Cahill Makes Experience Count

ALL-IRELAND QUARTER-FINALS DUBLIN HAVE met Tyrone in two seminal All-Ireland quarter-finals since 2008. The comprehensive defeat three years ago brought an immediate end to Paul Caffrey’s time as manager.

Last year’s victory, naturally assisted by 15 Tyrone wides, breathed life into Pat Gilroy’s reign.

Of course, we are not dealing in certainties just yet as Tyrone must overcome Roscommon in Croke Park this Saturday evening to earn the right to face the Leinster champions seven days later back at GAA headquarters.

Still, it is hard not to mention past battles with Mickey Harte’s team when speaking to veteran Dublin panellist Barry Cahill.

“Yeah, I suppose you’d like to learn lessons from it,” said Cahill of 2008 when Dublin arrived into the fixture after a similar lay-off.

“One difference, I suppose, would be that we came through Leinster handy enough in 2008 and we had a big win in the Leinster final against Wexford and we were probably feeling a bit too confident going into the quarter-final and I don’t think that’s the case this time.

“The three games we had in Leinster this year have all been good games and I don’t think we set the world alight so we know there’s a lot of improving to do.

“Once the final whistle went in the Leinster final lads knew that we had to up the training and up the performance, whether it’s Roscommon or Tyrone.

“Once you get into August you know you really have to bring your A game so hopefully, we’ll be able to do that.”

Cahill was speaking yesterday at the launch of Fever Pitch, the pre All-Ireland football final event that intends to host 1,400 people at Croke Park for a night of Irish music and comedy acts on September 17th (tickets are €35).

Demand for such an event would undoubtedly increase if Dublin are playing at the stadium the next day. But that hasn’t happened since 1995.

Since 2001, Cahill has stretched every sinew of his body to make this a reality.

Ten years on, the former All Star wing back is no longer a guaranteed starter despite being a regular in midfield during the National League.

That said, Gilroy has made use of his experience in the second half of most games.

“It has been a bit frustrating over the last couple of weeks but I felt I’ve done alright when I came in. We’ll just have to wait and see. The training is very competitive at the moment.

“If you don’t end up in the starting 15 you just have got to make sure you are mentally right to come on and do a job.

“Once you are in the shake-up, the top 20, you feel you are able to benefit the team as Pat does tend to use a lot of subs in every game.”

Cahill also confirmed that the extra week break from the other All-Ireland quarter-finals gives Dublin’s standout midfielder these past two years, Michael Dara Macauley, Eogan O’Gara and corner back Philly McMahon fighting chances of returning from injury.

Cork FinallyShake off Shackles

THE MIDDLE THIRD: If you were a manager and you were given your pick of squads in the country right now and told to bring it home from here, I think you’d have to go with either Kerry, Cork or Tyrone

I KNOW Cork people get annoyed very easily because they feel they don’t get enough credit for last year’s All-Ireland, so I have to mind where I step here. But while I was watching them play Down on Saturday, I got the feeling this was the best I’d seen them play since 2009.

They reminded me of the Cork team that blew through Tyrone in the All-Ireland semi-final that year and put Kerry on their ass in the first 20 minutes of the final. They had pace and power and composure and finally looked like All-Ireland winners.

I’m not saying they didn’t deserve their All-Ireland last year. Nobody’s saying that. You can win an All-Ireland without hitting the absolute heights. In fact, it’s a sign of how good they are that they can win an All-Ireland that way. But a big part of people’s frustration with this Cork team is the fact they can win so much possession around the middle of the field and still not be putting teams away.

They win oodles of ball between the 45s, enough to win two games most days. And yet they still find themselves having to dig out wins against teams that aren’t in the same league as them.

That’s what happened on the way to the All-Ireland final last year, where they were lucky to get past Limerick after extra-time in the qualifier, where they were behind in the second half against Roscommon and behind every step of the way against Dublin until the last minute of the game.

Even in the final itself, they needed a massive second half to come back from three points behind Down and they still only won by a point in the end.

Honestly, I think the defeat against Kerry in the Munster final woke them up a bit. You can get into a rut as a team, where you know that just doing enough will get you the win.

Cork were able to come through all those games last year just because they’re a big, powerful side who will get a run on most teams at some point. But the way they played against Down last Saturday, it looked to me like they had decided to throw caution to the wind. They weren’t half as guarded as they can be, they played an open brand of football and basically went for Down and put them out of sight.

I genuinely thought they could have done that in last year’s All-Ireland final and I doubt I was the only one. That’s the reason why people have taken their time to be convinced by Cork. There’s such potential there for them to be a really serious team and we’ve had to wait until now to see them show it.

Down were what I thought they might be before last year’s final. I worried for them then they might be annihilated if Cork turned up. As it was, they did very well in that final but you couldn’t be sure how much of that was down to them and how much was down to Cork. The big difference last Saturday was they lost their discipline and concentration and as a result, they got hosed.

One incident really stood out for me. It came straight after the incident where Barry O’Driscoll, unfortunately, broke his jaw. I actually didn’t think Conor Garvey’s tackle was too bad at the time, even though you could probably argue it should have been a penalty.

But there was nothing cynical about it. If you’re a corner forward coming in so close to goal at that speed you’re fair game, to a certain extent. Not for anything dirty, just for a strong, tough challenge. That’s what O’Driscoll got when Garvey stood his ground. The broken jaw was unlucky but there was no way you could say the Down corner back went to do him.

But what came in the two seconds that followed was brainless. The ball came out of O’Driscoll’s hands on to the ground where Down midfielder Anton McArdle failed to pick it up. A very basic skill of the game, probably the first thing he was ever taught, he couldn’t do it when it mattered. But he’s a young player and you couldn’t hold one mistake against him and he might even have got away with it if it hadn’t been for what came next.

Dan Gordon is one of Down’s best and most experienced players. When the ball squirted loose out of McArdle’s hands it came to Aidan Walsh. The thing for Gordon to do was to bottle him up, shepherd away from goal and try not to foul. Whatever you do, if you’re going to foul, don’t make it a blatant foul. Don’t make up the referee’s mind for him. But what did Gordon do? He drew a boot right across Walsh as he was bending down to pick up the ball. And then he looked at the referee as if to ask what was wrong!

That was just a no-brainer and it summed Down up for me on the day. They didn’t think their way through the game well enough and so Cork gave them a trimming. The game took on a life of its own and now Down are finished for the year and Cork are serious contenders playing their best football in two seasons. They are very dangerous now, even with the few injuries they have.

