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The full forward line scored 2-17 per RTE

Kobe plays with such freedom. Awesome footballer

Kobe will be a huge loss,  not just to Mayo, but to  the game.

I hope his stay in  Australia isn't a long one. He has the  potential to be a superstar

If he spends 6 years at St Kilda he'll be 24.  He could return to Mayo...

Andy Moran on Kobe before the League

"He has his Leaving Cert coming up and you want to let him enjoy himself without putting too much of an emphasis on the whole structure because the talent is there, no doubt about it, he's a phenomenal talent.

"I think you just have to try and let him enjoy it as much as he can and whatever benefit then comes for Mayo all the better."

Louth haven't scored in the second half. 13 points down.

Is Kobe away before the final?

I couldn't see it, could you?

I think it's after.

3rd goal. Loftus

Never won Leinster. Never won Sam.
This is massive.

The TUV join the Casement debate


https://x.com/TUVonline/status/2075623525314973806

How did England miss out on France star Michael Olise?
Rejected by Chelsea's and Manchester City's academies as a teenager, Olise has lit up the World Cup as part of a dazzling French side
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Rob Draper
Thu Jul 09 2026 - 08:15
•
6 MIN READ

If Michael Olise wins the World Cup, there will be a corner of a Hayes housing estate that is forever France. It is Olise's corner, a scrap of parkland grass among the west London suburban homes where a seven-year-old practised his football with his brother, Richard.

"Football in these conditions, it's just freedom," Olise told L'Équipe last month. "It's not really learning in the strict sense. It was simply the pleasure of playing football. I just loved it."

Sean Conlon, one of Olise's early coaches with Old Isleworthians in west London, recalls: "I would go over to his house and he would be practising outside with Richard. That little estate probably really aided him; there weren't a lot of cars but it had a lot of concrete open space and then a small green. He'd just be practising out here all the time, obsessed with football."

Fast forward 10 years and Olise was at Reading, having been rejected by Chelsea's and Manchester City's academies. Brendan Flanagan was the academy scout who recruited him for the Championship side and recalls a game he watched.


"We were playing Sparta Prague in the European Under-21 Cup," Flanagan says. "I got there at half‑time. Michael was about 17 and on the bench. I sat in front of [the former Crystal Palace and West Ham player] Hayden Mullins, who used to work for us and who I got on well with. Michael came on with 17 minutes to go. Within five minutes Hayden leaned over to me and said: 'Who the f**k is that?!' I just started laughing. And Hayden said: 'Come on then, tell me, where did you find this one?' So I explained the story ..."

Which takes us back to Conlon and that housing estate in Hayes. Because it isn't just a mystery tale of how Chelsea and City let Olise, one of the outstanding stars of the World Cup and a Ballon d'Or contender, slip through their clutches. It is also the story of how and why he never represented England despite being born there and coming up through the English system.



"When I first saw him play for Hayes when he was six what stood out was his physical movement," says Conlon. "He glides around the pitch: very graceful, perfect co-ordination, everything effortless. The way he moves today was how he moved when he was six. That's something he's been born with. People say he's the best player England has ever developed."

Conlon had coached at Chelsea, and as soon as Olise was old enough, at nine, he was swept up into the club's academy. His talent was still evident because City took him on – he was in Cole Palmer's year group and a year behind Phil Foden – yet they also released him, at 16. At which point he returned to Conlon, who runs an academy called We Make Footballers. Olise was looking desperately for a pro club when a contact of Flanagan recommended him.

"There was a lot of scepticism from various members of staff at Reading that he would be a bad egg," says Flanagan. "[They said]: 'He's been released by Chelsea, by Man City. We shouldn't be bringing him in. He'll be a problem.' I said: 'Look, let's just get the kid in and make our decision.'"

Conlon concurs. "All the other scouts were: 'He's just come out of Manchester City, he's just come out of Chelsea, why have they not kept him on?' They were half and half. They could see him and say: 'Why are we not taking this talent?' But Reading were the ones that committed."

Olise had to travel to Reading from London for training, but the club would arrange for a shuttle bus to pick up the London trainees from the station to drive them to the training ground. "On his first day I got a call from him at the station and he was asking: 'Where do I need to pick the bus up please?'" Flanagan says. "I directed him to the shuttle bus but everything was 'please' and 'thank you' and I thought to myself: 'This ain't a bad kid. He's just a kid who's a bit misunderstood, different.'

