Category: Sport

Ballyea 0-14 – St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield 1-8 at The Éire Óg Grounds, Ennis

ST JOSEPH’S Doora-Barefield saw red on the double during the game when the sendings off of both Niall Hassett and Shane O’Connor and saw it the same colour again after the ball game was over when a flurry of people vented their spleen at referee Kevin Walsh

But it was Ballyea who saw the promised land of a county final for the second time in three years as they withstood a late surge by the men from The Parish to book a final berth against O’Callaghan’s Mills.

Ballyea were the better team, but St Joseph’s weren’t slow in letting it be known that they had their grievances with Kevin Walsh after they received six yellow cards and two red ones over the course of the hour.

Niall Hassett was marched in the 41st minute after a challenge on Ca- thal Doohan, but by that stage the game was already slipping from St Josephs’ grasp as Ballyea cranked up their performance considerably in the early exchanges of the second half.

In the first 20 minutes of the half they restricted St Joseph’s to just two points, while adding seven of their own to move into a commanding 013 to 0-7 by the 50th minute as they closed in on a final berth.

The first half had been an even affair, with points from Niall Deloughery, Ian Lyons and Cathal Duggan helping St Joseph’s into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead inside ten minutes.

However, as in previous games in the campaign Tony Kelly prodigious scoring talents helped Ballyea play their way into the game.

The Clare minor captain landed two frees by the 15th minute and then hit one from play after good work from Paudge McMahon.

Further points from Paul Flanagan and Niall Deasy in response to a booming point from distance by Alan O’Neill helped Ballyea into a 0-6 to 0-4 lead before an injury time effort from Ian Lyons left only the minimum between the sides.

Jarlath Colleran’s equalising point a minute into the second half hinted at a battle to the death, but it was as good as it got for St Joseph’s for much of the half.

Seven points in a row from Ballyea decided this contest – Martin O’Leary, Niall Deasy (2) and Tony Kelly (4) were all on the mark.

A 58th minute goal scrambled to the net by Cathal Duggan after a long free from Alan O’Neill briefly put the game back in the melting pot, but when St Joseph’s had their claims for a 21-yard free ignored a few minutes later, their cause was lost.

Ballyea
Shane Harkin, Cormac Ryan, Jack Browne, Eanna McInerney, James Murphy, Gearóíd O’Connell, David Sheehan, Paul Flanagan (0-1),Tony Kelly (0-9, 6f), Niall Deasy (0-3), James Murphy, Cathal Doohan, Martin O’Leary (0-1), Paudge McMahon, Declan Keane.

Subs
Niall Griffin for Doohan, Eoghan Donnellan for McMahon.

St Joseph’s Doora- Barefield
Michael Rosengrave, Darragh Murphy, Stephen Collins, Killian Griffey, Niall Hassett,Alan O’Neill (01), Eamon Clohessy, Leo Duggan, Jarlath Colleran (0-1), Ian Lyons (0-1), Niall Deloughery (0-1), Aaron Landy, Barry Mullane, Shane O’Connor (0-2, 2f), Cathal Duggan (1-2).

Subs
Stephen Barron for Griffey, Donal O’Halloran for Mullane.

Man of the Match
Tony Kelly (Ballyea)

THE CLARE Minor Footballers head to Pairc Uí Rinn on Wednesday evening in their first game as they look to overcome last year’s AllIreland finalists Cork in the quarter final of the Munster Minor Championship.

Clare will look to make a mark on this years Minor Championship and hope to set the trend for Clare football this year as they try to overcome Cork.

A task the Clare Seniors also face in the Munster quarter-final in little under six weeks. The Clare People caught up with Minor Manager Michael Neylon ahead of tomorrow nights game.

Michael says he is happy with the current form and that things have been looking good for his side over the past few weeks.

“We’ve had a full turnout for the last month or so with lads coming into good form from a winter gym programme” he said.

Everyone is available for selection and injury free after the weekends under 21 hurling championship where five players were involved.

