All-Ireland hurling final jury: key match-ups, a big call for Liam Cahill, plus who will win and why?
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RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Anika Thompson grabs U23 European gold for Ireland, Nicola Tuthill secures silver
Anika Thompson has become Ireland's second European Under-23 athletics champion in 33 years after taking gold in the women's 10,000m final in Norway while Nicola Tuthill earned the first Irish field medal by claiming silver in the hammer. Thompson went out hard in Bergen, sticking with the leaders for the majority of the 24-lap race before sprinting home to take the win in a new national U23 record of 32:31.47. Thompson, born and raised in Oregon, but representing Ireland through her Cork-born mother, follows on from another woman of Rebel ancestry Sophie O'Sullivan, who claimed Ireland's first ever gold at these championships in the 1500m two years ago. The newly crowned champion said she had planned to attack the race from the start and showed grit throughout the race to stick with the pace. EUROPEAN U23 CHAMPION ANIKA THOMPSON 🥇🥇🥇🥇 Anika Thompson speaking to us after winning the women's 10,000m in a new U23 record of 32:31.47 👊 #irishathletics — Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) July 18, 2025 "I'm overjoyed,"Thompson said afterwards. "The plan was to go by instincts, and I trusted my gut. I knew that I had every tactic in the bag, I could do well if it went out slow or if it went out honest." Thompson's parents were unable to attend, but her wider family from County Cork were in the crowd to cheer her on. "My granny Marie, my aunt Fiona, and my uncle Kevin are here… I was glad to put on a show for them today." Heather Murphy finished 19th in a time of 35:07.09. Nicola Tuthill (above) made history again just 30 minutes later by claiming silver in the women's hammer with a throw of 70.90m. This is the first field event medal for Ireland at the championships, with Tuthill throwing her best of the competition in the fourth round. "Second is where I was ranked, and second is where I came, so delighted with that," she said. "I'm always looking for a little bit more, but these medals are really hard to come by. "It's really special.. I know there is more in but it's still another throw over 70m and my third best in the competition so in a major championships like this, with the nerves and everything that comes with it I'm delighted. " In the morning session, two Irish athletes secured qualification to finals. Eimear Maher of DSD AC progressed to the final of the women's 1500m by finishing third and securing an automatic qualification spot in a time of 4:13.84. This is Maher's debut championship on the track, and she comes in with an impressive personal best of 4:08.67. Cara Laverty of Finn Valley AC was ninth in heat one of the women's 1500m in 4:23.66, which wasn't enough to qualify on this occasion. Ava O'Connor also secured her place in the women's 3,000m steeplechase final, crossing the line in second place in 10:02.95. Alexandra Joyce made her Irish debut just three months after taking up the steeple event and finished just two seconds off her personal best in 10:15.63 to take 11th place in heat one. Ailish Hawkins completed the steeplechase trio, finishing her competition in 11th position in heat two in a time of 10:44.45. Andrew Egan made his individual debut, after being part of the 4x400m squad two years ago in Espoo. Egan finished in fifth position in 21.77, which was two places outside automatic qualifying. Maher will race in the 1500m final on Sunday afternoon, and O'Connor will run in the 3000m steeplechase final on Saturday evening. Tomorrow will see Nick Griggs make his 5,000m championship debut. Anna Gavigan will compete in the morning session in the women's discus qualification.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Shane Lowry suffers two-shot penalty as Scottie Scheffler takes Open control
This is terrain on the Causeway Coast where, history tells us, legends have walked the walk. And, so, on a day when the weather gods were unpredictable, Scottie Scheffler strode the Dunluce links with all of the predictability of a world number one in shooting a second round 64 for a midway total of 10-under-par 132 that gave him the solo 36-holes lead in this 153rd Open . For Shane Lowry , though, who had played in the same threeball, there was a sour end to a round where he too had played with some sublime shot-making as his 70 was turned into a 72 post-round after incurring a two strokes penalty for his ball moving in semi-rough on the par-5 12th hole. Lowry was unaware of the possible infringement until approached by an R&A rules official on the 15th fairway. The incident – picked up on slow-motion television replays – occurred when Lowry made a practice swish of his club, some 12 inches left of the ball in the wet grass, which was deemed to have caused the slightest of downward movement, a dimple at most, of the ball which he didn't – or couldn't possibly – notice. READ MORE Watch Shane Lowry speak about being assessed a two-stroke penalty at Royal Portrush for his ball moving during a practice swing — Irish Times Sport (@IrishTimesSport) 'I was in there with the rules official and wasn't arguing my case, but I'm disappointed that they don't have more camera angles on it. The one [they had] zoomed in slow motion; they're trying to tell me if it doesn't move from the naked eye, if you don't see it moving, it didn't move. I told them I definitely was looking down towards the ball as I was taking that practice swing, and I didn't see it move,' explained Lowry. [ The Open Day 2 - as it happened Opens in new window ] 'I think they had it in their heads the ball moved, I caused it to move, it's a two-shot penalty. They only had one camera angle which was zoomed in at the ball. They had none of me actually full length, which we were looking for and needed. If the ball moved and I caused it to move and it moved, it's a two-shot penalty. 'The last thing I want to do is sit there and argue and not take the penalty and then get slaughtered all over social media tonight for being a cheat.' Shane Lowry stands on the 16th green during the second round at Royal Portrush. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Lowry's revised 72 for 142 still saw him survive into the weekend but, especially with Scheffler at the top of the leaderboard, and a packed field in between, with an Everest of his own to climb. Scheffler, too, addressed the rules decision. 