Sergio Stack

Worst case scenario: Semi-Final: Away to Slovakia Final: Away to Italy Best case scenario: Semi-Final: Home to Kosovo Final: Home to Ukraine

One of the best quotes this page has ever posted! “Leadership is very easy when you’re doing something you care about.” – Seamus Coleman on RTÉ Sport before facing Hungary. Just think about it… You’re 37. Your club barely plays you because they think your legs are gone. Your country leaves you out early in the campaign because you’re not getting minutes. Then, when everything is slipping away, they call you back. And what do you do? You set the standard, and drag everyone with you from the brink… all the way to a World Cup playoff that looked impossible not long ago. Never underestimate character. Always back it.

After hearing from the doctor that her son Léo’s cancer could no longer be treated, that no therapy was working anymore & the only goal was “to keep him comfortable until the end”… Claire went to his room. Léo was sitting on his bed, watching videos on his tablet. She sat beside him, rested her head against his & they had this heartbreaking conversation: Me: Breathing hurts, doesn’t it? Léo: Uh… yeah. Me: Does it hurt all the time? Léo: (looking down) Yes… Me: This cancer is awful… You know, you don’t have to fight anymore. Léo: I don’t have to? (with a small smile) But I’ll keep fighting for you, Mom! Me: No, sweetheart… You’re doing it for me? Léo: Well… yes. Me: And what’s a mom’s job? Léo: To protect you! (with his big smile) Me: My love… I can’t protect you here anymore. The only way to do it now is from the sky. (My heart shattered.) Léo: Then I’ll go to the sky and play while I wait for you! You’ll come, right? Me: Of course I’ll come! You know you can’t get rid of Mom that easily! Léo: Thanks, Mom! I’ll play while I wait for you! That was their last real conversation. In the hours that followed, Claire never left his side. They played, laughed, watched videos. & fought the “bad guys” with their toy guns. They made the most of every moment. An hour before he left, he snuggled into her arms again & told her how he wanted to be remembered: “As a policeman.” A little later, Claire went to the bathroom. When she came back, Léo was sleeping deeply. His little body had given up. But in one final breath, he opened his eyes, smiled & whispered: “I love you, Mom.” Then he closed his eyes as Claire softly sang into his ear… Léo passed away at just 4 years old, in his mother’s arms, after a brave fight against cancer. The photo shared isn’t just one picture, it’s two. In the first, you see Léo lying on the bathroom rug, waiting for his mom to finish her shower. In the second… the same rug. Empty. Just a silent rug, where a perfect little boy once waited for his mom. If tonight your child is near you, put your phone down, forget what you’re doing, & give them the longest, warmest hug. 💛

