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There is a piece later on TV tonight previewing Sunday's match and reviewing the finals that went before.


I'm looking forward to it on the Sunday game later on.


Tipp to win by the narrowest of margins in an epic encounter next Sunday.

[Diarmuid O'Sullivan will never hurl again for club or county,]

Rock quits over helmet rule

Sunday July 05 2009

Diarmuid O'Sullivan will never hurl again for club or county, the Sunday Independent can reveal. To followers of Cork hurling, that may not be a big surprise, but his reason for making the decision will come as a shock to all. "At 30 years of age, a man should be able to make up his own mind whether or not he should have to wear a helmet."

A new rule making the wearing of a helmet compulsory comes into force next January, and this, remarkably, is the final straw for the former Cork full-back.

O'Sullivan played his last game for the Rebels in the All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Kilkenny last August and although an inter-county return appeared on the cards, the man known as 'The Rock' is putting his hurl down for good and embarking on a new sporting career with Highfield rugby club.

O'Sullivan's club, Cloyne, have been knocked out of the local championship and he is ready now to try something different, and helmet-free. "I've been very lucky with the lads in Highfield, they have been very good to me," says O'Sullivan. "We're in off-season at the moment but pre-season starts soon and I'm really looking forward to it."

Walking away from the game that made him a household name -- and from the team he soldiered with for so long with -- has not been easy for O'Sullivan, who admits he spoke to Cork manager Denis Walsh about a shock return to the panel.

"I sat down with Denis and we had a chat about the season ahead," he says. "After the game against Kilkenny last year, I didn't feel I could play again in the full-back line. I told him this and I asked him if I could play a role somewhere else on the field and he said he would think about it. Which he did and he was honest and said he didn't think there was.

"I sat back after the meeting with him and thought for a while, wondering if I would go back and give it a go in the full-back line. I took a few hours to think about it but I had made up my mind after the Kilkenny game that full-back was no more for me so I just had to stick by it."

O'Sullivan felt he still had something to offer Cork further forward and when he scored 3-5 for Cloyne in a championship match against St Finbarr's, others in the county felt likewise. But it wasn't to be. Soon, too, Cloyne's year was over.

"The last couple of weeks have been hard since we lost the club championship. Time is hard to fill, days are hard to fill, but I'll get there. The hardest thing for me since I gave up is that I used to be in contact with the lads all the time. We used to be great buddies but because of the decision I took I knew I had to distance myself from the them. Breaking away from the group and making a conscious decision that you are not part of this group anymore has been the hardest thing."

Of course, he had been through a lot with that group, on and off the field, and the latest posturing between the GPA and the GAA, which could well lead to another strike, does not surprise him. They appear now to be heading down a road all too familiar to O'Sullivan.

"I've been through three of them [strikes], sure I'm well used to it but I think this GPA 'strike' has been brewing for a while, even through in Nickey Brennan's time recognition was coming and coming, then Christy Cooney took over and it was being sorted and sorted and it just never has."

Now that he's removed from the inter-county scene, O'Sullivan says he has had time to really take in how much players put into the game, and this has reinforced his view that the GPA are doing the right thing. "I've always been a supporter of the GPA. I've always backed everything they have done. I think players have to have an official recognised body and they are not going to give up at this stage. Since it started back in 1998, it's just got stronger and stronger. The players need someone to represent them.

"Something is going to have to be done. I weighed up the options when I was thinking about retiring and I saw that nearly 26 hours a week would be spent training and if players can't get something back out of that . . .

"You can see all the money that's been pulled in, even the €19 million they made from the rugby and the soccer over the last couple of years.

"It's fine if you could see it being put in elsewhere but it's very hard for players at the moment to justify what they are doing."

As the economy crumbles in Ireland, the amateurs who play for their counties are feeling the pressure and O'Sullivan feels the GAA need to step up to the plate before it's too late. "There are a lot of lads unemployed, inter-county players who week in week out keep training, doing the best for their county. I think the GAA are going to have to act sooner rather than later.

