Author: admin

THERE was great joy for three young Clare handballers at the recent 40×20 Irish Junior Nationals in Kilkenny. Tulla’s Colin Corbett and Colin Crehan of Kilkishen won their respective age grades and as well as being crowned Irish Nationals champions, earned their place on the Irish team which will travel to Tucson, Arizona this December to compete in the prestigious US Junior Nationals.

Clooney girl Natasha Coughlan was also victorious, winning the Girls 15 and Under ‘B’ Singles final against Mary Buggy of Kilkenny.

Colin Crehan took the Boys 17 and Under title in very impressive fashion, beating Donal Wrynn (Leitrim) 21-15, 21-16 in the final and thus earning a Christmas trip stateside to compete with some of the top young handballers in the world.

Crehan took some notable scalps on the way to the final, including Galen Riordan (Wexford), Pa Herlihy (Cork) and fellow Clareman Patrick Fitzgerald. It rounds off a super year for the Kilkishen star, having won the All-Ireland Under 16 Singles title earlier in 2011.

Colin Corbett also secured his ticket to Arizona as an Irish Nationals champion when he won the Boys 15 and Under grade. Having overcome

Daniel Curry (Wicklow), Robert Fox (Meath) and Clooney player Fergal Coughlan, Corbett was made to earn his excellent win in the final. Facing Evan Sheridan of Meath, the Banner man dominated the first game to win 21-16 but Sheridan rallied and won the second 21-15. Corbett hald on to win the tie-breaker 11-7. It has also been announced that the 2012 Irish Junior Nationals finals weekend is to be staged in Clare.

Meanwhile, the annual GAA Handball Ireland All-Star awards function was held on Saturday night in Croke Park where Clare was well represented. There were a total of 14 categories, where each provincial award winner was also nominated for the national award. Clare handballers won three Munster All-Stars and scooped one overall national award at the gala banquet, where Banner star Marty Morrisey was also in attendance as MC.

Clarecastle man Tommy Hegarty was named as National Official of the Year, having already been named as a provincial winner. Clare’s other Munster All-Stars are Diarmaid Nash and Pat Donellan. Nash was named Munster Player of the Year (national award winner was Robbie McCarthy, Westmeath) while Donellan was 2011 Munster Masters Player of the Year (Michael ‘Duxie’ Walsh taking the overall award).

IT was the celebrated and much quoted coach of the Green Bay Packers, Vince ‘the Lip’ Lombardi who said “if football is a game of inches, so is a career success”.

Kilmurry Ibrickane coach John Kennedy didn’t dip into Lombardi’s library for that one, but he might well have, such was the thinness of the line that separated his side from trumping Dr Crokes in this epic Munster championship encounter in Beauty’s Home.

“The ball that came off the post at the end, if that had gone in,” he says. “It was inches,” he adds.

And, it’s true. Kilmurry were that close to victory. Dr Crokes were that close to defeat.

“It was a great game,” continues Kennedy. “We gave it everything and you have to be hugely proud of the boys. The boys played very well. We had a gameplan and the boys moved the ball very well and took some great scores and I suppose our kicking was good. We hadn’t many wides and we were disciplined.

“We emptied the tank and have no excuses. We came down here to the lion’s den and were up three points early in the second half, playing great stuff. We were on top and going well early in the second half and needed to get another point or two to kill it off. Three points ahead, one point they were back in it and that’s the way it happened.

“The injury to Cookie was a real psychological blow. He was a huge loss. We had Odran out and our bench was kind of limited. I’m not making excuses, but you can’t ask anymore of the lads. They battled right to the end. The Crokes had the bit of craft. They got a few scores near the end and that made the difference,” he adds.

Another difference, Kennedy concedes, was the sending off of Daithi Casey that give Kilmurry a numerical advantage they failed to exploit.

“Sometime an extra man can be difficult,” argues Kennedy. “When you have a man less, you actually work that bit harder. Maybe we went into a false sense of security when they went down to 14 men. We weren’t getting a lot of ball around the middle at that stage and even though the Crokes were down they were still holding possession.

