Sports

Newmarket-on-Fergus 1-19 Inagh-Kilnamona 1-11 The victor wasn’t a surprise but the manner of Newmarket-on-Fergus’ 26th Clare Cup title certainly proved to be as the roll of honour leaders had a rather bloodless final triumph in Clarecastle on Friday evening. Bridging a six year gap to their last Clare Cup crown, it was an utterly commanding display when first responding to the hammerblow of an early goaled Inagh-Kilnamona penalty to outscore them by 1-7 to 0-1 in the second quarter and carve out a match-winning 1-11 to 1-04 interval cushion. Indeed, it wouldn’t have flattered the Blues had the half-time chasm been doubled as amidst their second quarter siege, James Carrig’s side passed up four glorious goal chances in as many minutes just before the recess. Niall O’Connor was outstanding at the back, Peter Power was equally influential at the other end while Stephen Casey was also hugely effectual when switched to shadow Inagh-Kilnamona’s talisman Fred Hegarty. This was an impressive …

St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 2-14 O’Callaghan’s Mills 0-17 It really doesn’t matter if you lead early in a match or are chasing the game for lengthy spells but what does matter though is who is ahead when it counts the most and that’s at the final whistle. On Sunday morning out in Tulla the men from the Parish epitomised resilience and got their just rewards for never surrendering when grabbing the lead for the only time in the sixtieth minute to practically steal a cracking league final that was played in a hugely sporting manner. It was two second strings but nobody who was in Dr.Daly Park would have guessed that as these two played out a superbly contested battle that ebbed and flowed throughout with the result in doubt right up until referee Pat Healy’s full time whistle. Level on six occasions it took a late late Conor Kearns goal to decide the destination of league honours. One could only …

Éire Óg 3-20 Sixmilebridge 2-14 There’s always a certain level of respect between clubs but sometimes there’s also a level of contempt that is evident for all to see. On Sunday evening this Division 2 final was practically over by the end of the opening quarter. The townies who would have genuine Canon Hamilton ambitions were going through the motions and without much exertion had eased to an eight point lead. Fast forward to the final minutes and after battling throughout the Bridge’s second team who will compete in the Intermediate Championship to their credit only trailed by nine. Gerry O’Connor’s charges are in complete and utter control with several tap over point opportunities but rather than take them they continually try to engineer another green flag to inflict more pain on their opponents. I suppose a series of high profile clashes between the clubs in recent years will have that effect and they did eventually get their third major in …

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final Clare 0-24 Kilkenny 2-16 A late charge of the Banner brigade ensured a dramatic late turnaround in fortunes as Clare finally broke their Kilkenny hoodoo at the third attempt to advance to a first All-Ireland decider in eleven years in Croke Park, writes Eoin Brennan. Having suffered back-to-back semi-final reverses to the Cats, a third hammerblow appeared on the cards when goals either side of the break through Eoin Cody and Billy Ryan powered Derek Lyng’s side six clear by the 46th minute at 2-12 to 0-12. However, instead of bowing to their perceived fate, a defiant determination not to be beaten coursed through Clare’s veins for the final 25 minutes as they not only doubled their overall scoring tally but eventually wore down their opponents by surging to the last six points of an absorbing final quarter. Within five minutes of Billy Ryan’s fortuitious break for the goal, Clare had cancelled it out with …

There’s no doubt about who the top three hurling teams in the country are as Limerick, Clare and Kilkenny have consistently reached the All-Ireland Semi-Final stage since the most equitable means of deciding the Liam MacCarthy winners, the provincial round-robin series, returned in 2022. There’s also no debate about which of the triumvirate is currently on top as Limerick are bidding for a historic five-in-a-row of All-Ireland that even Kilkenny themselves in their pomp couldn’t quite achieve. And let’s be honest, while Clare supporters can legitimately put a strong case forward based on mere results against John Kiely’s side that Clare are the closest to their Shannonside neighbours, heretofore the last two All-Ireland Semi-Final showdowns between Clare and Kilkenny have told a much differing tale. Consequently, it’s effectively a do-or-die final part of the trilogy in Croke Park this Saturday (3pm) as Clare either need to finally prove themselves on the national stage or else accept that they are third …

The clock struck 72 minutes when Peter Duggan’s flash of the ash directed the Cummins sliotar towards the goal. This was it. The final act of a stirring Clare revival that had now brought them to the cusp of giving the Croke Park attendance of 48,300 another 20 minutes. From the sideline that was floated into the scoring zone seconds earlier David Fitzgerald emerged from a ruck of eight players, went goalwards and then passed back to Duggan whose reverse sweep looked like bringing the sides level until Eoin Murphy’s lightning reflexes produced the save of the year as he pushed it onto the black spot of the crossbar. It hit it at exactly 72 minutes, a second more had passed before everyone realised what had happened, while seven had elapsed by the time a frantic effort to clear the ball by the Kilkenny backs fell to Diarmuid Ryan who stroked it over the bar for a consolation score. A …

Clare’s flagship ladies footballers received a devastating double blow in Cusack Park on Sunday when not only exiting the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship at the quarter-final stage but subsequently also seeing manager Wayne Freeman step down following a successful two year reign. Having previously led a new-look Banner to the brink of an All-Ireland title in his first year in charge in 2023, Kildare native Freeman added a National League Division 3 crown to the Munster Senior B success garnered last year and seemed destined for another prolonged championship assault until being unceremoniously edged out by Tyrone on home soil. Announcing his decision to step down immediately afterwards to his players in the dressing room in Cusack Park, an emotional Freeman, who managed the side with fellow Lilywhites Lee Hunt, Brian Willis and Jack MacNamee along with Kerry native Graham Shine, was understandably crestfallen. “We just informed the players that we won’t be here next year. We made that decision at …

Heading up to Croke Park for our now almost annual like semi-final joust with the Cats means it’s a familiar road for coach Shane Hassett but the Drom & Inch clubman feels that’s where the familiarity will end and the previous meetings will count for little once the ball is thrown in. “It’s All-Ireland semi-final weekend and that invariably means the best four teams in the country are playing. It’s all about quality at this stage. Have we the necessary quality to progress to the final? Of course we do but we will have to deliver our best display of the year to do so. It’s the same for all the teams involved. “Do Kilkenny have the quality to get to a third final in a row? Of course they do and both Cork and Limerick will feel the same. Every team knows they’ll have to perform at their optimum because anything less will simply not be good enough. We …