Category: Sport

COORACLARE has stepped forward to state its case for being nominated as the second most important GAA ground in Clare behind Cusack Park, with longtime delegate PJ McGuane telling Clare GAA that the west Clare venue “ticked all the boxes”.

The former Munster Council delegate told the meeting his was not aware “officially or unofficially” that a decision had been made by Croke Park officials as to which Clare ground should be given secondary county grounds status.

It’s widely perceived that Hennessy Memorial Park in Miltown is favoured by Croke Park and that this was communicated to the Clare County Board over a year ago, but according to McGuane, Cooraclare has a stronger case to retain the secondary county ground status it has enjoyed for nearly a quarter of a century.

“I have heard nothing, whether officially or unofficially on issue,” said McGuane. “The day I showed John Ryan and Tom Carroll around Cooraclare, that’s the last and first I heard from that committee. It went from there to the county board and I am prepared to wait for you to deliberate.

“If propaganda was going to get secondary county grounds Noel (Walsh) would have no problem get- ting it, because he has kept the whole issue in front of us in the public domain for the last couple of years.

“However, the facts of the matter are that my club sent a letter to the county board in July ‘09 – on foot of a communiqué from Cusack Park – wishing to have our status re-affirmed as a secondary county ground.

“We’ve had secondary county ground status since 1988 – it was proposed and seconded here at a board meeting. Subsequent to that, for the next five years we availed of a ten per cent grant which was in vogue at the time for secondary county grounds.

“In fairness to all the clubs that were inspected, everyone was entitled to be considered (for secondary county ground status) but it’s only the one club (St Joseph’s Miltown) that said anything about it in the last 12 months.

“Doonbeg were inspected, Kilmihil were inspected, Cooraclare were inspected, Kilmurry Ibrickane and a number of other clubs were inspected. All the clubs have magnificent facilities.

“The only thing I do know, Mr Chairman, is that there are set criteria set down for secondary county grounds and my club ticks all the boxes. If we are to be deprived of it, I’d like to know who ticks more boxes. I’m sure all the other clubs would like to know the same thing. If you are making an announcement I suggest you bear that in mind,” added McGuane.

IT was former American president, Andrew Jackson, who famously said “one man with courage makes a majority”. If it’s true, 89-year-old Kevin Stapleton could be said to be that man.

All because on Thursday, the lifelong Banner County supporter took to standing outside the West County Hotel in Ennis to make a one-man protest about Clare GAA as the September monthly meeting was taking place inside.

Brandishing a placard that read ‘Clare GAA Board, No Hit and Run Job, We Need Change’, the nearnonagenarian said he was moved to make his stand because of the state of the games in the county, particularly football.

“We need change,” said Stapleton. “The senior teams in the county need to get together and pick out a football manager of some kind. What we have now, we’re going nowhere.”

Stapleton, who originally hails from Kilkee but now lives in Ennis, staged his protest ahead of the county board meeting that started at 8pm – standing alone with his message to GAA leaders and delegates as they made their way into the first official monthly meeting since June.

“I’m from Kilkee, the heartland of football,” he told The Clare People . “My concerns about football are that we have nothing anymore. With the management we have with the county senior team, we’re going nowhere.

“We have to change the manager, no disrespect to the manager and his management team, but if we want to go forward we have to get a new manager from somewhere and get the best players to play for the county. That’s not happening.

“There mightn’t seem to be anyone t o take the job, but surely there’s someone in the county that will step forward. Today football is dead in the c o u n t y. W e have to change,” he added.

DAVID Fitzgerald could be taken from under the noses of the county senior hurling team and appointed manager of either Limerick or Galway, while the Clare County Board embarks on an elaborate selection process to find a successor to Ger O’Loughlin as Clare boss.

That warning was sounded by a number of delegates at Thursday night’s county board meeting, with Doonbeg representative Michael Neenan leading the charge to have this threat headed off by appointing Fitzgerald to the top job in hurling immediately.