"At the end of the day, I would ask the question: why are people going to watch matches? It's like going to Thomond Park or Old Trafford -- you're going to see the players or if you pay to go to a concert you are going to see someone perform."

O'Sullivan is sure there will come a time when players will have to get a set match fee and proper expenses. Being involved in the GAA for over a decade allows him the liberty of viewing the association without the rose-tinted glasses most spectators wear. He knows what it's like to put yourself on the line, to deal with highs and lows and to feel pressure. He also knows that it is something players won't put up with forever.

"I think without a doubt the strike could end up with players not playing. I've been to enough meetings throughout the years to know that and I think they are so well organised and structured at this stage it will come eventually. I think the GAA are taking a huge chance by pushing the lads as far as they are because at previous meetings I've been at it's only been the toss of a coin whether the lads would go on strike or not. If the GAA are going to keep pushing and pushing, there is only so much rope you can give a person and I think the lads are at the end of the rope at this stage."

O'Sullivan knows more than most the difficulties that standing up for something you believe in can cause. The most recent dispute between the hurling squad and the county board pitted O'Sullivan and his brother Paudie against their father, Jerry, the current board chairman.

"It was very difficult with my dad being in the position he is in but he understands what I believe in and I understand what he believes in," says O'Sullivan. "But apart from one interview with a certain outspoken man who got in trouble with his mouth a few times, it wasn't dragged into the media. To be honest, we didn't speak about it much. We had small conversations about it but never to a large extent. Neither of the two of us wanted to get in to a discussion about the rights and the wrongs of it so we just didn't.

"And there were rights and wrongs on both sides. Maybe if the time came around again certain people may have conducted their business differently and done things differently in certain aspects. But it's gone and it's done and what was said was said."

People have moved on now, and so has O'Sullivan, who has started coaching in Cloyne, with the U16s. His career was as colourful as it was successful, so much so that he is credited with being the cause of two rule changes in the GAA: the blood sub rule and the infamous interference with the helmet rule.

"It happened with Martin Comerford of Kilkenny," he laughs. "It was something Donal O'Grady mentioned to me. He told me Comerford is a good player but it takes only the slightest thing to put him off. He asked me to try and think of something you could do to put him off.

"I remember the very first high ball coming in and I could see the big long strap sticking out of his helmet. It was made for me so I just pulled it and he didn't know what was after happening, he was just scratching himself, he thought he was after getting a bite or some thing so I kept doing it and doing it, it was very funny. The next time we met Kilkenny they had all their helmets strapped up with tape, it was priceless."

Priceless indeed. Hurling's loss will be rugby's gain.

Some game lads !!! This will be a clinker.

Congrats to Dublin. Hopefully they can keep at it and take KK in the final.

This is something that has bothered me for a long time.

Why should the best seats in Croke Park, say middle of lower deck of the Cusack stand or Hogan stand ( or any other stadium for that matter ) be the exact same price as say section 701 row Z of the upper Cusack where the players are like dots and / or you can't even see the ball ??


Is it not time now to charge more for so called better quality seats and less for so called lesser quality seats ??


Most stadia and sports have this system ?.

I think supporters would be quite prepared to pay more for a better seat and would anticipate paying less for a seat that is in the clouds.

Ok it may lead to accusations about those with money getting better tickets etc but surely the current system isn't equitable either.

In addition, if someone in Croke Park is reading this, they might see this as a good way of charging another €10 for the so called better seats and thereby increasing the ticket receipts ?.

[Lawyer admits murder incitement]

Lawyer admits murder incitement 

Sandhu has been remanded in custody
A solicitor from Londonderry has pleaded guilty to inciting loyalist paramilitaries to murder.

Manmohan "Johnny" Sandhu, who appeared at Belfast Crown Court, also pleaded guilty to four charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The charges against Sandhu, 41, arose out of covert police recordings of his interviews with paramilitary suspects at Antrim police station.

Sandhu, of Colby Avenue, was remanded in custody until next Wednesday.

The charges against Sandhu arose from the attempted murder of taxi driver Jonathan Hillier in Newtownards in August 2005 and the murders of Jameson Lockhart and Andrew Cully.

