Month: October 2011

MICHAEL Browne’s record of getting teams to county finals continued on Sunday as he guided his native club to their second consecutive decider and his third in five seasons if you include his involvement with Tulla in 2007. It’s a achievement that cannot be argued with but he’s not taking a third success as a given, de- spite a powerful second half display from his side who outscored their opponents by 2-6 to 0-7 in that period.

“It’s brilliant, just fantastic to get back to a final for a second year in a row so we’ll see what happens. There’s a huge battle ahead of us, we know that, but at least we’re there.

“They always say ‘goals win matches’ and that’s all that was in it at the end and not alone were the goals cru- cial but also psychologically they put the opposition under a lot of pressure as well so we were lucky, we got them and thanks be to God, we’re there.

“The defence did very well. Maybe in the first seven or eight minutes, I thought they were very wobbly and dodgy and they didn’t seem to be getting their calls right but once they settled in, they were enormous in fairness to them.”

And just like Sixmilebridge manager Christy Chaplin the previous evening, Browne’s main reference point for the final inevitably stems from last year’s semi-final meeting between the pair that went Crusheen’s way by the barest of margins.

“One point is all that decided the teams last year and with time up, we were two points down if I remember correctly so I mean that’s how tight this is going to be.

“And I think the ‘Bridge are a better team this year than they were last year.

“They looked awesome to me yesterday but look we haven’t given any thought to them, we just prepared for this game because this was the only one we were interested in so we’ll prepare as well as we can for the county final and fingers crossed.”

Crusheen 2-15 – Kilmaley 0-13 at Cusack Park, Ennis

DEFENDING champions Crusheen closed in on their second successive county final with another convincing display on Sunday. Their backs have always been lauded for their miserly execution and again on Sunday, they ran the show like clockwork but if anything, the forwards have also soared to greater acclaim this year.

A combination of both units strangled the life out a very one dimensional Kilmaley who never seemed to have a plan B throughout the hour. With a stubborn persistence in bombarding high deliveries towards full-forward Seamus Hurley at the edge of the square, Kilmaley played straight into the hands of Crusheen who simply lapped up the possession and punished at the other end.

And the facts speak for themselves really as Crusheen’s attacking division yielded 2-8 from play while Kilmaley’s starting forward line could only contribute two points over the hour and both of those came within the opening eight minutes of the game. With such a pitiful return, Kilmaley’s hopes of dethroning the county champions fell on stoney ground and they were duly put to the sword as Crusheen swooped for two early second half goals to effectively put the game beyond Kilmaley’s reach.

The Blues failed to take heart from a bright opening when facing into the breeze, they moved 0-4 to 0-2 clear by the turn of the opening quarter following points from Daire Keane, Colin Lynch, Conor Neylon and a Kenneth Kennedy free.

And when facing the county champions who have only conceded four goals so far in the championship, they simply needed to take their chances in front of goal if they were to hold any chance of advancing. One such chance fell to Niall McGuane in that opening period but he pulled his shot wide of the right post and after Crusheen finally found their feet with four unaswered points through Paddy Vaughan (2), Fergus Kennedy and Paddy Meaney to go ahead for the first time at 0-6 to 0-5 by the 19th minute, Kilmaley were to be offered another glorious chance.

Colin Lynch’s second point levelled matters in the 20th minute before Daire Keane were presented with an opportunity that goalkeeper Donal Tuohy was equal to as he parried the ball out for a ‘65. Kilmaley did briefly take the lead once more before the break with a Kenneth Kennedy free but it was a momentum gathering Crusheen that finished the half in style started with an inspirational Cian Dillon point followed by two further Vaughan placed balls that left them 0-9 to 0-6 clear by the break.

The game needed a lift to raise it to the intensity of Saturday’s penultimate stage clash and it duly came three minutes after the resumption when Kilmaley switched off momentarily.

A quick Vaughan lineball was delivered into the square by Cian Dillon and when the ball broke, Gerry O’Grady offloaded to Fergus Kennedy to pull to the net. Worse was to follow for Kilmaley as they leaked a second five minutes later from another lineball with the same protagonists involved once more as O’Grady and Kennedy teed up Jamie Fitzgibbon to slam the ball past goalkeeper Kieran Dillon.