“Two weeks is a long time,” said Neenan. “A lot will happen in Libya and Syria in two weeks. Men can disappear. They can be taken by other counties. If Limerick or Galway want to get a manager, I have a feeling they will move fairly fast. Now we are going hanging around? Are we going to let him go?,” he added.

“I think we should come back here next Tuesday with names,” said Killanena delegate Colman Holahan, while another delegate said “there is a danger that if we drag things out, other counties who are looking for managers could move”.

“We are the Clare GAA,” said chairman Michael O’Neill. “We are not concerned with other counties and what other counties do. We are just concerned with ourselves,” he added.

“We don’t want to go down the road of a media circus,” continued Michael Neenan. “Clare hurling has suffered in the last few years because of it. I think we should pick a manager for the team going forward now. There is a manager that tasted success outside the county and I would be proposing tonight that that man would bring the best with him to manage the county. I would propose that David Fitzgerald would be that man.

“There should be no personality clashes. We have suffered from that in the past. We are all in it for the good of the game. I think going away tonight, setting up a committee, coming back here, shouting and roaring at each other and personalities come into it.

“If we want Clare hurling to go forward, we have to stop that. We have a man that’s fully committed to this county and will take us forward if he gets the backing, but he has to get the whole backing of this committee here tonight. We are the committee, not two or three selected people. David Fitzgerald would be the best man for the good of Clare hurling and we should appoint him now,” added Neenan.

“I am taking no proposals here tonight on anyone to become county manager,” said Michael O’Neill. “I don’t think the clubs have been mandated to do that. I don’t think that’s the way to go about it. We are not in a major hurry to fill the vacancy. If we have a manager by the end of October, that’s fine,” he added.

Ruan 2-12 – Parteen 1-10 at Fr Murphy Memorial Park, Newmarket-on-Fergus

THE MOST significant mark of intent in the group was saved until last as Ruan maintained their perfect record at the expense of Parteen’s.

In the lead up to the game, there were murmurings of tactical positioning as both sides were already through to the last four. However there was no apparent evidence of that on Saturday. Instead, Ruan’s experience of reaching last year’s final certainly had a significant bearing on the outcome of the game as they went about their business in a cool, professional manner.

On the flip side, despite their best efforts, Parteen never reached the heights of previous performances and have a lot of work to do ahead of their semi-final clash with Éire Óg. They were second best for the majority of the tie, emphasised by the fact that they only scored 1-2 from play and only showed some urgency after being handed a fortunate lifeline with Brian McSweeney’s major at the turn of the final quarter.

In particular, Parteen’s decision to move vital players from their more established positions backfired. The old adage that ‘if it isn’t broke, why fix it’ came to mind as normal centre-back Colm Quinn got a new role in midfield while midfielder Joe O’Connor was pushed up to centreforward and it seemed to offset the balance of the side. However, with the safety net of a semi-final place remaining, there was no detrimental harm in experimenting with the side.

In typical fashion, Ruan took full advantage of any such frailties and with the wind at their backs, opened up a 1-5 to 0-1 lead by the turn of the opening quarter. They opened the scoring with a bang after only two minutes when Killian Ryan gathered a Parteen puck-out before delivering an inch perfect pass over the top to the unmarked Brendan Lyons to hit to the net from close range.

And sandwiching two John Punch frees, Ruan continued that pattern with points from Robbie O’Loughlin, Brendan Lyons and Tadgh Hanrahan to move seven points clear after 17 minutes with only an Ivan Conway free in riposte.

In a rare attack, Daragh Yelverton played in Brian McSweeney who was well smothered by the Ruan defence as he was about to pull the trigger. However, it only seemed to anger the beast as Ruan stepped up another gear amidst seven first half wides with Lyons, Punch and Dara Roughan pushing them 1-8 to 0-2 clear by the 28th minute.

