News from the 32: Antrim, Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Down, Dublin, Fermanagh, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

News from the 32: Antrim, Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Down, Dublin, Fermanagh, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

Newly crowned All-Ireland champions Kerry dominate the nominations for the 2009 Vodafone football all-stars with 12 of their team in the running for this year’s awards, while Kilkenny hurling legend Henry Shefflin is in the running for a ninth all-star honor like fellow Cats hero DJ Carey .

Tony Sutherland senior has denied his son Darren, an Olympic bronze medalist, was depressed in the period before he killed himself in his London flat.

The All Ireland Final between Cork and Kerry on September 20, 2008 will be a game based on evening up the scores and avenging tough defeats For Cork, though they overcame Kerry in this year’s Munster Final, this team has not reached the Holy Grail of taking the Same Maguire cup Leeside yet, and the closest they came was in 2007 when they were sent home sour-pussed after a ten point defeat to none other than Kerry.

Kerry have been handed a massive boost ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland final derby date with Cork after both Colm “Gooch” Cooper and Paul Galvin were cleared to play after recent injury scares.

News from the 32: Antrim, Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Down, Dublin, Fermanagh, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

News from the 32: Antrim, Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Down, Dublin, Fermanagh, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

FULL TIME: Kerry 2-08 Meath 1-07 Kerry are off to yet another All-Ireland SFC final, and we can only hope their game picks up. A dreadful afternoon's football saw 32 wides from both sides in a dull affair at

Cork beat Tyrone at Croke Park on Sunday to become the first team to book a place in the All Ireland football final where they will await the winners of next week's semi final between Kerry and Meath.

Meath overcame Mayo in the All Ireland Football quarter final and will face Kerry in the semi final, while Kilkenny defeated Waterford in the semi final to become the first team to book a place in the All Ireland Hurling Final in September.

Though he may be gone back to Kerry to try and join his father and brother by winning an All Ireland medal with his beloved Kerry, Tadhg Kennelly is still very much in the mind of Paul Roos, manager of the Sydney Swans Aussies Rules team where Kennelly enjoyed huge success.

Bits and bobs from newspapers across Ireland's 32 counties, North and South.

Tyrone will play Cork in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final after powering past Kildare in the second half 0-16 to 1-11 at Croke Park. Cork booked their berth in the semis after crushing Donegal by 14 points at Croke Park with a final score of 1-27 to 2-10.

The GAA insists the new turf in Croke Park will be in excellent condition, but it still has to face judges from the six counties involved in this weekend's All-Ireland football quarterfinals. The ultimate verdict on the turf will be made by the players from Cork, Donegal, Kildare, Tyrone, Dublin and Kerry in the three-match program tomorrow and Monday.

It was a busy day in the GAA at home on Sunday, with wins for Limerick and Waterford in the hurling championship, while Kerry continued their way through the qualifiers with a victory over Antrim.

Meath are through to the final qualifying round after a handy win over Roscommon in Meath on Saturday evening. However, It was the end of the road for Galway and Wicklow as they went down to Donegal and Kildare respectively.

News bits from around the 32 counties in Ireland.

Bertie Ahern watchers out there will be glad to know that our former taoiseach (prime minister) has finally found a new role in life after absconding from office before he could be blamed for the fine mess we are currently in.

Cathal Dervan highlights the recent transfer news regarding departures and arrivals of some of Ireland's best footballers, the result of the British and Irish Lions' third test against South Africa and the past week's Gaelic action from Ireland.

A round-up of the results from the All Ireland Football and Hurling Championships that saw Cork win the Munster football title and Kilkenny bag another hurling title in Leinster, with a busy first round of football qualifiers on Saturday.

Dublin absolutely destroyed hapless Westmeath in Sunday’s Leinster SFC semifinal at Croke Park as they found their scoring boots with a vengeance, but manager Pat Gilroy was keeping his feet on the ground afterward.

In football Dublin and Limerick recorded wins, while Cork and Kerry drew and will have to play again. In Leinster hurling, Antrim's debut was a tough one as they went down by 12 points to the Dubs.

