Latest news with #Donegal-born
The 42
16 hours ago
- Sport
- The 42
Free agent McLaughlin and Philadelphia-born defender link up with Ireland squad
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN has been added to the Ireland squad for Sunday's match against the USA in TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio (kick-off: 8pm Irish time). Donegal native McLaughlin is a free agent, having recently left Portsmouth, and will hope to win her fourth Irish cap this weekend. Advertisement The 22-year-old can cover midfield and attack and provides back-up to the squad following the withdrawal of the injured pair of Megan Campbell (ankle) and Denise O'Sullivan (knee). Philadelphia-born Dee Bradley will also train with the squad in Ohio, but won't be available for selection against the US. The Durham defender links up with Carla Ward's side for the first time and qualifies to represent Ireland through her Donegal-born father and Cork-born mother. IRELAND WNT SQUAD Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (Unattached), Sophie Whitehouse (Charlton Athletic) Defenders: Jessie Stapleton (West Ham United), Anna Patten (Aston Villa), Caitlin Hayes (Brighton & Hove Albion), Hayley Nolan (Crystal Palace), Chloe Mustaki (Bristol City), Izzy Atkinson (Crystal Palace) Midfielders: Megan Connolly (Lazio), Tyler Toland (Blackburn Rovers), Ruesha Littlejohn (Shamrock Rovers), Marissa Sheva (Sunderland), Ellen Molloy (Wexford), Erin McLaughlin (Unattached) Forwards: Kyra Carusa (San Diego Wave), Abbie Larkin (Crystal Palace), Amber Barrett (Standard Liege), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City), Emily Murphy (Newcastle United), Saoirse Noonan (Celtic), Erin Healy (Adelaide United)
RTÉ News
18 hours ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Erin McLaughlin added to Ireland squad for second USA friendly
Erin McLaughlin has been added to the Republic of Ireland squad ahead of this Sunday's second friendly against the USA. The Girls in Green lost 4-0 to the world number one side last night in the first match in Denver, Colorado. Experienced duo Denise O'Sullivan (knee) and Megan Campbell (ankle) were both ruled out with injury pre-match and manager Carla Ward subsequently indicated to RTÉ Sport that neither player would likely be available for Sunday's second friendly in Cincinatti, Ohio (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player). Ireland had travelled to the USA without a number of players including captain Katie McCabe, who was rested for the trip, with Aoife Mannion, Heather Payne and Leanne Kiernan also among those not involved. Donegal native McLaughlin, who recently left Portsmouth, has three senior caps to her name and will now link up with the squad to provide cover in midfield and attack, while Philadelphia-born defender Dee Bradley, who plays for English side Durham FC, will train with the squad in Ohio. She qualifies for Ireland through her Donegal-born father and Cork-born mother. Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (Unattached), Sophie Whitehouse (Charlton Athletic) Defenders: Jessie Stapleton (West Ham United), Anna Patten (Aston Villa), Caitlin Hayes (Brighton & Hove Albion), Hayley Nolan (Crystal Palace), Chloe Mustaki (Bristol City), Izzy Atkinson (Crystal Palace) Midfielders: Megan Connolly (Lazio), Tyler Toland (Blackburn Rovers), Ruesha Littlejohn (Shamrock Rovers), Marissa Sheva (Sunderland), Ellen Molloy (Wexford), Erin McLaughlin (Unattached)
Irish Independent
16-06-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
Today's top TV and streaming choices: An Ghig Mhór, Frost/Nixon and Echo Valley
An Ghig Mhór RTÉ One, 8pm Donegal-born singer-songwriter Eve Belle offers her assistance to musician Hannah B from Gweedore as she attempts to organise her first big gig. Murder 24/7 Monday-Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm New three-part true-crime series in which detectives begin the search for the killer or killers of delivery driver Aurman Singh, who was murdered in broad daylight on a usually quiet estate in 2023. Walter Presents: Pale Mountains Channel 4, 12.05am New eight-part Italian crime drama which takes place in Bolzano on the country's border with Germany. The local residents are left shaken by a series of vicious attacks on the area's German speakers and believe they have been carried out by a long-dormant serial killer. A police officer and an ambitious legal eagle join forces to uncover the truth. Frost/Nixon TG4, 9.30pm Brilliant adaptation of the hit play of the same name. Michael Sheen and Frank Langella reprise their roles as David Frost and former US president Richard Nixon, who locked horns in a series of televised interviews in 1977. American Thunder Prime Video, streaming now Celebrating its 100th anniversary in June 2023, the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans — one of motorsports' most prestigious endurance races — introduced an unexpected competitor: stock car aficionados Nascar. As for what they brought to proceedings? A Chevrolet Camaro to compete against cutting-edge Ferrari and Porsche prototypes in this almost fabled, gruelling