Sports editor Seamus Hayes reports on all the action from the U-21 A, B and C hurling championship semi-finals

Despite the fact that the programme was disrupted due to the inclement weather conditions, the U-21 hurling championship semi-finals went ahead on Good Friday.
Sixmilebridge, as predicted, remain on course to retain the A title and also to win the C crown after both teams were victorious.
Éire Óg made it to the A final when they accounted for Clonlara but their hopes of a double ended when their C team went down to Sixmilebridge.
Wolfe Tones moved into the B final but they will have to wait a while longer to learn who will provide the opposition in the decider after Kilmaley and Smith O’Brien’s played out a draw in an exciting tie.
Sixmilebridge’s opponents in the C final will be Ennistymon, who accounted for Parteen at Sixmilebridge.
The heavy rain on Thursday night resulted in venue changes for a number of the U-21 games. The Sixmilebridge v Clarecastle game went to Meelick after Newmarket was ruled out, while the Clonlara v Éire Óg game went ahead at Clareabbey, almost an hour after the scheduled time after referee Seánie McMahon ruled that Shannon wasn’t playable.
In the B grade, the Kilmaley v Smith O’Brien’s game was played at Clarecastle as Tulla was closed, while the C semi-final between Ennistymon and Parteen went ahead in Sixmilebridge.

Hard-earned victory for Éire Óg

Éire Óg 0-13 Clonlara 0-8

The manner in which Éire Óg players celebrated at the final whistle in their tie at Clareabbey showed how much the victory meant to them.
While some will point to the absence of Darach Honan from the Clonlara line-up and the fact that Nicky O’Connell struggled after picking up an injury just before half-time as reasons for the South-East Clare side’s defeat, the fact is that Éire Óg were the better balanced side on the day.
True, Clonlara would have made things more difficult for the Ennis side had they had the services of a fully fit Honan and O’Connell but the winners must be given due credit for the victory, which was hard earned.
The teams were level four times in the opening 20 minutes before Clonlara went a point ahead with six minutes to play in the half. Éire Óg finished the stronger, however, and three points in the last four minutes saw them take a two-point advantage to the break, when the score was 0-7 to 0-5.
Two of those points came from David O’Halloran, who again emerged as the side’s top scorer with all but two points of his side’s tally. In between those last two frees, Danny Russell struck for his point. It was a powerful first-time effort, which drew a superb save from Clonlara goalie Patrick Stritch, who managed to turn the ball over his crossbar.
Both goalkeepers were outstanding in the tie. Éire Óg’s net minder, team captain Kevin Brennan, made a couple of outstanding saves at a crucial stage in the third quarter. With just a point between the teams as the match approached the end of the third quarter, Brennan dived to his right to save from Nicky O’Connell, who had added to a John Conlon delivery.
The save inspired the winners to their best spell of the game, which saw them score four points without reply from O’Halloran. In between, Clonlara’s Ian McCarthy saw his effort rebound off the crossbar before Brennan produced another excellent save, this time from Colm Galvin.
In a last gasp bid to stay in the championship. Clonlara introduced Darach Honan with five minutes remaining but he was clearly hampered by the hamstring injury that had ruled him out of a starting place in the team.
The game ended on a disappointing note for the Ennis men, who had corner-back Seán McNamara sent off on a straight red card for a tackle on John Conlon in the final minute of normal time.
In front of the impressive Brennan, Éire Óg had good performances from Cormac O’Regan, Dean Ryan, Kevin Moynihan and David O’Halloran. Clonlara’s best were Patrick Stritch, Chris O’Kane, Cillian Fennessy, John Conlon and Cathal O’Connell.

Éire Óg: Kevin Brennan; Kevin Hally, Cormac O’Regan, Seán McNamara; Cathal Whelan, Dean Ryan, Ciaran Hanna; Noel Murphy, Kevin Moynihan; Thomas Downes, Brian Dolan, Colin Malone; Danny Russell, Graham Glynn, David O’Halloran.
Sub: Fiachra Connellan for Murphy (half-time).
Scorers: David O’Halloran (0-11, 0-10f), Danny Russell and Graham Glynn (0-1 each).
Clonlara: Patrick Stritch; Oisín O’Brien, Chris O’Kane, Stephen Maher; Cillian Fennessy, Nicky O’Connell, Patrick Clancy; Jason Murphy, Ian McCarthy; Colm Galvin, John Conlon, Kieran Murphy; Cathal O’Connell, Kenneth Haskett, James Hastings.
Subs: Thomas Begley for N O’Connell (inj), O’Connell for Hastings and Darach Honan for Murphy.
Scorers: Cathal O’Connell (0-5, 0-4f), James Hastings, Ian McCarthy and John Conlon (0-1 each).
Referee: Seánie McMahon, Newmarket.

