
Inside Wendy Lowry's ‘beautiful' day out with other golf WAGs before cheering Shane on at The Open
She was joined by fellow
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Wendy captioned this snap 'Beautiful morning'
Credit: @wendyirislowry
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Kate (left) and Clare (middle) are the wives of Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood respectively
Credit: @wendyirislowry
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Here Wendy joked 'Can you cope with this weather'
Credit: @wendyirislowry
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The trio were accompanied by their children who loved dipping their toes into the water
Credit: @wendyirislowry
Padraig Harrington
Ahead of his 3.10pm tee time
The sign salutes McIlroy's testicular fortitude when finally
The cheeky Irish bookmaker doffed their cap to
Read More On Irish Sport
Paddy Power himself commented: 'Winning a career Grand Slam takes guts – or, in Rory's case, absolute balls of steel.
"We thought it was only right to honour his heroic return with something suitably enormous, unmissable, and truly entertaining.
"What better way than a pair of giant underpants and two enormous golf balls swinging in the Northern Irish breeze? If that doesn't scream 'Rory's home', we don't know what does.'
"Because if anyone's earned the right to strut around with massive metaphorical stones, it's Rory McIlroy, and when he shows up swinging, so do we."
Most read in Golf
The five-time Major winner gave his fans a thrill by wearing his Green Jacket to Portrush as he collected the Golfer of the Year award from the Association of Golf Writers.
McIlroy, 36, said: 'The reception I've had here has made this week a celebration of what I have achieved in my career but it's also an opportunity I want to embrace.
'People's champ' Bryson DeChambeau delights Open fans with classy gesture as they say 'how can you not love this guy?'
'Being in this position is the stuff of dreams. It has been an incredible year.'
McIlroy was mobbed walking across the first fairway for the awards, prompting chants of 'Rory, Rory'.
He
McIlroy also wants to make amends for his Portrush Open flop in 2019 when he missed the cut.
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Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is a renowned landmark in the Ballintoy area
Credit: @wendyirislowry
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Wendy shared this wide shot to give an idea of how scary it was to cross it
Credit: @wendyirislowry
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Ballintoy Harbour is also a charming sight
Credit: @wendyirislowry
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Shane of course won the competition the last time it was held at Royal Portrush in 2019
Credit: @wendyirislowry
He said: 'I feel so grateful to be in this position now, to be home and have the chance to win another Major.
'It's been an amazing year, from the end of last year winning the Race to Dubai and doing what I've done in the first half of this year.'
Pointing at his Green Jacket for winning The Masters, he said: 'I fulfilled a lifelong dream this year, winning this thing that's over my shoulders right now.
'Any excuse to put it back on I'll happily take.'
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Sunday World
an hour ago
- Sunday World
Irish rap star Malaki thrilled as lyrics featured on exterior of trendy new Dublin hotel
The Dubliner from Stillorgan says he's particularly honoured to have been chosen by the quirky citizenM hotel as the featured artist from a list that included Hozier and Dermot Kennedy Irish rap star Malaki yesterday spoke of his thrill that a trendy new Dublin hotel has featured a bronze-cast lyric of one of his songs as an eye-catching attraction on the building's exterior. The Dubliner from Stillorgan says he's particularly honoured to have been chosen by the quirky citizenM hotel, set opposite St Patrick's Cathedral in The Liberties, as the featured artist from a list that included Hozier and Dermot Kennedy. 'I'm still a struggling artist with a day job as a hospital porter, so they probably felt it would mean more to me than to artists who've had international success, which I'm very grateful for,' Malaki tells the Sunday World. 'I don't think it'll sink in until the official opening next week. For me and probably many other people, your city is who you are. And as a Dubliner it's very ingrained in who we are…proud to be here, but proud of the concrete and the grass on which we stand. 'I think as an artist to have something to remember you and your legacy is huge. We see it across the city with our Phil Lynotts and our James Joyces and Luke Kellys, and to me that just screams achievement - what they did for the art and not just for themselves. 'For me, in the beginning this journey was for Dublin, it was to spread a message to Dubliners because that's what Malaki means, it's messenger, and I just felt I did my job when I saw it. The citizenM hotel in Dublin 'It felt like you did what you wanted to do you grieved in the city of Dublin, you wrote a song about your love of the city, and now it has come full circle, you've got what you wanted and you've come out the other end.' Malaki's lyrics are from his song, Cuppa Tea. 'It's one that I've always loved playing live. The first time I played it everyone went crazy because it was upbeat, they could relate to it, it's fun, it has this great outro,' he says. 'So it seems it's always been meant to be that it's my most important song. And in this case it was chosen by the citizenM people, I didn't choose it.' The citizenM hotel group has 36 hotels in 21 cities around the world and is the brainchild of Rattan Chadha, founder of global fashion brand, Mexx. It's Dublin hotel is a Brutalist-style building design by legendary Irish architect Sam Stephenson, lovingly preserved and given a fresh new life by citizenM's creative team. 'They contacted me by direct message on Instagram three years ago,' Malaki reveals. 'And they said they chose Cuppa Tea because they wanted a representation of Dublin city. Even not coming from the city and not having any business here they felt that song was the best representation of it. 'And that was a massive compliment because that's exactly what I wrote the song about. It's about the love that's for Dublin, basically. 'I always wanted a billboard, but this is even better, this is forever.' Malaki Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 21st


Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Jamie Osborne and Thomas Clarkson set to experience the joy of becoming a Lion
The British & Irish Lions go into their final midweek match of this 2025 tour against the First Nations & Pasifika XV with two different narratives around team selection. First, the joy of becoming a Lion for the likes of Jamie Osborne and Thomas Clarkson, two young Irishmen among a group of five debutants handed the opportunity of a rugby-playing lifetime to join a select group of players representing the best of English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh rugby, if only for one game. Secondly, an opportunity of a different kind, for Josh van der Flier and Jac Morgan, Blair Kinghorn and Garry Ringrose and others besides to stake their claim for Test selection against Australia this Saturday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. They will offer contrasting motivations at Marvel Stadium on Tuesday but head coach Andy Farrell will demand that this team of Test hopefuls and first timers will be synchronised enough to keep the Lions' momentum rolling from last Saturday's Brisbane victory over the Wallabies into this weekend's potential Test decider for the tourists. Naturally enough, the battle for insertion into a winning Test 23 will occupy coaches' minds most ahead of their final selection meeting on Wednesday night here in Melbourne but that did not stop assistant coach Simon Easterby waxing lyrical about the opportunity this midweek game presents to Clarkson, 25, and Osborne, 24. 'It goes without saying, the quality of those two individuals,' Easterby said. Jamie Osborne during a training session. Pic: ©INPHO/Billy Stickland. 'Tom's fought through a pretty tough position at Leinster, never mind in the Irish squad, and he's put in some brilliant performances. 'He really has stood up and bringing them on the 'Emerging Ireland' tour. He was certainly someone that we felt could step up over the next couple of years, but he's been excellent. 'He's fought for everything and in a pretty tough position where being a tighthead probably takes a good few years to learn your trade, he's certainly in a really good place. 'Jamie has had a brilliant couple of years. The performance he had in South Africa last summer, his performance for Leinster playing 12, 13, wing, 15, it was pretty impressive, the positions he can cover and the quality that he brings to the group as well. 'I'm really pleased with the two of them. They fully deserve being here and no doubt they'll perform really well tomorrow.' Ten days on from a blowout win against a scratch AUSNZ Invitational XV that failed to live up collectively that their teamsheet suggested of the individuals concerned, this First Nations & Pasifika XV will at least have a purpose and identity as the first side of its kind selected from Samoan, Fijian, Tongan, Māori and Indigenous Australian cultures. Their head coach Toutai Kefu, won 60 caps for the Wallabies and has named a matchday squad of 17 players with Pasifika heritage and six indigenous First Nations players included. Even so, they will find it tough going against a hardened Lions side bristling with intent and ambition for Test recognition this Saturday but Easterby gave Kefu's side the respect they deserve. 'You look at the teamsheet and they have some incredible individuals. They'll try to make a mark. 'Some of them have played against the Lions on this trip already, some of them won't, and that is probably is something those players will feel they want to lay down a bit of a marker and bring their own skillset and individuality to their game. It's certainly an impressive outfit when you look at it on paper. 'I guess our challenge, as it always is, is to be as connected as we can be in terms of the way we play, in terms of the guys who aren't involved to prepare the team that plays tomorrow. Everyone's been chipping in and been part of that. 'It's an exciting team, but certainly an exciting challenge and opportunity for our guys to go out and stake a claim for the next couple of weeks.' FIRST NATIONS & PASIFIKA XV (Cultural heritage in brackets): Andy Muirhead (First Nations); Triston Reilly (First Nations), Lalakai Foketi (Māori & Tonga), David Feliuai (Samoa), Filipo Daugunu (Fiji); Kurtley Beale (First Nations) – captain; Kalani Thomas (Māori); Lington Ieli (Fiji), Brandon Paenga-Amosa (Samoa & Māori), Taniela Tupou (Tonga); Darcy Swain (Samoa), Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (Samoa); Sere Uru (Fiji), Charlie Gamble (Tonga), Tuaina Taii Tualima (Samoa). Replacements: Richie Asiata (Samoa), Marley Pearce (Māori & First Nations), Mesake Doge (Fiji), Mesake Vocevoce (Fiji), Rob Leota (Samoa), Harrison Goddard (First Nations), Jack Debreczeni (Cook Island), Jarrah McLeod (First Nations). BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: B Kinghorn (Scotland); D Graham (Scotland), J Osborne (Ireland), O Farrell (England) – captain, D van der Merwe (Scotland); F Smith (England), B White (Scotland); P Schoeman (Scotland), J George (England), F Bealham (Ireland); J Ryan (Ireland), S Cummings (Scotland); J Morgan (Wales), J van der Flier (Ireland), H Pollock (England). Replacements: E Ashman (Scotland), R Sutherland (Scotland), T Clarkson (Ireland), G Brown (Scotland), B Earl (England), A Mitchell (England), M Smith (England), G Ringrose (Ireland). Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia).


Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
New Irish writer getting rave reviews — but nobody knows who they are
What's in a pen name? Irish writer Liadan Ní Chuinn's debut short story collection, Every One Still Here, is receiving rave reviews and rapturous praise, but hardly anyone seems to know who they are. A cursory Google turns up no photos or biographical information. All we know is that the writer is Northern Irish and was born in 1998, the year of the Good Friday agreement. A statement from Irish publisher The Stinging Fly reads: 'The Stinging Fly has been working with Liadan on these stories for the past four years. From early on in the process, they expressed a desire to publish their work under a pseudonym and to protect their privacy throughout the publication process. No photographs of the author are available and Liadan will not be participating in any in-person interviews or public events.' Writing anonymously or under a pseudonym is a long-established custom in publishing. Jane Austen's novels were attributed to 'a Lady', Mary Ann Evans went by George Eliot, and the Brontë sisters were Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Although women no longer need to disguise themselves as men, and 'the low trade of writing novels' is less stigmatised, the tradition of the pen name has continued throughout the 20th century into the present day: John Le Carré was really David Cornwell; Eric Blair became George Orwell; and no one has heard of Erika Leonard, but everyone has heard of EL James. When questions regarding the veracity of nature memoir The Salt Path caused outrage among the nation's book groups, the fact that the author had changed her and her husband's names was the least remarkable revelation. If anything, it can feel more unusual to meet an author whose books have the name they were born with on the cover. In the modern publishing world, the spectrum encompasses everything from 'uses a pen name but has an author photo and gives interviews' to 'has an opposite gender or gender-neutral author persona'; 'uses different pseudonyms for different genres'; 'uses a different name for political reasons, eg to escape persecution in their home country, or personal or professional reasons'; and even 'secret anonymity' (is anonymous but tries to make it so that no one actually knows they are). Every One Still Here by Liadan Ní Chuinn Nepotist offspring will often use a less famous parent's surname to stave off accusations that they owe their success to their connections or, as in the case of AS Byatt, an author may use their married name to distance themselves from a novelist sibling (Margaret Drabble). Total anonymity, however, is a different business. The most famous modern example we have is of course Elena Ferrante (or it was, until she was possibly and, to my mind, very rudely unmasked by an Italian journalist). Yet even Ferrante did some press through correspondence, including writing for The Guardian. To not give interviews at all, especially as a young debut author, is unusual indeed, particularly in a publishing landscape where 'personal brand' is key, and short stories remain such a hard sell. You could say that Liadan Ní Chuinn's collection being published at all is something of a miracle. Literary quality is not always prioritised above profile. I cannot tell you how many proofs I am sent by writers who are big on Instagram but can't string a grammatical sentence together. With publicity budgets not what they used to be and many authors needing to do much of the work themselves, a debut writer who won't give interviews or attend events represents a challenge to any acquiring publishing house and their publicity department. I admire Ní Chuinn. As an author myself — in the next six months I have two books coming out — I know that the stress of exposure and the risk of burnout can be very real. Ní Chuinn could be forgiven for looking at Sally Rooney, another writer in the same literary ecosystem who started young, and thinking that level of exposure looks unappealing. The way a young woman — because it's usually a young woman — who creates something great becomes a sort of shorthand for everything that is wrong/right about her chosen art form is hardly an incentive to put yourself out there. Rooney's writing shows a deep ambivalence about fame, and her decision to now largely only put herself forward in the media when it serves her impassioned political beliefs is to be admired. Yet newspapers are still terribly prone to what I call 'Rooney-itis'. Look, I'm doing it now. When you're an author, public exposure doesn't just affect you, but the people in your life whose stories often overlap with yours. When you are writing about sensitive topics that have a lasting, painful legacy on real people's lives — as Ní Chuinn does in their excavation of the murderous legacy of English colonialism in Ireland — it can be an act of care and protection to remove yourself from the spotlight. Most of all, it makes the interaction between author and reader purely about the quality of the work. For a publisher to agree to publish an anonymous author, as so many did Ferrante, and publishers in Ireland, Britain, and the US have Ní Chuinn, that writer has to be extraordinary. And Ní Chuinn is. It should give any avid reader of fiction — and any author who cares about sentences but is rubbish at TikTok — hope. The work can still be the thing, at least sometimes. — The Guardian