A message from a Kindergarten teacher: After forty years in the classroom, my career ended with one small sentence from a six-year-old: “My dad says people like you don’t matter anymore.” No sneer. No malice. Just quiet honesty — the kind that cuts deeper because it’s innocent. He blinked, then added, “You don’t even have a TikTok.” My name is Mrs. Clara Holt, and for four decades, I taught kindergarten in a small Denver suburb. Today, I stacked the last box on my desk and locked the door behind me. When I started teaching in the early 1980s, it felt like a promise — a shared belief that what we did mattered. We weren’t rich, but we were valued. Parents brought warm cookies to parent nights. Kids gave you handmade cards with hearts that didn’t quite line up. Watching a child sound out their first sentence felt like magic. But that world slowly slipped away. The job I once knew has been replaced by exhaustion, red tape, and a kind of loneliness I can’t quite describe. My evenings used to be filled with construction paper, glitter, and glue sticks. Now they’re spent filling out digital reports to protect myself from angry emails or lawsuits. I’ve been yelled at by parents in front of twenty-five children — one filming me with his phone while I tried to calm another child mid-meltdown. And the kids… they’ve changed too. Not by choice. They arrive tired, anxious, overstimulated. Their tiny fingers know how to swipe a screen before they can hold a crayon. Some can’t make eye contact or wait in line. We’re expected to fix all of it — to patch the gaps, heal the trauma, teach the curriculum, and document every move — in six hours a day, with resources that barely fill a drawer. The little reading corner I once built, full of soft beanbags and paper stars, was replaced by data charts and “learning metrics.” A young principal once told me, “Clara, maybe you’re too nurturing. The district wants measurable results.” As if kindness were a weakness. Still, I stayed. Because of the small, holy moments that no spreadsheet could measure — a whisper of, “You remind me of my grandma.” a shaky note that read, “I feel safe here.” a quiet boy finally meeting my eyes and saying, “I read the whole page.” Those tiny sparks were my reason to keep showing up. But this last year broke something in me. The aggression grew sharper. The laughter in the staff room turned to silence. The light went out of so many eyes. I watched brilliant teachers — my friends — vanish under the weight of burnout, their joy replaced by survival. I felt myself fading too, like chalk on a board that’s been wiped one too many times. So today, I began my goodbye. I pulled faded art off the walls and tucked thirty years of handmade cards into a single box. In the back of a drawer, I found a letter from a student from 1998: “Thank you for loving me when I was hard to love.” I sat on the floor and cried. No party. No applause. Just a handshake from a young principal who called me “Ma’am” while checking his notifications. I left my rocking chair behind, and my sticker box too. What I carried with me were the memories — the faces of hundreds of children who once trusted me enough to reach out their hands and learn. That can’t be uploaded. It can’t be measured. It can’t be replaced. I miss when teachers were partners, not targets. When parents and educators worked side by side, not in opposition. When schools cared more about wonder than numbers. So if you know a teacher — any teacher — thank them. Not with a mug or a gift card, but with your words. With your respect. With your understanding that behind every test score is a heart that cared enough to try. Because in a world that often overlooks them, teachers are the ones who never forget our children.

🚨BREAKING: In the wake of Jimmy Kimmel's suspension, an obedient Jon Stewart discusses the rules of free speech. (White House approved!). This is absolutely outstanding. 🤣

Aboy the kid

@eoinlyons2 @grok He knows all

@JohnStack7 @grok Risky

Hey, @grok, who was the most famous person to visit my profile? It doesn't need to be a mutual, don't tag them, just say who it was

Friends reunited 🥰 Matheus Cunha walks onto the pitch with five-year-old Junior, ahead of @Wolves' 3-0 win over Leicester, two months on from meeting him for the first time 🐺

Physically on the couch. Spiritually in the terraces in Portlaoise as Meath shocked Dublin. This is the good stuff😁

Rumour going around someone posted a scenic video on Instagram without using a song by amble.

Rory Hanly slots one over for @LimerickCLG 🟢⚪ Limerick vs Waterford in Round 2 of the @MunsterGAA Minor Hurling Championship 🏆 📺 Watch it now on clubber.ie

"He made you feel 10 foot tall, I worshipped the ground that he stood on." Pat Spillane, who was a Kerry player under Mick O’Dwyer, pays tribute to the man he credits with giving him a football career.

"I had a marvellous run, but wasn't I lucky to be born in Kerry?" - @MartyMofficial looks back on the remarkable life of the great Mick O'Dwyer, who has died aged 88. #RTEgaa

Dynamic Zig Zags! 🙌🏻🏐🔥 Fast paced pass and move style activity! Challenge groups to move towards a finish line in the fastest time possible! @WannaTeachPE is out now! 📘👇🏻 amazon.co.uk/Wanna-Teach-PE…

Bison at 35 below zero. Yellowstone National Park, USA. 📸: Tom Murphy

This Teambuilding game is a blast. It makes for a great #physed lesson, see how I gamify it here: thepespecialist.com/pegames1/ #pe #peteacher #physed #pegeeks #iteachpe #physicaleducation

If you're on the fence about dodgeball, consider giving 2-ball a try. I still can't get over how good of a game it is, and the students feel the same way. Sweet spot for us is grade 5/6... Still have the feeling that dodgeball will make a comeback in 2025 😆

House on wheels

Principal tip: when needed to cover a class always go off script for at least 10-15 minutes to write the classroom teacher notes of appreciation!