Sixmilebridge 5-17  Clarecastle 0-2

While Sixmilebridge were always the favourites to win their semi-final tie, their margin of victory was a surprise.
The title-holders dominated from start to finish and were well on their way to the crown when they led by 14 points at half-time.
Midfielder Shane Golden gave them the lead in the seventh minute and this was followed two minutes later by the game’s opening goal, which came from Caimin Morey.
Another Golden point and a goal from Declan Morey followed, before Aaron Considine opened Clarecastle’s account with a point from a free after 20 minutes. This score failed to disrupt the champions, who hit back with points from Ronan Mullane, Declan and Caimin Morey (free), before Kevin Lynch struck for goal number three for the champions, who finished the half with a Caimin Morey point to leave the score at 3-6 to 0-1 at the interval.
When the second half got underway, the winners took up where they had left off and Sam O’Sullivan had points in the fifth and seventh minutes before Alan Mulready had his first point. A Kevin Lynch goal followed and Caimin Morey quickly added a point to leave the score at 4-10 to 0-1 at the three-quarter stage.
Clarecastle’s second point came at this stage and, again, it was scored by Aaron Considine but there was no breaking the title-holders’ dominance and they continued to dictate matters to the final whistle, finishing with their fifth goal in the last minute of the match from Sam O’Sullivan.
There was further good news for the champions as Rory Shanahan made his return to action following injury and he was introduced during the course of the tie.

Sixmilebridge: Stephen Fleming; Ger Quilligan, Eoin Quinn, Noel Purcell; Ray McNamara, Paudi Fitzpatrick, Trevor Purcell; Shane Golden, Christy Griffin; Declan Morey, Sam O’Sullivan, Barry O’Connor; Kevin Lynch, Caimin Morey, Ronan Mullane.
Subs: Alan Mulready for Mullane and Rory Shanahan for Lynch.
Scorers: Sam O’Sullivan (1-5), Caimin Morey (1-4), Kevin Lynch (2-0), Declan Morey (1-1), Shane Golden (0-4), Alan Mulready (0-2) and Ronan Mullane (0-1).
Clarecastle: Jamie Coughlan; Shane Egan, Eamonn O’Connor, Jamie Fahy; Stephen O’Halloran, Conor O’Gorman, Fergus Ryan; Niall Quinn, Dara Moloney; Patrick Casey, David Greene, Aaron Considine; Cormac Donnellan, Donagh Murphy, John Reidy.
Subs: Pakie Healy for Reidy, Ambrose Talty for Healy (inj), Shane Galvin for Casey and Kevin Scanlan for Greene.
Scorer: Aaron Considine (0-2).
Referee: Ger Hoey, Killanena.

 

Keane saves the day for Kilmaley

Kilmaley 0-14 Smith O’Brien’s 1-11

The meeting of Kilmaley and Smith O’Brien’s was a most enjoyable game of hurling played in front of a big attendance at Clarecastle on Friday evening and a draw was a fair result.
Kilmaley hit the leveller in the second minute of injury time, when Dara Keane converted a 20m free after he had been fouled.
With his side trailing by a point at the time, Keane went for goal but his powerful strike was turned over the crossbar by the Smith O’Brien’s defence.
Both sides enjoyed periods of dominance in the lively affair. Kilmaley made the better start and went 0-6 to 0-1 in front after 20 minutes, with Dara Keane causing huge problems for the Killaloe side. He scored four of those early points for Kilmaley.
Smith O’Brien’s came storming back and helped by a goal from Michael Ryan after a great run by Dean Synott, the Killaloe outfit led by two at the break when the score was 1-6 to 0-7.
Kilmaley started the second half well and levelled but then Smith O’Brien’s took control and struck for four unanswered points. They had a chance to go seven clear when after a great movement the ball came to Dean Synott but he blasted wide of the target when a goal looked likely.
Spurred on by this let-off, Kilmaley fought their way back and with nine minutes remaining, they had drawn level.
The Kilmaley mentors made what proved to be a couple of important changes, particularly the switch of Michael O’Neill from attack to midfield.
Brian O’Loughlin, Martin O’Connor, Michael O’Neill and Dara Keane were prominent for the Kilmaley side, while Smith O’Brien’s had impressive performances from, Luke Hession, Liam Walsh, Michael Ryan, Dean Synott and the outstanding Pat Vaughan.

Kilmaley: Brian O’Loughlin; Stephen Griffey, Noel Casey, Martin O’Connor; Colin McGuane, Stephen McNamara, Eoin Fitzgerald; Enda Finnucane, Eoin Enright; John Cabey, Jack Fitzgerald, Niall McGuane; Michael O’Neill, Dara Keene, Shane Darcy.
Subs: Killian McNamara for Darcy, Paul Kennedy for E Fitzgerald and Michael Pyne for Finnucane.
Scorers: Dara Keane (0-8), Jack Fitzgerald (0-2), Colin McGuane, Michael O’Neill, Niall McGuane and John Cabey (0-1 each).
Smith O’Brien’s: Mark Stritch; Kevin McEvoy, Mark McInerney, Noel Howard; Aidan McKeogh, Brian McInerney, Luke Hession; Pat Vaughan, Keith Stritch; Kevin Walsh, Dean Synott, Liam Walsh; Michael Ryan, Eoin Ryan, Mark O’Halloran.
Sub: Cian Moloney for M O’Halloran.
Scorers: Liam Walsh (0-6), Michael Ryan (1-2), Dean Synott, Kevin Walsh and Eoin Ryan (0-1 each).

