The incident occurred when a team of FBI agents swarmed an apartment complex near Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.

The man, named as Ibragim Todashev, had been interviewed over his connection to the Tsarnaev brothers who unleashed a vile reign of terror over the Massachusetts city last month.

The FBI confirmed Todashev, a friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who is suspected of being behind the double bombing which killed three people and injured more than 260 at the marathon, was shot dead after becoming violent during the questioning.

In a statement,  spokesman Paul Bresson said the agent acted on an imminent threat and shot the interview subject.

The man being interviewed was killed and the FBI agent was transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

An FBI team was dispatched from Washington to review the shooting, a standard step in such incidents.

Tamerlan was killed in a shootout with police last month following the bombings. His brother Dzhokhar is in federal custody awaiting trial after he was found hiding in a boat in the Watertown area.

The DLR Mountains to Sea Book Festival is one of my favourite literary events on the calendar as it usually has a good range of events for both children and adults. I spotted a flyer for the schools’ events part of the festival, for which booking opens this week. Event organisers Tom Donegan and Sarah Webb have been hard at work since as far back as last year putting together the Family and Schools’ Events Programme. The cost per pupil for the theatre events has been held at €3 which is remarkably good value for an entertaining and educational hour with a favourite writer.

 Several fantastic kids’ authors and illustrators feature in the schools line-up for both the primary and secondary age groups. The festival has built up a good track record for school events and this year the flag is kept flying by appearances from Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey, Patrick Ness and Liz Pichon to name but three. The Patrick Ness event is particularly interesting as it is a Teen Curator Event involving participants from Newpark Comprehensive School. They will interview the author in County Hall, Dún Laoghaire in front of an audience, which is a brilliant opportunity for Ness’s readers.

Included in this year’s events are two free writing workshops held in participating secondary schools by the ‘Fighting Words’ organisation on 5^th September. Groups of fifteen students will be able to create and then refine dialogue with the help of tutors from the writing centre. This is a marvellous chance for would-be writers to gain experience and advice from the experts. Pupil involvement is also encouraged in other school events where the children, requested to come along armed with pencil and paper can join in the fun. And if you don’t know how to draw a Hugglemonster, the brilliant Niamh Sharkey will probably show you how.

Booking for family events doesn’t open until July, but expect to see the return of the Monster Book Lunch with many popular authors in attendance. This is just a sneak preview of what’s to come in September. For younger fans, the festival will be hosting a Picture Book Picnic as well as a Monster Family Doodle event. Get your pencils sharpened in readiness for the latter giant activity (that means adults too). So far, Derek Landy, Charlie Higson and Cathy Cassidy are due to make the event, but keep an eye out for more news of the remainder of the programme. Now, all we need is a warm, sunny September as a backdrop to the fun!

For booking and further information: www.mountainstosea.ie  You can find the festival on Facebook and Twitter.

Also: www.fightingwords.ie

Stephen Kenny is known for his love for the EA Sports Cup and brought a strong side to Tallaght but they were helpless as they fell to a 1-0 defeat.

Shamrock Rovers made a lively start to the game with Dundalk goalkeeper Peter Cherrie saving well from former Patrick Thistle man Thomas Stewart before Shane Robinson fired his shot against the post. Robinson himself had another chance to put the home side in the lead but seen his headed effort agonisingly sail over the bar.

The majority of efforts created by Trevor Croly’s men came from set pieces as Stephen Rice went close again. It was clear Cherrie had a busy night ahead.

Dundalk had their own chances through Vinny Faherty & Kurtis Byrne but they met a stubborn Rovers rearguard, which included Alan Kehoe who made his first competitive start for the club.

Little action followed as Rovers dominated midfield. It was all square at the break with Croly left wondering how his side hadn’t stolen a march on their opponents.

Dundalk started much the better side after the break, with Richard Brush denying former Hibernian youth Kurtis Byrne.

However, despite the pressure from Dundak it was Shamrock Rovers who took the lead. Dave Massey made the mistake at the back which allowed former UCD man Kilduff to pounce and send a brilliant 20 yard finish beyond a despairing Cherrie.

Dundalk had a good chance to get back into the game as captain for the night, Richie Towell, fired a shot straight into the hands of former Sligo Rovers goalkeeper Brush before Sean O’Connor went close for the hoops.

