IrishCentral UEFA Cup - b5cc3275d518416eacb61d676e8d84d1

Tough choice for 2012 top Irish sporting highlights and heroes - the Ryder Cup, GAA finals, UEFA Cup and the Olympics (IrishCentral)

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 06:32:57 PDT

European Ryder Cup teamThere was a fascinating debate in the Irish Sun offices on Monday afternoon, at that time of the day when the hard work is threatening to arrive but hasn’t got there just yetAs the dust settled on Europe’s quite incredible Ryder Cup win, the Miracle at Medinah as it is now known, talk turned to the sporting year thus farOn Sunday alone we all watched in awe as Kilkenny made it nine All-Ireland wins for their talismanic playmaker Henry ShefflinThe Cats were barely on the road back to Gowran when the drama began to unfold in Chicago and Europe had started to claw back a seemingly unassailable American lead READ MORE

Polish mayor thanks Irish for good UEFA camaraderie (IrishCentral)

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 06:27:58 PDT

By: DARA KELLY

It will be a love-in in Dublin this week when the lord mayor of Poznan in Poland flies in to meet President Michael D Higgins and Football Association of Ireland chiefs.

Irish fan’s experience at the Euros - the highs and lows of the trip, and the amazing Irish spirit (IrishCentral)

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 07:04:04 PDT

By: DEIRDRE POWERS

Irish soccer fan Deirdre Power from Tralee, Co. Kerry, traveled to Poland with her boyfriend Damien and his brother Gavin to support the Irish team. Here she writes about her experience, the highs and lows of the trip, and the amazing Irish spirit, which has earned Irish soccer fans a special award from UEFA.

Irish soccer legend Damien Duff visits Irish troops in the Lebanon (IrishCentral)

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 08:00:40 PDT

Some professional athletes talk a big game Others put their money where their mouth isWhile we go about our normal lives, worrying about paying the bills, what we are going to have for dinner and what’s on TV later, there are currently over 330 Irish soldiers serving in the Lebanon as part of the strong UN remit in that country, keeping the peace in a time of great stress for the region It is an incredibly dangerous task, and tragically, 47 Irish soldiers have died defending the peace in South Lebanon READ MORE

UEFA president Michel Platini to present Irish soccer fans with special award in Dublin (IrishCentral)

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 07:52:54 PDT

By: FRANK MURPHY

Ireland’s soccer team may not have progressed too far in the Euros 2012 competition held in Poland and the Ukraine, but its fans have just won a top accolade.

Former Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher talks about playing GAA in Croke Park (IrishCentral)

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:34:35 PDT

By: KELLY DONOHOE

Outspoken British rock star, Noel Gallagher who has Irish roots was performing in Croke Park this week in support of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. While in Dublin, the former Oasis frontman called a press conference to promote his upcoming gig with Kasabian, but was more interested talking about a previous time he had played in Croke Park, Gaelic football and Ireland’s display in the European soccer tournament.

Why Italy can beat Spain and win the UEFA 2012 European Championships (IrishCentral)

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 03:15:39 PDT

First to the full disclosure This column is a gigantic fan of Spanish soccer Except for a hard to explain, forlorn love for Sunderland, the sometimes Premiership English club, the Spanish La Liga takes precedence in terms of weekend soccer on this column's TV They just make it look so pretty, don't they? Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and even Raya Vallecano READ MORE

Sports Digest: Irish mourn loss of fan in Poland, James "Jam" Nolan (IrishCentral)

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 06:48:52 PDT

By: CATHAL DERVAN

IRELAND goalkeeper Shay Given paid his respects at the funeral of Irish fan James Nolan on Monday, 24 hours after captain Robbie Keane made a special tribute of his own in the U.S.

Hundreds turn out to pay their respects to soccer fan James Nolan who drowned in Poland (IrishCentral)

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 04:54:48 PDT

By: CATHY HAYES

Hundreds of mourners flooded the streets of Blessington, County Wicklow, to play tribute to the 21-year-old student, James “Jam” Nolan, who tragically drowned a week ago in Poland.

Andrea Pirlo cheekily chips Italy past England (IrishCentral)

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 04:31:19 PDT

One of the main reasons we watch sports is that every now and then an athlete does something amazing Every so often an athlete does something so spectacular that we remember where we were watching it, we remember the surrounding circumstances, for a very long time Well, tonight, Italy's Andrea Pirlo pulled off one of those stuntsTo set the scene, Italy were facing England in the European Championship quarter finals, and the Italians had attacked all match long but couldn't get passed the massed ranks of English defenders, the latter having decided to adopt distasteful 'park the bus (in front of the goal)' tactics READ MORE

‘Angela Merkel Thinks We’re At Work’ flag aids three-year-old cancer victim (IrishCentral)

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 04:50:07 PDT

By: PATRICK COUNIHAN

The Angela Merkel tricolour that went viral online is now helping an Antrim kid beat cancer.