Wolfe Tones 2-14  Corofin 0-16

Wolfe Tones booked a place in the final of the B championship with a four-point win over Corofin at Éire Óg. Two second-half goals proved decisive in a tie that saw the sides go to the break on level terms at 0-7 each.
The decision of the Wolfe Tones selectors to move Gary Leahy to full-forward in the second half proved vital, as he struck for both goals.
The introduction of Aaron Cunningham for the final quarter also played a part in the Shannon side’s victory. Not in the starting line-up due to injury, Cunningham scored a couple of points after his introduction.
Corofin were hit by a couple of injuries, which weakened their challenge. Joe Kelly was ruled out before the game and two minutes into the match, they lost their other corner-back, Brendan Keane.
Seán Condren, Joe McAuley and Russel Lagan made important contributions for the winners.

Wolfe Tones: Paul Hogan; John Madigan, Joe McAuley, Gary Whelan; David Ryan, Stephen McInerney, Niall Murphy; Stephen Simmonds, Seán Condren; John Guilfoyle, Daniel Gallery, Gary Leahy; Russel Lagan, Aidan McMahon, Kevin McCafferty.
Subs: Brian Williams for Murphy and Aaron Cunningham for McCafferty.
Corofin: Colm Linnane; Brendan Keane, Eamonn Malone, Manus Malone; Darren Malone, Damian Ryan, Luke O’Loughlin; Eoin Malone, Stephen Heagney; Killian Malone, Declan Lee, Fionn Clancy; Gearoid Kelly, Kevin Keagney, Cillian O’Loughlin.
Sub: Ian Corbett for B Keane (inj).

 

First final date for Ennistymon

Ennistymon 0-12 Parteen 0-8

Ennistymon sealed their place in the final of the U-21C hurling championship when they defeated Parteen at O’Garney Park in Sixmilebridge on Friday evening.
Cathal Malone scored 10 points for the North Clare side, who will contest the final of this championship for the first time in their history.
A member of the St Flannan’s Harty Cup side this season, the centre-forward was in sparkling form throughout. The remaining two points were scored by Tadhg Malone and others to impress were Michael McDonagh, Seán Driscoll and Enda Ralph.
The absence of Cillian Conlon due to injury and Martin Moroney, due to his involvement with Ard Scoil Rís in the All-Ireland colleges hurling final on Saturday, proved a big blow to Parteen.
Padraic O’Connor was the South-East Clare side’s best player on the day.
Ennistymon: Cathal McDonagh; David Davenport, Enda Ralph; Daire Ralph, Aidan Slattery, Brian Houlihan; Seán Driscoll, Michael McDonagh; Darren Mullins, Cathal Malone, Enda Slattery; Tadhg Malone, Joey Rouine.
Subs: Declan Sexton for E Slattery and Liam Ganley for D Ralph.
Parteen: Cathal O’Boyle; Gearóid Cox, Jason Smith; Matthew McSweeney, Brian McSweeney, Seán Beatty; James Long, Padraic O’Connor; Daragh Yelverton, Stephen Kinsella, Seán Quinn; Stephen O’Flanagan, Philip Lavin.
Sub: Oisín Duggan.

Sixmilebridge 0-8  Éire Óg 0-1

Experience proved the key as Sixmilebridge were too strong for Éire Óg in their C championship semi-final played in difficult weather and underfoot conditions at Clooney on Friday evening.
The ’Bridge laid the foundations for the win in the opening half, at the end of which they were 0-6 to 0-1 ahead with good scores from Barry Deasy and Seadna Morey.
Pa Sheehan gave the winners the upperhand at midfield, while Robert McNamara was another to impress in the 13-a-side competition.
Sixmilebridge: Pa Freeman; Jason Murphy, Seadna Morey; Barry Donnellan, John Fennessy, Michael Reddan; Pa Sheehan, Eanna Burns; Darragh O’Connor, Barry Deasy, Paul Corbett; Ronan O’Shea, Robert McNamara.
Éire Óg: Philip Walsh; Niall Malone, Fergus McNamara; Cian Murphy, Liam Behan, Darragh O’Loughlin; Oisín O’Donnell, Ciaran Russell; Danny McMahon, Brian Darcy, Niall McMahon; Conor Stack, David Durack.
Subs: Jack Walsh, Mattie Melican and Caoimhín Fitzgerald.