KERRY defender Kayleigh Cronin has gone from all-time low to All-Star high.

The Kingdom full-back hit rock bottom in the wake of last year’s All-Ireland SFC final defeat by Dublin.

©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Sportsfile

The Dr Crokes star blamed herself as the Sky Blues emerged victorious by 0-18 to 1-10 on that August Sunday, meaning Kerry had lost back-to-back finals — following the 2022 reverse by Meath — and their wait for the Brendan Martin Cup drifted out to 31 years.

Cronin felt she could not even show her face in public for weeks.

She revealed:  “I literally don’t really have the words to tell you heartbroken I was.

“I don’t think it’s gone away — I don’t think it ever will.

“It’s as low as I’ve felt full-stop, in relation to football or not. It took a long time for me to raise my head again.

“Even little things like going into town or going to the shop . . . I was slow for a while.

“I didn’t want to meet anybody. It felt like we had let ourselves down but let everybody else down as well.

“We were ashamed of how we performed on the day, myself in particular, 100 per cent.

“I  felt ashamed. So it took a lot to get back training and back with the group and to go again and to kind of get that belief back.”

But what a difference a year makes.

On August 4, Kerry ended the drought in style with a stunning final victory over Galway at Croke Park.

At full-back, Cronin produced an exceptional performance that earned her the Player of the Match award.

The 2022 All-Star added another to her collection — and was nominated for Footballer of the Year — as the side managed by Declan Quill and Darragh Long also captured the Munster title for the first time since 2017.

Cronin said: “It finally came right, third time lucky.

“Funnily enough, I’d say this year was probably one of my least enjoyable years, in terms of playing with Kerry. I was fairly low for a while.

“I was coming out of every single game hammering myself, saying like . . . I just couldn’t find form basically.

“If you told me in May that I’d finish the year with an All-Ireland medal, never mind an All-Star, I would have laughed at you.

“But I’d go through it all again no bother if you told me it would be the same outcome.”

CHANGE FOR 2025

The winds of change have now swept through the camp as joint-bosses Quill and Long departed.

Mark Bourke is in line to fill the void but it remains to be seen if star forward Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh, 33, will return in 2025.

Cronin cannot wait to start the defence of their title but just hopes Footballer of the Year Ní Mhuircheartaigh is alongside her in their bid to retain their crown.

She said: “If she had one leg we’d still want her! Just in terms of her attitude and her commitment and everything over the last number of years.

“Her experience, it’s invaluable. So obviously, selfishly, I’m hoping she does stay on.

“If she does decide that it’s time to go, she certainly owes Kerry football absolutely nothing and she will definitely go down as one of the greats.”

KERRY star Kayleigh Cronin is a GOAL Mile ambassador.

To win one of ten €1,000 prizes for your GAA, camogie or LGFA  club, register  for the AIB GOAL Mile at www.aibgaagoalmile2024.

STORM Bert is set to bring fresh weather chaos to Ireland as up to 100mm of rain are possible in the next 36 hours – bringing floods along with gale force winds.

Met Eireann have issued three orange weather warnings and yellow countrywide alerts so far as Storm Bert is en route – with one meteorologist suggesting further warnings could be on the cards.

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Storm Bert is en route[/caption]

@CarlowWeather

Today got off to an icy start[/caption]

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Strong winds look set to batter the country[/caption]

The national broadcaster said the areas can expect intense rainfall and flooding risks as the vicious storm conditions move in from the Atlantic.

Carlow Weather‘s Alan O’Reilly has warned that up to 100mm of rain could batter parts of the country in the next 36 hours – with an added flood risk due to Storm Bert.

He said: “Temperatures ranging from -3c to 7c on Southwest coast.

“Scattered showers in North and West but clear spells for many with a cool morning.

“Over 100mm of rain possible in parts over next 36 hours with risk of flooding as Storm Bert brings heavy rain and strong winds from tonight.”

Met Eireann forecaster Linda Hughes said that there will “likely” be updates to weather warnings issued by Met Eireann as Storm Bert charges towards Ireland.

The status orange rain warning kicks in for counties Cork, Kerry and Galway at midnight on Saturday, until 10am that morning.

Forecasters said Storm Bert will bring “intense falls of rain over a short period of time.”

