FAI: Find Another Interim? As Gavin Cummiskey tells us, after hearing chief executive David Courell speak about Marc Canham’s decision to quit his role as the association’s chief football officer: “Canham’s position will be filled on an interim basis, much like Courell serving as the interim CEO when Jonathan Hill departed, Eileen Gleeson as interim manager when Vera Pauw was released in 2023 and John O’Shea as interim manager because Canham needed eight months to recruit Heimir Hallgrímsson.” You’d need a lie down after reading that.
Matters are somewhat simpler for Louth and Kildare ahead of their Leinster championship meeting on Sunday. “It’s winner takes all, and no time for losers,” writes Ian O’Riordan, the victors taking the last remaining All-Ireland place, the defeated dropping down to the Tailteann Cup. For Ciarán Murphy, that makes it the biggest game of the first month of the championship, one of “real consequence”.
Consequential too for the Irish women’s side is their trip to Scotland for the final game of the Six Nations championship, when they will look to wrap up an encouraging campaign with their third consecutive away win. John O’Sullivan talks to assistant coach Denis Fogarty about the strides the squad has made as it builds up towards this summer’s World Cup.
Munster’s season, though, hit two sizeable bumps in the road with those defeats by Bordeaux-Begles in the Champions Cup and the Bulls in the URC, the chief task before they take on Cardiff tomorrow fixing the lineout issues that have cost them dearly. Assistant coach Mossy Lawler assures John that a solution will be found.
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Gerry Thornley, meanwhile, hears from Clontarf outhalf Conor Kelly in the build-up to Sunday’s All-Ireland League final against holders Cork Constitution. Kelly has lost two and won one of his previous finals, he’d quite like to even up the score.
In golf, a fella by the name of Rory McIlroy is back in action today at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where himself and Shane Lowry will (hope to) defend the title they won last year. It’s been a dizzying celebratory spell since McIlroy won himself that green jacket, although spending Monday in bed with a fever interrupted it all. Philip Reid brings you the lowdown on the Zurich Classic, as well as The Chevron Championship, the first major of the women’s season, where Leona Maguire is in the field.
Dave Hannigan had a bit of a dizzying spell himself when he took his two youngest sons on a trip to England. Football featured heavily, as did a visit to Stratford-upon-Avon where Dave force-fed them “all manner of Shakespeare guff”. And then it was off to Chipping Norton to “purchase tat” in Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat shop. A trip like no other, by the sounds of it.
TV Watch: You can monitor the opening of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry’s defence of their Zurich Classic of New Orleans crown on Sky Sports Golf through the afternoon and evening (12.30pm-4pm, 8pm-11pm). Sky also has coverage of the first major of the women’s season, The Chevron Championship (4pm-8pm, 11pm-1am).