"And we never had a problem with him. He wasn't ever a bad lad. He was always an intelligent, quiet lad who just expressed himself a bit differently. What wasn't right for them [City and Chelsea] ... well, we're just little old Reading. We can work with these kids."


Olise progressed quickly to Reading's under-21s, where Flanagan and Mullins saw him play against Sparta Prague. "He was absolutely unbelievable that day," says Flanagan. "Hayden and I shook hands at the end and said: 'This kid will play for the first team by the end of the season.'

"A few weeks later, Olise was asked to make up numbers in first‑team training by the then manager, José Gomes. "That Saturday he was on the bench and he made his debut soon after. The manager obviously saw him and thought: 'This kid is unbelievable.'"

As for England, they never came calling. Olise himself is respectful of all the countries in which he has roots. His mum, Mina, is French Algerian and his dad, Vincent, is British Nigerian. "I actually come from four countries," he told the Bayern Munich website last season. "France, Algeria, Nigeria and Great Britain. I consider myself very lucky to possess these four parts, which all enrich me.

"I've developed attachments in all my countries. When I was growing up in London, we regularly visited Algeria, Nigeria and France. My dad always spoke English with me at home, my mum, French."

France captain Kylian Mbappé (right) celebrates a goal against Sweden during the Round of 32 game with team-mate Michael Olise. Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
France captain Kylian Mbappé (right) celebrates a goal against Sweden during the Round of 32 game with team-mate Michael Olise. Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
He wasn't on England's radar as a teenager. "We weren't as attractive a club," says Flanagan. "It's slightly changed now, but back then, for England, generally, you had to come from Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal.

"France reached out to us and we spoke to Michael. I think they were given information that there was a French connection. They were the first one who selected him [for the under-18s] and, even though England came in for him for the under-20s, he was happy where he was."


To be fair, England were in the midst of a golden generation of talent, fuelled by the reform of club academies which began in 2012 and now provides the bedrock of the England team. In Olise's immediate age group were Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke, with Jude Bellingham and Germany's Jamal Musiala, then at Chelsea and playing for England, the year below.

Premier League academies have educated the world; it must be frustrating for the English Football Association that the best creative player at the World Cup was born in England and yet is playing for France. Olise has provided more assists – five – than anyone else at the tournament.

"Could I see he would reach the levels that he's reached?" asks Flanagan. "I don't think anyone could. Some kids do look like they might be a Ballon d'Or contender at 16 and then kind of level out. But Michael was on a trajectory that went up and up and up, and he still hasn't levelled off. He just seems to be getting better and better. He's always had a picture in his head, saw things quicker than anyone else and had the ability to find a way to make the pass. But he's just gone to another level."

"It's crazy," says Conlon. "With the under-8s, we say to the kids: 'One day you're going to win the World Cup. One day you're going to win the Champions League.' This is why you have to have these standards. You preach it and now we've actually had someone go and do it."

All of which leaves a small dilemma for Olise's childhood mentors. What to do if England meet France in the World Cup final? "I'm going to be sat on the fence," says Flanagan. "I want Michael to do well, but I want England to win as well. So I probably won't watch the game and stay out of the way."

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/deputy-first-minister-insists-she-saw-no-signs-jeffrey-donaldson-was-a-danger-or-sexual-predator/a/158579215.html

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly has said she doesn't know why an alleged victim of Jeffrey Donaldson said she warned her about the disgraced former DUP leader being a "danger."

It comes after a woman, who was once described by Ian Paisley Jr as "victim" of Donaldson, showed the Belfast Telegraph Facebook messages between her and a friend in 2020.

In the correspondence, the female, who is not one of the two women Donaldson was found guilty of abusing, claimed Ms Pengelly had cautioned her about the disgraced ex-DUP leader.

The deputy First Minister broke her silence on the claims in an interview with UTV.

Ms Pengelly said that she "absolutely" did not witness any disturbing behaviour by Donaldson.

She said: "I have looked back over that period of time. I cannot be clearer. Look, I can't speak for this woman. I can't explain what she was thinking whenever she said that.


"These are not my words but what I can say absolutely clearly... absolutely clearly is I seen absolutely nothing.

"I witnessed nothing at that time that gave me any cause of concern. I was not told anything about Jeffrey Donaldson that gave me any cause of concern.



"So in 2020, I did not believe that Jeffrey Donaldson was a danger to anyone. And if I had thought that he was a danger to anyone, not only would I have told people, but I would not have been friendly with Jeffrey Donaldson."

Ms Pengelly said she was shocked at what had been revealed.

"I feel really sick even saying his name because of that betrayal," she told UTV news.