It was game over one felt, particularly as Kilmaley seemed to run out of ideas aside from substitute Michael O’Neill who picked off two great points. The aerial route proved as fruitful as trying to score a goal through a hurling ball wall and even though they emptied the bench in the hope of sparking a revival, the Crusheen half-back line of Cathal and Cian Dillon and Ciaran O’Doherty cut out any supply that was aimed for the inside line.

Instead, Crusheen finished off the game with commanding ease with David Forde in particular revelling in the open spaces to pick off three of his sides last four points. Now only 60 minutes from another county title, the bid to be the first side to retain the championship since St Joseph’s back at the turn of the century takes precedence.

SIXMILEBRIDGE manager Christy Chaplin would have had every right to be smug on Saturday as his significant alterations and introductions paid off to earn his side a first county final appearance since 2002. But that isn’t Rusty’s style and instead he was magnanimous in victory after crushing Cratloe’s dream of a third successive final in this, the ultimate O’Garneyside derby showdown.

“We are over the moon. At this stage of the championship last year, we lost out to Crusheen and it hurt a lot. So we started out at the beginning of this year with everything geared to getting that one step further.

“We knew what Cratloe were go- ing to bring to the table, they are a super bunch of lads and are super fit. I know a lot of them personally, we all do as the clubs as so close but out on the field, there is an great rivalry there and today was going to be no different. We shaded it today, on other days Cratloe have shaded it and there was never going to be more than a puck of the ball between the ‘Bridge and Cratloe.

“We have 27 honest lads there and we can ask no more of them because they give us everything they have in the tank. Last year, to be honest, we made a few mistakes near the end and Crusheen punished us. Today we made a few mistakes and we got away with it as Cratloe missed a few frees and had goal chances but didn’t put it away and these are the small things that can win or lose games. We got the goal before half-time and we built from there.”

And despite not knowing at that stage who they would be facing in the final, he was only concerned with improving his own side ahead of the final in a fortnight’s time.

“We have to go back to the drawing board because we still have a lot of work to do. No matter who we play, we know we have nothing won yet. We got over Cratloe today and are in a county final for the first time in a long while but we have a lot of work to do.”

Sixmilebridge 1-17 – Cratloe 1-13 at Cusack Park, Ennis

FORTUNE certainly favoured the brave on Saturday as Sixmilebridge won the most important O’Garneyside derby in history to qualify for their first championship final in nine years.

Manager Christy Chaplin and his backroom team made the big calls in bringing Clare’s most decorated goalkeeper Davy Fitzgerald out of retirement after a four year championship absense while also reconstructing his defence to combat the threat of Cratloe’s lively attacking unit. And in the end, that bravery paid off handsomely as they walked the tightrope of success/failure on numerous occasions before eventually overcoming their nearest neighbours.

As outlined in the build up to the game, ‘The Fitzy Factor’ was always going to have a huge bearing on the game and after Conor McGrath struck early with an opportunist goal on their way to a 1-6 to 0-4 advantage after 20 minutes, Cratloe seemed to have unlocked the door.

However, ultimately the 2009 champions took their eye off the major prize of a third successive final when they started to misfire during Sixmilebridge’s recovery early in the second period and began to put all their eggs in the one basket of trying to blitz the former All-Star in the Sixmilebridge goals.

Rusty or not, Fitzgerald has always been a big game player and he relished the challenge of his young opponents, pulling off two fine saves in the process, one from Conor Ryan, and the other a full length parry to deny Conor McGrath.

The first lesson that every underage team is taught is to ‘take your points and the goals will come’ but bizarrely, the more frustrated Cratloe became, the more desperate they appeared, to grab a goal. In logical terms it didn’t make an ounce of sense as they were only three points down for the majority of the final quarter as the ‘Bridge couldn’t seem to find an insurance point and had Cratloe taken their points, there would have been noth- ing between the teams heading up the final straight.

Perhaps you can point to fatigue as well for their goal obsession as the alternating weeks of football and hurling finally appeared to take its toil as they cruelly exited a senior championship at the penultimate stage for the second successive weekend.