Their experience of having won an All-Ireland will do them no end of good. Experience will get you through games you shouldn’t win. We did it often enough with Kerry and Tyrone are just kicking into gear at the right time now because they have enough fellas on their panel who have done it before. Okay, the stand-out players in their last two games have been the new breed but it can only be doing that new breed a power of good to have the old guard there along with them.

That old guard came through an All-Ireland in 2008 that wasn’t a million miles away from the sort of All-Ireland Cork won last year. They got beaten early on by Down and people wrote them off. They scraped through qualifier wins against Westmeath and Mayo. They put in a huge performance against Dublin in the quarter-final and from there on they played with confidence and won their All-Ireland.

I have to say, Tyrone look in the form for it again now. I wouldn’t have said that even just three weeks ago but right now, I would rate them higher than both Dublin and Kildare. When you’ve been there before, it makes an enormous difference. Confidence won’t be an issue and neither will fitness. Mickey Harte is using the older players in a very clever way – if he takes Brian McGuigan off the field, he makes sure Brian Dooher is on it. It’s not flushing out the old lads to make way for the new, it’s more intelligent than that.

I know Dublin work hard and have the Brogans and I know that Kildare are seriously fit and have been outstanding in the qualifiers but even so, I think Tyrone are ahead of them now. Put it this way – if you were a manager at a loose end and you were given your pick of squads in the country right now and told to bring it home from here, I think you’d have to go with either Kerry, Cork or Tyrone. You’d have to go with the players who have done it before.

You look ahead to this weekend’s games and can you see either of those three losing? I can’t. Kerry will have too much for Limerick, just as Cork will have too much for Mayo and Tyrone will take Roscommon. With all due respect to Roscommon, I’ll be watching that game very closely to see how Tyrone will shape up against Dublin the following week. But I would definitely be worried about Tyrone if I was with any of the other teams now.

As for the closest game of the weekend, I would back Kildare to come through it – but only just. I get the feeling Kieran McGeeney would have rathered a game against Kerry or Mayo. For one thing, Donegal are too similar to them for him to be comfortable facing them. For another, Jim McGuinness won’t be going in thinking Donegal are in bonus territory here.

They could just as easily go out in the first round of Ulster next year because that’s the nature of their championship up there so they’ll be mad for road in this one. I expect Kildare to take it though.

I can’t let the week pass without a word about what happened at the end of the Limerick v Wexford match on Saturday night. This is all getting beyond a joke now. I really think this might be the summer where things finally change for the better because there have just been so many incidents that have had a serious effect on matches and results. To be fair to the GAA, they’re out there on the ground. I see Páraic Duffy in the crowd at matches so you can’t say they’re sitting above in Croke Park pretending nothing is happening. But this was just about as farcical as you could get.

It was actually quite funny to watch if you weren’t from Wexford. First of all, the earlier point that the umpire didn’t give straight away was a joke all by itself. The ball went over the bar and he had it waved wide not once but twice when he looked up to see these two Limerick fellas running towards him. You could see him think, “Jesus, I could get a slap here”. So he reached for the flag as if nothing had happened!

I’ve given out to umpires before. I’ve played with goalkeepers who’ve roared, “Wide ball! Wide ball!” when the thing has nearly gone over the black spot. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen an umpire so rattled that he’s put up his flag after waving a ball wide twice. And then he was the one who came across and got involved with the point that decided the game!

For a fella who had been so wishy-washy on a point that had basically gone over the bar a couple of feet away from his head, he was damn certain about this one. If it wasn’t so serious that it finished a team’s championship, it would actually be pretty comical.

But I have to say, this was another mistake in a game refereed by Derek Fahy. He’s trying his best, nobody can dispute that. But it’s hard to argue that his best is good enough at this level. This isn’t the first time he’s been involved in controversy and a high-profile mistake. Back in 2008, he had not one but two red cards rescinded over the course of the championship – one for Marc Ó Sé (not nepotism, just fact!) and one for Dan Gordon. Yet here he is, still influencing games in the business end of the season.

I really think this summer might be the tipping point. At the end of every championship, everybody involved sits down to take stock of how the year went. I don’t just mean teams and managers here. I mean the lads on TV and people in the papers and on radio – everybody has to look at where they did well and where they made mistakes. The referees can’t deny there have been some awful ones this year.

People say a referee shouldn’t be the star of the show but I think that’s nonsense. I have no problem with a referee being a stand-out performer once he produces the goods. We’ve seen it so often this summer where a referee can make or break a game and we owe it to them to make their job easier so that they can get these decisions right. I really believe that if ever there was a good time and a right atmosphere to start giving them some help, be it Hawkeye, a video ref or whatever, this is it.

Thompson Seeking A Fairytale

THIS BEING Copenhagen, it would be almost churlish of Shamrock Rovers not to come for tonight’s Champions League qualifier looking to lay the groundwork for a fairytale. Given only Chelsea beat the locals on home turf last year, though, and Barcelona were amongst the other visitors, Michael O’Neill and his men know if there is to be a happy ending to this tie it is likely to be delivered back in Tallaght.

The task for his players this evening, the manager confirmed, is to keep that possibility alive and maybe “nick” a goal to bring home with them ahead of next Tuesday’s second leg.

Despite the apparent gulf in class between the two sides, O’Neill seemed quietly confident at the Parken Stadium last night that the first aim is not unrealistic.

O’Neill goes into the game without Chris Turner (suspended) or Karl Sheppard (ankle), while his opposite number and former Coventry City team-mate Roland Nilsson is waiting to check on the fitness of Senegalese striker Dame N’Doye before confirming his line up.

Nilsson, of course, has the considerably stronger hand to play and if N’Doye misses out a slight reshuffle should pave the way for the inclusion of under-21 Danish international Thomas Delaney on the left side of midfield.

The Rovers boss, however, reckons that in addition to having to guard against Copenhagen’s strengths, “there will be things we think we might be able to exploit too. The objective,” he insists, “will be to contain Copenhagen but also to exploit whatever opportunities come our way.”

The upside of Copenhagen’s standing, he says, is expectations are unusually low in relation to his team. “This is probably the first game all year where the expectation is not that we will win the game and dominate it. That’s not to say that we won’t be trying to win the tie – although it’s important to view the thing as being played over 180 minutes – but I think it’s a good situation to be in.”

The players, he feels, will relish playing such quality opposition in an impressive setting in front of an expected crowd of over 12,000 but critically, O’Neill is confident after last year’s performances, most notably against Juventus, they will not be overawed.

