Any updates for us @Thrawneen, you get paid yet?
Anything else in the pipeline?
[SIZE=6]The party that turned heads at couple’s elegant home[/SIZE]
Published
09/10/2014 | 02:30
Breifne O’Brien certainly knew how to throw a good party. His grand Victorian home, Invergarry, on Silchester Road, Glenageary, was the scene of many great nights.
Last night, as he stepped into the stark conditions of Mountjoy, the luxury of that lifestyle must have seemed a lifetime away for the self-styled investments whizz who grew up in a castle on the edge of Cork city.
Irish socialites threw lavish parties during the noughties - but one of the most memorable held in south county Dublin was hosted by Breifne and Fiona Nagle in June 2005.
The occasion was to mark the christening of their son, Oscar James. With more than 200 guests descending on their elegant home (pictured inset), it clearly demonstrated Fiona’s abilities as a party planner and events co-ordinator.
The capital’s golden couple spared no expense in treating their guests to the ultimate in five-star hospitality.
The guest list was stellar, peopled by high achievers, go-getters and tastemakers.
Newspaper editors mingled with media commentators, daytime TV stars, household names, magazine columnists plus the odd politician.
It wasn’t hard to find our party destination as the house was lit up and a continuous retinue of big cars stopped outside to deposit the well-heeled guests.
If we felt like we were stepping into a F Scott Fitzgerald novel, headed to one of Jay Gatsby’s exciting parties on New York’s fictional West Egg, this was confirmed once inside the iron gates of the desirable mansion. Music beckoned us to a candle-lit marquee transformed into a sophisticated, speak-easy club.
The hospitality and attention to detail turned heads, from the low couches and chandeliers to sumptuous food prepared in front of our eyes by top restaurateur, Johnny Cooke.
Guests mingled and danced into the early hours.
[SIZE=3]Sweet fuck - thse cunts have a serious high opinion of themselves. [/SIZE]
Bought the 10th anniversary edition of Village magazine today. Poor stuff in fairness. Drab, badly written, poorly laid out.
Bit like TFK.
Brehony on the mark again as usual…
Tipperary ignore lessons from Man United succession
Announcing Eamon O’Shea’s departure and succession plans so soon is a risky decision
Alex Ferguson didn’t equivocate. “It was a disaster. The moment I made the announcement, I knew I had made an error,” he wrote about declaring at the start of the 2001/02 season that it would be his last as Manchester United manager.
By early December 2001, they had dropped to ninth in the League. Two months later, Ferguson reversed his decision to quit, Manchester United went on to finish third and he continued for another 11 years.
Now comparisons between Man Utd and Tipperary hurling may appear tenuous in the broader sporting firmament, but when it comes to man-management, some basic principles apply across all frontiers.
e that?
O’Shea will devote as much time, energy and expertise as he possibly can in pursuit of that objective but would it not have been better to do it against a background where the squad didn’t know for definite that it was his final season? A sense of mystery and all that. Manchester United’s indifferent form in the months following Ferguson’s departure plan in 2001 was ascribed to uncertainty in the camp, leading to a drop-off in performances.
Granted, there will be no such indecision in Tipperary, since the players know that Ryan will be taking over from O’Shea.
Nevertheless, it’s most unusual to have a manager who is definitely in his last season, while a replacement is working alongside him.
Tipperary’s close calls against Kilkenny in the All-Ireland and Allianz League finals have left a warm glow in the county, with expectations of more to come next year.
All quite understandable, but there’s also the reality that after 50 minutes of Tipperary’s qualifier tie with Galway in early July, there wasn’t much goodwill being shown towards O’Shea, Ryan and Co by large sections of the home crowd in Semple Stadium as the likelihood of a second season without a championship win loomed ever larger.
In fact, some ugly, barbed comments were winging towards management before the trend altered dramatically and Tipperary turned a six-point deficit into a nine-point win.
A month earlier, it wasn’t necessary to drift very far from the Semple Stadium gates to find critics of management in sullen huddles discussing the defeat by Limerick in the Munster Championship for a second successive year.
Nor was O’Shea bathing in complimentary oils last spring after successive League defeats by Kilkenny, Clare and Galway, during which Tipperary were hit for an average of 4-17 per game. On the contrary, there were plenty of Tipperary supporters who would have pulled the plug.
Nobody knows how 2015 will unfold for Tipperary. The relaunch in this year’s qualifiers, which ultimately took them so close to winning the All-Ireland title, may well be the prelude to a great season, but Tipperary are not the only big beast vying to out-roar Kilkenny’s jungle kings.
What if Tipperary hit another bad run early in the League? It’s easy for supporters to say that based on this year’s experiences, they will see it as part of a bigger picture and won’t utter a critical word about management.
Really? Short memories are one of the certainties in sport and can be triggered at any time.
