Every morning, TheScore.ie brings you the stories you need to know before your first cup of coffee.
1. #BYE BYE Shay Given officially announced his retirement from international football last night. The Donegal man, who was capped 125 times for Ireland, said, “This has been an extremely difficult decision for me to make. I have dedicated 16 years of my life to my country, and I have a great affinity with Giovanni Trapattoni’s squad.” Keiren Westwood is the favourite to take the No. 1 jersey for the short to medium term.
2. #RIO 2016 No sooner were the Olympic heroes back on Irish soil than questions about their participation at Rio 2016 were being asked. Michael Conlan has already committed himself to the challenge of winning gold while Cian O’Connor believes he has the horse for the job. As for the future of Katie Taylor? She has some decisions to make and challenges ahead, according to Ireland’s high performance boxing coach Billy Walsh. “Will she be motivated to come back and repeat it?,” Walsh reflected, “There’s always that offer to go and do that. We’ll be supporting her 100%.”
3. #RORY The golfing world is still babbling in awe over the eight-shot victory of Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship on Kiawah Island. Neil Cullen tells us today that, when he is on form, there is no catching the world number one.
4, #GAA Tipperary are talking a good fight ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling semi-final. Speaking yesterday, Padraig Maher from Tipp said, “We know we are as good as them. If we can get the performance next Sunday, we’ll have a great chance. You can read more on the challenge that the pretenders to the Cat’s crown are facing here.
5. #LOI Shamrock Rovers needed to beat Sligo at Tallaght Stadium last night to realistically give themselves a shout of getting back in the mix for another league win. There were two cracking goals scored last night in the 1-1 draw and it was Drogheda that should benefit. Elsewhere, St Patrick’s Athletic narrowly edged out Cork.
