Tag: Ireland

McClean says Ireland coach disrespected him after Wrexham move

The Wrexham star said his international coach “couldn’t get off the phone quick enough”

James McClean has hit out at former Ireland manager Stephen Kenny, saying his “disrespectful” response to his move to Wrexham led directly to his international retirement.

McClean signed with Wrexham prior to the current season, joining the League Two outfit after a season in which he was named Wigan Athletic’s player of the year.

There were some eyebrows raised after McClean’s decision, as he dropped down two divisions after a standout campaign in the Championship.

At the time, McClean was an active Ireland international but as he revealed in an interview with the Irish Examiner, the reaction from Kenny led to his international retirement in October.

“He couldn’t get off the phone quick enough,” McClean said of Kenny. “That spoke of what he thought about the move. I don’t think he was on board. Ultimately, I would say that was a major factor in my decision to step away from Ireland. Sometimes when you make a decision, you are made to walk the plank. I felt that if I don’t walk away now, I may never get the opportunity to say goodbye on my terms.

“I thought it was very disrespectful. I had offers to stay in the Championship but at my age I wanted to do something that would excite and be a challenge. Wrexham had a project and it’s a successful one. Nobody forced me to make the move but I’m glad I did and there’s a sense of justification.”

The 34-year-old has been a fixture for Wrexham this season, as the Red Dragons clinched promotion to League One with a win over Forest Green Rovers over the weekend.

The Irish federation confirmed in November that it would not be renewing Kenny’s contract after the team failed to qualify for Euro 2024.

With McClean’s former Ireland teammate John O’Shea now coaching the team, he did leave open the possibility of an international return.

“It’s not something I’ll be campaigning for but if the call ever comes to play for your country, it’s a hard one to turn down,” McClean said.

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Irish kicker Charlie Smyth to work out for the Saints

The Saints will work out Irish kicker Charlie Smyth this week. He could be good competition for Blake Grupe:

The NFL’s International Pathway Program might be coming to New Orleans. The Saints will work out Irish kicker Charlie Smyth later this week, per NFL Ireland’s Michael McQuaid. Smyth, 22, is a native of Mayobridge in Northern Ireland, where he’s played Gaelic football as a goalkeeper.

Smyth tried out at the NFL Scouting Combine in February and made 12 of his 16 field goal tries. He also participated at South Florida’s pro day with other international prospects, where he impressed by going 8-for-10 with his longest kick hitting from 60 yards. Now he’ll have an opportunity to show the Saints what he can do at a private workout.

He could be good competition for Blake Grupe. The rookie wasn’t good enough last season while going 28-for-35 with misses from 29, 29, 46, 47, 51, 52 and 54 yards. The Saints need to bring in some competition for Grupe, and Smyth might be an attractive option. The Irishman is expected to sign with an NFL team as an undrafted free agent, and the Saints can lay the groundwork for recruiting him at meetings like this upcoming private workout.

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Dana Fry, Jason Straka to design course alongside Irish beach used in ‘Saving Private Ryan’

Used in the opening battle scenes in Saving Private Ryan, an Irish beach will soon be home to golf and a resort.

The American design team of Dana Fry and Jason Straka is headed to Ireland with plans to lay out a new course adjacent to Curracloe Beach in the southeast of the island.

If the beach looks familiar, you might have seen it on a big screen, as it was used in filming the opening landing scenes for Allied troops in the 1998 blockbuster “Saving Private Ryan.”

Named Curracloe Links, the new layout will be part of Ravenport Resort, which is scheduled to open this spring about a two-hour drive south of Dublin Airport, just north of Wexford. Groundbreaking for the golf course takes place in February with an expected full opening in 2026. The resort will include 50 rooms, a spa and a leisure club near what has been called the best beach in the island nation by the Irish Independent.

“The ancient linksland of Curracloe Links, with its rolling hills, long sea views and rugged natural bunkers, will offer a quintessential Irish golf experience and lure people from all over the world to its fairways,” Straka, past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, said in a media release announcing the news.

The planned routing for Curracloe Links in Ireland (Courtesy of Neville Hotel Group)

Straka, who plans to spend considerable time at the site, should be getting used to working near the sea: His recent renovation of Belleair Country Club near Tampa has proved especially popular since it opened in 2023.