Cratloe were much more themselves in opening period when bouncing back from a 0-2 to 0-0 deficit to take a five point lead by the 16th minute, capped off by McGrath’s instinctive goal. It stemmed from an Oige Murphy ball over the top that appeared to be drifting wide before McGrath latched onto the ball one-handed to flick it past a hesistant Fitzgerald.

With that, they really opened up and their electrifying intensity saw Sean Collins hit two-in-a-row to put the ‘Bridge firmly on the backfoot. However, with Niall Gilligan to the fore as ever, Sixmilebridge didn’t panic and after settling back into the game with four out of the next seven points, three from the stick of Gilligan, they delivered a crucial suckerpunch just before the break.

Inevitably Gilligan was the catalyst when dispossessing Oige Murphy around the 20 metre line and the ball broke to Shane Golden who in turn released Declan Morey to strike to the net in the 31st minute and slash the deficit to the minimum at 1-9 to 1-8.

With the wind to come, it was the spark that Sixmilebridge craved and they were the dominant force on the restart when responding to a Conor McGrath free to hit the next three points, two from Gilligan as well as a goal chance for Caimin Morey that just flew over the crossbar to take the lead for the first time in almost 30 minutes.

Cratloe, meanwhile, surprisingly shuddered under the pressure as routine placed balls and hopeful shots drifted wide and it was at this stage that they began to concentrate on reaping the benefits under the crossbar.

Cratloe left McGrath isolated in the full-forward line and the chances duly came but none were ultimately taken. Tadgh Keogh produced an exceptional flick to deny McGrath a certain goal while Conor Ryan beared down on goal soon afterwards but found Fitzgerald in stubborn form.

Meanwhile, at the other end, the ‘Bridge were more than content to take their points and unanswered efforts from Declan (2) and Caimin Morey gave their side a healthy 1-14 to 1-11 advantage by the turn of the final quarter.

McGrath cut the deficit to two, only to see it cancelled out by an superb immediate reply from Gilligan. However, only a minute later a poor defensive clearance from Sixmilebridge arrowed straight to McGrath whose shot to the right corner was excellently turned away by Fitzgerald.

Still, the ‘Bridge’s heroics at the back failed to inspire the forwards who for all their chances, were unable to obtain that insurance point. Four successive wides kept Cratloe in the game and even when substitute Tony Carmody rose majestically to catch a Cratloe puck-out and fire the ball back over Sean Hayes crossbar, a McGrath free kept alive Cratloe’s hopes at 1-16 to 1-13.

The killer blow came right on the hour mark and it was a score worthy of winning any game as a Cratloe attack was broken up by Declan Morey in the right corner who moved the ball through Carmody, Rory Shanahan and Caimin Morey before setting up minor Jamie Shanahan for the clinching score.

Cratloe never gave up the ghost but tired legs and minds were not about to loosen Sixmilebridge’s grasp as in the end, they proved the theory that who dares wins.

Ruan 3-10 – Corofin 2-06 at Shannon

RUAN ARE back into a second consecutive county final and on the evidence of this emphatic display, they are doubly determined not to leave it behind them this time around. This was arguably Ruan’s best display of the season in what was essentially the most important game of the year to date and they certainly lived up to expectations.

There was little between the sides in the drawn game but in terms of intensity and hunger, there was only one side willing to grasp the nettle and put the result beyond any doubt on this occasion. Put simply, Ruan upped their performance a gear or two from their first meeting while if anything, Corofin dropped theirs by the similar margin.

It was clear from the outset that Ruan meant business as they blazed into a 1-3 to 0-0 lead by the eighth minute with Colin O’Donoghue grabbing 1-1 of that total.

They were also unlucky for another goal as Patrick Keegan gathered a John Punch delivery close to goal but first goalkeeper Patrick Burke and then Darragh Shannon smothered his efforts.

And even when Corofin finally settled with points from Gerry Quinn and Stephen Heagney, Ruan pushed them back under the water when John Punch seized on a defensive error to billow the net for a second time at the turn of the opening quarter.

Now seven points in arrears, Corofin needed a major spark and they got a brief lifeline when a Jamie Malone point was followed by a Kevin Heagney goal in the 18th minute to put only three between the sides.