Another chance for Dundalk came in the 80th minute when Eoghan Osborne fired a volley wide of Brush’s goal, much to Dundalk’s disappointment. .

Stephen Kenny was angered once again when the ball was played across the box by Vinny Faherty to find the on-rushing Towell who slid and fired his shot wide.

John Dillon was next to go close for the visitors but fired wide despite having a man over on Shamrock Rovers defence. Another glorious chance wasted as Rovers hung on to seal the win over their former manager.

Shamrock Rovers now face Shelbourne next at Tallaght Stadium on Friday evening, while Dundalk welcome UCD to Oriel Park.

Shamrock Rovers: Richard Brush, Alan Kehoe (Jason McGuinness) , Conor McCormack, David Elebert, Ken Oman, James Chambers, Stephen Rice, Shane Robinson (C) (Ronan Finn’) , Gary McCabe (Seán O’Connor) , Ciaran Kilduff & Thomas Stewart. Unused Subs: Conor Winn, Conor Powell, Karl Sheppard & Dean Ebbe.

Dundalk: Peter Cherrie, John Sullivan, Eoghan Osborne, John Mountney, Keith Ward, Kurtis Byrne (John Dillon), Dane Massey, Stephen McDonnell (Andy Boyle), Richie Towell (C), Vinny Faherty & Darren Meenan (Tiarnan Mulvenna) Unused Subs:Patrick Hoban,Mark Rossiter, Ciaran O’Connor & Aaron Shanahan.

One of the most anticipated and intriguing events on the WWE calendar has been Extreme Rules ever since its introduction to WWE over five years ago. Originally a homage to the original ECW’s “One Night Stand” this year’s instalment was another firm example that extreme wrestling has no place in today’s WWE. The first two matches on the card were legit wrestling matches with absolutely no gimmicks attached and the Tornado rules attached to the WWE Tag Team Title match were hardly what you could call extreme. However I found the pay-per-view very enjoyable, full of interesting matches and feuds I wanted to see resolved. My only objection is don’t label something extreme when what you want to offer a is rough at best. What was on the menu was jalapenos and I was served bacon and cabbage.

Our opening contest was a straight up rematch from Wrestlemania pitting the flavour of the month Fandango against the six time world champion Chris Jericho. A lively encounter this match was very similar to their Mania encounter in many ways. They told the same story again of the experienced veteran trying to beat some respect into the brash upstart Fandango. In the middle of the match there was a small lull however the last 5 minutes became more action packed and it looked like either man could pick up the big win. This match has highlighted Fandango’s skill in the ring more than any of his other matches to date. In the end it was a surprising code breaker from the top rope that gave Jericho his redemption over his ballroom dancing nemesis. Fandango looked strong coming out of the defeat however and his star still appears to be shining bright.

The next match was the match I was most looking forward to on the card, the one-on-one contest between reigning US champion Kofi Kingston and The Shield representative Dean Ambrose. This was the first opportunity any of The Shield members has had at championship gold and the first time one of them has competed in a singles match on a pay-per-view. Before the two locked up there was a surprising amount of support for Ambrose despite his villainous character. It was a real sign of respect from the diehard fans, who have been following Ambrose since before he even entered the WWE. This match was solid and a real flashback to the undercard matches of old where there was animosity, passion and technical skill giving these bouts the attention they deserve. This has been something missing from many of the lower championship bouts for quite a number of years now. The entire match had a real old school feel while still offering very much new school style moves. Many people predicted that Ambrose was a shoo-in to walk away with the victory however they crafted the match so well that at various moments towards the end it looked like it could have gone either way. Eventually the inevitable happened and Dean Ambrose picked up this first championship in WWE. The other Shield members joined in the ring for a great celebration and all of a sudden the United States championship has become a lot more interesting.

