Sports

Clare Cup Division 1A Round 7 Sixmilebridge v Broadford at O’Garney Park Sixmilebridge, Friday 7.30pm A keen derby that would be a juicy prospect come championship time but realistically there’s merely only pride to play for in Sixmilebridge this evening. Of course the sides did clash in the 2020 Senior Championship that the then county champions Sixmilebridge prevailed in with a degree of ease on their way to retaining their Canon Hamilton title. However, that was Broadford’s first year back in the top flight and they’ve been growing in stature in the intervening period. While Sixmilebridge are stuck in a mid-table limbo, Broadford do require the points to steer clear of safety. Inagh-Kilnamona v Feakle at Inagh, Friday 7.30pm It’s safe to say that Inagh-Kilnamona have had the Indian sign over Feakle in recent seasons. Indeed, the East Clare side’s last senior win against their hosts was in 2015 and in the seven years since, Inagh-Kilnamona have recorded five consecutive …

Ennis Town are just one game away from becoming the first Clare team to secure a provincial title as they face Cork side Midleton FC in the Munster U19 Cup final this Friday. Tony Downey, who is in charge of both the U19 and senior squads within the club, is aware that this would represent a huge achievement for Ennis Town to win in their first ever Munster final appearance while he believes it would also be a huge boost for soccer within the county. “We have so much to play for. Avenue have reached the FAI Cup final before while Newmarket have gone deep in competitions before but this would be a big achievement for the club. It would be huge for Clare soccer if we were to win.” “I think Clare soccer is improving every year. For nearly every team it’s about the retention of players and advertising the game to the players so we hope we can …

Forty years after his first win in the race, age-less Curragh trainer, Dermot Weld, secured a fifth Irish 1,000 Guineas when his Homeless Songs routed her rivals in the Tattersalls-sponsored contest at the Curragh on Sunday. Weld has enjoyed a glittering career, with names like Vintage Crop, Go And Go, Vinnie Roe and Media Puzzle doing him proud all over the world. In recent times things have been a bit quieter for the master of Rosewell House, but in Homeless Songs he has the makings of another superstar. Chris Hayes was entrusted with the mount aboard the 11/2 shot who was smartly away from the stalls. Fifth at the two-furlong marker, Homeless Songs cruised into the lead on the stands side as the field entered the final furlong. The victorious daughter of Frankel was in top gear now and, with consummate ease, the Moyglare Stud-owned filly powered home to beat 11/4 favourite Tuesday by five-and-a-half-lengths. This really was a demolition …

No tickets are currently available for the Munster Hurling Final after the 11,000 put on general sale this morning were all bought in a mere 11 minutes. All stand tickets and some for the terraces were allocated to clubs earlier in the week, meaning that only a portion of the terrace tickets were put on sale this morning. Yesterday, some of the county’s clubs had announced that the allocations they received were not sufficient to cover the demand from their members, such is the level of interest in what will be the first Clare-Limerick Munster final since 1995. While Clare GAA has been beset by infighting for the last couple of years, the performances of the hurlers this year have been outstanding, and supporters have backed the team in large numbers, with an attendance of over 16,000 at Cusack Park last Sunday, the vast majority backing Clare, even though the Banner had already qualified for the Munster final. With Limerick …

SEMPLE Stadium is set to be sold out on Sunday week for the Munster Senior Hurling Championship final, according to the Munster Council. On Wednesday Munster GAA Communications Manager Ed Donnelly stated that 90% of the stand tickets had already been allocated to clubs in Clare and Limerick, and to season ticket holders. He said that the remainder of the stand tickets had gone to other Munster counties, the Camogie Association (the curtain raiser is a senior camogie game between Waterford and Tipperary), and Munster GAA. Mr Donnelly said that terrace tickets have also gone to the clubs of Clare and Limerick and the remaining tickets for the two terraces will be going on sale at 10am this Thursday morning, May 26, online at Ticketmaster and at participating Centra and Supervalu outlets. The launch of the new trophy for the Munster Senior Hurling Champions took place at the Castle Oaks Hotel, Castleconnell on Wednesday night. The Mick Mackey Cup will …

Last weekend saw two shock results with Newmarket Celtic falling to a 3-2 defeat against third placed Shannon Town. Meanwhile, Avenue United managed to salvage a draw against Bridge United with a 94th minute equaliser. They may look back on not winning this game with regret as given the Newmarket result, they would have been crowned champions. On Tuesday evening an appeal by Sporting Ennistymon against an FAI ruling on the circumstances surrounding international clearance for one of their players was unsuccessful. As a result Avenue have now awarded two extra points, as their draw in recent weeks against Sporting has now been awarded as a victory. This means that Avenue only need a draw if they are to dethrone Newmarket as champions with the sides meeting in the league decider next Wednesday in Roslevan. Roche salvages point for Avenue Avenue United 1 Bridge United 1 Avenue United let slip an opportunity to lift the Moloney Hardware Premier Division title …

Clare will face Meath in Round One of the Football qualifiers after this morning’s draw on RTE Radio One. Colm Collins’ side will enjoy home advantage against fellow Division Two outfit Meath on June 4/5. However, Clare have a poor recent record against Meath, having lost their last five games against the Leinster side in as many seasons. The pair met in this year’s league with Meath securing a 0-10 to 0-9 win as James Conlon’s late point was all that separated the sides in Cusack Park. Clare found themselves in the draw this morning after defeat to Limerick. It took a little bit of history to separate the sides with the first shoot-out in Munster Football Championship history deciding matters. The sides finished level at 1-19 to 2-16 after extra time before Limerick prevailed 4-1 in the shootout. Meanwhile, Meath enjoyed a facile 4-13 to 1-12 win over Wicklow in their opening game of the Leinster Championship. Jack O’Connor, …