It’s highly unlikely that you’ll read a more bewildering ‘sports’-related story today than the one Dave Hannigan brings us in his America At Large column.
Ten of the 17 deadliest mass shootings in the United States since 2012 have involved the AR-15 rifle, but despite that carnage, a chap by the name of Rich Lutz went ahead and invented a ‘sport’ called AR-15 golf. Yes, you use the weapon instead of a driver to shoot the ball in the direction of the hole.
Dave tells us about the inaugural AR-15 tournament that took place in Nebraska, where first prize was ... a set of rifles.
The shemozzle over GAAGO seems quite small in comparison, but on it rumbles, with the GAA and Virgin Media now throwing punches at each other. Ciarán Murphy argues that the idea that Gaelic games should never be shown behind a paywall “is an obstinate one”, GAAGO’s very existence proof that “the market has spoken”. If you’re befuddled by it all, Jack Power provides an explainer.
No hurler on the ditch: Ronan Conway a firm believer in the promise of team development
Sonia O’Sullivan: A jog down Olympic memory lane shows how far Irish athletes have come
All Stars committee’s only obligation was to judge Kyle Hayes as a hurler
Damien Duff’s unwavering belief in Irish football has elevated the whole league
Returning the focus to on-the-field matters, Gordon Manning brings news from the Clare and Waterford hurling camps ahead of their crunch meeting on Saturday, while he also has the latest on the Kildare camogie controversy after their county board withdrew their intermediate team from the championship.
Irish women’s rugby has, of course, been engulfed in controversies for a while now, but Gerry Thornley heard Kevin Potts and Gillian McDarby, the IRFU’s chief executive and head of women’s performance and pathways, respectively, insist there are plans afoot to ensure there are brighter days ahead. It’ll be a challenging journey, though.
Gerry also talked to Leinster’s Joe McCarthy and Munster’s Stephen Archer ahead of Saturday’s URC semi-final at the Aviva Stadium. That will, no doubt, be a heavyweight contest, but Katie Taylor’s first professional bout in Ireland will be of the light-welterweight kind. Johnny Watterson spoke with the world champion ahead of her fight with England’s Chantelle Cameron at Dublin’s 3Arena next week.
Joanne O’Riordan, meanwhile, spoke with the founder of Palestine Sports For Life about the organisation’s efforts to give young people in the country an outlet to allow them “forget about their day-to-day lives and the fact that the country around them is in turmoil”.
Telly watch: RTÉ One has what should be an interesting Irish language documentary on tonight (10.15), ‘Ré Réabhlóide: CLG agus Cogadh na gCarad’ (Age of Revolution: the GAA and the Civil War), which Seán Moran wrote about yesterday. Presented by Gráinne McElwain, it examines the role played by the GAA during the conflict, and how it impacted its members.
