“I’m Irish through and through, nothing will ever change that, but I have strong ties to Australia and I have been living there six months of the year since 1997. I’d love to run for Australia, a country that has been very good to me. I am told that on a residential basis and the fact that I have two Australian children, I can qualify to represent Australia in the Commonwealth Games,” said Sonia.
MENTIONING MICHELLE
Jimmy Magee, one of Ireland’s best known sports broadcasters, has revived a contentious issue and started another row in Ireland by including Michelle de Bruin’s gold medal haul in Atlanta as one of his most memorable moments in Irish sport.
Magee has lent his name to a charity video where he names his ‘Greatest Sporting Moments’ in Irish history. But some people think that Michelle’s medal haul was tainted by her subsequent ban and feel that including action from Atlanta is a bad example for children.
However, Jimmy points out that Michelle never failed a competition drugs test and to leave out the swimming action would have been more damning.
Then Michelle’s father Brian went on ‘Liveline,’ an RTE Radio phone-show to defend his daughter. Brian still claims that Michelle never took performance enhancing drugs and said that his daughter’s name had been airbrushed from many Irish records including her success in the Community Games when was just a 14 year-old. Brian also admitted that he had no knowledge of Michelle’s husband’s Eric recent court case in Kilkenny where he was charged with shoplifting.
And he added that he had only discussed the shoplifting matter with his daughter, who now lives in County Kilkenny, by e-mail.
PLATINI LAUGHS
Former French star Michel Platini has laughed off The Republic’s chances against France in the World Cup qualifiers.
Platini, who is now Vice-President of the French FA said: “We had an easy qualifying group for Euro 2004 and our World Cup group is not much stronger. In France not many people know of your players, except for Damien Duff and Robbie Keane, but not many more.”
However, the former star midfielder gave Irish fans some hope when he suggested that some of the top French players might retire after the Euro 2004 Finals.
HURLING RECOMMENDATIONS
The Hurling Development Committee set up by GAA President Sean Kelly when he took office earlier this year, have now made their recommendations. Their radical proposals include a three-tier structure for the hurling championship in 2005.
If the proposals are passed at Congress next April the 2005 hurling championship will be confined to the 12 counties in tier one: Kilkenny, Wexford, Offaly, Dublin, Laois, Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford, Galway and the Ulster champions.
A second championship incorporating the next ten best teams would be played for a new cup to be named after a hurling great from the past like Christy Ring, Mick Mackey or Nicky Rackard. The winners of the second tier would gain promotion to the All-Ireland championship for the following year. A third team would include the remaining 11 counties and they will also play for a cup to be named after another hurling icon.
Former Wexford manager Liam Griffin, one of the Committee members who drew up the ambitious plans said: “It give us a framework for progress to be made and gives everyone a reason to be ambitious.”
NO MORE SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
The GAA seem set to discontinue the practice of ‘live’ television coverage of hurling and football games on Saturday evenings. Since the ‘back door’ was introduced a few years ago most of the Saturday evening games have been shown ‘live’ by RTE. But this has annoyed the clubs who try and get their club games played on Saturday evenings.
This situation was not good for the clubs, who were trying to drag locals away from their television sets on Saturday evening for club games. And some counties like Longford who have a good following for games played around 7pm on Sunday evening were annoyed last year when ‘back-door’ games on Sunday night were shown ‘live.’
Now it looks like the practice will be stopped. Everybody loves to watch a game on television, but the club is the heart of the GAA and club games have to be played some time.
MAN UTD STAKE
Irish Racing tycoons John Magnier and J.P. McManus last week increased their interest in Manchester United to 24.14 per cent. If the pair increases their stake to 29 per cent they would, under stock exchange regulations, be forced to make an outright bid for the English club. However, other analysts feel that the outright bid may come from US billionaire Malcolm Glazer, who has raised his stake in the Premiership club to 14.31 per cent.
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MONEY MATTERS
Dominic Corrigan has cited financial difficulties as his main reason for quitting as Fermanagh senior football manager. Corrigan, who led the Ernemen to possibly their best-ever championship performance last Summer, stood down in protest at proposed cuts in his team’s budget.
“I felt I didn’t have the full backing of everyone within the Fermanagh executive. I read where new Westmeath manager Paidi O Se took his squad off to Sunderland for weekend of training. That’s the stuff you have to do and Paidi is not looking over his shoulder wondering where the money is coming from.”