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The Irish Sun
10-06-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Nathan Collins reveals embarrassing loss that ‘affected a lot of people' gave Ireland star ‘new hunger' for World Cup
NATHAN COLLINS believes Ireland's winter of discontent can make for a glorious summer and beyond. Captain qualifiers . Advertisement 2 Ireland were hammered 5-0 by England Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile 2 Nathan Collins believed it has stood to them Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile Confidence is rising among the squad that they can go all the way in the qualifiers after wins home and away over Bulgaria and But winter . And that agony came after The defender said: 'That one hurt and affected a lot of people. Advertisement Read More on Ireland MNT 'It was nice to have a little break away from people, reset and go again. 'If we had a good result there and there was a long wait, we would have to wait. The hurt in the dressing room after . . . it was not a nice place to be in. 'It created a new hunger for me. It definitely resetted me to want to do better and improve for the next camp. It might work in a good way for us.' That Advertisement Most read in Football Live Blog And that continued a grim few years at international level with plenty of disappointing results. One of those included an 'Don't say that on camera' - Nathan Collins' admission about Caoimhin Kelleher's move leaves Heimir in stitches Not that Collins — who was called up to the Ireland squad subsequently — looks too far into the past. He said: 'Football, people, managers and teams change. You just have to reflect on that. Advertisement 'It is about what works for us and we can't have that on our mind. 'We are here with fresh faces. It is a fresh and new game.' GOING WELL Ireland face Luxembourg with a different mindset and are full of confidence after two wins and a draw to date since that Wembley woe. And Collins believes everything is going well ahead of the World Cup campaign which starts against Aviva Stadium on September 6. Advertisement He said: 'I feel the performance against Senegal was a really big step. 'We were so comfortable in the game and in our shape. 'We performed to a very high degree and it is about pushing on, growing that and getting better. 'I just think there's a bit more of a base now in the team. There's a bit of solidity in it. Advertisement 'It was a bit all up in the air last summer , wasn't it? Everything regarding Ireland was at the time. 'But the way the squad is, the way we have our manager here, everything is solidified now. 'We're building our base, growing and we're working from that. We're trying to create momentum for us to get better. We have time to practice together again and keep creating stuff. 'If the qualifiers were today, I would be comfortable enough. Advertisement 'We know the basics of what the manager wants but also know that he wants more from us. 'But it's not today and we can do more to get better and prepare.' ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT And the former Wolves man acknowledged there are still areas where Icelander Hallgrimsson wants to see improvements from his troops. One area in particular is seeing games out, as Ireland have kept just one clean sheet in Hallgrimsson's nine games in charge to date. Advertisement Collins added: 'We could have defended better and we could have been more proactive with the chances we conceded against Senegal. 'If we want to get to the next stage we have to see games like that out. 'I think we are definitely good enough. We're good enough to go score another goal but also not concede or give them chances. 'They are the little things where we can grow. Advertisement 'There are loads of individual things as defensive and attacking units where we can grow together. 'Taking away from the last game, we've got to take our chances, see a game out, be solid — winning games like that will be massive come the World Cup.' Ireland's group is a tricky one with Hungary, Armenia and top seeds But Collins said that Ireland must make sure they are confident going into the campaign. Advertisement He said: 'We didn't need to see Sunday night to know how good 'But if we can do what we can control and the manager wants from us we will create our own problems against Portugal. 'We're a completely different team to Spain and will create different problems and defend in a different way. 'We'll frustrate them in ways they won't like. We know the standard and how good they'll be. Advertisement 'But they have to know how tough a game it will be for them against us.'
