The Clare People Archive

SO FAR, 2007 has been annus hor- ribulus for Clare hurling.

Not all to do with the controversies engendered by the Davie Fitz, Sem- plegate, Tony Carmody, Ger Ward and Dave Mahedy affairs. Some- thing to do with results as well. A poor league followed by a poorer start to the championship.

A case of bad to worse. Casement Park on Saturday afternoon is when things have to start getting better. Win and the Clare hurlers throw themselves a lifeline and march on- wards and upwards to a mouth wa- tering clash with Galway in Cusack eevee LUA awe

Lose and Clare hurling isn’t so much as staring into the abyss — more

a case of plummeting head long into a black hole. They aren’t contemplat- ing the latter, only the former as the wagons are being circles by Tony Considine and his team this week.

It seems anything that could go wrong has gone wrong in the build up to the All-Ireland qualifier. The county board refused to bow to Con- sidine’s request for club champion- ship games to be put on hold until af- ter Clare’s All-Ireland race was run.

Power to clubs preached the top table, while Considine launched a verbal broadside when saying “all I’ve wanted since I came into the job was to have a fair crack of the whip. One some level you begin to wonder if some sections would prefer to see you fail”.

It’s this siege mentality that’s driv-

ing Clare this week — the overwhelm- ing feeling from those involved in the team is that they’re in this thing on their own. Without board back- ing, especially from the rump within the board that want Tony Considine to fall on his own sword.

That state of siege is added to when you factor in suspensions to Alan Markham, Colin Lynch, Barry Nugent and Andrew Quinn and a mounting injury crisis with the Clare squad.

The Clare quartet were suspended by the Competitions Controls Com- mittee for their part in the fracas with Cork, while their one-match bans were upheld on appeal last Thursday night.

Since then things have got worse, with fresh injuries clouding Clare

preparations for their journey north. On top of the absence of Whitegate’s Brendan Bugler, Newmarket-on-Fer- cus’ Bernard Gaffney has been ruled out, as has Clooney-Quin’s Fergal Lynch.

Meanwhile, both Jonathon Clancy and Kevin Dilleen are in a race to be fit for the clash against the UI- ster champions, which has prompted manager Tony Considine to delay naming his starting 15 until the day om elemestclceey

Only then will Clare’s small trav- elling support know the team. Only then will the wagons be fully cir- rer

SHANNON town has received a boost in its long running campaign to secure full town council status arising from Government plans to reform local government.

Shannon Town Manager, Ger Dol- lard, has welcomed new proposals in the recently published Programme for Government as a “very signifi- cant step forward” for the town.

He said that the definite timescale of six months- before the proposals appear in a new green paper on local government- was very positive.

In the programme, the parties out- lined their commitment to the estab- lishment of town councils in towns that have shown significant popula- tion growth, including the upgrading of the former town commissions to full town councils.

“Shannon Town Council has been pursuing the upgrade in functions and the extension of the Shannon town boundary. Our understanding from a visit of the previous Minis- ter for the Environment some time ago was that there was no legislative mechanism currently to facilitate an upgrade,” said Mr Dollard.

He added that “‘as a result Shannon Town Council decided to move ahead with the application for a boundary

extension and continue to lobby for a change in status”.

The manager also said that the case for Shannon was strong as it was the second largest town in the county with a population of 10,000 and 12,000 working in the general environs. An upgrade would give the town council overall responsibility for local government functions in- cluding housing, planning and roads as well as levying rates and other sae ene

“The staffing support and services available would be significantly im- proved and extended to cover the direct provision of services. Being realistic and assuming positive deci- sions for Shannon, I would see a five year timescale as being likely,’ he added.

The Shannon-based incoming mayor, Councillor Patricia McCa- rthy (Ind) said that an upgrade to full town council “is what Shannon deserves and has been fighting for a number of years”.

She added, “I would welcome a serious debate on local government reform.

“There has been no discussion or reform in the past, but no meaning- ful reform has taken place and the lo- cal government system remains too centralised.”