Our next match was the first with an “extreme” stipulation. Sheamus was taking on the World’s Strongest Man Mark Henry in a strap match. The rules of the strap match are that the two competitors are tied to each other at the wrists by a strap, they then have to touch each of the four ring post in succession without their momentum being stopped by their opponent who will obviously be resisting at the other end of the strap. The strap can be used as a weapon at any time. This was a relatively enjoyable match. Both Sheamus and Mark Henry tried to do things that haven’t been seen before in this very restricting type of matchup. It told a classic story of the valiant warrior trying to get past the immovable monster. Eventually Sheamus pulled off a surprise upset and actually won the match despite everybody feeling that Sheamus was going to be fed to Mark Henry in order to fuel his monster push. Even though this was definitely a brawl and they did incorporate the strap it was not nearly worthy of its extreme moniker. JBL must of had mixed feelings watching the match as he competed in what is widely considered to be the measuring stick for strap matches with Eddie Guerrero. Now that match was definitely extreme. Still in today’s current PG environment it was impossible to have a match of that style and saw the two men did their best to work around the contradiction of an extreme match on a PG show.

Next we were presented with the second outing of the evening that would see The Shield members competing for championship gold. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns were given the task to do what no other tag-team has been able to do for close to a year, dethrone Team Hell No. The tornado rules even though not extreme definitely suited The Shield’s frantic style and the big man/small man dynamic of Daniel Bryan and Kane. This match served up action fast and frequently with both teams giving a gargantuan effort. This match proves that you do not need weapons or intimidating structures to have an incredibly physical matchup. Eventually Daniel Bryan and Kane succumbed to the hounds of justice’s chaotic attack and The Shield rounded out their trifecta of Championships. We are in for a very interesting couple of weeks as we see how The Shield carry themselves now that they are champions.

The following match was a contingency plan put in place when World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler suffered concussion 10 nights ago. With Dolph unable to compete or even travel to the Extreme Rules pay-per-view it was decided that Jack Swagger and Alberto del Rio would face off in an I quit match where which ever one of the submission specialists picks up the win would be granted a future World Heavyweight Championship match against Ziggler. Another match which is very hard to pull off if you cannot go to the extreme, the idea is basically to torture your opponent until they utter the words “I quit”. It was very interesting as both Swagger and Del Rio’s finishing manoeuvres are submission-based holds. This match carried predictably for the first three quarters as the bad guy Swagger tortured Del Rio in various despicable ways with the Mexican hero refusing to quit. However towards the end there was a strange twist as Swagger’s manager Zeb Colter pushed over Ricardo Rodriguez and threw in the towel behind the referees back convincing the referee that Ricardo was throwing in the towel for his buddy. The whole arena was left stunned as Swagger was leaving with the all-important victory when all of a sudden another referee came down and explained the situation to the current referee. Upon viewing video evidence of the deceit the referee restarted the match and Del Rio quickly picked up the submission victory with his cross arm breaker. I find it terribly worrying when pro wrestling has television match officials and football still doesn’t.

Next up was hometown favourite Randy Orton taking on the giant task of defeating The Big Show in an extreme rules match. The two experienced superstars provided us with a pretty entertaining matchup despite there not being enough prestige or personal justice on the line to warrant its extreme rules stipulation. This feud has very much had the feeling that it was their simply to occupy both men’s time until they had something more interesting for either of them. Orton appears to be going through the motions while rumours of his frustration backstage continue to circle. There were some innovative spots and use of weapons I hadn’t seen before but this match lacked any tangible importance to it. The last few seconds had to be the highlight of the match as we saw the return of Randy Orton’s punt kick. This should continue to feed the flames of Orton’s slow heel turn and perhaps take Big Show off TV for a couple of weeks.

The WWE championship match was our penultimate contest. John Cena defended his championship against monstrous juggernaut Ryback in a last man standing match. To win this match you have to beat your opponent down so badly that they cannot stand up within a referees 10 count. Both men have been marred by criticism that neither of them have real wrestling skill but they put on a pretty good match here. By no means a technical showcase these men just unloaded big power moves on each other. Ryback looked very much John’s equal and sometimes his superior over the course of the matchup. Of course there were several embarrassing Cena moments including Cena stalking the monster with a fire extinguisher in a sheepish manner and then there was the splash. While the champion and challenger fought around the arena John sprawled his young contender on the table and quickly climbed up onto a slightly elevated platform by the fans. He gave us a “why not?” kind of shrug and proceeded to land a simply terrible splash on Ryback through the table. There are some things John Cena does very well, he can cut a fantastic promo when motivated, give him the right opponent and they can put on a great match and he has a connection with the fans that very few superstars can ever hope to emulate. However he is in no way an athletic ring technician. He has no business attempting dropkicks, hurricanranas and in this particular case splashes. Superstars like Daniel Bryan need to do these kind of moves because given their appearance and size they cannot be believable fighting musclebound behemoths unless they can show they have an arsenal of innovative and impressive moves. John Cena does not need these moves as he is a freak of nature when it comes to strength and is loved by the fans (for the most part) no matter what moves he does as long as he hits his five knuckle shuffle and an AA. Someone needs to sit John Cena down and implore him to stop doing these moves because they’re only embarrassing himself and whoever is forced to sell them. Anyway the match ended with an interesting twist as Ryback charged Cena through the lights of the stage resulting in the match being called off by the referee and Cena being stretchered away. It’s obvious that Payback will see a rematch between the two lions jousting to become King of the Jungle.