One man with more than most at stake is Ryan Thompson, the club’s Jamaican goalkeeper who makes his and, he says, his country’s Champions League debut in the wake of Alan Mannus’s departure for Scotland.

O’Neill has suggested that despite having just signed Richard Brush, Thompson is the man in possession of the jersey and will keep it if he can perform to the required standard.

On the strength of his displays so far, however, the 26-year-old has a bit to do to win over the sceptics and he can’t be too encouraged to see Brush described on the club’s website as a “quality replacement for Mannus”.

Thompson, though, has had to overcome so many major obstacles to get this far, having to hold off the challenge of Brush seems unlikely to intimidate him.

Born and brought up in a poor Kingston family in a “very tough” area dominated by local gangs, he recalls joining groups of 15 or 20 friends back home to watch Champions League games on TV.

“I would observe and just dream,” he says.

The country’s leading underage goalkeeper and a regular in their youth teams, his status quickly changed when he chose to pursue a soccer scholarship in the United States rather than waiting for a European club to come calling.

“It’s kind of sad when it comes to a Jamaican moving to America,” he says. “A lot of people didn’t want me to go to college, I was expected to go and play at a higher level. But I chose school to have security, to be the very first in my family to go to college, to study marketing and sports management, a minor in sports management at the University of Tampa – I played four years there – and to be the first of my family to graduate. I couldn’t turn down that opportunity.”

With his degree done but an MLS deal proving elusive, Thompson finally did turn his attention to Europe and now Mannus (mysteriously recalled to the Northern Ireland squad yesterday after one afternoon on the bench for St Johnstone) has gone he is hoping to show what he is capable of.

“I’m ready,” he says, “I’ve been preparing for years and months, sitting on the bench, biding my time. Now I’m ready to go on and express myself. The stage is set.”

COPENHAGEN (probable): Wiland; Thomsen, Ottesen, Zanka, Bengtsson; Bolanos, Claudemir, Grindheim, Diouf; Santin, N’Doye.

SHAMROCK ROVERS (probable): Thompson; Sullivan, Sives, Oman, Stevens; McCormack; Dennehy, Rice, Finn, Kelly; Twigg.

Beginner's guide: 

FC Copenhagen 

A RELATIVELY recent product of an attempt to create a new force in Danish football by merging existing clubs in the city, FC Copenhagen have started to deliver in recent years after a fairly shaky start.

The club was created in 1992 and set up shop in the national Parken Stadium. Having won a first league title in 1993 there were a succession of financial problems which almost led to the new venture’s swift demise.

Major restructuring on and off the field followed and by 2000 the club was in a position to assert itself as Denmark’s best. It has dominated the Superliga since, with eight of the last 12 championships, and steadily improved in Europe too, reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League last season after drawing at home with Barcelona and beating Panathinaikos home and away.

A steady stream of senior Danish and other international players have passed through the club in recent years and while a number, like William Kvist and Jesper Gronkjaer, departed in the summer, there has been money for new manager Roland Nilsson to spend so there is plenty of quality and experience in the side

Stunning Late Charge

STUNNING VIEW bridged a gap of some 13 years for Dermot Weld as he swooped late to claim the featured Topaz Mile EBF Handicap on a night when the Rosewell House trainer shared a treble with Pat Smullen.

One of the most competitive handicaps of the flat season, the extended mile contest fell to Weld four times in the 1990s. However, not since Michael Kinane and Free To Speak famously came up the stand’s side rail in 1998 had Weld landed the Tuesday night feature.

A creditable showing in the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot last month was enough to see the Smullen-ridden Stunning View returned the 7 to 1 joint favourite alongside last year’s winner Ask Jack. Appropriately the Dr Ronan Lambe-owned colt rose to the occasion in fine style at the course where he had recorded his sole previous success – the opening night two-year-old maiden in 2009.

Throughout Stunning View was never too far away from the leaders, although it looked as though the front-running Royal Blue Star was in charge as she turned for home a couple of lengths clear of the field. Hard as the latter tried though, she could not withstand Stunning View’s late charge which carried him to the front inside the final 100 yards.

“This is always a difficult race to win and he got a lovely ride from Pat, who always had him in the right place at the right time,” said Weld. “He did run quite well in a high-class handicap at Ascot and my only real concern here was the ground. He likes a little ease in it and it’s drying out all the time.

“Stunning View is in a seven-furlongs handicap here on Saturday but he might have enough done for the week and the logical step for him now would be to go for a Listed race.”

Earlier Weld and Smullen combined to win the two-mile handicap with the Lambe-owned Rainforest Magic and this success was giving the trainer his third consecutive win in the race. The four-year-old, who was running for just the second time on the flat since he was third in a handicap here last year, took charge just before the straight for a four-and-a-half lengths win over Striking Force.

The odds-on Catch The Eye completed the treble as she ran out a six-length winner of the seven furlong maiden. The three-year-old filly carries the colours of Charlie McCreevy’s wife Noeleen, who was also the successful breeder.

“She had the form and she did it nicely. We’ll look for a handicap or a winner’s of one next later in the year I think that she could get black type,” commented Weld.

JP McManus saw his colours carried to victory for the second time this week as Princeton Plains landed the opening novice hurdle for Eddie Harty and jockey Niall Madden. The five-year-old has an outside chance of making the cut for tomorrow’s Guinness Galway Hurdle and could take his chance there if enough horses defect following this defeat of the favourite London Bridge.

“It was a tactical race and his handicap experience stood to him,” said Harty. “He didn’t have too hard a race as they were only racing from the bottom of the hill and if he got a run in the Hurdle he may well take his chance.”

The Weld-trained Mahaazen headed the market for the two-year-old fillies maiden but she had to settle for third as Soon nailed the front-running Redoutable nearing the line. Soon, ridden by Séamus Heffernan, was giving Aidan O’Brien his first winner of the week. The Galileo filly is out of the Irish 1000 Guineas winner Classic Park who gave Aidan O’Brien his very first Classic winner all the way back in 1997.

Sarteano gained compensation for missing the cut for today’s Galway Plate as he won the conditions chase under Bryan Cooper. The Dessie Hughes inmate dug deep to overhaul the game outsider Willies Girl.

Eddie Lynam and Johnny Murtagh successfully joined forces as Iron Major came out the right side of a blanket finish to the seven-furlong handicap

40% of CFO's Expect Return to Growth

Almost 40 per cent of chief financial officers believe their company will return to growth by the end of 2011, down from 62 per cent in the previous quarter, according to the latest Deloitte CFO Survey.

