

Right lads, we can't let the week pass without some discussion on the big game this weekend.


Can Tipp take the Cats ?


What will the KK team be ? Hickey in ? Who might be dropped ?


KK midfield ?

[Harlequins humiliated as 'cover-up' is revealed]

This is scandalous and they try to tell us that rugby is a sport for gentlemen and that everybody associated with rugby are honest ??


Harlequins humiliated as 'cover-up' is revealed
By Chris Hewett


Wednesday August 26 2009

It started, in a way, at a joke shop at Clapham Junction, but it stopped being a joke weeks ago. Now, it is the most unfunny thing in the rugby world, and it will be many months -- perhaps years -- before Harlequins start laughing again.

Yesterday's publication of the evidence presented by their wing, Tom Williams, to a disciplinary tribunal investigating the 'Bloodgate' scandal is the most embarrassing ever levelled at a professional club anywhere in the sport.
Fighting to reduce a 12-month suspension imposed for his role in the affair -- Williams bit on a blood capsule in the closing stages of his club's Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leinster last April, thereby allowing the goal-kicker Nick Evans to return to the field for one last illicit shot at goal -- the 25-year-old player spilled beans all over the most senior figures at the Stoop: the director of rugby Dean Richards, who resigned as a result of Williams' decision to appeal; Charles Jillings, the chairman; and Mark Evans, the chief executive. The fall-out is nowhere near finished.

During his testimony, Williams made the following accusations:


•That Richards told him before taking the field as a substitute that he would be "coming off for blood". (Richards claimed the decision was reached after Williams had taken the field).

•That Steph Brennan, the physiotherapist, gave him a blood capsule, telling him to "do the right thing". (Other evidence revealed that Brennan had bought capsules from the joke shop at Clapham Junction on Richards' instruction).

•That he was so "programmed to Dean's authority" that he did not consider the rights and wrongs of the matter, and that even in hindsight he felt he had no choice because of the possible consequences of disobedience.

•That once match officials and members of the Leinster staff had become suspicious, he asked the club doctor, Wendy Chapman, to give him a real injury by cutting his lip.

•That he, among others, was presented with a misleading statement by Richards and told to sign it in advance of the original disciplinary hearing.

•That Richards criticised his delivery of evidence during the initial hearing and said he would be "better coached for the appeal".

•That on deciding to make a full disclosure as part of his appeal, he was warned off the potential effect on the club by Mark Evans, who told him that it would be "worse than relegation" and pressed him not to make such a disclosure. He also said he was offered a handsome compensation package by Jillings.

The tactics used by the Harlequins hierarchy will leave the club open to the fiercest criticism.

"Mark Evans' suggestion that I pursue a limited type of appeal was contrary to my own feelings and my advice," said Williams, who did not have independent legal support at the initial hearing. "I now had a dilemma and it weighed heavily on my mind.

"The club preferred that I should appeal on much more limited grounds, which focused on the length of my ban. This would minimise the club's exposure. I had no desire to harm the club, but at the same time I wanted the truth to be told. I had lied so far on the club's directions and this had resulted in a 12-month ban. I decided I would not allow the club to make me lie again."

In early August, Williams received a voicemail apology from Richards. He then met Jillings at the offices of the Professional Rugby Players' Association in Twickenham, less than a mile from the crime scene of the Stoop.

Jillings made an astonishing offer.

"He started by apologising to me for the position I had been placed in," Williams said. "I am sure he was sincere. Charles then laid out a compensation offer to me. This consisted of payment of my salary while I was suspended, an assurance that I would be selected for the team on merit once my suspension ended, a two-year contract extension, a testimonial, a three-year employment opportunity with the club after I retired from playing and an assurance that he would take a direct interest in my post-rugby career.

"He asked me what I was planning to do in relation to an appeal. Damian Hopley (the PRA chief executive) replied that I was appealing on a full-disclosure basis. Charles told me that he thought I should appeal, but it should be on a limited basis that focused on the sanction and not the findings of fact.

"Charles said that if the ERC decided to convene a personal hearing and questions were asked of me that might incriminate the other parties I could simply refuse to answer those questions. At the end of the meeting, I agreed to consider what he had said."