And the public have been warned to prepare for surface flooding, possible river flooding and “very difficult” travelling conditions.

Met Eireann have previously explained that orange weather alerts represent “infrequent and dangerous” conditions which may pose a “threat to life and property“.

The weather advisory began today and will remain in place until midnight Tuesday, while the yellow wind and rain warning is in place from 10pm Friday night until 12 noon Saturday.

Met Eireann said Storm Bert will displace the recent Arctic airmass that saw temperatures plummet to -4C this week and a nationwide ice and low temperature warning.

Hughes said: “A status yellow low temperature and ice warning remains in place for Ireland until midday today, with widespread frost, some icy stretches and lying snow.

“Storm Bert will begin to impact Ireland from tonight with Status yellow wind and rain warnings issued. And there will likely be updates to warnings so do stay in touch with the forecast today.

ICY START

Today will start out with frost and icy stretches and scattered showers are on the cards – with some snow and sleet possible.

Hughes continued: “This morning will be cold and frosty with some icy stretches, there’ll be scattered showers, mainly of rain and sleet but isolated snow showers are possible.

“The showers will die out for most areas for the afternoon and sunshine will become hazy.

“Highest temperatures of 3C to 7C in light to moderate west to southwest winds.”

Tonight will become wet and wild as Storm Bert hits the northwest of Ireland – bringing heavy rain and flooding.

STRONG GALES

Some snow and sleet are possible with strong gusty winds and gales to strong gales along the coasts.

The Met Eireann forecaster continued: “Tonight will be very wet and windy as Storm Bert tracks to the northwest of Ireland.

“Heavy rain will extend across the country in the southwest causing flooding in some areas.

“Falls of sleet and snow are possible in the north and northwest too.

“There’ll be very strong and gusty south to southeast winds – with gales or strong gales on coasts.

“Lowest temperatures of 0C to 5C early in the night, increasing overnight.”

MILD TEMPERATURES

Tomorrow will see wet and windy conditions continue as Storm Bert brings heavy widespread rain and flooding.

Hughes explained: “Very wet and windy conditions associated with Storm Bert will continue tomorrow morning.

“With widespread heavy rain causing flooding in some areas.

“The rain will ease for a time in the mid-afternoon as it moves eastwards, but then more showery rain will move in from the west and be heavy at times.

“There’ll be very strong and gusty southeast to south winds with gales or strong gales near coasts.

“Highest temperatures of 12C to 15C.”

Tonight will see rain clear with continued strong winds and some scattered showers.

She added: “The rain will clear eastwards early on Saturday night and will be followed by clear spells and scattered showers.

“It’ll continue windy with strong and gusty southerly winds.

“Lowest temperatures of 6C to 10C.”

Sunday is predicted to be another windy day with a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers, mainly in Atlantic coastal counties.

The forecaster said: “Sunday will be another windy day with fresh to strong south to southwest winds and gales or strong gales along coasts.

“While many areas will remain dry with sunny spells, scattered showers will occur too, most of these in Atlantic counties.

“Highest temperatures of 10C to 13C.”

@CarlowWeather

Rain is set to batter the country[/caption]

Meteologix

Met Eireann have said more warnings could be on the cards[/caption]

LUKE LITTLER has revealed an ambitious plan to see him make darts history.

The 17-year-old has already lit up the darts circuit after bursting onto the scene at the World Championships last year.

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Luke Littler has revealed a stunning plan to win every darts tournament at least once[/caption]

With less than a month to go before his Ally Pally return, the Nuke has now outlined a stunning career objective to wipe the board.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “I’ve said it before, I want to win one of every tournament there is.

“[I want to do] even bigger and better things and win multiple titles all across the country.”

Littler has already landed titles in England with the Grand Slam of Darts, but will be hoping to go one better and win the World Championships this year.

While not a ranking PDC event, the Premier League saw Littler compete across the UK and Ireland, winning nights in Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool, Aberdeen and London.

His World Series of Darts win in September took place in Amsterdam to check that off his list, though he finished runner-up at the Dutch Masters earlier this year and will doubtless be out to win it next year.

Meanwhile, he has also won the Bahrain Darts Masters and Poland Darts Masters, while finishing runner-up in the Australian Darts Masters.

