Above: The triumphant 2nd year girls team with proud coaches Ms. Gleeson and Daniel McDonald.
On Tuesday the 9th of April, our talented second year girls and their excited supporters headed to Portlaoise for what was to be a fierce battle between Banagher College and Coláiste Chiaráin.
The girls started off strong in the first quarter by immediately taking the first score and battled hard throughout the first quarter against a fierce Athlone side. By the end of the first quarter the score was 3-2 to Colaiste . After a quick break, the girls were ready again.
After another daunting quarter, thanks to the scores of Amy Kenny and Amber Gohery, the girls were back in the lead with a score of 8-5.
Coming into the 3rd quarter the girls were going strong and continued to perform amazingly and work together with scores coming from a range of Banagher girls while still battling a strong and skilled Athlone side. By the end of it we were once again ahead leading into the final quarter with a score of 15-11. It was all to play for.
Entering into the final quarter the girls were determined to keep their lead up, which they succeeded. After an amazing game of basketball, just as the time was up, Amy Kenny achieved a stunning three-pointer just as the clock hit zero, to the sound of roaring cheers.
It was a very entertaining match with both sides being incredibly talented and skilled. The girls now progress to the Leinster quarter-final in the weeks ahead.
Above: 2nd year team captain Freya Maher holds the Midlands League cup.
On the 9th of March, fresh off their back-to-back victories, Ireland faced England in Twickenham stadium. What many expected to be a routine win rapidly turned to shock and crushing disappointment at the blow of the final whistle.
The game started off and Ireland piled on the pressure in the early moments and had already gotten a penalty and Crowley converted it in the third minute, but England responded even better when Lowe miss hit a kick and Lawrence went on to score a try a minute later to put them up by 2, luckily for Ireland the conversion was missed to keep it at two points down. After 16 minutes England won and scored a penalty with Ford slotting it home nicely. Ireland got three penalties of their own to make it 12-8 in favor of Ireland at half time.
Initially, all signs pointed to a strong Irish side. Andy Farrell only made one change to the lineup that beat Wales in the previous round, with Hugo Keenen recovering from his injury to come back in at full back instead of Frawley. On the contrary, England manager Stephen William Borthwick made six changes to the lineup that had lost to Scotland in the previous round. It was clear that England were coming in fighting.
By the second half, Ireland had piled the pressure on and been rewarded after 3 minutes with a well worked try finished off by James Lowe. Crowley couldn’t score this time, so it remained at 17-8 after 43 minutes. England responded well with a second try for them scored by Furbank after another well worked move and brought it back 13-17. With Peter O’Mahoney getting yellow-carded England took full advantage of it and got their third try with Earl getting over the try line on the 60th minute mark.
Marcus Smith smoothly converted the conversion to leave it at 20-17 going into the final few minutes. But Ireland came back, and James Lowe got his second try to put Ireland up by 2 with 8 minutes to go. Crowley missed another shot to leave a shaky scoreline for the last few seconds. Then, shock and disbelief. England vaulted into high-gear, and with an advantage Marcus Smith got a drop kick to win the game for England with just seconds to go.
Overall, a disappointing result and performance from Ireland with Defense Coach saying it was a “poor display”. Ireland’s Grand Slam dreams may have been crushed, but you still can take nothing away from the England outing with a much-improved performance for their third-win of the ongoing clash.
Reporters: Darragh Staunton, Jan Palacz and John Gohery
Banagher College travelled to Rosenallis to face Heywood in an action-packed Leinster B Hurling Final. Conditions were tough with an extraordinarily strong wind going down the pitch which Banagher played right into for the first half. As well as the wind, the pitch was very wet and soggy. It was a rough battle from the very start.
The Banagher college team lined out as follows: Eanna Mulhare (St Rynagh’s); Eric Rigney (St Rynagh’s), Ruairi Kelly (Lusmagh), Daire Daly (St Rynagh’s); Lee Hogan (Lorrha), Mark Kilkenny (Kiltormer), Robert Duffy (Lorrha); Luke Bowe (Lusmagh), Paul Cannon (St Rynagh’s); Harry Grant (St Rynagh’s), Ricky Fitzsimons (Birr), Niall Flannery (St Rynagh’s); Shane Rigney (St Rynagh’s), Aaron Molloy (St Rynagh’s), Darragh Scully (St Rynagh’s).
Banagher College had a slow start at first, as Heywood went 2 points up from the first few minutes of the game. Aaron Molloy opened the scoring for Banagher with two quick points. As the game went on it was tit for tat until Heywood managed to snatch the first goal of the match in the 25th minute of the game. They quickly followed with the second goal in the 26th minute, giving them a 3 point lead. At half time, the scores stood at Heywood 2-08 to 0-10 Banagher. The Banagher side was full of anxiety and a hope that could not be extinguished.