Williams told the panel that he felt under intense pressure not to make the full disclosure to which he had committed himself. But after having a compensation package of his own design -- including the paying-off of a mortgage on the house he owned with his girlfriend -- rejected by Harlequins, followed by series of further discussions, he decided to press ahead.angry

According to Williams, he began to feel angry at the situation in which he found himself the moment the Leinster game ended.

"It did not take long for news to filter through that we had lost the game 6-5," he told the tribunal. "I was devastated. I also grew increasingly angry about what had happened to me. I had hoped for an opportunity to make a positive impact on the match and to help my club win a famous victory. Instead, I had been required to cheat and had been placed in an impossible position."

The ERC authorities plan to publish their judgment in the cases against Richards, Brennan and the club over the next few days.

More humiliation is guaranteed. (© Independent News Service)

Williams' own words: 'I removed it from my sock. On the first attempt, the blood capsule fell from my mouth. I picked it up and bit it once again'

The following extracts are from Tom Williams' statement given to the European Rugby Cup appeal hearing against the year-long ban initially handed to him. Several points have been contested by other parties.

ON THE BLOOD CAPSULE

"With 10 minutes left, and the score standing at 6-5 to to Leinster... Dean told me to tell Steph Brennan, one of the club's physios, that I would be coming off for blood.

"Whilst Mike Brown was taking the penalty, Steph came onto the pitch... At this point Steph handed me a blood capsule... I instinctively placed the capsule in my sock as there was nowhere else to put it... I would like to say that I was presented with a huge dilemma when I was handed the blood capsule. However, in reality, I was so programmed to Dean's authority and focussed on the game that there were no such considerations...

"No one had told me when to fake the injury, but I understood that I should go down once I was involved in some contact. At one stage, Leinster put up a high ball, and I caught it... Two Leinster players hit me and Nick from behind... To be clear, I did not sustain any injuries from this collision...

"I returned to the full-back position and knelt down on one knee to bite the blood capsule. I removed it from my sock and placed it in my mouth... On the first attempt, the blood capsule fell from my mouth. I picked it up and bit it once again.

"Not only is this aspect of the episode shameful, it is also very embarrassing. However, it is a good indication that I was not thinking about what I was doing... The way I removed it from my sock and dropped it was ridiculous..."

ON THE INFAMOUS WINK

"I also winked as I left the pitch. This was not a signal or sign, as has been suggested. Instead, I was simply responding to one of my team-mates, Jim Evans, who suggested that I should "tough it out" as there were only a few minutes until the end of the game... I headed for the tunnel, and heard loud protestations from the Leinster bench. These protests were along the lines of, 'that's not real blood'."

ON WHAT WENT ON IN THE PHYSIO'S ROOM

"A real sense of panic began to set in... I then felt someone wipe their finger across my leg. I now understand this was the fifth official. I guessed he was wiping what he thought was fake blood from me to examine it. As he removed the substance from my leg, he said that it was not blood...

"In the circumstances it seemed the only solution was to cut my lip. I believe it was at this point that I asked Wendy (Chapman, one of the club's match-day doctors) to make the cut... I remember that she was not happy about it."

ON THE AFTERMATH

"By the day of the hearing I was feeling ill. This was a combination of nerves and stress... I was growing increasingly anxious at the prospect of lying to the Tribunal... I genuinely did not consider I had a choice. Dean had directed a course and my job was to follow him, not challenge him..."

ON THE COMPENSATION OFFER

"In my meeting with Charles (Jillings, Harlequins' chairman, on August 5)... he laid out a compensation offer... This consisted of payment of salary while I was suspended, an assurance that I would be selected for the team on merit once my suspension ended, a two-year contract extension, a testimonial, a three-year employment opportunity with the club after retiring from playing, and an assurance that he would take direct interest in my post-rugby career...

"I would, in all possibility, be sitting out a season of rugby. After having discussed this with my girlfriend, I took the view that adequate compensation for all of this would be the club apologising to me, extending my contract terms and paying off the mortgage on the house I own with my girlfriend..."


- Chris Hewett

Can KK do the 4 in a row ?

[McGeeney deserves to be manager of the year]

McGeeney deserves to be manager of the yearBy Eugene McGee


Monday August 03 2009

The old dog for the hard road was what decided the All-Ireland quarter-final that kept Tyrone on the path to realising their ambition of a second successive All-Ireland. In every aspect of play, other than cuteness and experience, Kildare matched the champions. But, when it came to remaining cool under pressure in the final minutes, having players able to read the game correctly in the final quarter and making defining use of subs, it was Tyrone who had the edge and therefore they are deserving winners.