test of long-distance racing. Competing at Le Mans was the lifelong dream of Nascar chairman and CEO Jim France. As such, he brought in Hendrick Motorsports, the most successful team in Nascar history, to build and race the car (which, again, was a Camaro). On the plus side, he also enlisted the help of elite drivers Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller. Over the course of 18 months, this team transformed a car built for (at most) three-hour oval track races in the US into one capable of surviving the relentless 24-hour challenge. Deep Cover Prime Video, streaming now Not to be mistaken for the 1990s movie starring Fishburne and Goldblum, this film is about an improv teacher and her two students posing as criminals to slip into London's underworld. Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, Nick Mohammed and Sean Bean have their work cut out for them to make this fly. Return to the Wild Disney+, streaming now Famed as 'the greatest living explorer', Sir Ranulph 'Ran' Fiennes joins his cousin, actor Joseph Fiennes (no sign of brother Ralph, unfortunately), on a breathtaking journey through British Columbia. As they navigate its rugged terrain, they reflect on Ran's legendary expeditions, his battle with Parkinson's, and the deepening bond forged through their shared adventure. Echo Valley AppleTV+, streaming now Julianne Moore and Domhnall Gleeson are getting all the work of late. Both co-star in this thriller about a mother who will do anything to keep her drug-addled daughter 'safe' (including body disposal). Written by Brad Ingelsby (Mare of Easttown), this moody (if a tad predictable) number stars Sydney Sweeney alongside 'dad' Kyle MacLachlan and Fiona Shaw.
Irish Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Harcourt hotel group bookings triple for British Open in Antrim following McIlroy's Masters win
Harcourt Developments, a hotel group founded by Donegal-born developer Pat Doherty, is seeing the benefits of 'McIlroymania' already with a 'threefold increase' in bookings for the British Open golf championship at Royal Portrush in Co Antrim in the two weeks after the Irish golfer's US Masters win. The Open takes place between July 17th and July 20th. 'In the two weeks after Rory had achieved his great success we saw a three-fold increase in bookings‚' said the hotel group's chief operating officer Clement Gaffney. While the group's Redcastle Hotel had an existing corporate booking for all of its rooms he said there was a surge in bookings at its other hotels in Ulster. ' Rory has shone great light on Ulster, and on the Open, which benefits the entire region. It has been fantastic, it has been very positive since Rory won.' Even before the McIlroy's successes the Harcourt Collection of hotels had a 'buoyant start to the year', seeing group revenues rise by 10 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 over the same period last year. READ MORE The group's Ulster-based properties Lough Eske Castle, Redcastle Hotel and Spa, and Titanic Hotel Belfast, have been 'standout performers', the company said with 16 per cent revenue growth year-on-year in the first three months of the year. 100 days of Trump: 'It's like The Karate Kid, tax on, tax off, tariffs on, tariffs off' Listen | 42:49 Hospitality industry groups have recently questioned tourism figures released by the Central Statistics office (CSO) showing significant reductions in spending and tourists in Ireland, with industry chiefs set to meet with the national statistics office on the matter. 'I've been following it with great interest,' the Harcourt chief operating officer said, but noted their hotels hadn't seen any reductions in visitors to their properties. Instead, he said, 'our hotels, our bed nights, our revenue, our rooms occupied, our occupancy, and rates, they have all shown very stable extended growth'. Despite concerns that the number of tourists coming to Ireland could be affected by US tariffs and global economic uncertainty, Mr Gaffney said the hotel group was 'not seeing a drop-off in the number of US tourists coming to Ireland', with North American guests expected to account for more than 60 per cent of stays during the summer. Instead, they are 'seeing very nice steady growth – recent growth - in Canadian business at our Caribbean property', Carlisle Bay in Antigua, as the country's tourism to its southern neighbour cools. The group recently announced a planned €5 million upgrade of its five-star Lough Eske Castle hotel in Co Donegal which grew its room count by 28 per cent. This investment, Mr Gaffney said, has returned a 23 per cent growth in revenue for the hotel in the first quarter. There is more investment to come, Mr Gaffney said, with Harcourt Developments set to commence construction of a 155-bed four star hotel in Liverpool and are looking at 'further development opportunities' in Belfast near their existing Titanic Hotel. He said the Titanic Hotel in Belfast was 'trading at a very high occupancy on a consistent basis, which is a great achievement. What we want to do now is unlock further development in Belfast to capitalise and build on that'.
