SPEAKING last week ahead of the opening round in the Clare Senior Hurling Championship, Newmarket manager Bob Enright said he expected Kilmaley to present the champions with a particularly difficult test.That’s exactly what he got at Cusack Park on Sunday when the title holders were a little fortunate to get their campaign off to a winning start. A lively opening saw referee Ger Hoey issue yellow cards to Brian McMahon (Kilmaley) and Sean O’Connor (Newmarket) as early as the second minute with a couple of others fortunate to escape censure. Kilmaley, whose form in the league has been patchy, made their intentions known from the outset and raced three points clear by the ninth minute. Another four had elapsed before Shane O’Brien opened the scoring for the title holders, who had the margin down to the minimum by the 21st minute. Two minutes later, Kilmaley were four clear after Pádraig Talty fired past Darren Duggan following a Ken Kennedy delivery. …

**NEWS UPDATE** ON Thursday morning, An Taisce admitted on Radio 1’s Morning Ireland that Lahinch and Miltown should have been awarded blue flags and that there was a flaw in the system. Blue flags are to be reinstated at both Lahinch and White Strand in Miltown Malbay. **MAIN ARTICLE** A “MATHEMATICAL anomaly” in a new system of evaluating Ireland’s beaches has resulted in Lahinch and White Strand (Miltown Malbay) losing their prestigious Blue Flag status, Clare County Council has claimed.This will come as a big blow to tourism promoters in these areas, who see the Blue Flag as an important endorsement of their beaches. Outside of regular users of the beach, whose concerns should be easily assuaged, the absence of a Blue Flag could be a factor in other visitors bypassing them.Blue Flag beaches all over the country have been affected by the revised system of awarding flags. Ireland has only received 74 Blue Flags, a drop of 13 on …

With the Clare Junior Soccer League season drawing to a close and the Schoolboys/girls League season just after opening, it is off-field activities that are uppermost in people’s minds. A walkout from a recent meeting by two members of the executive and the resignation of a member of the schoolboys’ executive will be discussed at a meeting this Thursday night. Sports Editor Seamus Hayes reports

Seadna Morey is a major doubt for Clare’s first round Munster Senior Hurling Championship game with Waterford on Sunday week.

Bridge United A 1   Newmarket Celtic A 1(after extra-time Newmarket Celtic won 5-3 on penalties) Newmarket Celtic A collected another Clare soccer title when they accounted for Bridge United A in the area final of the Munster Junior Cup at the County Grounds on Sunday.

Kilmaley 4-12   Newmarket-on-Fergus 1-11KILMALEY were crowned Division 1 League champions at Wolfe Tones camogie pitch on Saturday when they proved too strong for Newmarket. Four first-half goals from Aisling O’Halloran, Shonagh Enright and Ailish Considine (2) left Newmarket with too much to do, even with wind assistance in the second half.

Crusheen 3-17   St Joseph’s 0-12 CRUSHEEN were always in control in their first-round game played at Cusack Park on Saturday evening.While the underdogs had the opening score through Brian Guilfoyle in the second minute, Crusheen had 1-5 on the scoreboard by the 10th minute, at which stage, they were seven points clear (1-5 to 0-1).

Clarecastle 3-17   Sixmilebridge 1-11 FOR much of the Clarecastle-Sixmilebridge game on Saturday evening, a share of the spoils looked the likely outcome. The teams were level on 10 occasions over the hour but when the final whistle sounded, the Magpies were deserving of the points as they had shown the greater hunger for victory.