To their credit, Parteen did make a late burst when frees from Ivan Conway and Colm Quinn were aided by their first score from play in injurytime as a good move unleashed Joe O’Connor on goal but his shot just cleared the top of the crossbar.

That recovery was soon quashed when Ruan re-emerged to hit them for 1-1 in the first four minutes of the second period. A Jonathan Clohessy free was followed by a John Punch opportunist goal when kicking the ball to the net after a break from a Dara Roughan delivery.

Now ten clear, it appeared to be game over but a stroke of fortune in the 43rd minute ensured that Parteen had something to fight for in the runin. It stemmed from an Ivan Conway free that rebounded off the upright into the path of Brian McSweeney who finished over the line. It certainly lifted the intensity but despite their best efforts, Parteen were unable to pull in Ruan before time and will now have to contend with a clash against group two winners Éíre Óg in the last four. Meanwhile, victorious Ruan have a grudge local derby against Corofin to plan for in a fortnight’s time, with momentum now firmly on their side.

Ruan
Pakie Roughan, Gary Bell, Niall O’Connor, Leon Quirke, Killian Ryan, Jonathan Clohessy, Dara Roughan (0-1),Tadgh Hanrahan (0-2), Eoin Hanrahan,Aidan Lynch, Colin O’Donoghue, Mikey Vaughan, Robbie O’Loughlin (0-1), John Punch (1-6 5f), Brendan Lyons (1-2)

Subs
Patrick Keegan for Lyons (48 mins), Caimin Howard for O’Loughlin (50 mins), Sean Cullinan for Punch (57 mins)

Parteen
Alan Murnane, Mark Cunningham, Paul O’Dwyer, David O’Sullivan, Martin Moroney, Colm O’Connell, Philip Lavin,AndrewBeatty, Colm Quinn (0-3 2f, 1’65), Mark Boland, Joe O’Connor (0-2), Ronan Conlon, Brian McSweeney (1-0), Ivan Conway (0-5f), DaraghYelverton

Éire Óg 3-17 – Corofin 2-08 at Gurteen

SHADOW boxing or no shadow boxing, that is the question that surrounded this group decider. Éire Óg’s 12 point victory against their biggest rivals in the group either suggests that the Townies are justified favourites for the intermediate crown after two successive quarter-final exits and that Corofin are as of yet short of the mark. Or else perhaps that Corofin didn’t give it their all and Éire Óg are lulling themselves into a false sense of security.

Only time will tell but if the former is actually the case, then it was a worthwhile evaluation for both sides ahead of the semi-finals. Éíre Óg have undoubtedly the best forward division in the division and will take stopping after this blistering second half display that saw them ease up in the final quarter. Corofin, meanwhile have got the perfect wake-up call ahead of their clash with Ruan in the last four and if they are not up for that game, some serious questions must be asked of them.

Corofin played with the aid of the breeze in the opening period but were on the backfoot for the majority as a Barry Nugent goal and four Danny Russell points helped them to a 1-6 to 0-3 advantage. Nugent’s goal inadvertently sparked Corofin into action as in the next passage of play, Stephen Heagney had exacted full revenge at the other end. It was enough to initiate a mini revival as Éire Óg only held a 1-7 to 1-5 advantage by the break.

The Éíre Óg machine churned back into action on the resumption to build up a 1-12 to 1-08 lead and once Barry Nugent grabbed a second goal midway through the half, it appeared as if the Ennis side would pull clear. However, just as in the first half, Corofin responded in kind, this time from the other Heagney, Kevin, to halt their charge.

It wasn’t sufficient to trouble the Townies however who just dusted themselves down and hit the front once more, capped off by Shane O’Donnell’s 52nd minute goal that crowned off a decisive win.

