#ballymena-rfc

#ballymena-rfc

Next month marks the 15th anniversary of that surreal Sunday when James Horan made his first summer statement as Mayo manager. The start of a riotous, roller-coaster decade embracing seven All-Ireland finals, one draw, six defeats and an infinity of 'what ifs'.

Holywood Golf Club, overlooking Belfast Lough, is where Rory McIlroy took flight in his golf career. The club's history and significance in Northern Ireland are profound, connecting families and generations through the game.

"You are playing in front of a sold-out crowd at Allianz, you have just won a World Cup, and the next minute you are back playing over the road in front of a slither of the amount of people."

Keira Barry has received her first senior England call-up after being added to Sarina Wiegman's squad for Women's World Cup qualifiers against Spain and Iceland.

Ireland are Triple Crown winners for the 15th time thanks to a 12th consecutive win over Scotland, whose long search for success in Dublin will stretch into its 18th year before they get another chance to end their dismal record.

Michael McArdle's first game as NI manager will take place at the home of Irish Premiership side Glenavon against Malta on Tuesday, 14 April. They will then travel to Malta for the second of April's double-header on Saturday, 18 April. NI will make the trip to Turkey on Friday, 5 June for their final away game before their final home game against Switzerland on Tuesday, 9 June which will also be played at the Lurgan venue.

Nathan Collins is having a good season. Captain of both Brentford and the Republic of Ireland, Collins is dreaming of Europe with his club and the World Cup with his country. Despite losing long-time manager Thomas Frank and strikers Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa in the summer, Brentford go into the weekend seventh in the Premier League.

In one of sport's weirder coincidences, England are about to play must-win games against Scotland in both rugby and cricket on the same day. The forecast 3C temperatures for the Calcutta Cup encounter may be cooler than in Kolkata appropriately the venue for the T20 World Cup group fixture but a white-hot contest inside a chilly Murrayfield can be absolutely guaranteed.

No. It's out of our hands really. We can only do a certain amount. It's a game for us to play against an opponent that's had the upper hand on us for years. We're playing them away from home. They've got a brilliant record at home. It's a challenge but a real opportunity for us to go and deliver an even better performance than we did last week.

The glamorous brunette was on The Late Late Show GAA special on Friday night. The Sam Maguire was in the middle of the foyer. She said everyone was walking up to it, touching it, getting photos.

Connor Parsons of Bohemians, right, celebrates with teammates Dayle Rooney, left, and Patrick Hickey after scoring their side's first goal during the SSE Airtricity Premier Division match against Shamrock Rovers at Dalymount Park.

The template for beating England in their own backyard was laid out by head coach Andrew Browne and his Irish U-20 charges as they stunned their fancied hosts in front of 13,000 at the Rec in Bath.

Delighted for Christopher that this has finally went through. Thanks to all the people at the FAI for their help and support during this process. With Atherton used as the 'poster boy' for the Euro 2028 campaign, this announcement could be considered a big blow for Northern Ireland.

Ballygunner cemented their place among the upper echelons of club hurling with their second All-Ireland crown despite not hitting top gear in a 1-20 to 1-14 victory over Galway kingpins Loughrea in Croke Park this afternoon.

Northern Ireland face Italy in a World Cup play-off semi-final in March and then either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina in a final or friendly, depending on the result in Bergamo. O'Neill is expected to be involved for both matches and, if Northern Ireland qualify against the odds, for the World Cup finals. The 56-year-old could then take over as manager at Blackburn, who are in the Championship's relegation zone, on a permanent basis.

I'd like to say skills, but that has to be a wider project at provincial level where the standard of handling has dropped to an alarming level.

Winter Olympics Tanya Aldred, Billy Munday and James Wallace buckle up for day 15 of these compelling Games, which brings the prospect of a British curling gold medal. Bruce Mouat and his rink of Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan and Bobby Lammie face Canada in the final (6.05pm-9. 20pm) looking to upgrade the silver they won in Beijing four years ago. Other highlights include the opening two heats of the four-man bobsleigh (9am and 10.57am),

They say sport and politics don't mix. Last week's draw placing Ireland alongside the Israel national football team in the UEFA Nations League has been greeted with a shrug from officialdom.