That said, Kieran McGeeney deserves to be rated the manager-of-the-year because of the way he has harnessed a less-than-brilliant set of players into a machine capable of scaring the daylights out of mighty champions like Tyrone. I always believe it is a greater achievement for a manager to bring a team to this level of performance from such a set of players than it is for managers who are blessed with a whole team of star players so McGeeney and Kildare should take a bow.

Action

The game changed decisively once the second half started. Great players and teams can always be depended upon to change tack at half-time and take remedial action and Tyrone did that with a shattering six points in 11 minutes to go ahead by two. That was the only period of the game when Kildare looked bewildered, going 15 minutes without a score. But they re-organised themselves brilliantly and took the game to Tyrone and within three dramatic minutes they were ahead again.

Around this time, Mickey Harte pulled a masterstroke by bringing in Brian McGuigan, who anchored himself in the Tyrone half-back line as an extra defender and brilliantly orchestrated a lot of the subsequent play in that area. Kildare had nobody of that calibre to do a similar job at a time when the game was about to be won or lost.

The final act in the drama was, for Kildare players and fans, a tragedy as they went on to hit no less than five failed shots in the space of seven minutes, any two of which would have secured a draw. An element of panic set in for the only time, but tribute must go to the trademark defending in numbers by Tyrone which was a factor in those wides.

If you are two points behind in the final 10 minutes of a big game against Tyrone, it really is like playing handball against a haystack.

This was a superb game of football of which both teams and mentors should be proud. There were many brilliant scores varying from a super point from Johnny Doyle under pressure in the 53rd minute to a fabulous 'old-time point' in the 56th minute when Sean Cavanagh caught a magnificent high ball from a Kildare kick-out, made some ground and passed to Brian Dooher, who chipped a majestic point that brought Tyrone level at 1-10 to 0-13. We are lucky to be able to see such brilliance at the highest level.

Stephen O'Neill was the star of the game, scoring five points from play, and if there was one flaw with Kildare, it was their failure to take alternative measures to cope with the brilliant Clann na nGael player.

On reflection, it must be admitted that while Tyrone were outstanding in the way they coped with resilient opposition, there were distinct signs of fraying at the edges in this performance and a lot more will be needed to retain the Sam Maguire. But they have the resources to improve and as McGuigan's arrival showed, they also have lots of talent in the dug-out.

- Eugene McGee

[Ban handed down to McGarrity assailant]

What do you think ? Would this lead to better discipline or chaos ?

Ban handed down to McGarrity assailant  


Crossmolina's Henry McLoughlin has been suspended for four weeks arising from an incident which left Mayo midfielder Ronan McGarrity with a fractured cheekbone.

The off-the-ball incident, which occurred during a stormy senior championship match between Crossmolina and Ballina on 5 July wasn't seen by referee John Hughes or any of his officials, but McLoughlin has been banned by the Mayo CCC after two independent witnesses identified him as McGarrity's assailant.

Mayo secretary Sean Feeney revealed that McGarrity was also implicated for his role in the incident by one of the witnesses, but the Mayo CCC had set a criteria whereby two witnesses are required to give information.
'The criteria we laid down was we had to have two (independent witnesses),' Feeney said.

'One of the independent witnesses said that there was an incident prior to that, between the two players. So they (McLoughlin and McGarrity) were both equally guilty at that stage but the second witness saw the apparent retaliation (only).'

Ballina's Eanna Casey also received a four-week ban from the CCC for an incident later in the game which left McLoughlin with a facial wound that required stitches. However, the Ballina player had his suspension lifted on appeal.

[Rules series off over Aussie cash concerns]

Rules series off over Aussie cash concerns


The International Rules series scheduled to take place later this year has been deferred because the Australian Football League cannot afford to tour.

The Australian Football League has informed the GAA that due to economic conditions in Australia, they will not be travelling to Ireland for the series in October.

The series was due to have comprised two Tests on successive weekends with the first taking place in Limerick on October 24 and the second in Croke Park on October 31.

GAA President Christy Cooney and Ireland's International Rules team manager Sean Boylan both expressed their disappointment at the AFL's decision.

Mr Cooney said: 'I suppose it's especially disappointing given that we are celebrating our 125th anniversary.

