Sports

IRELAND suffered a heartbreaking 20-18 defeat to Scotland as they saw their World Cup dreams banished, reports Ivan Smyth. With Clare’s Eimear Considine and Edel McMahon both starting, Ireland led this game by 18-13 heading in to the 80th minute. However, Chloe Rollie scored a try for Scotland before Sarah Law tapped over the conversion against Ireland’s 14 players. With Italy top of the table heading in to this game, the equation was simple for Ireland beforehand. A bonus point win would see them finish top of the table and qualify for the World Cup. The girls in green also had the safety net of a place in the repechage qualifying tournament with a second-place finish. A draw would also have meant Ireland finished second place in a group containing Scotland, Italy and Spain. Considine threatened in attack in the opening half while McMahon looked assured in the back row as Ireland failed to make their forays forward count on …

Junior B Football Championship Final Parteen v Kilrush Shamrocks at Éire Óg, Sunday 3pm Jilted at the penultimate stage of last year’s championship, both Parteen and Kilrush will be determined to make the most of their opportunity for some much-needed championship silverware in Ennis on Saturday. Amidst contrasting stages of development, it’s an intriguing final pairing as Parteen have had to start from scratch in order to rebuild their footballing wing from the bottom up, with several years of underage development finally coming to fruition at adult level in what is only their third season back in the Junior ranks. The experience of Eanna Mulvihill and former Michael Cusack’s talisman Colm Davoren are crucial to what is very much a youthful side that includes current Clare Under 20 hurler Jack Kirwan, Gavin Higgins, Tom Egan, Eoghan O’Connell and the lively Ewan O’Brien. 2019 was also a significant year for Kilrush who lost their long-held Junior A status, with the Shams’ …

A battle of the senior and intermediate champions tops the billing for Round 2 of the Senior Ladies Football Championship when Banner Ladies host Kilmurry Ibrickane in Banner GAA on Sunday at 2pm. In a repeat of last year’s senior decider, the Ennis side repeated the dose against West Clare Gaels last weekend while Kilmurry Ibrickane were edged out by 2019 winners Kilmihil in contrasting opening bouts, with anything the ‘Bricks could get out of Sunday’s fixture being a major bonus. Also determined to get off the mark will be Cooraclare and West Clare Gaels who meet in Cooraclare on Saturday evening at 6pm. The sides famously last met in last September’s semi-final that saw the 2010 winners finally end Cooraclare’s superb return to senior level despite a rousing second half fightback by 3-9 to 1-10. The tie of Round 2 however is the intriguing wrestle for supremacy between Kilmihil and St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield in Kilmihil on Sunday evening (6pm) …

Ladies Camogie Championship Preview The best was saved for first last weekend as Newmarket-on-Fergus received a timely validation of their potential when holding off Kilmaley by 1-13 to 1-8 in Tubber on Friday evening. Having slumped to five consecutive final defeats, the Blues dismissed any nagging doubts of their current health and will now look to build upon that display when facing Kilkishen/Bodyke in Fr. McNamara Park on Saturday at 1pm. While it’s only the second round of five, it’s already sink-or-swim time for Kilkishen/Bodyke who crave a response after shipping the biggest defeat of the entire opening round against Scariff-Ogonnelloe. The 2019 county and Munster champions can put one foot in the semi-finals if they can quash St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield’s enthusiasm in what is the Parish’s championship bow at Clare Camogie Headquarters on Saturday at 5pm. At Intermediate level, having negotiated their way past Whitegate by three points, Clooney-Quin face another obstinate opponent in neighbours Tulla who arguably should …

Senior Championship Round 5 Group 1 Cratloe v Ennistymon at Cusack Park, Sunday 12pm The high noon throw-in couldn’t be more apt as this is the ultimate showdown for the final quarter-final place on Sunday afternoon. The scenario is simple as it’s winner-takes-all albeit that Cratloe can afford a share of the spoils to prevail. It’s only two years since the sides last knock-out meeting, a quarter-final clash that saw Cratloe eventually ease up to victory by 11 points as the wheels rather came off the Ennistymon wagon after finishing with just 13 men. After a slow start, Ennistymon have actually improved as the group has developed but the Achilles heel remains up front where they hold the unenviable record of having the lowest scoring ratio of all five teams in the group to date. The thing is that Cratloe have a particular point to prove themselves, having faltered so embarrassingly against Kilmurry Ibrickane last time out when conceding 2-6 …

CLARE’S Imogen Cotter will be completing arguably her greatest test of endurance this Saturday when the talented cyclists completed a 340km cycle in Spain, writes Ivan Smyth. Cotter, from Ruan, will aim to complete the Pirinexus Challenge as she will start her cycle in Girona with the route taking her through the Pyrenees. This is a unique event in the cycling calendar with participants given 18 hours to complete the cycle as they start at dawn and have until midnight to negotiate this difficult course. The Clare cyclist is under no illusions as to the size of the task she faces. “I have never done a challenge like this. I will be travelling on road, gravel paths and even up mountains. It is a huge challenge. I’m tripling the distance that I usually race. I have to be self sufficient on the day so if I get a puncture, I have to deal with that myself.” Cotter enters this race …

Clare’s Liam Jegou is set to race at the 2021 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships tomorrow, writes Ivan Smyth. The Ballyvaughan canoeist qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games in a condensed field although he didn’t make a splash as planned after being eliminated at the semi-final stage. However, Thursday afternoon in Slovakia, he hopes to build upon what has been a promising year thus far with another assured display. Jegou has struggled with a neck injury in recent weeks but in a post on social media, the Olympian confirmed that he intends to represent his country in Bratislava. https://twitter.com/LiamJegou/status/1439963454539014147?s=20 He lines up in a talented field as each participant will compete in two heats this afternoon as Jegou aims to reach the final this weekend. Jegou competes in the C1 discipline. In canoe C1, competitors navigate a course while trying to avoid touching a series of overhanging gates. The slightest touch adds two seconds to a canoeists’ time. Missing a …

THERE WAS double joy for Fergus Rovers recently when the club captured county championships in two under 14 divisions. First up were the U14C side who took their title with a dominant defeat of Banner Ladies. Not to be outdone, their colleagues in the A division finished strongly to defeat Kilrush Shamrocks and land the county title. U 14 A Final Fergus Rovers 3-11 Kilrush Shamrocks 2-06 In the same week that Meath caught the attention of the nation after their sensational win over 5 in a row seeking Dublin, locally the young teenagers of Fergus Rovers and Kilrush did likewise in Kilmihil on Thursday evening when they served up an intriguing contest in the U 14 A championship final played before a fine attendance. While there was never much between the sides until the closing minutes Kilrush did start the brighter and at the first water break held a three point advantage, 1-02 to 0-2 the goal coming from …