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Irish Examiner
7 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Portrush Open victory last of old monkeys to shake from Rory McIlroy's back
It wouldn't be true to say that the 153rd Open Championship will only start when Rory McIlroy steps up to the first tee on Thursday afternoon. It just feels like that. Of the 156 players at this event, 135 will have already taken to the Dunluce links course here on the north Antrim coast before him, starting with Pádraig Harrington who accepted the honour of taking the first shot at the ungodly hour of 6.35am. But McIlroy's first swing is the moment everyone is waiting for. The reigning Masters champion and Grand Slam conqueror expressed his amazement earlier this week at the fact that six years have flown by since this prestigious competition returned to this course and to Northern Ireland for the first time in decades. And he's right. It feels like yesterday. To walk around this place here, past that first tee box and across the opening fairway is to shake your head with wonder all over again at just how exactly this magical golfer managed to find the out-of-bounds on the left and card an opening quadruple bogey. He has admitted to being caught off guard by the swell of support and the frisson of excitement that swirled around him back in 2019. So you could argue that, with the Masters and Slam secured, this is maybe the last of the old monkeys to shake from his back. 'You know, he's going to play 72 holes,' Harrington reminded us on Wednesday. You wouldn't bet on some having to play 76. It's ten years since the last four-hole playoff at this tournament, when Zach Johnson edged out Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen at St Andrews. And four of the last five hostings have been won by one or two strokes. There are five Irish players in the field here, and Shane Lowry will fancy his chances of a 2019 repeat and lifting that Claret Jug again, but McIlroy remains the North Star on this stretch of coastline in north Antrim. It's six years since Shane Lowry's Open victory at Portrush. Picture: Ben Brady/Inpho It's 18 years since Harrington won his first Open and McIlroy took home the silver medal as the leading amateur. The Dubliner predicted great things for the younger man that day — not a stretch — but even he couldn't foresee the extent of achievement that was to come. 'I really went out on a limb, didn't I?' he laughed on Wednesday in a chat with the Irish media. 'Look, we all knew about Rory for probably five, six years before that. He would have been on the radar. 'Obviously he's delivered on that, and that's hard. There's many a star in all sorts of sports that, for whatever reason, when they get going, it just doesn't happen. Rory delivered on that. To win a Grand Slam is incredible. 'Who would have thought that? And hopefully, maybe with Tom McKibbin and others coming behind, we do need to fill that void. That's the one thing we're missing in Ireland: we don't have that next bunch of guys on the tour. 'When I went out on tour there was 15 Irish guys. Only Conor Purcell's on the European Tour at the moment. So we do need a bunch of players to get out there and be the next generation. But for the moment let's hope that previous generations still have a few in them.' There was the hint of a twinkle in his eye as he said that, but there are so many contenders for the title here and, if some of the leading men are obvious, then there isn't anyone absolutely head and shoulders above the rest in terms of odds or expectations. Scottie Scheffler starts as favourite. Natch. Remarkably, the world number one was asked a question about slumps this week despite being the reigning US PGA champion, winning as recently as May and claiming three top tens in his three outings since. Some slump and yet he clearly hasn't been playing to his absolute best. Find that here and there won't be many can live with him although the likes of an in-form McIlroy, Jon Rahm, reigning champion Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau will all have their backers. Two-time Open champion Pádraig Harrington will be fiirst to tee off on Thirsday morning. Picture: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile Then again, this is a tournament that can chuck up winners from, if not left field then out of central casting. Think of Brian Harman, Francesco Molinari and Henrik Stenson in the last ten years alone. And JJ Spaun is here as US Open champion. Even he didn't see that coming. For all the talk of links golf and its unique nature and unfamiliar demands, the famous jug has gone back to America 13 times since the millennium. There have been South African, Australian, Swedish and Italian champion golfers in that same time. Unpredictable winds and