Pa Ranahan
Football. Check. Boots. Check. Toffypop Biscuits. Check! As a youngster in Ballysteen I remember running out the road to watch the junior team – who were preparing for a final – train in a local farmers field. The session involved runs up a huge hill and a game. I revelled in being in amongst these…
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It was an absolute pleasure to be in attendance at last weeks All Ireland Football Final. Even though I had no real skin in the game – although I would love to see our old coach Donie Buckley finally lifting Sam – the tension was incredible. Supporters all around us could barely watch as the…
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I was lucky enough to have a front row seat (albeit in the Upper Cusack!) as the 2011 All Ireland Football Final between Kerry and Dublin played out its memorable conclusion. I must admit leaving Croke Park that day I was happy for the “underdog”. Who would have guessed that 8 years on the Dublin…
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With the leaving cert results out last week, I couldn’t help feeling nostalgic about my own efforts at it. It’s fair to say it took a back seat to any sport that was being played at the time but it went okay in the end. A subject I was particularly worried about was Irish, but…
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The super 8s, or Average 8s as a friend from home has labelled them, finished up with a very unsatisfactory spectacle last Sunday. The “Coma in Omagh” was always likely to unfold given the teams involved had already secured their place in the All-Ireland semis and with that in mind gave panel members a run…
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My recent, “almost” annual visit to the dental surgery of Dr Iarlaith Killian in Castletroy brought with it the usual apprehension beforehand. But, as has always been the case, since I first walked through his door with a sore tooth in my UL days, I was put completely at ease. Still, sitting there in the…
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I was in the sky for the 1st half of the game last Saturday and had to do with regular updates on Twitter and WhatsApp for the 2nd half. Family holidays away in June are one of the few perks of no longer playing inter county. But my mind was definitely in Cusack Park for…
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Last weekend we headed west for the wedding of my cousin Ellen and her husband Peter in The Armada Hotel at Spanish Point. It was a brilliant two day celebration, and with a few hours downtime on the Saturday I went for a wander around the hotel. Dotted about the venue were pictures of JFKs…
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Niamh and myself joined my brother Conor and his wife Brenda along with thousands of other revellers at The Coronas performance in the Limerick Docklands on Sunday evening. It was the perfect antidote for the disappointment of the previous nights Munster Football Semi Final. Their tour – The Long Way Home – was a good…
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On Saturday evening a team in red will take to the field and be expected to come away with a comfortable victory. Many will feel that their opposition, who have beaten the odds and surprised all the experts to date, will be happy just to have made it this far in the competition. The manager…
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