Ireland-based Neville Hotel Group is developing the project. It will be Neville’s fifth property, joining Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire, Druids Glen Hotel and Golf Resort in County Wicklow, the River Court Hotel in Kilkenny and the Tower Hotel in Waterford.

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What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame at Stanford

Who are you picking?

Notre Dame has one game left, and it’s against Stanford. There’s no telling exactly how much a win will improve the type of bowl the Irish get, but they doesn’t mean they want to win this game any less. At the very least, it will be the last game for any players who wish to opt out of the bowl game for whatever reason. So this could be the last of the 2023 Irish as we know them.

Here are some predictions for this game that have been posted by college football experts:

Wisconsin officially announces future game vs. Pittsburgh in Ireland

Wisconsin officially announces future game vs. Pittsburgh in Ireland

Wisconsin football officially announced a future game in Dublin, Ireland earlier today. That will be a contest against Pittsburgh in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic to open the 2027 season.

So Badgers fans who’ve seen Nebraska vs Northwestern in Ireland in recent years and longed to make the trip, the date is now officially on the books.

In a way, it will be the Paul Chryst Cup. Chryst was the head coach at Pittsburgh for three seasons before coming back to Wisconsin and beginning his successful tenure. Chryst is now an offensive analyst at Texas after being fired at Wisconsin last season, so who knows where he’ll be in 2027. But he remains the only big connection between these two programs.

Wisconsin’s 2027 schedule will include this game against Pittsburgh, plus home conference game against Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State and UCLA, and road games against Michigan State, Illinois, Minnesota and USC.

Joe Lyons, Team Ireland lead after first round of the Golfweek International Senior Invitational

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Ireland is taking care of business early at the Golfweek International Senior Invitational at Cartersville Country Club. Individual leader, Joe Lyons, and his teammates have gotten out of the gates quickly, taking a three-stroke …

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Ireland is taking care of business early at the Golfweek International Senior Invitational at Cartersville Country Club.

Individual leader, Joe Lyons, and his teammates have gotten out of the gates quickly, taking a three-stroke lead over the field after the first round. Lyons did much of the heavy lifting, firing a 7-under 65.

“A very special day for me, really,” Lyons told Golfweek. “We [Team Ireland] came over about a week ago. We’ve been enjoying Southern hospitality for the last week. We’ve played some great golf, played some really cool golf courses last week, getting climatized to playing off of Bermuda [grass].”

The preparation paid off for Lyons, as he hardly missed a fairway all day. The Irishman went out in 2 under with his lone bogey on the day coming on the par-4 8th hole. On his way back in, Lyons caught fire, making birdie on six of his final nine holes.

“Delighted with my day today,” Lyons said. “There’s another two rounds to go, so, I’m an amateur golfer, I shot 65 today, I could easily shoot 80 tomorrow so I’m just going to try to enjoy today and see how it goes tomorrow.”

Helping Lyons build Ireland’s lead, team captain Karl Bornemann (T-24) carded a 2-over 74. Rounding out the trio, John Reynolds (T-44) looks to make his score count in Friday’s round after an opening 76.

On the team side, Oklahoma commands solo second place at 2 under thanks to Michael Hughett (68) and Jon Valuck (74). Ricky Bell matched Valuck’s 74, giving the Sooner State natives plenty of momentum heading into tomorrow.

Team Michigan, South Carolina and California share third place at 1 under par.

On the individual side of the championship, there are a handful of players looking to hunt down Lyons.

Utah’s Shane McMillan rebounded well from an early bogey to post a 5-under 67. Michael Hughett (Oklahoma) used a bogey-free 11 holes to card a 4-under 68 while Michigan’s Jerry Gunthorpe had an up-and-down day en route to an opening salvo of 2 under.

Four more golfers are knotted up at 1 under with nine more players at even par.

Sharing Lyons’ sentiment, anything can happen in amateur golf, keeping the championship up in the air until it’s all said in done. But, if Lyons and his teammates have anything to say about it, the closing ceremony and trophy presentation will be accompanied by the sweet sounds of the Irish national anthem, Amhran Na Bhfiann.

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Ireland’s Caldwell claims team succeeded ‘in spite of’ ex-coach Pauw

The defender has slammed her former coach, who departed after the World Cup

Ireland defender Diane Caldwell didn’t mince words when describing her former head coach Vera Pauw, saying the team succeeded “in spite of” the Dutchwoman.

