Sports

Clare SFC: Ennistymon 0-11 Doonbeg 0-10 Ennistymon edged the battle of the Magpies to fly into the winners round of the Clare senior football championship. The game was slow to build any real momentum, and it took until the 10th minute before the first score arrived. Predictably for Doonbeg, it came through a David Tubridy free with the West Clare Magpies losing Paul Dillon to a black card early in the contest. Ennistymon settled and restored parity with a Cillian Rouine free but a big score almost arrived when David Fitzgerald rattled the outside of Eamon Tubridy’s post. Michael McDonagh angled over the resulting rebound and they led 0-2 to 0-1 at the opening water break. The second quarter began with another Tubridy free, but it would prove their final score of the half as four in a row for Ennistymon sent them 0-6 to 0-2 clear at the break. Kevin Hehir’s energy on the right wing was rewarded with …

Clare SFC: Kilmurry Ibrickane 0-12 Miltown 0-9 A strong closing quarter saw Kilmurry Ibrickane exact revenge on Miltown in the opening round of this year’s Clare SFC. Aidan Moloney’s side outscored the defending champions by 0-5 to 0-2 in that period to move through to the winners section of the championship and within touching distance of the last four. Kilmurry rang the changes before the throw in as regular goalkeeper Ian McInerney was deployed on the edge of the opposition square. His nephew David Sexton was handed a championship debut while veteran Michael O’Dwyer was named in the half-forward line. Miltown were without Kieran Malone and Darragh McDonagh from the side that won this fixture in last year’s county final but debutant Cian Mahoney adapted well to his first senior assignment. The champions settled best to  lead 0-4 to 0-1 at the first water break with the Cleary twins Eoin and Conor kicking some brilliant scores to put them in …

Clare SFC: Lissycasey 2-9 Cratloe 0-13 AET Penalties looked on the cards in this contest but it a penalty that ultimately decided the game as Lissycasey edged through a tight contest. The decisive score arrived in the second period of extra-time as Conor Finnucane converted a penalty that was all of Cratloe’s own making. Cratloe struggled without regular top scorer Cathal McInerney as an outlet while Sean Collins was also absent through suspension. Lissycasey’s organisation and discipline in defence was key along with a high level of work-rate. Lissycasey held a narrow lead at the break but it could have been a much different story only for a brilliant save from Killian Normoyle. He got down low to turn away a flicked effort by Conal O’Hanlon after Conor McGrath’s ball across the square. The follow up was missed by the onrushing Killian Phair, and it was compounded moments  later as Normoyle fired over a long range free to bring the …

Clare SFC: Eire Óg 2-15 Kilrush 1-6 A dominant second-half from Eire Óg saw them win the battle of the towns as they easily accounted for Kilrush in this Clare SFC opener. Kilrush failed to score for almost half an hour of the contest as Paul Madden’s outfit laid down intentions of their championship ambitions with Gavin Cooney firing 1-9 for the winners. Eire Óg were on top in the early stages as they reeled off 0-4 without reply in answer to Liam Madigan’s opener. A trio from Cooney along with one from Conal O’hAinifein saw them take a deserved lead, with the platform being built on midfield dominance from Ciaran Russell and Darren O’Neill. Kilrush were struggling to win their own kickout early on, but Stephen Ryan’s distribution was much improved in the closing stages of the half. The first big moment of the half came just after the water break when Kilrush punished a loose clearance by Ciaran …

Clare IFC: Kildysart 0-13 Corofin 0-12 A strong closing 20 minutes saw Kildysart fend off a spirited challenge from Corofin in the opening round of the Clare intermediate football championship. In that period, the winners outscored their opponents by 0-9 to 0-3 to move one step closer to another semi-final spot. Corofin saw full-back Brendan Keane leave the field with an injury less than two minutes into the game, but they recovered from that early blow to see the game level at the opening water break. Emmet McMahon opened the scoring from a free but the impressive Robin Mounsey and a textbook Jamie Malone point looped over Robert Eyres’ crossbar to put the North Clare men in front. Diarmuid O’Donnell and Kieran Eyres put Kildysart back into the lead, with Gearoid Cahill firing over a free to see the sides level. The second quarter of the contest was slow to get going with both sides having trouble in finding in …

Derrick Lynch runs the rule over the 12 clubs battling it out for the 2020 Clare SFC title Clondegad Since reaching the 2017 decider, Clondegad have struggled to hit those heights again with a tame quarter-final exit against Miltown coming 12 months later. The 2019 championship is one they will want to forget with heavy defeats against Cratloe and Eire Óg seeing their championship ambitions come to an end. There is a change of management for 2020 as Flan Enright takes over the reins from Mikey Hehir, but his task to guide them back to being championship contenders will not be an easy one. It is understood that county hurling stars Tony Kelly, Niall Deasy and Paul Flanagan are not committing to club football this year and Kelly’s absence in particular will be felt as he provides that creative spark up front. On the credit side, midfield powerhouse Gary Brennan will be available, which is an obvious boost, while the …

Chairman of Clare GAA Joe Cooney is hopeful improvements can be made to the streaming service operated by Clare GAA. It comes after numerous complaints were made on the opening weekend of games which were streamed live by the county board, with several users citing issues with picture quality on the pay-per-view service. Several issues were identified including problems accessing deferred coverage of games, with problems reported in viewing back games which had been paid for but not watched live. Clare are the only county board in Munster not using a professional production company to run their streaming service. The system was announced by Clare GAA last week with a charge of €7.80 for live games while deferred coverage of games was set at a cost of €3.50. Cooney apologised to anyone who encountered problems with the service and said the board would be working to make the necessary improvements. “There have been concerns that the reception was not great …

Kilrush Golf Club Results Men 19 July 2020 AIB Open. 1 Pat J Shannon (14) 40 pts Back 9 2 Michael F Ryan (09) 40 pts 3 Harry Rose (16) 39 pts Back 9 4 Tom Clancy (07) 39 pts Back 9 25 July 2020 President’s Prize (Mr Pat Shannon) 1 Mark Shannon (07) 40 pts Back 9 2 Malcolm McCarthy (12) 40 pts Best Gross: Shane Lillis (02) 37 pts 3 Gerry Duffy (20) 39 pts Back 9 4 Tom Clancy (07) 39 pts Back 9 5 Pat Mulcahy (24) 39 pts 6 Neill Browne (08) 38 pts Cat 1 Thomas Coffey (13) 38 pts Cat 2 David Williams (16) 37 pts Cat 3 Brendan Carrig (31) 36 pts Front 9 Tom Buckley (14) 21 pts Back 9 Robert Kirwan (14) 19 pts Visitor’s Prize: 1 Tim Kileen (8) 37 pts, 2 Bernie Ryan (15) 32 pts Lady’s Prize: 1 Mary Bolton 25 pts, 2 Anne Hogan 24 pts …