A birdie-birdie finish looks as though it is not going to be enough for Rory McIlroy to make the weekend field at the Irish Open.

The world number six had a strong finish to his round but it was ultimately another day of frustration for him at the Fota Island Resort.

A 2-under par 69 today has left McIlroy on 1-over par, which is just outside the projected cut off.

At the top of the leaderboard, Mikko Ilonen continues to hold a 1-shot lead.

The overnight leader is 2-under par after 17 holes of his second round today in Cork, which has seen him move to 9-under par and just ahead of clubhouse leaders Graeme McDowell and Robert Rock, who have been joined on 8-under by Frenchman Romain Wattel.

Gareth Maybin and Padraig Harrington are both on 6-under par and are tied for 8th place after impressive rounds of 65 and 67 respectively.