This article is from page 35 of the 2008-04-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 35 JPG
THE first year boys at Kilrush Com- munity School have plenty to cel- ebrate, having won a bronze medal at the All-Ireland Basketball Finals in Tipperary last week.
As a result of beating teams from Clare, Limerick and Kerry, Kilrush went to the finals representing the south west region.
In their pool they found themselves up against De La Salle, Wicklow and Magherfelt, winners of the south east
and north regions respectively.
A superb team performance saw Kilrush defeat De La Salle on a scoreline 39-16.
Magherfelt proved to be a tougher opposition but some outstanding rebounding by Ben Nolan and ex- ceptional performances from Kevin Looney and Cian Murray saw Kil- rush defeat the Northern boys on a scoreline of 31-24.
As winners of their pool, Kilrush went through to the All-Ireland semi-final where they took on the
team from Cnoc Mhuire, Granard, winners of the midlands region.
In what was a very tight game, Kil- rush held the lead for the first three quarters of the game, only to be pipped in the final quarter.
According to coach, Suzanne Whe- lan the Kilrush lads “played some terrific basketball in this game, with every member of the team playing his part with great heart and deter- mination”.
She added that they “have been a ereat group of youngsters to work
with and they should be very proud of their All-Ireland bronze medal in their first year”.
The team members were presented with their medals by martin Hehir of Basketball Ireland, who remarked how great it was to see Kilrush Com- munity School back in the All-Ire- land Finals again.