Pauw’s four-year tenure as Ireland coach ended last month, after the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirmed it wouldn’t offer the coach a new contract.

Though Pauw led Ireland to its first-ever women’s World Cup, Caldwell still took a dim view of her team’s former coach at a press conference on Tuesday.

“From my position, as a pretty experienced player, I don’t think it was up to the standard expected at international level,” Caldwell said.

“I think the results and performances that we got were in spite of Vera being our coach.”

Caldwell, 35, made one appearance at the 2023 World Cup, which ended in the group stage following defeats to Australia and Canada and a draw with Nigeria.

The defender hinted that Ireland could have gone farther at the World Cup were its preparation better, putting the blame squarely at the feet of Pauw.

“I think there were many areas that could have been better,” Caldwell said.

“After the European campaign [in 2021], myself and Katie [McCabe] also reflected with Ruud Dokter [then the FAI’s high performance director] about certain aspects that needed to be improved and changed, but ultimately that fell on deaf ears and she got a contract extension.

“Our preparation for games could have been better – physical preparation, opponent analysis, match tactics, in-game match tactics, changes, systems of play.

“What was happening under Vera? I think a group of players that were destined for success came together at the right time.”

Pauw has been previously hit with allegations of body shaming and excessive control, which were made against her in last year’s NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigation. As a result, Pauw was conditionally banned from the NWSL.

Pauw, who coached the Houston Dash for one season in 2018, has vehemently denied the allegations against her, saying earlier this year: “These allegations in the report are absolutely ridiculous and false. There is no truth in it, and I know I find a lot of safety in the truth.”

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What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame vs. Tennessee State

What’s your prediction?

Notre Dame and Tennessee State have not met before, but they will Saturday in the first 2023 game at Notre Dame Stadium. Some Irish fans might not be happy about the Football Championship Subdivision level coming to South Bend, but there’s nothing that can be done about that right now. The only thing fans should be focused on is the Irish improving to 2-0.

Let’s look at what some college football experts are predicting for this game:

Vera Pauw out as Ireland women’s head coach

The 60-year-old is a controversial figure following allegations of body shaming and excessive control

Vera Pauw will not be offered a new contract as Ireland women’s national team head coach, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has confirmed.

Pauw’s current deal will expire on Thursday and following a lengthy meeting on Tuesday, the FAI confirmed that the Dutchwomen’s four-year spell in charge will end.

“On behalf of the Football Association of Ireland, we would like to thank Vera for her hard work and commitment over the past four years and wish her well for the future,” said Jonathan Hill, the FAI chief executive in a statement.

“In particular, I wish to acknowledge the role she played in leading Ireland to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 where our women’s team made history and inspired a nation,” he added.

“The future is bright for women and girls’ football and our focus now is building upon the work done by Vera and the historic achievements of our women’s team, which we see as a platform to support the next phase of the journey for the team, and more broadly the development of women and girls’ football in this country.”

Pauw led Ireland to the women’s World Cup for the first time ever this summer, with the team exiting in the group stage following defeats to Australia and Canada and a draw with Nigeria.

The 60-year-old has become a controversial figure in the coaching world after allegations of body shaming and excessive control were made against her in last year’s NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigation.

As a result, Pauw was conditionally banned from the NWSL.

Pauw, who coached the Houston Dash for one season in 2018, has vehemently denied the allegations against her, saying earlier this year: “These allegations in the report are absolutely ridiculous and false. There is no truth in it, and I know I find a lot of safety in the truth.”

Ahead of the World Cup, Ireland captain Katie McCabe called the allegations “a real negative distraction” after a media session in which Pauw stated “there is a person that is targeted to destroy my career.”

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Notre Dame routs Navy: Instant Takeaways

What is your biggest takeaway from the blowout win?

No. 13 Notre Dame spent all day Saturday taking down Navy in the 2023 college football season opener. The Irish scored touchdowns on their first five possessions in the lopsided victory.

Notre Dame’s third win all time in Ireland was the first with the Irish serving as the home team in front of the Irish.

Navy is rebuilding and breaking in a somewhat new offensive style, but a 42-3 victory over anyone is something you’ll gladly take in Week 1.

So what do you take away from this game and what is significant as the calendar flips to September and the season starts to take off?

Here are a handful of instant takeaways from Notre Dame’s dominating victory.