Tag Archives: Inagh-Kilnamona

The glamour tie this weekend may be the senior hurling final, but, here, Michael O’Connor shines a light on why the Junior B final on Sunday morning is so important to the finalists. When renowned GAA commentator Syl O’Connor was elected chairperson of Sixmilebridge GAA club last winter a list of objectives – as with all newly elected officials – was probably on his table to be implemented. Outside of winning the senior championship Sixmilebridge had the matter of getting hurling activity for a lot of hurlers from 18 to 43. This was achieved with four adult sides that were competitive and now they lie on the cusp, if successful in Tulla on Sunday morning, of fielding sides in senior, Intermediate, junior A and Junior B this season. Up the N85 Paul Gannon has been plotting and planning all season to bring home Junior B silverware. Following their historic appearance in the 2021 senior final there were hopes of going …

Eoin Brennan was on hand to watch Inagh-Kilnamona power to a 7-11 to 2-5 defeat of Clarecastle in the U13A hurling final Goal hungry Inagh-Kilnamona powered to their third Under 13A crown in six seasons after hat-tricks for Sean Hehir and Fionn Daffy sunk Clarecastle in Cusack Park on Monday evening. A quickfire brace of majors in the tenth minute through Hehir and Padraig O’Looney helped settle Inagh-Kilnamona to a seven point half-time cushion. However, it was their clinical five goal blitzkrieg in just 17 minutes on the restart that put the result beyond any doubt as Joint-Captain Daffy, Hehir and the excellent O’Looney provided the firepower to cement the prestigious honours. In addition, Donnacha Kelly, midfielders Tom Hegarty and Tadhg Hassett and especially goalkeeper Rio McCoy also impressed as Clarecastle had just as many goal chances but found the Inagh-Kilnamona stopper in particular stubborn mood. That said, even without talisman Sean Meere, Clarecastle battled hard throughout, with spinal defenders …

Eoin Brennan watched Inagh-Kilnamona draw 4-4 to 2-10 with Ballyea after extra-time in the U13A Academy final Inagh-Kilnamona and Ballyea will have to do it all over again for the Under 13 Academy A honours after Ballyea’s never-say-die attitude twice reeled in Inagh-Kilnamona at the death in Clareabbey last Thursday evening. Not that any supporters will be complaining about an extra helping of such a thrilling 80 minute rollercoaster ride that was as compelling as any final one is likely to witness this year. Having led for the last 40 minutes, Inagh-Kilnamona appeared poised to retain their Under 13 reserve title for the first time in their history. However, Ballyea’s character powered to the surface for a grandstand finish as points from talisman Ben Casey (2) and Ryan Galvin were dramatically capped off by an injury-time equaliser through centre-back Micheál Hanrahan to force extra-time. Buoyed by that reprieve, Ballyea maintained that momentum into the additional periods as despite facing into …

Under 15 Academy B Final Inagh-Kilnamona 3-11 Scariff-Ogonnelloe 2-10   A powerful final quarter was sufficient for Inagh-Kilnamona to finally shake off the stubborn challenge of Scariff-Ogonnelloe and capture the Under 15 Academy B Hurling honours in Hamilton Park, Kilkishen on Wednesday evening. Despite leading from start to finish, it was never comfortable as only a puck of the ball separated the sides for three-quarters of this entertaining end-to-end decider that produced a whopping 14 goal chances over the hour. With wind advantage favouring Inagh-Kilnamona, they frustratingly found goalkeeper Charlie Collins in superb form as he kept out early attempts from Conn Walshe, Diarmuid De Brun and the lively Tadhg Hassett. Indeed, with Walshe and Hassett also clearing the crossbar with glorious opportunities, Inagh-Kilnamona had much more fortune picking off their points, with the full-forward unit of Hassett (2), Fionn Daffy (2) and Conn Walshe ensuring a 0-5 to 0-2 advantage by the end of the opening quarter. Considering the …

Clare Senior Hurling Championship Final Ballyea 1-17 Inagh-Kilnamona 1-16 THE Canon Hamilton Cup is back in Ballyea for the third time in six seasons after a scintillating finish pipped debutants Inagh-Kilnamona to the post in dramatic fashion in Cusack Park this afternoon, reports Eoin Brennan. Put simply, despite being without current All-Star Tony Kelly as well as remarkably firing 17 wides, Ballyea’s sheer ‘refusal to lose’ mentality was eventually rewarded coming down the final straight with a four point blitz in as many minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Being a fourth one point victory in their six championship outings that also included a group decider draw with Cratloe, it was their experience and winning know-how that ensured that Ballyea never reached for the panic button at any stage despite falling by as much as four points in arrears nearing the final water break. The turning point of the final was undoubtedly a penalty awarded to Aaron …

At aged 22, Cian McInerney has accomplished more than most on the hurling field. However, he isn’t satisfied to just add a county final appearance to his ever expanding CV with the talented hurler hoping to be part of history by helping Inagh-Kilnamona lift the Canon Hamilton Cup on Sunday afternoon. He wants to atone for previous defeats, most notably his side’s 2019 semi final defeat to Sixmilebridge. The secondary school teacher believes his side took plenty of lessons from that loss but he does not want a repeat result when coming up against an experienced Ballyea outfit. The former Clare minor insists his side have developed a greater mental toughness since that loss, highlighted by their gritty win against Éire Óg in the semi finals a fortnight ago. “Two years ago in that semi final we led for most of it but the ‘bridge used their experience to get over the line. We lost that game and it was …

From the outside looking in, Ballyea have the experience while Inagh-Kilnamona have the momentum ahead of Sunday’s novel showdown for the Canon Hamilton Cup in Cusack Park. Having been down this road twice before and managed to prevail on both occasions, Ballyea’s senior triumphs in 2016 and ’18 will still be fresh in the memory while the heightened county final build-up, occasion and understandable nerves will be a completely new experience to an Inagh-Kilnamona side competing in their first senior decider. There is one obvious flaw in that theory however as Ballyea’s Jack Browne quickly pointed out. “We happened to win the first county final we were in too so there is no secret formula. Look, you’d hope that having played in finals before that it helps but there’s no guarantees. “Take us for example, it’s fair to say that every year you play in championship, you don’t want to lose any game and we’d love to be in a …

Inagh-Kilnamona manager Eugene Cullinan insists his side don’t lack belief despite the club appearing in their first ever senior final. Cullinan states that the belief his side possesses comes from their underage success with the club winning the U21 title in 2016 and ’18. They have also secured top honours at minor level in 2017 and were victorious once more at this grade after beating Clooney-Quin last weekend. “When you are winning you start believing. The players have gotten a taste of success and so when they came up to senior they were able to win. This group have belief in themselves. That belief comes over a period of time and for us it’s come from the work at underage.” “There is a lot of work going on at underage level. It doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes a lot of people willing to give up their time to coach the players all the way up to this. It’s something …