This year, the UEFA Champions League final and the Heineken Cup final both take place on the same day – Heineken Star Saturday on May 19th, a significant  day of sport.  Heineken is inviting fans to catch both finals in the pub – which according to Heineken is the best stadium on earth. You can check out the  thoughts of  two players on this year’s all-Ireland Heineken Cup final as well their feelings on the UEFA Champions League in the  video below.

Throughout Ireland on May 19th, 2012. Heineken will host Star Saturday in participating pubs, with competitions running across nine special Heineken Star Saturday venues and fans can use their Heineken Star Card to win prizes.

It will be monumental day for Irish rugby, two Irish provinces  will meet in the Heineken Cup final for the first time. Leinster play Ulster in Twickenham. Kick Off  time is 5pm.  Both provinces have tasted Heineken Cup glory in the past, so  its going to be all-mighty clash.

As for the UEFA Champions League Football final, Bayern Munich will look to use their home advantage to win, It will be a  tough test against a rejuvenated Chelsea team that has just eliminated Barcelona. Kick off for the UEFA Champions League final is 7.45pm.

Let the games begin.

You can register for free for a Star Card on the dedicated Heineken Star Saturday Facebook app and locate your nearest participating pub at. www.heineken.ie/starsaturday

Who is Ronan O’Gara’s most loving companion?

The campaign is now in its fifth year which continues to raise awareness of animal welfare and encourage Irish dog lovers to adopt a dog from their local shelter or welfare organisation. For every pack of Pedigree dogfood bought, during the Pedigree Adoption Drive, a donation goes to help Irish dogs.

Did you know that  44 dogs are abandoned in Ireland every day?

The campaign aims to help raise much needed funds for rescue centres nationwide.  Pedigree plans to match last year’s achievements by donating €100,000 in cash and food to Irish dog charities.  Speaking about the campaign, Ronan O’Gara said “This is a really worthy cause. I have a boxer dog called Tia so I understand the fantastic role dogs can play in someone’s life. Supporting the Pedigree Adoption Drive not only means shelters receive much needed funds to give these animals the help they need, but adopting a pet will bring an adoring and loving companion into your life – something you just can’t put a price on.”

If you are a dog lover, then show your support by liking the  Pedigree Ireland Facebook page, www.facebook.com/PedigreeIreland. Every fan counts,  as Pedigree will  generously donate a bowl of dog food to a re-homing centre for every fan that likes the page.  So, get clicking and you can feed those hungry dogs.

Dave Kilcoyne is 22 and from Limerick.  He is in his second year  at the Munster Rugby Academy, He  debuted for  Munster rugby in the inaugural British & Irish (B&I) Cup  competition in the 2009/10 season, and playing in the 2010 final against Cornish Pirates. He played  for Munster in the British & Irish  B&I Cup semi-final last Friday, 6th April in the RDS.

A former Munster and Irish schools prop, he played schools rugby with Ardscoil Ris, and plays club rugby with UL Bohemian RFC.

What type of guy is David Kilcoyne, on and off the pitch?

Favourite Food:
Steak

Book you are currently reading or have just finished:
City Boys

Favourite TV programme:
Entourage

Favourite Film:
Gladiator

Favourite Actor/Actress:
Alan from the Hangover

Most enjoyable holiday location:
California

Marooned on a desert island what could you not be without:
Food

Favourite sport other than rugby:
Tennis

The sport you least like:
Darts

Person you would most like to meet:
Johnny Drama

Sportsperson you admire most:
Le Bron James

Hobbies:
Playing piano and watching movies

Biggest influence on career:
Packie Durkan

Best career advice you were given:
Keep working hard and take your time

What you like most/least about being a rugby player:
The friends you make. 90 second drills at the end of training.

Other sports that you played:
Hurling, Soccer, Basketball and Gaelic Football

Best rugby memory:
Winning U20′s All Ireland’s with UL Bohs

Rugby Player you admire most:
John Smit

Rugby team you admire most:
South Africa

If you weren’t a rugby player what would you be:
A businesss man

Three people you would invite to dinner and why:
Johnny Drama, John Goodman from Roseanne and Mike Sherry to see if they are related or do they just look alike.

