John O'Donoghue

Newcastle, Northern Ireland native; Irish Rugby fan; Worst of 3 golfing brothers; Wine, F1, Travel, Man Utd, FT,Economist,QUB alum, Van the Man.

[John O'Donoghue @belfast59]

@Simi_2210_ 21

[The Tennis Letter @TheTennisLetter]

Maja Chwalinska did not win Roland Garros, but she won the hearts of everyone over the last 3 weeks.

A journey that started from qualifying.

From world #114 to a new career high ranking of world #21.

The first qualifier in history to reach the Roland Garros final.

To think that in 2021, she stopped playing tennis for months due to a battle with depression and self doubt… Back then, it would’ve been nearly impossible for her to imagine herself in a Grand Slam final.

Her father worked as an electrician in the coal mines and her mother is a receptionist.

They worked tirelessly to support her dreams from the time she was little, and they uplifted her when she had to stop playing tennis to protect her mental health.

Her run in Paris reminded the world that if you work hard at your passion every day, if you have people who love you, and if you never give up on yourself, the ranking next to your name holds no meaning…

You can still make your own fairytale.

Congratulations on everything, Maja. 🥹

🇵🇱❤️

[John O'Donoghue @belfast59]

@didem5654 110

[Irish Rugby @IrishRugby]

Our Men’s Head Coach until 2031. 🤝

[John O'Donoghue @belfast59]

@Simi_2210_ 18

[John O'Donoghue @belfast59]

@movementcoachkm Was at that game, amazing memories.

[The Husky @Mr_Husky1]

A 24-year-old Polish tennis player arrived in Paris last week ranked 114th in the world, with no sponsors, no guaranteed income, and no certainty she could even pay for her hotel room.

She had to win three qualifying matches just to enter the French Open main draw. Prize money is only paid at the end of the tournament, so a Polish sports drink brand quietly stepped in and covered her hotel bill.

Her name is Maja Chwalinska. And today, she plays in the French Open final.

Before this tournament, she had won exactly one Grand Slam main draw match in her entire career. She had battled depression so severe that in 2021 she couldn't get out of bed. She underwent knee surgery in 2022. She spent years grinding through small tournaments across Europe just to stay afloat.

Then she arrived in Paris, won three qualifiers, and kept winning. Zheng Qinwen. Elise Mertens. Maria Sakkari. Diana Shnaider. Nine straight matches. One set dropped.

She is now the first qualifier in French Open history to reach the final. The last time a qualifier reached a Grand Slam final, it was Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open. Raducanu won.

By simply making the final, Chwalinska has earned more prize money than her entire career combined. The runner-up cheque alone is $1.6 million. If she wins today, she takes home $3.25 million.
One week ago she couldn't pay for her hotel room.

[John O'Donoghue @belfast59]

@Bella_91m7u 27

[John O'Donoghue @belfast59]

@fergalrte Slats.....watched him play many times in the '70s

[Deborah Haynes @haynesdeborah]

I heard a lovely anecdote today about Sir Alex Younger, the former head of MI6, who has died at the age of 62.
Around the time the James Bond film “Spectre” was coming out, there was a private viewing at MI6’s HQ in Vauxhall with some of the production team and actors, including Ralph Fiennes.
Alex Younger compared the event, which included an opportunity for members of the audience (who were largely real life spies) to quiz the actors and producers.
One person asked Ralph Fiennes: Who was your favourite Bond?
He gave an answer about how they were all good, but his favourite was Daniel Craig. The rest of the team said similar.
Then Alex threw the question back to the person in the audience who had posed it, asking them who their favourite Bond was.
But before this person had time to give an answer, someone else in the audience shouted out: “You, sir!”

The individual (a former diplomat) who shared this story with me said it was one of so many examples of how admired, liked and respected Alex was by his colleagues.

“He was one of the best chiefs”.

[The Ways of A Gentleman @Gentleman_Ways]

“A complete man must be an artist, a warrior, and a philosopher.”

-Benvenuto Cellini

[John O'Donoghue @belfast59]

@WorkElizab 15

[John O'Donoghue @belfast59]

@Jvm_Manoj Rodney, brother of golfer Graham "swampy" Marsh.

[Steve Eubanks @jseubanks]

As I watch @rolandgarros and all the jabbering with coaches, as well as the @PGATOUR, a reminder: this team won 18 majors.

[John O'Donoghue @belfast59]

@TheGolfDivoTee Watched him win in '76 at Royal Birkdale

[John O'Donoghue @belfast59]

@TheGolfDivoTee Umbrella 🏖️ logo everywhere

[John O'Donoghue @belfast59]

@Arden_2210 Quatro

[Flushing It @flushingitgolf]

Andrew Beef Johnston just shot a bogey free 8 under par 62 to currently solo lead the Austrian Alpine Open by 3 shots over 18 year old Yanhan Zhou from China.

Beef is chasing his first win on the DP World Tour for 10 years! 🙌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[John O'Donoghue @belfast59]

@hicasamadim 2 squared =4: 4x2=8
5 squared =25: 25x2=50
6 squared =36: 36x2=72

[John O'Donoghue @belfast59]

@hicasamadim 72