This side first got together when they took part in a Munster under 17 tournament last November where they played four competitive games winning the Shield Final against Waterford.

“That was the first time lads would have met, then they were given a gym programme which they worked away on until we started training as a county panel there in March. We’ve had five or six weeks together now and we’ve played Kerry, Galway and Kildare in challenge games” he said.

There are several players from last year’s panel that Clare will be looking to ahead of tomorrow nights game including; Darren Sexton, Niall Hickey and Adrian Murrihy from Kilmurry-Ibrickane, Ennistymon’s Oisin Vaughan, Wolfe Tones Craig O’Brien, Jarlaith Colleran from Doora/Barefield and Stan Lineen from Kilmihil. Stan’s clubmate Martin O’Leary will also be hoping to bring his recent form with St Flannan’s college into this game tomorrow night.

Michael Neylon is joined on the managment panel by Ennis man Noel Normoyle, Morris Reidy from Miltown and Lee O’Donoghue from Kildysart.

They met on Monday night for a light session ahead of Wednesday’s game where the team was also named. They face a tough task of reaching the semi-final stages but he believes his side have what it takes.

Clare
Darren Sexton (Kilmurry-Ibrickane), Conor Gavin (Clondegad), Craig O’Brien (WolfeTones), Oisin Vaughan (Ennistymon), Jarlath Colleran (Doora/ Barefield), Stan Lineen (Kilmihil), Darragh Bolton (Kilrush),Alan O’Neill (Doora/Barefield), Darragh McDonagh (Miltown), Eoin Cleary (Miltown), Conor Cleary (Miltown),Adrian Murrihy (KilmurryIbrickane), Martin O’Leary (Kilmihil), Niall Hickey (Kilmurry Ibrickane), Jamie Malone (Corofin).

THERE seems to be no stopping Clare’s juvenile handball players as they captured yet another title at the weekend, adding to the previous weekends tally of five titles.

Last out for Clare last weekend saw Aine McInerney and Hannah O’Brien take on a formidable Kilkenny pairing in the under 17 girls doubles in Goresbridge, Kilkenny.

The Clare girls were going in as underdogs but were quietly hoping to emulate their Clare comrades in Alice Akers and Stacey Wright who captured this same title twelve months previous.

Kilkenny started the strongest and forced their way into a 6-0 lead, but the clare girls were resilient and battled back to draw level.

It was a nip and tuck affair with points and hands exchanging on a regular basis. Kilkenny went in to serve for the first game with two hands at 20-18, but the Clare duo fought back to regain the service advantage and clinch a very close first game. What now originally seemed a mountain to climb now seemed to be a great possibility.

And the Clare girls were not to dis- appoint as they started the second game as they finished the first and gained a blistering 12-0 lead.

The finishing line was in their sights and while the Kilkenny girls tried to rally back, it was Clare who took the game and the title to make it an historic 40×20 season for Clare juvenile handball.

Clare juvenile handball is now by far the strongest in Ireland and this is evident by the number of All-Ireland Titles that Clare have won this year – an incredible six out of a possible 15 which makes the county the envy of every other centre in the country.

At local level, the Clare county B doubles get under way this week in all divisions and clubs have been notified of fixtures.

CLARE’S fate still lies in their own hands but they never seem to make it easy for themselves as manager Ger O’Loughlin expressed afterwards.

“I thought we showed a great auld spirit in the second half after a very, very poor and at times completely dead and no attitude first half but I couldn’t ask for any more in the second half.

“We gave them the game really with errors again and we just have to try and eliminate that at this level against better teams and I consider Laois to be one of the better teams in Division 2. If you give them the chance, they will take it and I thought overall that we might deserve to win it with our second half display. But when you miss as much as we missed in the second half from very scoreable positions and you concede the soft enough scores that we did, you are going to end up on the losing end. So I’m disappointed but as I have just said to the lads in the dressing room, we are just going to have to pick ourselves up because it’s still in our own hands. If we beat Carlow in Cusack Park in two weeks time, we will be OK.”

