On this episode of The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast, Mark Brandon and Michael Meehan sit down with former Ireland and British & Irish Lions star Rob Henderson.

Rob is a larger-than-life character, a brilliant storyteller and certainly not short of an opinion. He was also more than happy to give Mark plenty of stick along the way, so the editor definitely earned their keep on this one.

It’s a hugely entertaining conversation covering Rob’s upbringing and early career, his time with Wasps, Munster and Toulon, representing Ireland at the highest level, and the unforgettable experience of becoming a British & Irish Lion.

But this one goes well beyond rugby.

Rob also opens up about the transition from professional sport into business, the lessons he carried with him from the game, the challenges of starting again in a completely different world and how he went on to build a successful business with Avesco.

There are brilliant stories, plenty of laughs and some genuinely interesting insight into professional sport, high-performance environments, business and life after rugby.

A great character and a great conversation.

We hope you enjoy the episode.

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The Sporting Club Ireland - where sport and business connect.

What a week it was for Irish sport.

Mark Brandon and Michael Meehan had a huge amount to get through in this week’s Sporting Review.

We start with a brilliant week for Irish athletics, with medals for Mark English, Rhasidat Adeleke and Kate O’Connor, along with a number of other standout performances.

Then it’s into the pool, where Ellen Walsh and Mona McSharry impressed as part of another strong week for Irish swimming.

From there, we get stuck into football:

League of Ireland clubs in Europe
The FAI Cup
The Championship
The return of the Premier League
Transfers and all the major talking points

We also turn to rugby, with the All Blacks, Australia and the huge first Test this week between New Zealand and South Africa, before moving on to the Hockey World Cup, where both the Irish men’s and women’s teams were in action.

There’s local sporting action too, including Caltra and Creggs, plus UFC and Ian Machado Garry.

And, as always, we finish with The Big Call and our Sports Star of the Week.

A packed episode covering another massive week across Irish and international sport.

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If you enjoyed the episode, please follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify, leave us a rating and review, and share it with someone who would enjoy it too.

Every follow, rating, review and share helps us grow the podcast and continue bringing you reaction, opinion and conversations with some of the biggest and most interesting names across sport and business.

The Sporting Club Ireland - where sport and business connect.

She walked away from boxing, battled addiction, built a business, came back - and became European champion.

Shauna Browne’s story is extraordinary, and on this episode of The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast, she tells it with incredible honesty.

Shauna came through a golden generation of Irish women’s boxing, sharing the ring with Katie Taylor, Kellie Harrington and Amy Broadhurst, and sparring with Katie along the way.

But her journey was anything but straightforward.

She stepped away from the sport, went through some incredibly difficult years, battled addiction, built a business, found her way back to boxing and eventually took the leap into the professional ranks.

Now she is a European champion, with a massive fight coming up on October 25th that could put her right into the world-title picture.

This is far more than a boxing conversation.

Shauna speaks openly about addiction, setbacks, confidence, business, walking away, starting again, the reality of professional boxing, the state of the sport and just how far she believes she can go.

She’s energetic, funny, passionate, completely comfortable in her own skin and refreshingly willing to talk about the difficult parts of the journey as well as the success.

A brilliant conversation with someone who has already lived one hell of a story - and you get the feeling the biggest chapters are still to come.

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If you enjoyed the episode, please follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify, leave us a rating and review, and share it with someone who would enjoy it too.

Every follow, rating, review and share helps us grow the podcast and continue bringing you reaction, opinion and conversations with some of the biggest and most interesting names across sport and business.

The Sporting Club Ireland - where sport and business connect.

After a slight false start on this Monday morning, Mark Brandon and Michael Meehan were back behind the microphones, and there was a serious amount of sport to get through.

They start at Croke Park, where Cork edged Galway 2-14 to 0-19 in a dramatic All-Ireland Senior Camogie Final, securing their third title in four years. There’s also a look at Antrim’s emphatic 1-22 to 0-11 victory over Laois in the Intermediate Final, as another huge camogie season reached its conclusion.