After catching the eyes of several AFL scouts, 17-year-old Kildare minor Gaelic footballer Paul Cribbin has been training with the Collingwood Magpies Aussie Rules Football club.

Cathal Dervan on the senseless murder of a man by a group of thugs last weekend in County Derry

After a brief sojourn in America, the 2009 Football Championship returns home this weekend, with the Ulster and Leinster competitions starting on Sunday afternoon.

Mayo easily beat New York by fifteen points in the Connacht Senior Football Championship at Gaelic Park in the Bronx Sunday.

Cathal Dervan on a double confirmation last weekend, that of his youngest son Ciaran, and of Leinster as Kings of Ireland after their victory over Munster in the Heineken Cup semifinal

Kelly comes second to Murphy as the most common surname in Ireland. The name is popular because it originates from at least seven different and unrelated ancient clans or septs. These include O'Kelly septs from Meath, Derry, Antrim, Laois, Sligo, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Galway and Roscommon, and the McKelly sept from East Connaught.

A roundup of all the action in the last round of the Allianz National Football league

It will be a miracle if we make it to South Africa now, simply because we have a manager who is so conservative he makes Maggie Thatcher look like a radical.

A roundup of all the action in The Allianz National Football and Hurling Leagues.

Sunday was a busy day in the Allianz National Football League with action in all four divisions.

Let's face it! Visitors to Ireland are spoiled for choice. From the windswept Cliffs of Moher to the misty Aran Islands, there are hundreds of must-see places on any tourist's itinerary. We've done our best to narrow it down to just 10 and we've got the pictures to prove it!

TULLA, Co. Clare - The sun was declining west of the Tulla town square where the gig rig was erected for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann in that East Clare bastion of traditional music and dance. CCE Director General Senator Labhras O'Murchu led a group of CCE officials in reviewing the welcoming parade led by the Tulla Pipe Band.

Ireland is a small country that's big on charm, wit and hospitality. And, thanks to a booming economy and the infusion of millions from multi-national companies, Ireland East and Dublin is one of the most rapidly expanding areas in Europe today. Ireland has breathtaking scenery, luxurious five-star resorts with world-class spas, gourmet cuisine and more than 400 top-notch golf courses, but the Emerald Isle is also known for its advanced networking, conferencing and exposition facilities and is a leading destination for today's mobile business traveler.

After recently returning to Ireland, two Irish undocumented immigrants who lived in New York, one for 10 years, the other for seven, are adjusting to their new lives in a country that has changed dramatically in a short few years. APRIL DREW reports.Home Not Where Her Heart is SAMANTHA Melia, 32, and Tom Woodlock, 37, were leading lights in the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) when they were resident in New York.

JOHN Sweeney, 69, is a man you don't meet every day. Born in Cullen, Co. Cork in 1939, he came to live in the U.

Meath boss Eamonn O'Brien is aware of the threat of relegation from Division Two of the NFL after his new look team lost again, this time at home to Fermanagh on Saturday night by a score of 2-7 to 0-12. Hit hard again by the new experimental rules, the Royals ended the match with 13 players and never recovered from conceding two first-half goals. "It wouldn't be the end of the world to be relegated but it wouldn't be nice.

It's that time of year when the wise old men of sports journalism and the grumpy ones swap places with the psychics and attempt to predict the future. Newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic have been jam packed with various crystal ball gazing for the year ahead, so here's my sporting wishes for 2009: IRELAND'S SOCCER TEAM A simple one to begin with - World Cup qualification. Giovanni Trapattoni is still unbeaten in competitive football as Irish boss, and there were worrying signs in the friendly defeat to Poland in November, but let's face it, we all want Ireland to go to South Africa next year.

Gerald McCarthy has again offered Cork's rebels the chance to resume their inter-county careers after writing to all his striking players to seek clarity on their plans for the 2009 season. Last season's squad have remained steadfast in their claim that they will never play for Cork again as long as McCarthy is in charge, but the manager is still hopeful of a change of heart. Currently working with a development squad, McCarthy revealed to the Evening Echo, "I have written to the 30 players that were there during the NHL and during the championship.