It found 41 per cent of CFOs identified exchange rate fluctuations as the biggest threat. Maintaining or increasing revenues and maintaining profit margins were the other top two challenges facing companies, the survey found

State Takes Control of IL & P

THE GOVERNMENT has secured a High Court order to inject €2.7 billion into Irish Life & Permanent by the end of this month, taking control of a fifth Irish bank.

The order allows the Government to invest up to €3.8 billion but it is hoped that the company can raise €1.1 billion through the sale of Irish Life and a debt buyback with junior bondholders.

The consequences were “potentially catastrophic” if the company was not recapitalised by July 31st, the head of bank restructuring at the Department of Finance John Moran warned in an affidavit.

The Central Bank stress tests in March set a capital target of €4 billion, of which €2.9 billion had to be raised by July 31st. The company has raised €200 million.

The €2.7 billion injection will leave the State with a stake of more than 99 per cent.

Shareholders have five days to oppose the order under the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act, the sweeping banking legislation introduced last year which the Minister is using for the recapitalisation.

Piotr Skoczylas, who was voted onto the board of the company last week to represent shareholders opposed to the State recapitalisation, is leading the legal challenge.

About 260 shareholders with more than 18 per cent of the company will oppose the order.

“I can confirm that we will challenge it within the five working days,” said Mr Skoczylas, managing director of the Malta investment firm Scotchstone Capital.

He said they would challenge the order on the basis that the State recapitalisation was “grossly unreasonable” and that the legislation was unconstitutional.

The shareholders want the company to delay the recapitalisation to allow for alternative funds to be sourced from private investors.

Mr Noonan said he was “willing to listen to proposals from, and negotiate with, credible investors” to reduce the cost of the bank bailouts. “In the case of IL&P, the State has not been approached with credible propositions by any such investors,” said the Minister.

Shareholders last week voted to reject the State recapitalisation of the company, which would wipe out the value of their investments.

The order blocks shareholder resolutions passed at last week’s egm to appoint more financial and legal advisers to find other investors and to delay recapitalisation.

The order directs the company to delist from the main Dublin and London stock exchanges and to list on the junior Dublin exchange, the Enterprise Securities Market.

David Barniville SC, for the Minister, told Mr Justice Brian McGovern that the order was necessary as there was no other source for the €2.7 billion, which was required by July 31st under the EU-IMF bailout. Some €2.3 billion will be in cash and €400 million in contingent capital.

Mr Barniville said, as a result of the decision of the shareholders, IL&P was not consenting to the application for the order. The company made submissions which the Minister had considered, he said.

The court was told that the Minister received correspondence from shareholders and two law firms representing shareholders. Mr Barniville said two e-mails were received on Monday night from one shareholder, Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming.

Mr Moran’s affidavit included blacked-out sections where material described as commercially sensitive was redacted.

The State considered options, including nationalisation, but the €2.7 billion injection was the “only viable means” of recapitalising the company by July 31st, he said.Mr Moran described the company’s funding as “more precarious” than most others as it had a loans-to-deposits ratio of 249 per cent.

IL&P’s exceptionally high ratio was the key factor which led to the need to deleverage its loan book by €15.7 billion by 2013, he said.

Without that, IL&P could not reach a more sustainable ratio and the Central Bank’s target ratio of 122.5 per cent by 2013. He said IL&P had become increasingly reliant on ECB funding

Bowen, Bowen, GONE - Bowen Construction goes into Liquidation

BOWEN CONSTRUCTION, once one of the biggest building companies in the State, has gone into liquidation with the loss of at least 76 jobs.

John Bowen, the firm’s owner, expressed “profound sadness” at the end of the company after 43 years of trading.

“I feel desperately sorry for staff, suppliers, subcontractors and all who are affected,” Mr Bowen said last night.

The High Court granted an application for the liquidation of the company yesterday afternoon after cashflow difficulties made it impossible for the firm to continue trading. John McStay of McStay Luby was appointed as the liquidator to the company.

Bowen, a Cork-based firm, had been in refinancing talks with State assets agency Nama, with which it was finalising a business plan. The contracting company was involved in several high-profile projects, including the Cork Airport Business Park, the Luas extension to Cherrywood, Co Dublin, and the final section of the M7 motorway. It operated about 16 sites in Ireland.

This month the insolvent British subsidiary of Bowen Construction came under the control of court-appointed administrators from the specialist insolvency firm Zolfo Cooper.

The London subsidiary suspended its operations and laid off staff two months ago after it was unable to meet its liabilities to suppliers and other creditors.

The most recent accounts filed at the Companies Office for Bowen Construction Ltd show that it made a pretax profit of €4.3 million in 2009, down from €7.7 million in 2008. At this point it had shareholders’ funds of €26.5 million and bank debt of €13.5 million. Turnover in 2009 arrived at €140 million.

The company is 70 per cent controlled by Mr Bowen, with the other shareholding held by Barry Crowley, according to its 2009 accounts. At the peak of the market in 2007 it employed more than 300 people but staff numbers had decreased sharply in recent years.

The company had 76 direct employees. A number of other jobs at suppliers and subcontractors may now be at risk.

First established in 1968, Bowen grew to become one of the largest building and civil engineering contractors in the State with offices in Cork, Dublin, Belfast, Limerick and Waterford. Its clients included State agencies and companies such as the ESB, as well as local authorities and private sector organisations.

Martin Whelan, director of communications at the Construction Industry Federation, said the liquidation of another long-standing building firm was “a severe blow” and further evidence of both the deepening crisis in construction and the need for an urgent Government response to prevent the total loss of employment and skills in the sector.

The news “underlines the urgency” attached to the implementation of legislation protecting contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers in the construction supply chain.

“Suppliers and subcontractors now face a very uncertain future,” Mr Whelan said, adding that construction employment in Ireland was now half the European average.

He called on the Government to support the industry by ringfencing existing funding for infrastructure projects under the capital investment programme

540 Million Eco Park Planned for Garryhinch

AN ambitious water based eco-park on 500 acres, with a major water storage reservoir at a cut-away bog in Garryhinch, is the recommended solution to finding a new water source for the greater Dublin area.

The project, on the Laois/Offaly border, would cost an estimated €540 million and generate an estimated 1,000 construction jobs for three years, in addition to generating ongoing sustainable long term jobs in the midlands managing the eco-park activities and a water plant.