Éire Óg
Kevin Brennan, Cathal Whelan, Noel Whelan, Ronan Cooney,Tadgh McNamara, Fergus Flynn (0-1 1’65), Ciaran Hanna, Mark Fitzgerald, Kevin Moynihan (0-1), Danny Russell (0-7 4f), David Ryan (0-2), Marc O’Donnell (0-2), Davy O’Halloran (0-1, lineball), Barry Nugent (2-1), Shane O’Donnell (1-2)

Subs
Kevin Hally for Hanna (inj), Stephen Guilfoyle for Moynihan (inj)

Corofin
Patrick Burke, MartinTierney, Luke O’Loughlin, Keith O’Loughlin, Darragh Shannon, Gerry Quinn, Damien Ryan, Eamon Dunne, MatthewShannon, Kevin Heagney, Paudie Barry, Neil Killeen, Stephen Heagney, Kieran Carkill, Killian Neylon

Subs
Donnacha Kelleher for K. O’Loughlin, Diarmuid Daly for M. Shannon, Declan Lee for Barry, Eamonn Malone for Carkill, Jamie Malone for Killeen

Referee
Johnny Healy (Smith O’Brien’s) IN the remaining games in the group, relegation worries were to the fore with Ennistymon, Meelick and Ogonnelloe all in the mix. Ogonnelloe were in control of their destiny, regardless of the other game and duly did enough to save themselves with a 2-15 to 3-12 draw with Feakle. With the wind at their backs, Ogonnelloe opened up a 1-12 to 0-06 half-time advantage with Peter O’Brien contributing the bulk of the scores including the goal. However, Feakle came storming back into the contest, predominantly through Gary Guilfoyle and Colin Nelson’s goals that saw them pull level by the 40th minute. Again a determined Ogonnelloe pulled clear when Rory Skelly goaled at the turn of the final quarter but parity was regained soon afterwards when Feakle grabbed a third

major, this time through Donal O’Grady. The last six or seven minutes proved nervy, with neither side adding to their total despite a late goal chance for Ogonnelloe but a point was sufficient to avoid the relegation lottery. And so it came down to the east meets west showdown of Meelick and Ennistymon to decide the relegation candidate from group two and it was the bottom side Ennistymon that guaranteed their safety with a 2-15 to 0-11 win, with Cathal Malone scoring 1-13 of that total.

The seeds of victory were sown in the first half when they built up a 2-8 to 0-7 point advantage, thanks to goals from Cathal Malone and Padraig Brennan.

From there, it was just a matter of seeing out the victory and they did so by means of a 0-7 to 0-4 second half display that put the east Clare side in the one-off relegation tie against Clarecastle. WHILE the remaining two games in the group were merely academic, newcomers Crusheen did make third spot their own by leapfrogging opponents Bodyke after their 2-16 to 2-10 final round victory on Saturday.

The contest appeared all but over at the halfway mark, with goals from Niall Fitzgibbon and Gearoid O’Doherty helping Crusheen to a comprehensive 2-12 to 0-04 lead. However, a resurgent Bodyke make a remarkable third quarter recovery to get to within four of the intermediate league champions, mainly through the goals of Kieran Walsh and John Fitzgerald before Crusheen steadied the ship and finished strongly, with Gearoid O’Doherty capping off a fine display to end the day with 1-5.

In the final tie, played last Wednesday, bottom side Clarecastle got a much needed lift ahead of their relegation playoff with Meelick when edging out Sixmilebridge by 0-16 to 015 to claim their first points of the championship.

An inch tight match throughout, Sixmilebridge were to the fore early in the second half, mainly through the scoring prowess of Tommy Liddy who secured eight points but it was the Magpies who finished stronger with top scorer Adam Healy laying off the final pass for Niall Dunne to grab the winning score in the 58th minute.

Braodford 1-12 – Killanena 0-09 at Cusack Park, Ennis

BROADFORD booked their passage into the quarter-final stage for the second time in three years thanks to this workmanlike victory over a Killanena on Saturday evening.