An earlier court hearing was told that Sandhu, who practises out of offices in Limavady, incited members of the UVF to murder Newtownards taxi driver Jonathan Hillier as he recovered in hospital in August 2005 from a failed attempt on his life.

'Taken out'

The prosecution said Sandhu phoned an unknown person from the police station and indicated that Mr Hillier "should be taken out".

The lawyer also attempted to pervert the course of justice surrounding the investigation into the shooting.

In another secret recording Sandhu was overheard coaching Christopher Dinsmore, who was accused of murdering Jameson Lockhart.


  It is a conviction that should not be underestimated. It is noteworthy for a number of reasons, not least as it demonstrates that no-one is or should be above the law

Det Chief Supt Derek Williamson
Mr Lockhart was shot as he sat in a lorry on the Lower Newtownards Road in Belfast in July 2005 during a power struggle between the UVF and LVF.

Sandhu told his client how to explain how gloves with cartridge discharge residue came to be seized from his house.

According to transcripts read to the court, Sandhu initially suggested Mr Dinsmore joined a rifle club to explain the residue, and then he suggested that he say they belonged to murdered UDA boss Jim Gray.

Sandhu had originally entered a not guilty plea to the charges against him, but defence barrister Arthur Harvey QC asked if the solicitor could be re-arraigned on all six counts.

He pleaded guilty to five charges.

Due to the pleas, Mr Kerr agreed that one of the counts of perverting the course of justice should not be proceeded with.

Mr Harvey told the court there was no need in this case for pre-sentence reports but said there were a "number of matters" that still needed to be attended to.

He then asked that sentencing be deferred until next week before revealing that Sandhu would not be seeking bail.

The police officer in charge of the case, Detective Chief Superintendent Derek Williamson, said it was a very important conviction.

"It is a conviction that should not be underestimated. It is noteworthy for a number of reasons, not least as it demonstrates that no-one is or should be above the law."

Barry Finlay, President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland said the society had convened an urgent and special meeting of its Council to consider what actions to take in respect of Sandhu

Man killed after football trouble 

Trouble broke out after football matches involving Rangers and Celtic


A 49-year-old man has died after violence broke out in Coleraine following football matches involving Rangers and Celtic.

Kevin Brendan McDaid died on Sunday night after he was attacked in the Somerset Drive area.

The deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, said a "sizeable group of loyalists" were responsible for the killing and an earlier assault.

"They decided it was a good idea to attack a Catholic area," he said.

"I'm absolutely dismayed at this and I think at this very, very important time, it's important that people in the community identify those responsible and co-operate with the police to bring those murderers to justice," said Mr McGuinness continued.

The police have said they are treating an earlier assault, on a 46-year-old man in Pates Lane, as attempted murder.

The East Londonderry MP, Gregory Campbell, also condemned the murder.

"There has to be total condemnation of this killing as we would do for all other killings, no matter when or where they occurred or who the victims were," he said.

"There ought to be the fullest possible co-operation between everyone in the area and the police in order to bring those responsible to justice."

'Lynching'

SDLP assembly member John Dallat said he knew Mr McDaid's family well.

"This man was doing nothing more than going down to check on his sons and lost his life when this lynching mob from a different part of the town came along and rendered their form of justice.

"It's certainly lawlessness and it needs to addressed.

"The immediate emphasis should be on an inquiry.

"It must be thorough, it must be detailed, and we mustn't be discussing it years into the future," said Mr Dallat.

Rangers beat Dundee United 3-0 on Sunday to take the Scottish championship from their Glasgow rivals Celtic.

Just came across this on ticketmaster.



http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Kerry-tickets/artist/943446


Any thoughts ??

[CORK hurling legend Diarmuid O'Sullivan has called on the GAA to market its games more attractively, comparing the presentation of hurling and football championship games to the marketing of Munster rugby]

I'm going to try and kill two birds with the one stone here.