This hope manifested at start of the second half, as Shane Rigney earned Banagher a beautiful point from the 65 followed by three more unanswered points from Banagher. In the 21st minute roars erupted as Aaron Molloy got Banagher’s first goal of the game. As Darragh Scully’s shot was blocked, Aaron had come in and pulled on the rebound. Heywood replied swiftly with a goal just a few moments after. Heywood had a chance to win the game with a free at the 45 as there free taker was pretty consistent. It was Banagher thought that was the match. It was nearly all over.
All until a Banagher free hit the right side of the post going wide. At full time the score stood 1-19 to Banagher, 3-13 to Heywood. The two teams were heading into tense extra time.
Shane Rigney opened up the scoring for Banagher in the 1st minute of extra time. In the 5th minute Heywood would get their first red card of the game. At the end of the half the score was 2-23 to Banagher, 3-15 to Heywood Banagher with a five point lead. Niall Flannery wasted no time scoring for Banagher just seconds into the second half of extra time. Followed by Darragh Scully. Heywood would then go on to get their second red card of the game as the atmosphere continued to erupt. Banagher took control of the game of the game tipping over points.
Until the worst possible thing happened, Shane Rigney Banagher’s captain, got a very soft red card as did a Heywood player. Banagher still held out to get the win. The match ended Heywood 4-15 to 2-27 to Banagher with Banagher to go to the All Ireland Semi-Final. It was an unforgettable day for the Senior team and a hard-fought victory.
The opener of the 2024 six nations campaign kicked off in Marseille on Friday the second of February. The game had lots of interest even before the teams were announced as many saw it as the biggest six nations game between the two heavyweights of the competition and whoever won could go and win the Grand slam.
Andy Farrell named a strong yet young team to play France with first starts for Joe McCarthy, Jack Crowley and Calvin Nash. Many people were speculating into how Jack Crowley would perform as the successor for the great Johnny Sexton. His start made him only the sixth fly-half to start the six nations opener for Ireland this century. Another notable inclusion was the new Irish captain Peter O’Mahoney starting in the 6.
Fabien Galthié named a powerful team for France, but the most notable absence was Antoinne Dupont who is missing the Six Nations to play for Frances’s Sevens’ team for their Rugby Seven series. Without their star player, many wondered how good really is a Dupont-less France.
The match kicked off at 8 o clock and even in the early stages, spectators knew it was to be a fiery encounter between the world number two and four. It only took seven minutes for Jack Crowley to settle his nerves, converting a penalty to open the scoring. Just less than two minutes in, France’s Paul Willemse got yellow carded for a high tackle with it still being checked by TMO to see if they should upgrade the decision.
With France still down to 14 men Ireland finally broke through the France line to score the first try of the game from the scrumhalf Gibson-Park. The difference was brought to 10 after Crowley calmly slotted over the conversion. With France back to 15 Thomas Ramos scored their first points of the game with penalty after 26 minutes to cut the score to only one score to level it. Ireland only 3 minutes later restored their two-score lead with another try from Tadgh Beirne and conversion from Crowley.
There was added drama when the TMO called the referee to view a potential red card offense with another high tackle from Willemse again, the referee gave his second yellow card to Willemse to send him off and leave France with 14 men for the rest of the game. With just ten seconds remaining France finally broke through the Ireland’s stalwart defence to score their first try of the game by Damian Penaud, with Thomas Ramos converting his conversion. The second half began as the first half ended with more domination from Ireland in Marseille with Irelands debutant Calvin Nash scoring a try in the 45th minute and Jack Crowley adding another 2 points with a very good conversion from the corner. In the 52nd minute France scored their second and final try of the match with Paul Gabrillagues just about getting the ball over the line. TMO got involved in the situation and Ireland captain Peter O’Mahoney getting yellow carded for the breakdown of the scrum before the try was scored.
Thomas Ramos continued his consistent kicking converting the conversion to make it a 17-24 in favour of Ireland. A few minutes later Dan Sheahan broke free from a maul and scored the 6th try of the match to also give Ireland the bonus point. Jack Crowley got his 4th conversion of the night to give Ireland a 14-point advantage with 17 minutes to go. Ireland capped off their impressive display with a fifth and final try in the 77th minute when Irelands maul got through Frances defence and Ronan Kelleher grounded the ball to leave travelling Irish supporters going home a happy crowd.
