On June 1st last it was announced that the Brazilian player Arthur Zico had signed a contract with the Italian club Udinese.
This was a strange piece of news to say the least. Many consider Zico, "The White Pele", as the best player in world football today. But few people outside Italy have heard of Udinese - a club situated in Udine (population 100,000) an hour's journey from Venice.
Tipperary trainer, Edward O'Grady, has an emphatic belief in Ireland's potential domination of the professional racing industry. He holds strong views about what he calls the "archaic betting system" with off-course bookkmakers acting as revenue commisssioners. He also believes that the Turf Club is ineffective, peopled with "sincere" self-appointed nonsionals.
The week between the drawn game I and the replay was filled with controversy about the facilities at Pairc Vi Chaoimh, the lack of live television coverage, the possibility of a pitched battle between the Red and Blue armies and the psychological effect on the Dublin players of playing in a southern climate. Brendan O hEither reports on Dublin's successful sojourn south.
It was the seventh day of the Tour de France. Sean Kelly's massage went on until about eight-thirty; it was going to be one of those long days. He said he would finish his meal in a half an hour but in France you don't eat quickly and it was ninethirty when Kelly returned.
The omens for the 1983 tour of New Zealand by the British Isles and Ireland were not exactly propitious. The tours committee of the Four Home Unions had made yet another bodge of the match programme, despite the fact that it is such a simple exercise that it would not take anyone who knows anything about New Zealand and New Zealand Rugby more than an hour to get it all right, including travel and choice of hotels.
Ollie Campbell has built up such a reputation as a goal kicker that he had the New Zealand forwards in fear and trembling when they played against the British and Irish Lions in the first test in Christchurch.
Kevin Cashman reports on the epic Munster hurling semi-final between Cork and Limerick.
There were Kerry folk walking about the streets of Dublin and in and out of pubs, and it still hadn't fully registered with them that their heroes had been unceremoniously knocked from their pedestal. They couldn't believe that Seamus Darby had delivered a coup de grace in the final seconds of last year's All-Ireland final. Months afterwards Mikey Sheehy used to lie awake at night wondering had it really happened. He still finds it hard to believe. By Eamon Horan.
The "miracle" was no miracle at all. Cobh Ramblers have been threatening to do it or something like it for years. They beat Drogheda in 1975 when the Louth men were one of the better League of Ireland teams. In 1981 they beat Galway who, homely and humble as they undoubtedly were, were still a League of Ireland team and favourites for the game. Through the past eleven years Ramblers have won the Munster Senior League eight times. And they won the Intermediate Cup in 1980 and this year.
Liam Brady steps off the UC Sampdoira bus into Hotel Cassalli, Cesena. Seven o'clock on Saturday evening, March 12. Irish superstar in Italy clocking in for another weekend away from home keeping the people happy.
Cesena is a town of 90,000 people in the province of Emilia-Romagna. It's nine miles inland from the Adriatic Sea and a little south of Ravenna - capital of the Roman Empire in the fourth century AD, famous for its early Christian Art and fabulous mosaics.