However, Ruan closed out the half as they started it, with the ever-reliable Mikie Vaughan, the equally impressive Aidan Lynch and another John Punch free easing them to a double scores’ 2-6 to 1-3 advantage.

A more determined Corofin hit the ground running on the restart with Kevin Heagney creating a glorious goal chance but flashed his stinging shot just wide of Pakie Roughan’s far post. And after Ruan pulled further clear, Corofin did manage to get it back to a six point game by the 52nd minute.

Corofin needed a goal however if they were really going to kickstart a meaningful recovery but it was Ruan who would get that honour in the 56th minute when a move involving Darragh Roughan and Mikie Vaughan ended up with Brendan Lyons who made no mistake to finish off their neighbours.

Substitute Caimin Howard was immense for Ruan upon his introduction and allied to match-winning performances from Vaughan, Clohessy and the strength of Aidan Lynch, Ruan maintained their iron grip on the game.

Corofin did pull a goal back in injury-time when Stephen Heagney drove a 20 metre free to the net but it was a mere consolation as Ruan’s thoughts had already drifted towards Éire Óg and making amends for last year’s final.

Ruan
Pakie Roughan (7), Gary Bell (7), Niall O’Connor (7), Leon Quirke (7), Cillian Ryan (7), Jonathan Clohessy (8), Darragh Roughan (7), Eoin Hanrahan (7),Tadgh Hanrahan (7),Aidan Lynch (8) (0-2), Colin O’Donoghue (8) (1-3), MikieVaughan (8) (0-2), Patrick Keegan (7), John Punch (7) (1-2 2f), Brendan Lyons (7) (1-1)

Subs
Caimin Howard (8) for E. Hanrahan (39 mins, inj),Alan Bell for Punch (58 mins), Robbie O’Loughlin for Keegan (58 mins), Damien Brohan for Quirke (58 mins)

Corofin
Patrick Burke (7), MartinTierney (7), Luke O’Loughlin (6), Keith O’Loughlin (7), Darragh Shannon (7), Gerry Quinn (7) (0-1f), Darragh Clancy (6), Damien Ryan (8), Stephen Heagney (7) (1-1 1-0f), Jamie Malone (7) (0-2), Declan Lee (6), Neil Killeen (7), Kevin Heagney (8) (1-1), Eamon Malone (6), Cillian Neylon (6) (0-1)

Subs
Darren Malone (6) for Lee (HT), Diarmuid Daly (6) for D. Malone (42 mins), Eamon Dunne for E. Malone (50 mins), Donncha Kelleher for O’Loughlin (58 mins), Declan Stack for Neylon (58 mins)

Man of the Match
Aidan Lynch (Ruan) Referee Ger Hoey (Killanena)

Kildysart 2-09 – Meelick 2-06 at Gurteen

KILDYSART supporters were put through the full gamut of emotions before finally clinching some much needed silverware on Saturday. 2-5 to 0-1 clear by the break, nothing but a comfortable victory looked on the cards but in the end, they can count themselves extremely fortunate to get out of Gurteen with the cup in what was a compelling tie.

Their superior scoring ability was the difference in the opening period when a brace of Ian Slobody goals along with points from Keith Murphy (2), Brian Eyres, Kieran Leahy and the tireless Keith O’Connor opened up a substantial ten point interval advantage.

However, that scoreline doesn’t tell the full story of a half in which Meelick had ample opportunities to make a telling impression on the game but misfired. In all, the south east Clare side would kick 11 wides and had numerous goal chances, two of which fell in the opening half when Oisin Hickey might have earned a penalty for his side while a minute later, the crossbar saved Kildysart before Colin Ryan blazed the rebound over the bar from close range.

But in those exchanges, Meelick could sense that there was still hope and they were given the perfect start to the second period when Niall Mullen found the top corner of the net after only two minutes.

Kildysart brushed off that blow to reply through Dermot Eyres and Slobody by the 42nd minute but by then, Meelick could smell blood and with Craig Madigan, Damien Moloney and Oisin Hickey to the fore, they gathered momemtum. Points from Moloney and Hickey who might have grabbed a goal started the charge which really ignited when Meelick’s best player Madigan sent a rebound to the net after Dara Quinn’s initial shot had been saved by Pa Kelly.