The final score finished 38-17 making it Irelands greatest ever result in France. Joe McCarthy was named man of the match and really showed how Irelands youth are coming through well and making a nice future team before the 2027 World Cup. This stellar win means if Ireland can win the Grand Slam, they could become the first team in Six Nations illustrious history to win back-to-back grand slams.
On Monday, the 8th of April, Northern America, including 90% of the United States and Canada, were treated to a total solar eclipse. The path of totality passed from Texas up through to New York and into Canada, giving over 30 million access to see the event, which is not set to happen again for decades.
Here in Ireland, we were given the opportunity to see a partial eclipse, but unfortunately it was too cloudy to see. The next total solar eclipse in Ireland won’t be for another 70 years, set to happen in 2090. Another chance to see a partial eclipse will be in 2026, as a one passes through Europe, with totality being seen in Iceland and Spain.
Italy has beaten Scotland in a thriller match that put the Azzuri in the history books with their first six nations beating Scotland for the first time in 9 years.
The son of Australian great Michael Lynagh who was born in Italy, with his try and a complementary one from Ignacio Brex the managed to come back from a 22-16 score at half time, the Italian side has been greatly improved since put under the guidance of Gonzala Quesada.
Scotland were the better team in the opening half scoring tries through props Zander Fagerson and Pierre Schoeman and winger Kyle Stern also adding to the score line. With the score adding up to 22-10, just after half time Italy kick over two penalties to put it to 22-16. In quick succesion after those penalties, Louis Lynagh gets on the end a beautiful grubber kick from Paolo Garbisi to score in the corner to put the match to just one point in it, due to a conversion being missed.
All to the Italians delight Stephen Varney puts the Italians ahead for the second time in the game with a beautiful dummy on the five meter line to slip between two Scottish forwards. Scotland try to Salvage the game in the 78th minute but it just wasnt enough to rattle The Azzuri with the match ending 31-29 with an outburst of emotions with a full home stadium (A first this season), in their first home win since 2013.
On the contrary Scotland have a big task next week to try to beat Ireland and make them lose the title. Come back next Wednesday for more news and that highly-anticipated clash of titans.
Aidan O’Flanagan and Daragh O’Dwyer were heroes at Energia Park when Gonzaga College snatched victory right from Belvedere’s doorstep in injury time in an energetic Leinster Schools Senior Cup quarter final.
Gonzaga made the dream start as fly half O’Dwyer pounced down a clearance from his opposing number Hugh Fitzgerald with a quick try that he also converted but blows were quickly struck back from Belvedere No.8 Harry Goslin with another Converted try.
There proved to be very little in between the teams as with 8 minutes left in the opening sequence the score was level at 12-12. However, Belvedere lost their winger to the sin bin right before half time following Gonzaga taking advantage of the loss with a try from Gonzaga Hooker Luke Mcloughlin in the 39th minute (with a heroic effort to knock the conversion over). An O’Dwyer penalty kick then put the South Dubliners in front by 10 at the start of the second period even though belvo struck back with a try from their loosehead prob Eoin Mcdermott with a conversion knocked over by Andre Ryan. In the third quarter of the half McLoughlin’s second score of the half kept Gonzaga very much in charge of the game.
This Belvo side has already come back from losses in this Senior Cup, so they were ready to pounce back with McCanns clinical finishes in both the 64th and 66th minutes. Yet Gonzaga weren’t going to bring an end to their story that quickly as that which showed with the impressive duo of O’Flanagan and O’Dwyer to ultimately lock in Gonzagas place in the penultimate round to finish the game 34-33 with Gonzaga progressing to the semifinal of the Leinster Schools Senior Cup.
Nueralink, a company founded by Elon Musk, has recently completed its first trial of their very own brain implant on a human being. Nueralink was founded in 2016 with the goal of creating brain chips, that could help alleviate or even solve conditions such as depression and schizophrenia. Before now, they have performed up to 1500 trials on animals, such as mice, rats, pigs, sheep and monkeys. In these tests, it was demonstrated that monkeys were able to control a game on a computer by just thinking about it.
To implant the Nueralink chip, a robot was built to perform the delicate surgery. This involves cutting a hole into the skull and implanting the chip into the brain. This is a scary process that I imagine will turn many away from the idea.
Neuralink founder Musk has made statements online regarding the first human trial. Musk revealed that the first human recipient is progressing well, and has made a full recovery from the surgery. He announced that they have even been able to move a computer mouse simply by thinking.
I think the idea of Nueralink has a lot of potential, as it can solve very serious health conditions in the future. However, outside of medical uses, the water gets muddier. I don’t see it happening. Having a chip in your brain, that like your phone, can become outdated in less then a year doesn’t sound like a good idea.