First off I'd like to pay tribute to Cork legend Diarmuid O'Sullivan, the Rock that many teams floundered on, a traditional, old style full back whose massive hits and controlling of the square marked out his career. He gave great service to Cork during a very successful and illustrious career. His final game against Kilkenny in lasy year's semi final was only of many great days he had in the Cork jersey.

Who will forget the thundering shoulder charges and the massive points from 100+ yards

Well done Diarmuid - you owe Cork nothing. One of my favourite players.


Second point - The Rock has called for hurling to be revamped in different facets. I'm copying a piece out of today's Examiner. What do you think ?






Retiring Rock calls for change
By Michael Moynihan

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

CORK hurling legend Diarmuid O'Sullivan has called on the GAA to market its games more attractively, comparing the presentation of hurling and football championship games to the marketing of Munster rugby.

O'Sullivan, who reveals his intercounty retirement in today's Irish Examiner, called on the GAA to review its own structures.

"A couple of weeks ago the GAA blew hundreds of thousands of euro up in their own fireworks in those 125th anniversary celebrations.

"I go to Newry in Down a bit, and other counties, and they're crying out for hurling development and ball alleys, for money to be pumped into hurling.

"It makes no sense to me to waste money like that when it can be put to better use.

"You go to Thurles and the music that's being played is from the forties, there's no craic in there, the atmosphere is dead.

"Go to a Munster rugby game – they're playing modern music, a guy is going around the field building up the buzz and the intensity, telling you when the teams are going to come out . . . the GAA has to act.
"The show that was put on in the Millennium Stadium before the Heineken Cup final last year was unbelievable. I came home from that and felt that if I were a young fella starting out, what would I want to be?

"The GAA needs to modernise: it's trying to nullify contact in the games, and it's not investing money where it should be."

O'Sullivan expanded on what he sees as the GAA's attempt to 'nullify contact' in the games, focusing on the experimental playing rules which were narrowly abandoned at this year's Congress.

"The new rules? They were football rules for hurling.

"The GAA seems to want to make hurling a non-contact sport, but when people go to a championship game they want to see that toughness, the hustle and bustle.

"Fellas are afraid to shoulder another player now because if they mistime it and catch him on the chest then they could get three months."

O'Sullivan also revisited the Semplegate affair two years ago, after which he, Donal Óg Cusack and Seán Óg O hAilpín were suspended following clashes with Clare players ahead of their Munster SHC clash in Semple Stadium.

"On Semplegate, I felt we were unbelievably harshly treated by the GAA that time. I felt we were left down.

"Credit to the Cork County Board, they backed us to the hilt, but we were very harshly treated.

"On the evidence we asked why John Gardiner was left off. 'Because he walked away' was the answer. Well, we all walked away. I gave a guy a shoulder; I did the same ten minutes into the game and it wasn't even a free.

"I think we were made an example of. Laois and Offaly belted each other the same day with hurleys, while we gave each other a few shoulders. Seán Óg O hAilpín was suspended but the lad he was involved with – who did the same as Seán Óg – walked away with nothing."

O'Sullivan won three All-Ireland senior hurling medals with Cork in 1999, 2004 and 2005, and also played senior football with the county in the 2002 Munster final and All-Ireland series.

RTÉ's economics editor George Lee is to seek the Fine Gael nomination for the Dublin South by-election.

Speaking on RTÉ radio's News at One, Mr Lee said he had been actively considering putting his name forward since the supplementary budget in April.

He also dismissed suggestions that he had engaged in any anti-Government bias while he was considering the move, and said he had reported accurately and fairly in RTÉ. The seat in Dublin South was left vacant by the death of former Fianna Fail TD Seamus Brennan.

AdvertisementOn RTÉ radio, Mr Lee accused the Government of catastrophic economic management and said it was time for people like him to get off the fence and see if they could make a difference. He said he was paying a big price in leaving RTÉ, but that it was not one he was paying to sit on the back benches. He said he wanted to ensure the country got better government than it was getting at present.

'Throughout the past 17 years I have been employed by RTÉ where I have been Economics Editor for most of that time. It has been a huge privilege and an honour to have performed this role,' Mr Lee said in a statement.

