Category Archive: Sport

Elevate PR – You Tube Friday

Katie Taylor qualified for the Olympics this week and we couldn’t be more excited. Here’s the news clip with her proud as punch Dad by her side.

Katie Taylor qualifies for the Olympics

Yesterday, Katie Taylor qualified for this summer’s Olympic Games in London. What a legend. We can see that gold medal already!

Kayaking in Trim

As the summer months draw closer, we are really jumping on the ‘health is your wealth’ band wagon and getting active outdoors. As a starting point, we teamed up with the guys from Boyne Valley Activities for an unforgettable weekend of kayaking that was invigorating and lots of fun!

With an early morning start in Trim, Co. Meath, our instructors Dara and James gave us the low down on what to expect while on the water and how to manage those tricky rapids that pop up. The two hour downstream trip on the Boyne offered us some beautiful sights including a horse riding lesson, which was taking place on the bank of the river, and the stunning scenery of Trim Castle and Demesne. Along with some fun and games with the group, which frequently ended in a capsized kayak, Dara and James gave great insights into the location, their experiences on the river and their tips for keeping upright, while battling pesky rapids and strong currents.

Overall it was a great day and, the fact that it is a mere 40 minute drive from Dublin, we would definitely recommend a trip down the river Boyne with Dara and James from Boyne Valley Activities!

All Ireland Club Championships

It was All Ireland Club day in Croke Park on St Patrick’s Day with the hurling final between Antrim’s Loughgiel Shamrocks and Offaly’s Coolderry starting the day’s proceedings. The Antrim men started well with their first of four goals hitting the back of the net in the sixth minute. Man of the match, Liam Watson for Loughgiel Shamrocks had a personal tally of 3-7 and certainly played his part in the team’s winning performance. The Offaly side couldn’t get the margin below five points in the second half and the match ended 4-13 to Loughgiel Shamrocks and 17 points for Coolderry.

In the football final, it remained level after 60 minutes between Garrycastle and Crossmaglen and the sides must meet again with the date for the replay yet to be confirmed. Crossmaglen were surprisingly slow to get going and by the 43rd minute, Garrycastle led by 1-10 to 0-8. After a sluggish start Crossmaglen had found their feet and it was Garrycastle who were relieved when the final whistle sounded.

Elevate Loves…Qualifying for Euro 2012!

Massive congratulations to the Republic of Ireland soccer team on their qualification for the Euro 2012 championships set to take place next summer in Poland and Ukraine. It may have taken 24 years, but Ireland will once again compete against some of Europe’s greatest footballing nations in what promises to be a fantastic tournament.

Some of us can still remember the excitement of Euro ‘88 and the effect it had on this country. Who could forget Ray Houghton’s historic goal against England to give Ireland its first ever win at a major tournament?

The boys in green have really done us proud and we have no doubt that they will do a fantastic job representing their country next summer. We wish them the very best of luck.

Elevate Loves…. Sport

Breathtaking, exhilarating, nerve-wracking? We’re not even sure those words come close to describing such a thrilling weekend of sport.

Rugby World Cup – Ireland V Australia

When we crawled out of our beds early on Saturday morning to watch Ireland take on Australia, (the current Tri-Nations champions and World Cup favourites), many of us believed a win was wishful thinking. Having lost all four warm up games and producing an under-par performance against the USA, the boys in green had the odds stacked firmly against them.

But, following a rally cry from the ever inspirational Paul O’Connell, the team produced one of the greatest Irish performances in history, defeating Australia for the first time ever in the World Cup and placing the team in a very promising position to top the group.
With another big match coming up against Russia this Sunday, is it too early to dream…..?

Here are a few pics from Volkswagen’s Rugby Breakfast in Ballsbridge Motors:

The All-Ireland Football Final – Dublin V Kerry

The dominant force in football for much of the last decade, Kerry rightly went into Sunday’s All-Ireland Football Final as favourites. A team peppered with some of the finest footballers in the country and led by the mercurial talent that is Colm ‘The Gooch’ Cooper, Kerry was going to make Dublin work hard to end the county’s 16 year Sam Maguire drought.

The game turned out to be a true classic. Both teams played their hearts out and left everything on the field. With Kerry carrying a four point lead and just eight minutes to go, it looked as though Sam would be making the journey back to The Kingdom. But, in the 64th minute, Dublin substitute Kevin McManamon rampaged through the Kerry defense to score an unbelievable goal and bring the teams to within a point of each other again. It truly was game on.

With two minutes of extra time remaining, it was all square. The phrase ‘Cometh the hour…’ is often overused in sport, but when Dublin won a free on the 45 metre line, destiny called on the ‘Iceman’ Stephen Cluxton to come and claim his place in GAA folklore. As the crowd held its breath, Cluxton expertly fired the ball between the posts to win the match and crown Dublin the 2011 All-Ireland Football Champions. What a game!

The Solheim Cup

Taking place at Killeen Castle this weekend, The Solheim Cup promises to be an incredible golfing spectacle. Europe’s finest professional woman golfers take on their US counterparts over three fantastic days of team match-play competition – let’s just hope the weather holds up. As it stands, the U.S. team leads the competition, 8-3, and has never lost The Solheim Cup on home soil. In 2009, the Americans kept their untarnished home record intact at Rich Harvest Farms with a 16 to 12 final score against the Europeans. Let’s hope Europe’s Captain, Alison Nicholas, can lead her team to victory and inspire a decade of dominance for the Europeans.

The Barclays Premier League

What an incredible weekend it was in the Barclays Premier League. As the dust settled, all eyes where once again on the early season’s dominant force – Manchester United. The team’s strange 3-1 win against Chelsea showed that even with an under-par performance there is still plenty of goals in this team. Following Manchester City’s disappointing 2-2 draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage, it’s clear that Manchester United is still the team to beat.

Poor old Arsenal, it seems things just keep going from bad to worse for The Gunners. Having been destroyed by Manchester United 8-2 at Old Trafford, it looked like the only way was up for Arsene Wenger’s team. That was until they crashed to defeat against Blackburn Rovers and conceded four shambolic goals to sit 16th in the table. Is this the end of Arsenal as we know it? Games we’re looking forward to this week include Manchester City v Everton, Manchester United v Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion v Fulham and Arsenal v Bolton

Friday Round Up

- SEAT Ireland unveiled Nadia Forde as its new brand ambassador this week, handing her the keys to her brand new SEAT Leon TDI
- Fade Street, the Irish version of The Hills, aired on RTE
last night – did you get to see it and what did you think?
- A ‘Do for Donal’ takes place this evening in The Button Factory for the Donal Gilligan Trust Fund
- The final Formula 1 race of the year, which decides the World Champion, is in Abu Dhabi this weekend – we’re shouting for Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton
- New Look and Forever 21 opened in Dublin city centre this week – we can’t wait to pop in!

Friday Round Up

- Grainne Seoige made her GMTV debut earlier this week and is a hit with UK viewers – click here to read more
- Dylan McGrath’s new restaurant, Rustic Stone, is due to open on George’s St later this month – we can’t wait to try it
- This week, Terri Hatcher uploaded some natural looking pictures of her in a towel and no make-up to her Facebook page to “reveal some truths about ‘beauty’”. We salute you Terri.
- Irish swimmer, Grainne Murphy narrowly missed on a medal in the 800m freestyle final at the European swimming championships. She also set a new Irish record in the process.
- Tipperary and Waterford play on Sunday to determine who will face Kilkenny in the All Ireland Hurling Final – Come on the premier!