From there, it’s on to a massive night for Irish boxing at Dublin’s 3Arena.

Aaron McKenna became IBF middleweight world champion, producing the biggest win of his career with a unanimous-decision victory over the previously unbeaten Etinosa Oliha. The lads discuss what the win means for the Monaghan man and just how far he can now go on the world stage.

There was also another significant victory for Callum Walsh, who came through a bruising battle with former European champion Tyler Denny. Both men hit the canvas, but Walsh recovered to take a unanimous decision and continue his rise through the middleweight ranks.

Rugby also provided plenty to talk about.

The All Blacks opened their South African tour with a 38-21 win over the Stormers in Cape Town, pulling clear with three late tries after a competitive contest. Meanwhile, the Springboks were pushed hard by Argentina before coming away with a 17-10 victory, giving Mark and Michael plenty to dissect ahead of what promises to be a fascinating few weeks for the world champions and New Zealand.

There’s also athletics, the latest from the soccer world, League of Ireland and European action, the major transfer stories beginning to dominate the headlines, and a look back at another big week at the Dublin Horse Show.

And, of course, Mark and Michael make their picks for Sports Star of the Week and tackle another Big Call.

• Cork v Galway - All-Ireland Senior Camogie Final
• Antrim v Laois - Intermediate Camogie Final
• Aaron McKenna becomes IBF middleweight world champion
• Callum Walsh survives a war with Tyler Denny
• All Blacks v Stormers in Cape Town
• Argentina v South Africa
• Athletics
• League of Ireland and European soccer
• The latest transfer news
• Dublin Horse Show
• Sports Star of the Week
• The Big Call
• And plenty more from another packed sporting weekend

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If you enjoyed the episode, please follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify, leave us a rating and review, and share it with someone who would enjoy it too.

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The Sporting Club Ireland — where sport and business connect.

On this episode:Connect with The Sporting Club Ireland

Tom Parsons joins us on The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast, still in great form after Mayo’s All Ireland triumph, for a wide ranging conversation on the win, his own playing career, the work of the GPA and the future of Gaelic games.

Tom reflects on what it meant to watch Mayo finally bring Sam Maguire home after so many years of heartbreak, and what the victory meant to the former players who carried the county through some of its toughest days.

We also look back on Tom’s own playing career, including lining out in International Rules alongside Michael Meehan, and some of the experiences that shaped him both on and off the field.

From there, we get into the work the GPA does behind the scenes, player welfare, the increasing demands on amateur players, financial pressures, career development, commercial partnerships and how players can build and protect their own personal brand.

We also discuss the growing number of Irish players heading to the AFL and AFLW, whether Gaelic games are facing a genuine talent drain, what can be done to keep our best young players at home and the particular impact this could have on the women’s game.

Tom also gives his thoughts on integration across the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association, the new rules in Gaelic football, the future of hurling and where Gaelic games need to go next.

A brilliant conversation with one of the most respected voices in Irish sport, and one of the great guys.

Enjoy the episode.

Connect with The Sporting Club Ireland

Download the App
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If you enjoyed this conversation, please follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify, leave us a rating and review, and share the episode with someone who would enjoy it too. Your support helps us continue bringing you conversations with some of the biggest names in sport and business.

Recorded at 10:05pm Sunday evening, with Michael Meehan just back from Croke Park, there was only one question… where do we start?

It had been another remarkable weekend of Irish sport.

We begin with a memorable day at Croke Park as Galway ended a 22-year wait to become TG4 All-Ireland Senior champions, Roscommon captured the Intermediate title and Antrim lifted the Junior crown. We break down the biggest talking points from all three finals, discuss the standout individual performances, and the dramatic finish to the senior decider.

From there, we turn our attention to the historic AFLW international between Australia and Ireland, where another generation of Irish stars showcased their talent on the biggest stage. We also look at the men's AFL season, with just three rounds remaining before the expanded finals series gets underway.