“We had a lot of energy emptied at that stage and it was a high tempo game with a lot of hard hits. Crokes are a superb team and we knew that coming down. They are worthy winners and came out of it in the end. We had no excuses.

“They had leaders there when they needed them, but having said that with five minutes to got it was still in the melting pot and if that ball that came off the post had gone in, it could have different.”

Vince Lombardi’s inches again.

Dr Crokes 0-12 – Kilmurry Ibrickane 0-9 at Lewis Road, Killarney

WHAT might have been for the bravehearts from Kilmurry Ibrickane!

If only they had lasted the course of this titanic affair in Beauty’s Home!

They led by three points seven minutes into the second half, inside another seven they had a numerical advantage after Dáithí Casey was sent off in the 43rd minute, by which time Dr Crokes had picked up more yellow cards than scores.

But the Crokes still had their trump cards in All-Ireland winners Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper and Eoin Brosnan – between them they brought a halt to Kilmurry’s train, derailed it and ambushed what should have been Clare football’s greatest day in Kerry.

But it wasn’t to be and Kilmurry couldn’t complain after they failed to score in the last 23 minutes, allowed Eoin Brosnan dominate at midfield and were then powerless to prevent Cooper from rattling off the final four points to give them a deserved, yet very flattering three-point win.

It was very much a case of cometh the hour of need, cometh the bluebloods from Kerry as they overpowered Kilmurry down the home stretch of a gripping championship encounter that saw the pendulum swing in both directions before the assured left peg of Cooper settled it.

Cooper had been brilliantly marshalled by Shane Hickey for the first 48 minutes of the game and Kilmurry were brilliant, but ultimately perished because of their failure to press home their numerical advantage when they led by 0-9 to 0-7 after Casey was marched.

The initiative was lost in the few minutes they were deciding who was the best man to adopt the role of free man, a hesitancy that was ruthlessly exposed in the final 15 minutes when the Crokes reeled off five points without reply to book their final date with University College Cork.

All that after Dr Crokes had looked to be at sea at various intervals of the game – at the start when Kilmurry hit them for three points inside as many minutes; early in the second half when the Clare champions’ sheer enthusiasm opened up huge chasms in the Dr Crokes defence as Enda Coughlan and Noel Downes bagged points to put them 0-8 to 0-5 clear.

It was hugely impressive stuff from Kilmurry, with their dream start setting the tone for a cracking contest when each point was better than the next. Only 40 seconds in Ian McInerney fed Noel Downs who turned and fired over with authority – the big pity as the game wore on was that Downes, who had the beating of his man all day, only bagged one more point.

Enda Coughlan thundered through the middle in the second minute to land a great point before Michael Hogan’s shot from distance, after great work by Stephen Moloney and Downes, saw another white flag raised.

For a few minutes, thoughts of last year’s first half meltdown against Nemo Rangers in Mallow must have flashed across Dr Crokes’ minds, but not for long because they soon came to life and hit four points inside 11 minutes to move 0-4 to 0-3 clear.

Daithi Casey got them going with a point from play before two Kieran O’Leary efforts and a Casey free saw them hit the front and quench Kilmurry’s early fire. But it wasn’t for long because a brilliant solo effort from Evan Talty after he raced up the right wing and arced over a great effort from 45 yards.

It was defiant and it showcased Kilmurry’s first half performance that was at times fearless. This was added to by an Ian McInerney free and a Johnnie Daly effort from play by the 25th minute, before Johnny Buckley stemmed the tide with a point on the stroke of half-time that left Kilmurry 0-6 to 0-5 clear.

It was there for the Clare champions, especially after a six-man moved that started in the left halfback position and involved Peter O’Dwyer, Michael Hogan, Stephen Moloney and Declan Callinan before Enda Coughlan angled over a brilliant point from 35 yards.

That came in the first minute of the second half and was added to by Downes two minutes later as Kilmurry started to turn the screw – winning every break around the middle and being patient and measured with ball in hand.