And what if Tipperary fare poorly in the championship? Will Ryan be embraced enthusiastically as O’Shea’s successor or will he start under a low cloud?
Again, those are questions that can’t be answered but, in the interests of keeping hostages to fortune securely locked away, a more prudent course for all concerned might have been to say nothing about the future, other than all that mattered was how the 2015 season went.
“Once the retirement issue was cleared up, our form picked up dramatically. We won 13 of 15 games,” wrote Ferguson of United in the 2001-02 season.
For his own sake, and Tipperary’s, hopefully O’Shea won’t be writing this time next year: “Once the retirement issue was cleared up, our from dipped dramatically.”
He said this week: “You have to have both continuity and change for any successful team.”
He may well be right. Long-term planning is good. Sometimes, though, the details are best kept private.
[SIZE=6]Portlaoise seek to ease the pain of last year’s final loss[/SIZE]
[SIZE=5]
Damian Lawlor[/SIZE]
Published 09/11/2014 | 02:30
http://cdn2.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/article30729268.ece/b1c5e/ALTERNATES/h342/ZackTuohy_app.jpg
Zach Tuohy: A serious option indeed
THERE are not many teams who have won eight county titles on the spin and still have a point to prove, but Portlaoise definitely fall into that category.
Despite that impressive string of domestic championships, the midland giants have been a disappointment in Leinster, failing to build any type of dynasty, a task that, on paper, they looked well capable of.
At times they were just sheer unlucky, losing to Dublin opposition for the past four years, for instance. They fell to Kilmacud Crokes in 2010, then St Brigid’s in 2011, Ballymun Kickhams in the 2012 final, and St Vincent’s in last year’s final. By now those losses have almost overshadowed the provincial glories they captured in 2004 and 2009. Meanwhile, it’s now over three decades since the club won its first and only All-Ireland title.
And yet, with seven provincial titles to their name (1971, '76, '82, '85, '87, 2004 and '09), they remain at the head of the Leinster SFC roll of honour, with today’s opponents, St Vincent’s, hot on their heels with five and intent on a sixth.
There’s a theory that the heavy pitches at this time of year do little to facilitate Portlaoise’s slick, attacking style of football, but with time running out for some of their quality players, it would be a clear underachievement if they didn’t manage to land another Leinster crown.
“Maybe around the county, other clubs might feel we could have gone further over the years, and I suppose that would be the view around the province as well,” Craig Rogers told this newspaper last year. “But the bottom line is the players themselves feel there is a lot more in the tank and we know we should be going further. We don’t need others to tell us that. There is serious motivation within the squad to make that happen.”
That step-up could come today. Despite the fact that they face the Dublin champions, who possess arguably the best player in Ireland right now in Diarmuid Connolly, and have Ger Brennan back in their ranks, the Laois men are well equipped to cause a shock in their own back yard.
[SIZE=6]Inter-county hurling star Cahir Healy, Barry and Tommy Fitzgerald and Paul Cahillane are all back in tow and hungry after missing early parts of the season[/SIZE]. The past 12 months have been challenging for the Laois champions - they were pushed hard in last year’s county final and with a heap of players missing, through travelling or others committing to hurling, they lost a lot of league games earlier this season.
Thus, not many gave them a chance of retaining their crown, but maybe it’s that lack of expectation which could ultimately see them shock Vincent’s, even if the Dublin champions are clear favourites.
[SIZE=6]Former Laois attacker Brian McCormack is once again in tremendous form and played a pivotal role in their extra-time quarter-final win over Longford Slashers when he moved to the edge of the square, snatching 1-2 in the space of just eight minutes.[/SIZE]
There may also be a role for Zach Tuohy, the AFL player. Tuohy didn’t play for the club in the county final as he had returned to Australia for a wedding, but he has weeks of training in the bank and will be a serious option if and when needed against the Dublin giants. Remember that Tuohy has already played in the Laois quarter- and semi-finals.
The team’s manager, Tommy Conroy, also has unfinished business - he was in charge of the club when they fell by two points to David Brady’s Ballina Stephenites in the 2004/'05 final, so across the board there’s a lot to fight for.
They are a tight bunch, and their struggles off the field look to have galvanised them. They might be still recovering from serious debts of five years ago when the proposed €19 million sale of their 17.2-acre site next to O’Moore Park fell through, but they have kept the show on the road and while the underachiever tag is constantly slapped on them, they do have those eight county championships to boast of.
Here is a chance to lay down a huge marker, however, in a repeat of last year’s provincial final when Portlaoise went to the wire before falling. They must have looked on in envy as Vincent’s surged forward to land the All-Ireland on St Patrick’s Day.
The hurt of that narrow loss - and the Leinster championship pain of the past five to six years, will have to ease at some stage. Balm may well be applied to their sores today.