'Through news reports and current affairs documentaries and analysis on both television and radio I have spoken directly and impartially to people as clearly as I could. Always I have done my best to keep the public fully informed and up to date about the economy,' he added.

The GAA has reduced admission prices for Sunday's Allianz NFL finals at Croke Park.

Sunday's double-header involving Kerry and Derry in Division 1 and Monaghan and Cork in Division 2 will bring the curtain down on league football action following the Division 3 and 4 finals which take place a day earlier in Longford.

Tickets for Sunday's action at Croke Park are priced at €25 - €5 less than last year's final admission prices - and group passes are also available for these games.



Interesting move which is to be welcomed all round. Well done to the GAA for being in touch with their people and supporters on this issue.

I don't know if any of you were watching Sunday Sport tonight where they had an interview with Galway hurling manager John Mc Intyre in which he said the following :

Everybody thinks that Galway hurling is a whole lot better than it is -
Galway haven't won an AI in 20 years and it's time for a reality check.
Galway will not win anything of any significance in the short term.
Galway have a lot of work to do in order to even be competitive in the Leinster championship.

Michael Lyster said to Declan Ruth afterwards that John was actually saying that he had no confidence or belief in them.

Was he on the wind up, was he serious or a bit of both ?


Whatever he was, I think he's in for a short career as Galway manager after this. And it's only March.



Gutless was another word that was supposed to have been mentioned.

Speculation is mounting that some of the Offaly footballing panel are set to make themselves unavailable after their defeat at the weekend to Roscomon. Apparently there is to be a meeting tonight. Some players have lost faith in manager Richie O' Connor.


AZ - Can you add / take away from this ?.

It's only a week or two into the season and with the Cork hurling panel of 2008 becoming more entrenched and now the threats of action by Offaly footballers, where are we going and where might we end up ?.

Troubles victims' payment planned 
By Vincent Kearney
Home affairs correspondent 



The government will be asked to compensate families 
The government is to be asked to pay £12,000 to the families of all those killed during the Troubles - including members of paramilitary groups.

The families of paramilitary victims, members of the security forces and civilians who were killed will all be entitled to the same amount.

The payment is expected to be recommended by the group set up to advise on how to deal with the past.

The Consultative Group on the Past is to publish its report next week.

"As yet, I have not seen a copy of the group's recommendations but media reports on the issue are both disappointing and disturbing," said Northern Ireland's first minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson.

"The DUP has consistently opposed any equation between the perpetrator of crimes during the Troubles and the innocent victim.

"Terrorists died carrying out their evil and wicked deeds while innocent men, women and children were wiped out by merciless gangsters."

The SDLP's Alex Attwood said: "What has been reported today may be true or may be malicious but until we know, people should reserve judgement."

If the recommendation is accepted by the government, the cost would be an estimated £40m.

The group, co-chaired by Lord Eames and Denis Bradley, is expected to say there should be no hierarchy of victims and that everyone should be treated in the same way.

That would mean the family of the IRA Shankill bomber Thomas Begley would receive the same for his death as those of the families of the nine civilians he killed.

Likewise, the families of two UVF members killed while they planted a bomb that also killed three members of the Miami Showband in 1975 will be entitled to the same payment as those of the victims.

The Consultative Group on the Past is also expected to recommend the creation of a five year legacy commission, appointed by the British and Irish governments, to deal with the past - and to say there should be no further public inquiries.

The total cost of the proposals would be £300m, and the Irish government will be asked to make a significant contribution.

More than 3,000 people died during the Northern Ireland Troubles and the group was set up to find ways forward in dealing with that legacy.

[How unhealthy is a doner kebab?]

How unhealthy is a doner kebab?  WHO, WHAT, WHY?
The Magazine answers... 



Sliced "elephant leg", anyone?
The doner is a post-pub favourite - grease and salt being the main food groups craved by the squiffy. Yet it also offers vegetables, protein and carbohydrates. Is the pitta pocket a wise dietary choice?

After a few refreshing ales, the populace of this fair isle like to repair to the nearest purveyor of Mediterranean cuisine and partake of a traditional favourite - the doner kebab.