Crokes got off the mark in the 35th minute when Cooper placed Casey for his second from play but when Johnnie Daly floated over a free in the 37th after a foul on Downes, it was Kilmurry who were closing in on the Munster final.

That it all went horribly wrong is reflected in the sobering statistic that they failed to score again, while a fisted effort by sub Chris Brady in the 42nd minute was the start of the Dr Crokes revival that ultimately swamped Kilmurry’s brave resistance in the final ten minutes.

Cooper’s first point levelled matters in the 48th minute – two more from play in the 52nd and 61st minutes came either side of two missed Kilmurry chances that could have swung the tie back in their favour.

Noel Downes got a fist to Ian McInerney’s centre in the 54th minute but it came back off the post, while Michael O’Dwyer shot wide from 30 yards.

By then Enda Coughlan had been sent off as Kilmurry’s noble effort just came up short.

Agonisingly so.

Kilmurry Ibrickane
Peter O’Dwyer (7), Martin McMahon (7), Darren Hickey (7), Shane Hickey (8), Declan Callinan (7), EvanTalty (7) (0-1), Paul O’Dwyer (7), Enda Coughlan (7) (0-2), Peter O’Dwyer (7), Ian McInerney (7) (0-1f), Michael Hogan (7) (0-1), Mark McCarthy (6), Stephen Moloney (7), Noel Downes (7) (0-2), Michael O’Dwyer (6).

Subs
Johnnie Daly (7) (0-2, 1f) for McCarthy [22 Mins], Niall Hickey (6) for Hogan [58 Mins].

Dr Crokes

Banner Ladies 6-8 – Kilmihil 1-9 at Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown

BANNER Ladies added the Div. 1 league title to the senior championship crown for 2011 when on Sunday they accounted for the holders Kilmihil with 13 points to spare.

A blistering start to both halves proved crucial and once more it was Niamh O’Dea who did the damage. If the first attack of the game a quick free from Louise Henchy to O’Dea who lined out in her familiar full forward position proved fruitful when the minor drove it to the net just under the black spot. It was all Banner in the opening minutes and points from Rebecca Culligan and O’Dea put them 1-2 to no score ahead.

Then Kilmihil got going and soon as they did they began to whittle down the lead. Two points each from the Considine sisters Ailish and Eimear saw them trial by three with a quarter of an hour gone while Banner had been reduced to fourteen players following the sin binning of Katie Cahill for a dangerous foul on Eimear Considine while Suzie McNamara and Niamh Keane had pointed for the winners.

Niamh O’Dea then goaled again when she was first to flick a high ball in a race with Kilmihil keeper Edel McMahon who picked up a knock in the process. Another fine spell from Kilmihil yielded points once more from the Considines before Emma O’Driscoll came to her side’s rescue with a super save from Eimear Considine at a crucial time. Centre back Rosie Currane added a point for the west Clare side and O’Dea had the final say of the half with a pointed free while Susie McNamara was sin binned in injury time and so it was the senior county champions Banner Ladies who led 2-5 to 0-7 when referee Sean Ryan blew the half time whistle.

Within five minutes of the restart Banner Ladies had this game wrapped up as Niamh O’Dea added 1-2, all from play.

She followed with a pointed free while her sister Eva put the Ennis side 4-7 to 1-7 ahead when she finished to the net with still twenty to play.

While Eimear Considine did raise a green flag for Kilmihil, Banner did not ease up and scored two more goals courtesy of Rebecca Culligan and substitute Orlaith Lynch to run out deserving winners on a final score of 6-8 to 1-9.

Niamh Keane became the third Banner player to be sin binned when she was yellow carded with time almost up.

Niamh O’Dea with 3-5 was the star of the show for the winners. Emma O’Driscoll made two excellent saves while Louise Woods, Niamh Keane and Suzie McNamara who was surprisingly substituted all played well while Louise Henchy and Naomi Carroll also had their moments. Eimear Considine was Kilmihils top player on the day while Rosie Currane, Becky Mahon, Ailish Considine, Ellie O’Gorman, Orla Keane and substitute Moriah Lineen all played their part.

