What a few weeks it has been for world sport and our very Irish superstars have been some of those making the headlines.
In Golf, Rory McIlroy from County Down won the much coveted US PGA Championship in style as he secured his second major, at the young age of 23 by a record margin, after his eight-shot victory broke Jack Nicklaus’s US PGA record for largest winning margin by one stroke.
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With the London Olympics officially over, Ireland can proudly look back on what was one of our most successful Olympics since Melbourne 1956 with 5 medals as well as those two oh so close fourth place finishes. So well done to all our athletes who have done us so proud!
Our London escapades mirrors our Melbourne Olympics of 56 years ago, not only have we the exact same order (1 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze), 4 of the 5 medals there also came from boxing with Ron Delaneys gold in the 1500m in Melbourne in athletics then being the only non-boxing triumph. This time around it was a medal in the sphere of show jumping not athletics that completed our quintet of medals as Cian O’Connor on Blue Lloyd 12 unexpectedly avenged the ghost of Athens with a great performance to win bronze, narrowly missing out on a chance for gold by hundreds of a second. Continue reading
Coming up in Kerry this weekend from Friday 10 to Sunday 12th august, is one of Irelands oldest and most unique of festivals – Puck Fair – where for over three days in the small town of Killorglin a goat is declared king and the locals are encouraged to act the goat. Originally called the Gathering Day and the oldest Gathering Festival in Ireland and run for a documented 400 years, Puck Fair is three days of celebration and fun in a unique festival premise, with a wild billygoat the centre of attention.
How a humble mountain goat became the centre of festivities is varied and dependant on history and with some suggestions it began as a tribute to Pan/Puck the pagan god of fertility. Another popular origin story is that when Cromwell and his army were pillaging the countryside they disturbed some wild mountain goats, one of whom taking flight ran away from his herd and down to the locals in Killorglin alerting them of the approaching danger. In recognition of the part that wild mountain billy goat played in saving the locals lives back then, a special festival was put in place in his honour. So early each year in august a local wild mountain billygoat is captured, crowned king of Killorglin for three days and nights as celebrations and festivities in his honour follow. Continue reading
Katie Taylor is Olympic Champion, winning a closely fought battle in the final of the women’s lightweight boxing division against Russia’s Sofya Ochigava.
The crowd sang throughout her fights with sounds of the Fields of Athenry, Molly Malone and Bray Girl in the Ring filling the London Excel Arena and as Katie was announced the Gold Medal winner, Fans and supporters of the Bray native erupted into celebrations and cheers. The celebrations were of equal size if not larger here in Ireland too, as thousands of people from all over Ireland and the rest of the world gathered in Katie’s home town to watch her Olympic final bout.
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Since it was first held in 1978, the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival has become one of Ireland premier and most successful internationally renowned musical events.
The Festival is continually growing to be bigger and better year-on-year, as thousands of visitors from all over the world travel to Cork to enjoy the city and bask in the delights that the festival has to offer.
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Irish boxer Katie Taylor goes through to the next round in her bid to become the Olympic champion. The winner will be determined on Thursday which leaves Katie with two more fights in London. She will box against Mavzuna Chorieva of Tajikistan tomorrow. Should Katie win, she will most likely be placed into yet another final along side her old foe Sofya Ochigava of Russia.
Last night, Katie, who is a four time World and five time European champion. has made it clear that she is: ‘here to win gold – nothing else’. Good luck Katie!
For opera fans or lovers of a good show, the charming seaside town of Wexford, every year since 1951, holds an exciting and unique opera festival. Fondly referred to as “one of the best small festivals in the world”, the Wexford Opera Festival is a treat for fans of good opera with three unique headline shows made-up of long forgotten classic operas expertly produced for a modern audience.
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It mightn’t be the Olympics but over in Bantry in the beautiful unspoilt natural maritime sporting arena of West Cork, a sporting event of a different kind has just finished as the curtain closed on the Atlantic Sea Challenge for another two year.
After 8 days of intense competition in over 12 events with international competitors from 16 different countries taking part, it was Northern Ireland who proved victorious with a 2 point margin of victory over team Ireland with Russia in third place. Team Ireland despite proving to be the most consistent crew with 6 wins out of the 12 events, lost due to a minor rules infringement in one of the sailing races earned them a 16 point penalty putting them under severe pressure to win. Continue reading
The Irish musician Van Morrison best known for his legendary song “Brown Eyed Girl” is just one of many music talents who will bring their distinctive blend of music to Sligo Live happening in late October. The festival which runs over six days from 24th-29th October, will have over 100 music acts playing live in various local venues from pubs to shopping centres, throughout the bustling West of Ireland town Sligo.
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Sad news. Following a short illness top Irish journalist and writer, Maeve Binchy has died at the age of 72. Binchy has sold over 40 million books and her stories have been translated into 42 different languages. Arguably her most famous work was made into a book, ‘Circle of Friends’ in 1995. Continue reading