Sunday Indo Sport
[LIST=1]
[]Paul Cahillane wouldnt be fit to even swing a hurl at a traveller
[]Tommy Fitz didn’t play with Portlaoise in football this year
[]I wouldn’t swear on it, but I’d be pretty sure Barry didnt either
[]Also, Barry hasn’t hurled intercouty for some time noq
[*]Yesterday was Portlaoise’ maiden game in the Leinster Championship so its unlikely Bruno got those scores against Slashers this year
[/LIST]
Not really sure what Stephen is trying to say in this article. It’s fairly all over the place.
Comparing the lifestyle of a pro footballer to an inter county player is a little more complex than he makes out.
[QUOTE=“Appendage, post: 1051885, member: 11”]http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/stephen-hunt-gaa-players-would-find-life-tough-in-premier-league-30785091.html
Not really sure what Stephen is trying to say in this article. It’s fairly all over the place.
Comparing the lifestyle of a pro footballer to an inter county player is a little more complex than he makes out.[/QUOTE]
I took from it that GAA players would never be able for all the resting that comes with being a soccer player.
[QUOTE=“Appendage, post: 1051885, member: 11”]http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/stephen-hunt-gaa-players-would-find-life-tough-in-premier-league-30785091.html
Not really sure what Stephen is trying to say in this article. It’s fairly all over the place.
Comparing the lifestyle of a pro footballer to an inter county player is a little more complex than he makes out.[/QUOTE]
It’s an obvious fact that the standard and commitment needed to reach even league one or the championship in England is far higher than that needed to be an inter county footballer. Sheer numbers who play tells you that.
That’s a fucking horrendously put together piece though.
[QUOTE=“myboyblue, post: 1043090, member: 180”][SIZE=6]Portlaoise seek to ease the pain of last year’s final loss[/SIZE]
[SIZE=5]
Damian Lawlor[/SIZE]
Published 09/11/2014 | 02:30
http://cdn2.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/article30729268.ece/b1c5e/ALTERNATES/h342/ZackTuohy_app.jpg
Zach Tuohy: A serious option indeed
THERE are not many teams who have won eight county titles on the spin and still have a point to prove, but Portlaoise definitely fall into that category.
Despite that impressive string of domestic championships, the midland giants have been a disappointment in Leinster, failing to build any type of dynasty, a task that, on paper, they looked well capable of.
At times they were just sheer unlucky, losing to Dublin opposition for the past four years, for instance. They fell to Kilmacud Crokes in 2010, then St Brigid’s in 2011, Ballymun Kickhams in the 2012 final, and St Vincent’s in last year’s final. By now those losses have almost overshadowed the provincial glories they captured in 2004 and 2009. Meanwhile, it’s now over three decades since the club won its first and only All-Ireland title.
And yet, with seven provincial titles to their name (1971, '76, '82, '85, '87, 2004 and '09), they remain at the head of the Leinster SFC roll of honour, with today’s opponents, St Vincent’s, hot on their heels with five and intent on a sixth.
There’s a theory that the heavy pitches at this time of year do little to facilitate Portlaoise’s slick, attacking style of football, but with time running out for some of their quality players, it would be a clear underachievement if they didn’t manage to land another Leinster crown.
“Maybe around the county, other clubs might feel we could have gone further over the years, and I suppose that would be the view around the province as well,” Craig Rogers told this newspaper last year. “But the bottom line is the players themselves feel there is a lot more in the tank and we know we should be going further. We don’t need others to tell us that. There is serious motivation within the squad to make that happen.”
That step-up could come today. Despite the fact that they face the Dublin champions, who possess arguably the best player in Ireland right now in Diarmuid Connolly, and have Ger Brennan back in their ranks, the Laois men are well equipped to cause a shock in their own back yard.
[SIZE=6]Inter-county hurling star Cahir Healy, Barry and Tommy Fitzgerald and Paul Cahillane are all back in tow and hungry after missing early parts of the season[/SIZE]. The past 12 months have been challenging for the Laois champions - they were pushed hard in last year’s county final and with a heap of players missing, through travelling or others committing to hurling, they lost a lot of league games earlier this season.
Thus, not many gave them a chance of retaining their crown, but maybe it’s that lack of expectation which could ultimately see them shock Vincent’s, even if the Dublin champions are clear favourites.
[SIZE=6]Former Laois attacker Brian McCormack is once again in tremendous form and played a pivotal role in their extra-time quarter-final win over Longford Slashers when he moved to the edge of the square, snatching 1-2 in the space of just eight minutes.[/SIZE]
There may also be a role for Zach Tuohy, the AFL player. Tuohy didn’t play for the club in the county final as he had returned to Australia for a wedding, but he has weeks of training in the bank and will be a serious option if and when needed against the Dublin giants. Remember that Tuohy has already played in the Laois quarter- and semi-finals.
