Irish Sporting Eye

By Gerard Mulreaney ( @gerardmulreaney ) The Test Triangle IP50 competition got underway in La Manga, Spain last week as players looked to try and catch the eye of Irish selectors ahead of the upcoming One-Day International’s against England, the West Indies, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. One such player was Northern Knights batsman Marc Ellison. While Ellison is a New Zealander, he will be eligible to play for Ireland in 2020, if selected.  He is eligible to be selected for the Wolves.  In two games last week Ellison scored 87 in a win over the North West Warriors, and backed that up with 85 in a loss to the Leinster Lightning, in a game that saw current Irish International Andrew Balbirnie score a superb 125 off 126 balls.   I caught up with Ellison following his good week with the bat and asked him about the trip to Spain, “It was a really cool week. I obviously feel really privileged to be able to have the opportunity in the first place to play this standard ...

Swim Ireland have announced their team for this years FINA World Championships in Korea, and it will be led by 2018 World Short Course Swimming Championship bronze medalist Shane Ryan.  Ryan, will be joined by World Youth Olympics medallist Niamh Coyne, World Junior silver medallist Conor Ferguson, Darragh Greene, Jordan Sloan, Robbie Powell, Brendan Hyland, Jack McMillan, Curtis Coulter and Ellen Walshe. An 8-strong team has also been selected for the LEN European Junior Championships in Kazan, Russia. Named in the team are Eoin Corby, Amelia Kane and Daniel Wiffin, who will also participate at this year’s FINA World Junior Championships in Budapest, along with Uiseann Cooke, Paddy Johnston, Alfie Kelly, Sean Scannell and Sean McNicholl.  Nominations to the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) have also been made for a small but focused team to feature at the IOC European Youth Olympic Festival in Baku, with Molly Mayne and Ellie McKibbin being considered by the OFI for ...

Ahead of Connacht’s biggest game of the season on Saturday, when they host the Cardiff Blues in a winner takes all clash at the Sportsground, the club have announced that three players from the NUIG sponsored Connacht Academy have signed their first professional contracts.   Matthew Burke 22, Conor Fitzgerald 21 and Conor Kenny 22 have signed contracts with the province for the 2019/20 season. These latest signings follow Paul Boyle’s graduation to the senior squad earlier this season.   Matthew Burke (above) has made eight appearances for the senior team so far this season having made his debut away to Sale in the Challenge Cup back in October. The 22 year old prop is a native of Ballinrobe and plays his club rugby with Corinthians.   Having joined the Connacht Academy at the start of the season, Conor Fitzgerald (below) is another player who has already made a significant contribution to the senior side. The out-half made four appearances in the European Challenge...

Following his victory in the Dominican Republic on Sunday on the US PGA Tour, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell is looking ahead to returning to the Emerald Isle in July to compete in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in Lahinch Golf Club. McDowell said, “After my win last week in the Dominican Republic, I’m feeling really confident about the summer ahead and hopefully I can bring my A-game to Lahinch.” He returns to the majestic County Clare links 19 years after winning the South of Ireland Championship there as an amateur.  It’s hard to believe that it’s nine years since he won his one and only, to date, Major title - the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach. His win on Sunday was his 15th career title, his first in over four years,  McDowell joins 2018 Ryder Cup star Tommy Fleetwood, former World Number One Lee Westwood and fellow Major winners Louis Oosthuizen and Danny Willett, amongst others, in what is shaping up to be a world-class field for the July showpiece...

Cricket Ireland head into their biggest summer of cricket next month, with a home One Day International against England, a Tri-Nations series against the West Indies and Bangladesh, a 6-match series against Zimbabwe along with the start of the domestic Inter-Pros, before heading to Lord’s to play England in a 4-day Test match. Alongside that the Women’s team will face the West Indies (3 ODI’s) and Zimbabwe (3 ODI’s, 3 T20’s), with the 3 T20’s part of a double-header with the Men in Bready Cricket Club.  At a media event held in Dublin earlier today to launch the start of the cricket season, it was announced that Turkish Airlines were extending their sponsorship of Cricket Ireland by a further two years, in a huge boost to the sport.  Mr Hasan Mutlu said, “Turkish Airlines is delighted to Ann that our partnership with Cricket Ireland has been extended for another 2 years.” “2019 is another milestone for Turkish Airlines as we are moving to our new hub in Istanbul, the largest a...