"I did not know that this man was a sexual predator. I did not know that this man was a predator towards children.



"It is absolutely against every value that I would have if I'd known that and would not have gone to the police, would not have immediately severed all and any contact with this person."

In December of 2020, the young woman became angry when Ms Little-Pengelly posted "Happy Birthday Sir Jeff. Hope you had a lovely day!" on the then Lagan Valley MP's Facebook timeline.

The post was accompanied by a photograph of Emma Little-Pengelly, Donaldson and Arlene Foster, with Ms Little-Pengelly tagging Mrs Foster, who was DUP leader at the time.

The woman vented her anger at Ms Little-Pengelly's online post.

"I've tried with Emma but that's annoyed me tonight like," the message read.

"She's the one telling me he's a danger to me like and she's on wishing him happy bloody birthday shoes (sic) how highly she thinks of me going and doing that."

In earlier correspondence, the woman expressed her diminishing faith in the DUP.

 "[Ms Little-Pengelly] is so protective over me lol like when ***** shouted at me she was like going to tear his hair out lol so I just don't even wanna tell her," a text from April 2020 read.

The following month, the young woman wrote: "I've just lost all complete faith in politics totally disillusioned. Like I'm loyal to the party, but like I mean honestly just so let down with Jeffrey etc."


Ms Little-Pengelly told UTV the revelations in the Donaldson trial were "absolutely shocking" as she said she never had any reason to believe he was an abuser.

"Up until his arrest, I didn't see anything that I would have given me any rise for concern in terms of him being a sexual offender, of him being a paedophile," Ms Little-Pengelly said.

 
"I was not told anything by anybody that would have given me any sense of that whatsoever. So this has been absolutely shocking."

No reason is given as to why Ms Little-Pengelly — as the young woman claimed — would allegedly believe Donaldson was "a danger" to her in the chain of messages seen by this newspaper

In communication with her friend, the young woman does not state she had shared her experience of Donaldson sending her unwanted messages with the deputy First Minister.


When initially contacted the DUP regarding the woman's claims, the party referred the Belfast Telegraph to Ms Little-Pengelly's legal team.

A statement from WP Tweed solicitors said: "We are instructed to inform you that our client categorically denies that she articulated that Mr Donaldson was a 'danger' to anyone.

"It is our client's emphatic position that she appears to have been entirely misrepresented in correspondence to which she was a complete stranger."

Who are going to win over the next 5 years ?

Cork
"Do Cork have 10 other players who were better than the ones who were part of the match day squad on Saturday? No. Five? Probably not.The problem for Cork now is that their best players have suffered so many big-game defeats at this stage that you wonder now if those wounds will ever heal. Robert Downey, for example, has lost All-Ireland finals at minor and under-20 level as well as three senior finals."

Kilkenny
"They just don't have the players right now," Keating says of Kilkenny. "When you look at the underage over the last few years, where are the standout players? They haven't been doing it at underage."
Kilkenny last won an All-Ireland minor title in 2014. They were under-20 champions in 2022 but that is their only All-Ireland triumph at that grade in the last 17 years."

Limerick
"The worrying part for Limerick is that, at age-grade level, their results have fallen off a cliff. Since they reached the 2022 under-20 All-Ireland final, they have played 15 games in that grade and won just three of them. This year, they have lost their first three games in the Munster round robin and look destined to finish bottom of the group".
 

Tipp, Galway and Clare have decent underage

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/jeffrey-donaldson-remains-in-isolation-in-hospital-unit-of-maghaberry-prison/a/158515997.html

Former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson remains in the hospital unit of Maghaberry Prison, isolated from the main inmate population.

Over two weeks after he was found guilty of 18 child sex abuse offences at Newry Crown Court, Donaldson is still in Moyola House, the 19-bed special care wing.

Donaldson is considered to be at high risk of attack within the main prison population due to the nature of his conviction.

As a convicted prisoner he is entitled to two visits a month, separate to legal visits and consolations, but can avail of virtual visits, which were introduced during Covid lockdown.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson  © PA Radar

The video calls are monitored by staff, who watch the image but do not listen into the audio.

Donaldson has had an in-person visit from a relative since being locked up and a virtual visit with his wife Eleanor, who was found to have aided and abetted his offending during a trial of the facts.

Sources say he has been mainly keeping to himself, and has had a visit from the prison's Protestant chaplain.

He will be returned to court on September 25 for a submissions hearing, when reports and victim impact statements will be presented to the judge, with his sentence expected to be handed down a week after that.