The team’s manager, Tommy Conroy, also has unfinished business - he was in charge of the club when they fell by two points to David Brady’s Ballina Stephenites in the 2004/'05 final, so across the board there’s a lot to fight for.
They are a tight bunch, and their struggles off the field look to have galvanised them. They might be still recovering from serious debts of five years ago when the proposed €19 million sale of their 17.2-acre site next to O’Moore Park fell through, but they have kept the show on the road and while the underachiever tag is constantly slapped on them, they do have those eight county championships to boast of.
Here is a chance to lay down a huge marker, however, in a repeat of last year’s provincial final when Portlaoise went to the wire before falling. They must have looked on in envy as Vincent’s surged forward to land the All-Ireland on St Patrick’s Day.
The hurt of that narrow loss - and the Leinster championship pain of the past five to six years, will have to ease at some stage. Balm may well be applied to their sores today.
Sunday Indo Sport
[LIST=1]
[]Paul Cahillane wouldnt be fit to even swing a hurl at a traveller
[]Tommy Fitz didn’t play with Portlaoise in football this year
[]I wouldn’t swear on it, but I’d be pretty sure Barry didnt either
[]Also, Barry hasn’t hurled intercouty for some time noq
[*]Yesterday was Portlaoise’ maiden game in the Leinster Championship so its unlikely Bruno got those scores against Slashers this year
[/LIST][/QUOTE]
Surprised at Lawlor, very poorly researched article.
He also says they lost “a lot of league games earlier this season”. They won 13 and lost 1 to win the league outright!
To be fair to him, I read it as “inter county hurler, Cahir Healy”, thereby precluding Cahillane from any small ball activity?
[QUOTE=“Appendage, post: 1051885, member: 11”]http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/stephen-hunt-gaa-players-would-find-life-tough-in-premier-league-30785091.html
Not really sure what Stephen is trying to say in this article. It’s fairly all over the place.
Comparing the lifestyle of a pro footballer to an inter county player is a little more complex than he makes out.[/QUOTE]
It’s almost as if the indo looked for a patsy who would be silly enough to pen an article they knew would cause “controversy” and an online “backlash”.
[QUOTE=“Appendage, post: 1051885, member: 11”]http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/stephen-hunt-gaa-players-would-find-life-tough-in-premier-league-30785091.html
Not really sure what Stephen is trying to say in this article. It’s fairly all over the place.
Comparing the lifestyle of a pro footballer to an inter county player is a little more complex than he makes out.[/QUOTE]
It’s almost as if the indo looked for a patsy who would be silly enough to pen an article they knew would cause “controversy” and an online “backlash”.
The Sindo today
"A 2010 study actually found that men were reverting to more masculine ways of behaviour in response to the recession. The self-grooming metrosexuals were giving way to a more rough and ready aesthetic. Witness the contemporary renaissance of the beard. It’s not simply a hipster thing. Recession threatens a masculine sense of self which is bound up intimately with the ability to provide, just as women’s worth seems to be tied up, equally problematically, with their attractiveness.
This all plays out politically. It’s no wonder that SF is more popular amongst male voters. In difficult times, people look to be led and they tend to think of this in masculine terms. SF are uber-macho in that way; in recent weeks, symbolically stamping on women to shut them up."
[QUOTE=“The Selfish Giant, post: 1057405, member: 80”]The Sindo today
"A 2010 study actually found that men were reverting to more masculine ways of behaviour in response to the recession. The self-grooming metrosexuals were giving way to a more rough and ready aesthetic. Witness the contemporary renaissance of the beard. It’s not simply a hipster thing. Recession threatens a masculine sense of self which is bound up intimately with the ability to provide, just as women’s worth seems to be tied up, equally problematically, with their attractiveness.
This all plays out politically. It’s no wonder that SF is more popular amongst male voters. In difficult times, people look to be led and they tend to think of this in masculine terms. SF are uber-macho in that way; in recent weeks, symbolically stamping on women to shut them up."[/QUOTE]
Read through that earlier, by Eilis O’Hanlon.
She compared Sinn Fein to the Nazis.
The Sindo has gone well beyond desperation stakes now and is in extreme parody territory.
Roddy l’estrange in the times about mcilpube being mugged off by hamilton at SPOTY
As a wag on twitter put it: mcilroy and golf, not a personality or a sport
Roddy’s gone to fuck the last couple of months. Needs to pick it up.
[ATTACH=full]2217[/ATTACH]
Beaten to it @Thrawneen
http://www.thesun.ie/irishsol/homepage/news/6331139/Homeless-Dave-outwits-the-clampers.html
[ATTACH=full]2391[/ATTACH]