Lee Carsley, after a long attempt to court him, announced on Wednesday that he will not be accepting the position as the head for Irish football, leaving the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) in a state of unprocessed affection. The successor to Stephen Kenny is yet to be known, although speculation surrounds John O’Shea who is currently serving as interim manager, focusing on the upcoming games against Belgium and Switzerland. However, the FAI received some positive news this week when Sky confirmed a four-year partnership to sponsor the men’s team shirts.
In the domain of Gaelic sports, the Murphy brothers spent an eventful day at Pearse Stadium. Despite Galway’s football and hurling teams’ disappointing performances on their eldest brother’s 50th birthday, they had a good time. Their choice to bring their own sandwiches displayed a gradual incidence of maturity. Tomás Ó Sé, in conversation with Ian O’Riordan, expressed lack of concern if his tenure as Kerry under-20’s manager was to end, has no immediate aspiration to shift to senior management, though he remains open to possibilities. Denis Walsh, in a less cheerful stance, reported on the sentencing hearing of Kyle Hayes following the hurler’s conviction on two charges of violent disorder in Limerick city in 2019.
Turning to rugby, with the completion of the men’s Six Nations, Johnny Watterson analyses the forthcoming challenges for the provinces in the URC and Champions Cup. Daire Walsh also interviewed Sam Monaghan, the Irish co-captain, prior to the women’s Six Nations opener against France on Saturday.
Lastly, as the Premier League of Darts visits Dublin’s 3Arena, Gordon Manning chats with Radek Szagański, the Cork bus driver originally from Poland. Szagański was the first player outside the top eight Premier League members to defeat Luke Littler following his distinguished performance at the World Championships.
In the realm of horse racing, Aidan O’Brien divulged his intentions for City Of Troy to Brian O’Connor. Deemed as the most exhilarating and pricey racehorse currently on the earth. In fact, he might emerge as “the best” that O’Brien has had the opportunity to train in his career of 28 years at the globally recognized training academy. This is definitely a bold assertion.
Switching the continents to America, Dave Hannigan discusses in his America at Large column about American football athletes at college level who have, at last in 2021, begun to earn a slice of the wealth generated by the sport. This happened despite significant opposition, as they had been contributing tremendously to the sport but were not monetarily rewarded until recently.
On the TV front, Seamus Power will be seen competing today at the Valspar Championship in Florida scheduled to be aired on Sky Sports Golf from 11.30am till 10pm. Also, darts fans have a reason to rejoice as the Premier League is headed to Dublin’s 3Arena tonight. The lineup includes the reigning champion, Michael van Gerwen, as well as the young superstar, Luke Littler, and will be broadcasted on Sky Sports Action from 7pm till 11pm.