Consultants for Dublin City Council, RPS and Veolia Water, have recommended that a total of nine counties, including the four Dublin local authority areas could benefit from the eco-park, with the reservoir water being taken from the River Shannon at Lough Derg during periods of flood and high flows only, when there is more than enough water in the lake for all users. It would be stored at the new water eco-park, from where it could be used during periods of low flows in the Shannon.

Bord na Mna, owners of Garryhinch Bog, have expressed their commitment to support the project as it is in line with their green energy vision, their Lough Boora Park developments and their plans to create new sustainable jobs in the Midlands. The Lough Boora Park in Offaly has proven to be a very successful tourism project between Tullamore and Ferbane.

Bord Na Mona has recently received approval for new wind generated energy to supply up to 45,000 homes and this could see this renewable energy source being used to power the midlands eco park.

The consultants suggest that the eco-park would be constructed along the lines of the well known UK Rutland Water and Eco-park in east Anglia. It already attracts over a million visitors annually and includes water sports, boating, fishing and an internationally renowned bird sanctuary.

The recommendation is the culmination of research and consultation over the last six years, according to Tom Leahy, Executive Manager, Dublin City Council.

"The midlands would gain a permanent innovative water based tourism amenity that would also rehabilitate the existing cutaway bog. It will also provide a large number of jobs, both during construction and on-going local jobs in the water treatment plant, managing the eco-park and promoting it as a top leisure and tourist amenity," he said.

An Environmental Impact Statement process will be undertaken next, before a planning application is made to An Bord Pleanla and further and full statutory public consultation takes place.

An Bord Pleanla will make the decision on the project, which will require funding from Government

ANOTHER BILL FOR HOUSEHOLDERS

Sources have said that the Cabinet has approved new household charge to be payable from next year.

Details of the charge, which will be €100, will be announced later this afternoon.

It is expected a number of low-income households will be given a waiver from the charge.

Both the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Environment Minister Phil Hogan had promised clarity on any household charge before the summer recess.

The service charge is to be a combined water and property tax and will be set in the region of €100 a year, until schemes for charging for water and a property tax are introduced.

The EU/IMF bailout dictates that an interim charge must be put in place for water, beginning next year

Begg: Ireland cannot pay debts despite revised bailout

The General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions David Begg has said Ireland will not be able to pay its debts, even under the terms of the revised bailout deal worked out in Brussels last week.

Mr Begg said the programme of austerity being pursued by the Government is "driving down economic growth" and making Ireland's debts "even more unsustainable".

Speaking at the MacGill Summer School in Glenties, the ICTU chief said politicians needed to realise that cutting services and higher taxes "would not generate the revenue needed to pay back debt".

He said that while tough decisions have to be made, they should not involve "further cuts".

40% OF NEW DOCTORS TO LEAVE IRELAND

Fresh concerns are being raised about the level of doctors trained in Ireland who are planning to leave the country.

A senior HSE West official has claimed around 40% of final year interns in that area will emigrate after they graduate.

Chris Kane said Australia and New Zealand are the preferred destinations amongst the newly qualified doctors.

WATER METER INSTALLATION COST 3 TIMES MORE THAN EXPECTED

The Government is being warned that the cost of installing domestic water meters could be up to three times what it expects.

Initial estimates put the price tag at around €500m.

But as the Cabinet meets to discuss the charges today, Engineers Ireland is warning the final figure is likely to be between two and three times the cost outlined by the Department of the Environment.

The group also anticipates that many years of revenue collected through water metering would be needed to cover the cost of installing the machines
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U19's Reach Semis

The Republic of Ireland under-19s have booked their place in the semi-finals of the European Championships in Romania.

Paul Doolin's side will face tournament favourites, Spain in the last four after they held-on for a backs-to-the-wall scoreless draw against the hosts this evening.

With the Czech Republic beating Greece by a goal to nil in the other Group A game, that draw was enough for Ireland to progress as runners-up
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LEINSTER HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2011 - ALL THE RESULTS

Just to Refresh the Minds here are all the Results to date in the LEinster SH championship 2011






LEINSTER G.A.A. SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2011
14th May - Antrim (1-21) Laois (3-12)
22nd May - Westmeath (4-10) Carlow (1-14)
29th May - Dublin (2-21) Offaly (1-20)
29th May - Wexford (3-16) Antrim (1-11)
4th June - Galway (4-17) Westmeath (2-14)
11th June - Kilkenny (1-26) Wexford (1-15)
18th June - Dublin (0-19) Galway (2-7

MCILROY AND GIRLFRIEND SPLIT

Rory McIlroy played last week’s Open Championship having broken up with girlfriend Holly Sweeney.

The US Open champion’s management company issued a statement tonight saying: “Rory McIlroy’s long-time relationship with Holly Sweeney came to an amicable end before the Open Championship.”

The pair had a period apart earlier in the year, but 20-year-old student Sweeney, a cheerleader for the Ulster rugby team, was at Augusta to greet him after his hopes of winning The Masters were crushed by a closing 80.

She did not attend last month’s US Open, where he claimed his first major title by an incredible eight shots and with a record score, but wrote on Twitter: “My fabulous boyfriend has played flawlessly all week!

“Drink up Northern Ireland, he’s done us proud! Champagne flowing .?.?. Sooo happy for the curly one! 1st major down, millions to go!”

Last night BBC Television screened a documentary featuring the pair together on his return from Washington

DUBS NEED TO LIFT WORKRATE SAYS DALY

Having ended their long wait for an Allianz Hurling League title earlier in the season, Dublin are eyeing up another historic feat in Thurles this weekend.

It is 63 years since the Dubs last qualified for an All-Ireland SHC semi-final - in both 1952 and 1961, when they were Leinster champions, they progressed straight to the All-Ireland final.

A victory over Limerick on Sunday, the very team that ended their Championship run in 2009, will give Anthony Daly's men a shot at reigning champions Tipperary in the last-four.

Daly said: "We're under no illusions, Limerick are a team that are going well. They're a very united and a very forthright camp in that they're all pulling in the same direction after what happened last year.

"The prize is to get a game with Tipp and while people might say after the Munster final that it's not the sort of thing you should be wishing for, we want it desperately.

"We haven't been in an All-Ireland semi-final in years, so we would absolutely love to get there and have a crack off them."

The Dublin team to face Limerick will be announced after training on Friday, with forward Ryan O'Dwyer back in contention after seeing out his suspension.

