Sports

Eoin Brennan previews the Munster senior, intermediate and junior quarter-finals involving Éire Óg, Kildysart and Liscannor this weekend Munster Senior Club Football Championship Quarter-Final (Extra Time if Necessary – Result on the Day) Éire Óg v The Nire (Waterford) at Cusack Park Ennis, Sunday 1.15pm (John Ryan, Cork) The mere mention of Ballymacarbry around Ennis tends to evoke great memories of ladies football clashes between Banner Ladies and the perennial Waterford champions. Indeed, only last weekend Ballymac edged out the Clare champions to win back the prestigious Munster Senior Club honours after a 22 year gap but their winning legacy hasn’t exactly transferred over to their male counterparts in recent years. The Nire, based on the Waterford/Tipperary border have a unique GAA Club relationship as their three codes are spread into as many entities, with Ballymacarbry (ladies football), Fourmilewater (hurling) and The Nire (men’s football). Up to this year, one man predominantly oversaw all three as former Waterford hurling manager …

Eoin Brennan reports from Nenagh as an Eoin Begley brace was critical to Ardscoil Rís defeating Thurles CBS 3-19 to 1-23 in the Munster Under 16.5A PPS Hurling Championship Final SIX Clare natives played an integral part as Ardscoil Rís finally prevailed in a nervy finale to secure their first Dean Ryan Cup in six years in MacDonagh Park, Nenagh on Wednesday afternoon. Having suffered heartbreaking back-to-back final defeats, the Limerick hurling powerhouse finally inched over the line at the third attempt, with the Banner once more central to that success as five different players contributed 2-10 of their side’s tally. Clonlara’s Eoin Begley starred with two superb opportunist strikes to put clear daylight between the sides by the break at 2-10 to 0-10 while Michael Collins (3), Cillian Murphy (3) and Marc O’Brien (2) also chipped with timely points. Joint-captain Eoin Carey arrowed over the clinching free from halfway to finally cement only Ardscoil’s third title at this level. …

Newmarket Celtic and Avenue United have learned who they will face in Round Four of the FAI Junior Cup. Paddy Purcell’s side will face Shelburne United from Wexford while Avenue United will travel to Galway as they were paired with Tuam Celtic. Newmarket Celtic progressed through to this stage after a comfortable 3-0 win over Shannon Town last weekend. Two goals from Eoin Hayes, who recently represented his country as the Republic of Ireland qualified for the UEFA Regions Cup, ensured Newmarket avoided an upset. They overcame Classic FC in the second round of this competition when securing a facile 4-0 win. A Darragh Leahy hat trick coupled with a strike from Dean Hegarty saw Newmarket progress. In the opening round of this competition, Newmarket travelled to Kerry as they faced Mastergeeha FC. The Clare side secured a 4-1 win as Harvey Cullinan, Davy McCarthy, Dean Hegarty and Sean Perrill all found the target. Meanwhile, Avenue United face an away …

Dr. Harty Cup Group 4 Round 2 St Colman’s Fermoy (Cork) 4-13 St Joseph’s Tulla 0-14 St Joseph’s Tulla’s Dr. Harty Cup defence received a sobering start when four timely goals sucker-punched the holders as St Colman’s cemented their place in the last eight in Knocklong on Wednesday afternoon. With only two survivors from last year’s unforgettable breakthrough campaign in contrast to seven from their opponents, Tulla’s young side will still be disappointed by the preventable manner of those goals. Jamie Magner who was also top-scorer for St Colman’s in last year’s knock-out clash, raided for three opportunist goals in the opening half that effectively put the result to bed by the break at 3-6 to 0-6. In such difficult conditions from both the sky and underfoot, this physical wrestle for supremacy suited a more imposing Cork side who were determined to exact revenge after being knocked out of last year’s Munster Under 19A Championship by the same opponents. Thankfully, …

Éire Óg have won back to back senior football championship titles. Here is a selecton of images from the match shot by John Kelly

Eoin Brennan watched Éire Óg grind out victory over Ennistymon on a score of 0-9 to 0-6 to retain Jack Daly title ÉIRE Óg are unquestionably the Clare Senior Football kingpins after grinding out a determined victory over Ennistymon to retain their crown in Cusack Park on Sunday afternoon. Bouncing back from a heartbreaking late reverse to Ballyea in the hurling equivalent seven days previously, eight dual finalists maintained their unflinching focus to get over the line this time around as the Ennis side led from start to finish. It took patience and discipline to unlock an Ennistymon defensive door that had confounded four previous opponents as their swift counter-attacking style and unerring freetaking that included three marks, steered their side to victory. Central to that masterclass was captain Gavin Cooney who converted six placed balls to keep the scoreboard ticking over in what was far from a classic final. Two of those bookended a forgettable first half that saw …

HAVING emerged from completely contrasting starting blocks, Éire Óg and Ennistymon have also hand differing preparations in the lead-up to this first time final pairing. Of course, having underwhelmed in their relentless pursuit of the Jack Daly, the only surprise about Éire Óg’s 15 year breakthrough last November was that it hadn’t come sooner such was their potent line-up on paper. However, what hasn’t been a surprise is that the Townies are determined to make up for lost time by easing through this year’s championship to maintain their perfect nine match winning championship record. Even more impressively, they have almost seamlessly smoothed over the absence of Conall Ó hAiniféin, David Reidy, Nathan Murray, Eimhin Courtney and Dara Walsh, a remarklable feat in itself considering their contributions to that title-winning journey in 2021. Ennistymon meanwhile looked to have missed the boat in 2018 as for all their underage dominance over the past decade, the North Clare Magpies increasingly looked as if …

For any guest passing through the Falls Hotel reception last Thursday evening, they would have been forgiven for thinking that they were witnessing more of a casualty ward than a press night. After all, with injured players Cathal Malone (groin), Sean O’Driscoll (quad) and Kevin Hehir (knee) either limping or on crutches, it seemed as if the interview process was more akin to a therapy session. Even Club President Kieran Crowe is eagerly-awaiting his hip replacement operation only two days after the county final. The Galway native and Garda journeyman actually played for the Ennis Faughs in 1957 but was first stationed in Ennistymon in 1969 and aside from brief stints elsewhere has been a community fixture ever since and has been an integral part of the club’s development. “I just feel that if we could win one, we could stay at the top for a while.” began the 87-year-young president. “You look at the likes of Miltown and Kilmurry …