It was a turgid affair throughout, with Killanena’s fourth successive defeat ensuring that they go into their relegation battle on the back of a depressing campaign in their first year back in the senior ranks in over 100 years.

For Broadford, it’s a totally different hurling world as they can now look forward to trying to build on their 2009 performance when they so nearly reached a first county semifinal in 64 years.

That’s for another day – this was about getting over the line, something they did thanks in the main to a first half when they forged a 1-5 to 0-4 clear courtesy of a brilliant individual goal from Padraig Hickey.

The All-Ireland intermediate winner is the main plank of the Broadford attack, something he showcased when bursting into the game in the closing minutes of the half when putting daylight between the sides for the first time.

First he lofted over a great point into the Stamer Park goal from underneath the shed terrace in the 25th minute to edge his side 0-4 to 0-3 clear; two minutes later he showed his determination in bursting through two tackles before blasting to the net from 15 yards to change the complexion of this game completely.

Up until then a brave, however, limited Killanena team had taken the fight to the favourites, more than holding their own in the first 20 minutes until a protracted delay of over five minutes after Mark Flaherty suffered a serious knee injury took the wind out of their sails.

Points by Flaherty and David McNamara to a reply from a Padraig Hickey free had them 0-2 to 0-1 ahead after ten minutes, while Niall Moloney and Mikey Noone then swapped points in the 16th minute before Broadford finally moved up a few gears in the final ten minutes before the break.

James Gunning’s long range free levelled matters in the 22nd minute before Hickey’s 1-1 blast put four points between the sides. That gap was still intact at half-time after Donie Whelan and John O’Mara traded points, while the game was effectively put out of Killanena’s reach inside seven minutes of the second half thanks to points from Hickey and Aonghus O’Brien that put them 1-7 to 0-4 clear.

All that was left for Broadford was to avoid conceding goals, something they managed comfortably despite Killanena’s valiant attempt to claw their way back into the game in the closing 20 minutes.

They did have the gap back to five with 15 minutes still on the clock after a David McNamara free was followed by points by Eoin McMa- hon and Mikey Noone, while further points by McNamara and Martin Glynn after Padraig Hickey’s fourth of the hour ensured there was only four points between the sides entering the last ten minutes.

But the goal they needed to have any chance of avoiding a whitewash in this group never came, leaving Broadford comfortable winners after Padraig Taylor and Alan McMahon added points in the closing minutes.

CLARE Motor Club are delighted to announce The Auburn Lodge Hotel, Gort Road, Ennis, as the title sponsor of the 2011 Clare Stages Rally. Clerk of the Course Dermot Kelleher said, “The Clare Motor Club are delighted with the continued support of The Auburn Lodge Hotel, for a third consecutive year. The Club would also like to thank the Special Stage Sponsors, Service Area Sponsor and the programme advertisers for their support. The event will bring a vital boost to the local economy and this would not be possible without their support”.

The rally takes place on the weekend of September 17 and 18. and is a counting round of The Dunlop National Rally Championship and The Top Part West Coast Rally Championship which will see some of the top cars and drivers in action on the stages around Ennis.

The organising team is offering competitors a very compact event featuring three very competitive stages which will be repeated three times. Together with the service park and scrutiny all within walking distance of the hotel, the event should prove to be as successful as last year’s rally.

Event regulations are available to download at the club’s website www. claremotorclub.com.

With five victories from as many events, Tim McNulty and co-driver, Paul Kiely (Subaru WRC) are on the cusp of clinching the Dunlop National Rally Championship in clare. The Auburn Lodge Hotel Clare Rally offers them the first of three title winning events to claim the Vard Memorial Trophy. Tim was also the winner of last year’s Clare Stages Rally and he also won it back on 2007.

It’s a unique season insofar as McNulty can become the first driver to win both the Dunlop series and the Irish Tarmac Championship in the same season, currently, he also leads the ITC prior to the final event, the Cork 20 International Rally.

