Latest news with #JoeCanning
Irish Times
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Live hurling updates: Cork and Dublin meet in All-Ireland semi-final
All-Ireland SHC semi-final: Cork v Dublin, Croke Park, 5pm (Live, RTÉ & BBC NI) Key Reads: Joe Canning: Most people think it's Cork's All-Ireland to lose and that suits Kilkenny just fine Nicky English: Faltering standard of this year's championship brings Kilkenny into the frame Team focus: Niall Ó Ceallacháin has Dublin's unlikely band of hurlers singing a fine tune Malachy Clerkin: It feels like a good time to point out that Cork might not win the All-Ireland -22 minutes ago Welcome to the best weekend of the hurling year. Four teams left to decide the summer - Cork and Dublin today, Tipperary and Kilkenny tomorrow. We'll keep you up to date with every puck, hit and miss right the way through it all. Referee Johnny Murphy will throw the ball in for Dublin v Cork at five o'clock.
Irish Times
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Andy Farrell welcomes his cub back into the Lions fold
It's semi-final time in the hurling championship: Cork v Dublin on Saturday and Kilkenny v Tipperary on Sunday. Despite much of the chat being about Cork's form this year, Joe Canning reckons Kilkenny are slipping under the radar . 'When I look at this team I don't see a weakness,' he writes. On top of that, 'the experience they have of this stage of the championship is greater than any of the other teams still standing,' a factor he believes can give them an edge. Billy Ryan will certainly hope so, the Kilkenny forward sick and tired of going close with his county , but not close enough. Seán Moran hears from him. In rugby, Gerry Thornley is in Sydney ahead of the Lions' game against NSW Waratahs tomorrow, a certain Owen Farrell due to land today after being called up to replace the injured Elliot Daly. His father Andy 'may have raised eyebrows by not including his son in the original squad, but he's arguably raised even more by calling him up now ,' Gerry writes. He heard from Farrell Snr on his decision to bring Jnr in for his fourth Lions Tour. READ MORE Jonathan Drennan brings the 'View from Down Under'. The Waratahs, he fears, won't provide much of a test , 'there is a sad and strong possibility that the Lions will put more than 60 points past them'. John O'Sullivan, meanwhile, is over in Tbilisi where Ireland play Georgia tomorrow. The game, along with Saturday week's meeting with Portugal, 'represents a land of opportunity' for the squad , 'the chance to build, enhance or reinforce reputations', a view shared by interim head coach Paul O'Connell. Thursday brought the tragic news of the death of Portugal and Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother André in a car crash in Spain, Barney Ronay reflecting on what is, above all 'the most terrible human tragedy, an event that will alter the lives of family and friends forever'. Gavin Cummiskey has the latest transfer speculation on the Irish front, including Brighton's apparent willingness to let Evan Ferguson go – not cheaply, though, they're looking for a fee around the €33-million mark – and he looks at the FAI's efforts to secure the services of the gifted young Sligo Rovers forward Owen Elding for Ireland. In golf, Philip Reid reports on the first round of the Irish Open at Carton House where just four of the 16 Irish players in the field posted sub-par scores , Emma Fleming the pick of the bunch with an impressive 69 that leaves her tied for ninth. Leona Maguire has work to do, she's tied for 43rd. And in her column, Sonia O'Sullivan looks at the growing popularity of high-altitude training for athletes preparing for major championships. She gave herself a reminder of the 'truly natural performance-enhancing aid' when she visited Font Romeu in the French Pyrenees last week. TV Watch: It's day five at Wimbledon (BBC 1 and BBC 2 from 11am), fourth seed Jack Draper's defeat on Thursday the latest in a string of upsets. Sky Sports Golf has the second round of the women's Irish Open from 5pm and at the same time, Denmark and Sweden kick off at Euro 2025 (RTÉ 2 and UTV). At 8pm, Germany, one of the pre-tournament favourites, play Poland (RTÉ 2 and UTV). World Cup holders Spain opened their campaign in style on Thursday with a 5-0 win over a grieving Portugal side.