The Irish Sun
10-06-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Heimir Hallgrimsson opens up on what Ireland ‘wants to be' as he warns against ‘basketball game' in Luxembourg friendly
MANY watched the Nations League final thinking it was football at its finest. Advertisement 3 Heimir Hallgrimsson revealed the kind of team he wants Ireland to be Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile 3 Ireland beat Senegal last Friday Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile 3 They face Luxembourg four years after losing to them in Dublin Credit: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile Just days after each had served up an impressive semi-final victory, While most people simply enjoyed the show, it served as a reminder of what Ireland must overcome if they want to qualify directly for their first As if he was not convinced of it already, it reinforced the point for Hallgrimsson that his side cannot allow themselves to get sucked into trying to go toe-to-toe with And he takes some confidence from how he felt his side nullified Advertisement Read More on Ireland MNT Hallgrimsson said of Senegal: 'First of all, they didn't create the chances they normally create. 'They got their chances from getting on the flanks and crosses and we didn't deal with them. I said after the game that maybe attacking the crosses a little bit better is a tiny detail. 'Tactically, we defended well, we had the numbers always back so the mentality was there. It was a test against a world-class attacking team. ''Can we do it quicker?' was the mantra before this camp. 'Can we do what we are doing quicker? Can we press quicker? Can we shift quicker?' Advertisement Most read in Football Live Blog Hallgrimsson continued: 'I hope you watched the Nations League final. Both teams were really comfortable that the game was like this, it was like a 'With all the individual quality, you would like the game to be like this but we would like to control the game, and don't get attacked and counter-attacked, having many attacks against us. I think we prevented that against Senegal and we will grow from there. RTE viewers hail Killian Phillips as emotional Republic of Ireland star reflects on 'proudest moment' of his life 'That is the team we want to be — hard to beat.' That robustness is unlikely to be tested tonight. Advertisement Although it is only four years since lightning striking twice, despite Hallgrimsson talking up his side's opponents. The Icelander said: 'They have had the same coach for a long time, really consistent in team selection, so it's more like playing a club team. 'Their knowledge of the team and each other is really at a high level, and I watched the 'They beat Advertisement 'I know a little bit about them, and the strength of Sweden. 'So I wouldn't look at it as a shock to the nation if we were not to get a good result here. 'It's that good a team that a win here would be really good for us at this stage. I hope nobody is taking them lightly, if that is the right word.' 'For every team, it's always important to win, just to get that winning feeling and make it a habit to do everything correct, to win the matches." But, on paper at least, they are the worst team Ireland will have faced in what will be the manager's tenth game in charge. They lie 91st in the world rankings Advertisement Bulgaria — in 85th — and 69th-placed And Luxembourg's win over Sweden, which Hallgrimsson referenced, is their only victory in 11 matches. The manager and the football federation are under fire for the Aviva Stadium in March 2021 — despite being found guilty of three separate assaults, one of them against his former partner. If Ireland cannot overcome Luc Holtz's side then rumours of the team's rise may have been greatly exaggerated. Advertisement NO EXCUSES In theory, a friendly at home to Senegal followed by one here is to prepare Ireland for what lies ahead in September when they host travel to Armenia in their opening two World Cup qualifiers . You can see the point but, in three months' time, they will have to negotiate a much longer journey and bigger adjustments in terms of heat and time zone — with one less day to do so. Given a win and a draw will be the bare minimum then, Ireland could do with achieving that in this window. There are no excuses for them not to achieve it. The flight here was shorter in duration than a football match. The atmosphere is not exactly going to be febrile, with yesterday's public holiday for Whit Monday adding another layer of drowsiness to this sleepy place. Advertisement More than anything, Hallgrimsson would like to see evidence that the progress to date continues, although he corrected himself when he realised he had come close to saying the result did not matter. He said: 'The purpose of this camp was to look at new faces and we will make some changes, even though we were really happy with the performance. 'Hopefully everyone will have their time to shine, but we'd like to keep some consistency too and build on what we've been doing well. I think we probably played one of our best games as a team and we don't want to miss that against Luxembourg 'For every team, it's always important to win, just to get that winning feeling and make it a habit to do everything correct, to win the matches. Advertisement 'For all of us, it is important to win even though we would say in a friendly, I would pick performance above winning. 'If we have a good performance, continue to improve in what we are doing — even though we are unlucky and lose the game — I would probably take that more than a win, if we are continuing to develop the team. 'It was the wrong way of saying that, don't make that a headline. 'Hopefully we can have the same performance against Luxembourg so it shouldn't be up-and-down performances. Advertisement 'We should be consistent in what we are doing. 'That's the main thing if you want to qualify, you need to get performances every game and play in a similar way in every game and develop a style of play.'
