02/02 Morning JOE

The Front Pages

Many of today’s Sunday papers have opted to stick with stories related to the death of Gerry Ryan who was found dead in his Dublin apartment on Friday afternoon after he failed to show up for the morning radio show on RTÉ 2fm that he’d hosted since 1988.

The Sunday Times runs with ‘Miriam sorry for Ryan tweet’. The story details how Miriam O’Callaghan has apologised for ‘confirming Gerry Ryan’s death on Friday afternoon before members of his family had been informed.’ The paper’s front page also carries a story on how a former chief economist has warned that Ireland could still need a Greek-style bailout before the end of the financial crisis and an article about how ‘just 17 of the country’s 166 TDs turned up for work in the Dail every day in the two weeks after the introduction of a ‘cocking-in’ system on March 1.’ Good to see they are putting in the hours needed to lift us out of the doldrums.

The front page of the Sunday Independent is dominated by their ‘Gerry’s friends feared for his health’ story. Marian Finucane and an unnamed businessman give accounts of how Ryan appeared to be ‘tired’ and ‘stressed’ when they met him in the days and weeks before his death.

The News of the World runs with a story built around the fact that ‘mortuary delays’ mean Ryan’s funeral will not be held until late next week and that his estranged wife Morah will not be able to see his body until at least Tuesday. They also carry a quote from Morah, who has spoken for the first time since Ryan’s death. She described how she was left “devastated by the sudden loss of Gerard.”

The Sunday World meanwhile runs with a story which reveals that Ryan is to be buried alongside his mother. It also carries a number of tributes from various public figures including Bono, who branded Ryan a “superhero”.

The Sunday Tribune set aside the Ryan story to lead with ‘Fear €1bn bill could bring end to tribunals.’ The article reveals rumblings among Government and opposition TDs over the amount of money being spent on the Moriarty and Mahon tribunals in Dublin Castle. There are fears that they could run until 2012 and wind up costing the tax payer an astonishing €1bn.

The Sports Pages

The Sunday World’s back page is dominated by the tale of how the Leinster men were dispatched by a dominant Toulouse team – and how it is now up to Munster to salvage Ireland’s Heineken Cup challenge in today’s game against Biarritz. Sports columnist John Aldridge meanwhile, reveals in the paper’s football section, ‘If I had to take a late penalty against Chelsea, I’d balloon the ball to the Kop as a souvenir.’ That’s some nice partisanship there Aldo.

The News of the World back page runs a story of how Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is a top Liverpool target after his team’s sensational European run this season. It also carries an article on how Trapattoni has told Robbie Keane to leave Spurs and be selfish in his next choice of club – Celtic, Wolves and Aston Villa are believed to be the most likely destinations for the Tallaght hit man.

They also carry a story on how Denis Walsh has vowed to forget about Cork’s Championship clash with Tipperary until after today’s Division 1 League Final against Galway. The paper’s racing section sees Alastair Down salivating over today’s 1,000 Guineas which he reckons will be one to remember. He thinks Special Duty can take it.

The Sunday Tribune’s sport pages are dominated by yesterday’s Leinster vs. Toulouse clash. The French ran out 26-16 winners in the Heineken Cup semi-final. They also carry a number of articles on the build up to the Munster vs. Biarritz. ‘Basque in revenge’ roars a headline before highlighting comments from Dmitri Yachvili. “I’m very motivated and I’m ready to give everything to finish the season well,” he says.

The other broadsheets are also dominated by the rugby with both the Sunday Times and the Sunday Independent splitting their column inches between accounts of yesterday’s Leinster game and build up to today’s Munster clash.

Very little mention of the welterweight Floyd Mayweather vs Shane Mosley fight last night. Mayweather scored a unanimous points victory over Mosley, winning 11 of the 12 rounds against the 38-year-old Mosley in the non-title bout.

Tales from the tabs

The tabloids are still dominated by stories of the death of Gerry Ryan and may remain that way for some time to come. The News of the World however, also carries a story of how the newly unemployed are facing a 17 week delay in benefits if they happen to live in Mullingar. They also run with a Paul Williams tale of how the recently murdered crime boss Eamon ‘The Don’ Dunne was targeted by a ‘veteran villain’ who hired hit men from three different crime gangs to take him out. Heady stuff.

The Sunday World tells of how ‘The Don’ is all set to be replaced by his right hand man, ‘The Dentist’. I want a nickname like that. ‘The typist’ maybe. The paper also managed to get a hold of some quite incredible photos taken inside Mountjoy prison. They show numerous inmates posing with various ‘shanks’ and other prison weapons. The prisoners’ faces are all un-blurred, so the families will be chuffed to bits. In another story, the paper highlights the fate of the 900 staff at Quinn insurance set to use their jobs as part of the company’s restructuring plan.

Today on JOE

JOE Sports Sunday is the place to be ahead of a massive day in sport, with the Premier League, 1000 Guineas, World Championship Snooker, the Hurling Division 1 League final and crucially Munster’s Heineken Cup semi-final against Biarritz all covered.

JOE.ie

It’s Man Stuff