Speaking of King of the Jungle, the final match was long-time rivals the King of Kings Triple H against the beast incarnate Brock Lesnar. This match took place in WWE’s new and improved steel cage. The two men predictably brought the physicality and this match like many of the others on tonight’s card was a down and out brawl. Early on in the match Brock appeared to injure his leg, we don’t know at time of writing was this a legitimate injury although it probably wasn’t, and spent most the match playing the part of the wounded but prideful animal. They played this card too early in the match as Brock was relatively immobile for the most of the match and hence the bout suffered accordingly. This match only proved how stale the Brock Lesnar/Triple H feud has become and with Brock Lesnar picking up the win I hope this is the end of it. A mundane enough ending to a pretty good pay-per-view. The irony of this year’s Extreme Rules was the matches with the least extreme elements seemed to be the best of the show.

Match of the night: Dean Ambrose VS Kofi Kingston

Extreme highlight of the night: Top rope code breaker from Jericho

Star of the night: Dean Ambrose

Pay-per-view rating: 6 out of 10

In a match that hadn’t had the highest of attendances the home side didn’t take long to break the deadlock either, they did so after seven minutes. Steven Traynor worked his way through the Bray Wanderers defence and fired a shot into the left hand corner of the net.

Bray Wanderers goalkeeper, Sean Holmes, could do nothing but watch as the ball flew into the net. It had seemed that the visitors were setting up to play off the counter attack as they formed a 4-5-1 formation. While for Aaron Callaghan’s side they set up as the dominant side, playing the ordinary 4-4-2 formation.

Things went from bad to worse for the away side and the game was put out of their reach after Chris Lyons was brought down inside the box and referee Paul McLaughlin had no choice but to point straight to the spot. Up stepped Bohemians’ top goalscorer, Lyons, and he fired past the Bray goalkeeper to make it 2-0 just after 13 minutes.

Bray Wanderers did have chances mind, a free kick from just past the edge of the area was deflected out for a corner. Thus, creating the golden opportunity for captain Danny O’Connor to find the back of the net and give his side plus the small section of away fans that travelled a glimmer of hope.

Bray Wanderers were nearly back level two minutes later as a John Mulroy header found the right hand post. Bray were firmly back into tis tie and looking the more likely to score again.

Two minutes later and Bray Wanderers were level after 39 minutes. The comeback was complete. A hopeful cross found the head of powerful striker Ismahil Akinade who smashed his header into the back of the net to level the sides after Bohemians had taken an early 2-0 lead.

Bohemians were straight on the front from the word ‘go’ in the second half, gaining a free kick right on the edge of the Bray Wanderers box which former Shamrock Rovers man Karl Moore struck right into the wall.

Bohemians were, alike the first half opening, the much better side early on. The home side gained a corner on the edge of the 51st minute which Bray defended well. It seemed they would be relying on the defending duties of the back four a lot this second half. .

It wasn’t the best second half, while Bohemians were struggling to find a way past the stern Bray Wanderers defence, the visitors were hoping to find the perfect counter attack. A few headers from Akinade  proved wasteful as the thought of extra-time and penalties entered the minds of both managers. No team looked like stealing a winner in what was a poor fixture.

Bohemians kicked off the extra-time period and within minutes they were in the lead again through their main man Chris Lyons. The ball nestled into the right hand corner of Holmes’ net much to the relief of the Bohs faithful.