bounces don't hold much regard for nationality, although the expected weather conditions this week, while mixed, could probably do with a stiffer breeze to make for the ideal test on a course that has been love-bombed all week. Harrington summed it up as a perfect mix of risk versus reward, a track where players are asked a multiplicity of different questions on every shot and hole and one that, as a result, promises plenty of drama for player and spectator alike. And to think, then, that we haven't even widened the lens on all this yet to take in the enormity of a second Open on Irish soil in just six years. This is enormous. Epic. Just maybe don't mention as much to McIlroy any time before ten-past three in the afternoon. Read More Rory McIlroy more at peace with his mind and his game on return to Royal Portrush
Irish Examiner
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
David Clifford-led Kerry march past old rivals Tyrone to seal All-Ireland final berth
All-Ireland semi-final: Kerry 1-20 (1-1-18) Tyrone 0-17 (0-2-13) The Kerry support was full of voice and their team, led by David Clifford, full of belief as they qualified for their third All-Ireland final in four seasons. After their heroics against Armagh, this was unlikely to be as devastating yet they hit an insipid Tyrone for nine unanswered second-half points to cruise through to the July 27 decider. Notching up 1-9, Clifford was superb again, Joe O'Connor underlined his All-Star credentials once more and the collective defensive display was up there as one of their best of the season. Watched by 62,434 in Croke Park, Tyrone didn't trouble the scoreboard between the 42nd and 64th minutes during which time they kicked six wides. By the time Seánie O'Donnell ended Tyrone's score shyness, it felt like a pity point. In a first half they had trailed 1-9 to 0-9 and the early part of the second, Tyrone weren't getting much in the way of frees. However, a Darragh Canavan two-pointer had them breathing on Kerry's necks three minutes into the new half. They were still one behind in the 42nd minute after Canavan cancelled out Paudie Clifford's first of the game. However, Joe O'Connor followed that with a half-goal chance point and he blasted over another in the 48th minute soon after Dylan Geaney had dragged a goal chance wide following Gavin White's groundwork. Kerry's Joe O'Connor celebrates at the final whistle. Pic: James Crombie/Inpho Further points followed from Killian Spillane (twice), the Clifford brothers (David twice), Seán O'Shea and Graham O'Sullivan as Kerry's margin of comfort reached double figures and the result confirmed long before the final whistle. Tyrone's start suggested there was more in them as they blended the Kerry kick-out in the opening quarter. The swirling breeze was causing Shane Ryan's restarts to hang a little and Tyrone were profiting from that extra time to challenge. They led 0-4 to 0-1 after 12 minutes and 0-5 to 0-2 after 14. Darragh Canavan also had a shot kept out by Ryan but off his left and kicking to the goalkeeper's left it wasn't the most difficult strike to keep out. In the first 24 minutes, Kerry dropped three shots short and spanked the post on two occasions. They generated some momentum when Dylan Geaney won a free that Seán O'Shea converted and then O'Shea turned assistant for David Clifford's first score of the evening. A O'Donnell point in the 20th minute gave Tyrone a little respite but a David Clifford two-pointer squared the game in the 20th minute and he sent over a free two minutes later after Joe McQuillan had awarded advantage as Joe O'Connor attempted to complete a one-two goal opening, only for Niall Morgan to cut it out. Kerry's David Clifford celebrates a score. Pic: Ryan Byrne/Inpho Kerry made some excellent interventions like Mark O'Shea's near-hand tackle on Conn Kilpatrick but Tyrone were still finding the posts and Canavan's left-footer put them ahead in the 28th minute after David Clifford had skewed a shot off his stronger left foot badly wide a minute earlier. Clifford made no mistake when he was offered a second chance in the 29th minute. Off his right foot, he sent the ball home after his disguised hop made Morgan commit to making a save. From close to the halfway line, Mike Breen had been allowed far too much space to advance and his hand-pass over the top found Clifford. O'Sullivan followed it with a point and a power play similar to their second-half display against Armagh appeared to be emerging when Paul Murphy and O'Shea were involved in an attack, only for Morgan to smother Seán O'Brien's short-range shot. After O'Connor hit the post for a fourth time in the half, McQuillan called back the play for a late Kieran McGeary hit on the Austin Stacks man and Clifford's total jumped to 1-5. Mattie Donnelly's second point of