The doner - whose inventor Mahmut Aygun has passed away at the ripe old age of 87 - has had much bad press of late, with reports of questionable meat and hygiene practices, and stratospheric salt and fat levels.

Yet on the face of it, the doner could seem to be a healthier choice of takeaway, says Simon Langley-Evans, a professor of human nutrition at Nottingham University.

"As a meal it brings together lean meat, wholemeal pitta bread, and it brings in vegetables in the form of salad. But doner kebabs tend to come smothered in dressings, which bring in a lot of fat and salt."

Last year food scientists for Hampshire county council found that doner kebabs were the fattiest takeaways. One contained 140g of fat, twice the maximum daily allowance for women, and the calorific equivalent to a wine glass of cooking oil. And 60% of the kebabs tested were high in trans fat, which raises cholesterol levels.  THE ANSWER
Grilled lean meat, wholemeal pitta and salad are healthy choices
But dressings high in fat or salt are not
Nor is the meat used always lean - it may have added fat or be of questionable body parts

Then there is the question of portion size.

"These tend to be very large, and a doner kebab is usually consumed on top of a day's food as well as alcohol. It's additional food we just don't need."

In common with other takeaway foods, a large doner kebab can contain up to half of one's daily calorie requirements in a single serving, he says.

"People go for value for money. If they got a small portion, they would be disappointed and wouldn't go back to that kebab shop. So the takeaway industry is geared to deliver large portions."

Mediterranean diet

The doner kebab is claimed to have been invented 40 years ago by Mr Aygun, who left Turkey aged 16 to feed Berlin's migrant workers. Like the Earl of Sandwich before him, he realised that food on the go was at its handiest when stuffed into bread. 
Strip lighting? Check. Late at night? Check. The kebab's adopted habitat

Kebab meat - roast lamb and spices - is traditionally served with rice and salad on a plate, and its constituent parts are drawn from the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet.

But such a dish requires time, space and cutlery to eat. So in 1971 Mr Aygun tipped the meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and garlic dressing into a pitta pocket. And lo, the doner kebab - named after the Turkish word "dondurmek", meaning rotating roast - was born.

The concept took off, and became a popular snack for anyone keen on portable eats - notably late-night revellers.

While Mr Aygun's Hasir restaurant prides itself on fresh ingredients and quality meat, the doner kebab's image has drifted decidedly downmarket.  WHO, WHAT, WHY?

A regular part of the BBC News Magazine, Who, What, Why? aims to answer some of the questions behind the headlines

The hand-carved rotating roast that has been part of Turkish cuisine for nigh on a century has become tarnished by the mass-produced "elephant legs" - minced-up cuts of indeterminate meat - rotating in greasy takeaways up and down the UK.

Research by the UK's Food Standards Agency in 2006 found that 18.5% of doner takeaways posed a "significant" threat to public health, and 0.8% posed an "imminent" threat.

And Trading Standards officers have found doners with up to 22% fat, and up to 12g of salt - that's two heaped teaspoons, double the recommended daily intake.

"But the majority of [British] people who eat doner kebabs are somewhat inebriated and so are not best placed to make decisions about healthy eating," says Professor Langley-Evans

[A member of an Garda Siochana, Whelan had apparently received several blows to the head, before officials from both club's intervened, bringing to an end an incident]

Same old story - first we had Paddy Russell and now some poor ref in Wexford - when is this going to end ?.


Wexford ref allegedly assaulted

Tuesday, 30 December 2008 11:46
Two Glynn-Barntown under-age football players face lengthy bans as the result of an alleged assault on a leading referee.

Inter-County referee Sean Whelan was the victim of a vicious attack at the end of the Glynn-Barntown v St Anne's (Rathangan) Wexford Division 1 Minor Football Championship semi-final at Killurin on Sunday last.

Whelan had blown for full-time at the end of a close and exciting game which St Anne's won by the minimum, 1-9 to 2-5, when he was attacked by two Glynn-Barntown players receiving blows to the head which left him stunned and in a state of shock.

