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Whiskey sour: Two more high-profile Irish spirits brands halt production as Trump effect hits sector

Whiskey sour: Two more high-profile Irish spirits brands halt production as Trump effect hits sector

Irish Independent20 hours ago

Two high-profile Irish whiskey brands have halted production in the latest blow to the once-booming sector.

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Don't know how funny that gag is – Sione Tuipulotu laughs off ‘Aussie' dig
Don't know how funny that gag is – Sione Tuipulotu laughs off ‘Aussie' dig

The Herald Scotland

time26 minutes ago

  • The Herald Scotland

Don't know how funny that gag is – Sione Tuipulotu laughs off ‘Aussie' dig

'Another Aussie at number 12, Sione Tuipulotu,' was how the Scotland centre was introduced when the team was read out for the Lions' opening match on Australian soil. Sione Tuipulotu made his presence felt against Western Force (Trevor Collens/AP) Mack Hansen, James Lowe and Pierre Schoeman were also referenced by the nation of their birth rather than their adopted country, for whom they have qualified either through residency or family heritage. It continued a theme from the hosts that began when Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt described Tuipulotu and New Zealand-born Ireland international Bundee Aki as a 'southern-hemisphere centre partnership' in the build-up to the defeat by Argentina in Dublin. Tuipulotu emphasised the words 'good humour' when brushing aside the jibes that he expected on his return Down Under. 'I knew there would be some 'good humour' coming back home to Australia. These are all things we've got to take in our stride,' he said. 'To not announce the elephant in the room, I am from Australia. I was born here. I don't know how funny that gag is to everyone! Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu, left, and head coach Gregor Townsend celebrate after November's win over Australia (Andrew Milligan/PA) 'I'm loving my rugby playing for the Lions and I'm really passionate about it. Andy's brought the group together so well.' The victory in Perth exposed several shortcomings such as a high penalty count and creaking set-piece, but there was also much to admire in the attacking exuberance that produced eight classy tries. Tougher tests than the Force await on tour but combined with the evidence gathered from the Aviva Stadium eight days earlier, Farrell's Lions are clearly keen to keep the ball alive – and on this occasion the passes stuck. Finn Russell was at the heart of onslaught in his first outing of the tour and the Scot's instinctive play drew approval from Farrell, who declared: 'He's ready to go. And that's good.' Tuipulotu, who expects to be firing by the Test series as he continues his comeback from a significant ankle injury, said: 'We're taking ideas from all the nations. 'Obviously, the coaching style is very Ireland dominant and there are a lot of ideas that we're getting from the Irish coaches, but then those ideas are being sprinkled on. 'When Finn comes in, he plays his style. He plays to the structure of the team, but he's a very instinctive player and he wants to play what's directly in front of his face. 'There's a mixture there and that's what's going to make it hard to defend for opposition teams. 'They're not necessarily defending a structure of play, they're defending a structure of play with really supreme individuals conducting it like Finn. 'Finn's a world-class number 10 and he's been here, been there, done that. He's come off a really good season after winning the Premiership with Bath and I thought him and Tomos Williams controlled the game really well. 'We're still growing, there's a lot of growth left in us but the identity at least, you could see how we try to play the game out there.'

Ireland in promotion hunt after strong day one at European Team Championships
Ireland in promotion hunt after strong day one at European Team Championships