Banner Ladies
Emma O’Driscoll, Sinead O’Keeffe, ClareWalsh, Laurie Ryan, LouiseWoods, Katie Cahill, Eva O’Dea 1-0, Shona Enright, Louise Woods, Suzie McNamara 0-1, Naomi Carroll, Niamh Keane 0-1, Rebecca Culligan 1-1, Niamh O’Dea 3-5 (0-3f),Aoife Cavanagh (capt).

Subs
Grainne Nolan for Aoife Cavanagh,Aoife Keane for S. McNamara, Orlaith Lynch 1-0 for Eva O’Dea, Niamh O’Brien for R. Culligan, Rachel Grogan for S. O’Keeffe.

Kilmihil

CLARE’S Ladies Football U13 development squad travelled to their Munster blitz in Rathkeale last Saturday marking the culmination of their ten-week development program and a chance to match themselves to the rest of Munster. Two teams travelled to the Mick Neville GAA grounds and won four games over Cork (2), Tipperary and Limerick.

They also had a draw against another Cork team and conceded a marginal win to Kerry. Team mentors Eimear Considine (Kilmihil), Aine Kelly (Fergus Rovers), Johnny Hayes (Fergus Rovers) and Alan Copley (Banner Ladies) were very pleased with the progress of the panel during the LGFA Development programme which included a series of challenge games with Kerry, the Clare U16s and the Banner Ladies.

The Clare U14 trials now com- mence this coming weekend as the Marian Keane Tournament takes place over the next three weekends. Clubs from all over the county have been invited to send girls born 1998 to the trials from which the 2012 U14 panel will be selected to compete in the Munster Championships. Details will be forwarded to interested participants during the week.

Blitz particpants:

Avenue United 2 – Newmarket Celtic 2 (AET Avenue win 3-2 on penalties) at Lees Road

THIS meeting of the Premier League and Clare Cup champions always looked like a tie to savour. And so it proved. Early goals, flowing football and extra time heroics all gave way to the drama of a penalty shoot out. Avenue kept their nerve to edge past their old rivals Newmarket who pipped them to the league title last year.

The win was secured when Newmarket’s Seamus Lawlor struck his crucial spotkick over the bar. The miss, Newmarket’s third from five, ensured that Avenue’s three successful spot kicks were enough to guarantee passage to the third round of the Munster Junior Cup.

It had been an absorbing game. Avenue hit the front inside the first minute before the powerful presence of Stephen Kelly intervened to give Newmarket a 2-1 half time lead. Avenue were level minutes after the break when Dylan Casey teed up David Russell for a routine finish. Both sides had opportunities to win it but it was Avenue who came closest. David Herlihy missed two great chances in the final quarter while Barry Nugent’s stinging drive in the final minute of extra time was kept out by a flying save from Newmarket goalkeeper, Trevor O’Donnell.

Avenue, aiming to bounce back from last week’s league cup defeat to Lifford, made the perfect start. Mikey Mahony cut from the right wing, danced across the Newmarket box before unleashing a shot that deflected high into the net. 1-0 to Avenue and barely 40 seconds on the clock.

The goal didn’t unduly rattle Newmarket. Daithi O’Connell and Stephen Kelly both went close before the visitor’s drew level. Avenue had received plenty of warning about Newmarket’s danger from set pieces but could do little to prevent the equaliser. Stephen Kelly met Darren Cullinan’s perfectly flighted corner with a bullet of a header to make it 1-1 in the 24th minute.

Herlihy and the impressive David Smyth saw shots cleared of the line before Newmarket hit the front. Again Cullinan and Kelly were the main players; the latter heading the left back’s corner into the path of Daithi O’Connell who swept home.

The champion’s lead was gone by the 52nd minute. The youthful energy and drive of Smyth and Casey was at the heart of Avenue’s best passages of play throughout the 110 minutes of football.