A member of an Garda Siochana, Whelan had apparently received several blows to the head, before officials from both club's intervened, bringing to an end an incident that brought shame to the two players involved, their club and the GAA in the county.

Speaking of his ordeal, Whelan said: 'On the final whistle of what was a close and sporting game, in which just four yellow cards were issued, I was set upon by two Glynn-Barntown players. It came totally out of the blue.

'I received several blows to the head, which left me stunned and shaken. It could have been far worse but for the intervention of officials from both club's who came to my assistance.

'Given that it was a county semi-final and a local derby involving two sides from the Wexford District, I ensured that I had my own four umpires with me.

'I gave the game the importance it deserved. But the assault took me totally by surprise. This has no place in the GAA at any level.'

Whelan went on to say: 'I know the identity of both players. I cannot identify them to the media but they will be included in my match report. It's then up to the Under-Age County Board to decide on appropriate action.'

New Wexford Coiste na nOg Secretary, Marian Doyle, said they (Coiste Board) had spoken with the referee.

'We are still awaiting his match report. We cannot elaborate further but this is a serious matter. It's something that cannot be condoned. Whatever action is necessary will be taken.'

So far I've got 2 copies of Paddy Russell's book. They must have ben gpong cheap. The cover on the book is enough to make me sick.

[What next 11 a side ??]

What next 11 a side ??

GAA considers introducing the mark


The 'mark' could be beneficial for Gaelic football, a GAA official has announced.

The GAA's Head of Games Pat Daly believes there are two specific areas that need to be addressed in Gaelic games: the 'mark' and also a possible limit on the number of hand passes allowed.

Daly said: 'The traditional skills of the game should be rewarded, should be perpetuated.

'In essence, you are talking about two potential changes - the mark and a restriction of hand passing.'

The issue of the mark was broached at Meath's convention last Sunday and the issue is expected to gather pace after Dalys' comments.

Before the issue can go any further, and possibly go before Congress, it will need to redrafted for a January convention.

[Meanwhile, offers to buy the shoes are being made around the Arab world, reports say]

How much would you pay for these shoes ?


The brother of the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush has said that the reporter has been beaten in custody.


Mr Zaidi threw his shoes at Mr Bush at a news conference, calling him "a dog".

Meanwhile, offers to buy the shoes are being made around the Arab world, reports say.

Dargham al-Zaidi told the BBC that his brother deliberately bought Iraqi-made shoes, which were dark brown with laces. They were bought from a shop on al-Khyam street, a well-known shopping street in central Baghdad.


The shoes themselves are said to have attracted bids from around the Arab world.

According to unconfirmed newspaper reports, the former coach of the Iraqi national football team, Adnan Hamad, has offered $100,000 (£65,000) for the shoes, while a Saudi citizen has apparently offered $10m (£6.5m).

Any offers

Tyrone chief blasts players' body 

Pat Darcy says the GPA is a divisive element within the GAA
Tyrone chairman Pat Darcy has launched a blistering attack on the Gaelic Players' Association.

In his annual report to the county's convention, Darcy labelled the players' union as intolerant and divisive.

"Freedom of speech is shouted down and those who hold different views are demonised," said Darcy.

Darcy's comments will be seen as hugely controversial as many Tyrone players are in the GPA, including top star Sean Cavanagh who is the group's secretary.

The GPA was founded in 1999 and claims to have an inter-county membership of almost 1,900 players.

The organisation's work involves looking after players' welfare and rights.

Gaelic football is an amateur sport but inter-county players are eligible for grants in a new scheme funded by the Irish government.

The whole issue of paying players has always been a huge talking point within GAA circles with those in authority appearing sensitive to the role of the GPA.

Tyrone chief Darcy accused the players' body of reacting to questions about the GPA by shouting them down with "vitriolic and personal diatribe."

He added: "Intimidation and intolerance is the GPA's cosh.

"Views and opinions which differ from their own are subjected to ridicule and confrontation.

"The message is- if you disagree with us you had better look out.

"County managers are called to meetings and told to keep their mouths shut.

"There is a name for this - totalitarianism."