With a resounding victory in last weekend’s Galway Summer Rally, the Meath ace reached the 100 points mark in the Dunlop series where competitors can count their best seven scores from the ten rounds. Should McNulty claim another maximum score in Clare and provided Kevin Barrett garners less than 18 points, McNulty can claim the title in Ennis, just like Welsh ace, Melvyn Evans did twelve months ago.

Meanwhile, Monaghan’s Sam Moffett, who is actually second overall in the Dunlop series, can also edge closer to the Motorsport Safety Team award for the top overall Group N driver with Robert Barrable (Skoda Fabia S2000) and Shane Maguire (Subaru) his nearest rivals.

Meanwhile, the rally.ie award for the top two-wheel drive competitor is shaping up for an exciting finish with Frank Kelly (Ford Escort), Washington James (Darrian) along with Sam Smyth, Wesley Patterson and John McQuaid (Ford Escorts) all in the hunt for the crown.

Cooraclare 2-12 – St Breckan’s 0-07 at Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown

COORACLARE are beginning to motor – evidence of which they drove home with ruthless efficiency on Saturday evening when they took a wrecking ball to St Breckans’ hopes of marking their first year back in the senior ranks with a run to the quarter-final stages.

This was a thrashing every bit as clinical as the scoreline suggests as Cooraclare sauntered into the quarter-final, but more importantly than that by dint of their 11-point winning margin they laid down a marker that they won’t be making up the numbers when they lock horns with Kilmurry Ibrickane in the quarter-final.

It was impressive stuff as they kept the pedal to the floor right until the end, despite being very secure in the knowledge that the points were in the bag long before the finish.

St Breckan’s never got closer than being four points adrift in the half – the goals they needed to kickstart any kind of sustained comeback never looked like coming, so much so that when they trailed by 0-11 to 0-7 after 55 minutes the game looked like trundling towards a tepid conclusion.

Not so thanks to Aidan Moloney’s side that really threw down a marker when hitting 2-1 in the last five minutes to leave St Breckan’s thoroughly forlorn and dispirited by the end.

In truth, it was a command performance from whistle to whistle by a Cooraclare side that was never headed at any stage. Firstly they kept with a pacy and industrious St Breckan’s in the first half when playing against the breeze, before really turning the screw with five points within the space of the final five minutes of the half to move 0-9 to 0-4 clear.

Game over really. The life was drained out of the St Breckan’s challenge in those minutes – they did try to pick it up again in the second half, but even had they fallen to their knees at the half-time break and chanted prayers to St Jude, theirs looked a hopeless case.

Cooraclare had forced the pace in this game from the off, with a couple of early bursts from Sean Maguire setting the tone and character of their display that was to last for the hour.

Maguire pointed in the second minute, while two minutes later he teed up Gearóid Looney for a point, just after Stephen Tierney had got St Breckan’s off the mark with a smart point from play.

A Pat Nagle free in the eighth minute levelled matters, but two John Looney points by the 20th minute had Cooraclare 0-4 to 0-2 ahead. His effort from play in the ninth minute really crystalised Cooraclare’s performance on the day – Mark Tubridy, Joe Considine and Rory Donnelly played their part in an incisive move that was finished over the bar by the full-forward.

And, even though St Breckan’s hit back to level matters with two Pat Nagle points by the 23rd minute, it was Looney again who did more than anyone to ensure that Cooraclare had matters well in hand by half-time.

He landed three frees in as many minutes before the break, while efforts from play by David Marrinan and Michael McMahon turned the game decisively in Cooraclare’s favour before the break.

St Breckan’s were their industrious selves on the turnover, but penetration was sadly lacking, with three Pat Nagle pointed frees being all they had to show for their endeavours as the promise and confidence they showed when ambushing Éire Og in the first round slowly drained away.

Cooraclare were like old time prize fighters – toying their opponents for much of the half, content to grab points from John Looney in the 42nd minute and Mark Tubridy ten minutes later, before finally moving in for the kill and registering their knockout blows in the final minutes.