An Oisin Hickey point cut the deficit to just three by the 47th minute but try as they might, they were unable to grab an equalising goal. Keith O’Connor lifted the siege with a point while also setting up Slobody for a shot that grazed both goalkeeper and crossbar before bouncing to safety. While down the other end, Madigan had two good efforts repelled while a final chance for Hickey was stopped by Keith Murphy as Kildysart hung on for a memorable win.

Kildysart
Pa Kelly, Shane Murphy, David McMahon, Kieran Leahy (0-1), Brian Eyres (0-2), Brian Moloney, Keith O’Connor (0-2), Dermot Clancy (Capt.), Cathal Hogan, Damian Hill, Dermot Eyres (0-1), Ian Slobody (2-1), Keith Murphy (0-2)

Sub
Eamonn Murphy for Hogan (45 mins)

Meelick
Roy Duffy, Brian Barrett, Lee Ryan, Eanna Mulvihill, Niall Mullen (1-0), Eoghan Daly, Sean O’Connor, Damien Moloney (0-1), Dara Quinn,Adam Sherlock, Colin Ryan (0-1), Craig Madigan (1-2 1’45), Oisin Hickey (0-2)

Sub
Gary Callinan for O’Connor (13 mins, inj)

Man of the Match
Keith O’Connor (Kildysart) Referee Fergal Gray (Feakle)

Inagh/Kilnamona 1-17 – Clonlara 3-09 at Clarecastle

INAGH/KILNAMONA’S lack of a clinical edge again proved costly on Sunday afternoon after a late Clonlara charge earned them another bite of the cherry. Five points clear with seven minutes remaining, Inagh/Kilnamona failed to close out the game and they were to be punished as a lacklustre Clonlara suddenly found a spark to almost snatch the game.

Frustratingly, Inagh/Kilnamona, for all their undoubted progress this year, still have not learned the lessons of previous campaigns when the lack of a killer instinct cost them dearly. Even in previous big games this year, against Crusheen in the drawn game of their play-off in this competition as well as the championship quarterfinal against now finalists Sixmilebridge, they failed to take the chances that they worked so hard to create.

Fortunately, an injury-time free from Ger Arthur saved their blushes on this occasion and means that they still have the chance to rectify those misgivings the next day and on the evidence of the majority of this display, they certainly are more than capable of achieving a historic final place.

They were the brighter team for the bulk of the hour even if some ambitious shooting as well as a tendency to leak goals hampered their progress. They blazed into a 0-4 to 0-2 lead by the 14th minute with corner-forwards Ger Arthur (2) and Conor Tierney causing an understrength Clonlara concern.

What would have been more concerning for Pat Conlon and his team however was the hangover from their championship exit to Kilmaley that meant they were slow to settle. But settle they did and who better than John Conlon to get them going when fielding a high delivery from Tomás O’Donovan to strike to the net from close range in the 14th minute. The county senior followed that up with a point soon afterwards and suddenly the 2009 champions found themselves 1-3 to 0-6 clear.

Inagh/Kilnamona eventually recovered from that blow to hit three unanswered points through Eamon Glynn, Tierney and the lively Ger Arthur but it was their injury-time goal that really restored their confidence. A slick move close to goal involving Ger Arthur and Eamon Glynn released the unmarked Conor Tierney at the back post to strike to the net and hand his side a 1-9 to 1-5 half-time lead.

The fact that they fully recovered from a second hammer blow midway through the second half should have spurred them on to a comfortable victory but it wasn’t as easy as that. Colm Galvin cut in from the right corner to cut Inagh/Kilnamona’s advantage to the bare minimum with a 42nd minute goal but the Combo’s reponse was admirable as they hit five out of the next six points, mainly through Ger and Niall Arthur to once again regain a five point lead by the 51st minute.

It seemed only a matter of running down the clock but out of nowhere Clonlara sprung to life, aided greatly by Tomás O’Donovan, now at fullforward, who grabbed a goal and a point in a late 1-3 purple patch. His 56th minute kicked goal was the catalyst and he also got the leading point on the hour mark to put them on the cusp of a memorable victory.