He could come back in for Simon Lambert who deputised for him in the Leinster final against Kilkenny, while another of the forward contingent, David Treacy, is hitting his stride after time out with a hamstring injury.

Key defender Joey Boland, who started at centre-back against the Cats, has also benefited from further training following his shoulder injury.

"We're as close to full strength as we're going to get for the rest of this year," admitted Daly, whose charges are priced at 8/15 by bookmakers to beat Limerick.

"Ryan O'Dwyer is back after suspension. He has a full season's training behind him, and we would have no worries about tossing him in at the deep end if needed.

"Dave Treacy is back too after his latest injury, but whether there is 70 minutes in him is another day's work.

"He's certainly in great form though, and showed that last weekend when we went down to Thurles to get a feel for the place.

"While he was a loss for the Leinster final and we would have loved to have had him, it gave him the opportunity to work really hard at the fitness there for five weeks and he's in better shape now than he has been all season. You can see it in him now. He's that bit leaner and meaner looking.

"It's the same with Joey Boland. OK, it didn't go well for him the last day (against Kilkenny) but he has had the three weeks extra to prepare and he should be in much better form.

"In general, we would have more options than we had going into the Leinster final earlier this month."

Top of Daly's list of improvements that he wants to see from his players is the upping of their collective work-rate. They only scored six points from play against the Cats, with two of them coming from substitutes Maurice O'Brien and Daire Plunkett.

"At the start of the year, we committed to working massively hard. We decided that nobody would beat us for work-rate in 2011 and I suppose that's the thing that would disappoint us about the Leinster final.

"Maybe the occasion got to us, but our core values slipped away a little bit. We have to get back to those values and work like dogs and see where that takes us.

"When all else fails, work, graft and effort are the sort of ethics you can fall back on all the time.

"We've spent plenty of time instilling that into our group and it's something we would hope will be apparent in Semple this 

GOOLD ADDED TO CORK ATTACK

Cork manager Conor Counihan has made one enforced change to his team for Saturday's All-Ireland SFC fourth round qualifier against Down at Croke Park (throw-in 6pm).

With Ciarán Sheehan ruled out by a cruciate knee ligament injury, Macroom clubman Fintan Goold will start in his place at right half-forward.

Captain Graham Canty's position was thought to be under threat after an uncharacteristically lacklustre display against Kerry in the Munster final.

But despite pressure from Eoin Cotter and dual player Eoin Cadogan, Canty has held onto his starting spot in defence.

The 31-year-old overcame injury problems to feature as a second half substitute in the Rebels' All-Ireland final win over Down last September.

This weekend's rematch is only the counties' third ever meeting in the Championship - Down won their 1994 All-Ireland semi-final clash by 1-13 to 0-11, while Cork were 0-16 to 0-15 winners last year.

"We beat Down so narrowly in last year's final and I've no doubt they'll be very well motivated on that basis for this game," Counihan told the Irish News.

"When the Championship gets serious and it's a do or die situation, I suppose the best teams will rise to it then.

"It wasn't do or die when Down lost to Armagh (in the Ulster Championship), so I wasn't totally surprised at that.

"But for all the teams (in the qualifiers), it's do or die now and it's a totally different attitude. It's a crunch match because if you win, you're back on the road."

CORK (SFC v Down): Alan Quirke; Jamie O'Sullivan, Graham Canty (capt), Michael Shields; Noel O'Leary, John Miskella, Paudie Kissane; Alan O'Connor, Aidan Walsh; Fintan Goold, Paddy Kelly, Pearse O'Neill; Daniel Goulding, Donncha O'Connor, Paul Kerrigan.

EC approves €3.8bn recapitalisation of ILP

The European Commission has granted temporary approval, under EU state aid rules, to a government recapitalisation worth up to €3.8bn for Irish Life & Permanent.

In a statement, the Commission said: "The recapitalisation is necessary to increase the bank's solvency ratios, thereby enabling it to resist potential stress situations and preserving stability on the Irish financial markets.

"The Commission will take a final decision on the state measures in favour of IL&P on the basis of the new restructuring plan that Ireland committed to submit by the end of July to take account of this additional state support."

The EU-IMF bailout included a capital assessment review of all banks subject to the programme.

The review carried out by our own Central Bank identified capital needs of €4bn for IL&P. In a first stage, to be implemented by July 31 this year, the Government will buy ordinary shares in IL&P for €2.3bn and contingent capital notes for €0.4bn.

In a second stage, the Government will provide up to €1.1bn of additional capital if the capital raising measures recently launched by IL&P fail to raise the remaining amount of capital needed to satisfy the requirements identified by the central bank review.

€200 million of capital will be provided by the group itself.

Irish Life and Permanent will hold an emergency meeting of shareholders this morning to discuss a recapitalisation plan for the bank.

Shareholders are being asked to approve the €3.8bn cash injection from the Government, which would result in 99% of the bank's ownership transferring to the Government. It is reported they may reject the bailout.

CHILDRENS HOSPITAL PLANS UNVEILED

The ambitious design for Ireland’s new children’s hospital has gone on public display after being lodged with planners.

Developers hope to start construction on the 15-storey landmark building next spring and accept the first patient by the end of 2016.

Harry Crosbie, chairman of the development board for the new Children’s Hospital of Ireland, said it was committed to building the best children’s hospital in the world.

“The children of Ireland deserve nothing less,” he added.

An international expert group recently unanimously backed the Mater Hospital in Dublin’s north inner city as the best site for the facility – which will merge the existing children’s hospitals at Temple Street, Crumlin and Tallaght.

The application to An Bord Pleanála can be seen at www.newchildrenshospitalplanningapplication.ie.

It will be on view at the offices of An Bord Pleanála or Dublin City Council for seven weeks from July 27 during public consultations.

The new hospital will boast 392 beds, 53 day care beds, 13 operating theatres, overnight room-in beds for parents and a family resource centre. Developers also want to create a number of play areas, a hospital school, external gardens and courtyards.

An ambulatory facility at Tallaght will also accommodate an additional 28 day-care beds and three day theatres.

However, a Government decision on the €450m State funds needed to build the hospital will not be given until September.

A philanthropic fundraising drive will also be launched to raise some of the additional €200m needed to foot the bill.

Eilish Hardiman, chief executive of the development board, said a number of measures have been identified to address concerns over access, including the development of a four-lane access road at the front of the hospital and opening a second access point to a new four-storey underground car park.