The home side restored their two goal lead when Kevin O’Leary managed to hold off the Bray Wanderers defence to score a wonderful crafted goal to make it 4-2 to the home side..

Bohemians manager Aaron Callaghan must have grilled his side at the final whistle as they had finally began playing like a top team, creating many chances much to Bray Wanderers’ disappointment.

During the second period of the second half in extra-time it seemed that Bohemians players were trying their utmost best to get David Scully onto the score-sheet but he dragged his shot wide of Holmes’ goal as Bohemians hung onto their lead and progressed to the next round of the EA Sports Cup.

Bohemians: Murray, Barker, Lopes, Byrne (C), Nangle, Moore, S Murray, Fitzgerald (Wilson), Traynor (Scully),  Lyons and O’Leary. Subs not used: Reynor, Kelly, Scott, Falbo, Little.

Bray Wanderers: Holmes, Knight, O’Connor (C) (Webster) , Akinade, Earley, Mulroy, Malone, Thomas, Joyce, Hurley and Doyle. Subs not used: McDonagh, Waters, Zambra, Moffatt, Pender, McGuinness.

“We were always busy,” she says of her time growing up in Crumlin, although that sounds like an understatement when she recalls gymnastics, ballroom dancing, running, life guarding, Aikido and performing as part of a local variety group as just some of the activities she was involved in.

Above all, dancing was always her main hobby.  “I’ve been dancing since I was three and I first stepped on stage when I was three.  Even when I wasn’t in formal dance classes I would have been part of Girls’ Brigade which you danced in.” 

However, perhaps to some degree because of her eclectic mix of interests, she freely admits to lacking focus and direction at school – a lack of focus and direction that stayed with her for many years.

“I was always very bright, but maybe my problem – and what I’ve been told by my mum and dad – was that I was always good at everything I did, which meant that I didn’t really have to try too hard at anything, so that was the same for school.

“I was bright but I just wasn’t focused.  And in terms of study for the exams it would have been the night before, and it would be the same nowadays,” she says with a smile.

After leaving school Jenny spent a year at the College of Dance during its very early days, only to drop out after a year somewhat disillusioned.

“I just couldn’t see what I was going to get out of it,” she recalls, “although the training that I got in that year was brilliant – it stood to me.”

“I was told afterwards by people that they could see that I had been trained in Ballet, for example, but I felt at the time that it wasn’t going to get me anywhere, and I was working my arse off to try and pay for it,” she explains with reference to working two jobs to support herself and pay the fees.  Nevertheless, Jenny did end up dancing professionally in a couple of productions, including the Christmas 2000 pantomime “Aladdin” at the Gaiety Theatre, in which she was dance captain.

Next, she decided to pursue a two-year Sports Therapy course followed by fitness instructor and personal trainer certifications, but again, none of the skills she learnt enticed her into pursuing a career in these areas.

All this indecision, Jenny admits, played a part in her decision to leave for Australia in 2006.

“I needed to get away from Ireland,” she says without hesitation, “I think to learn more about myself; I needed a bit of distance and a bit of clarity.

“I’d hit the wall; I felt trapped at that stage here, and I suppose I felt like I had a lot of potential and I just felt like I was just . . . existing.”

Clarifying her state of mind at the time, she added: “The passion in my life had gone, you know what I mean, and I wanted to get that back.  I just got to the stage where I thought: ‘There has to be something more to life than this.’”

Perhaps not surprisingly given the way she was feeling, it didn’t take her long to leave once she had made up her mind to go.

“I’d booked my ticket in the March and I was gone in May,” Jenny remembers.  “I had just hit the point where I knew I had to get out of here – there was no question.”

However, when asked why she specifically chose Australia, it seems even she didn’t exactly know, other than there being “something” about it she wanted to experience.

“I’ve always had a strange draw to Australia – I can’t explain it,” she says, pondering a concise answer.  “The weather, the way of life, the attitude of the people and even the landscape . . . there’s something about that country that appeals to me.”

But as unexplained as her draw to Australia was, Jenny knew within a few months of arriving that a year wasn’t going to be enough for her.  So, after a short stint in the Outback to experience the “real Australia” at places like Uluru (Ayers Rock), and six months of bar work in Melbourne, she commenced the three months’ harvest work needed to earn a second year’s visa.

