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IRELAND’S CROSS-BORDER BID to host the Tour de France’s ‘Grand Départ’ in 2026 or 2027 has been withdrawn.
The bid to bring the race back to these shores was first tabled in late 2022 when the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive submitted a joint expression of interest.
The Grand Départ, the opening stage of the iconic cycling race, previously took place in Ireland in 1998.
The decision to withdraw the bid, first reported by the Irish Independent, was confirmed on Tuesday.
Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy said their part in the bid could not progress “due to funding reductions this year and a lack of certainty about the budget position in future years”.
Speaking on the News at One on RTÉ Radio 1, Thomas Byrne, Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, said there had been “genuine interest” on both sides of the border “from an economic, a touristic, [and] a sporting perspective.
“But quite frankly, with the lack of an elected political government in Northern Ireland, the civil servants who are effectively running the show aren’t really able to proceed with this, and simply don’t have the funding, so it simply can’t happen.
“The Grand Départ simply can’t get off the ground. It’s a real pity actually. We would have loved to have done it.”
Minister Byrne also confirmed that there had been “very little” cost to the Government to advance the proposal to this early stage.
“It couldn’t really proceed to the next level without political direction really in Northern Ireland. That’s the simple reality of it.”
Regarding another major sporting event which Ireland has been confirmed to host — the 2027 Ryder Cup in Adare Manor, Limerick — Minister Byrne said “every effort” will be made to complete the planned new bypass for the town in advance of the event.
“The Government obviously approved this in November last year. It was clear at the time that it will be tight to get it done.
“As I understand it, everybody, which is Limerick County Council, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the Department of Transport, they all want to make this happen, so I would like to see everybody going all-out to try to make this happen.
“It’s clearly very, very important, not just for the Ryder Cup, we shouldn’t just be doing roads for particular events, but clearly Adare is somewhere that needs a bypass pretty urgently. I think anybody who travels that road knows that.
“We want to make sure that happens, and every effort from the Department of Sport and Tourism will be made to ensure the pressure is maintained to make sure that does happen and the deadline is made.”
Written by Niall Kelly. The Journal publishes the biggest breaking news in Irish and international sport but for all of The 42′s insightful analysis and sharp sportswriting, subscribe here.
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I’d say there wouldn’t be many guards left if they charged them all that accesses that system and passed on Info “off the record “
@P: what are you basing that on?
@justasheedy: not all but alot. Every one of them I know anyway.
@gold3n: how many do you know? Sure if they are doing it report them then, unless the ones you know are passing it onto you and if thats the case id have to ask what your reasons are for that. Dont get me wrong i think its disgusting what happened in the above article but of you know guards who are doing it wouldnt we all be better off without that type of guard, but i suspect your not gonna rat your friends out
@justasheedy: sorry but I know plenty that do, some of that info has been relayed to me before. And everyone knows they’ll always get you back if you rat, even more so nowadays if you’ve seen what happened the whistleblowers.
@George Beckett: dont be sorry george im just asking these questions because id genuinely like to know the answers. In terms of guards getting you back, have you experienced it yourself? Regarding whistleblowers, yes it appears to be the case by in large but as with every whistleblower there is always the possibility of one doing it to be malicious for reasons only known to themselves. Again i just wanna say i think the above matter is disgusting and had potential to be extremely dangerous for those involved
@P: every keystroke is logged, your password, when, where etc, its a silly thing to attempt nowadays
@justasheedy: I haven’t but it’s a commonly known fact, especially in rural Ireland. Nothing major but it’s the little things;
Targeting underage drinkers to steal the drink and split among themselves or bring to weddings, ditto for fireworks.
If you want some gossip on a man he can be found on pulse.
Legal tips like never pay for non council owned car parks, they can’t access your details.
Harmless, but can lead to more questionable actions.
I actually haven’t read much of the whistleblowing stuff in the media but indirectly have heard about 2 cases from source. The outrage would be to a pitchforks out marching level were the rumours I’ve heard true.
Root and branch reform is needed to stamp out corruption, it gets worse the higher you go.