His participation in the Players Championships and European Tour have also landed him titles across several countries, including Belgium and Austria.

Wins were also forthcoming in Wigan and Milton Keynes as well as Leicester in the PDC Development Tour.

Littler now ranks No.5 in the world rankings and could overtake Rob Cross for No.4 if he wins the Player Championship finale this weekend.

His first opponent in the tournament is Cross himself.

Asked about his explosive first year, Littler said: “Ever since the runner-up at the Worlds, I got the Premier League call-up and I went on to be the champion.

“I finally won my weekly night in Belfast and ever since then it’s been all joy. I’m enjoying myself.”

Littler has been backed to become world champion this time around, with both commenator Wayne Mardle and 16-time world champion (14 PDC, two BDO) Phil Taylor both believing he is capable of it.

Mardle said: “Coming into this, it was Luke Humphries, he’s the man to beat, he’s the one that they’ve all got to kind of get rid of and get out of the draw.

“Now it’s Luke Littler and if Littler or Humphries goes out early in the Worlds, the other one goes as the favourite immediately.

“The way that Luke Littler has played this week, he was playable.

“At times it was unplayable, especially with Martin Lukeman and against Jermaine Wattemina, but two players have had a right good go at trying to beat him and just failed.

“It’s not that they can’t beat Luke, it’s just the fact that he somehow finds a way to get over the line.

“In the long-format World Championship, he’s going to be difficult to beat, he really is, and the other players know that.”

The Power told talkSPORT: “I’ll tell you what though, if there’s anybody that could do it, it’s this young lad now.

“He has got the age on his side and the ability – you never know. You never know with him…

“I wouldn’t bet against him. Honestly, I wouldn’t bet against him. Definitely have him as an each-way bet.”

FORMER England assistant boss Steve Holland has reportedly landed his first managerial job.

The coach spent eight years with the Three Lions as Gareth Southgate’s right hand man.

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Steve Holland was England assistant boss under Steve Holland[/caption]

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He is now set for his first official managerial role[/caption]

He has been out of work since leaving alongside Southgate in the summer but is now set to be appointed manager of Japanese side Yokohama F.Marinos, according to The Athletic.

It will be Holland‘s first official managerial role, having been an assistant for the last 16 years.

Prior to that he had a stint at Crewe where his role as first-team coach saw him act as a de facto manager.

He then had a brief spell at Stoke before spending four years at Chelsea where he worked under Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Rafa Benitez.

Holland, 54, will be tasked with getting Yokohama back up the table, with the club dropping from their second-paced finish last season to ninth this term.

Previous boss Harry Kewell was sacked in July after winning just 13 out of 33 games in charge.

That was unacceptable for a club who have won the J1 League five times – most recently in 2022.

They are also minority-owned by City Football Group, with Nissan the majority shareholder, and play at the 2002 World Cup final stadium.

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Ange Postecoglou had a spell at Yokohama and led the club to the league title in 2019 before moving to Celtic.

Meanwhile Southgate is still out of work after leaving England though was linked with the Manchester United job before Ruben Amorim took charge.

EDU has swapped a Premier League penthouse for a multi-club madhouse.

As Arsenal welcome Nottingham Forest this weekend, the Gunners are still trying to pick up the pieces from the shock departure of their Sporting Director for an expanded role under City Ground owner Evangelos Marinakis.

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Edu will oversee the stable of clubs owned by Nottingham Forest chief Evangelos Marinakis[/caption]

It has come at a time when the title-chasing North Londoners are at their most stable, consistent and successful on and off the pitch since the glory days of Edu’s own Invincibles side under Arsene Wenger.

A dream job, some would argue.

In comparison, Forest have been leaving a trail of undesirable box office drama behind them for many years now, from VAR squabbles to cigar-spitting accusations, under their eccentric owner Marinakis who is eyeing world domination via his Manchester City-inspired multi-club model.

So, why would Edu risk tainting an impressive dossier of work at Arsenal for an unspecified triple-your-money role with Grecian grouch Marinakis – a man currently at the centre of a blackmail conspiracy in his home country?

The simple answer is: power. Edu is an ambitious Brazilian who quietly eyed a bigger role at the Emirates, and discretely looked elsewhere when it was clear that was unlikely.

