Each weekend, we select performances from Irish sports worthy of highlighting. This weekend, we are highlighting the Meath upset in the Leinster Football Championship, Willie Mullins’ achievements in Britain, a moment of magic from Lee Chin, as well as performances in Rugby, Athletics, Sailing, Cycling and at the top level of European Football.

This week’s Champions of the Weekend is brought to us by Sky, one of Sport for Business’s key partners and supporters of our Football coverage.

 

Meath Football

2010 was the last time that Meath beat Dublin in the Leinster Championship, until yesterday.  Outside of Croke Park and with a strong wind, Meath built a 12-point half-time lead and despite Dublin chipping away and reducing the deficit to two points, the inevitable did not come. Meath tacked on the last two points in a famous victory, with Whoop Marketing Manager and speaker at our recent Sport for Business Sport and Data event, Ronan Jones, playing his part.

 

 

Willie Mullins

Having become the first Irish trainer to win the British Trainers Championship in over 50 years last season, Willie Mullins went and did it again, only taking the lead and the win on the last day on Saturday after a surge of wins at Cheltenham and Aintree gave him a chance.  Two big wins from Gaelic Warrior and Etait Temps were enough to edge ahead of Dan Skelton with a prize money total on British tracks of £ 3.5 M.

 

Lee Chin

Wexford may have lost to Dublin in the Leinster Hurling Championship, but Chin deserves recognition for two moments in the game. When they needed a goal to keep them in the game, he drilled a 21-metre free past eight Dublin players on the line. Just before that, having lost his hurl, he proceeded to block a shot using his outstretched arms as if it was football he was playing. This is a moment of bravery and skill worth looking at.

 

UL Bohemians and Clontarf

The Energia All Ireland Leagues came to a conclusion with a double header of games at the Aviva Stadium and they served up two dramatic encounters with both finals decided by a single score and with UL Bohemians and Clontarf taking the spoils at the expense of Railway Union and Cork Con.

 

Katie McCabe

McCabe will become the first Republic of Ireland player to play in the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final since it became that in 2009.  She was part of the Arsenal team that overturned a 2-1 defecit from the home leg against Lyon to progress to a showdown with Barcelona next month.  Emma Byrne, Ciara Grant and Yvonne Tracy were in the Arsenal side that contested the UEFA Women’s Cup in 2007, before the change of title.

 

Ewan McMahon

Ewan McMahon of Howth Yacht Club, brother of Olympian Eve, delivered a career-best performance on Saturday at the 56th French Olympic Week (Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères), finishing tenth overall after five days of racing. Competing in the ILCA 7 class, McMahon capped his week with a strong sixth place in the Medal Race — his first of the LA 2028 Olympic cycle.

 

Peter Lynch

The Kilkenny runner was competing in only his second ever Marathon in Dusseldorf on Sunday but in finishing third he set a new Irish record of 2:09.42.

 

Ben Healy

Ben Healy finished third in the prestigious Liege-Bastogne Classic on Sunday, behind Tadej Pgacar being hailed as one of the greatest ever cyclists.  Sean Kelly, Dan Martin, Stephen and Martin Roche are the only Irish riders to have been placed in this classic before.

 

 

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