However, Inagh/Kilnamona did have enough time to stop the rot and launch one more attack and when Paul O’Looney was fouled 35 metres from goal, it was inevitably Ger Arthur who took the responsibility to give his side a second chance.

And for their continued development, it’s a chance that they simply must take.

Inagh/ Kilnamona
Patrick Kelly (7) (0-2f), Milo Keane (7), Brian Glynn (7), Dermot Lynch (7), Ronan O’Looney (7), David Hegarty (7), ColmPilkington (7), HaulieVaughan (7), Paul O’Looney (6), EoinVaughan (7), Eamon Glynn (7) (0-1), Niall Arthur (7) (0-3 2f), Ger Arthur (8) (0-8 3f, 1’65), Dermot Gannon (7) (01), Conor Tierney (7) (1-2)

Clonlara
Ger O’Connell (7), Senan Nihill (6), John Moloney (7), Shane O’Brien (6), Nicky O’Connell (7) (0-2 1f, 1’65), Paul Nihill (7), Cillian Fennessy (7), Cormac O’Donovan (7),WilliamSlattery (6), Pat O’Hare (6),Tomás O’Donovan (8) (1-1), Cathal O’Connell (7) (0-3), ColmGalvin (7) (1-0), John Conlon (8) (1-5 3f), James Hastings (6)

Subs
Jason Murphy (6) for O’Hare (HT), Oisin O’Brien (6) for Hastings (HT), Barry Moloney for S. Nihill (51 mins), Donal Madden for Galvin (58 mins)

Man of the Match
Ger Arthur (Inagh/ Kilnamona) Referee KevinWalsh (WolfeTones)

Clarecastle 2-14 – Clooney/Quin 1-10 at Cusack Park, Ennis

CLARECASTLE advanced to a Senior B final with a degree of comfort in Sixmilebridge on Saturday afternoon, the Magpies in control throughout against a dogged, but profligate Clooney/Quin. The Magpies broke the back of this game with a tidy first half performance into the wind and they turned around with a five point advantgae, 1-8 to 0-6 at the break.

That lead was earned with an economical performance in front of goal, while at the other end Clooney/Quin shot a succession of wides. Eamon Callinan and David Greene led the way for the winners in that opening period, with Conor O’Gorman cracking home a well taken goal, while Callinan kept the white flag umpire busy. The Clarecastle sharpshooter would finish the game with 1-9 to his credit.

Early in the second half the Magpies went nine points clear when Callinan was in a the right place to intercept an intended clearance, steadying himself before blasting to the net. That score put his side 2-10 to 0-7 clear and the writing looked to be on the wall. As is a trademark of Clooney/Quin in recent years however, they didn’t go quietly, hitting back themselves with a goal from Martin Duggan and two points to close the gap at one stage to four with over fifteen minutes still on the clock.

Clarecastle quelled the comeback however with a series of well taken points from play, David Greene, Tyrone Kierse and Callinan again with a spectacular effort from over seventy yards out in the murky condi- tions to put proper daylight between the teams.

The winners now await old foes Newsmarket or Smith O’Briens in the Senior B final. Best for Clarecastle were Stephen O’Halloran, Patrick Kelly, Kevin Clohessy, Eric Flynn, Eamon Callinan, Conor O’Gorman and David Greene.

Clooney/Quin had a stand out performer in centre back Cillian Duggan. Elsewhere Fergal Lynch, Mike McNamara, Shane McNamara, Mark O’Halloran and Joe O’Loughlin tried hard.

Clarecastle
Donagh Murphy, Seanie Moloney, Stephen O’Halloran, Kevin Clohessy, Fergus Ryan, Patrick Kelly, Eric Flynn, Danny Scanlon, Jonathan Clancy, Darragh Moloney, Ciaran O’Dwyer, Eamon Callinan (1-9, 0-6 f),Tyrone Kierse (0-1), David Greene (03), Conor O’Gorman (1-1).

Clooney/ Quin
Damian O’ Halloran, Joe O’Loughlin, Conor Harrisson, Shane McNamara; Donnacda Murphy, Cillian Duggan, Enda Harrisson, Mike McNamara (0-1), John Earls (0-1), Mark O’Halloran (0-1), Fergal Lynch (0-2), Martin Duggan (1-0), PaudieWard, Derek Ryan (0-5 frees), Mike Daffy.