Haymaker number one came in the 55th minute when Cooraclare sliced through the now porous St Breckan’s defence before Gearóid Looney drilled low into the left corner of the net; two minutes later Sean Maguire matched this feat with a goal of his own, while St Breckans’ misery was complete in the 60th minute when John McDonagh saw red from referee Gerry Keane.

Cooraclare
Declan Keane (7), Fergal Lillis (7), Conor Marrinan (7),Thomas Downes (7), David Marrinan (7) (0-1),Thomas Donnellan (7), Declan McMahon (7),AndrewO’Neill (7), Joe Considine (7), Michael McMahon (7) (0-1), MarkTubridy (7) (0-1), Sean McGuire (7) (1-1), Rory Donnelly (7), John Looney (8) (1-7, 6f), Gearóid Looney (7) (11).

Subs
Michael Kelly (6) for McMahon [39 Mins], Kieran Hassett (6) for Conor Marrinan [60 Mins].

St Breckan’s
Craig Flanagan (7), Daniel Carey (7), Conor Howley (6), Donal Howley (7), Raphael Considine (6), Michael Reddan (7), Cathal Blood (7), Shane O’Connor (6), StephenTierney (6) (01), Denis O’Driscoll (7), Sean Cormican (7), John McDonagh (7), Mikie Keating (6), Conor Cormican (6), Pat Nagle (7) (0-6, 5f).

Subs
John Stack (6) for Tierney [20 Mins], Stephen Flaherty (6) for Considine [Half-Time], Neil Hawes (6) for Conor Howley [44 Mins], Eric Murrihy (6) for O’Connor [50 Mins]., Darragh Curtin (6) for Stack [58 Mins].

Man of the Match
John Looney (Cooraclare) Referee Gerry Keane (O’Curry’s)

THE RECENT 60×30 All-Ireland adult semi-finals were succesful for all three Clare doubles pairs in action, albeit with the help of a pair of walkovers.

In the Ruby Masters Doubles, John Kirby and Jimmy Walsh received a bye when Mayo’s John Kenny and Tom Derrig pulled out due to an injury to Kenny. In Ladies Junior Doubles, Ashling Fitzgerald and Edel O’Grady got a walkover from Mayo’s Stephanie Coleman and Mary Duffy.

The one Banner County pair to play their semi-final were Pat Donellan and Stephen McInerney in the Golden Masters and they had a comprehensive win in Tuamgraney when they defeated Galway’s Willie Corc- oran and Mike Shaughnessy, 21-16, 21-12.

Both Masters Doubles pairs will play their All-Ireland finals on Saturday September 24 in St. Coman’s, Roscommon at 3pm. Donellan and McInerney will play Cavan’s Dermot Dolan and Andy Clarke while the Ruby Doubles pairing will be in opposition against Pat Ryan and Michael O’Brien of Dublin. On the same bill, Ashling Fitzgerald plays the Ladies Junior Singles decider against Westmeath’s Aoife McCarthy.

Before then, the Banner County will be well represented in the first round of adult All-Ireland finals to be played this coming weekend when four Clare players play All-Ireland deciders. On Sunday in Ballina, John Kirby will play Dermot Howard (Kildare) and Pat Donellan faces Kilkenny man Eamn Purcell. The action starts at the Tipperary venue at 1pm. Ashling Fitzgerald and Edel O’Grady travel to St. Coman’s, Roscommon on the same day to take on Aoife McCarthy and Niamh Egan (Westmeath) in the Junior Ladies Doubles final (1.00pm).

Meanwhile, this weekend also sees the All-Ireland 60×30 Juvenile finals taking place and Clare have a strong interest here too. Clooney’s Fergal Coughlan plays the Boys Under 14 Singles final against Daniel Curry from Wicklow while Fergal’s sister Natasha, along with Michelle Nihill (also Clooney) take on Mary Buggy and Catherine Foley of Kilkenny in Girls Under 15 Doubles. Both finals are in Cashel this Saturday with a starting time of 11.30am.