And the duo combined to telling effect after half time with Casey’s teasing low delivery spilled by O’Donnell into the path of Russell who made no mistake. Avenue’s captain then hit the crossbar before John Healy produced a good save to deny Eoin Hayes.

The longer the half wore on, the stronger Avenue became. Herlihy spurned two chances the best of which was a missed header in the 86th minute.

No goal and nothing to separate the sides. Substitute Colm Mullen lifted over for Avenue in extra time before O’Donnell’s outstanding save denied Barry Nugent.

Time for penalties. Avenue’s Barry Nugent, Russell and Herlihy all converted from the spot. Likewise Kieran Devitt and O’Brien for Newmarket. Lawlor needed to score to keep Newmarket in the hunt. He couldn’t and Avenue were through.

CLARE GAA has to get its financial affairs in order – that was the stark admission delivered by board treasurer Bernard Keane to club delegates last Tuesday when he “put on record” that were the county financially “is not good enough”.

The treasurer made his comments when revealing that county board income strands have been hit right across the board, a fact, he says, that threatens to become worse in 2012 “if we keep going the way we’re going”.

It was revealed that expenditure on county teams was reduced by € 145,000 in 2001, but those savings were swallowed up by plummeting income returns in areas such as county final attendances and intercounty fixtures.

“In all the seven schedules of income this year, we’re down on every one of them. Equally our gates were very, very disappointing, both our local gates, county games and indeed our county finals,” revealed Keane.

“So all in all, the report that comes back won’t make for very pleasant reading. On top of that we had a meeting with our own auditors, reviewing the past year and more importantly trying to project for 2012.

“Taking into account our present position and teams going forward and with Caherlohan (new Clare training headquarters) coming on we are going to be in an awful lot worse position next year if we keep going the way we’re going.

“Hence the problem, we need to generate more finance, other than the regular forms of finance that we’re doing. We are going to have to get our heads around that, as a board and as a unit and as an association in county Clare, because what we’re doing at the moment, unfortunately, is not going to be enough.

“Where we are at the moment is not good enough. I want to put that on the record here tonight,” Keane added.

Continuing, the county board treas- urer said that the onus was on everyone involved in the GAA in Clare to improve this financial situation.

“I think at this stage it’s about generating greater revenue as a unit,” he said. “Individually Pat Fitzgerald, Michael O’Neill or anyone won’t be able to generate the type of money that we need. As unit, both within the clubs and within the county board we will have to come up with new ways to generate money.

“The county board fundraising draw is one of the only means we have of generating money – that didn’t really materialise, even though I would thank the Newmarkets and the Cratloes and other clubs that really put their shoulder to the wheel, but there were an awful lot of other clubs didn’t. If they had it would have been a great help to us at this moment in time. That didn’t happen,” he added.

RAISING the standard of Clare football lies with the implementation of a new Bord na nÓg blueprint for the game and clubs embracing coaching initiatives being pioneered by the Clare County Board – not with the employment of extra full-time coaches.

That was the message sounded out by board officials to clubs around the county as the debate over the state of Clare football that has raged over the course of the last three county board meetings was aired once more at the West County Hotel last Tuesday.

“There is some myth that the Clare County Baord is suddenly going to find a lot of money and hire ten coaches,” said board secretary Pat Fitzgerald in pouring cold water on a proposal that more football coaches will be hired.

He was responding to Doonbeg delegate, Michael Neenan, who said that there were “only one and a half coaches for football”.

“It is important to deal with this one and a half coaches,” said Fitzgerald. “Galway was mentioned the other night. Who is paying for these coaches (in Galway). It’s the clubs. If clubs (of Clare) want to do that – they can do that,” he added.

“Forget your one and a half coaches,” said board chairman, Michael O’Neill. “Forget about it. You have coaches in every club in this county capable of coaching. Get them involved. Move on Michael (Neenan). Move on. There are coaches in place,” he added.

Last month it was revealed that the only full-time coaches employed by the Clare County Board who were involved in football coaching were John Enright and Ronan Keane, who divides his time between hurling and football in the Ennis area.

