Sports

Derrick Lynch CHLOE Morey has come through plenty battles during an inter-county camogie career that stretches back over a decade. The Sixmilebridge woman has been a central part of the Clare senior side since making her breakthrough but this year she opted to take a step back to refocus on solving some long standing injuries. She was not to know when she made that call that she would miss out on very little action as Covid-19 brought sport to a halt, but the virus is something that has impacted much closer to home than that. “It has been tough but that seems odd for me to be saying as a teacher because both my mother and sister are nurses. I have heard all the stories from them firsthand and it really emphasises how important it is to abide by the guidelines. Everyone has had to adapt and I have been teaching online and it is really hard for our students. …

Derrick Lynch The return of competitive sport to Ireland comes next Monday as the first horse racing meeting since restrictions began gets underway. Horse Racing Ireland has released details of how the sport will operate under new protocols, including races being held behind closed doors along with strict medical advice and hygiene procedures for those involved to abide by. It is expected that both National Hunt and Flat races will be part of the schedule with most of the feature races of the summer retained across the various venues, including the Galway Festival. Clare jockey Derek O’Connor feels everyone involved is looking forward to having competitive action back once more, but is warning that every measure must be taken to ensure the safety of all concerned. “People are optimistic I think. We need racing to get back going in order to have that good atmosphere in the racing world. Once it happens, I think things will pick up fairly rapidly …

Having taken a €0.5million hit last year to stage the Irish Open, Lahinch Golf Club is now preparing for a loss of over €2 million in green fee business this season due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With international travel grounded, particularly from the States which would be a strong market for Lahinch, the grim financial outlook on green fee revenue was outlined to members in the past week by club chairman, Martin O’Sullivan who also emphasised that sales at the golf shop will also be severely impacted. “Green fee income has been severely affected by the pandemic. Projected green fee revenue from guests of members and possibly some visitors later in the year has been reduced by €2.4million to just over €100,000. “The reduction on visitor numbers will also have a direct impact on golf shop sales which has been reduced by 85% (€825,000),” he cautioned. Mr O’Sullivan said the club does not expect any overseas visitors before mid-August as …

Derrick Lynch The latest phase of development at the Cooraclare based West Clare Sports and Fitness facility is nearing completion with a new covered sprinting section set to be unveiled in the coming weeks. The brainwave to develop the cross-country course as a training base for local athletes was first mentioned in 2011, while the addition of floodlights four years later on a 1000m loop saw the creation of the West Clare Sports and Fitness to cater for the wider community. Spokesperson Dermot Galvin outlined how the facility first got up and running. “The idea for the project originally came about a time when I was dealing with a lot of injuries. I suggested to Joe Garry that our local club St John’s or even athletics as a whole in West Clare should look at buying land to develop a place to train. It was a passing comment but Joe suggested using his land in Clonreddan and we took it …

Derrick Lynch Clare handball hero Diarmaid Nash admits his bid for a historic third successive All-Ireland doubles title alongside Colin Crehan may have to wait until 2021. Last year saw the duo emulate the famed Kirby brothers by putting All-Ireland crowns back to back, but with sport now on hold due to the Covid-19 crisis it means any future fixtures are still in doubt. Nash, who works as a financial consultant, is not confident that they will have a chance to defend their title this year. “The chances of the doubles championship being on are very slim unless something changes drastically. If we are under restrictions for another few months and the government decides it is something that we just cannot afford to continue doing with benefit payments, then people would have to go back into the workforce. That could create a herd immunity and maybe in that scenario we could go back playing because you are as likely to …

Derrick Lynch Getting through the Covid-19 crisis can often seem like climbing a mountain for some, but the Corofin GAA club have decided to turn that on its head. The North Clare club will descend on one of the most iconic landmarks in the county on Saturday June 6 for a unique fundraising event. The Solo Run Challenge will see 50 members of the club make their bid for the summit of the famed Mullaghmore in the spectacular Burren landscape, all while soloing with either a football or hurley and sliotar. The target is for the participants to reach the top having completed the combined distance it takes to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The challenge will be completed throughout the day in small groups with all participants adhering to current social distancing guidelines. All funds raised from the event will go towards Cystic Fibrosis charity TLC4CF. Among those taking on the challenge will be county star Jamie Malone, …

Derrick Lynch It is clear from just a few seconds of talking to John O’Malley that his recollection of Avenue United’s historic run to the FAI Junior Cup final is going to be an interesting one “30 years ago. You’re bringing back a lot of memories now asking about that” is the immediate response and he laughs before gathering himself to issue a “no comment” statement when asked how many of those memories are fit for publication. He says the time since that famous year has flown. “It doesn’t seem like it was 30 years ago to be honest with you. We were a really close bunch and I think that stood to us throughout the campaign. We only used about 14 players across the run and many of the lads from then are still involved today. In many respects, the time we have on our hands now with Covid-19 has been a blessing in disguise to the club. We …

Derrick Lynch The first local sporting activity since the outbreak of COVID-19 is set to get underway next week as golf courses around the county open their doors once more. A set of protocols from the Golfing Union of Ireland outline the terms and conditions under which the sport can resume, with only casual golf allowed for the moment under strict guidelines and time constraints. The protocol is aligned to the five planned phases of the Government’s Roadmap and sets out how the restrictions on golf will be eased over the coming months. From Monday May 18, all tee times must be booked in advance either online or by phone with only fully paid up members permitted out on course. 3-balls will be played at 14 minute intervals, there will be 12 minute intervals for 2-balls while individual players will be on 10 minute intervals. Clubhouses will be closed with pro shops allowed open only for the purpose of checking …