“The bottom line is if we won today, we could have eased our way into the Carlow match and tried a couple of things but now it’s a make-or-break game. So destiny is in our own hands but we definitely need to improve. You would go into the Carlow match worried because we are only hitting it in phases.”

THE INAUGURAL Ennis Duathlon was held on Sunday in Lees Road. The course started with a 3k trail run through the adjacent forest followed by a 14k cycle in windy conditions and finished with another run through the forest.

The short course meant a fast race and the first run was finished in under nine minutes by Mike Yelverton quickly followed by Con Doherty and Ennis Tri Club’s own Patrick Quinn. The first three females home were Derval Devaney, Andree Walkin and Maebh Hurst (below).

Thanks to everyone who helped out with the organisation and running of the event, the athletes, Jane and her physios, DJ yl, Dr. Martin Fitzgerald, Clare Red Cross, Clare County Council and the Gardai.

Ennis Triathlon Club would also like to thank the generous sponsors for this event: Tooling & Engineering Distributors, Kuehne & Nagle, HAAS Group, Seoidin, Tierney’s Cycles, The Bike Shop, Top Bike, Physiozone, Excel Zone, Carrie’s Cakes, O’Connor’s Bakery, Clare Sprint Water, Fergus Credit Union, Turnpike Fruit & Veg, Brian McCarthy Contractors, Sports AI, Base2Race, Dr John McCarthy. Results: 1 MikeYelverton 0:40:44 2 Con Doherty 0:41:37 3 patrick quinn 0:42:29 4 StephenTeeling Lynch 0:43:52 5 Chris Mintern 0:43:55 6 Conor Rooney 0:44:16 7 JUDE MCENTEE 0:44:19 8 Stephen Rooney 0:46:06 9 Shane Geary 0:46:23 10 Aaron O’Brien 0:46:47 11 James Skehan 0:47:02 12 paul horan 0:47:11 13 DAVIDBREW 0:47:16 14 Derval Devaney 0:47:20 15 Ian O’ Halloran 0:47:43 16 Paul Flannery 0:47:57 17 AndreeWalkin 0:48:06 18 Peter Fitzgerald 0:48:07 19 Colin McGann 0:48:47 20 Paul McMahon 0:49:03 21 ColmDaly 0:49:09 22 Cormac Murphy 0:49:15 23 John Cahill 0:49:22 24 Anthony Boyle 0:49:25 25 James Reddan 0:49:49 26 Eddie McMahon 0:49:59 27 Clyde Gaffney 0:50:07 28 Padraic Quinn 0:50:22 29 LiamKennedy 0:50:49 30 Albert Quigley 0:51:04

ONE man, one idea.

That’s what comes to the mind of many of the late Howard Flannery’s old friends when remembering his great crusade – his unique twin-track approach when it came to getting his vision up and running.

One part of it was to get people out running; the other to create a clinic in Ennis for people with special needs. One man, with one idea that came to pass in quite a remarkable way.

You have the clinic in Barefield; you have scores of people out running – cycling and walking too. All beating to the Clare Crusaders drum, early in the morning, late at night, any time.

And, in honour of this achievement, Crusaders present and past, not to mind hundreds of other runners and walkers, will gather on Easter Monday for the inaugural Ennis 10 – Howard Flannery Memorial.

“It’s a 10k and a 10m,” says Frank Landy, one of the chief organisers, “and its for everyone, from runners to walkers. When a group of us got together last October we said to ourselves, why not run a race to remember Howard by and run it every year.

“What better way to remember this remarkable man than by organising a good race, raising a few bob for char ity, letting people have a good bit of craic. That encapsulates Howard Flannery in a nut-shell. We’ll get more of Howard’s spirit between 10am and 12.30pm on Easter Monday than you would running ten or 15 marathons,” adds Landy.