the game ended the half but for all of Kerry's wastefulness and kick-out strife (three won from 11), they should have been further than three points ahead. Scorers for Kerry: D. Clifford (1-9, 1 tp, 4 frees); S. O'Shea (0-3, 2 frees); J. O'Connor, P. Clifford, K. Spillane (0-2 each); D. Geaney, G. O'Sullivan (0-1 each). Scorers for Tyrone: D. Canavan (0-7, 1 tp, 2 frees); C. Daly, M. Donnelly, S. O'Donnell, R. Canavan (1 tp) (0-2 each); K. McGeary, E. McElholm (0-1 each). KERRY: S. Ryan; P. Murphy, J. Foley, D. Casey; B. Ó Beaglaoich, G. White, M. Breen (c); S. O'Brien, M. O'Shea; J. O'Connor, S. O'Shea, G. O'Sullivan; D. Clifford, P. Clifford, D. Geaney. Subs for Kerry: K. Spillane for D. Geaney (48); E. Looney for D. Casey (59); T. Morley for M. Breen, M. Burns for S. O'Brien (both 62); T. Brosnan for P. Clifford (65). TYRONE: N. Morgan; C. Quinn, N. Devlin, P. Hampsey; K. McGeary, P. Teague, B. McDonnell; B. Kennedy (c), C. Kilpatrick; M. Donnelly, S. O'Donnell, C. Daly; D. McCurry, D. Canavan, E. McElholm. Subs for Tyrone: M. McKernan for B. McDonnell, M. Bradley for D. McCurry (both 48); P. Harte for C. Daly (52); R. Canavan for E. McElholm (56); M. O'Neill for S. O'Donnell (67). Referee: J. McQuillan (Cavan).
Irish Examiner
02-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
Justice may finally catch up to George Gibney, the man Irish swimming tried to forget
He was the internationally renowned Olympic swimming coach who was meant to bring the lagging Irish programme to the next level. But the so-called saviour of Irish swimming, George Gibney, is accused of being a predator who used his high-profile celebrity position in sports to abuse dozens of young swimmers he coached. On Monday, he was arrested in Florida and is facing 79 charges of attempted rape, relating to the alleged sexual abuse of four girls, court documents show. Gibney who is now aged 77, will appear in a Florida Court in the US next week after being arrested by US marshals on foot of an Irish extradition warrant. Gardaí have been involved in a long-running international attempt to extradite the former coach, and he is wanted here for sexual assault offences. They include 78 for indecent assault and one for attempted rape. The alleged victims are four girls, and the time of the abuse was between January 1, 1971, and August 14, 1974. Escaped justice The disgraced coach was able to hide for decades once he left Ireland shortly after he escaped facing justice here. Former Irish swimming coach George Gibney in 1988. Gardaí have been involved in a long-running international attempt to extradite the former coach, and he is wanted here for sexual assault offences. Picture: Billy Stickland/Inpho His high profile soon came crashing down after he had been confronted by one of his former champion swimmers, Gary O'Toole, who told an award-winning BBC podcast Where's George Gibney? about quitting the sport after he learned that Gibney had abused his assistant coach Chalkie White as a child. He said Gibney made him wait poolside for some time before speaking to him. O'Toole then told him: 'I am calling in to tell you I'm leaving". 'He looked at me, like as if he was the most shocked man in the universe. He said 'why'? I said 'I think you know why I'm leaving'.' There was wall to wall coverage in newspapers about George Gibney's success during his career having coached from the late 1980s to the early 90s until he vanished and hid all over the world. File picture: Eamonn Farrell/© The tense exchange came about after a conversation on a flight to the world championships in Perth in 1990 with White prior to this. White was now in his 30s and began to understand the depraved actions of his colleague — even though they had been working together, they never spoke about what Gibney did to him. But he did approach O'Toole, who was 21 at the time, on the flight to ask him if he had been abused by Gibney and he replied no. O'Toole told the BBC podcast he came to learn what his coach had done. 'It all started to make sense then and it lent credence to Chalkie's allegations. 'The minute he said it, I believed him. That's when everything began to unravel for Gibney.' For years, up to that point, there was nobody like Gibney, who loved publicity and appeared on TV chats shows all over the world. There was wall to wall coverage in newspapers about his success during his career having coached from the late 1980s to the early 90s until he vanished and hid all over the world. George Gibney after returning from the Seoul Olympics in South Korea at Dublin Airport in 1988. Picture: Independent News and Media/Getty O'Toole went on to meet survivors of Gibney's abuse and in 1993, it looked certain that he would face trial here on 27 counts of indecency and carnal knowledge of children. Supreme Court ruling But