Continuing, Mr Fitzgerald said “the money isn’t there” to employ extra coaches. “The only way we will move from where we are is in a critical mass situation. What I mean by that is that clubs will go into schools and appoint a liaison officer who will to talk with schools and put coaches in there.

“In the development squads alone this year Clare county Board spent € 34,000. We have € 330,000 put into underage games this year. Bernard (Keane) will give you the financial situation and I can tell you, it’s backwards and downwards we are going.

“As far as I am concerned clubs will have to come on board. If clubs want coaches I’m sure Eamon (Fennessy) and Sean (Chaplin) will organise the coaching courses.

It is going to have come that way. If you were to get ten coaches at € 35,000 ahead, that’s € 350,000,” he added.

“The clubs have to take on more coaching courses,” said coaching officer, Eamonn Fennessy. “There is outstanding work being done by Sean Chaplin. Time and money is being spent on football at underage,” he added.

“There is a massive amount being done in coaching and games. It comes from everyone in this room, it comes from every club as to what they are doing in their clubs,” said Michael O’Neill.

“I know times are tough and there are a lot of constraints on people – but we just have to get more and more people involved in our clubs and for some of those people to get into the schools and coach, because the coaching is not being done in the schools now. It might have been done five, ten and 15 years ago, but it’s not being done because there are far more constraints on teachers now,” he added.

Clonlara 2-11 – Clondegad 2-07 at Gurteen

IN the end it came down to many things – the infusion of youth, tactical switches and a final flourish that carried Clonlara to an historic first ever adult football championship title.

In the process they took a wrecking ball to Clondegad’s dream of an intermediate/junior double. This dream was very much alive for Clondegad at the three-quarter stage – in fact, they were living it as a contribution of 1-6 from full-forward Colm Quinlivan had steered them into a three-point lead.

They had the advantage of the breeze and having hit back from the concession of a freak goal two minutes into the second half had reeled off four points in a row to take command of proceedings.

But this was a game of many twists, in what had to be the most entertaining Junior B decider in many years, complete with 22 scores before Clonlara celebrated another blow for east Clare football at the death after hitting 1-4 without reply in the closing ten minutes.

They had made the better start, hitting four points from play inside the first ten minutes via Nicky O’Connell, Cormac O’Donovan, Brian ‘Gooch’ Woods and Barry O’Connell to help them into a 0-4 to 0-2 lead.

Clondegad had stayed in touch with two Colm Quinlivan frees, but there was much more to come as the burly full-forward went about winning this county final on his own. He tacked on his third pointed free in the 14th minute, before driving a penalty to the net a minute later after Liam Deasy had been fouled.

Then after Barry O’Connell and Ger O’Connell had hit back with points by the 21st minute Quinlivan turned provider for Clondegad’s second goal, this time floating a free to the edge of the square that was gathered by Liam Deasy and slammed to the net to give his side a 2-3 to 0-6 interval lead.

All of Clonlara’s points had come from play and it was this ability that ultimately carried them past the challenge of a Clondegad side that could only manage 1-1 from play over the hour.

A lucky break in the 32nd got Clonlara back into proceedings when Ronan Carey’s speculative effort bounced on the edge of the square, then hit the crossbar before cannoning to the net off the back of luckless Clondegad keeper Kenneth Breen.

When Nicky O’Connell flashed over a point a minute later it looked as if Clonlara would take over – this eventually happened but only after some radical surgery to the team in response to a flurry of points via three Quinlivan frees and an effort from play by Liam Deasy had put Clondegad 2-7 to 0-7 clear.

Minors Cathal O’Connor and Colm Galvin were thrown in; John Conlon moved out from full-back and midfielder Ger O’Connell started running from deep at a retreating Clondegad defence.

The effects were stunning. Cathal O’Connell grabbed points in the 50th and 51st minutes to leave only a point in it. Then in the 57th minute a sweeping move was finished to the net by Colm Galvin after he took a final pass from Barry O’Connell to put Clonlara 2-9 to 2-7 clear.

