Clare 1-16 Galway 0-7 A BLISTERING start to the second half, which saw them score 1-5 in 10 minutes, paved the way for a comfortable Clare victory over Galway in the All-Ireland U-21 hurling semi-final at Thurles last Saturday evening. Starting the second half just two points adrift, Galway held high hopes of dethroning the All-Ireland champions but Clare stepped up the pace and by the midpoint of the half, the holders were well on the way to a second successive final. The all-important goal came three minutes after the resumption and was scored by Cathal O’Connell, one of the stars in this latest victory for Clare. Indeed, such was Clare’s dominance in the second half that with 10 minutes remaining, they were able to call ashore senior star Podge Collins and then replaced two more members of the senior team, Colm Galvin and Tony Kelly, ahead of the upcoming senior final clash with Cork. An injury to Aaron Cunningham …

Clare’s joint manager Gerry O’Connor described the second-half performance by Clare as “phenomenal”. “The way it transpired was exactly as we had predicted. We reckoned the first half would be really low scoring, a real and out and out dog fight and that’s exactly how it turned out,” he said. According to the Éire Óg clubman, “Donal [Moloney] said to the lads at half-time, in the most positive way possible, that they needed to move up a gear. The second-half performance was just phenomenal, the running off the ball, the support play. Alan O’Neill at centre-back was awesome, to be fair to him. Peter Duggan started winning puck-outs but Tots’ [Cathal O’Connell] movement off Peter Duggan was phenomenal.” “We have been on the road with these guys for four years now. That was the 2010 minor team. We have such a passionate affinity with them that it’s unbelievable. We had a team meeting with the guys on Monday before this …

BALLYVAUGHAN Bay Hop launched their fast ferry trial last Sunday. Crowds gathered for the official launch, ahead of a two-week trial of the service next month. If successful, the trial could secure the future of a permanent commuter ferry service from Ballyvaughan to Galway City. “The event had a fantastic turnout and the atmosphere among the community and visitors was one of palpable excitement and enjoyment,” said Gwen Ryan, one of the people behind the project. The launch allowed people to see Realt na Maidne, the 12-seater passenger ferry, taking part in a demonstration sailing followed by an inaugural crossing of Galway Bay. The service was launched by Professor Kevin Leyden of the Whitaker Institute of Innovation and Societal Change at NUI Galway. He spoke about the renewed interest in combining old and new in sustainable modes of transport and the importance of connectivity between people and their places and how these connections resonate through time and experience, between past …

UNTIL she joined a meet and train group in Kilrush 22 years ago, Maura Falsey never envisaged taking up running as a pastime. The Kilmihil National School teacher, who lives in Cooraclare, has since run 30 marathons, up to 60 half-marathons and numerous shorter distance road races. When she’s not pounding the roads, Maura can be seen gardening, walking, cycling or Irish dancing. When she’s feeling a bit tired, she reads running magazines. Yet back in 1991, she had yet to be convinced of the merits of running. “I never ran a mile until I joined Mary Clarke’s meet and train group in Kilrush. She’s my inspiration. It has completely changed my life and has opened up a new life for me since I joined that day. I’d say I couldn’t even run a quarter of a mile when I was 31. That’s the truth and this is why I’m trying to inspire other people of my age,” Maura told …

SOUL Space, an exhibition by Ennis-based artist Dympna Bonfield is going on show at Glór on Saturday, September 7 and will be there until October 26. Dympna was born and raised in West Clare but was away for many years before returning to her native county. Much of her work has reflected this move and it is the people and landscape of West Clare that largely inspired her paintings. She began her career as a primary school teacher but later attended the National College of Art in Dublin and qualified as an art teacher. This led to teaching art in secondary schools and much of her early work during this time took the form of murals painted in some of the places she worked and can still be seen today. Whilst teaching in the capital, she began exhibiting work in a couple of Dublin galleries and as her reputation grew, she began to exhibit further afield. Her work has now …

MARK Bowers was shocked when consultant urological surgeon, Garrett Durkan looked him in the eye in the Mid-Western Radiation Oncology Centre, Limerick and confirmed he had prostate cancer. While no one is prepared for this devastating news, the fact that 17 months earlier an ultrasound test revealed a cyst was benign, made it an even more bitter pill for the 52-year-old to swallow. Looking back at that day last October, the Killaloe man felt it was akin to “an icy hand grabbing your heart and squeezing it”. Three previous Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) tests had shown elevated antigens but none of them were considered to be at a dangerous level. Right from the start of his diagnosis, he was assured all the way that he would be fine, as the cancer was detected in its early stages. His brother-in-law in Canada, who is in his early 70s, is dying from prostate cancer. Mark believes his brother-in-law, who ironically nursed people …

As the build-up to the All-Ireland final continues, Peter O’Connell spoke to Fergal Lynch on more than just hurling matters. FERGAL Lynch predicts that 2013 will be a seismic year for two of his county hurling colleagues. The Quin National School principal is the only married man on the county panel but is confident that his isolation is approaching end game. “Brendan Buglar and Paddy Donnellan won’t be too far behind me, I’d say. I’m going to give them up to Christmas. Although they’ll hardly last that long,” Lynch laughs. Clare’s starting 1995 All-Ireland winning team featured 15 bachelors and just one married playing substitute. “Someone said to me the other day that none of them were married bar Cyril Lyons, who came on as a sub. I don’t know if I’m playing the Lyons role. He was probably a better hurler than I am but it’s a good omen,” the Clooney-Quin man feels. Although more than a decade older …

FOR the last 40 years, children have been receiving education in prefabs at St Conaire’s Primary School but that’s coming to an end this week. A new extension has been built, removing the need for them.