BANNER midfielders Louise Henchy and Niamh Keane added a hint of know-how and experience to the Munster champions. Along with leading the Banner from the middle of the field, they have also represented Clare, winning an All-Ireland intermediate medal in 2009. Both were ecstatic yet reflective when talking about their club’s greatest day yet on Saturday in Kilmallock. “Myself and Niamh are two of the longest-serving players in the club. A photo went up during the week of a team back in 1997. You think back today of all those years of training, starting off at U-14,” Henchy said. Just as she was about to expand, Henchy and Keane came under a frenzied water attack from their playing colleagues. “We’ve a really mature bunch,” Henchy laughed. “I got the worst of it,” Keane grimaced, though the soaking wasn’t about to dampen their day. “We must be playing 16 or 17 years and today is the best day. 2009 was unbelievable …

Banner Ladies  1-13 St Valentine’s (Cork)   1-12 SHOWING exceptional skill levels, deeply embedded resolve and championship-winning temperament, Banner Ladies became just the second Clare club to win the Munster A senior club title in Kilmallock last Saturday. Katie Cahill, starting her first game since returning from the US, kicked the winning point three minutes into injury time of what was a truly epic provincial final. A minute earlier, St Val’s full-forward Caoimhe Creedon put a kickable free wide. That would have put the Cork champions a point up and they may have held on for the win. The free was awarded against Niamh Keane and to compound it, referee Keith Delahunty moved it closer to goal when the Banner midfielder reacted somewhat unappreciatively to the decision. The first-time Cork senior champions were trying to win the title for their county for the 13th successive season, such is the Rebel county’s dominance at this level. Banner started superbly and led 1-5 …

BOB O’Brien could afford a wry smile as he listened with interest to the half-time conversation among the Éire Óg U-8 hurlers during a recent underage hurling blitz involving teams from Clare and Limerick. The main topic of conversation among the young hurlers at the tournament in Old Christians was who could be the number 22, as they attempted to repeat Shane O’Donnell’s sensational tally of 3-3, which steered Clare to their fourth thrilling All-Ireland senior hurling success. The Éire Óg hurling academy manager smiled as he reflected. “What Shane O’Donnell has done for the game is incredible. These six or seven-year-olds want to line out in the No.22 jersey and become the next Shane O’Donnell. Players were telling each other, I am 22 in this game and you can be 22 in the next game. It is fantastic for the game of hurling and is a great boost for the club,” he said. This is just one example of …

  IT’S a dream fulfilled for Davy Fitzgerald to bring an All-Ireland hurling title to Clare. “I am so happy to be one of a very small number of managers that has guided Clare to All-Ireland success,” he said at county board meeting this week. “The one goal for me is to keep Clare GAA up on top as much as I can; that’s what I am going to strive to do and what I hope we will all do it  together”. “People will say that Clare will win the next few All-Irelands. We cannot say that. Ye cannot build our players up for a fall like that. We will try and stay up there and be as competitive as we can and try and deliver another All-Ireland in the next three to four years. We will try and not leave it 16 years. Having been formally reappointed as manager, he referred to the circumstances in which he might step …

Nearly 90 jobs at Aer Lingus in Shannon are under threat after the company announced today that it plans to close its cabin crew base there from next March. Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Transport, Tourism and Sport, Timmy Dooley TD, has expressed his disappointment that 87 Aer Lingus cabin crew jobs could go at Shannon airport. “I am deeply disappointed at the decision taken today by Aer Lingus to close its cabin crew operations at Shannon Airport,” he said. “I would appeal to the unions and management to sit down and try to find a resolution to the dispute. I believe it is very important that Shannon retains a cabin crew base in Shannon, which would give a great impetus for development and growth of Aer Lingus in the region. The news comes on the same day that Ryanair announced eight new routes from Shannon Airport beginning in April. “The potential of Shannon Airport as an economic driver for the …

THE Burren winterage festival takes place over the bank holiday weekend. The celebration honours generations of Burren farmers and includes re-enactments of ancient pastoral traditions and Samhain pursuits. For hundreds of years, Burren farmers have marked the end of the summer by herding their cattle up onto winter pastures in the limestone uplands, in the tradition known as winterage and the Burren is one of the only places in the world where it still occurs. Recent years have seen a decline in many rural traditions but one local group is trying to not only ensure the continuation of this important Burren tradition but is celebrating it in a community-led weekend event. Along with the local community, the Burrenbeo Trust is coordinating the 2013 Burren Winterage Weekend, which celebrates the Burren’s farming heritage and the broader significance of pastoral farming in the Burren and beyond. The weekend includes a prize for the best shorthorn heifer, an open farm day, a fancy …

THE 29th annual Irish caving symposium (SUICRO 2013) takes place this October Bank Holiday weekend in Hotel Doolin, attracting more than 100 cavers from around Ireland and the UK. The event, organised by the Irish Cave Rescue Organisation (ICRO) and the Speleological Union of Ireland (SUI), will include activities, lectures, demonstrations, trade stands, workshops and DVDs and, for the first time, is open to the public. As well as attending lectures, members of the public can try out caving with qualified guides in some of the Burren’s most beautiful caves and visit ICRO’s rescue store located in Doolin. First-time explorers will be provided with the necessary equipment and will be guided by fully qualified cave leaders. The symposium offers an opportunity to learn about the subterranean world in Ireland and abroad, meet avid cavers and learn about the challenges faced by cave rescuers. “We decided that we would love to open up the store this year to those interested in …

MUSE Productions in Shannon return to action following their production of Waiting for Godot earlier this year and make a move towards the vaguely ridiculous and spooky with Wyrd Sisters. The production, which will be a special treat for those getting into the Hallowe’en spirit, is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Terry Pratchett. It was adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs and is a parody of Macbeth. Running for five nights at the Oakwood Arms Hotel, Shannon, Wyrd Sisters is a fun-filled drama for all the family featuring demons and ghosts, ghastly forests and storms. The play is set in the Kingdom of Lancre, but something is rotten in the state. The evil Duke Felmet has murdered the previous king and now newly crowned, he will stop at nothing until the whole kingdom is under his iron fist. The only one who could take the throne away from his grip, however, is the missing …