@George Beckett: are you suggesting that the guards are targeting underage people to get them to steal drink so the guards can seize the drink for themselves. regards the car parks and not paying the fees thats just silly. car parks will just clamp your car and wont release until you pay the fine. They dont need to access your details as they have your car clamped and if you want it released you pay the release fee. Its very simple really. Reform is needed but to imply that its pure corruption is in my opinion wrong. there is a few rotten apples, does a few rotten apples mean you gotta destroy the entire barrel. george you appear to be commenting on hearsay “from what youve heard” Chinese whispers can be told to suit the tellers needs, and really that for me doesnt carry much water
@justasheedy: no I am saying they are allocating disproportionate resources towards getting drink from 15/16 year olds on a bus to a junior disco.
Not every car park will clamp you, that’s the exception rather than the rule from what I’m aware.
Yes I know, sure prosecuting another garda for drink driving was so irresponsible of another Garda (sarcasm).
Sounds like you’re a Garda yourself or connected to those in it. Yes it’s not all bad apples, but it’s more than a few.
The ones that aren’t are in a culture that accepts it anyways. Will probably always be that way being honest, human nature.
@George Beckett: sorry correction to my above comment, your suggesting guards steal the drink off young people. You could look at it that way or also look at it that the young people shouldnt have the drink in the first place and the guards are simply looking out for the childrens well being and also so that the guards dont have to deal later on the night with drunk ones puking everywhere and causing hassle to the community. Now theres another spin on the same story for you. If the young ones are so put out by it suggest to them they go to the station with their parents and get the parents to get the drink back from the guards. Id be verly confident that 99 outta 100 wouldnt do it.
@George Beckett: im not a guard no or have friends or family in it either, im very concerned with all the stories coming out about them and i cant see an end in sight for them, what i am is someone who respects an extremely hard profession. I believe the guards by in large try their very best for the people of this country and are let down by senior mgmt and by the court system. Guards can do no right at all because whatever they do someone will not be happy and thats the nature of their work.
@George Beckett: i honestly feel old guard mgmt have let down the honest member to the point that guards not only are getting bashed from the community they serve but from tge mgmt they answer to. I feel the guard on the street needs support from the community and i know my local guards would bend over backwards to help me because i support them, and thats human nature, you offer help and support and youll receive it, but lets be honest guards are only ever called when theres trouble so straight off itll always be a negative interaction
@justasheedy: maybe 15/20
Funny how people give out about the Gardai and corruption and forget about the thousands of people that are supporting it. All the speeding tickets and parking tickets that were wiped were done because Joe Public asked the Gardai to do so. Same with this. Three members of Joe Public wanted the information. Same with the property crash, it’s all the banks fault, no mention of the people that over borrowed and lived a lifestyle beyond their means. If the public start to realise their role in corruption and the economy we could possibly look to move forward a little better
@Nick Allen: I never borrowed or lived beyond my means like quite a lot of folk. Where was the financial regulator when the banks were loaning billions to developers? Signs were there but the government were asleep at the wheel
why does it take 5 years to get to court?
@Mary Murphy: court system is overflowing with repeat offenders who should’ve been locked up on their first or second offence and the legal-eagles need to make their millions.
Gardai do this on a constant basis. He’s just the one who got caught.
Ironic after the recent news report regarding the “trust” we the public h
@j4VEpUO8: Looks like the Gardaí got to this commenter before they could spill the beans.
Not good enough
@billy Dorney:
What isn’t ?
@Nick Allen: he’s just being a silly billy
@scientia:
He didn’t exactly sell state secrets. He lost his job, career, reputation and who knows what else plus a 3k fine. Yes he did wrong and he should be punished but he isn’t exactly getting off lightly
@Nick Allen: exactly what the Garda in question did
@billy Dorney:
Not sure what you are saying ?
@Nick Allen: then read the text again,Mr slowwwwww,and then read the article,then maybe,just maybe,the two might marry in your head(nearly wrote brain)and you might, just might understand.
@Billy Roll: smile
@Billy Roll: rock-a-billy
He made a couple of mistakes but the bigger mistake was resigning.
And 92% have confidence in the Gardaí… lol.
Well he won’t be doing it again!
Why isn’t the comments disabled??? Typical journal
@George McCarthy: I think it’s because the judgement has already been made, so the comments can’t influence the case. Why do you think comments should be disabled?
*have
Surprised he tendered his resignation… Don’t think he would have been dismissed from the force….Just never promoted…..
super news
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