'But we have been in contact with the AFL over the past while and completely understand their situation. We have a written commitment from them that they will come to Ireland for the series in 2010, and the Gaelic Grounds and Croke Park will host those two games.'

Ireland manager Sean Boylan said that the deferral is a shame given the success of last winter's matches.

He said: 'It's very disappointing. There was such a great buzz created by last year's series that it would have been great to have the Aussies back in Ireland this year.'

The series took a financial hit in January this year when Coca Cola withdrew as sponsors of the Ireland team.

The cancellation of the series is also bad news for the economy. Limerick, scheduled to hold the opening Test in late October, had expected €10 million to be brought into the local economy by the match, although the deferred matches will be played at the same venues in 2010 as the cancelled 2009 games were meant to have taken place at.

The series has been be no stranger to controversy number of years with discipline and player recruitment by Australian agents and clubs both proving divisive in recent years.

Tyrone manager Mickey Harte has been a strong critic of the series and has in the past urged the GAA to cut all ties with Australian Football League.

However, it has been very popular with many current players, with Tyrone star Seán Cavanagh, who captained Ireland to victory in the 2008 series in Australia, among its high profile supporters.

Last year in the final, the game was over at half time. Can Waterford beat Kilkenny this time around ?? Will Davy try to rough them up again ?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8165928.stm



This looks interesting.

[The GAA are ripping up the pitch for the U2 concert and relaying it in time for the quarter finals. They're employing a contractor from the wee Black North and soil and grass specialists from Britain.]

The GAA are ripping up the pitch for the U2 concert and relaying it in time for the quarter finals. They're employing a contractor from the wee Black North and soil and grass specialists from Britain.



All-Ireland finals to be played on British soil as pitch torn up for U2


The scene at Croke Park as the final pieces of the pitch were ripped up by mechanical diggers after the Leinster final on Sunday


By Aidan O'Connor


Tuesday July 14 2009

THE All-Ireland football and hurling finals are to be played on British soil in Croke Park for the first time in the GAA's proud 125-year history.

The entire surface at Croke Park is being ripped up to facilitate U2's concerts next weekend but will be replaced by new sods sourced in England.

Croke Park is defending its decision to source all of the stadium's new sod from a specialist turf farm in Scunthorpe. But the stadium is coming under increasing pressure over its decision to depend almost exclusively on British companies to provide pitch advice, seed and turf.

A convoy of UK and Northern Ireland heavy machinery moved onto the pitch on Sunday to begin work on the €1.2m project.

The entire surface is being torn up and tonnes of sand are being spread across a bare surface to cater for the thousands of U2 fans expected to hit Croker next weekend.

A completely new surface will then be planted, farmed in the UK and jointly paid for by U2 and Croke Park.

Croke Park has hired Clive Richardson, a company based in Armagh, to do the contract work.

However, the stadium's decision to hire British consultants Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) to advise on the project has infuriated one Fianna Fail senator.

"I think this is symbolically a terrible signal for the GAA to be sending out. The GAA are our national sporting institution and Croke Park is our national stadium," said Senator Mark Daly.

"Given the history of the stadium and the pitch I think the GAA should be doing more to source sod from within Ireland rather than importing it. I'm not sure anyone involved in the GAA would be too comfortable with the notion of the All-Ireland finals being played on British soil," he added.

But Croke Park defended its decision last night and dismissed claims of matches being played on British spoil as "ill-informed".Opinion

Stadium Director Peter McKenna said: "We're not playing games on British soil. It's a strange way to look at it. We need to see the bigger picture. It's an ill-informed opinion."

Mr McKenna said that Ireland does not have the specialist turf farms or grass seed nurseries that can provide Croke Park with what it needs. Experts looked at three turf farms in the UK and one in Slovenia before it made its decision.

U2 have committed to paying 30pc of the €1.2m bill with Croke Park picking up the rest of the tab.

Cork have been training away quietly and seem to be coming good at the right time.



Galway hurled Clare off their own pitch last Saturday night.

If last year's match is anything to go by, this should be a cracker.


Any word on Galway's injury worries ??

This is a very hard one to call.

I'm tempted to go with Cork for this one. They've a lot to prove after the usual winter carry on that got out of hand and won't lack motivation. Galway I feel got it too handy against Clare and Cork's forward division will give them plenty to think about.