Sports

Scariff-Ogonnelloe 3-14 Clooney-Quin 2-8 A blistering start that saw Scariff-Ogonnelloe fire 1-1 in the opening two minutes set the East Clare amalgamation up for victory in the Under 13B championship final against Clooney-Quin in Broadford. Goalscorer Oisin Madden was to go on to have an outstanding final scoring 1-6 in total, all of which impressively came from play. Indeed the whole spine of the winning team was excellent, keeping Clooney-Quin on the backfoot for most of the match. The first half saw Scariff-Ogonnelloe in the ascendancy with further points from Madden (5), Caimin Dinan and two placed balls from Paul Rodgers giving them a 1-9 to 0-4 half-time lead. A different Clooney-Quin team emerged for the second period and despite Madden again opening the scoring with a point, they started to claw back the deficit. A goal through Marcas Fitzpatrick followed by a point allied to further singles from James Moloney, Sean Considine and Isaac Hassett had them only trailing …

Ivan Smyth speaks to Podge Collins ahead of this weekend’s crucial vote on the football championship FOR Podge Collins the answer is simple, change the structure of the football Championship before it is too late. This Saturday delegates will vote on whether Proposal B will replace the current Championship structure. Under Proposal B the Championship will be run in a league format with each county guaranteed a minimum of seven games. “Proposal B would make the competition much fairer. The current format is skewed, you have 12 teams in Leinster and five in Connacht. The fairness of the competition is the main reason why we are pushing for change. Seven games will develop counties. We played Kerry last year and were well beaten and that was our year done.” “It is a broken system. Proposal B is not perfect. I’ll be the first to admit that but it’s better than what we have right now. I understand people have legitimate …

CLARE’S Naomi Carroll played a central role as the Ireland women’s hockey team overcame France 4-1 in their opening European qualifiers for the 2022 Women’s FIH Hockey World Cup, writes Ivan Smyth. The Clare woman started up front and played an important role in Ireland’s fourth goal as Sean Dancer’s side moved a step closer towards World Cup qualification. This eight-team competition is being played in a knock-out format with only one side earning a place at next summer’s World Cup. One defeat and Ireland’s World Cup dream is over. A powerful second half display saw them break down a tough French outfit. Sean Dancer’s side face Belarus next after scoring four second half goals. Ireland dominated the opening half but found it tough to carve out clear cut chances against a battling French side. This Ireland side are the highest ranked team in this competition as they found their rhythm in the second half to progress. Despite Anna O’Flanagan going …

THE governance of Clare GAA needs to be overhauled, while a CEO, Finance Manager and Commercial/Brand manager should all be appointed, according to the newly published recommendations report of the independent Strategic Planning Group (SPG). In the appendix booklet of the report it stated that every stakeholder group in the county had prioritised governance as an area requiring immediate change and restructure. It says Clare currently does not have the ability to take advantage of financial opportunities that exist. “The expansion of Clare GAA “business of sport” activity has not been matched by increasing the operational capacity of the organisation. “The structures required to operate a multi million euro operation do not exist within Clare GAA with no capacity to adapt to or respond to many commercial opportunities now available. No structures exist to stimulate activity to generate the essential revenues for ongoing investment across all areas of Clare GAA. This represents a key limitation in the organisations capacity to …

CONTRARY TO reports in some media outlets this week, Davy Fitzgerald will not be taking over as Galway hurling manager. Instead, the Tribesmen will be managed next season by Kilkenny hurling legend Henry Shefflin. Is ait an mac an saol! Tá Anraí an Rí ag teacht go Gaillimh 👌 pic.twitter.com/NqSO4nqVLk — Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) October 20, 2021 The Cats superstar has 10 All-Ireland titles and 11 All-Stars under his belt and his first foray into management with his home club Ballyhale Shamrocks yielded two club All-Irelands. Sixmilebridge man Fitzgerald had been heavily linked with the role in recent days. The former Clare, Wexford and Waterford manager spoke with Galway officials about the role but has lost out on this occasion. It brings to an end a run of 14 successive seasons in charge of intercounty hurling teams.

Cratloe’s Naomi Carroll has been called up to the Irish women’s hockey squad as they aim to qualify for the World Cup. Carroll is aiming to help Ireland reach the World Cup and keep the momentum that Irish hockey has generated after competing in the Olympic Games this summer. Ireland memorably reached the final of the World Cup in 2018 and will be determined to qualify for the tournament again as they compete in an eight team competition which starts on Thursday, October 21. The eight-team competition will be played in a knock-out format with only one side earning a place at next summer’s World Cup which will be played at venues in Spain and the Netherlands. Ireland face a dangerous France outfit first as Sean Dancer’s side enter the tournament as top seeds. The Catholic Institute player is aware of the challenge her side will face when they commence their quest to compete at the World Cup. “It is …

Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Finals Newmarket-on-Fergus v Wolfe Tones @ Cusack Park, Saturday 1.30pm A golden opportunity to return to a semi-final that neither side can afford to pass up in what is a unique derby showdown in Ennis on Saturday. It’s novel because at certain stages of their final group matches, the thoughts of staring the relegation play-offs in the face seemed a distinct reality so this is essentially bonus territory particularly after drawing each other in the last eight. Newmarket-on-Fergus’ late smash-and-grab victory over another neighbour Clooney-Quin will have injected a new lease of life into the Blues while Wolfe Tones, despite coming off the back of back-to-back defeats, equally have nothing to lose on Saturday. That Wolfe Tones’ form has fallen off a cliff will be alarming as the first half of their group campaign up to half-time in the Sixmilebridge match, the Shannon side looked like Canon Hamilton contenders only conceding 1-18. However, since then, they have …

Munster U-16.5A PPS Hurling Championship Quarter-Final St Flannan’s College 1-19 Midleton CBS (Cork) 1-11 AN auspicious start for St Flannan’s in their Dean Ryan Cup quest after a powerful second half display brushed off the opening challenge of Midleton CBS on away soil to progress to the last four on Wednesday afternoon, reports Eoin Brennan. With 19 Dean Ryan titles between them, this heavyweight contest inevitably began with a blow-for-blow pattern before St Flannan’s had to respond to a Midleton goal to regain parity by the break at 0-9 to 1-6. A miserly full-back line of Joe Casey, Paddy Nagle and Ronan Kilroy were instrumental in keeping the home side at bay while inspirational centre-back James Hegarty and midfield duo Eoin Kennedy and Dylan Keane Hayes were perfect linkmen as St Flannan’s upped the ante to outscore their hosts by 1-10 to 0-5 in the second half. Full-forward Oisin Whelan, who finished with nine points to his name including three …