shockingly, he avoided any prosecution when his legal team successfully argued in one of their reasons for disputing a trial, that too much time had passed since the alleged offences. The prosecution trial was then halted during a judicial review, which ended up in the Supreme Court, who ruled in Gibney's favour. Gardaí tried to launch a second investigation in 1997, but no charges were brought. Gibney immediately left Ireland after the Supreme Court ruling and went to Scotland before travelling to a number of countries around the world including Thailand and then settled in the US where he was eventually arrested. He continued to train swimmers. Once in the US he received a green card and there were rumours of him going on religious trips to Peru and Thailand. He had initially received support from people who believed he was being set up or falsely accused. He lived with another man in the US but largely led a carefree living escaping justice for decades. On Monday, dressed in a brown jacked and blue top, he appeared before Orlando District Court Judge Daniel Irick for 11 minutes to face charges. The charges came about after gardaí reopened the case following the broadcasting of the BBC podcast where reporters tracked him down in the US for the first time in years. Judicial co-operation Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the arrest shows the importance of judicial co-operation with the US. He paid tribute to gardaí for diligent police work. Speaking to reporters during a trade mission to Japan, Mr Martin said: 'I think we all listened to the podcast. I think it's important that we have an agreement with the US — gardaí have been working very diligently and in a detailed way, I have no doubt. 'We will await the next step now,' he added. One of his victims told the podcast that he abused boys and girls and did it in the dressing rooms. She recalled how he did 'everything and anything' to her, and made her wait in the dressing room for lengthy periods of time until the building was empty before he would rape her. She also claimed he stalked her for years when she got older. She said it was 'hard to believe that you just did as you were told, now I know he was waiting for the whole place to clear of everybody else. 'I even picture it, that I was going to school, just living even while, in parallel is the horrible abuse that is going on. "Yet I'm getting up and going training and going to school and doing homework, I can see myself. "It is a funny world, isn't it? To picture someone keeping all that in. I can see all my friends around my sisters and I'm kinda thinking, that is a funny kinda bubble that you are locked in. 'It's not like being locked in a bunker and fed through a window, I was living, I was going to school, I was locked into that world of powerlessness.' Read More Former Olympic swimming coach George Gibney arrested in US
Irish Examiner
02-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
Former Olympic swimming coach facing 79 charges of sexual abuse after US arrest
He was the internationally renowned Olympic swimming coach who was meant to bring the lagging Irish programme to the next level. But the so-called saviour of Irish swimming, George Gibney, is accused of being a predator who used his high-profile celebrity position in sports to abuse dozens of young swimmers he coached. On Monday, he was arrested in Florida and is facing 79 charges of attempted rape, relating to the alleged sexual abuse of four girls, court documents show. Gibney who is now aged 77, will appear in a Florida Court in the US next week after being arrested by US marshals on foot of an Irish extradition warrant. Gardaí have been involved in a long-running international attempt to extradite the former coach, and he is wanted here for sexual assault offences. They include 78 for indecent assault and one for attempted rape. The alleged victims are four girls, and the time of the abuse was between January 1, 1971, and August 14, 1974. Escaped justice The disgraced coach was able to hide for decades once he left Ireland shortly after he escaped facing justice here. Former Irish swimming coach George Gibney in 1988. Gardaí have been involved in a long-running international attempt to extradite the former coach, and he is wanted here for sexual assault offences. Picture: Billy Stickland/Inpho His high profile soon came crashing down after he had been confronted by one of his former champion swimmers, Gary O'Toole, who told an award-winning BBC podcast Where's George Gibney? about quitting the sport after he learned that Gibney had abused his assistant coach Chalkie White as a child. He said Gibney made him wait poolside for some time before speaking to him. O'Toole then told him: 'I am calling in to tell you I'm leaving". 