Despite several Brazil stars currently in Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta’s squad, Edu’s expertise and knowledge of the country and English football was not solely relied upon with Arteta having a large say in all recruitment dealings.

Under Marinakis, however, he is expected to have greater say as a powerful and extremely well-paid executive over the general running of an empire which so far consists of Forest, Olympiacos and Portuguese side Rio Ave.

Marinakis has also eyed up Serie A’s Monza and is reportedly in talks to add Rio de Janieiro-based Vasco da Gama to his growing portfolio.

FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS

The latter is believed to have been with Edu in mind – a man who has great connections in Brazil from his time as a director of football at Corinthians and general coordinator of the national team before joining Arsenal in July 2019.

But Edu will also be aware that Marinakis is prone to pulling the trigger if expectations are not met.

Marinakis’ erratic trial and error process for this role began with Spaniard Antonio Cordon in June 2023 after his past success with Villarreal and Real Betis.

Cordon was initially the Olympiacos Sporting Director before Marinakis promoted him to also cover Forest and Rio Ave six months later. Cordon left the role in July 2024.

In the middle of all this, Portuguese Sporting Director Pedro Alves was given the Olympiacos gig in December 2023, but lasted just two months.

One of Edu’s great strengths is his ability to control communications from top to bottom, something Arsenal chiefs are understood to be aware of replacing sooner rather than later.

But Edu knows he will be dealing with quite the character in Marinakis, one who has been known to smash TVs in director’s boxes in anger at the City Ground, and played his part in the club being fined £750k last term for green-lighting a tweet that accused referee Stuart Atwell of bias.

He then was hit with a five-game ban last month for spitting at the feet of an official, his defence being that it is due to smoking two to three cigars a day.

And this week, Olympiacos were forced to come out in defence of Marinakis and board members, claiming they were being “blackmailed” with allegations of financing “sports violence”.

The influence of the City Football Group on Marinakis cannot be understated.

Under Abu Dhabi United Group owner Sheikh Mansour, a 13-strong collection of teams across five continents includes City, Melbourne City, New York City, Mumbai City, Girona and Shenzhen Peng City.

This is Marinakis’ blueprint, one that is expected to be overseen and run by Edu – an opportunity of global expansion that was not seen as a priority at Arsenal.

But for every City Group, there is Chelsea’s topsy-turvy and messy growth under Todd Boehly’s own multi-club vision, one that feels constantly on the verge of a crisis.

On his six-month gardening leave before beginning his Marinakis adventure, Edu will watch Arsenal vs Forest from home this weekend.

A penny for his thoughts, whatever the score.

I’M A Celebrity Dean McCullough took a savage swipe at hosts Ant and Dec after quitting another Bushtucker Trial.

The Radio 1 star’s performance in trials has left a lot to be desired with a series of early exits.

Eroteme

Eroteme

Last night was no exception, and he returned to camp from the jungle’s jungle’s scientific research facility with just four stars.

He began by tackling a two minute experiment worth two stars, before being exposed to seven different containment areas, where more stars were up for grabs – but would he complete them all?

Then Dean had to place his head inside the containment areas, and was showered by cockroaches, crickets and mealworms, giant lizards, snakes, and spiders. 

The squeamish star told Ant and Dec not to tell him what was about to enter his container and he paid the price.

As fish guts poured over his neck, Dean immediately shouted: “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!” 

Ant looked flabbergasted, and told the star: “Do you know if you let us tell you what was coming in you wouldn’t have freaked out?”

Dean replied: “No, I wouldn’t have freaked out. Can we do it again?”

Ant said: “We can’t I’m afraid. Once you call it, that’s it. Trial over.

“Why did you call it on fish guts?”

Nervy Dean responded: “I could feel something heavy and smelly on the back of my neck.

“You’re standing there giving it the biggun, but fish guts? Your wee shackets would be ruined.”

A laughing Ant hit back: “They would, and I like this shacket.”

Fans watching the show at home were then quick to spot how it looked as though Dean’s lip had gotten injured during the trial.

“Bless him for getting 4 stars tho. Also, has anyone noticed that Dean has cut his lip,” wrote one viewer on X.