THE end of an epic journey for Bal- lyea’s young hurlers arrived at the weekend when they were beaten by two goals in the final group game of

the Féile Roinn A Hurling competi- nee

They had two fine wins earlier in the weekend when they put in two hugely convincing displays but they came undone in the third and final

eroup stage against a physical Castle- knock side.

The Dublin club — with over juve- nile members — went on to win the tournament outright and had their toughest test against Ballyea who

they beat 3-2 to 1-2 to advance to the knock out stage.

Played over quarter hour halves, Ballyea, without the services of Mar- tin O’Leary who fractured his collar bone last week, were always within

touching distance of Castleknock.

“It was disappointing but we always said that if we lost a game, whoev- er beat us would go a long way in the competition and that’s the way it turned out,’ said trainer Fergie O’Loughlin. “We’re just proud of our players and the huge effort they put in to get this far. They’ve mas- sive potential and we’re proud of the work they’ve done over the past few ppeKeyela kona

Though they exited the tournament earlier that they would have liked, they left Kilkenny and headed back for Clare on Sunday with the knowl- edge that the overall experience will stand to them in the years to come.

“It’s a building block along the way, added O’Loughlin. “These lads have fine hurling futures ahead of them. Three of the panel were drawn from the Under-12 team and it’s a great experience for young play- ers like that to compete at this kind of level.”

PRIDE overruled disappointment as Clare camogie representatives, Sixmilebridge were desperately un- lucky not to qualify from a extremely difficult group. They accounted for themselves well throughout, display- ing some terrific camogie on their way to winning two of of their three eroup games and were only outdone by two points in their final game against the eventual finalists, Mil- ford, which 1s a barometer of how far the bridge team could have gone had they overcome the fancied Cork champions.

The Bridge side were in a tough eroup with Kilmanagh, their Kil- kenny hosts who Sixmilebridge ac- counted for in their opening game on Friday evening on a score line of Sixmilebridge 7-4 to O-l. Scor- ers for Sixmilebridge in this game were Mairead Hyland (4-02), Alison Quinlan (2-0), Sinead Tuohy (1-0), Chloe Morey and Rachel O’Halloran (O-1) each.

On Saturday morning, the Dublin Champions St. Lachtain’s provided the opposition and once again, Sixmi- lebridge came out on top in this one 5-05 to 1-04. Sixmilebridge’s scor- ers were Mairead Hyland (3-3), Katie Liddy & Alison Quinlan (1-0) each and Rachel O’ Halloran (0-2).

In the final group game, Sixmi- lebridge were up against Milford, the Cork champions, who were also unbeaten at this point so this game would decide who would qualify from the group. A tough, tight game was played out between these two

and indeed, it was level at half time 1-1 apiece. Unfortunately, Sixmile- bridge just came out on the losing side, as the game finished Sixmile- bridge 2-2 to Milford’s 2-4. Alison Quinlan and Mairead Hyland scored (1-0) each and Rachel O’Halloran

and Chloe Morey (0-1) a piece in this game.

Sixmilebridge were understandably disappointed but were overwhelmed by the welcome and courtesy of their Kilkenny hosts who even had their county representatives, Eddie Bren-

nan and Jackie Tyrell entertain the Sixmilebrdige squad on Saturday evening.

Afterwards, Club Secretary, Ni- amh McInerney was quick to point out how well the team had done and that the quality of their play through- out was outstanding. Niamh went on to congratulate the girls, stressing that the club was very proud of all the girls and how they had acquitted themselves. “A lot of hard work had gone into this and the girls played very well, we are very proud of each and every one of them and if the final of this competition is anything like the last game we played in the com- petition, it will be a good one”.

Sarsfields from Galway were the eventual champions, seeing off Sixmilebridge’s group opponents, Milford by 2-8 to 1-3.

THE 2007 U-12 A Championship fi- nal will take place this Tuesday, June 19th in Clarecastle GAA grounds with a 7.00pm throw in. Contesting this year’s final will be the holders The Banner Ladies from Ennis and last year’s Clare B champions the Newmarket Ladies.