It wouldn't be a sporting weekend in Galway without a few unforgettable stories from Galway Race Week, and none bigger than Daniel King. At just 21 years of age, he became the first jockey since Joe Byrne in 1984 to complete the famous Galway Plate and Galway Hurdle double, while Willie Mullins once again underlined why he remains the dominant force in National Hunt racing.

European football also takes centre stage as we review another fascinating week for the League of Ireland. Shelbourne earned a dream tie against Ajax, Bohemians continued their remarkable European adventure and Shamrock Rovers remain in the hunt as they continue their continental campaign.

We also pause to remember one of football's true greats, Franco Baresi, reflecting on an extraordinary career with AC Milan and Italy and the legacy he leaves behind.

Elsewhere, we dive into the latest transfer news, discuss where Troy Parrott's future may lie, react to the sensational Manchester United debut of 15-year-old JJ Gabriel, debate Gianni Infantino's latest ideas, look back on Pierce O'Leary's tough night in Dublin and finish with a little local football chat as Caltra and Creggs continue to make headlines.

As always, we finish with our Sports Star of the Weekend, The Big Call and a look ahead to another massive week of Irish and international sport.

If you enjoy the podcast, we'd really appreciate it if you could follow or subscribe on your favourite podcast platform, leave us a rating or review, and share this episode with a friend or colleague who loves sport. It really helps us grow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast and bring you more conversations every week.

Download the Sporting Club Ireland App:
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Thank you for listening, and we'll see you next week.

Ian Stafford: The Man Who Didn't Just Cover Sport… He Lived It.

What does it feel like to play for Everton?

To step into the ring with Roy Jones Jr.?

To race Michael Schumacher?

To train alongside Kenya's legendary distance runners?

Ian Stafford knows.

For more than four decades, Ian has built an award-winning career as a sports journalist, author and broadcaster. Throughout that time, he has covered some of the biggest sporting events in the world and interviewed many of the greatest athletes of all time.

But what set Ian apart was his determination to experience elite sport from the inside.

Instead of simply writing about the world's best athletes, he immersed himself in their environments to better understand what drives elite performance.

His remarkable journey has seen him:

• Play for Everton against Manchester City.
• Become a substitute for the Springboks against Ireland.
• Box with world champion Roy Jones Jr.
• Play cricket for Yorkshire.
• Serve as 12th man for Australia in a One Day International.
• Play rugby with Leicester Tigers and Wigan.
• Train and race with the Jaguar Formula One Team before ultimately going head-to-head with Michael Schumacher.
• Train alongside Kenya's world-class distance runners.
• Row with Olympic legend Sir Steve Redgrave at the Henley Royal Regatta.

Those extraordinary experiences inspired a series of bestselling books and gave Ian a unique perspective on leadership, teamwork, resilience and high performance.

In 2018, Ian founded The Sporting Club, a business community built around the idea of bringing good people together through a shared passion for sport. Since then, The Sporting Club has expanded across the UK and internationally, including Ireland, connecting business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, sporting figures and senior decision-makers through events, meaningful introductions and trusted relationships.

In this episode, Ian shares:

• The stories behind some of the most extraordinary experiences of his career.
• What the world's greatest athletes taught him about success.
• The habits and mindset behind sustained high performance.
• Why relationships matter in both business and life.
• The story behind The Sporting Club and its continued growth.

Whether you're passionate about sport, business, leadership or personal development, this conversation is packed with fascinating stories, practical lessons and unique insights from a man who has spent a lifetime learning from the very best.

Enjoy the episode.

If you enjoyed this conversation, please follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify, leave us a rating and review, and share the episode with someone who'd enjoy it too. Your support helps us continue bringing you conversations with some of the biggest names in sport and business.

Connect with The Sporting Club Ireland

Download the App
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The curse is over. Mayo are All-Ireland champions for the first time in 75 years.

Some men become legends. Andy Moran became immortal. The King of Mayo has delivered Sam Maguire

Mark is joined by Michael Meehan to look back on one of the most historic days in Gaelic football as Mayo finally end their long wait for Sam Maguire.