On the last two Tuesdays, we have tried our hands at Boccia with the Irish Wheelchair Association. Boccia is a fantastic addition to the TY calendar each year at BCCNS, but it was our TYs’ first time to try it out. It is a very interesting game, especially in that it is like a game we grew up with. A traditional game called Toshla.
As part of Boccia, there are three students in each team and three people from the Wheelchair Association. We played six rounds to start, and our guests from the Wheelchair Association soon proved they were the ones to beat.
While we won twice, the final game went to our guests after a mistake cost us the win. We had a really enjoyable time, and got tea, coffee and biscuits as the session closed for the day. We are really looking forward to more Boccia as the weeks go on, and learning this interesting new game.
This year’s Academy Award proves to be one of the most interesting in recent years. 2023 brought us many upon many excellent films, including the formidable summer box office hit of ‘Barbenheimer’, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer both grossing in and around a billion U.S dollars. From such hits on the mainstream, smaller movies have gained worldwide recognition such as Celine Songs A24 produced ‘Past Lives’. International cinema has been widely celebrated too in the form of French film Anatomy of a Fall (‘Anatomie d’une Chute’). Similarly, Wim Wembers “Perfect Days” the international film submission of Japan has also accumulated a heap of momentum moving forward into the award season.
Oppenheimer strides forward as the undoubtably most favoured to win this year’s Oscars after a hugely profitable award season at the BAFTAS. The formidable duo of Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy created a piece of biographical cinema that will forever stand the test of time. The first twenty five minutes are a sublime example of why film is a true, if not the truest art form we have today. I’ve never been more immersed, terrified and left in awe in a cinema then when watching Nolan’s masterpiece. Not to give anything away but the Trinity Bomb Test scene had me curled up in my seat, in a profound state of amazement and horror.
Nolan heavily leans into the almost biblical story of how this Jewish team of scientists created Pandoras Box during the height of their peoples annihilation. I really appreciated Nolan telling it in such a style. Nolan never involves religion or ethnicity into his stories but this was an essential element to the depiction of this most enderaring historical event. Youve no doubt heard that Cillian Murphy brings something otherworldly to his performance and thats most certainly the case. Its formidable, raw and something that no amount of praise or awards can ever give merit to. The same can be said for the always-superb Robert Downey Jr, who delivers a career best performance and in his own words had a fantastic role in “ the best film I’ve ever been apart of”.
Best Picture – THE DARK HORSE
“The Holdovers” is a beautifully melancholic tale of loss, family and meaning as it follows a cranky Ancient Civilization teacher (Paul Giamatti) as he stays behind for the christmas break at a New England Ivy League school. To look after the kids left behind, the only other adult being the lunch lady (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) who recently lost her son to the war in Vietnam. The plot moves swiftly from there as we explore the lives of these three characters. It takes its time but is never slow. It lets the dialogue and moments breathe, to find this fantastically sentimental tone yet also finds time to subtly comment on America and adolescence. It’s the sort of film your Mum would adore in the best way.
It feels like a movie made forty years ago, once again in the best way. Its emotional and hits all the right notes of being an emotional film and Alexander Payne is a brilliant director. When you watch a Payne movie, you forget it’s not actually real people you are watching. It will most certainly become an iconic Christmas classic and I’ve no doubt will obtain cult classic status very soon.
Best Actor – The Favourite
The most talked about and fawned over performance of the year (and rightly so) is Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy. It’s a perfect Oscar winning story: a humble actor who has been in the game for yonks, finally lands his first leading role in one of the most iconic films of all time. Murphy is universally liked, admired, talented and charismatic, and most of all, he’s credited with urging people into theatres and cinemas. In short, he possibly revived the idea of the summer intellectual blockbuster. In the age of dying interest in cheap action and superhero flicks, an Oscar win is what the viewers and critics desperately want or all hope in the Oscars as credible may be lost.
Best Actor – The Dark Horse
I couldn’t pick a more likely candidate for a surprise win than Paul Giamatti, who is truly an actor’s actor. Like Murphy, he is an actor long in the game with heaps of experience. Yet unlike Murphy, he is quite underrated by most. His performance is nothing short of incredible, he works with a fake prosthetic eye that just adds significance to the character. It’s an emotional yet intelligent performance: something that the Oscars tend to look for. The definition of a dark horse going into this years Oscar’s.
