SOCCER: It wasn’t all bad news for Irish soccer last week, even if the senior and under-21 teams both lost big European Championship matches. Over in Galway the Tottenham teenager Terry Dixon made his competitive debut as a late substitute as the under-21s lost to Belgium, which means he is now committed to the Irish cause. And that’s good news judging by what we saw in Stuttgart.

HURLING: The ancient game of hurling won a new fan on Sunday when the French soccer great Michel Platini, currently in Dublin to learn English of all things, attended the game as a guest of the GAA. He was suitably impressed by the clash of the ash and the venue and may yet invoke his powers within UEFA to bring a European Cup final to Croke Park.

HURLING: The Irish Times informed me on Monday that the city lords tried to ban hurling in Kilkenny in the 14th century and failed. Imagine the job they’d have on their hands now after the team’s homecoming with the McCarthy Cup attracted the biggest crowd to hit the Marble City since Dev himself held court during the Troubles.

CYCLING:Good to see the Roche name back up in lights in French cycling circles after the 22-year-old Nicolas Roche, son of the great Stephen, won stage four of the under-25 Tour de France on Sunday. He took the yellow jersey in 10-day Tour De L’Avenir to boot, so the talent clearly runs in the blood.