“We have worked hard over the last two and a half years in developing plans for a world-class children’s hospital that will be a legacy to our children,” she said.

Mary O’Connor, of support group Children in Hospital Ireland, added: “The new hospital will also make an incredible difference to all the staff who will have the most up-to-date facilities, equipment and environment to provide care for sick children and their families.”

KENNY; NO QUICK FIX FOR EUROZONE CRISIS

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said today that the crisis in the eurozone cannot be resolved overnight.

“These are vitally important topics and the meeting will be an important one,” Mr Kenny said.

“But – and I think it is important to note this at the start – it will not be the be-all-and-end-all.

“The crisis in the euro area will not be resolved overnight. There is no one magic solution or silver bullet.”

The Taoiseach said important proposals will be considered an emergency summit in Brussels tomorrow but further steps will be needed before “we are out of the woods”.

Mr Kenny said he will be watching carefully and working to ensure what is agreed for Greece will not make Ireland’s eventual return to the markets more difficult.

“The type of elements now being considered – lower interest rates, longer term loans, a greater flexibility of instruments – have the potential to make a positive contribution,” the Taoiseach said.

“On interest rates, we know the specific issues that have arisen for Ireland - we will continue to press for the reduction in interest rates agreed in March to be applied to us.”

Mr Martin said only dramatic, fast and comprehensive action can stop the crisis from getting worse.

“This is one of the most important summits in the history of the Union,” Mr Martin said.

“It falls to the leaders to show that they can rise above the crisis and show that they will take any measure to help member states and restore confidence.

“The can must not be kicked down the road again.

TAOISEACH HITS OUT AT DYSFUNCTION OF CATHOLIC CHURCH

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has told the Dáil that the Cloyne Report on clerical sex abuse "excavates the dysfunction, the disconnection, the elitism that dominates the Vatican today".

“The rape and torture of children were downplayed ... managed to uphold instead, the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and reputation,” Mr Kenny said in a special Dáil debate on today.

The Vatican’s reaction to evidence of victims was to have it parsed and analysed by a canon lawyer, the Taoiseach said.

This “calculated withering position” was “the polar opposite of the radicalism, the humility and the compassion upon which the Roman Church was founded”.

Mr Kenny said clericalism had rendered some of Ireland’s brightest and most privileged and powerful men either unwilling or unable to address the horrors in the Ryan and Murphy reports.

Mr Kenny said this Roman clericalism must be devastating for “good priests”.

“But thankfully for them, and for us, this is not Rome,” he said.

“Nor is it industrial school or Magdalene Ireland, where the swish of a soutane-smothered conscience and humanity and the swing of a thurible ruled the Irish Catholic world.

“This is the Republic of Ireland 2011.

“A republic of laws, of rights and responsibilities, of proper civic order, where the delinquency and arrogance of a particular version of a particular kind of morality will no longer be tolerated or ignored.”

The Taoiseach said he agreed with Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin that the church needs to publish all similar reports as soon as possible.

Mr Kenny reiterated measures announced in the wake of the Cloyne Report’s publication, including making it an offence to withhold information about crimes against children.

“As the Holy See prepares its considered response to the Cloyne Report, as Taoiseach I am making it absolutely clear that when it comes to the protection of the children of this State, the standards of conduct which the church deems appropriate to itself cannot and will not be applied to the workings of democracy and civil society in this republic,” Mr Kenny said.

Today's Dáil motion stated that they deplore “the Vatican’s intervention, which contributed to the undermining of the child protection frameworks and guidelines of the Irish State and the Irish bishops”.

Earlier today, a senior Vatican spokesman stated that Irish bishops were never encouraged or advised to cover up clerical abuse or evade laws designed to protect children.

In the first comment from Rome amid fall-out over former bishop John Magee’s “dangerous” mishandling of paedophilia allegations, Fr Federico Lombardi dismissed criticism of the Holy See.

The inquiry into Magee’s role at the head of the Cloyne Diocese until his retirement two years ago found he misled investigations and on one occasion wrote two different reports on a clerical abuse allegation – one for Rome and one for diocesan records.

Fr Lombardi, the spokesman for the Vatican, claimed the severity of criticisms against the Holy See was curious.

The controversy goes as high as the Vatican after the inquiry found a 1997 letter from the Papal Nuncio, Rome’s ambassador to Ireland, reacting to Irish bishops’ agreed plans to improve child protection policy. The Cloyne report described the response as “entirely unhelpful”.

“There is no reason to interpret that letter as being intended to cover up cases of abuse,” Fr Lombardi said.

“Moreover, there is absolutely nothing in the letter that is an invitation to disregard the laws of the country.”

Fr Lombardi suggested the Church had done nothing worse than the Irish State as rigorous child protection rules and mandatory reporting were not in law at the time.

He added: “The severity of certain criticisms of the Vatican are curious, as if the Holy See was guilty of not having given merit under canon law to norms which a State did not consider necessary to give value under civil law.”

He also said any objections from the powerful Rome-based Congregation for the Clergy to Irish bishops in the letter were understandable and legitimate.

In the long statement read out yesterday on Vatican radio, Fr Lombardi insisted that he was not speaking on behalf of Pope Benedict.

The spokesman also rebuked the respected Cloyne inquiry – headed by Judge Yvonne Murphy following her work uncovering clerical abuse and the failures of church authorities in the Dublin Archdiocese.

Fr Lombardi said: “In attributing grave responsibility to the Holy See for what happened in Ireland, such accusations seem to go far beyond what is suggested in the report itself (which uses a more balanced tone in the attribution of responsibility) and demonstrate little awareness of what the Holy See has actually done over the years to help effectively address the problem.”

Fr Lombardi did not mention John Magee, who has issued a statement apologising but not spoken in public.

He reiterated the Pope’s “intense feelings of grief and condemnation” and his “shock and shame” following the publication of the Dublin report in 2009
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MAJOR DRUG FIND IN MEATH

An intelligence-led operation by the Garda National Drugs Unit has led to the arrest of two men aged 47 and 39 at a house in the Bettystown area at 2.30pm today, it has emerged.

Gardaí found the pair in possession of herbal cannabis with an estimated street value of approximately €1.5m – subject to further analysis.

They are both detained at Kells garda station under the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice ( Drug Trafficking ) Act 1996.

ARCHBISHOP URGES AUDITS

Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s blistering attack on the Catholic Church should be a wake-up call for dishonest and immoral clergymen, it has been warned.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin accepted the Vatican was unhelpful in sending the 1997 letter questioning the authority of Irish bishops to agree on child protection.