If he intends to appeal the conviction he has 28 days after the passing of his sentence in which to lodge an appeal.

Read moreDUP reveals who will lead independent review into Jeffrey Donaldson - as party says former leader 'abused various positions of power'

Meanwhile, the DUP has confirmed the party's independent review into Donaldson's time as a member will be led by safeguarding expert Jim Gamble.

The Belfast Telegraph reported a week ago that Gamble had been approached to head up the review.

Calls had been intensifying for Gavin Robinson's party to answer questions about the behaviour of their former leader.

A woman has made a complaint to police that Donaldson sexually assaulted her in the DUP office at Westminster in 2016.

The party said on Thursday: "The DUP has commissioned this focused independent review to establish what, if any, information was known within the party about his conduct, to examine its safeguarding and reporting arrangements, and to make recommendations to ensure good practice for all its members and staff.
The review will be carried out by a specialist multi-disciplinary team from the iNEQE Safeguarding Group, drawing on their safeguarding, child protection and policing expertise.

"The review will be led by Mr Jim Gamble. The review will be conducted entirely independent of the DUP."

Mr Gamble is a former senior police officer who headed up Special Branch in Belfast before moving on to child protection.

The DUP said the terms of reference will be:

Conduct an independent review to establish what (if any) information was known within the DUP concerning allegations of inappropriate conduct relating to safeguarding by Jeffrey Donaldson. This will include who knew, when and from whom they learned it, the form in which it arose (eyewitness, formal complaint, disclosure, concern, rumour or warning), and what action was or was not taken.
Provide an independent and confidential facility for party members to come forward with related information, concerns or experiences relating to Jeffrey Donaldson during his time in the DUP.
Examine and review the DUP's safeguarding processes (including reporting mechanisms) and make recommendations to ensure good practice is followed by all members and staff.
The DUP said it "acted immediately" when Donaldson was first charged.

It added: "We believe in the rule of law and that justice must be obtained through our courts.

"We stand with the victims of his abuse and we salute their bravery and courage for speaking out.

"Regardless of the crime, we will always be on the side of the victim and as a society, we must do everything possible to encourage those who have been abused to come forward to the police and seek justice through our court system.

"As a consequence of his actions, Jeffrey Donaldson must now feel the full force of the law. He stands guilty of abusing and betraying the trust placed in him by many people over the years, including good honest colleagues in both our party and the Ulster Unionist Party as well as the wider community.

"While the DUP never received any report or complaint regarding improper behaviour or criminal behaviour, it is now clear, beyond doubt, that Jeffrey Donaldson abused various positions of power over many years from 1985 onwards and covered up his vile and manipulative behaviour.

"The work of the review has now commenced and the party does not intend to give a running commentary on it whilst it is ongoing respecting the fundamental independent nature of it

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/moygashel-bonfire-set-alight-early-as-psni-launched-major-operation-to-remove-hate-display/a/158530669.html

The Moygashel bonfire in Co Tyrone, which contained a replica mosque, has been set alight early.

A small rally was held in the village by residents at around 10pm.

Shortly after 11:30pm a decision was taken to set the bonfire alight after reports contractors were to move in on the site.

Tipperary and Limerick have football parishes. Waterford and Kilkenny are virtually covered by the hurling area. Waterford are very weak in football. They beat Tipperary for the first time in 36 years 2 years ago. First win in Munster since 2010

 https://youtu.be/r21GCLjPbjI?is=_DblLIuqNQ5DIQB-

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/2026/07/09/ringmahon-rangers-given-five-year-ban-from-fai-cup-for-failing-to-fulfil-fixture-against-bohs/

Ringmahon Rangers have been banned from the FAI Cup for five years and fined €5,000 by the FAI for handing Bohemians a walkover of their second round cup tie later this month.

In a hefty punishment, the Cork club have also been banned from the FAI Intermediate Cup for the next three years, a competition in which Ringmahon have been runners-up in each of the last two seasons.

Ringmahon were paired with Bohemians in the second round draw, with the game fixed for Sunday, July 19th owing to Bohemians' Conference League tie against St Joseph's three days earlier. Ringmahon had home advantage, but with their home ground ruled unsuitable to host the tie, they initially sought to move the game to Turner's Cross.

When they learned that Turner's Cross was unavailable on that date, they explored moving the game to Cobh, before deciding to withdraw from the game altogether. The club said they were worried about a reduced attendance because of Cobh's distance from their home ground, along with the fixture clashing with the World Cup final and Cork's potential appearance in the All-Ireland hurling final.