'He looked at me, like as if he was the most shocked man in the universe. He said 'why'? I said 'I think you know why I'm leaving'.' There was wall to wall coverage in newspapers about George Gibney's success during his career having coached from the late 1980s to the early 90s until he vanished and hid all over the world. File picture: Eamonn Farrell/© The tense exchange came about after a conversation on a flight to the world championships in Perth in 1990 with White prior to this. White was now in his 30s and began to understand the depraved actions of his colleague — even though they had been working together, they never spoke about what Gibney did to him. But he did approach O'Toole, who was 21 at the time, on the flight to ask him if he had been abused by Gibney and he replied no. O'Toole told the BBC podcast he came to learn what his coach had done. 'It all started to make sense then and it lent credence to Chalkie's allegations. 'The minute he said it, I believed him. That's when everything began to unravel for Gibney.' For years, up to that point, there was nobody like Gibney, who loved publicity and appeared on TV chats shows all over the world. There was wall to wall coverage in newspapers about his success during his career having coached from the late 1980s to the early 90s until he vanished and hid all over the world. George Gibney after returning from the Seoul Olympics in South Korea at Dublin Airport in 1988. Picture: Independent News and Media/Getty O'Toole went on to meet survivors of Gibney's abuse and in 1993, it looked certain that he would face trial here on 27 counts of indecency and carnal knowledge of children. Supreme Court ruling But shockingly, he avoided any prosecution when his legal team successfully argued in one of their reasons for disputing a trial, that too much time had passed since the alleged offences. The prosecution trial was then halted during a judicial review, which ended up in the Supreme Court, who ruled in Gibney's favour. Gardaí tried to launch a second investigation in 1997, but no charges were brought. Gibney immediately left Ireland after the Supreme Court ruling and went to Scotland before travelling to a number of countries around the world including Thailand and then settled in the US where he was eventually arrested. He continued to train swimmers. Once in the US he received a green card and there were rumours of him going on religious trips to Peru and Thailand. He had initially received support from people who believed he was being set up or falsely accused. He lived with another man in the US but largely led a carefree living escaping justice for decades. On Monday, dressed in a brown jacked and blue top, he appeared before Orlando District Court Judge Daniel Irick for 11 minutes to face charges. The charges came about after gardaí reopened the case following the broadcasting of the BBC podcast where reporters tracked him down in the US for the first time in years. Judicial co-operation Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the arrest shows the importance of judicial co-operation with the US. He paid tribute to gardaí for diligent police work. Speaking to reporters during a trade mission to Japan, Mr Martin said: 'I think we all listened to the podcast. I think it's important that we have an agreement with the US — gardaí have been working very diligently and in a detailed way, I have no doubt. 'We will await the next step now,' he added. One of his victims told the podcast that he abused boys and girls and did it in the dressing rooms. She recalled how he did 'everything and anything' to her, and made her wait in the dressing room for lengthy periods of time until the building was empty before he would rape her. She also claimed he stalked her for years when she got older. She said it was 'hard to believe that you just did as you were told, now I know he was waiting for the whole place to clear of everybody else. 'I even picture it, that I was going to school, just living even while, in parallel is the horrible abuse that is going on. "Yet I'm getting up and going training and going to school and doing homework, I can see myself. "It is a funny world, isn't it? To picture someone keeping all that in. I can see all my friends around my sisters and I'm kinda thinking, that is a funny kinda bubble that you are locked in. 'It's not like being locked in a bunker and fed through a window, I was living, I was going to school, I was locked into that world of powerlessness.' Read More Former Olympic swimming coach George Gibney arrested in US
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
In pictures: British and Irish Lions hammer Reds
Getty Images and Inpho present a selection of some of the best images from the British and Irish Lions' 52-12 victory over Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.
