CROSSMAGLEN Rangers have accused the Irish government of adopting an “ambivalent attitude” towards the British Army’s requisitioning of part of the south Armagh club’s premises.
The motions to the Armagh county convention in Killeavy contain the now standard call from Crossmaglen for the British Army to withdrawn from its occupation of a section of Oliver Plunkett Park.
But in an interesting addition to the traditional Crossmaglen motion, the club “deplores the ambivalent attitude of the Irish Government to British Intransigence on the matter”.
WAYNE McCullough, the undefeated world bantamweight champion who goes for the WBC junior featherweight title against Mexico’s 38-year-old veteran title-holder Daniel Zaragoza in Boston on January 11, is being chased by top American sports channel HBO for a mega-bucks clash with new WBO super-bantamweight champion Junior Jones.
McCullough and Jones are reputedly being tracked in terms of a multi-million unification contract match as part of HBO’s big fight package for 1997.
THE Donegal county board is to spend approximately £600,000 over the next three years upgrading facilities within the county.
The money will also be used to appoint two full-time youth coaches - one football and one hurling - to add to the one football coach already employed by the county.
It’s hoped that half a stand and surrounding terracing at the county ground Mac Cumhaill Park in Ballybofey will be completed in time for Donegal’s Ulster Championship game with Antrim in early June.
THE brawl which marred the closing stages of Sunday’s AIB Ulster Club football final between Bellaghy and Crossmaglen is likely to be discussed when the Ulster Council meets next.
The activities committee of the Ulster body will meet for its end of year gathering in Monaghan town where Pat McEnaney’s match report would be heard.
ULSTER boxers claimed four of the coveted titles at the Irish Intermediate Championships at the National Stadium in Dublin.
And by doing so they wiped away the bitter memory of returning empty handed last season from an event which provides one of the sternest tests on the amateur fixture list – second only to the national senior event.
Belfast managed a double in light-flyweight through Jim Rooney (Star) and near-neighbour Pat O’Donnell from the Dockers ABC.
Ulster’s country clubs - Keady and St Canice’s in Dungiven - got into the winning act as well with two 17-year-olds, Paddy Smyth and Paul McCloskey, living up to their potential star status.
PREMIERSHIP strugglers Nottingham Forest put another dent into Newcastle’s title challenge with a battling display in a goalless draw at the City Ground last night.
Bottom-of-the-table Forest showed great fighting spirit and, in a game of many chances, Alfie Haaland went closest to breaking the deadlock nine minutes from time when he rattled the post.
LUCKLESS Jim Magilton has been forced to pull out of the Northern Ireland squad ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Albania because of a haematoma condition.
And manager Bryan Hamilton has sent out an SOS call to little-known 21- year-old QPR midfielder Mark Graham who will join up with the squad for the first time today when they fly in to Belfast.
PREMIERSHIP strugglers Nottingham Forest put another dent into Newcastle’s title challenge with a battling display in a goalless draw at the City Ground last night.
Bottom-of-the-table Forest showed great fighting spirit and, in a game of many chances, Alfie Haaland went closest to breaking the deadlock nine minutes from time when he rattled the post.
The richest ever 36-holes pro-am tournament in Ireland will be staged at the Slieve Russell Hotel, Golf & Country Club in Co Cavan next May.
It’s the £50,000 Quinn Direct PGA Charity Trophy in which most of the Irish European Tour professionals will tee-up.
The tournament is now pencilled into the Irish calendar for a minimum of three years but is likely to be a regular feature of the Irish circuit for many years.
The pro-am will be played on Monday May 19 and Tuesday and 20, and is sandwiched between the Alamo English Open, which finishes on May 18, and the Volvo PGA Championship which doesn’t start until Friday, May 23.
This gives our tour pros playing at Slieve Russell two days preparation.
Already confirmed entries have come from Raymond Burns, Darren Clarke, Eamon Darcy, Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley (on honeymoon at present), Christy O’Connor junior, Des Smyth and Philip Walton.