Now, while working in the middle of nowhere in a strange country might not be for everyone, it certainly didn’t faze Jenny.  In fact, she liked it enough to spend five and a half months in a town with an official population of 531.

“I ended up going to a little town two hours north of Perth called Gingin.  It was for mango picking and weeding, and then I ended up working in the local pub – there was only one pub in the town – and I ended up being a barmaid and waitress there.

“I loved it – absolutely loved it,” she says with a smile, while recalling the memories of a town that despite its diminutive size nevertheless boasted three Irish people amongst its permanent residents.

Having gained her visa, Jenny was on the move once again.  Next on the list was an adventure up Australia’s west coast from Perth to Broome, followed by a switch to the east coast to take in one of the world’s natural wonders in the shape of the Great Barrier Reef, as well as Cape Tribulation’s imposing rainforest.

Her next semi-permanent stop was in Sydney, and she has only good things to say about her six months in Australia’s biggest city.

“Loved Sydney – really loved Sydney,” she says.  Jenny’s impression of Sydney was no doubt helped by finding a job at a recruitment agency that she really took to.

“I worked for RSP Recruitment in Sydney, which I absolutely loved.  I was a receptionist and administrator, but it was a great job: so much variety; people were lovely; centre of Sydney.”

With her visa now running out, Jenny knew she wasn’t ready to go home and was soon planning her next stop across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand.

However, she found her time in Wellington incredibly challenging.

Recalling her arrival in New Zealand’s “wet and windy” capital, she says: “I have to say, I found it very hard.  I don’t know what it was . . . I think I was nearly ‘mourning’ the fact that I’d left Australia.

“At the time I didn’t know what was going on with me – I just wasn’t myself.  I can remember crying down the phone one night to my dad saying: ‘I don’t know what I’m doing here.’”

And unfortunately for Jenny, she couldn’t simply get the next flight home as she had no money.  “I couldn’t afford to go anywhere, so the reality of the situation was that I had to get a job.

“I had to find work and stay and work to build up enough money to go, and I wanted to stay long enough to be able to see some of the country as well.”

As it turned out, once she found a job in an electricians’ firm she actually started to enjoy her time a little bit more, although it never quite matched her experience in Australia.

“The people were great – they were,” she says of the natives and the many fellow travellers she met during her stay.

“The country?  I think New Zealand is a beautiful country, it really is, but for me the way of life . . . I didn’t have the same ‘want’ to stay in New Zealand as I did in Australia.

Despite never feeling comfortable in New Zealand, one positive was that Jenny met her partner in Wellington.

Remembering the events that brought both of them to Dublin in 2009, she says: “He had a five-year visa to stay in New Zealand, and the original plan was that we were hoping that I could stay on de facto with him.  But it just got to the stage where it was very clear to him that I wasn’t happy there – that it wasn’t going to work for me.”

After a few months in London with her partner’s family, Jenny felt like she needed to spend some time at home and touch base with people, prompting a move back to Dublin.

Today, things are going incredibly well for her.  After spending two years working for a community development project in Bluebell, she believes she has finally discovered the work she wants to pursue.

“I loved it,” she says of her time with the project that aims to empower residents to make changes in the local community happen. “It was something that I felt like I was very good at and it came naturally to me.”

In order to help her pursue this work as a career, Jenny soon completed a Community Development and Leadership certificate, and is shortly going to complete the first year of a Community and Youth Work degree at NUI Maynooth.

Jenny’s immediate plan is to concentrate on her education and simply to enjoy what life brings, and while she had initially intended to only stay in Ireland short-term, she admits that plans can change.

“To be honest with you, my only plan ever has been to be happy.

“And while when we came home first we were saying that this wasn’t probably going to be a long-term thing, but you know, stuff happens . . . so if I’m happy here, I’m happy.

Whatever happens in the future, she’s in no doubt that her three years abroad have had an incalculable impact on her life.

Not only does Jenny consider meeting her life partner as the most significant event, but the experiences in general have made her feel that people can achieve anything if they want something badly enough.  Again, she references her time in Australia as pivotal to her current mindset.

“I loved the freedom that it gave me.  I felt when I was in Australia – especially in the beginning – I was so happy, so free from stuff, you know?

