Sports

THERE was more success for Clare athletics after  superb displays by St Flannan’s and Colaiste Muire runners at the Munster Schools Cross Country Championship in Cork Athletics Grounds last week. The St Flannan’s team of Dylan Casey, Dean Casey, Niall Murphy and Barry Conway, Thomas McGuire and Cian O’Boyle effortlessly took team gold in the Senior Boys 6,000m with the first four finishing in the top five spots. Dylan, Niall and Dean practically stepped over the line together in a one, two, three, with Barry only seconds behind them. St Flannan’s won the gold team with an astonishing six points. In the Minor Girls 2,000m, Coláiste Muire team secured gold with 22 points with Emily Singleton just missing out on first place. Her team mate Aoife Keane finished fifth with  Sarah Crowe 15th. In the Junior Boys 3,500m St Flannan’s won gold with 34 points with Flannan’s boys Finn Duignan and Simon Farrell doing a second and third. Patrick Thynne …

National Hurling League Division 1 Round 4 Clare 0-18 Limerick 0-18 THE spoils may have been shared but in many ways it seemed as good as a victory for Clare who simply needed to draw a line in the sand against their Shannonside neighbours, reports Eoin Brennan. Ahead of their Munster Championship showdown in two months time back in Cusack Park, a healthy crowd of 10,016 came in anticipation of a real derby battle and they wouldn’t be disappointed even if the intensity levels weren’t always conducive to free-scoring feats. Still, while the result could have gone either way, the mere fact that Clare left Cusack Park feeling as if they left a golden opportunity behind them will only aid their motivation for the ultimate mid-May rematch. After all, with Clare having suffered a nine point reverse to the back-to-back All-Ireland champions six weeks earlier in the Munster Cup Final, Limerick arrived in Ennis with an even stronger side including …

All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Hurling C Semi-Final Ennistymon CBS 3-24 St Malachy’s Belfast 0-7 WHITEHALL Colmcille GAA club played host to this one sided semi-final on Saturday afternoon as Jason Daffy’s charges eased into the All-Ireland C hurling final, reports Michael O’Connor. Their opponents in this final will be Scoil Colm from Kilcormac. The Offaly school accounted for St Killian’s, New Inn to book their place in the decider on Friday. The loss of Diarmuid Fahy in the football semi-final on Tuesday was an unfortunate loss to Ennistymon and he will now miss the remaining games in the season. However, the return from suspension of Josh Guyler allowed as efficient a scoring unit as exists in schools hurling to take St Malachy’s and stretch them to breaking point. When one sees, Rynne, Guyler, Woods and Mullins dictating matters from midfield upwards it is little wonder that Eugene Cullinan stayed on in the Inagh/Kilnamona hotseat for 2022. Mullins set the tempo …

Croke Cup Semi-Final St Joseph’s Secondary School Tulla  1-11 St Kieran’s College Kilkenny 3-16  TWENTY three times Croke Cup Champions, St Kieran’s advanceD to another showdown with a physical powerful performance, reports Derek Dormer. St Joseph’s Tulla won the toss electing to play into the wind, a tactic that paid dividends in their historic Harty Cup success. A bright start allied to some wayward shooting from the Kilkenny team saw Tulla leading five points to four by the 20th minute. However, five unanswered points in quick succession  gave St Kieran’s a four point lead at the break which on the balance of the opening 30 minutes seemed harsh on the St Joseph’s team. There can be no doubting the class that  Kieran’s possess though with a clinical second-half showing scoring 3-7 with their use of the ball against the wind a joy to watch. Dominant from every restart , winning primary possession with ease they consistently played diagonal low ball …

Eoin Brennan looks ahead to tomorrow’s NHL clash with Limerick in Cusack Park, with the All Ireland champions possibly ripe for the plucking When Limerick overpowered Clare in their own home patch to secure the first silverware of 2022 six weeks ago, few could have predicted that the back-to-back All-Ireland champions would be still seeking their next victory upon their return this Sunday. After all, while Clare are in the midst of an injury crisis which is far from resolved yet, even with less than half of their full strength side, Limerick’s superior physicality, movement and understanding was patently clear in that Munster Cup Final display in Cusack Park. The statistics speak for themselves as John Kiely’s side had almost 50 shots at the target, with their impressive 27 point margin matched by a staggering 19 wides. However, far from being the launchpad to vie for a third National Hurling League crown in four seasons, successive reverses to Wexford, Galway …

AFTER months of planning, Fair Green Celtic FC, Ennis’ newest soccer club have been given the green light to compete in the Third Division next season, writes Ivan Smyth. Chairman of the club Declan Ryan believes Fair Green Celtic FC can help to arrest the drop off in numbers playing soccer in Ennis. “In the last couple of years, with COVID and everything, we’ve seen a big drop off in the numbers playing. Players of all ages have stepped away. We have been part of committees and have played growing up so we have lads involved in us who are well known in Clare soccer and will do the work needed to get the club up and running.” Ryan will serve as Chairman and assistant manager while Richie O’Grady will manage the team and will also act as secretary. Paudie Vaughan and Eoin O’Loughlin will also work with the junior side’s management team with the latter also acting as the …

COLÁISTE Muire’s camogie side have enjoyed a fantastic season making it to the All-Ireland B final. Unfortunately that last match proved a bridge too far and they were defeated by Wicklow’s Colaiste Bhride. Here are the Clare Champion’s pictures from the match which was held in Stradbally, Co. Laois

The times and venues for the Munster Senior, Minor and U20 Hurling and Football Championships have been confirmed this afternoon, writes Ivan Smyth. The Munster Hurling Championship reverts to the round robin format this year. Clare start their campaign against Tipperary on April 24 as they travel to FBD Semple Stadium, with that game throwing in at 2pm. One week later, on May 1, Brian Lohan’s charges return to Thurles as they face Cork with that game also starting at 2pm. The game was initially due to be held on Páirc Uí Chaoimh but has been moved to Thurles with Ed Sheeran set to play in the Cork venue on April 28 and 29. Two weeks later, Clare host All Ireland champions Limerick in Cusack Park with that game scheduled to throw in at 4pm. In the final round of fixtures, which takes place on May 22, Waterford travel down to Ennis with no time confirmed for that game. The …