The Irish Sun
07-06-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Conor Whelan urges Galway to take ‘massive opportunity' in Leinster final and bounce back from All-Ireland setbacks
CONOR WHELAN'S decade in maroon has flown by. The 3 Conor Whelan has been starring for Galway for ten years Credit: Stephen Marken/Sportsfile 3 He got to the All-Ireland final in his first year in 2015 Credit: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE 3 He won Liam McCarthy in 2017 Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile And the Kinvara ace enjoyed a dream start — scoring 1-2 against the Rebels in Thurles. He then racked up 0-2 in a 0-26 to 3-16 semi-final victory over Tipperary at Two years later, Whelan become an All-Ireland champion under Micheál Donoghue — and he was an All-Star that year too. The 28-year-old is now captain and into his 11th campaign at senior inter-county level. Read More on GAA But the Tribes have not made an All-Ireland SHC final since That was also the last year they claimed glory in Leinster — having lost three provincial finals on the spin in 2020, 2022 and 2023. Whelan is determined to make up for lost time in tomorrow's provincial showpiece against Kilkenny at But he admits forging special bonds is more difficult than before. He said: 'It's gone very fast. I think the years where you get knocked out early in particular are definitely accelerated. Most read in GAA Hurling 'If you play only five Championship games in the year, you feel like 'Jesus, I never got going really at times'.' Galway bowed out of the Championship in 2019 in the Leinster round robin — just as they did last year. Tipperary GAA star 'had to do live apology on RTE' the day after cursing during All-Ireland interview - They also exited in the second round of the qualifiers in 2021. And Whelan admits those setbacks felt like missed opportunities for the county. He added: 'Last year, 2021 and 2019 — those three years feel like they accelerated faster. 'It goes very fast and there's less opportunities for the group to spend time together with the way it is condensed. 'I don't think we've been on a night out since the start of the year because of the nature of the league and Championship. 'When you have lots of fresh faces coming in and spending time together, it's a massive part of it. 'We missed out on that an awful lot during Covid as well. 'There's something to look at around the structure of it. Even if you give players two weeks between certain games, just to have that down time and spend some time together. 'When you were there and part of the old system, you had two or three weeks until your next game. It feels like it goes faster now.' SPECIAL BOND Whelan's bond with Donoghue will always be special thanks to that 2017 All-Ireland triumph. But the Clarinbridge man left under a cloud after their 2019 Leinster round-robin loss to summer . Galway suffered the same fate against the Sky Blues last summer with Donoghue in charge of their opponents as former boss But two-time All-Star Whelan always knew his former supremo He said: 'We had fond memories with Micheál, so it's always nice to have him and his management team back. 'Micheál always brings a very high standard of what he expects and he's very good at moulding a group and bringing people together. 'He's experienced and brings a familiarity and standard. It has been positive. 'I always felt he would be back and he would have had a very close connection with the players from the first time. I knew that would always draw him back. 'I thought he'd leave it another couple of years until a good few of us were finished. But I always felt that he'd be back.' Seven long years have passed since Galway's last piece of Championship silverware. The Cats clawed them in the 2020, 2022 and 2023 finals and are going for six in a row tomorrow. Kilkenny's 3-24 to 0-21 first-round win on April 19 was a rude awakening for the Tribes. But they won their next four games against And Whelan hopes they can end their hoodoo against Derek Lyng's men and seal their place in the last four of the All-Ireland series. He said: 'As a group and individual, you have to look internally after a result like that and take what you need from that to understand that that's not the level. 'The group responded and we've been fortunate to turn it around but we haven't won anything yet. 'It's fairly prestigious to pick up a Leinster medal and put yourself in a great position, then moving forward heading into the last four. 'That's something we haven't done for the last couple of years. 'It's a massive opportunity from a silverware perspective and from the prize of going through the front door.'