“It gave me the opportunity to clear out a lot of ‘stuff’ from my life that I had been carrying around with me.  That distance allowed me to just let it go.”

Summing up her time away proved easy: “Australia: absolutely the best thing I ever did,” she says confidently.

By Arne Eichler

©adambermingham. O'Gara has called time on his playing career

Any regular readers of our rugby coverage here will know my feelings towards Ronan O’Gara over the last two years have been, to put it mildly, harsh. Whilst I would never dream of backtracking for the sake of bandwagon hopping, I will say that with the weekend’s news of his retirement, this is no longer the place for lambasting of him and it is only right that with his decision made we look back on his absolutely stellar career. O’Gara is the first high profile retirement of the so called Golden Generation, though I don’t say that to take away from the likes of Horgan, Flannery, Wallace and others. Where he differs from these stalwarts is that for the best part of ten years, he served with no alternative.

Until the emergence of a certain Jonathan Sexton in 2009, he had none but Paddy Wallace that could even begin to think they were at second fiddle to him. My father religiously reminisces that when he started out, on at least the first two occasions he was subbed on for David Humphreys, O’Gara’s first order of business was to kick a mammoth kick that would prove crucial to the game at hand. Such was the measure of the man even at that young age that he may as well have been kicking between the trees in the back garden, coolness personified. That would of course go on to become hus calling card, along with an ability always speak his mind that sometimes brought about the ire of others.

Like every sports person his career has its fair share of highs and lows, but for the Lions tour in 09 there’s THAT drop goal a few months previous, for every game in recent times where he failed to perform, there’s 41 phases against Northampton. Ok, so I’m back on the bashing bandwagon again. But realistically, it shouldn’t be avoided that his career has slightly stumbled up until this retirement. That’s what 13 years will do to you. He has now departed on his own terms, declining a Munster extension, and so we can keep his legacy alive. He of course has a whole new legacy to carve out now as an assistant with Racing where his duties involve development of the youth team as well as assistance to the club, namely as kicking coach to the inbound Sexton.

For all of his heroics on the pitch, the real stand out moment in his astonishing career to me has got to be his tear filled post match interview after the Australia match in 2011. The honesty and passion that encapsulated his time as a player was all on show that day and question any aspect about him that you like, you could Hever question his motivation. He wanted to be the best, still does, and in so many ways he achieved that. Sexton may have the crown now, and his entirely different style of play makes comparisons redundant, but truly for the most part O’Gara is the finest fly half this country has ever had and he owes us nothing. Maith an fear, as they say.

What better way to commemorate his career than with one of his finest moments in green, amidst the eighty thousand strong of the mighty Croke Park. Horgan takes the credit, but O’Gara could’ve found him in a crowd of thousands: http://youtube.com/watch?v=BLtoUPJq0PY

2011 figures show $602 million (€468m) was sent from Ireland to Nigeria, an average of more than €26,000  for each of the 17,642 Nigerian nationals in Ireland, including children while further figures show Nigerian nationals send $653 million (€500m) back home each year.

This figure far outweighs what was sent home by Poles from  Ireland, who sent $224 million (€174m), even though there are more than 122,000  Polish people in the country.

Money sent from Ireland by foreign migrants is three times higher than money being sent home to Ireland from Irish living abroad,  with figures showing that Irish emigrants sent more than $750 million back home in  2011. Foreign migrants working in Ireland also expatriated $2.4 billion that year.

The largest amount of money leaving Ireland in 2011 (€529m) was to Britain followed by Nigeria  (€468m) and Poland (€174m).

2011 World Bank figures show that remittances to  poorer countries totalled a staggering €289bn ($377bn), with total remittances worldwide  estimated at €390bn ($509bn).

Tottenham’s star man Gareth Bale is reportedly set to stay with the North London club for at least one more season, despite the lack of Champions League football. According to English newspaper, the London Evening Standard, which is close to the club, Bale is poised to commit his future to Spurs with a new £130,000 a week deal. However it is believed that should a bid in excess of £50 million come in for Bale at the end of next season, the Welshman will be allowed to leave. An announcement is expected to be made by the club shortly, which should give the fans something to cheer about since Arsenal pipped them to the Champions League by a point on the last day of the season on Sunday.

