Sports

Clare SHC: Eire Óg 1-18 Cratloe 0-15  1-11 from Danny Russell helped Eire Óg through to the Clare SHC quarter-finals as the Townies set up a last eight showdown with Feakle. With 38 minutes on the clock, Cratloe led by 0-14 to 0-8, but from here to the final whistle, they mustered just one further score as Matthew Shannon’s side dominated the closing stages. The comeback was sparked by Danny Russell’s opportunist 40th minute goal as he whipped on a breaking ball in the square to flash the ball past Gearoid Ryan and sparked a period where Eire Og outscored last year’s beaten finalists by 1-10 to 0-1 in a 12 point turnaround. The return of David Reidy to the midfield engine room was a boost for Eire Óg while Russell’s movement up front caused problems throughout. Cratloe also lost full-back Mikey Hawes to a leg injury early in the game and his absence from the defence in the closing …

Derrick Lynch looks ahead to a massive weekend of action where three semi-final spots in the Clare SHC will be filled. Ballyea v Kilmaley This one has the potential to be the tie of the round as two of the front runners for the Canon Hamilton go head to head. There is also that derby element which will add extra spice, while Kilmaley will know that Ballyea have made that progress that they so desperately crave over recent years. The 2016 Munster champions are unbeaten so far in this year’s campaign, having overcome a stern test from Crusheen in the opening round before a comfortable victory against Clooney-Quin saw them book their spot in the last eight. Any analysis of that particular victory is almost a pointless exercise with the game well over long before Rory McGann blew the full-time whistle. The tenacity of Paul Flanagan and Jack Browne in defence allied with the work-rate of Pearse Lillis in the …

Clare IHC Quarter Final Previews Former Clare player and current Scariff Bay Community Radio commentator Leo Doyle looks ahead to a massive weekend of action in the Clare intermediate hurling championship with three quarter-final ties down for decision. Scariff v Tulla This is without question the tie of the round, and probably one of the best ties of the entire weekend because both of these are in the reckoning for the championship. Tulla were nervous against Scariff that first night in Shannon because they were newly down from senior and that was understandable. The pressure is always on the team that comes down to go straight back up because you find that if you are there for a few years, it can take you a while to come out of it. Once they found their feet, they put in a solid performance. Scariff regrouped from that and put in a really good performance the last day against Parteen, and were …

Derrick Lynch The stars of the future for Shannon Town will make history this weekend as they become the first group from the club to contest the SFAI U-16 National Cup semi-final. The squad are the first from Clare to reach this stage in over 25 years, and booked their spot with a fine win in Mayo last weekend with Charlie Morrisson getting both goals in that victory. Cork outfit Carrigaline are the visitors to Shannon this Saturday afternoon for a 2pm kickoff and Shannon Town coach Stephen Dolan says it is an exciting prospect for everyone involved. “This is one of the biggest games in the history of underage soccer in Shannon Town. We are the first team from the club to get this far in the competition so it is great to be there. We made history last weekend in winning that game so we are hoping to make more this weekend and get to the final. It …

Clare IFC Wrap Shannon Gaels 2-11 Kilfenora 2-6 Shannon Gaels moved back into the last four of the Clare intermediate football championship after seeing off a stern test from Kilfenora. It was a fitting way for the current crop to mark one the greatest achivements of the past with last Sunday marking 50 years since the Gaels were last crowned senior football champions. Their bid to get back to the top tier took its latest step with this win, as goals in either half from Darragh Bohannon and Niall Ellis proved the crucial scores, with Ellis helping himself to 1-3 over the course of the hour. The opening quarter was lively with the Gaels holding the lead by minimum at the first water break. It was Kilfenora who raced out of the blocks as Pat Connolle got the first of his two goals to send them into an early 1-1 to 0-3 lead. Shannon Gaels recovered well to notch the …

The 2020 M. Donnelly GAA All-Ireland Poc Fada Finals were officially launched by Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael, John Horan in Co. Louth today. This year’s competition is an invitational event seeing recent competitors return to the mountain in what promises to be a highly competitive field. Clare will be represented in the Men’s competition by Tubber’s Ronan Taafe. This year also celebrates one of the longest running GAA sponsorships with Cooraclare native Martin Donnelly sponsoring GAA Poc Fada for 25 years through his MD myclubshop.ie brand- A Speaking at today’s launch Uachtarán CLG John Horan said “Given all of the difficulties we have experienced with staging events this year because of the pandemic, it is uplifting to see that the significant 60th anniversary staging of An Poc Fada is in the calendar with an invitational field of talent assembled. There is great credit due to the organising committee who over the last number of years have succeeded in greatly reviving …

Clare LGFA Senior Championship: Cooraclare 2-6 Kilmihil 1-4 Cooraclare took a notable scalp on their first outing in the senior championship as last year’s intermediate winners took down the current title holders in their own back yard. Local rivalries meant that friendships and family links were put to one side with bragging rights at stake, and it was the Sky Blues who took them thanks to a strong finish on a difficult night for playing football. Heavy rain and wind was an ever present feature as the West Clare neighbours clashed, with the win now putting Cooraclare in pole position to seal a semi-final spot. It also means that Kilmihil’s fate is out of their own hands, with the champions now likely to face having to take the quarter-final route to defend their title. There was little to seperate the sides throughout the contest, and with less than ten minutes to play they were tied at 1-4 apiece. It was …

One of the clubs in Clare affected by the recent Covid-19 outbreak has confirmed that all players tested have returned negative results. Clondegad GAA club informed Clare GAA that 18 members of their junior football panel had gone into self isolation following their championship clash with Cratloe, after one of the players from the south-east Clare club tested positive for the virus in the aftermath of that game. A statement from the club on social media read: “All Clondegad players involved in the recent junior championship game have had Covid-19 tests returned with negative results. We thank the county board and HSE for their assistance and remind everyone to remain vigilant and follow public health guidelines”,