GALWAY and Antrim will both play in the Leinster hurling championship next season after a radical vote to amend the structure of the provincial game was passed at a Special Congress in Croke Park on Saturday.

Delegates from Dublin, Offaly and Wexford all spoke out against the proposal, but an 80% yes vote ensured the changes will come into place next year.

The move has been welcomed by GAA President Nickey Brennan, who also confirmed that Leinster Championship games could be played outside the province next season if Galway or Antrim receive home draws.

OKAY, so I am angry and I am going to let that anger drift into this column, a column normally devoted to the world of Irish sport.

We'll get to the sport presently. I'll even share my views on Ireland's latest World Cup adventure against Cyprus last week and our chances of getting to South Africa.

IRELAND will hold a slender one-point lead going into the second Compromise Rules test in Melbourne on Friday after a narrow 45-44 win over Australia in Perth.

The visitors had led by 17 points at one stage in last weekend's opening game, but Australia began to adapt to the game and clawed their way back into contention.

"We are pleased with a one-point victory but look at the way Australia came back at us in the last quarter.

THE doom and gloom floating around Ireland at the moment has to be seen to be believed as the country, never mind the economy, floats on the brink of extinction if you believe everything you read or hear right now.

Personally speaking I have got to the stage in life where I sometimes struggle to believe what I write -- and I know there are those of you out in the Bronx who won't find that surprising!

Anyhow, back home - as in America I am sure - life is currently dominated by talk of recessions, credit crunches and the general financial mayhem that has snared the Celtic Tiger in a trap.

According to some experts it seems only a matter of time before we are all turfed out of our houses by the banks and heading for the emigration boats to America and Britain once again - I say the boats because Aer Lingus will probably have disappeared by the time we get to emigrate, judging by reports from Dublin Airport.

DUBLIN'S County Board have turned to former player Pat Gilroy and former manager Mickey Whelan to revive their All-Ireland football title hopes. Gilroy, a Sam Maguire winner as a substitute in 1995, was the surprise announcement as successor to Paul Caffrey late last week.

A managerial rookie, Gilroy will be joined by former Dubs boss Whelan as team trainer in a new look management team.

IT'S funny the things that crop up in conversation now that Giovanni Trapattoni is firmly ensconced as manager of the Ireland football team.

On Tuesday afternoon, as the rain poured incessantly from the heavens, Trap held court once again in the ballroom of the Grand Hotel in Malahide on the eve of the World Cup clash with Cyprus.

It was an afternoon's entertainment befitting of a grand room to be fair as Trap meandered from one topic to another, all the time reminding us that his only interest in life is winning football matches with the Irish team.

SEAN Boylan was almost in tears as Ireland defeated Australia in Melbourne on Friday night to secure victory in the Compromise Rules series and bring the Cormac McAnallen Cup home. The visitors lifted the trophy for the first time since 2004 on a 57-53 aggregate score to the delight of Boylan and his squad.

"To me this is an extremely nostalgic night, just to see Sean Cavanagh going up there tonight," said Boylan after McAnallen's former Tyrone teammate Cavanagh lifted the trophy.

CORK hurling boss Gerald McCarthy has dismissed the latest claims by the county squad as rubbish as another strike looms within the Rebels camp. "I have been asked by various media to comment on the Cork players' statement," said McCarthy.

"At this point, I have no intention of doing so, other than to say that each of the points raised by the players can be fully challenged by me.

HURLING: Congratulations to the SMA priest Father Bernie Cotter, who berated the striking Cork hurlers from the altar at a mass to honor deceased members of the GAA at Pairc Ui Chaoimh before last weekend's county convention. In a shock attack Cotter, himself a former county hurler, claimed among other things that the striking players are "making Cork the laughingstock of the country." The unlikely assault was both full blooded and brilliant.