Irish Times
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Lions try out unlikely midfield combination against Argentina
The Lions' summer's business gets under way this evening with a warm-up against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium. As Gerry Thornley tells us, they'll be without 15 of the squad due to club commitments and injuries for a non-capped international that is 'primarily a moneymaking venture', one that, ultimately, will be 'a footnote in history'. Still, all concerned will be up for it, not least Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi who is not unfamiliar with the city of Dublin. Andy Farrell, says John O'Sullivan, has proved once more that he's not 'risk averse' by opting for 'an unlikely midfield combination' of Sione Tuipulotu and Bundee Aki , Tuipulotu more used to playing as an inside centre. Opportunity knocks, then, for the Scotland international in the absence of Garry Ringrose and Huw Jones. It's a huge weekend in Gaelic games with two hurling quarter-finals and four preliminary football quarter-finals in the schedule. Lose and your summer is done and dusted. After their hiding in the Leinster final, Joe Canning is hoping to see a vastly improved performance from Galway at the Gaelic Grounds when they come up against a Tipperary side 'with their tails up'. Galway's footballers have it all to do too when they meet a Down side whose 'confidence has been soaring' , Ian O'Riordan talking to Galway's Shane Walsh ahead of Sunday's meeting in Newry. READ MORE Meanwhile, those who might assume that this hooter business is the first timekeeping innovation in the history of Gaelic football ... Seán Moran has news for you: the Bogue Clock – the giant stopwatch that made its debut all the way back in 1938. In horse racing, Brian O'Connor reports on Trawlerman setting a track record on his way to winning Royal Ascot's Gold Cup on Thursday, and he previews today's action, Colin Keane choosing 'to stick with his old ally Babouche over Juddmonte's other big hope, Jonquil' in the Commonwealth Cup. In golf, Philip Reid reports on a good day at the office for Rory McIlroy at the Travelers Championship , his opening round of 64 putting him in contention, while Leona Maguire made a solid start to the PGA Championship in Texas with a level-par 72. No one topped Max Kennedy's exploits, though – he shot a course record 60 in France on the Hotelplanner Tour. Sadly, no one in the sports department was available to go sailing with Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove in Dún Laoghaire and have themselves dangled over the ocean at a 45-degree angle giving you 'the same sensation as when you lean too far back in your chair and your life flashes before your eyes'. Except Muireann Duffy. Before you read about her adventure, have your tummy tablets at the ready. TV Watch : There's further coverage from Royal Ascot on Virgin Media One and UTV (from 1.30), and Sky Sports Golf will be hopping between the women's PGA Championship in Texas and the lads' Travelers Championship in Connecticut (from 1.0). At 8.0 you get to choose between the Lions v Argentina (TG4 and Sky Sports Action), athletics' Paris Diamond League (Virgin Media Three and BBC Three) and Shamrock Rovers v Cork City (Virgin Media Two).
Irish Times
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Uncharted with Ray Goggins: Once Joe Canning thaws this tropical thrill ride is a fine full stop to a rewarding series
It's funny how even famous people will drop their guard when suspended from a waterfall or hovering over a toilet in subzero temperatures. Such has been the lesson of celebrity survival series Uncharted With Ray Goggins (RTÉ One, 9.35pm), which across the past four weeks has brought us such unlikely spectacles as Leo Vardakar undergoing an existential crisis while dangling from a cliff in South Africa and one-third of Kneecap questioning the existence of God during a trek to a subzero loo in the Arctic Circle. The show's enjoyable first season now comes to an end with former Army ranger and lifestyle guru Goggins – think Bear Grylls trying slightly too hard to be Roy Keane – leading All-Ireland winning Galway player Joe Canning and Olympic athlete Thomas Barr - 'a hurler and a hurdler' – into the Colombian jungle for a spot of terrifying white-water rafting. But surely the biggest challenge is the one facing Goggins, who must go where many celebrity survivalists will have feared to tread by making a duo of top sportspeople appear interesting. It's a tough ask. While previous participants, such as former taoiseach Varadkar and Kneecap, know how to sell themselves, athletes are cut from a different cloth. They tend to be guarded on camera and generally talk in clichés. At the end of the day and with all credit to the lads, Goggins is going to have to find a way to make them open up. Otherwise, it would be platitudes till tea-time and beyond. The good news is that Canning and Barr are unusually personable by sports star standards. Dropping their guard from the outset, the pair are chatty and keen to test themselves. 