Full interview available on the Munster Rugby website.

He recently participated at a captivating Questions and Answers session during an in-house sales training day with software giant Sogeti Ireland .He was very well received. According to Declan Griffin, Senior Account Executive at Sogeti Ireland ” Warm and personable, Kieran Behan went down a storm with the sales team, his life story was fascinating and his description of the adversities he had to overcome was inspiring. Kieran was clear and controlled in the delivery of his answers but his enthusiasm and boyish charm was ever present. He is an absolute rockstar. Every member of my sales team felt uplifted and motivated following his session. We will all be rooting for him at the London Olympics 2012”

To book Kieran Behan as an after dinner speaker, motivational speaker, or public appearances such as product launches or store openings, please call Frankie Sheahan at Front Row on 021 4275500

Further details of Kieran Behan and his interview on RTE’s The Late Late Show are available here.

He recently participated at a captivating Questions and Answers session during an in-house sales training day with software giant Sogeti Ireland .He was very well received. According to Declan Griffin, Senior Account Executive at Sogeti Ireland ” Warm and personable, Kieran Behan went down a storm with the sales team, his life story was fascinating and his description of the adversities he had to overcome was inspiring. Kieran was clear and controlled in the delivery of his answers but his enthusiasm and boyish charm was ever present. He is an absolute rockstar. Every member of my sales team felt uplifted and motivated following his session. We will all be rooting for him at the London Olympics 2012”

To book Kieran Behan as an after dinner speaker, motivational speaker, or public appearances such as product launches or store openings, please call Frankie Sheahan at Front Row on 021 4275500

Further details of Kieran Behan and his interview on RTE’s The Late Late Show are available here.

Kieran’s speciality is the Floor. Floor Exercises are executed on a 12 x 12m mat with a 1-metre safety border around it. It is placed on a special wooden underlay, which is necessary for the athletes’ take-offs and landings. Athletes have 70 seconds to execute an exercise that includes somersaults, strength and balance exercises.

Kieran is well used to adversity and always had his eye on success. At the age of 10, a benign tumour was found in his leg and complications from the surgical operation to remove the tumour left him in a wheelchair. 15 months later, defying the odds, he returned to his gymnastics training. Not long after his return, he fell off the high bar during a training session and suffered a head injury which resulted in a brain injury and damage to his inner ear affecting his balance and co-ordination skills. He was once again confined to a wheelchair, and had to relearn simple skills to sit up, move his head. The injuries left him unable to train for 3 years, and doctors told him they did not expect him to be able to walk again, never mind be able to do gymnastics. Despite these setbacks, Kieran returned to gymnastics and gained several awards as a junior gymnast.

Kieran’s achievements to date

- Slovenia World Cup, floor bronze (Ireland’s first ever world medal in gymnastics)

-    Croatia World Cup, floor silver

-   Czech Republic World Cup, floor gold

-    2011 World Cup Series Floor Champion

In 2012, he competed in the ‘London Prepares Olympic Test Event’, where he qualified to the Floor Exercise final, finishing in 4th place behind Gold medallists Daniel Purvis and Tomas Gonzalez and Bronze medallist Kristian Thomas, gaining the best execution score of the final. His performance in the London Prepares preliminary competition qualified him to the 2012 Summer Olympics. As a result, he was able to get a grant of €20,000 from the Irish Sports Council. His story, and the fact he is the first Irish gymnast to qualify for the Olympics made him a star overnight, being in demand for media interviews, and appearing on RTE’s Late Late Show.

If your company is interested in sponsoring Kieran to achieve his Olympic dream, please get in touch with Front Row on 021 21 4275500  or email info@frontrow.ie

You can follow Kieran on Twitter here  @KieranBehanIRL

Entertain your clients in style.
Avail of our exceptional corporate hospitality opportunity for the Ireland v Scotland 6 Nations match in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday March 10th, 2012. Kick off 5.00pm.