Éire Óg 1-12 – St Senan’s Kilkee 0-11 at Pairc Naomh Mhuire, Quilty

A DEAD rubber in terms of the overall championship but crucial to Éire Óg who needed a lift ahead of their relegation play-off following two demoralising losses. Kilkee, for their part, had already secured top spot in the group and it certainly bore out that way as a more urgent Éire Óg led from start to finish to secure their first victory of the championship.

Despite an understength side that saw their second string severely dented and a below-par display, Kilkee did finally rise to the challenge late on to cut the deficit to two but it was simply too little too late to knock the Townies off their perch.

When the masters fixtures list was finalised earlier in the year, this was expected to be a thrilling potential group decider but the lack of a competitive bite did make for a low-key affair that even their respective supporters failed to come out for in large numbers.

That didn’t concern Éire Óg however as they simply needed to kickstart their campaign after failing in all their major tests this year, including the Garry Cup final. Their strength lay in centre-back Alan Malone who controlled the backline before succumbing to injury just after half-time; Brian Frawley and Shane Daniels dominated the midfield exchanges; up front, corner-forwards Eoin Glynn and Sean O’Meara posed a constant threat while David Russell led the line expertly, even helping out his own backline on numerous occasions when needed most late on.

Indeed, they were 0-7 to 0-4 ahead by the break, taking advantage of a changeable wind with six different players getting on the scoresheet as compared to only Michael O’Shea and Barry Harte for Kilkee. There was also goal chances at either end with Sean Crotty’s 12th minute effort kept out by Kevin Harte while just before the interval, Barry Harte was denied by Eoin Slattery.

However, it was only after Sean Crotty’s 42nd minute goal for Éire Óg that Kilkee finally developed some urgency. A defensive error allowed Sean O’Meara to raid down on goal before passing to the un- marked Sean Crotty for the easiest of finishes. That put Éire Óg 1-8 to 0-6 ahead by the turn of the final quarter but Kilkee finally found their rhythm and four unaswered points in eight minutes, two from the foot of O’Shea, left only two points between the sides by the 54th minute.

Éire Óg battened down the hatches, led by captain Russell who swept up at the back and they were rewarded with the last three points of the game, two from placed balls, to secure the moral boosting victory.

Éire Óg
Eoin Slattery (7), Saren Butler (7), Donie Lyne (7), Michael O’Regan (7), Paul Madden (6),Alan

Malone (8), Conor Healy (7), Brian Frawley (8) (0-2), Shane Daniels (8) (0-3f), David Ryan (7) (0-1 1’45), David Russell (8) (0-1), Brian McMahon (7) (0-1), Eoin Glynn (8) (0-2), Sean Crotty (7) (1-0), Sean O’Meara (8) (0-2)

Subs
Robbie Malone (6) for A. Malone (36 mins, inj), Darren O’Neill for Madden (54 mins)

St Senan’s Kilkee
Kevin Harte (7), Darren Clarke (6), Darragh Kelly (7), Darren Owens (6), Diarmuid Keane (7) (0-1), Thomas Galvin (7),Alan Russell (6), David Russell (7), Christopher Williamson (7) (0-1), Brian Harte (6), Barry Harte (7) (0-3), Ronan Brown (6), Gearoid Lynch (7) (0-1), Michael O’Shea (8) (0-5 3f), Micheál Keane (6)

Subs
Gavin Melican (5) for M. Keane (22 mins, inj), Christy Kirwan (7) for Brian Harte (36 mins), Derek Deloughery (6) for Clarke (40 mins), John Enright for Melican (50 mins)

Man of the Match
David Russell (Éire Óg) Referee Barry Kelly (St Joseph’s Miltown)