Storm Darragh has landed on Irish and UK shores, causing uncertainty in a very busy sporting weekend. The Merseyside derby clash between Liverpool and Everton, scheduled for Goodison Park today, was postponed this morning.
Status red weather warnings were issued to a total of seven counties - Mayo, Clare, Galway, Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo and Wicklow - commencing at various times on Friday night, and lasting until early this morning. A status orange wind warning was also in place across the country last night, until 10 am on Saturday.
Weather warnings are also in place across the UK, with severe floods expected.
Here's how Storm Darragh has impacted sport in Ireland and UK this weekend, so far.
Storm Darragh's impact on GAA
On Friday evening, the Ulster intermediate final between Arva and Ballinderry was rescheduled for Saturday week by the Ulster council.
📣 MATCH POSTPONEMENT 📣
⚠️ Due to the amber weather warning issued for tomorrow, the @AIB_GAA Ulster Club Intermediate Football Final has been postponed.
Therefore the game has been refixed as follows:
Sat 14th Dec@arvagaa v @BallinderryGAC @ONeills1918 Healy Park Omagh… pic.twitter.com/5sfgrR7qzm— Ulster GAA (@UlsterGAA) December 6, 2024
The Munster Club Intermediate Football Championship final is the only early match-up on Saturday, with Austin Stacks of Kerry still scheduled to take on Tipperary's Aherlow in Mallow at 1pm.
The Munster Club Junior Football Championship final between Firies and Kilmurry is scheduled for a 6pm throw-in in Rathkeale.
The big televised club GAA fixtures this weekend are in the Munster and Ulster Club Senior football championships, taking place at 1.30pm and 3.30pm respectively on Sunday. In Munster, Tipperary champions and dual powerhouses Loughmore Castleiney take on aristocrats of Kerry football Dr. Crokes, in Mallow. In Ulster, 2021 All-Ireland champions Kilcoo, of Down, do battle with Tyrone champions Errigal Ciarán at the Box-It Athletic Grounds in Armagh.
It is expected that both encounters will proceed as scheduled, but pitch inspections will be awaited for definite decisions.
Football
The Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton has been officially postponed. A statement from Everton this morning confirmed that the fixture scheduled for Goodison Park at 12.30pm would not take place, as Storm Darragh takes its toll across the UK. Details of the re-arranged fixture have not yet been announced.
In the Championship, Plymouth Argyle's clash with Oxford United has also been postponed, with kick-off at Home Park having been scheduled for 15.00 today.
All football fixtures in Wales on Saturday the 7th of December have been cancelled because of Storm Darragh, as announced by the Welsh FA yesterday afternoon.
Rugby
On the rugby front, the two big fixtures of the weekend are Munster's Champions Cup game against Stade Francais at 5.30pm at Thomond Park and Connacht's Challenge Cup with Zebre in the Sportsground. We'll see how the weather impacts those games.
Horse racing
Racing scheduled for Navan today is expected to go ahead as planned. Racing in Cork is also expected to go ahead tomorrow.
Today's Boylesports Becher Chase at Aintree has been abandoned, due to the effects of Storm Darragh. There will also be no racing at Chepstow. It was decided, following inspections this morning, that the Betfair Tingle Creek Chase at the Isle of Wight's Sandown will go ahead as scheduled.