This should be a great game of foot- ball as both teams are sprinkled with an array of up and coming young stars. When both teams met earlier

in the championship Newmarket-on- Fergus won with a decisive 2-6 to 2-1 scoreline in what was a thrilling game. County U-12 stars Orlaith Lynch (The Banner) and Niki Kaiser (Newmarket) are expected to play major roles in this eagerly awaited contest.

The game will be refereed by Or- laith Griffin of Fergus Rovers and parents and supporters of both teams are urged to turn out in great num- bers to give support to two excellent teams.

THE CLARE roads will play home to bigtime international cycling later this year during the Tour of Ireland Stage Race that takes place from Au- gust 22 to 26.

Stage three of the flagship cycling event in Ireland will take in the 35 miles from Killaloe to Ennis giving cycling enthusiasts an opportunity to see some leading professionals 1n ac- nen

Ciaran Power and David O’ Loughlin have been named in the Navigators Insurance cycle team. The Irish duo will ride the UCI 2.1 ranked inaugu- ral event sponsored by Failte Ireland in the team announced by Director Sportif Ed Beamon this week. The other riders named in the seven-man U.S based outfit are Kristian House, Hilton Clarke, Valeriy Kobzarenko, Sergey Lagutin and Phil Zayicek.

Mayoman O’Loughlin has won the Irish championships’ triple-crown by winning senior time-trial, crite-

rium and road race titles. He has is a regular on the Irish national team at major events including the world championships. Ciaran Power, from Waterford is a double Olympian from the Sydney and Athens Olympics. The 31-year-old roadman sprinter is a former overall champion and mul- triple stage winner of the FBD Milk Ras.

ONE season may have only just finished but clubs in Clare face a quick turnaround for the beginning of a new one. The last action of the 2006/07 season took place on May 27 when Fern Celtic defeated Avenue United in the replay of the under 14

cup final.

A month on and a new season of Summer soccer is just around the corner. The first league out of the blocks is the under 11s which is due to get underway on June 28.

The Clare schoolboys soccer league made the decision to switch to sum- mer soccer following positive discus-

sions with Bord na nOg Iomant, Bord na nOg Peil, A formal meeting be- tween then took place in March be- tween all parties at the West County Hotel, Ennis.

A schedule was agreed with no days of the week being used by any more than one competition. It was noted that the re-scheduling of fix-

tures, for genuine reasons can some- times prove necessary, but that where this occurs, the re-arranged fixture will not impinge on the other sports’ designated fixture days. The matter of training and challenge games was discussed. It was agreed that clubs would need to liaise at a local level. The respective committees would

not be involved with this, other than to encourage the officers of clubs to meet to discuss such arrangements. In order to ensure the continued smooth running of fixtures it was agreed that the fixtures secretaries would be in regular contact and fu- ture meetings would take place to re- view how the schedules operates.

Down through the years Mary Im- maculate Secondary School in Lis- doonvarna has proved to be a hotbed of talent when it comes to volleyball and they’re branching out right now and getting their transition year stu-

dents involved in coaching the ac- tion.

A number of trophies have come to the school since the start of the 1980s and this year the transition year stu- dents were began coaching primary school students in their own area.

The programme was run by the

Volleyball Association of Ireland in conjunction with the Irish Sports Council and Women in Sport and was open to transition year girls only. Last November eleven girls from the Lisdoonvarna school participated in a training day followed by further training in January.

In February they began coaching in two primary schools, Lisdoonvarna and Kilshanny and when the training was complete they took on two fur- ther schools, Fanore and Kilfenora. In total about 90 primary school pu- pils received coaching.

The culmination of this initiative 1s

a volleyball blitz organised by these coaches for all students who had tak- en part in the coaching. This blitz is completely organised by the transi- tion year coaches and went ahead on Friday at the Ennistymon Commu- nity Centre where a huge amount of talent was on show from all schools.

ON the weekend of June 30, Ennis will put on a major celebration of life, sport and people with events organised by Ennis Street Festival, Clare Community Games and the Tony Griffin Cycle.

On Saturday morning the Clare hurler and many cyclists will begin the final leg of his epic 7,000 mile

cycle from Canada in aid of cancer research and care from Dublin.