Outpour of sympathy in Ireland and Poland for drowned soccer fan James Nolan (IrishCentral)

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 01:32:19 PDT

By: CATHY HAYES

In Poland and Ireland, as well as on social networking sites, there has been an outpour of emotion and sympathy following the identification of James Nolan the soccer fan, who drowned in the Brda river, in Bydgoszcz, in the early hours of last Sunday.

Roy Keane is telling it like it is (IrishCentral)

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 07:30:23 PDT

Roy KeaneTHE first rule of punditry is to form a sound opinion, then deliver itThe unwritten rule -- or so it seems as the dust settles on Ireland’s disastrous European Championship campaign -- is to divide a nationEamon Dunphy has been doing that for years With a mind that changes as frequently as the Irish weather, the former footballer has captured the market in controversy for himself for more years than I care to remember READ MORE

James Nolan’s family prepare to bring their son’s remains home from Poland (IrishCentral)

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 04:52:43 PDT

By: PATRICK COUNIHAN

The heartbroken father of drowned Irish football fan James Nolan has thanked the friends who stayed on in Poland to help locate his son’s body.

Reflections on Ireland's UEFA Cup performance (IrishCentral)

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 06:45:22 PDT

A group of excited Irish soccer fans at Dublin Airport heading out for the European Championships earlier this month Sitting on the sofa beside my resident soccer expert watching the Ireland-Italy game on Monday night was both emotional and frustrating The soccer expert -- "it's football, not soccer, Dad" -- is 18 and one of two of my kids doing the Leaving Cert (high school graduation exam) this month Which explains why we were not camped out in Poland with the rest of the fans READ MORE

Zlatan Ibrahimovic may have scored the best goal of Euro 2012: VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 04:00:23 PDT

The group stages of Euro 2012 finished tonight, as England 'beat' the Ukraine 1-0 (we all saw that ball cross the line, FIFA and UEFA better stick their heads in the sand again!) and Sweden stunned France 2-0 In the relatively meaningless latter game (Sweden were out no matter what), Zlatan Ibrahimovic may have scored the goal of the tournamentJudge for yourself, but his beautiful, crisp volley, executed at speed with the clinical precision of an assassin, might be hard to topWhatever about the goal itself, the marvelous commentary is worth hearing on its own READ MORE

Sadly, you’ll always beat the Irish at soccer these days -- Lack of Diaspora players for Ireland signals the end of an era (IrishCentral)

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 04:45:21 PDT

Irish fans react to Ireland's 2-0 loss against ItalyIt makes very grim readings Ireland played three games in the European Nations Championship and lost threeThey were first to go out of the tournament, on their way home when the real games were just beginningWorse they conceded nine goals and scored just one READ MORE

While Ireland punches above its weight, Spain is too big to fail - in football and economically (IrishCentral)

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 06:15:20 PDT

Despite the might of its football team and the fact it got a better bailout deal from Europe, Ireland is likely to triumph Spain, writes Paul AllenWe used to laugh at the English Every European Championship they qualified for they believed they would win itBut while England fans took a more sober approach regarding their chances at Euro 2012, Ireland’s cheer leading brigade managed to convince themselves we would crush Croatia, spank Spain and lashItaly READ MORE

It was fun while it lasted - Ireland will most likely exit the European Championships (IrishCentral)

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 07:15:11 PDT

Cathal Dervan gets ready to cheer his team on It's all over bar the singing And there’s going to be lots of singing before the Irish take their exit from these European Championships, probably next Tuesday morningOne game down, three goals conceded, only one scored and no points in the bag READ MORE

It feels good to be Irish - celebrating being Irish, bring on Poland and the UEFA Cup (IrishCentral)

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 06:30:17 PDT

The Irish team poses for a group photo prior to kickoff against Hungary on MondayA story on the Euro soccer front to come, but first an observation on the current state of the Irish economy, one that may not reflect the real state of the nation but is worth telling all the sameA few years back, four to be precise, I remarked in this column on a journey to the Donegal town of Ballyshannon, birthplace of the legendary Rory GallagherRory, as some of you may know, was the finest blues guitar player this country of ours ever produced, and even though he is commonly associated with Cork he was actually born in Ballyshannon READ MORE