Subs
Adrian Fleming for Ward, Seamus Conroy for Ryan

IT’S been a long and winding road for Ennistymon over the past five years. They won the minor A title back in 2007 with a group that followed through to win an under 21 title in 2010.

But in between that minor win four years ago and Saturday in Miltown they’d lost three finals in the grade – to Cratloe in 2008, Lissycasey in ’09 and Doora-Barefield in ’10.

“It hurt an awful lot losing the last three finals,” says manager Mark Shannon after the losing streak was finally ended.

“Yes it was a great achievement getting to five in a row, but we wanted to be getting another win on the board. We were really determined today and really wanted to get off to a quick start.

“Goals was the key for us this year. The year we won the minor championship in 2007 we got goals. This year in all our games we’ve had forwards of the calibre to get goals. They continually got goals for us all year and we got two more early in the game and that set us up. We lost our way a bit in second half but when it came to the crunch we did the business,” he adds.

As Shannon was parsing the year, one of his joint captains Óisín Vaughan was talking about bringing Jack Daly back to the north Clare capital. “It would be great,” says Shannon, but we can’t get complacent.

“Minor and under 21 success doesn’t automatically say that it’s going to happen in senior, but that’s what we’re working towards that and hopefully one day we can win a senior championship.

“For this minor championship I knew we would have been contenders because we had a lot of the same group that we had for last few years. I knew in the last two weeks that it was going to take a good team to beat us. We had an unbelievable amount of work done in the last few weeks in training.”

Ennistymon 2-13 – Kilmihil 1-7 at Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown

ENNISTYMON have never had it so good at minor level, but had they lost this one it would have been a case of never having it so bad.

It was never going to happen though – four successive final defeats in the grade from five finals in a row wasn’t on before a ball was kicked, something that was confirmed within 17 minutes of the start by which time a rampant north Clare Magpies had hit 2-6 without reply.

Game over. The Hennessy Cup was going from Hennessy Park to the town of the Cascades – it was already damage limitation for a shellshocked Kilmihil side that had been hit by the perfect storm.

And perfection it was from Ennistymon in that first half as they won their first title since 2007 thanks to building up a 2-10 to 0-1 interval lead as they pounded poor Kilmihil at every opportunity.

The goals were killers, the first coming in the eighth minute when Ryan O’Halloran latched onto a breaking ball from Cathal McDonagh’s free and drove the ball to the net from seven yards, while James McConigley’s wonder strike in the 16th minute settled the argument as early as that.

The bombardment started as early as the third minute when Eoin Ralph raided from centre-back to land a point, while Ryan O’Halloran goal in the eighth minute was the signal for one-way traffic towards the Miltown’s town goal.

When it was followed by two good Joey Rouine points from play, a Cathal McDonagh free, McConigley’s goal when he blasted to the top corner from 14 yards and points by Barry Keating and Ryan O’Halloran, Kilmihil were left wondering if they’d make any impact on the game.

Conor Finucane did land their first score in the 24th minute, but it was all they could muster against an Ennistymon team that dominated every line, with Rouine being the hub of operations at centre-forward, while Ciaran Devitt and Cathal McConigley ran riot around the middle.

A miss-match, in other words, as a hapless Kilmihil rolled over in that first half as four more points thorugh Joey Rouine, Cathal McConigley and two Cathal McDonagh frees left 15 points between the sides at the break.

Credit Kilmihil for stemming the tide in the second half when restricting Ennistymon to three points while hitting 1-6 of their own, but it was more a case of Mark Shannon’s side free-wheeling it to the final whistle.

The sides shared four points between them in the opening ten minutes – Barry Keating grabbing two for Ennistymon either sid of points from David Lorrigan and Martin O’Leary.

Remarkably Ennistymon went 23 minutes without scoring in the second half, during which Kilmihil hit 1-4 without reply, the goal coming when Niall Pender’s long shot was fumbled to the net by Liam Slattery in the 45th minute.

It was a little victory, however pyrrhic, because ultimately there was no denying Ennistymon, with the prospect of a doubling up in next Sunday’s under 21 final against Cratloe the next mountain they want to climb.