RTÉ News​

time27 minutes ago

  • RTÉ News​

Ireland in promotion hunt after strong day one at European Team Championships

Ireland are in fifth place after day one of the Division 2 events at the European Athletics Team Championships in Slovenia. It was great day for Jack Raftery and the men's 4x100m relay team, as they set another new national record. Raftery put in one of the performances of the day to clock a PB of 44.98 in the 400m, which was good enough to see him finish fourth. In doing so, the Dubliner became just the second Irish man to break the 45-second mark. "I don't know if I have words for it," Raftery said afterwards. "That's the best field I've ever been part of; it's a Diamond League quality field. If I had ran a PB and came last, I would've been happy. I can't believe that. I felt great coming down that home straight. "Oh my god I'm delighted." Sharlene Mawdsley, meanwhile, ran an SB of 50.93 as she came home third in the women's 400m, a result that she was satisfied with. "I don't even know how I made it around," was her assessment post-race. "A season's best is great, it's a shame I didn't come first, I would've loved to win the top points, but it would've taken a PB to do that today. "It was about getting out there and doing my family proud." But there was delight for the men's 4x100m team as they set a new national record for the second weekend in a row. The team of Michael Farrelly (Raheny Shamrock AC), Sean Aigboboh (Tallaght AC), Marcus Lawler (Clonliffe Harriers AC) and Israel Olatunde (Tallaght AC) came home in 38.88, four tenths of a second faster than what they had managed last weekend. "There's a lot of effort that has gone into this over the years," said team captain Lawler. "We're all delighted to break the national record." It was good enough for second place overall. The action is set to resume this afternoon at 1.30pm with promotion on offer for the teams which finish in the top three. Team Ireland - Day One results Sean Mockler – Men's Hammer Throw – 12th (64.00m) Shane Howard – Men's Long Jump – 11th (7.20m) Arlene Crossan – Women's 400m Hurdles – 14th (59.14 PB) Clodagh Walsh – Women's Pole Vault – 10th (3.40m) Fintan Dewhirst – Men's 400m Hurdles – 15th (79.01) Niamh Fogarty – Women's Discus Throw – 5th (52.20m) Bori Akinola – Men's 100m – 8th (10.62, -2.2m/s) Eric Favors – Men's Shot Put – 5th (19.42m) Lucy-May Sleeman – Women's 100m – 9th (11.84, -1.1m/s) Sophie O'Sullivan – Women's 800m – 16th (2:12.87) Shane Bracken – Men's 1500m – 3rd (3:42.92) David Cussen – Men's High Jump – 5th (2.16m) Sharlene Mawdsley – Women's 400m – 3rd (50.93) Elizabeth Ndudi – Women's Long Jump – 4th (6.26m) Jack Raftery – Men's 400m – 4th (44.98) Grace Casey – Women's Javelin Throw – 14th (42.33m) Brian Fay – Men's 5000m – 2nd (13:56.07) Ava O'Connor – Women's 3000m Steeplechase – 3rd (9:45.09) Women's 4x100m Relay (Sarah Leahy, Ciara Neville, Lauren Roy, Sarah Lavin) – 3rd (43.97)

Sione Tuipulotu shrugs off Australian tannoy announcer 'gag' over overseas-born Lions players
Sione Tuipulotu shrugs off Australian tannoy announcer 'gag' over overseas-born Lions players

RTÉ News​

time27 minutes ago

  • RTÉ News​

Sione Tuipulotu shrugs off Australian tannoy announcer 'gag' over overseas-born Lions players

Sione Tuipulotu insists the British and Irish Lions must continue to shrug off any provocation during their tour of Australia after their overseas-born contingent were attacked by the tannoy announcer at Optus Stadium. Tuipulotu, one of eight players in Andy Farrell's squad who were born, raised and educated in the southern hemisphere, was among those caught in the crosshairs before Saturday's 54-7 rout of Western Force. "Another Aussie at number 12, Sione Tuipulotu," was how the Scotland centre was introduced when the team was read out for the Lions' opening match on Australian soil. Mack Hansen, James Lowe and Pierre Schoeman were also referenced by the nation of their birth rather than their adopted country, for whom they have qualified either through residency or family heritage. It continued a theme from the hosts that began when Wallabies and former Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt described Tuipulotu and New Zealand-born Ireland international Bundee Aki as a "southern-hemisphere centre partnership" in the build-up to the defeat by Argentina in Dublin. Tuipulotu emphasised the words "good humour" when brushing aside the jibes that he expected on his return Down Under. "I knew there would be some 'good humour' coming back home to Australia. These are all things we've got to take in our stride," he said. "To not announce the elephant in the room, I am from Australia. I was born here. I don't know how funny that gag is to everyone! "I'm loving my rugby playing for the Lions and I'm really passionate about it. Andy's brought the group together so well." The victory in Perth exposed several shortcomings such as a high penalty count and creaking set-piece, but there was also much to admire in the attacking exuberance that produced eight classy tries. Tougher tests than the Force await on tour but combined with the evidence gathered from the Aviva Stadium eight days earlier, Farrell's Lions are clearly keen to keep the ball alive - and on this occasion the passes stuck. Finn Russell was at the heart of onslaught in his first outing of the tour and the Scot's instinctive play drew approval from Farrell, who declared: "He's ready to go. And that's good." Tuipulotu, who expects to be firing by the Test series as he continues his comeback from a significant ankle injury, said: "We're taking ideas from all the nations. "Obviously, the coaching style is very Ireland dominant and there are a lot of ideas that we're getting from the Irish coaches, but then those ideas are being sprinkled on. "When Finn comes in, he plays his style. He plays to the structure of the team, but he's a very instinctive player and he wants to play what's directly in front of his face. "There's a mixture there and that's what's going to make it hard to defend for opposition teams. "They're not necessarily defending a structure of play, they're defending a structure of play with really supreme individuals conducting it like Finn. "Finn's a world-class number 10 and he's been here, been there, done that. He's come off a really good season after winning the Premiership with Bath and I thought him and Tomos Williams controlled the game really well.

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