Another then said, “Has Dean cut his lip?”

A third added, “Is it me, or has no-one noticed Dean’s lower lip on the right side bl33ding?”

Eroteme

Eroteme

“Why is Dean’s mouth bleeding? Spider bite?” asked a fourth.

During the trial, Dean had to unscrew stars with his mouth, which might have caused the red mark on his lower lip.

Despite his low star count, Dean’s campmates were overjoyed to see the Radio One DJ return with some grub for dinner.

They even treated him to a nice bath and pamper.

Я часто готую цей салат до приходу гостей. Ніхто відразу не може визначити, з чого цей салат приготований. Спробуйте і ви здивувати своїх гостей. Можна замість свіжих огірків додати солоні або мариновані, смачно також із консервованою кукурудзою. Інгредієнти: Яйця – 4 шт. Перець, сіль за смаком Борошно – 1 ст. л. Крохмаль – 1 ст. […]

Щоб холодець вийшов справді смачним і прозорим, потрібно знати кілька ключових нюансів його приготування. Якщо ви не хочете отримати мутний або недостатньо насичений холодець, ці поради стануть вам у пригоді. Вибір м’яса та кісток. Використовуйте свинячі ніжки, яловичі хвости або гомілки — вони містять багато колагену, що допомагає створити густу і прозору основу для холодцю. […]

A MUM has been praised for her ingenuity after showing how she transformed a cupboard under the stairs into a playroom for her kids.

Jade explained that she wanted her two children to have their “own space”, so found a clever way to transform the otherwise redundant cupboard.

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Jade took to TikTok to show how she transformed a cupboard under the stairs into a playroom for her kids[/caption]

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They used things they already had, including a cute toy kitchen[/caption]

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They used a mirror they already had, and put some flower lights from The Range around it[/caption]

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In a video on TikTok, she shared a look inside the gorgeous room, which had been decked out with books, toys and even a little toy kitchen to make it the perfect place for the kids to play.

“POV: You converted the cupboard under the stars into a little playroom for your kids so they have their own space to trash,” she wrote over the top of the video.

“Although I’m pretty sure we love it in there just as much as them!” Jade joked in the caption.

The clip showed her pulling back the tasselled rainbow curtain to reveal the room, which had the kitchen on one side and glow in the dark star stickers – £4.99 from Amazon – all over the wall.

She’d already painted the room with some leftover paint from her son’s nursery, adding: “You could use whatever you have in the shed!”

Luckily, Jade already had many of the items herself, but estimated the entire makeover would have cost around £50 if she hadn’t.

The floor was covered in foam number squares, which she picked up for £9.99 from B&M, and the mirror, surrounded by £6.99 flower lights from The Range, made the room seem bigger than it actually was.

On the other wall was an alphabet poster, which she’d got for £2.99 from Aldi, as well as a £7 shelf from Argos holding some of the kids’ books.

While they already had the kitchen, Jade suggested you could put anything you wanted in its place – “dressing table, drawing board or anything else that takes up a lot of space in the living room”, she laughed.

The comments section was quickly filled with people praising the incredible makeover, with one writing: “I love this!

“Imagine someone came and you said oh sorry the kids are just in the cupboard under the stairs!”

“I was worrying about her telling people this!” Jade laughed in response.

“At school I can imagine the kid saying ‘my mum makes me go into the cupboard under the stairs’,” another joked.

“Imagine her saying ‘mummy makes me play in the cupboard under the stairs’ at school,” a third giggled.

With Jade replying: “Oh she will 100% sell us down the river like that!”

“I did this at one point but we made it more of a ‘snug’ for the kids,” someone else wrote.

“Foamed out the flooring, fairy lights and looked so cute.

“They never used it after week one! Lol (I went in more than they did)!”

“I’m pretty sure I love it in there more than them at this point too,” Jade admitted.

“Such a great idea, love it!” another praised.

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She put a birthday banner on the front of the cupboard to unveil to the kids[/caption]

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Sometimes, a show knows exactly when to drop the mic. Created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams, Ozark—Netflix’s gripping crime drama—had us all talking about money laundering and cartels as if we were running our own shady business in the Ozarks. From cartels to family drama, Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) sure made running a crime […]

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