The lads discuss why the best team won on the day, the bravery Mayo showed throughout, and the players who stood tallest when it mattered most. Mayo's heroes were everywhere. Kobe McDonald, Darragh Beirne, Jack Carney, Donnacha McHugh, David McBrien and Enda Hession all produced outstanding performances, while captain Jack Coyne delivered a speech for the ages as he lifted Sam Maguire.

Ryan O'Donoghue once again proved why he is one of the game's biggest players, while Jordan Flynn was immense throughout. It was a complete team performance from a side that fully deserved to end 75 years of hurt.

For Kerry, David Clifford, Paudie Clifford and Seán O'Shea battled to the very end and never stopped trying to drag their side back into the contest. But this was Mayo's day. After decades of heartbreak, they finally climbed the mountain and became deserved All-Ireland champions. Congratulations to Kerry on another outstanding season.

Also on this week's show:

🏐 Camogie All-Ireland semi-final reaction as Galway and Cork book their places in the final.

🥊 Anthony Joshua's victory over Prenga, Tyson Fury's return, and whether a Fury v Joshua showdown is finally set to happen.

🏃 The Irish Athletics Championships, including a special mention for the inspirational Ciara Mageean.

🚴 Tour de France recap.

🐎 Galway Races preview and the week ahead in Irish sport.

Enjoy the show.

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If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, subscribe and leave us a rating. It really helps us grow, reach more people, and bring you more conversations with the biggest names in sport.

Our final All-Ireland Final Preview is here.

This week, Mark is joined by two of Gaelic football's finest, Marc Ó Sé and Michael Meehan, for a deep dive into Sunday's All-Ireland Final.

Before turning their full attention to the biggest game of the year, the lads take a trip down memory lane, reliving some of the great battles from their playing careers. They look back on the unforgettable 2004 All-Ireland Club Final, where Michael's Caltra got the better of Marc's An Ghaeltacht, as well as the memorable 2008 All-Ireland Final between Galway and Kerry.

We also catch up with Marc on life away from the pitch, including:

• His new book, Ó Sé: A Kerry Football Dynasty

• Managing the Kerry minor footballers

• Life as one of the GAA's leading pundits

• The next chapter after an incredible playing career

Then it's all eyes on Sunday's decider.

The lads share their thoughts on:

• The key tactical battles

• Match-ups that could decide the Sam Maguire Cup

• Mayo's remarkable journey under Andy Moran

• Jack O'Connor's management style

• Where the game will be won and lost

• And why Marc believes Kerry will come out on top

A brilliant conversation with two genuine legends of the game, packed with stories, analysis and insight ahead of the biggest day in the GAA calendar.

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If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, subscribe and leave us a rating. It really helps us grow and bring you more conversations with the biggest names in sport.

Another huge weekend of sport means another packed Weekend Review with Mark Brandon and former Galway footballer Michael Meehan.

From an All-Ireland Final masterclass to World Cup controversy, Ireland's defeat to New Zealand and Ryan Fox's unforgettable Open Championship victory, there was no shortage of talking points.

This week's show includes:

🏆 All-Ireland Hurling Final
Limerick reaffirmed their status as the standard-bearers of hurling with a sensational display. We break down what made them so good, where it went wrong for Galway and what both counties take from the final.

🏉 Rugby
Ireland's Nations Championship campaign came to an end with defeat to New Zealand. We assess the performance, the positives, the concerns and what it tells us ahead of the next international window.

⚽ Football
The World Cup Final had everything... or did it? We discuss the controversial red card, the halftime show, the biggest talking points and whether the final itself actually lived up to the hype.

⛳ The Open Championship
Ryan Fox produced one of the performances of his career to lift the Claret Jug. We relive an incredible final day and discuss what this victory means for both Fox and world golf.

🏐 Ladies Football & Camogie
A look back at the Ladies Football semi-finals and a preview of the huge camogie clashes still to come.

Plus...

🔮 The Big Call – Our predictions for the biggest upcoming fixtures.

⭐ Sport Star of the Weekend – Who deserves the title after an incredible few days of sport?

If you enjoy a good sports discussion, honest opinions and great debate, make sure to follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube, and never miss an episode.

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