Hospitality Package includes:
• Pre lunch drinks in the D4 Berkeley Hotel, minutes from the Aviva Stadium
• 4 Course silver service lunch with wines
• Profile guest speaker
• Seated category 1 match tickets – Kick off 5.OOpm
• Complimentary match programme
• Post match drinks and finger food in the D4 Berkeley Hotel for 90 minutes after the match followed by a cash bar

Cost €399 per person + Vat

To snap up this excellent packages, simply contact Frankie Sheahan at Front Row on 021 4275500 or email info@frontrow.ie

Guests of honour were myself Frankie Sheahan and Munster and Ireland legends Alan Quinlan , we chatted about Ireland’s progress with the school kids who displayed an impressive knowledge of rugby.

Principal of Colaiste Craoibhinn, Christy Healy, welcomed the opportunity for pupils to see at first hand the renowned and historic trophies. “It has been a special privilege to host the Triple Crown and the RBS 6 Nations Trophy here today. This has certainly been an inspirational experience as today’s pupils have enjoyed meeting the rugby greats and hearing about their sporting careers. We’ve enjoyed listening to such a great rugby line up discussing Ireland’s form and I’d like to thank Alan Quinlan and Frankie Sheahan for visiting us today. The match against France this weekend will be all the more interesting!”

Current Irish International, David Wallace had joined myself and Quinlan earlier in the day at a business breakfast hosted by Ulster Bank at the Maryborough Hotel, Cork before we took the trophies onto the Ulster Bank Patrick Street branch, to pose for pictures with staff and customers. I was very tempted to do a runner with the trophy, day dreaming of snuggling up to it in bed tonight!

The RBS 6 Nations features the very top echelons of rugby talent currently playing professionally in the Northern Hemisphere but as rugby fans know, almost every player on the international stage started at a local club. Ulster Bank RugbyForce encourages rugby supporters, their friends and families to give something back to their local community rugby club by volunteering to undertake renovations to clubhouses and grounds.  Four lucky clubs (one from each province) will be selected for a very special makeover winning €5,000 of goods and resources to use toward their planned club development during the Ulster Bank RugbyForce weekend in June. 50 other clubs will receive a smaller support of €250 through the programme. Clubs must register for Ulster Bank RugbyForce online at www.ulsterbank.com/rugby by April 13th 2012.

The winning clubs will receive:
•         Goods and resources up to the value of €5,000 to go towards the club’s RugbyForce weekend
•         50 T-shirts for the volunteer workforce
•         Support material including on-line tools
•         Enhanced media support
•         Commemorative Ulster Bank RugbyForce Plaque
•         Terms and conditions apply and can be found at www.ulsterbank.com/rugby

The Increased support pack for the first 25 clubs includes:
•         Goods and resources up to the value of €250 to go towards the club’s RugbyForce weekend
•         20 T-shirts for the volunteer workforce
•         Support material including on-line tools
•         Enhanced media support
•         Commemorative Ulster Bank RugbyForce Plaque
•         All clubs – even those who do not win – can still participate by using the on-line toolkit to help organise an event to improve club facilities and galvanise community support.

So go on, register your club now www.ulsterbank.com/rugby

Ulster rugby have responded with a very brief  press release:

“In response to media speculation today regarding the Ulster Rugby Head Coaching position, Ulster Rugby confirms that the current coaching contracts are set to finish at the end of the season, and are under review. There will be no further comment at this time.”

Not exactly a lot of information there, but not a very strong denial either.

1. Give your speech before 11.00pm.
Speakers need to be energetic and the audience need energy to listen to you. Speaking after 11.00pm will result in a tired and apathetic audience.

2. Keep it brief. There is nothing worse than an a celebrity after dinner speaker droning on and losing the audiences interest. The audience can only concentrate for so long, especially after a heavy dinner and they have been sitting down for a long time. It is far better to leave them wanting more.

3. Don’t have a set speech.
Be able to adapt your speech to your audience, speaking to Irish Country Womens association will require a far different type of speech than the members of the Dublin Chamber of commerce will require.  Watch your audience gauge how they react and tailor your speech accordingly.

4. Choose your jokes carefully.
If you are speaking to a room full of doctors, don’t make doctors jokes, you might not have heard them before but they will have.

5. Connect with your audience through emotion.
The best speeches are like a good play, there is laughter and there is tears, you need to touch your audience emotionally and develop a connection. This is what they will remember. Good speeches have humour, content and humanity.