By Peter O’Connell Kilrush 2-11 Kilkee 0-7 A LIGHTNING start helped Kilrush into the quarter-final of the senior football championship. After less than seven minutes, the 2012 county semi-finalists led 2-1 to 0-0, following neat goal finishes from Chris Dixon and Rory O’Connor. The winners led 2-4 to 0-2 at half-time and while their level dipped appreciably in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, they were never in real danger of being reeled in by Kilkee. Kilrush’s ploy of using corner-forward Jack Browne in a free outfield role worked very well, as the Kilrush youngster picked up plenty of possession and used it intelligently. It was Browne’s lovely cross-field pass, changing the direction of play, which set up corner-back Niall Clancy for a nicely taken left-footed point. Dixon scored Kilrush’s first goal in the fourth minute, his finishing resembling that of Robin Van Persie. The ball broke to the Kilrush midfielder, after a Stephen Sweeney shot was blocked. …

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A NIGHT of celebration in honour of the Newmarket hurling team of the early ’60s, many of whom went on to become household names on the inter-county scene, was held last Friday night at The Inn at Dromoland. County champions 50 years ago in 1963, they went on to achieve the first of a number of three-in-a-row successes as they dominated the hurling scene throughout the ’60s and ’70s. Val Arthur introduced the players, some of whom had returned to their native parish from Dublin, Tipperary and Waterford, recalling highlights from their contribution to the club’s successes on the playing fields. A special souvenir booklet produced for the occasion noted, “The 1960s was a decade of great change. Shannon Airport was developing as an international airport and the Shannon Industrial Estate was expanding rapidly. For the parish of Newmarket, this was a huge bonus as employment was now readily available.” Club chairman Pat Keogh made presentations to the players involved. …

One of the big achievements from a Clare perspective was that of Tom Foley, Clonlara, winning the young rider award. There were 278 temporary stables at the Showgrounds and most horse yards in the Clare area were full to capacity. Ennis Rugby Club was home to 48 showjumping families who have living facilities in their horse lorries throughout the four-day event. Local riders were also in the ribbons, with results in the finals on Sunday are listed below. 128cm – U-10 80cm: 4. Paula Williams’ PARC Sassy Brassy (Rhys Williams). 128cm – 1.10cm: 6. Paula Williams’ PARC Kicking it (Rhys Williams). 138cm – 1.20cm: 1. Heidi Dunn’s Drumaclan Flight (Robbie Clancy); 6. Castlequarter Stables Clona Prince (Conor Mc Mahon). 148cm – 1.10cm: 3. Martin Power’s Flash Bobby (Hannah Power). 148cm – 90cm: 3. Linda Gallagher’s Ballybrody King (John Gallagher); 6. Jo McMahon’s Sandy Sweet (Della Daly). 128cm – 1m: 4. Kevin Reidy’s Tattygar Dexter (Jack Reidy). 138cm – 1m: 2. …

IT was a busy weekend for Clare underage hurling sides, with games taking place in Waterford, Cork, Tipperary and Clarecastle. For the first time in a number of years, Clare contested the Tony Forristal U-14A final in Waterford. Clare hurling followers will be hoping that the final result won’t be repeated this weekend in the All-Ireland senior final. Cork captured the Forristal title with a comfortable 3-9 to 0-5 win. Clare started the campaign with a 2-7 to 1-5 victory over the hosts and followed with a win over Limerick on a 2-7 to 2-4 scoreline. In a high-scoring semi-final, Clare were 7-9 to 3-10 winners over Antrim but had to give best to a slicker Cork outfit in the final. In the U-14B competition, also played in Waterford, for the Sonny Walsh Trophy, Clare lost their opening game to Waterford, 1-7 to 2-7. They followed this up with a 2-9 to 3-4 win over Galway, before going out of …

A CLARE mother is facing the grim prospect of being forced to sell her family home or pay up to €114,000 over the next five years to cover the cost of long-term care for her incapacitated husband. Councillor Tom McNamara has claimed the mother is getting a “raw deal” under the Fair Deal Nursing Homes Support Scheme because the needs of her two dependant children are not taken into account, due to an anomaly. Councillor McNamara has requested Health Minister Dr James Reilly to change the current legislation to alleviate the distress being caused to this mother, as well as other similar hardship cases. Under the existing scheme, the couple are jointly assessed to pay €600 weekly on top of the Fair Deal allowance to cover the cost of the husband’s long-term residential care in a Clare nursing home. However, the most the mother can pay is €700 a month, leaving the remainder as a burden, which continues indefinitely on …

“RATS the size of cats” are causing issues for residents in various parts of Shannon. This week’s meeting of the town council heard of one case where a child cannot be let play on a lawn because of the amount of vermin. The size might be a slight exaggeration but the scale of the problem isn’t. The matter was raised by Councillor Cathy McCafferty, who called on Clare County Council to “take urgent and immediate action to address the rodent problem in Aidan and Finian Parks that is a cause of much concern for residents”. She said several people have contacted her about the issue. “Over the summer, we had a number of complaints over the rat infestation in Aidan and Finian Parks and nothing appears to have been done.” The independent councillor wasn’t impressed with the response shown by Clare County Council.  “I understand that one of the engineers responded to a complaint but his solution was to tell …