Irish Independent
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘Ireland's version of the Amazon' – no celebrities required for new documentary on Kerry's natural beauty
The Donegal-born marine biologist, zoologist and coastal guide admits he is a reluctant voice on camera, but director Katrina Costello was persuasive. Mr McGinley is one of a number of west-coast-based scientists that appear in Ms Costello's new documentary on Kerry's natural history, the first episode of which is broadcast on RTÉ One tonight. Entitled Kerry: Tides of Time and narrated by the actor Brendan Gleeson, the two-part series aims to tell a 'rich and multi-dimensional story of the Kerry landscape, from its earliest origins, deep in the geological past, right up to the present day'. It draws on local expertise, rather than parachuting in celebrities, and contributors include Connemara archaeologist Michael Gibbons, environmentalist Mary Reynolds, botanist Dr Therese Higgins, and author and Skellig Michael guide Catherine Merrigan. Sheep farmer Seanie O'Donohue, ecologist Susan O'Donoghue, archaeologist Billy Mag Fhloinn and Barry O'Donoghue, resident of the Stack's Mountain townland, also participate. Based in Corca Dhuibhne, Billy Mag Fhloinn is married to singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, who is the vocalist on the musical score composed by Bradley Ayres. The summit of Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohil and the tetrapod tracks on Valentia Island, Co Kerry, are among locations that Mr McGinley shares his knowledge of. He says it is 'not impossible' that we are all descended from this marine creature – the four-footed, mammal-like reptile that evolved before the rise of the dinosaur and left its footprints on Kerry rock about 385 million years ago. 'A wild thing to take on board,' Mr McGinley says. For Carrauntoohil, the team was lucky to have a clear day for filming, even if it was one of the coldest of last year. ADVERTISEMENT A 'ragged and complex landscape evolving from 400 million-year-old rocks' is explored by archaeologist Michael Gibbons. He explains that the environmental damage done by Bronze Age peoples helped to create the bogs that are now a valuable carbon sink. The bogs and rivers are 'Ireland's Amazon', Mr O'Donoghue says, speaking of his passion for hen harriers, numbers of which are declining. Mary Reynolds is particularly critical of the extensive acreage of fast-growing spruce in Kerry, and the damage done in cutting drains in bogs that releases all the carbon, while also spraying chemicals and planting right up against streams. 'Spruce doesn't hold carbon the way an old oak would,' she says. She believes Kerry is a potential 'flagship' landscape for the return of native species. 'If we could restore a massive amount of woodlands, there is hope…how much joy would that bring into our lives,' Ms Reynolds says. Ms Costello, of Silver Branch films, had worked with some of the contributors on her previous two-part documentary, The Burren: Heart of Stone, also narrated by Brendan Gleeson. The camerawoman, director and producer, who specialises in cultural and natural history, has worked with director of photography John Brown since 2011. Her documentaries have won a number of international awards. Living in Clare, she said she was delighted to secure a commission from RTÉ for her own interpretation of Kerry, heading there in her Hymer campervan and contacting experts who had personal connections to the landscape. Inevitably, such is the passion these people have for the area that the focus is 'more political', she notes, and her contributors took her outside of national park areas to remote rainforests, lakes and little-known hillscapes. 'It was filmed over several summers, and last summer was particularly challenging as we were lucky to get a day where we had four hours without rain,' she says. Kerry: Tides of Time, narrated by Brendan Gleeson, will be broadcast on RTÉ One tonight and next Sunday at 6.30pm