Best Actress – The Favourite
The three-hour long Scorsese epic, Killers of the Flower Moon, follows the true story of the systemic genocide of the Osage people in America as they become wealthy due to the plethora of oil on their land in the 1920s. Lily Gladstone as a Native growing up on the BlackFeet reservation is excellently cast opposite DiCaprio, as they act out the troubling and conflicting relationship their characters go through. Gladstone plays into the rage and despair all too well as her family are systemically killed by her husbands for their money and land. American schools in Oklahoma do not teach this in schools because they are afraid to, or so they say. This is yet another reminder as to how powerful film is and the light it can shine and all the many ways it can tell stories, crucial stories never before heard on a mass scale. This film is important and deeply harrowing to view. Lily Gladstone is subtly superb in it and she has a great shot at the Oscar.
Best Actress – The Dark Horse(s)
I have two picks for a possible Best Actress surprise. Quirky, out-there, and perhaps even off-putting for some is the nonetheless utterly otherworldly Poor Things. The story follows a mad scientist reviving a woman through the brain of her unborn child. Must of been an awkward pitch.
Emma Stone stars as this new woman rapidly ages and learns about this fantastical world. Stone is excellent as always, but it feels like a very Oscar bait type movie to me. That being said, Bradley Cooper’s Maestro has been accused of the same idea but I personally think Maestro has a bit more weight to it. My personal favourite actress performance of the year was Carey Mulligan in Maestro. Shes not completely out of discussion but the other two previously mentioned are the types of roles and films that the Oscars tend to lean more towards. This is a real shame because, for me, it carried more weight than both of them at times. Sadly the Oscars is never just who displayed the best acting. If I was a betting man, I’d put it on Stone but it’s still anyone’s game here.
Best Supporting Actor (The Favourite)
Robert Downey Jr is an immense talent and a true superstar, yet this can in fact be limiting in an actor’s career. However, the death of the Marvel franchise and with a few misses since Iron Man, Downey is now back in full force. If Murphy’s Oppenheimer is a god trying to be a man, then RDJ’s Strauss is a man trying to be a god. Jealous, calculating, cruel and utterly human, Robert Downey Jr opposes Murphy beautifully but can really take a scene by the throat and own it as seen in the final scenes of the film. He’s been around, won before, and redeemed himself time and time again. But who doesn’t fall into his web of charm? Robert Downey Jr. is most certainly the favourite.
Best Supporting Actor — Dark Horse
A dark horse for this category is Ryan Gosling’s scene-stealing performance as Ken in Barbie.
Self-explanatory.
Best Supporting Actress ( The Favourite)
This movie was my first time seeing Da’Vine Joy Randolph on screen and I was instantly blown away by her screen presence. Randolph captures lightning in a bottle in her performance from silent grief for her son to beautifully delivered comedic lines and moments of silence that said more than dialogue ever could. From the first moments we see her on-screen at the school’s Christmas mass, her eye movement alone and breathing as her son is mentioned by the pastor is superb.
There is no dark horse for this category, no one is on the same level as her. If you were to put a few bob on any category, this is the one. Not that I encourage gambling.
Now and then, we will have a special feature as part of Ben’s Beats. I will be looking at singers and musicians in depth, giving you my thoughts on them as people, their music and the impact they have had on the way we think today. This week: Liam Gallagher.
Liam Gallagher first rose to superstardom back in 1994 when he along with brother and their band Oasis released their debut album Definitely Maybe. The album shot up the charts and quickly became the bestselling debut of all time, where it remained until 2006, being passed out by Arctic Monkey’s “Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not”. Their debut single Supersonic also shot up the charts and introduced the world to Liam’s trademark snarly voice, inspired by his idol John Lennon.
The band became a massive hit headlining Glastonbury within the first year of their professional career which is something most bands and artists won’t do in their lifetimes. The band also had another home run in 1995 with their album What’s The Story (Morning Glory) which featured 2 of the most popular songs in history “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and “Wonderwall”. In 1996 they played two nights at Knebworth House which at the time where the biggest gigs ever played in the UK playing to 250,000 people in one weekend. They were on top of the world and it seemed they couldn’t be stopped by anyone.
Unfortunately Liam’s voice would get destroyed around 2006 as the way he was used to singing began to destroy his vocal cords and he developed problems, attracting Hashimoto’s disease. Oasis was eventually ran into the ground after too many disputes between Liam and Noel caused the band to split up in 2009. Liam mostly remained in the shadows of the media appearing in band Beady Eye with the remaining members of Oasis. In 2017 the singer made a shock return to music with his debut solo album As You Were. The album was both a critical and commercial success showing Liam in a more vulernable light and with a new improved voice. Since then he has put out 2 more studio albums and 2 live albums, selling out arenas and stadiums all around the world.
Liam is truly the phoenix of rock and roll as he pushed through all the hard times just to come out stronger than ever. He is a true legend that will be remembered for years and years to come.
The Banagher Examiner 