“We have had a core group of people involved. Myself, Frank Cassidy, Tom Gleeson and Paddy Flannery. There wouldn’t be a Clare Crusaders clinic without Howard Flannery. People wouldn’t be out running but for Howard. People who would never have dreamt of doing marathons have marathons run. It has changed the life of the runners, the cyclists and the walkers. The Clare Crusaders are a community on to themselves,” continues Landy.

The Ennis 10 – Howard Flannery Memorial will start and finish opposite Ennis CBS, taking a route out by Roslevan, the 10m will pass the Clare Crusaders clinic at the five mile stage while 10k runners/walkers will take a shorter route back to Ennis.

“We’re promoting it as a big community event,” says Landy. “It’s not that people have lost their community spirit, but it’s that people haven’t been given the opportunity to show their support for the community and show their support for the clinic.

“We will have everybody from sandwich makers to people giving out water. It’s a huge operation and it will remind everyone what Howard set up and how far we’ve got.”

Kilkenny League 3 – Clare League 2 at Deridum Park, Kilkenny

IT was a real case of what might have been for Clare on Sunday afternoon when they just came up short in this national semi-final. With it the hopes of bridging a 40-year gap to when Clare last contested the final in this grade were dashed.

Mike Moloney’s side were undone after an heroic performance that saw them come back from the concession of two goals inside the first 18 minutes to draw level by half-time only to be undone by Kilkenny hero Ross King who settled the tie with his third goal in the 75th minute.

The winner came at a time when Clare had the better of the exchanges after rocking the hosts with a stunning comeback in the first half thanks to goal from Darragh Corry and Ruairi Norrby.

Kilkenny had started this game with a bang, netting as early as the sixth minute when a long ball into the Clare area wasn’t dealt with by the defence, which allowed Ross King head the ball home.

From there things got worse for Clare, albeit they had an early goal chance when Niall Whelan played a long ball over the top into the path of the pacey Ruairi Norrby, only for the Lifford man to be flagged off-side when through on goal.

Then on 18 minutes Sean Maguire tumbled over in the area and was awarded a penalty that Ross King slammed past Ciaran MacMathúna in the Clare goal. It looked bleak for Clare, very bleak, but from there they summoned a brilliant recovery to tee up a second half when everything was to play for.

The early lifeline came on 26 minutes when Jack Walsh’s in-swinging corner from the right was brilliantly met by Darragh Corry who directed the ball home past the hapless Greg Cummins.

Suddenly Clare were transformed, gaining a real grip on things in the middle of the park with Niall Whelan, Darragh Corry and Alan Roche to the fore, while Ruairi Norrby looked dangerous down the left flank.

Indeed, it was Norrby who put the game back in the melting pot when facing up to a free just outside the penalty area in the 40th minute after Darragh Corry was fouled, thumping his shot through the wall into the bottom corner of the net for the equaliser.

Clare were transformed; Kilkenny were on the back-foot, but the goal that would have completed a remarkable recovery never came.

Alan Roche had a half chance early in the second half when he ran onto a ball on the edge of the square but his effort flashed over the bar.

Thereafter things tightened considerably, with both defences on top, while the midfield exchanges became something of a war of attrition, with little room to manoeuvre, until the game’s two most impressive performers conjured up the goal that broke Clare hearts.

Sean Maguire had been a thorn in Clare’s side all day in the middle of the park threaded a ball through to Ross King on the right side, from there the schoolboy international used his strength to shrug off a challenge before driving to the net.

Clare were still not without hope, but by this stage the energy they’d expended in getting back into the game after their horror start began to wane on what was a soft pitch.

They did win two free-kicks on the edge of the area, but unlike the first half when Kilkenny’s wall was penetrated by Ruairi Norrby’s blistering shot, it held firm on both occasions and Clare’s chance was lost.

