Developments at three National League clubs and Dublin's GAA headquarters at Parnell Park have benefited from grants totalling £1 million. This latest allocation of National Lottery funds, under the Government's Sports Capital Programme 2000, was announced yesterday by the Minister for Sport, Dr McDaid, writes Ian O'Riordan.
The Slone Park development of Shamrock Rovers has received £500,000, while further grants to Shelbourne's Tolka Park (£250,000) and Bohemians' Dalymount Park (£150,000) brings the total provided to each of these projects over the past few years to £650,000.
Parnell Park's allocation of £100,000 brings the ground's total grant to £520,000.
Last week over £30 million was distributed to various sporting clubs around the country, and the Minister said further grants to county GAA grounds and League of Ireland grounds will be announced shortly.
Sailing: Noel Butler and Garth Ablett of Dun Laoghaire are leading after seven races in the Laser Two European Championships in Germany, writes David Branigan.
The Irish pair lead by a point in the 40-boat fleet with five more races before the title is decided on Friday.
Golf: Irish Close champion Graeme McDowell led Ireland to the top of the leaderboard after the first day's play in the World Universities' Championship at Castlerock. The Rathmore player shot a four-under-par 69 to be the leading individual.
McDowell, an undergraduate at the University of Alabama, Limerick's Tim Rice and Ballyclare's Johnny Foster combined to post a team score of fiveunder-par 214 and take the overnight lead one stroke ahead of Britain whose best individual was Simon Robinson.
Former British Univeristies' strokeplay and matchplay champion Chris Brown from Royal Portrush returned a three-under-70 but he is not a member of the three-man Irish team.
Best placed Irish player in the women's section is Carolyn Smyth from Massereene. Smyth, a daughter of professional Jim, went round in three over 76 to help Ireland into joint third position.
LEADING SCORES: Men: Individual: 69 (-4): G McDowell (Ire). 70: A Clerchod (Swi), S Robinson (Brit). 71: C Brown (Ire), R Vera (Spa), S Wilson (Brit). 72: T Rice (Ire), H-C Su (Taipai). 73: G Fernandez (Spain), J Foster (Ire), N Hughes (USA), J King (Brit). Team: 214: Ireland (G McDowell, T Rice, J Foster). 215: Britain. 219: Spain.
Women - Individual: 71: L Moffat (Brit). 74: S Susse (USA). 75: Y-H Chou (Taipai). 76: C Smyth (Ire). 77: N Chau (Spain). 78: G Pritchard (Brit). Team: 150: Britain. 153: Taipai. 157: Spain, Ireland.
Cycling: The Leinster 10-mile time trial championships take place tonight at 7.30 at Naas, with the start on the Kilcullen Road. There are prizes for first and second category seniors, juniors, veterans and women, with separate awards for the fastest senior teams. Contact Liam Walker at 045481755.
KILLARNEY CC - Round four - Expert: 1, Don Travers (Banbridge); 2, B Nelson (IMBRC); 3, K Meghen (Unattached). Pro-Elite: 1, Matt Slattery (Team Killarney); 2, J Mason (Premier); 3, R Hamilton (Phoenix CC). Veterans: 1, Peter Popham (Team Raleigh); 2, K Roberts (Team Killarney). Junior: Ollie Gray (Cycle Ways); Women: Beth McCluskey (IMBRC). Sport: Patrick Loughnane (Team Killarney); U- 12: Liam O'Rourke (Team Killarney); U-14: Jamie Popham (Team Raleigh); U-16: Johnny Hickey (Team Killarney).
Tennis: Wimbledon finalist Pat Rafter is to meet fellow-Australian Mark Philippoussis next week to discuss his commitment to Davis Cup tennis.
Soon after losing to Pete Sampras in the Wimbledon final earlier this month, Rafter accused Philippoussis of "jerking us around" after he withdrew from the Davis Cup semi-final against Brazil here.
Rafter said Philippoussis should make up his mind whether he wanted to play Davis Cup tennis.
Australia won the Davis Cup semi-final 5-0 and will meet Spain in the final in December.
Philippoussis is the top seed for the Mercedes Benz Cup in Los Angeles after pulling out of the Davis Cup semi-final, claiming a sore knee and tiredness.
Athletics: Two Romanian Olympic hopefuls have been suspended for a year by their federation after being arrested for shoplifting in England.
Triple jumper Adelina Gavrila and sprinter Monica Bumbescu were caught stealing razors and a pair of tweezers from a supermarket in Gateshead, during the European Cup meeting 11 days ago.
Drugs In Sport: East Germany's most powerful sports official, Manfred Ewald, will appeal against a 22-month suspended jail term for systematic doping of GDR athletes, his lawyer has said. Frank Osterloh said Ewald would take his fight to overturn the verdict to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if Germany's highest court, which is not expected to hear the case before next year, upheld the original ruling.
Ewald (74), who led the East German Sports Federation from 1961 to 1988, was found guilty last week of masterminding widespread doping from the 1970s onwards.
Boxing: Galway boxing received a major lift with the official opening of a new clubhouse in the city's Westside area yesterday. The facility will cater for the needs of members from Galway and Olympic Boxing Clubs. Two of the sport's most famous Irish sons were in attendance; Sean Mannion from Rosmuc, who fought professionally 59 times including a world title bid against the legendary Mike McCallum, and Olympian Francis Barrett, who is set to begin his professional career in August.
