The month of September 2024 will indefinitely remain etched in the memories of Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly for their outstanding performance at the Paralympics, where they clinched both gold and silver medals, and ended by securing an additional two gold medals at the world road championships held in Zürich. As a bonus, Eve McCrystal and Josephine Healion bagged the bronze medal, providing the contest an unmistakable Irish presence. In her statement, Dunlevy expresses her extreme delight at this achievement, another crown in her career abundant with medals. Shane Stokes covers this extra special day for the 42-year-old athlete.
In the domain of Gaelic games, Ciarán Murphy anticipates the forthcoming four interprovincial “sandbox” matches at Croke Park next month that will display the Football Review Committee’s suggested amendments to rules. Alongside, Gordon Manning reports on a massive boost for Gaelic games with the allocation from the Community Sport Facilities Fund amounting to €230 million.
In the same vein, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) is desperately in need of such a boost. Gavin Cummiskey outlines their endeavour to obtain an annual €10 million government grant to assist their club academy system.
Meanwhile, in the rugby world, John O’Sullivan has a word with Leinster’s Jordan Larmour, who recalls with glee his injury-free season last year. He also speaks with Andrew Goodman, the new backs coach for Ireland, before the next week’s Emerging Ireland tour to South Africa. Simultaneously, Gerry Thornley engages in a dialogue with Railway Union captain Niamh Byrne before the commencement of the new All-Ireland League campaign.
Lastly, Johnny Watterson dissects the most recent report from the Irish Rugby Injury Surveillance project, underlining that concussion was the most frequent injury experienced by Irish Schools Senior Cup players. Shockingly, similar injuries were a significant issue in American football, with the grim revelation from Dave Hannigan that eight high school players lost their lives in the first month of the season. Head hits, heat stroke, and cardiac events were identified as the primary causes. “An inherent part of the crazed game,” he remarks.
Philip Reid is set to provide previews for the Spanish Open where local golfer, Jon Rahm, is aiming to clinch his fourth title on home turf. Concurrently, Brian O’Connor provides a commentary on Flooring Porter’s impressive victory at the Kerry National in Listowel, which took place on Wednesday. In his words, “leading from the start and maintaining that position” seems to be the winning strategy.
As for televised golf, the Presidents Cup is poised to commence in Montreal today. This biennial event pits the United States against an international team. The entire event can be caught on Sky Sports Golf from 6pm to 11pm. In addition, copious Europa League matches will be broadcast on Premier Sports and TNT Sports all afternoon and evening. This includes the noteworthy match-up of Spurs against Azerbaijan’s Qarabağ, which is scheduled to take place at 8.0.