Clare
Ciaran MacMathúna (EnnisTown), Jack Walsh (Avenue United), Paraic O’Malley (Tulla United), Colin Smyth (Avenue Unitd), Darren Murphy (Bridge United), Niall Whelan (Tulla United), Darragh Corry (Tulla United),Alan Rochie (Avenue United), Darragh Sexton (Avenue Unitd), Eoin Fitzgerald (Avenue United), Ruairi Norrby (Lifford).

Subs
Mark Roche (Avenue United) for Norrby, Dara Fitzgerald (Bridge United) for Alan Roche,TomMcKeown (Tulla United) for Murphy.

Kilkenny
Greg Cummins, BarryWhelan,Andy Hickey, Rob Skehan, SamJohnston, Lee Delaney, ChrisValentine, Declan McQuillan, Sean Maguire, Ross King, Conor Gorey.

Man of the Match
Ross King (Kilkenny League)

LOSING is always hard to take, while the cruellest cut of all in cup football is failing at the semi-final.

Failure wasn’t the word though as Clare had a brilliant year that brought them to the cusp of a first Inter-League Youths decider in 40 years.

No wonder then that pride was the over-riding emotion of manager Mike Moloney after Clare’s agonising defeat.

“I couldn’t have asked for more from the lads in terms of what they put into it – the six and half months they put in,” he told The Clare People .

“Obviously you don’t want to go down there and fall 1-0 down after four minutes and 2-0 after 18 minutes.

“We had to expend so much energy chasing the game and got ourselves back in it with goals from Darragh Corry and Ruairi Norrby, but you can’t just keep up that pace for 90 minutes. We ran out of a bit of steam in the second half.

“Where we were getting a bit of joy was around set pieces. We needed a couple of better deliveries in the second half into the box from the free kicks that we won. We never seemed to get those deliveries in to get that third goal.

“I reckon if we got that third goal you wouldn’t have known what would happen. They were rattled when we got it back to 2-2, so it would have been nice to get the third to see how they would react to going behind,” added Moloney.

And, the Clare manager has said the preparation undertaken by his team since last September is the benchmark for the future as Clare bid to compete at the highest level in national competition.

“I believe the talent is there every year but you have to give them the platform,” Moloney said.

“They have to get good preparation, they have to be taken care of, the same as they would be if they were hurling or Gaelic football team at minor level. You have to spend a bit of money to do that, but if you do the rewards are there.

“We had a group of players who were able to play at a very high standard against a really good side. With a break or two here or there we would be in a national final now,” he added. Pr ego Menswea r Cup Thir d Round Br idge Celt ic A V Br idge Unit ed B @ Br idget own, Sunday 11a m TWO SIDES probably more concerned with league relegation issues than advancing in the cup as Bridge Celtic are hovering dangerously near the basement of the Premier Division while Bridge Utd’s second string are in a more perilous predicament at the rear of the First. In saying that, sometime the cup can be a welcome freedom from the toils of the league and so a home win might be able to boost confidence ahead of a tricky league run-in. Ver dict : Br idge Celt ic A Pr ego Menswea r Cla r e Cup Qua r t er -Fina ls Cor ofin Ha r ps V Bur r en Unit ed @ Cor ofin, Sunday 3. 30pm A MUCH anticipated north Clare derby due to the familiarity of the sides in the First Division battle for promotion. Corofin have had the better of their previous meetings this season by winning 5-3 at home while the corresponding fixture in Lisdoonvarna was a 2-2 draw. Burren Utd have several games in hand in the league to make up if they are to leapfrog Corofin so that alone might preoccupy their priorities and allow Corofin to snatch victory. Ver idct : Cor ofin Ha r ps Avenue Unit ed A V Ma nus Celt ic B @ Lee’s Road, Sunday 2. 30pm THE REWARD for Third Division giantkillers Manus Celtic B for beating a Hermitage side 33 places above them is to play defending Premier Division and cup champions Avenue Utd who are only 32 places above the Clarecastle side. If the formula worked once, it could conceivably work again but the odds are certainly stacked against Manus Celtic as Avenue appear to be hitting form at just the right time to possibly hone in on another double. Ver dict : Avenue Ut d

Connolly Celtic 0 – Shannon Olympic 3 at Connolly

SHANNON Olympic A secured all three points with a three nil win away to Connolly Celtic in their first midweek game of the season last Wednesday evening.

