Pádraig O’Hora and Arsenal? They’re both on top of the world after reaching their respective summits, O’Hora and his Irish team conquering Everest in the early hours of Wednesday morning, at which time Arsenal’s party was only warming up after winning the Premier League on Tuesday evening.
Malachy Clerkin reports on O’Hora’s wondrous feat which came at the end of a 47-day expedition, the former Mayo footballer, Éanna McGowan from Dublin and Adam Sweeney from Waterford becoming the first all-Irish team since 2003 to reach the summit.
And without even having to kick a ball on Tuesday, Arsenal won their first Premier League title in 22 years after Manchester City’s draw with Bournemouth. “They say good things come to those who wait, and for Arsenal supporters it has felt like an eternity.” And as if the night wasn’t already a glorious one for the Gooners, Spurs are still in relegation trouble after their defeat by Chelsea.
In Gaelic games, Darragh Ó Sé has narrowed down his list of contenders to reach the All Ireland football summit in July: Kerry, Donegal, Armagh and Galway. But injuries to key players could yet scupper those predictions.
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Westmeath have Cavan in the opening round of the All Ireland series on Saturday week, Seán Moran reflecting on their Leinster success and the credit manager Mark McHugh deserves for leading them there. In his tactical analysis of their win over Dublin, Paul O’Brien salutes McHugh’s gameplan and how it was expertly executed by his players.
The Dublin hurlers, meanwhile, have a “potentially season-defining fixture” this Sunday when they host Kilkenny at Parnell Park. Is the venue the fortress it’s made out to be? Gordon Manning has his doubts.
In rugby, Gordon D’Arcy looks ahead to the Champions Cup final when Leinster will, once again, try to get their hands on that fifth star. Key to their prospects will be their halfback partnership of Jamison Gibson-Park and Harry Byrne.
Bordeaux Bègles will ensure that they’re up against it, though, Gerry Thornley tracing the remarkable journey of the defending champions who, for so long, lived in the shadow of its football club that featured luminaries such as Zinedine Zidane, Christophe Dugarry and Bixente Lizarazu.
Pico Lopes has had his own remarkable journey, the Shamrock Rovers captain set to play in this summer’s World Cup for Cape Verde. Paul O’Hehir talks to Lopes who declared for the African island nation, where his father was born, in 2019.
And in racing, Brian O’Connor previews the first Curragh Classic of 2026, Gstaad the odds-on favourite to win the Irish 2,000 Guineas, and Al Riffa’s bid to get Joseph O’Brien and Dylan Browne McMonagle off the Group One mark for the year in the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier at Longchamp.
TV Watch: At 7.35pm, TG4 has the Leinster under-20 hurling final between Galway and Kilkenny, and at 8pm, Aston Villa take on Freiburg in the Europa League final in Istanbul (TNT Sports 1 and Premier Sports 1).
