GTN Ireland

The cold weather is here!

2010-09-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that the weather has held up reasonably well until now the change of climate has been less than enjoyable. However the end of the summer sports has come about with Cork winning the All Ireland Senior football championship last weekend and Dublin doing the same in the ladies championship today with both games being held in a resplendent Croke Park. The field has held up excellently this season and is a testament to the stadium management.

The Sports Surface Institute of Ireland is still running its competition for the best surface in the GAA clubs in Leinster in conjunction with the Leinster Council and if your interested you should check out http://www.sportssurf.ie/ for more details.

The rugby season has started back and while Leinster were beaten this weekend in Edinburgh but Munster got the job done away versus Glasgow Warriors on a 29-43 scoreline. The FAI soccer league is coming into the closing stages and with the English Premier league in full flow the Irish summer league is wrapping up with Dublin side Shamrock Rovers 6 points ahead with only a few weeks remaining.

Turf managers are now considering aeration and fertilization as they head into the autumn and also hoping that this winter was not as harsh as the last where snow and ice played havoc with golf courses and fields alike.

One final push

2010-09-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

The final series of games has begun to come to an end in Ireland signifying the end of summer for the country as well. Tipperary resoundingly defeated Kilkenny in the hurling championship on a stunning Croke Park field while this weekend Wexford overcame Galway to win the Camogie All Ireland in less than ideal conditions. The field at Croke Park has been tested recently and has stood up to the wear and tear and will have one last test this weekend as Cork take on Down in the Gaelic Football final.
Ireland played Andorra in the first competitive game at Aviva stadium also as qualifying to Euro 2012 gets under way. The home team won on a 3-1 scoreline there and the field looked and played safely and consistently throughout the game. The test for this surface will undoubtedly come in the next few months when rugby and soccer games will be run off in very short time spans as the sharing of the stadium by two national sporting bodies gets underway in earnest.
Finally most superintendents are planning either a fall fertilization schedule or when to possibly punch holes - we wish you the best of luck with both and hope to hear of a successful aerification season - if you have any problems or experiences please let us know we can spread the word!

Big weekend as the summer starts to end!

2010-08-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

Ireland is starting to wind down over the weekend from what has been a relatively good summer from the standpoint of rainfall. No major rainfall on the East coast has seen many golf courses playing fast and firm and looking in excellent condition. Other surfaces have also being doing well with little disease pressure and great temperatures for cool season grass growth.
On the sporting front a thrilling encounter in Croke Park, Down finished with a two point win over Kildare to advance to the All Ireland football final versus Cork in September. Down played a more consistent game and used the ball with greater efficiency to get the win. In golf, Padraig Harrington was picked in a wild card spot for the 2010 Ryder Cup team along with Luke Donald and Edoardo Molinari. Molinari won today in Gleneagles in Scotland and with his brother Francesco he becomes the first set of Italian brothers to play in the event.
Turf managers are looking to the Autumn right now and planning for cultural practices which undoubtedly will take place in the next couple of months.

The rebels come good.

2010-08-23T22:52:00.000-07:00

In one of the big sports weekends of this year, Cork edged out Dublin at Croke park in a thrilling All Ireland football semit final. a late penalty and burst of scoring saw the Cork men into the All Ireland football final by one point. Irish golfer Peter Lawrie finished second to Peter Hanson at the Czech open over the weekend. The weather has been comfortable in general there but it is expected to carry showers and sunny spells this week with the temperatures holding in the mid to high teens.
In an unfortunate incident, a young gaelic football player died in a club match in County Down and he is currently undergoing an autopsy for the cause of death. In soccer none of the Irish team did anything spectacular across the water in England with players conceding penalties (D. Duff) and not showing their true potential. Next weekend is the other semi final which sees Kildare takeon Down in what is sure to be a great game - good luck to all and if you have any questions please dont hesitate to ask us......

The pressure is mounting

2010-08-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

Ireland is in the middle of its championship series in the gaelic football and hurling right now and last weekend Waterford and Tipperary battled it out on a well used Croke park field for the opportunity to tackle Kilkenny in the All Ireland hurling final. Tipp won by 7 points and face the champions Kilkenny the 3rd week of September in Dublin.
Aviva stadium formerly known as Landsdowne road held its first soccer international and a full house watched Argentina take the spoils in an open encounter on a new deso pitch. The new field is certainly going to be a great test ground for multi sport stadiums in less than ideal weather conditions with rugby and soccer events scheduled over what tends to be wet winters.
The summer is winding down in Ireland and it has been in general terms a better summer than previous years in relation to rainfall, however the economy has seen many golf courses struggling and some even closing due to inability to make profit or manage overwhelming debt. GTN wishes superintendents the best this year and is hoping for a better year for all next year.

The dog days of August

2010-08-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

Fortuntely Ireland is not struggling with adverse weather condtions like the rest of the world although the country is still struggling to recover from a very tough winter and some golf courses have been behind in their cultural practice programs. The weather is going to be ok this week as far as it can be predicted with relatively dry conditions with some showers thrown in, temperatures should be at normal or above particularly heading into the weekend.
The sporting world saw Kilkenny beat Cork to continue their march to a historic 5th All Ireland hurling title in a row. In golf Padraig Harrington edged a little closer to the top 9 in the Ryder Cup standings with a decent finish in the WGC event in Akron, Ohio. Miguel Angle Jimenez finished higher however and he is holding Padraig off for the last automatic place. Killeen Castle played host to the ladies Irish Open over the weekend - its first professional event since being designed by Jack Nicklaus. Swedish golfer Sophie Gustafson won with a final score of -12 to earn a paycheck of ~$100,000. Finally the sport surface institute of Ireland have begun their competition to find the best sports field in the country, take a look at their website for more information (http://www.irishsportsurface.ie/).

Ireland having a rough summer

2010-08-03T07:24:00.000-07:00

A third summer has gotten wet in Ireland with rainfall amounts climbing back up in the country in the middle of the summer again. After record rainfall for the last two summers it has not been as bad but it doesnt help with the suntans!
In spor the Irish Open finished this weekend in Killarney G&CC with Ross Fisher holding of Padraig Harrington to claim the prize money. In Gaelic games all provincial football winners were knocked out as Cork, Kildare, Dublin and Daown advanced to the All Ireland semifinals.
Finally the newly revamped rugby/soccer stadium formerly known as Landsdowne road opened. It is now named AVIVA stadium after its sponsor and the first rugby game was held there on Saturday. Argentina travel to play Ireland there in the next month in soccer.
Til next week all the best!

Welcome to GTN Ireland

2010-08-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, I would like to thank you for visiting the Irish segment in the blogging sites. It will be a pleasure to keep you up to date on sports news and events in the country while keeping everything short and concise! It is part of the whole GTN site and you can find blogs from all of my associates from around the world on the website also!