In his autobiography The Racket, published earlier this year, Ireland’s greatest tennis player Conor Niland mentioned how he could have represented Great Britain.

Having been born in Birmingham, where his Irish parents worked at the time, Niland had two passports and the British one was often easier with which to get around the world.

However, while he would have been able to avail of better coaching, facilities and funding if he played under the GB banner – giving himself a better chance of making the top 100 in the world – he opted against doing so.

There was some funding available to him from the Irish Sports Council, including a €40,000 bursary – which could be claimed if he made the top three in the world.

For context, Niland’s best ranking of 129 remains the highest that a native Irish male player has managed and it’s fair to say that somebody in the world’s top three might not need a €40k top-up.

As Niland says, “This was money that could and should have been aimed at promising young players who actually needed it.”

Buying a forest is expensive, but seeds are cheap – the only difference is that you have to be patient and tend to the saplings as they grow.

Medal haul

The current Olympic Games are already Ireland’s most successful ever and there was a confidence there. The Irish competitors expected, and were expected, to medal and they did just that.

This is the fourth Olympics in the last five where Ireland has won medals in boxing while it is the third straight occasion where there have been Irish rowers on the podium. That has never happened before, in any discipline.

Those superb competitors bringing medals home will be rightly lauded and it’s likely that more opportunities will open up for them. They all deserve that.

If, beforehand, one had had to pick two sports where Ireland would win medals, it’s likely that they would have been the two chosen by the majority. Why? Because most are aware of the groundwork put in and the incremental progress made.

These were not overnight successes. Similarly, the swimming achievements by Mona MacSharry and Daniel Wiffen mark the culmination of excellent work by Swim Ireland.

We have become used to rowing excellence but, even so, Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy winning back-to-back golds was also a first for Ireland.

Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch may not have got the same praise but it’s worth noting their bronze was Ireland’s first heavyweight rowing medal at the Olympics.

And yet, as nice as the accolades are, Kellie Harrington gave us a nice insight into her mindset after her semi-final win when saying that she was just making sure to live in the moment, win or lose.

Rhys McClenaghan was surely doing the same as he banished the demons of Tokyo with a nerveless display.

Those superb competitors bringing medals home will be rightly lauded and it’s likely that more opportunities will open up for them. They all deserve that.

But, one would hope that somebody in a position of influence is noticing what can come from concerted efforts and is making sure that other sports are given the chance to produce champions, too.

After all, it is at the grassroots that the funding is best spent and not, as Conor Niland says, when they have made it to the top.

If any Cork fans were seeking positive omens ahead of Sunday’s Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship final, the roll of honour provides some comfort.

The Leesiders, who beat Waterford in last year’s decider, face Galway at Croke Park (throw-in 5.15pm).

Since the beginning of the 2005 season, Cork have won the O’Duffy Cup nine times – leaving aside the win over Waterford, the other eight came in four pairs of consecutive wins and so Ger Manley’s side will look to continue that trend.

Waterford’s appearance in the 2023 final was the county’s first time to reach such a stage since 1945.

This time around, their campaign ended at the quarter-final stage and, while the semis did have a fresh look in the presence of Tipperary and Dublin, they were beaten by Galway and Cork respectively, the former narrower than the latter.

It means that, since 2013, last year is the only one not to feature two of Cork, Kilkenny or Galway, with the Leesiders and the Tribeswomen clashing in two of those. Honours are even – Cork won in 2015 but Galway came out on top in 2021.

Having ended a five-year gap with last year’s victory, Cork have benefited from the easing of the pressure that comes with a drought (by their standards) hanging over their heads and they have played like champions this year.

That included a group-stage win over Galway but the closer games in the knockout stages might stand to them.

As with ladies’ football, the senior final is preceded by the junior and intermediate editions – Laois face Tipperary at 1.05pm in the junior Cork’s second team take on their Kilkenny counterparts in the intermediate at 3pm.

Winning a national title is obviously special no matter where you achieve it but to do so at Croke Park adds an extra dimension to it.

With the Camogie Association celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, hopefully the occasion proves to be a memorable, and well-attended one.