Olympic were forced to start the game with 10 men as some of their players were unfortunately delayed arriving to the match. As Olympic were trying to overcome this handicap, Connolly started the game the better with chances from Brendan Dillon and Bernard Field in the opening ten minutes.

Olympic finally got all eleven men together, fifteen minutes into the game, and quickly settled into the task. The opening goal of the game then came from Mick O’Connell in the 20th minute when he headed home a Jay Regan corner to put Olympic into the lead.

A challenge on Karl Scott led to an Olympic penalty in the 42nd minute which he went on to convert himself to put the away side 2-0 up and just before half time Olympic punished Connolly again with a free kick at the edge of the box. Jimmy Houlihan curled the ball into the far top corner scoring an impressive goal widening Olympics lead to 3-0.

Connolly had several chances in the second half from Alan Markham and Bernard Field however they couldn’t get passed Olympic keeper Gary McGettrick who was on top form on the day.

Shannon Olympic
Gary McGettrick, David Collins, Ian Hogan, James Fitzgerald, Karl Fogarty, Ray Quigley, Jimmy Houlihan, Donncadh Kelly, Mick O’Connell, Jay Regan, Karl Scott.

Subs
Wayne Regan, Richie Hanly, Eamonn O’Neill, Dave Kearns, Michael Byrnes.

Connolly Celtic
Dermot O’Brien, Brian Costello, KillianTorpey, Kieran Quinn, Keith O’Looney,Alan Markhan, Sean Mc Carthy, Bernard Field, Brendan Dillion, Pat Hogan, Donal Keane.

Subs
Danny Casey, Sean Courtney, Sean Cregan.

Mountshannon Celtic 3 – Shannon Olympic 2 at Mountshannon

MOUNTSHANNON kept their first division title hopes alive as they beat league leaders Shannon Olympic by three goals to two at home on Sunday morning.

Played in bright conditions, but on a wet pitch after an earlier downpour, Olympic failed to get a grip on the home side who pressed from the start. Mountshannon took the lead in the 16th minute when a long ball from the defence wasn’t dealt with and Cílin McNamara finish neatly into the Olympic goal.

Olympic, playing against a stiff breeze and up the hill, were unable to create many chances in the first half and seemed happy to get to the break trailing by the minimum as Mountshannon kept the pressure on.

The away side started the second half much better and they found themselves level in the 49th minute when John Moloney handled the ball on the line and Karl Scott dispatched the resulting penalty.

Mountshannon regained the lead in the 56th minute when confusion in the Olympic defence caused the ball to ricochet off several players before landing to Kevin Dooley who drove the ball into the roof of the net.

As Olympic went in search of an equaliser, Mountshannon capitalised catching the away side on the break when Paul Dooley broke down the left hand side and crossed for the unmarked Cílin McNamara to score his second with a great header.

Olympic did manage to get a goal back in the 74th minute from Ray Quigley but Mountshannon managed to hold on until the final whistle and recorded an important win which tightened up the top of the table.

Shannon Olympic
Gary Mc Gettrick, Mick O’Connell, Ian Hogan, James Fitzgerald, Karl Fogarty, Ray Quigley, Jimmy Houlihan, Donncadh Kelly, Karl Scott, Jay Regan,Wayne Regan.

Subs
Gareth McPhilips, Richie Hanly.

Mountshannon Celtic
ColmKavanagh, John Moloney, John O’Brien, Martin McNamara, Padraig Brody, Kevin Dooley, Paul Dooley, George Waterstone, Cílin McNamara, Raymond Cahill, AndrewMcNamara.

Subs
John Bugler,Thomas Gleeson, Eoin Keane, Christopher Jones, Jason Horan.