Clondegad were out on their feet, with the insurance points coming from the O’Connells, Nicky and Ger, in injury time as Clonlara closed in on history and moved up to the Junior A ranks.

Miltown-Castlemaine 2-05 – Clondegad 0-10 at Páirc de Búrca, Miltown

WAY back in 1950 the Clare seniors went to Tralee and had Kerry beaten in the Munster championship only to be robbed by a last second point that earned the Kingdom a draw.

Clondegad knew that same sinking feeling on Sunday as they were robbed by a Miltown-Castlemaine side that could scarcely believe their luck as they stumbled over the line into the Munster final to keep alive Kerry’s hopes of landing a sixth straight provincial title in the grade.

It was a theft of grand larceny proportions, all thanks four goalmouth incidents, all of which went the Kerry champions’ way and helped them reach the final frontier despite being totally outplayed in the second half of this low-scoring, yet entertaining semi-final.

For Clondegad it was a missed first half penalty and then a disallowed goal three minutes into the second half; for Miltown-Castlemaine a freakish first goal and then a last gasp effort in the 56th minute that came totally against the run of play.

Yes, dame fortune was shining on Miltown-Castlemaine, while scowling on poor Clondegad as they were left to reflect on what should have been after producing their best performance of the year.

That performance came from the get go, with the iron-man of the Clondegad cause, full-back Paddy O’Connell winning the first ball that came his way to set the tone for his side – one that served notice that they weren’t going to be canon fodder opposition like Clare teams before them.

O’Connell’s play was the spark and inside 30 seconds Clondegad could have goaled, only for Tony Kelly’s rasping drive from 25 yards to be pushed over the bar of Miltown-Castlemaine keeper Joe Daly.

Clondegad played with the advantage of the breeze it the first half – starting well to lead by 0-3 to 0-1 after six minutes when Gary Bren- nan struck from both play and a free to add to Kelly’s opener.

However, the first in a serious of unfortunate events in front of goal started to haunt them as early as the ninth minute when Cathal Moriarty’s hopeful ball towards goal somehow ended up in the back of Clondegad’s net.

A minute later Gavin Wrenn tapped over his second free to give MiltownCastlemaine a 1-2 to 0-3 lead that their play scarcely deserved. Clondegad did restore parity by half-time, but should have done more.

By the 15 minute mark frees by Gary Brennan and Paudge McMa- hon sandwiched a like effort from Gavin Wrenn, before Clondegad’s confidence slowly began to rise once more when Francie Neylon burst up the left wing to land the point of the day in the 45th minute.

Then opportunity knocked in the 29th minute when Shane Brennan faced up to a penalty after Paudge McMahon was bundled to the ground, only for Daly to save at the expense of a 45 that McMahon pointed to leave the sides deadlocked at the break: Clondegad 0-7 MiltownCastlemaine 1-4.

Clondegad’s chance seemed lost as they faced into the breeze, only for the underdogs to produce a stirring second half performance that should have been enough to score Clare’s first ever win over Kerry opposition in the Munster intermediate series.

They looked to be on their way when Gary Brennan’s 33rd minute free was fisted to the net by Shane Brennan, only for the goal to be disallowed. Still, Clondegad never lost heart and pointed frees by Paudge McMahon and Gary Brennan ensured that they led by 0-9 to 1-5 entering the last ten minutes.

More than that, they were dominating against a Miltown-Castlemaine that had failed utterly to produce their county final winning form. However, from nowhere they conjured up a match-winning goal in the 56th minute.

Kieran Browne looked to have been fouled when coming out of defence, but when no free was given, Cathal Moriarty picked up the pieces, danced his way through a porous wall of defenders and toe-poked to the net to give his side an unlikely 25 to 0-9 lead.

Not what Clondegad deserved, but despite Gary Brennan pointing a free in the 58th minute and laying siege on the Miltown-Castlemaine goal for a further four minutes, it what they got.

Their Munster championship race was run in cruel fashion.