An outspoken critic of the Church’s handling of abuse, he said the only way all allegations, abuse and cover-ups can be exposed is through invasive audits of each diocese.

“I’m very disappointed, annoyed,” he said. “What do you do when you’ve got groups, whether in the Vatican or in Ireland, who try to undermine what is being done or simply refuse to understand what has been done.”

In an interview on RTÉ Television, the Archbishop said the Diocese of Cloyne had ignored Vatican policy issued in 2001 by Pope Benedict, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with authority.

“What does that say? What sort of a cabal is this that is in there (Cloyne) and still refuses to recognise what the norms of the Church are?” he asked.

The Archbishop added: “If they think that by not getting at the truth they are helping the Church the statement in today’s Dáil should teach them a lesson.”

Archbishop Martin said six elderly priests were verbally abused at a colleague’s funeral this week when someone challenged them, claiming they “should be ashamed of themselves”.

“Those who felt they were able to play tricks with norms, they have betrayed those good men and so many others in the Church who are working today,” he said.

“I am angry, ashamed and appalled by that.”

The Archbishop said the Vatican does not defend the rape of children.

“I find myself asking today, can I be proud of the Church that I’m a leader of? What I’m seeing – I have to be ashamed of this, and I have to be ashamed because of what was done to the victims and what was done to other people.”

The Archbishop himself pushed for full disclosure of Church files when a judge-led inquiry was probing the handling of clerical abuse in the Archdiocese before he took control.

He even went as far as a High Court battle with his predecessor Cardinal Desmond Connell to ensure all 70,000 secret documents be handed to the Murphy inquiry
Archbishop Martin said he has never been reprimanded by the Vatican for doing so.

He called on the Vatican to announce full support for the local church in Ireland on mandatory reporting of abuse allegations to the state authorities and ensure that internal reviews of the handling of complaints are published.

The Archbishop said he was disappointed the Taoiseach did not apologise for failures of the State.

The Archbishop said good priests and people working with children in parishes up and down the country were questioning themselves
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KILDARE GO THROUGH AT MEATH EXPENSE

Kildare 2-11 Meath 0-14


Kildare finished very strongly to snatch victory in a pulsating All-Ireland SFC round 3 Qualifier at a throbbing Páirc Tailteann tonight.

The Lilywhites maintained their incredible record in backdoor clashes under Kieran McGeeney – they have won 10 and drawn one of the games played on this route since the Armagh man took over in 2008 – thanks a telling burst that produced a goal and two points between the 65th and 67th minutes.

The sides were level when Emmet Bolton and Ronan Sweeney pointed before the former palmed home the defining goal three minutes from time, after brilliant work by the excellent James Kavanagh and Tomás O’Connor.

With three minutes added though, Meath kept battling and they reduced the deficit to three points thanks to scores from Stephen Bray and a Brian Farrell free.

Time ran out on them though and it’s Kildare that progress to round 4, where they will play the losers of tomorrow’s Ulster final.

Cian Ward opened the scoring with a brilliantly converted free by Cian Ward in the second minute from 44m into the teeth of a strong wind.

O’Connor was into the action early for Kildare however, and though Kevin Reilly won the first contest, he was outmuscled in the third minute by the full-forward. Reilly and goalkeeper Brendan Murphy combined to pull O’Connor down.

Johnny Doyle stepped up to take the resultant penalty and just like last Saturday night in Portlaoise, sent the custodian the wrong way when planting the shot to the right corner.

Meath’s response was impressive though, as they hit back with three points in succession. All of them were quality efforts too, the first coming as Ward twisted and turned well before swinging over with his left.

Ciaran Lenehan beat four tackles before laying off to Seamus Kenny for the next and then Stephen Bray produced a replica of the Ward effort to put Meath back in front.

Kildare began to get on top around midfield however, with Johnny Doyle and Daryl Flynn very prominent and they hit their own flurry of three.

Eamonn Callaghan switched with Morgan O’Flaherty and they both kicked points, either side of an intricate move that ended with Pádraig O’Neill rocketing a shot just over the Meath crossbar.

Seamus McEnaney had seen enough an introduced Mark Ward in place of Brian Meade at midfield. Soon after, a very groggy looking Lenehan was forced to depart.

Kieran McGeeney made his own change, bringing Kavanagh into the attack in place of Rob Kelly.

Ward converted two frees to bookend a Fionn Dowling point before Kavanagh arced over a splendid effort from tight on the left on the 20m line and Kildare were just about worthy of their 1-6 to 0-7 half time lead.

When Hugh McGrillen burst forward to point soon after the resumption, Meath supporters were bracing themselves for the traditional second half onslaught from Kildare but instead, the Royals were magnificent, producing their best performance of the season.

Shane Connolly was forced into a smart save from Cian Ward as Meath gradually wound up the tempo. The hosts knocked over four of the next five scores to bring the sides level and it was nip and tuck from there until the end.

Crucially, Meath spurned some excellent chances to hit the front but it was something they never managed to do. The loss of captain Seamus Kenny to a gaping head wound 12 minutes from the end of time was undoubtedly significant too, as he had been very prominent.

Kildare made no mistake when they got their opportunity and critically, they began winning the breaking ball in those minutes, having struggled in that department for much of the second half.

With those possession, they carved out the winning scores expertly and continue their Qualifier success story.

Kildare: S Connolly; A Mac Lochlainn, M Foley, H McGrillen 0-1; G White, M O’Flaherty 0-1, E Bolton 1-2; J Doyle 1-2 (1-0 pen, 0-2fs), D Flynn; P O’Neill 0-1, E O’Flaherty, E Callaghan 0-1; R Kelly, T O’Connor, F Dowling 0-1. Subs: J Kavanagh 0-1 for Kelly (23); B Flanagan for White (ht); C Brophy for Dowling (49); R Sweeney 0-1 for E O’Flaherty (56); O Lyons for Bolton (68).

Meath: B Murphy; G O’Brien, K Reilly, C King; C Lenehan, S McAnarney, M Burke; S O’Rourke 0-1, B Meade; P Gilsenan, J Sheridan, S Kenny 0-2; S Bray 0-2, G Reilly, C Ward 0-8(5fs, 2 45s). Subs: M Ward for Meade (23); B Farrell 0-1(f) for Lenehan inj (29); J Queeney for G Reilly (46); P O’Rourke for Kenny inj (58); A Moyles for Queeney (64).