'The fear of the unknown, that's my biggest fear,' says Canning as they drive into the jungle – though he gets a handle on his anxiety long enough to tease Barr. 'This is your terrain, coming from Waterford,' he laughs. READ MORE [ Uncharted with Ray Goggins review: Kneecap show their soulful side as they trudge through the Arctic snow Opens in new window ] Uncharted with Ray Goggins: Thomas Barr and Joe Canning There is candour to go with the jokes. Canning says he is slow to warm to strangers – echoing Leo Varadkar's reticence in week one. 'I'm an introvert. I don't like too big a crowd or being around people I don't know. If I don't trust people and think they're genuine, I won't open up to them,' he says. Goggins respects his honesty and responds with some home truths of his own, discussing his time spent away from home and the toll it takes on family life. 'I had kids when I was in Afghanistan,' he says, referring to a deployment with a private security company. 'I would be gone eight months of the year. My older son he's 17. I've missed a lot of his life. It's a big price to pay.' [ Uncharted with Ray Goggins review: Leo Varadkar has to get halfway up a mountain with Lyra before he lets his guard down Opens in new window ] The jungle is a daunting obstacle course. There is a terrifying trip down white-water rapids while the entire place is heaving with bugs, whose unblinking eyes shine in the dark (this is what experts refer to as nightmare fuel). As Cork's answer to Bear Grylls, Goggins is full of bite – though the show could do without the unintentional hilarity at the start when he pretends to be a shouty Sergeant Major and tells the celebs to refer to him as 'Ray' (what else would they call him?). There is also far too much swearing: an f-bomb is an f-bomb even in the tropics. But Goggins, Canning and Barr make for an engaging trio as they warm up to one another. Once the ice melts, this tropical thrill ride is a fine full stop to a rewarding series.
Irish Times
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Can Cork and Galway pass their repeat exams?
Cork, writes Joe Canning, have had just three weeks to figure out what went wrong at the Gaelic Grounds when they were close enough to being pulverised by Limerick. It's like 'they're sitting a repeat exam,' he says of Saturday's Munster fina l against the same opposition. This, Joe reckons, 'could be more like the game we thought we were going to get' last time out. Galway will be sitting a repeat exam too in Sunday's Leinster final, having been 'destroyed' by Kilkenny seven weeks ago . Can they pass the test this time? Cathal Mannion certainly hopes so, Ian O'Riordan talking to the Galway forward ahead of the game. Also in Gaelic games, Muireann Duffy has word on research in to camogie and women's football that found that players have the habit of suffering in silence when they sustain injuries for fear of 'being dropped, letting their team down or being seen as weak'. In football, Gavin Cummiskey previews this evening's friendly between the Republic of Ireland and a formidable looking Senegal side in Dublin, and he hears from Robbie Brady, the newly crowned senior international player of the year . Brady's message to his team-mates on hearing he'd won the gong? 'It shows how s**t you've all been if I'm winning this'. READ MORE In rugby, Gerry Thornley previews Leinster's URC semi-final against defending champions Glasgow at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow, and in his column, Johnny Watterson reflects on 'crampgate' , ie Jaden Hendrikse's carry-on during the Sharks' URC shoot-out against Munster last weekend. Did URC chief executive Martin Anayi condemn the behaviour? Heck no, he was so chuffed by the YouTube, X and Instagram hits, he 'freely skated over Hendrikse's antics'. In golf, Philip Reid reports on an excellent day at the office for Shane Lowry at the Canadian Open, where a 64 has him just three shots off the lead, but a not so good one for Rory McIlroy, his 71 leaving him well adrift. And in racing, Brian O'Connor previews the action at Epsom, the two-day meeting getting under way today. Aidan O'Brien has three runners in the Oaks , which he has won on 10 occasions, but Godolphin's unbeaten 1,000 Guineas winner Desert Flower is the favourite. And Brian also looks ahead to tomorrow's Derby which, he says, 'is trading on past glories' . It's 'the original, but sad to say it's not the best any more', the most commercially relevant of them all now the Japanese Derby. TV Watch : Virgin Media One and UTV have coverage from Epsom today (from 1pm) and in tennis, it's men's semi-final day at the French Open. The match between Lorenzo Musetti and Carlos Alcaraz is scheduled to start at 1.30, followed by the meeting of world number one Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic (TNT Sports 1). This evening, the Republic of Ireland meet Senegal in a friendly at the Aviva Stadium (RTE 2, 7.45) and at 8.0 Virgin Media Three has coverage of the Diamond League in Rome (8.0).
