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Munster Junior B final Eoghan Moloney   Inagh-Kilnamona 0-8 Cappamore 0-10   IT wasn’t to be for Inagh-Kilnamona in the Munster Junior B final against Cappamore of Limerick as they trailed from early doors and did so for the full 60 minutes.   Conditions were far from ideal for hurling with incessant rain and a swirling gale, but Cappamore settled the quicker and raced into a four points to one lead in the opening quarter with points from Liam Creamer, Mark Tracey, Jack Walsh and Jamie McCarthy. A free from Dermot Gannon was The Combo’s only score in an opening 18 minutes in which they struggled to get a foothold or gain any momentum.   Gannon slotted another free but it was cancelled out by Donal O’Mahoney in the 22nd minute to keep Cappamore three ahead. Inagh-Kilnamona eventually settled and points from Cian Shannon and Thomas Barry in the 25th minute left them trailing by one point, which was generous …

The National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP) is calling for a national Meningitis B catch up vaccination programme for children born before October 2016, up to the age of 18. It comes in light of the announcement this week of 3 deaths from meningitis, and Dr Maitiu O Tuathail, President of the NAGP, is urging parent to contact their GP if they have any worries in relation to the disease. He said: “GPs across the country have been inundated with concerned parents. Many parents whose children have not been vaccinated against Meningitis B, have requested that their children be vaccinated as soon as possible. Unfortunately the HSE does not provide for Meningitis B vaccination for children born before October 2016. The vaccine was only introduced to newborns from October 2016”. As a result of this, parents are being forced to pay up €450 for the vaccination with fears that this cost may prove prohibitive for some families. Dr O’Tuathail continued; …

St Flannan’s 1-5 St Mary’s Nenagh 1-3 AOIBHÍN Ryan was the star of the show for Flannan’s as they saw off the stern challenge of St Mary’s to secure the Munster B Colleges title in Clarecastle this afternoon. The full forward got 1-4 of Flannan’s 1-5 and her goal in the 32nd minute sent her school on the path to victory. Nenagh fought to the bitter end, and made life difficult for the Clare side when Emily Morrissey got a goal with 20 minutes to play which narrowed the comfortable gap Flannan’s had to just two points. It was an extremely physical game with both sides granting nor asking for any quarter, and the referee had plenty to do throughout the contest. As the game moved into the last few minutes, Flannan’s led by a single point and Nenagh were laying siege to their ’21, but a cool head from corner forward Aoibhín Donnelly saw her slot a point in …

AN ENNIS woman is among a group of expats living in Abu Dhabi who have been honoured for their work in raising awareness of mental health. Laura Brennan, originally from Toberteascain and daughter of Martin and Cora, is the vice chairperson of the voluntary group Darkness Into Light Abu Dhabi. The group who dedicate their time to raising awareness and providing accessible support for their community in the United Arab Emirates have been presented with the Spirit of the Community Award at the Pride of Abu Dhabi awards. They began work in 2015 in an effort to bring the Pieta House Darkness into Light walk to Abu Dhabi and last year’s walk saw more than 700 people take part. However, their work is about so much more than the walk. They strive to provide free and accessible support and to unite people who are suffering distress through various events such as the annual Light Ball Abu Dhabi and monthly Tea …

QUIN man Declan McEvoy has always been a big dreamer. One of his mantras is “if your dreams don’t scare you, maybe they’re not big enough”. However, his next endeavour, which he plans to complete in March, will make the hairs stand on the back of your neck. Cooly and calmly he reveals, “I am going to attempt to ride a motorcycle on ice crossing 636km of frozen Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world, in mid-winter Siberia”. If he completes this solo ice ride, he will make it into the Guinness Book of World Records but with temperatures expected to be -20° Celsius by day and -30° by night, and storms and freezing fog to contend with, this is no walk in the park. The idea came to him two years ago, when he was on the second leg of a round the world solo motorcycle trip. His journey took him to the shores of Lake Baikal in …

THERE will be an open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous next Thursday at 8.30pm at St Senan’s National School in Shannon. While almost all meetings of AA are confined to people who have a desire to stop drinking, this is quite different, with anyone welcome to attend. This means it is a chance for someone who feels they could potentially benefit from what AA offers to find out a bit more about the organisation, for anyone who feels a loved one may have a problem or anybody who simply has an interest in finding out about AA. In relation to next week’s event, a spokesman for AA in Clare said, “An open meeting is a public one, open to anyone who wants to walk in. All AA meetings are closed, except for those. Members of the public, press, anyone who wants to attend, can come in. “There are two AA speakers, then an Al Anon member as well, who will give …

IT was a case of like father like daughter at this year’s annual Christmas Tree Throwing Championship. January 6 is the traditional time for taking down the Christmas decorations, and for the eighth year in a row that tradition has been taken to the extreme in Ennis. Leaf-ing the festive season behind on Sunday, 150 people took part in the annual Christmas Tree Throwing Championship at Active Ennis Tim Smyth Park. Among those were father and daughter John and Lauren Leahy. John took the overall title of champion tree thrower for the third year in a row with an impressive throw of 7 metres. While his daughter Lauren followed in his family footsteps by winning in the under 14 category with a throw of 4.5 metres. John, who competes in athletic throwing events, puts his success down to technique. “It’s great to have three in a row. It’s a very awkward thing to throw a Christmas tree, some people might …

Cashel 2-16 St Joseph’s Tulla 2-14 TULLA came bitterly close to advancing to the semi-final of the Corn Thomais Mhic Choilm in a pulsating game held in St Patricks GAA in Limerick this afternoon. Tulla took an early lead through a William Halpin free and the number 12 was to feature heavily in the contest, finishing with a grand total of 1-10, and the individual moment of the game – a screamer of a goal from 30 yards placed directly in the top right-hand corner. Cashel’s own marksman, Aaron Burke, was also on point, registering 1-8 and making no mistakes from placed balls when called into action – which was often considering the charged and at time hot-headed of the contest. Burke registered the first goal of the game when Rian Quigley played a ball across the square and he made no mistake in punishing Tulla. Quigley was a constant thorn in the Tulla full-back line’s side and was probably the …