Having had an outstanding season, finishing with a trademark screamer against Sunderland on the final day, Bale, who is still only 23, is a wanted man, with some of the world’s biggest clubs including Real Madrid and Manchester United supposedly interested in securing his signature. Former teammate Luka Modric, currently enjoying better times at Madrid, urged Bale to join him at the Bernabéu late last year saying “it would be amazing for Gareth to come and play for Real Madrid. I think he can do it. He is certainly good enough to play at the highest level. I hope he will come to us.” Both teams were expected to compete in a £60 million bidding war this summer, with Barcelona and Chelsea also having been expected to throw their names into the ring. Undoubtedly his suitors will keep an eye on the situation over the next 12 months, and be ready to pounce this time next year. If the bid is large enough then Tottenham will likely accept – while Bale is undoubtedly a major player at White Hart Lane, the £50 million + they could receive for him could propel Spurs into consistent top four finishes if invested properly.

Heading into the summer, with Bale’s new contract and apparent desire to remain in London, things are looking better for next season for AVB, who understands how crucial Bale is if his plans to claim a Champions League place next season are to be realised. “If we want to make it better next season we have to hold on to our best assets and this is what I have been told from the top,” he said. “Hopefully he will stay at the club.”

“I don’t think that there is a player who could replace him — perhaps only a couple — because he has been that good during this season,” added midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson. “It’s very important that he stays. It’s always important for us to keep good players and he is a fantastic player. He’s been here for a long time, he’s very happy and he’s enjoying his football.”

A Christy Fagan brace combined with a goal from Chris Forrester was enough for Liam Buckley’s men to heap further misery on their beleaguered rivals. This victory lifts the Saints joint top of the table with reigning champions Sligo Rovers. The title race is quickly developing into a three horse race with Derry City challenging the aforementioned duo. 

Back south of the Liffey, Rovers were confident heading into their clash with Bohs but yet again they clocked up another draw.

Rovers took the lead late on courtesy of a Ronan Finn penalty after dominating the first stages of the game. Rovers fans may have been forgiven for thinking that was that and the home side were getting the three points however, Bohemians man McEvoy had other ideas.

McEvoy finished perfectly beyond a despairing Barry Murphy in the Rovers goal, as the home crowd was drowned out by the away support celebrating another smash and grab point.

Elsewhere in the capital, UCD continued their fine form as of late but could only manage a 1-1 draw with Limerick at the Belfield Bowl.

Limerick stole an early lead through Shane Tracy and it appeared the Shannonsiders would go onto dominate but the College had other ideas.

UCD managed to get themselves on the score-sheet through Robbie Benson. UCD have hit form at the right moment and will be happy with the point in this game.

Sligo Rovers could have extended their lead at the top but their clash with Dundalk on Saturday night was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at the Showgrounds.

Cork City went into their game against relegation fighting Bray Wanderers full of confidence in the hope of getting three points.

Bray eventually ran out 3-1 winners with an impressive away win. Kieran Waters (2) and John Mulroy were among the goals as the sea-siders ran away with three points to take back to Wicklow.

Since the sacking of Alan Mathews, the most under-pressure manager is now Cork City’s Tommy Dunne. Cork fans aren’t the most patient but they do want to see the back of Dunne just as much as Shelbourne fans wanted to see the back of Mathews.

Anyway, speaking of title contenders. Derry City wanted to prove their title ambitions when they traveled down to Mick Cooke’s Drogheda United. The Setanta Cup runners up wanted to show Derry City how hard they can make it for teams at Hunky Dorys Park.

Derry City done their utmost to win the game, eventually, coming out as 3-2 winners much to Declan Devine’s delight. A Rory Paterson double and a goal from Barry McNamee was enough for Derry City to come away with a massive three points, even more vital now that Sligo didn’t have a game this weekend.

As for Drogs, they need to start picking up wins as soon as possible if they’re to keep their European dream alive.

Results:
Shamrock Rovers 1-1 Bohemians
UCD 1-1 Limerick
Shelbourne 0-3 St.Patrick’s Athletic
Cork City 1-3 Bray Wanderers
Drogheda United 2-3 Derry City
Sligo Rovers P-P Dundalk