Saturday begins in Ennis with the finals of the Clare Community Games. The event will be preceded with a parade from Station Road in Ennis to the courthouse of the vari- ous areas taking part. It is fitting that Tony was once a competitor in the Community Games Final.

The Ennis Street Festival, which is

an annual event, will take place on Sunday, July 1, from 12pm until late.

A great day of music, dance, work- shops, story telling, magicians, pup- pets, art exhibitions, street entertain- ment, pub gigs and a gig rig in the upper market area between 2pm and 8pm will all take place.

Food will be for sale throughout the day at the market section in Market Place. Sunday will also mark the of-

ficial re-opening of Dan Murphy’s House with Irish music and danc- ing in memory of Johnny Patterson (1840-1889).

Music will continue throughout the evening in Ennis and with a welcome home event for Tony in the West County Hotel taking place later in the evening.

Tony and his group are due to ar- rive back into Ennis at about 4pm

and again everybody is invited to take part in a massive and colourful Siege on Ennis.

Further information on the weekend can be found at www.ennisstreetfes- tival.com and www.tonygriffinfoun- dation.com.

Further information on the Clare Community Games you can contact members of the committee on 087 TOPE

will take place at the Lees Road, Drumcliff, Ennis.

Lees Road will have many side shows with set dancing, The Puppets, The Heads, face painting, and Skate Boarding so come along a make it a family day in the Lees Road.

This will see many charities ben- efit from this event. The Clare Haven and Clare Youth Services are the two main charities and with over 600 competitors taking part last year, this year this race will hopefully reach the 1,000 mark.

With the race starting in Lees Road via the main gate turning right and towards the Lahinch Road, onto the Maid of Erin roundabout which will be the three kilometre mark, pass the

Colaiste Mhuire, turning left at the Club Bridge, Kelly’s Corner, pass- ing the Hospital Gate (4k mark) on out the Gort Road via Sheils Garage, Cois na hAbhanna. This is the half way mark and there will be a water station at the Auburn Lodge Hotel.

Ohetwebertcas (Jame Ceum or DUNs-VOt-mr-NNCMO\Vos the narrow the bridge to Drumcliff, leaving Drumcliff graveyard on your left the course heads back onto Lees Road and back in the main gate.

The finish is at car park after the clubhouse in Lees Road.

Their will be a host of top class ath- letes taking part and the pre-race fa- vourite will be last years title holder Gerry Ryan, Galway City Harriers, and this time he will have the former World Marathon Record Holder Ste- ve Jones from Wales for company.

Jones broke the world record in 1983 for the marathon in Chigago with a time of 2.08.18 hours. He also

won the London Marathon and won a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Gra tlene

Brian Murphy, Marian, who has prepared very well over the last few weeks has this course completed on numerous occasions will be the man to watch along with the European Master Champion Eugene Moyni- han, Marian.

Also in contention will be Patrick Enright from Cratloe and Sports- world AC in Dublin the masters will be well contested with Pat Hogan, Ennis Track Club, Michael Harvey, James Kenny, Kilmurry I[brickane/ North Clare, Frank Garrihy, Ennis Track Club, and Dermot Moran, St Mary’s, will all contest their major OF NK xO) woe

The ladies race will be run over the Same distance and this will be a well contested affair between the Cork City Marathon Champion ‘Tracy

Guilfoyle, Kilnaboy, and last years champion Veronica Colleran, Ennis Track Club, and another big road runner Loretta Duggan, St Mary’s, winner of the Clare Mountain Hill Climb.

Also in contention will be Ciara Hassett from Quin now running with Rathfarnham AC Dublin, Marion O’Loughlin, Deirdre Daly, Ida Han- rahan, Hilda O’Connor Marie Carey all Ennis Track Club, Marie Fen- nessy, Michelle O’Halloran, Maura Falsey all Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare, Marian Burke St Marys, Hil- lary Cunningham St Marys.

Their will be prizes for the first ten men and ladies; the first three mas- ters men O35, O40, O45, OS0 and O60; the first three junior men and ladies; the first three masters ladies O35, O40, O45, O50 and O60; plus Wheelchair. All Participants who finish the 10k will be presented with

a medal.