The Irish Sun
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Rugby legend makes touching gesture to Louise Quinn following tearful Ireland star's final game before retirement
DONNCHA O'CALLAGHAN comforted Louise Quinn after she played her final game for the Republic of Ireland. The popular defender came on for Carla Ward near the end of Ireland's 2 Louise Quinn played her final game for Ireland against Slovenia Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile 2 She was comforted by Donncha O'Callaghan Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile It was her 122nd and last cap for her country, and her last game in professional soccer before retiring altogether. The tears flowed upon the final whistle at Pairc Ui Chaoimh as Quinn gave the post-match team-talk while being embraced by teammates. When she went over to the stands at the home of Present at the game was former star Donncha O'Callaghan, who made the point of sharing a moment with Quinn. Read More on Ireland WNT The legendary defender bids farewell to an international career that peaked when she starred at the 2023 And speaking to She said: "I think it will take a little bit of time but I just feel like where we have come as a team and to now, you can see that progress. "We were a nation that was really struggling and to be part of something that has built to where it is now, I am so proud. Most read in Football "To make it this far and I am still in one piece, I am pretty happy." Louise Quinn was not the only player for whom Tuesday night was an emotional occasion. 'You can't make this up' - Irish fans in stitches at Ruesha Littlejohn's playful prank upon Katie McCabe's camp arrival Saoirse Noonan scored the only goal of the game as the striker achieved an unexpected feat of her own. By starting for the In 2020, she played full forward for the Rebelettes against She described it as a "surreal" occasion and revealed how much it would mean to her family. Noonan said: 'Carla called the team last night. "When I got the nod, I just told my parents and kept it a bit quiet and just tried to treat it like another game. 'The goal, when it went in and hit off my head, I could just see it dipping. I don't even know how I celebrated or anything. 'I just had a little moment, took a deep breath and was back into focus, we wanted to get that next goal quick. 'My Grandad would have been a proud man tonight, he would have been at every game with my granny, and this was the first time she's seen me play senior (for Ireland). "It was emotional and it meant a lot to me. 'Being in Cork is enough motivation in itself. Wearing the Irish jersey is enough motivation. "You don't need anything else really. It does add that little bit of grit. 'Since the new stadium's been built, I played here with the Cork ladies footballers at senior level. "To come back wearing a different shirt, it's the same feeling, you're representing something you're really proud of. "It's phenomenal.'
Irish Examiner
30-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
Cork driver fleeing gardaí collided with car after going through stop sign
A motorist sped off from gardaí while going through a stop sign and crashed into another car. When he was eventually arrested weeks later he spat at the member of An Garda Síochána and pulled at his stab vest. Stephen McCarthy of Bay 10, Spring Lane halting site, Cork, pleaded guilty to multiple offences arising out of the driving, drug possession, and his violent resistance of the garda. Sergeant Gearóid Davis said: 'On July 7, Garda Eoghan O'Mahony observed a white Ford Focus driving erratically. 'Gardaí indicated for this vehicle to stop but it failed to do so. 'At the junction of Mount Eden Road and Cathedral Road, Gurranabraher it went through a stop sign at speed and collided with a Toyota Corolla on Cathedral Road. 'This collision happened in full view of Garda O'Mahony. Two males alighted from the Ford Focus and fled. Garda O'Mahony recognised the driver as Stephen McCarthy — who was known to him. 'Stephen McCarthy discarded a white box as he exited the vehicle. He fled and gardaí were unable to locate him on the night. The box contained Alprazolam tablets and a phone registered to the defendant. 'He was arrested on October 10 and taken to Gurranabraher garda station for questioning. It is alleged he threw a cigarette at gardaí and attempted to walk out a door of the station. He had to be restrained and he actively resisted and grabbed Garda O'Mahony by his stab vest, pulled him with force towards him, raising his hand in a clenched fist.' Arising out of that latter confrontation, Stephen McCarthy pleaded guilty to resisting or obstructing the garda. He admitted several offences out of the driving escapade, including dangerous driving, failing to remain at the scene of a collision, and being in possession of drugs. Judge Mary Dorgan imposed several sentences, the longest being six months and some were consecutive to each other at Cork District Court but they will not increase the sentence already being served by the same man which was imposed a month ago. He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison with the last year suspended at Cork Circuit Criminal Court after he addmitted a number of charges including that on Sunday, September 1 2024, at Murphy's Rock, Ballincollie Rd, Dublin Hill, Cork, he committed arson in that he damaged by fire property, namely doors, windows, blinds, and exterior and interior paint, intending damage or being reckless as to whether it would be damaged.