'Ultimately in golf it's up to the player, and I felt like Shane was put in a pretty tough situation there when they were zooming in on his golf ball. 'In the rough it's hard to tell. From what I looked at very briefly on the video, it looked like it was very difficult to see if the ball was moving. If the ball moved. The camera was kind of zooming in as stuff was happening. One of the great things about the game of golf is that you call your penalties on yourself. This situation, it was a very tough spot for Shane to be put in. He handled it really well,' said Scheffler. The day itself was pernickety, at times delivering sunshine and at others bringing dark clouds off the North Atlantic that delivered heavy downpours. The rain, when it came, mainly through the afternoon, was powerful but short-lived and had the effect of reducing the wind to a mere breeze that enabled players – most pertinently Scheffler – to charge. Scheffler's 64 was one outside the course record set by Lowry in the third round of the Irishman's march to victory in 2019. Rory McIlroy acknowledges the crowd on the first tee at Royal Portrush. Photograph:For the American, immune to the rain that doused the links on numerous occasions, it was an impressive display of shot-making and evidence of his ability to learn and adapt his game to the nuances of links. Scheffler had eight birdies and a lone bogey in a round that saw him claim a one-stroke lead over England's Matt Fitzpatrick – who had carded a 65 for 133 – with Brian Harmon, the champion in 2023, and Haotong Li in tied-third a shot further back. Rory McIlroy's topsy-turvy front nine – which saw two birdies and two bogeys in his opening five holes – steadied itself on the homeward run and, seven shots adrift, his hopes of winning are not entirely remote. His swing looked back to its rhythmic self, as if it clicked into place in powering long, accurate drives that brought birdies on the 12th and 14th in signing for a 69 for three-under-par 139. Unlike his abrupt departure in 2019, McIlroy not only survived the cut on this occasion but entitled to have ambitions. 'I'm excited for that opportunity. I didn't have this opportunity six years ago, so to play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds, I'm very excited for that. I feel like my game's definitely good enough to make a run,' insisted McIlroy. The first part of his mission complete, to be around for the weekend, McIlroy must now kick on but aware not to force the issue: 'If you have one of those out of the blue days you can get it going, but for the most part, you're just trying to pick off your birdies on the easy holes and honestly, like, hold on with some of these really tough par 4s,' said McIlroy who, like everyone, is cast in the role as pursuer to Scheffler.
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
West Cork builder wins 10 All-Ireland final tickets in €10 Cavan GAA draw
A builder from West Cork has struck GAA gold this weekend, winning a remarkable 10 coveted tickets to Sunday's All-Ireland hurling final in a county board draw. It's probably the best €10 Kilbrittain man Sean O'Brien has ever spent. With demand for tickets at fever pitch, Sean, like thousands of others, was on the hunt for tickets when he spotted that Cavan GAA was giving away 10 tickets to the hugely anticipated Cork vs Tipperary clash as first prize in their monthly draw. He decided to take a chance and enter. His ticket was drawn on Thursday, and he now plans to make a family day out of the trip to Croke Park on Sunday, bringing his father, three sisters, and friends to the match. Mr O'Brien said he is on top of the world about the win. 'It's great, it was just pure luck,' he said. 'It popped up on Facebook, I entered every draw going, I entered a draw from Mexico too – I follow Mexico GAA.' Deciding whom to share the ticket with was tricky, he said. 'I was getting a few requests alright, people messaging saying 'Sean, my best friend'. It was a tough decision,' he said, laughing. In the end, his three sisters and friends made up the group. 'They're great tickets,' he said. 'I don't know how I got so lucky. I'd be happy now if Cork win by just a point.' Mark Gilsenan, a spokesman for Cavan GAA, said they were delighted the tickets had gone to a genuine fan — and to a Corkman. 'We had a much higher than usual entry – not surprising, I suppose, with Cork having such a big following,' he said. 'Not many clubs raffle off so many, and we'd been inundated across social media with messages and requests for tickets. 'In a draw like this, anyone could have won, so we're delighted it's gone to someone so genuine. We couldn't have picked a better winner.' Croke Park in Dublin. Picture: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile He explained that Cavan GAA was able to offer the tickets thanks to a shrewd decision it made several years ago to invest €75,000 in a 10-year Croke Park ticket package. 'The tickets we gave away in the draw are not from our allocation of All Ireland final tickets from Croke Park. Those tickets were distributed to the clubs in the normal way,' he said. 'The All-Ireland final tickets offered in the raffle are ones we bought from Croke Park as part of that 10-year package all those years ago.' The county board is now reaping the rewards of that investment, with funds raised from the monthly raffles going towards a multi-phase redevelopment of Kingspan Breffni Park, the home of Cavan GAA. Its monthly draw has been running for years, with past prizes including Formula 1 packages, trips to Australia and New York (with spending money), and European Cup rugby tickets. Upcoming prizes include tickets to Oasis and Robbie Williams gigs, NFL tickets, and even a car. 'This was our third year of raffling a package of 10 All-Ireland tickets. We made the decision to raffle them as a package to give the winner more options around who they bring the final,' Mr Gilsenan said. Anyone who spent €10 to enter the July draw and was in the drum for the All-Ireland hurling final will automatically be included in the draw for 10 football final tickets — Kerry vs Donegal on July 27. That draw will take place the week before the final, and tickets can be purchased via this link: Read More Cork and Tipp fans furious as All-Ireland final ticket chaos sparks calls for GAA review
